#he would try to find balance between “IM A MAN. i can handle myself” and “im everyones fraigle princess now”

[feketeribizli]

ifeel like im a common marci anon but all i do is ask about his freak life. all my f1 knowledge is brocedes porn. anyways. how does marci deal w the two broken wrists like he's such an awkward guy so would he be fussed over by medical staff. and the team. and the media. he can't wank if he has two broken wrists eihter oh no

common marci anon the honor is mine 🙏 thank you for your service 😁❣️ also brocedes porn is all the knowledge you need

team and medical staff he doesnt mind, thats good attention. media would be like boo tomato tomato and shit on him and be weird but when is media not at least a bit weird...

he tries not to be too much of a baby about the situation and does everything he can to get his hands back in order but. is also a baby about it lol. stages of grief circles of hell. maybe some friends will lend a hand

[wlw-lovestruck-fiction]

“Vivienne x Mc, where Mc gets injured and falls unconscious and later Vivienne taking care?“

Pairing with:

Mc x Vivienne - QoT Mc was really close to an explosion during a heist, causing her to permanently loss her hearing. You can include the other members too because I want to see how will they handle future heist when one of their has been injured, how does Vivienne react? Will she let mc continue or not? And how does mc feel? Does she feel she cannot as much as before lost her hearing?

HEY... how do you think Vivienne would deal with a deaf MC? im deaf myself 😳😳 headcanons work if they're easier!

QOT MC gets caught up in the blast from one of Jett’s explosives, and now has severe burns acrros her face and other parts of her body along with slight deafness. Could I get a fic of Vivienne comforting her, and telling her she’s still beautiful? Thanks!

…

Warning: Writer’s first time writing a hard of hearing character.

TW: Panic attacks. Mentions of injury. Mentions of scarring.

Introspection-heavy fic.

…

The explosion was one of Jett’s finest work up to date.

Vivienne could feel it rattle her very bones, even though she was quite a distance away. The building crumbled easily and readily, becoming nothing but a sour-tasting memory. She nodded approvingly, letting out a small sigh in relief. There it went, up in smoke, all the incriminating evidence Benicio had gathered on them. And, as a bonus, most of his fake career.

“Ha! That was amazing!” Jett laughed, his voice bright with happiness, high with adrenaline. The rest of the Poppy soon joined in, albeit in less boisterous chuckles.

Coming down from the building she was in was child’s play. She abandoned Benicio’s unconscious body for the authorities to find, humming to herself as she made her way over to Leon, just barely paying attention to the conversation of the rest of the Poppy.

It doesn’t take long for her to notice that something is wrong. That something is missing.

She balances on top of the balcony she’s on, dread creeping over her body like lead, making her feel sluggish.

“Has anyone heard MC?”

The idle chatter stops. Vivienne can feel the shift in the atmosphere, can practically hear it become tense and chilly.

Amidst the muttered ‘no’ of the rest of the members, Zoe’s voice sounds surprisingly clear, a tinge of panic and worry that makes Vivienne lurch forward, desperate to reach the ground. “I lost her signal. Something must have happened!”

“But Benicio is out cold this time-”

“Nadia backed off, right? She couldn’t have-”

“And there is no way Francesca would-”

“Maybe,” Jett’s voice sounds hesitant, an echo of his usual self. “She got… caught by the explosion.”

Remy scoffs. “There’s no way that could have happened, MC knew the dangers!”

“Keep an eye out for the police, Zoe. We need to look for her,” Nikolai commanded, his voice as cold and hard as steel, immediately cutting through the panicked chatter.

Vivienne lets her teammates handle the distractions to stall the police a bit longer, her mind set only on making sure MC was all right. She hadn’t felt so frightened since everything that happened with Isadora, and she refused to let anything even remotely similar happen again. She couldn’t lose anyone precious to her. She couldn’t. One more person, and her soul would have been shattered beyond repair.

Not to mention, the whole issue with Benicio was her fault in the first place. If MC got hurt… god, if she got hurt…

“Ambulance! Can someone call an ambulance?”

Her head whipped around, eyes wide. There was a man shouting desperately a few meters away, making frantic motions to something behind him. Mouth dry, Vivienne relayed the situation to the rest of the Poppy. Her legs felt like jelly. She wondered if she’d crumble into an unrepairable mess when she got close enough, but no such thing happened. She moved forward as if possessed, dropping to her knees near two bodies. One was a small child, and the other was MC, cradling the child as if she was trying to protect him from the entire world.

They were both unconscious. Vivienne’s eyes trailed MC’s exposed skin, painted an angry red down to its very core, from her left shoulder down to her thigh. Her clothes were ruined, charred beyond recognition, sticking to MC’s body like a second skin. Vivienne’s first instinct is to throw her cape over her, just to cover the burns. Her hands are shaking so bad it proves to be quite the difficult task.

The child MC is holding seems fine, his burns less severe than MC’s, which eases Vivienne’s worry somewhat.

Jett was right. She had been caught up in the explosion.

…

“I had to pull a lot of favors to erase our trail, but at least the police won’t find us for a while. We can lay low while MC recovers.” Zoe informed them, a few nights later, exhaustion sipping from her like water out of a waterfall. Nikolai is in a similar state, sitting near Zoe by the couch, one hand covering his face and the other gripping his knee so tightly his knuckles are almost white.

“And the boy’s father?”

“He’s been trying to locate MC, but I don’t think we should worry about him. As for the boy, he’s much better than MC. His hearing wasn’t as affected, either. She really saved him…”

“Then again, if it hadn’t been for him, MC wouldn’t be like this in the first place.” Vivienne icily mutters, tightening her hold over her glass of wine. Nikolai and Zoe just give her a glance, too tired to pick a fight with her. “If he hadn’t rushed in recklessly-”

“He was scared, Viv.” Remy says, from somewhere in the kitchen. “He wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Vivienne’s scowl deepens. “Yes, but who runs into danger? You’d think the fire alarm would have gotten him to run the other way.”

“Someone who didn’t know there was going to be an explosion, that’s who.”

The seductress growls, a dark expression over her face, bitter frustration raging inside her like a chemical reaction about to explode. It just doesn’t make sense. Everything that boy had done that day was simply moronic, and MC – the angel she was, putting others before herself as she often did – had suffered dearly for it. The burns would leave scarring, no doubt; they had become angry red lines and spots that Vivienne mapped with a careful touch every time she had to apply the ointment the doctor had recommended. She had to watch how MC flinched at the contact, how she bit back a cry of pain, hiding it behind a shuddering smile and glistering brown eyes.

Vivienne couldn’t stop thinking about her expression. About how everything had changed, suddenly and without warning, all because of a boy. She can’t help but think about what Remy says and seethe in anger at the sheer absurdity of the boy’s actions, but she decides to stay quiet. The last thing the team needs is another fight.

Zoe speaks again after a few moments, voice soft.

“How is Jett?”

“He hasn’t left MC’s side,” Vivienne answers, after taking a deep breath. “His guilt is practically eating him alive.”

Zoe gives the couch a mournful, exhausted look, but gets to her feet nonetheless. “I’ll go check on him.”

No one blames Jett.

Ever since she had regained consciousness, MC’s sole focus had been on him. Vivienne didn’t mind. It felt relieving to walk inside her room and find them close, enjoying life, doing Art Club activities or laughing over some funny meme. Or, well, trying to. Jett’s laugh was muted, worried, tinted with sadness and regret; it was a sound that haunted Vivienne wherever she went, something that mirrored her own conflicted feelings. MC’s laugh was restrained and also wistful and a little distant. Sometimes she grimaced in the middle of it, her happiness crumbling in a burning flash of pain that made Vivienne’s heart clench and drop.

But they were trying. They were doing their best.

They would get through this. They all would.

…

Changes are inevitable. MC stands through it all like a stubborn rock holding its ground against a current, taking everything in stride. Vivienne had always found the artist fascinating, a fantastic enigma that Vivienne had foolishly thought she had cracked a long time ago.

MC always surprised her. After everything, Vivienne couldn’t help but feel awed by her. True, the first few weeks were hard, but MC had accepted her condition sooner rather than later, while Vivienne still cautiously danced around it, not sure what to think or feel or do.

MC had lost 65% percent of her hearing due to the explosion. Her left ear was slightly better, only at 50%, but the doctor had warned them she would lose more as the years went by. And while Vivienne had once again thrown herself into a bitter spiral of resentment against the boy, that damned boy, MC had pursed her lips with a determined expression and thrown herself into learning sign language and working around everything.

Everyone had agreed early on that MC couldn’t participate in heists anymore. She’d still be their forger, of course, but she’d stay with Zoe when the heist was underway.

“It’d be too dangerous,” MC had admitted, distractedly playing with the hem of her black jacket. She had this solemn look in her eyes, hollow and heavy with resignation, but it wasn’t defeated. It had this quiet intensity to it, like a volcano about to erupt; no one had dared to say anything as she explained. “I can’t even tell where sounds come from anymore, so I wouldn’t react properly to a threat.”

Vivienne couldn’t really wrap her mind around it. MC had described sounds as muted, fuzzy, distant, as if there was a giant wall of glass between her and the world, and on top of it she was underwater. Sounds simply became a cacophony in the background, nothing for MC to really pick apart. It was disorienting, at first, mostly because Vivienne hadn’t really fully processed everything yet.

Sometimes she would turn towards MC with her usual flair and dramas, all but spinning on the chair of her vanity like the typical movie villain, only to find MC engrossed on her work and not aware at all of the dramatic sigh Vivienne had delivered not two seconds ago. That was, perhaps, the biggest change. It didn’t take long for Vivienne to get used to it, no, but there had been something special in calling MC’s name from across the room and watching her reaction unfurl, be it an amused smirk or a heated stare.

MC carried on, not considering her hearing loss a disability at all. It made things different, but not impossible, something Vivienne had irrationally feared in the beginning. She loved MC and everything that entailed, be it scarring or hearing loss or grumpiness or that annoyingly stubborn personality of hers. There was no in-between, no extremes. There weren’t moments where Vivienne had loved her more or less. One day she had woken up to realize she had fallen hopelessly in love and she had never quite managed to get back up after that.

So these changes? Vivienne would accept them. Welcome them. No matter what.

…

The hearing aids helped. A bit.

MC had put them on, frowned for a second, and then beamed at Vivienne saying: “Oh, I can tell your voice apart from all the sounds now!” And that was it. No magically being able to hear everything again, no magically being able to pick apart the words. There was just a vague tone piercing a muted world, an anchor making lip-reading easier, but nothing else. Zoe had looked. Oh, how had she looked, but that was it. Everyone had accepted that. MC was just happy to her their voices again, however fuzzy they were.

Now, Vivienne could actually come sashaying into the room and call out to MC, and MC would look up and search for her – she still had a hard time telling where the sounds came from – and then roll her eyes with a fond smile at her girlfriend’s antics.

Something Vivienne had discovered about hard of hearing people: they listened. No, really. Somebody else would be distracted by something that happened around them, or would look at their phone or watch or hands or anything else before rejoining the conversation. Small things, really. MC didn’t do those anymore. Her attention was solely focused on whoever was speaking, watching their lips, interpreting their words. Or watching the signs, the body language, everything she could do to figure out what was going on and answer accordingly.

It was only at night that MC confided how difficult and exhausting and frustrating lip-reading was. The Poppy made an effort to sign, they had all gotten quite good at SSE, but sometimes they would go out and encounter somebody that didn’t know how to sign or somebody that wasn’t aware of what had happened to MC. It was all sort of situations, but MC took in stride.

“Baby?” MC’s drowsy voice cut through Vivienne’s thoughts. The pronunciation was a bit off, but charmingly so. MC had been horrified when Zoe commented on it, trying to correct it as soon as possible, but privately Vivienne didn’t really see why she worried so much over it. Her voice was beautiful no matter what. Or maybe Vivienne was just far too whipped. Hm.

She smiled against MC’s skin, feeling the heat of it call out to her like a siren’s song. She shifted a bit, so she could rest her head over MC’s chest, snuggling under the covers. It was a cold night, after all.

“Yes?” She mumbled, internally screaming in joy over the pet name. The vibration of her voice was all MC needed to know she was awake.

“I don’t think I’m up for seeing Jace tomorrow. Think we could reschedule?”

Vivienne hummed, toying with the thought. “I think so.” She finally drew the words on MC’s skin. Her fingers slid over the charred, dry zone that had been burned and she frowned a little, wondering if she should apply more ointment in the morning.

“Great.” MC said, softly. “And… we could… maybe we could watch a movie? There’s a new one that just began airing – I’ll ask Zoe for a subtitled version tomorrow.”

“Lovely.” Vivienne drew back.

“I love you.”

The little heart that was the seductress’ reply tingled in MC’s skin like invisible ink, pure and happy and warm like the first few rays of the sun, something that would linger for many days to come.

…

In the morning, as she had been doing this past month, the first thing she did when she woke up was straddle MC under her.

MC blinked owlishly, staring at her with a soft smile. She let Vivienne move over her, sighing contently at the soft touches from her lover. Vivienne made sure to stay in sight, so MC could see her lips.

With all that done, Vivienne began her worship.

Her hand cupped MC’s cheek, tracing the cheekbone down to the soft angle of her jaw, adoring. Long fingers then glided over her throat, down, down so she could move over her collarbones, one hand to the right, one to the left.

One hand slid over smooth, soft silk, while the other traveled against rough and dry edges carefully. MC’s eyes shifted at that, always hesitant over the marred skin, and Vivienne leaned down to place a kiss just above where the burns had been, as reverently as an astronaut would kiss the ground after months away from the Earth. She hovered there for a few seconds while her hand moved from MC’s shoulder to her side, finally coming to rest over her hip.

“You are beautiful.” She mouthed, leaning back. MC’s eyes flickered to her lips, catching the words, her smile stretching just a little bit more.

Vivienne continued, leaving a trail of kisses over that side, as she often did.

“These tell a story,” she said, and MC listened, brows knitted in concentration. “Of a brave woman that was too caring, and of a silly boy.”

MC starts to shake her head, aware of Vivienne’s resentment, but Vivienne is quick to place a finger over her lips to shush her.

“A silly boy,” she repeated, and for once her voice carried no venom. “That would have had a much difficult condition had that brave woman not intervened. These scars tell a story… and its outcome, filled with obstacles and changes and that one stubborn woman in the center of it all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone more determined in my entire life. But here you are, MC, here you are…”

She shudders with delight, her smile widening even more. One of her hand comes up to rest over Vivienne’s heart, to feel the vibrations of her voice.

“A warrior, an angel. You are the sun my thoughts spin around, always, forever. You came into my life and gave me a reason to become the woman I am today. You are always so optimistic, so breathtakingly beautiful, with you I-” Vivienne cut herself off, remembering to breathe, to pace herself. MC gave her a grateful nod, her expression soft with affection. “With you I feel like I might soar. You’ve taught me so much. You’ve taught me how to be accepting. To accept mistakes. To not run from them. And now, you’ve taught me the importance of not giving up. I admire you, you know?”

Vivienne looked at the scars again.

“The story these tell… It’s awe-inspiring. I’ll look at them every morning and remember how strong you are. Beautiful isn’t perfect skin and perfect hearing. It isn’t daring heists and life on the edge. Beautiful is you, are you are now.”

The kiss they share is gentle, loving, pure.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

I liked your ava post, do you have more aboout usm. The WHOle usm team?

I can’t say I have many many hcs but I’ll give you where I think they might end up after SHIELD, and two songs that fit them if that works. 

Peter: I don't know why but I feel like Peter would want to look for his parents once he leaves SHIELD and while doing so, he ends up in a lot of team ups and building up more of his rogues gallery. Basically I imagine stuff from the comic with spider clones, dating MJ, briefly rejoins the Avengers then leaves. Yeah I don't have much for him since comic history leaves people to choose what they want. Imagine Dragon's Beliver because he does have such a heavy pain inside, but that's the thing, he keeps it inside until he snaps them into his fight for justice. "First things first, I'ma say all the words inside my head. I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been, The way that things have been.Second thing second, Don't you tell me what you think that I could be. I'm the one at the sail, I'm the master of my sea...Taking my message from the veins. Speaking my lesson from the brain. Seeing the beauty through the pain!"

Danny: I'd like to think that he stays in NY to start Heroes for Hire with Luke as soon as they leave SHIELD. They're bros, and he justifies the absence that New York needs Iron Fist more than K'Lun for the moment. He also tries his hand at getting Rand Industries back on track. I also think he does return to K'Lun eventually as King and mystical head. After his work at Rand Industries, he feels more confident as a leader and is willing to stand up to the monks when it comes with changing some of the old ways. Allowing him to travel back to NY to see his friends while keeping the mystical origins of K'Lun sacred. I think Nature Boy rather fits him, soft and melodious and Danny learning he is not alone sort of. "There was a boy. A very strange enchanted boyThey say he wandered very far..Very far over land and sea. A little shy and sad of eye. But very wise, was he."  Les Miserables’ Who am I mainly because I imagine Danny has some identity issues between feeling worthy of the Iron Fist, feeling torn between the US and K'Lun. Ideally, he would end up learning being one does not give up the other part of himself. As one would say they can coexist in a balance. "Who am I? Can I conceal myself forever more.. Pretend I’m not the man I was before?....How can I ever face my fellow men? How can I ever face myself again?"

Luke: As said above, with Danny, when they leave SHIELD, they create Heroes for Hire, they ride or die forever.  Together they clean up their part of New York and Luke comes to terms with some of his past and the people he dealt with in jail. He also meets Jessica Jones during this time and she becomes his new partner (in more ways than one) when Danny leaves for K'Lun. He sometimes does freelance work for SHIELD, mainly at the behest of his parents, sometimes as a favor to Fury. He also sometimes comes by the Helicarrier to be a surprise mentor to whatever new hero they pick up. He is the main instigator of team reunions.

Adam Levine’s If I got locked away totally fits him after the time he spent in jail and scared of being seen as weak, it really fits him and his insecurities. "If I got locked away And we lost it all today. Tell me honestly, would you still love me the same? If I showed you my flaws. If I couldn't be strong. Tell me honestly, would you still love me the same?" One call away also fits him simply for his caring nature and how he'll do anything for his friends, "I'm only one call away. I'll be there to save the daySuperman got nothing on me. I'm only one call away/ Call me, baby, if you need a friend. I just wanna give you love...No matter where you go, know you're not alone. I'm only one call away."

Ava: I think once Ava leaves SHIElD, she has some trouble with the amulet whether form being on her own, knowing SHIELD isn't there watching her every move or just cockiness that she can handle it now. Either way, I see her as  taking a break from the amulet. Reasoning her father wanted her to keep it safe, it didn't mean she had to put it on and be a hero. Ideally, she goes to therapy to work through all these issues before ever putting it on again. I imagine she goes home to PR too. I think she could go into bounty hunting, it's more freelance, she helps put baddies away and she can put her investigative skills to good use. Eventually she'd be White Tiger again but for more superpowered threats than every day patrolling. Just breathe from In the Heights not only for the spanish influences but also the utter fear of returning a failure, "Straighten the spine. Smile for the neighbors. Everything's fine, everything's cool. The standard reply: Lots of tests, lots of papers. Smile, wave goodbye and pray to the sky, "Oh God!" And what will my parents say? Can I go in there and say, "I know I'm letting you down..."  Alyssa Greene from The Prom. The lyrics speak for themselves of the utter perfectionism and drive, "The hair has to be perfect. The As have to be straight...Trophies have to be first place. Ribbons have to be blue. There's always some competition or hoops for jumping through. Just have everything perfected by the time you reach eighteen" 

Sam: Admittedly I don't know much about Nova lore or backstory as the others but I think he'll go back to space. Not necessarily as part of the Guardians because honestly I think they had enough members without him. Maybe as a solo act before he finds the other Nova Corps. I definitely see him as becoming a trainer there, finally being the leader he always wanted to be. I also want him to reconnect with his family so he does travel back to Earth to visit them and then swoops by NY for some reunion with his old team before heading back to space. 

Bieber’s Lonely fits Sam because at the heart of it all, I think that's what he is. Lonely, he's still young and trying to navigate these powers and his place in the world and space and what his identity is. And no one else can quite get that. "Everybody knows my name now. But somethin' 'bout it still feels strangeLike lookin' in a mirror, tryna steady yourself and seein' somebody else. And everything is not the same now. It feels like all our lives have changed Maybe when I'm older, it'll all calm down. But it's killin' me now. What if you had it all, nut nobody to call? Maybe then you'd know me 'cause I've had everything. But no one's listening and that's just f- lonely." Shawn Mendes' Wonder works for similar reasons. Mainly I imagine him singing it to his missing father who inherited so much but knows nothing personally about him, "I wonder why I'm so afraid of saying something wrong, I never said I was a saint. I wonder, when I cry into my hands. I'm conditioned to feel like it makes me less of a man and I wonder if someday you'll be by my side and tell me that the world will end up alright. I wonder..I wonder."  And then a party song for each 

Sam: All I do is win by DJ Khaled "All I do is win, win, win no matter what. Got money on my mind, I can never get enough ('Nough) And every time I step up in the building Everybody hands go up And they stay there And they stay there, up, down, up, down, up, down 'Cause all I do is win (Win), win (Win), win And if you going in put your hands in the air, make 'em stay there" 

Luke: Finesse by Bruno Mars, "We out here drippin' in finesseIt don't make no sense Out here drippin' in finesse You know it, you know it We out here drippin' in finesse It don't make no sense Out here drippin' in finesse You know it, you know it" 

Peter: Another one bites the dust by Queen "nother one bites the dustAnother one bites the dust And another one gone and another one gone Another one bites the dust Hey I'm gonna get you too Another one bites the dust"

Danny: Normally, I don't think Danny would be into party music, too much cursing, too much noise to distort the mind, that stuff. But Rihanna is catchy. "I wanna take you away, let's escape into the music, DJ, let it playI just can't refuse it, like the way you do this Keep on rockin' to it Please don't stop the, please don't stop the music I wanna take you away, let's escape into the music, DJ, let it play I just can't refuse it, like the way you do this Keep on rockin' to it Please don't stop the, please don't stop the, please don't stop the music" 

Ava: Woman by Ke$ha "I'm a motherfucking woman, baby, alright I don't need a man to be holding me too tight I'm a motherfucking woman, baby, that's right I'm just having fun with my ladies here tonight I'm a motherfucker"  This other cool blog is much more into USM and has tons of hcs if you want more of this stuff, @im-rewriting-ultimate-spider-man

[ducknotinarow]

“Musical Scholar” (from Qrow to Robin? ~aharbingerofmisfortune)

| Musical Scholar @aharbingerofmisfortune-a

Lemon Boy - Going into this one I would say that I am more thinking of thier dynamic together. There once was a bittersweet man and they called him, "Lemon Boy" He was growing in my garden and I pulled him out by his hair like a weed And like weeds do he only came and grew back again So, I figured this time I might as well let him be

Lemon Boy and me started to get along together I helped him plant his seeds And we'd mow the lawn in bad weather It's actually pretty easy being nice to a bitter boy like him So, I got myself a citrus friend -I honestly could see Robyn using this as a nickname for Qrow mostly to tease him when he is being a grump and brooding. Qrow is someone who is used to being in his more somber moods and such but we have seen in the shown Robyn will get him to snap out of it either trying to make him smile or having to literally grab on to him to get him to listen to her when she is speaking to him. I feel this is a big part of their dynamic and how Robyn would pull the lemon boy by his hair and had be sort of figuring out how to work with Qrow giving some patience and such like when it comes to growing plants.-

But soon his bittersweet started to rub off on me You'd think smelling like lemon zest would be pretty neat I found out that my friends are more of the savory type And they weren't too keen on compromising with a nice lemon pie

So Lemon Boy and me, we just gotta get along together I helped him plant his seeds And we'll mow the lawn in bad weather It's actually pretty easy being nice to a bitter boy like him So, I got myself a citrus friend -Robyn deff has her group that seems to share in her mindset so Qrow is for sure going to be different to handle and work along with and I feel Qrow's point of view can make him the opposite to Robyns more positive mindset and her hopefulness so they would counter each other but I say they also can bring a balance between them. Kind of seeing a point of view through another's eyes sense. Especially when they are put to work along each other even in fights together -

But what if I run out of fertilizer? What if the clouds run out of rain? What if Lemon Boy won't grow no longer? What if beaches dry of sugar cane? Oh well

The whales start to beach themselves Tortoise shells tear away from their spines It happens all the time, it happens all the time Lemon Boy and I, we're gonna live forever Like Snufkin and little my, we'll get around wherever Lemon Boy and I, we're gonna live forever Like Snufkin and little my, we'll get around wherever -I more am thinking semblances here Qrow's bad luck of course would maybe bring some bad but I also feel Robyn has her own baggage when it comes to hers. Not many people are gonna want to be close to someone who can tell they are lying so easily after all. But even with all that as possibilities, I feel these two can build enough trust between and we did see Qrow may be learning to control his own and Im sure there would have other bumps to over come but already fighting and worked together? I feel to them others issues wouldn't be as bad to them.-

It's actually pretty easy being nice to a bitter boy like him 'Cause we're the bitterest boys in town Yeah, we're the bitterest guys around And I got myself a citrus friend -Once they find their rhythm they can easily fall into step with one another and share in some humor at being 'bitter' about things I just feel around Qrow Robyn can drop her leader role some and let her own bitterness in the world show because Qrow will get it but also sees Robyn is trying to do good because of those things in turn and I like the idea of the mindset helping Qrow with how he can be.-

[colorseeingchick]

Hey Can I ask for a self ship date pls ? I’m a 18yo girl who is 173 cm of chaos and my heart has been stolen by Kise Ryouta from KNB 😩.

We may be very different, he’s more of a warm and a social person while i’m cold in the clouds and ambiverted but his smile, his laugh and how he’s dedicated in basketball made me lose it. I find his whole personality interesting even the more cold and ugly parts of him and he has the pretty face for him too but i’m not the kind of person who can just fall for apparence. He have such a voice too 😳 He has that charming aura, playful but yet still lighthearted and funny. He being two-faced surprisingly don’t bother me that much somehow i understand from where hes coming from. I relate a lot to his overachiever and need to handle all things himself to the point of hurting. As a basketb fan i am also enamored w his way of playing, i gen think he is the best of gom he always do his best to the point of barely breathing and honestly i relate to this too when im into something i love. His quick learning abilities are hyper and i like how Kise try to be honest w himself. I like also the balance he have w masculine and feminine energy and don’t mind him being a dork. His relationship w others characters are gold too like w Aomine and i can see him showing me affection to my touch starved self and just general affection i lack in general even if i don’t say it. Also i can imagine a certain dynamic between us where no one is the lead of the couple but we’re on equal terms.

Now more about me i am an ENTP 8w7, I am independent, creative, honest, prideful and « generous » i don’t think that last one much but my close one describe me like this. I’m very curious, likes experimenting and new things. I am funny/sarcastic, playful and as it iam very memeable but surprisingly top student here who doesn’t behave like it at all both in class and just in general. My aesthetic is a weird mix of everything i love so i am both a tomboy, alt and a baddie somehow. I am into law and economics studies and can talk french, korean and spanish as i learn languages in my free time by myself. I do read, write, draw and listen to music, play all sort of games including sports, get on a walk from time to time, eat cuz food is delicious and just learn in general. I have kind of ✨trust issues ✨so i don’t have many friends. But you sure will have fun w me ! I don’t about chill i have some temper but sure im pretty cool and open minded ! In love i really am a mess, i’m easily flustered but act cool to hide it and because of that i look like someone confident and mysterious except i am not the first one and ugh im lowkey a tsundere so it’s difficult to assume my feelings. But i swear i try !

Thank you for reading me ! I hope i didn’t bother you much.

You didn't bother me at all hun! This was a lot of fun to write so I hope you enjoy :) I think I have a pretty fun date planned for you two if I do say so myself hehe.

Premise: Kise got to know you throughout high school, and saw you as different from his other fangirls. Even though it wasn’t basketball, you also stood out at the top of your class, making you noticeable to Kise. You were actually a good friend (a cute friend at that) and he decided that he wanted to take you on a date during your 3rd year (once the basketball season was over and he had time to make for you). Knowing how fun you are, he had the perfect plan.

As you look into the mirror to examine your outfit, your phone buzzes with the “I’m hereeee ;)” text. You’d decided to lean into your tomboy vibes, given that Kise told you to ‘get ready to do stuff,’ which was not very informative, but exciting nonetheless.

As you walk out, you’re greeted by the blonde man dressed handsome as ever, a dark long sleeve shirt with fitting jeans, his silver hoop shining as the sun starts to set.

“Ready Y/N-chi?” He asks you, smiling as he overdramatically offers his hand for you to grab.

“Ready as ever~” you say as you grab his hand. He pulls you close and winks, flustering you right from the start.

“If I remember correctly, you said something about this being the best date I ever go on?” You take your chance to poke fun at him as well.

“Oh honey, it will be.” You can see the way his eyes shine and his mischievous grin as he walks with a nice hop in his step, guiding you towards the train station.

The train ride was pleasant, his hands protectively on your shoulder and a mean glare on his pretty features when other men looked at you or got too close, but his face was calm as he comfortably bantered with you (you on the other hand were quite unbothered by it all). Once you finally arrived at your destination, you found yourself in the lively district of the city, flooded with restaurants and shops all open late night.

“I forgot how beautiful this area is at night!” You can’t help but say as you look at all the beautiful lights and architecture.

“I had to take a pretty girl to a pretty place, you know?” He squeezes your hand as he drags you along once again, until you end up at your destination.

“I think this’ll be a lot of fun,” he says to you as he pushes open the doors to the arcade, letting all the dark lights and glowing games illuminate your sight.

He buys the coins for you both to play (He’d asked prior if it’d be okay for him to pay for you this date, and you’d agreed), and you set off to play all sorts of games.

It was a lot of fun for the both of you. While the games were enjoyable, playing them with him made it all the better. He also never missed an opportunity to flirt with you, and playing games made it easy. Both of you being overachievers, with Kise being a quick learner and you being open to trying new things made the experience amazing.

“Here, stand like this and loosen your wrists up for a better shot.” you both were playing the basketball game, and to no surprise Kise had absolutely killed it. Now here he is, helping adjust your shot. Standing behind you, he lightly adjusts your waist, turning you a little bit to help your footing. His hands then move up to your shoulders, then down to your wrists, helping guide your form and placement on the ball. While you were learning from him, it was hard to focus with him this close to you. “Y/N-chi, you can focus on me later. You should focus on your shot for now.” He says lowly, teasingly, watching carefully as your face erupts into red. He really did love teasing you, the usually calm, collected, confident top student.

Admittedly, you feel like you got back at him when you watch him try the crane game (the ones filled with stuffed animals) and he couldn’t get it after 7 tries. The frustration was clear in his face, his impatience rising.

“This game is rigged, I know it!”

You ask to try and of course he complies. However, he’s not ready for you to get a cute little stuffed panda on your first try. Suddenly, he’s a lot more embarrassed than you were earlier.

“You definitely used magic or something.” His pout is both adorable and hilarious to you.

You laugh as you hand him the panda. “Here!”

Looking down at the panda and then looking back up at you, he asks, “for me? But you won it!”

“But I want you to have it. It’s cute like you, Kise-kun.”

A huge smile crosses his face as he pulls you into a hug, spinning you around. “Y/n-chi!!!! You’re so generous!! Giving me your stuffed panda~ I’ll take good care of it.”

You have a nice laugh as you watch Kise end the night out by playing Dance Dance Revolution, not afraid to be a bit flamboyant as he goes all out with the footwork and does really well at the game.

After collecting all your tickets, Kise takes you up to the rewards table, telling you that he knows exactly what he wants to get.

“And we have enough tickets for it! Great.”

You can’t help but smile when Kise points to the GIANT stuffed panda hanging on the wall.

“I thought you weren’t the type to return favors,” you recall what he said during a game with Seirin from a long while back.

He blushes, thinking about what he said. “I’m not, just one upping you,” he jokes, sticking his tongue out at you, letting you nudge him in return.

“Do you wanna get food, Y/N-chi?” He asks, his arm wrapped around your shoulder.

“Sure, from where?”

“You decide. I decided on the arcade, you can decide dinner.” He looks at you with a smile, thinking back on how fun the whole night had been. “But I get to decide dinner next time.”

“Next time?” You shoot back, eyebrows raised, a smile forming on your face. “Who said I’d go out with you a next time?”

At your comment, his smile falters as he stares at you for a good second. He gets all serious suddenly, pulling you close (with a giant panda pressed into your side) and making you look into his eyes. “Y/N-chi, would you please go out with me again? Tell me you will!”

Giggling, you smile up at him. “Of course, Kise-kun.”

He sighs out and hums in approval, before pressing a small kiss onto your cheek. “Call me Ryouta.”

~~

Ahhh I hope you enjoyed it! I tried to incorporate as many elements as I could! Please do let me know what you think <3 this was so fun!!!!

[euphorianyx]

DADDY ISSUES [Dawn] -3-

Pairing: JungKook & Reader Genre: Smut, Fluff, Angst Summary: You believe you know someone you live together but that only counts if they are true to themselves. Can love really change someone or do they just hold back? What if you are yet to meet the dark side? Will you stay to handle all that or will you walk away? When there is something you have to protect, the choice is not really yours so you just do what you think is the best.

AN: If you just found this story you can read the prequel here.

Other Chapters

JungKook walked slowly to the table occupied by the young woman that was seen fit to be his next toy. It was hard to tell by her back but a few small gestures already caught his eyes. The way she sat or seemed was all wrong. It lacked your shyness balanced with straightforwardness. The smile she gave to the waiter was sweet. It was way too sweet that could be childish, lacking the elegance you had.

Rolling his eyes but still making his way towards her JungKook already could tell this was a lost case. He sat down on the velvet encrusted chair across her. She greeted him with a wide smile, letting her chest pop a little. It was obvious she was trying to be sexy but the reality was far from it.

Her face truly reminded you. Long lashes, well-shaped lips gave a feeling of you. JungKook did not know why he was searching for you in someone else but he could not help it. He wanted to give her a chance but the more she spoke the worse things went. At some point, JungKook just left his glass on the table. He did not even care about the special cocktail he favored the flavor. He raised his hand cutting the young women.

He grabbed the dark purple envelope and went through papers. Hoping to find an excuse that will make sense but Min Jae Yeo seemed awfully clean. Letting out a deep sigh JungKook decided it was best to get done with this real quick so left the envelope on the table.

“Jae Yeo...”

She nodded right away with bright eyes. She was so tractable and would follow him but that was not what he needed anymore. 

“I don’t think you are qualified for what I have in mind.”

The girl reached for his hand but JungKook pulled it away before she could hold it. He gestured the waiter to bring the bill. Jae Yeo was tearing up as JungKook raised from his seat. He did not mean to make her cry but did not feel like comforting her too. He had his poker face before he turned around to leave the café. On his way back to Jeon Enterprise JungKook got a call from YugYeom. He hit the pedal of his black Bugatti before he touched the screen to answer the call.

“What is it?”

His voice was not harsh or anything. It was monotone until YugYeom revealed why he called.

“Im Won... He was in charge of the border but he got seven hundred. Should I inform your father?”

Im Won dared to give them false information on the amount of white he was dealing with his name. He reported five hundred kilograms but actually got seven hundred to make more money by himself. JungKook arched an eyebrow. His voice was dangerously low as he asked.

“No...But inform everyone for tonight. The party will be after midnight. I will take him by myself.”

YugYeom ended the call after a simple remark letting JungKook know he understood. JungKook was already at the edge but the information ignited his ice-cold soul. Noone... Noone could use his own resources to make extra money. He was free to do his own thing now and the chance came quick. JungKook’s fingers danced on the steering wheel.

When JungKook pulled up by the car park, the noise of a strong engine echoed through the grey dull walls. He locked it and walked a bit until he reached the elevator. When the simple steel doors opened, the large cabin welcomed him. He rested his hands on the bars by the door. 

His blood rushed while he was staring at his own eyes. They were dark just like they have been for years. The person he wanted to hold back was out stronger than ever. He felt it in his bones. A different smirk grew on his thin lips. JungKook tilted his head while his eyes rolled back with excitement. The door opened and the young boy with brown hair greeted him to the polygon.

“Mike...”

JungKook simply greeted him with a small gesture. Mike smiled back at him.

“We haven’t seen you here for so long.”

JungKook let out a cool chuckle.

“I know. Just here to keep myself in check.”

JungKook took his jacket off as he stopped in front of the familiar number. Seven... He put it aside as the gun arrived. Ignoring the headphones he grabbed it. The silver metal shined in his hand while he pulled the trigger. On and on until there was not a single bullet left. Jungkook pressed the button to see the result. Two big holes... One in the head one in the chest.

Then he heard someone clapping behind him. The young woman had peachy long hair, big eyes, and full lips. Her tiny waist was completed with her hips. JungKook arched an eyebrow at her questioningly, though she smiled.

“You are a tough one, aren’t you...I don’t know who got you mad but I am Min Chae Soo.”

She raised her hand to greet JungKook. After taking a look at the friendly gesture, he shook her hand briefly. Then her earphones arrived with the same brand of gun he used.

“Want to go for another round?”

Her simple defiance triggered JungKook. They both had similar grins as they aimed for the vital points. They pressed the button at the same time to see their results. Chae Soo’s challenge went on in their conversation. JungKook realized he was actually smiling.

After they finally decided who won, the duo walked out of polygon. When their paths were separated JungKook wore his poker face again. He had no idea what about her made him put his guard down right away. Still thinking about what just happened she went for squash and JungKook went for boxing. 

After their sessions ended their path crossed by the hallway again. They decided to have some drinks together. Chae Soo wore her leather jacket. Her hair was stuck by the back so she pulled it out and it danced in the air. The smell filling the air was not perfect but not bad either. She hoped on the front seat and JungKook was not disturbed at all. 

He drove to Mucaro, the night club at Im Won’s territory. JungKook stopped the car rigidly. They got out but the vale was frozen in his spot. He fixed his small hat, bowing at them. JungKook threw the keys at him before they made their way to the place. The neon sign above was bright with green, blue, and purple colors. Walls were black with lines in the same shades as the sign. 

When he was seen by the door every single person working there was urged to form a proper line each side of the door. Female employees were in awe while male employees were busy with their envy. Not even aware of what was expecting him Im Won stood in the middle by the edge of the maroon carpet. He greeted JungKook and Chae Soo with a decent smile. 

Im Won thought it was one of JungKook’s impromptu visits so lead the way to the big room at the back. Bodies were swaying around each other under blue and purple lights. A small group of young boys and girls had blunts hanging from their lips and glasses filled with alcohol in their hands. By the corners, two girls in skin tight dresses sat each side of a middle-aged man in a suit. JungKook had a smirk on his face before he turned around to face Chae Soo.

“Let’s grab some drinks.”

Im Won was expecting him to talk about the next deal but did not dare to question JungKook so he just left. They sat by the bar and chatted casually for a while. Somehow topic drifted on more personal matters where JungKook made Chae Soo reveal herself a little bit.

“So you were raised in a dormitory...”

JungKook imagined a little girl at such a place with no one to care for her. Chae Soo’s arm rested on the wood as her hand was under her chin.

“Yeah until I was fifteen. Then my father adopted me.”

The heaviness of her sentence lingered in the air a bit. He was going to tell YugYeom to do some research on her to see what he was going to do. Though it was time for her questions.

“I thought you got married but... I... don’t see your ring.”

Your face before his eyes, JungKook looked down at his empty finger for a moment before he put his glass down.

“Yeah, I did but things got complicated.”

Chae Soo did not ask anything further since she sensed it was no good. Meanwhile, JungKook got what he wanted since Im Won did not suspect anything at all. Soon the last member sent the signal to let him know he was there.

“Listen, I would like to talk to you more but I have something urgent to take care of. How about I get you a taxi to drop you off?”

Chae Soo arched an eyebrow at him but grabbed her purse. She hopped off the chair towards JungKook. There was almost no space between their bodies. She put her hand on his chest.

“Not before I get a promise.”

JungKook nodded with a smile. Chae Soo grabbed a pen from her purse then reached for his hand. She slowly wrote her number under his intense gaze. Looking at his hand for a good moment JungKook put it on her back gently. He gestured one of the taxis waiting across the path. The young guy pulled up right away, his eyes widened when he noticed JungKook. He opened the door for Chae Soo and told the driver to safely take her to her address.

When he was back with a simple head gesture members started to evacuate the place by informing people one by one. Im Won realized something was up so he gathered his own men together but it was too late. He walked towards Jungkook who still sat on his chair casually.

“Mr. Jeon what is going on?”

JungKook calmly put his glass down. His eyes were dark when he directed them at Im Won. He grabbed the man by his neck and his head hit the wood with a loud thud. His men proceed to interfere but they could not.

“You thought I would never find out?”

Im Won mentally cursed himself.

“Let me explain.”

JungKook let out a chuckle that froze his blood. He gestured his men to interfere and hell broke loose. The loud noise of triggers drowned in the loud music still playing. The heavy smell of gun powder and blood mixed with each other permeated the place. He got two cuts from the knife of a pretty stubborn one. JungKook got away with a swing of his body and kicked him on his chest. The man fell back and Jungkook aimed at his head.

JungKook reached for another gun. He turned around and saw two men almost reached him. He pulled the trigger in pure mercilessness and watched their bodies fall on the cold ground. JungKook realized Im Won was by the door and ran towards his side but the man fell back. Seeing who was by the door JungKook stopped for a good minute. Chae Soo had timber in her hand now was strained with Im Won’s blood. She threw it at JungKook.

“I knew something was up so I did not leave.”

You fastened your steps on the sidewalk with your phone on your ear.

“Hi NamJoon, I believe we need to talk.”

NamJoon sounded serious at the other side of the line.

“Sure Y/N...”

He knew you found out that he gave your name. Their conversation about divorce with JungKook played in his mind, he quietly took a deep breath.

“Why don’t you come over.”

If it was not for him you were going to offer that. Soon you were by his door. You knocked twice and waited for a little. NamJoon was in a simple t-shirt and dark green sweatpants with his hair swept back. He fixed his glasses as he greeted you then lead the way towards the living room.  You mostly spent your time at his office room here so did not notice many details about other parts of his house.

The walls were a light shade of blue, giving his living room a calm vibe. Two dark blue couches were in the middle of the room across each other. A small white table stood between them matching the TV unit by the wall. The kitchen was open by the left of his living room. NamJoon offered you a coffee that you accepted. You watched him prepare them in silence and when he was back you finally broke it.

“I heard you gave my name to the company.”

A simple nod with his poker face was NamJoon’s response. 

“Because I thought you were what they needed in there.”

A small smile spread across your lips.

“Thank you... but I doubt that is the only reason.”

NamJoon let out a deep sigh before your eyes met again.

“Okay, I will be honest with you. It was a mutual decision with Mr Jeon.”

You bit down your lip as you refused to finish the coffee and put your cup down on the table.

“And you expect me to take it when I know someone else could be there if you did not interfere.”

Before you pulled your hand from the table NamJoon caught your wrist.

“Y/N, I gave your name because I knew you could do it. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Even your family does not know yet, right?”

Your hand turned into a ball of fist while you shook your head. NamJoon gently let your wrist go with a small smile on his lips.

“I understand and he is trying to help you Y/N. That is not as bad as you think.”

You let out a deep sigh.

“He knows where I stay right now, does not he?”

NamJoon confirmed your assumption before he made the offer that surprised you.

“Why don’t you stay here instead?”

When he directed his eyes back to you realized he was serious.

Next Chapter

[viostormcaller]

Stringbound Chapter 2

[TW: nausea/vomiting, near car accident, needles, fainting (ask to tag if I’ve missed something!)]

AN: This has been ready for a good while, actually! I just haven’t posted it since I’ve been away. However, since it’s Marvin’s birthday, I thought it fitting to post this today. So, happy birthday, Marvin, and I duly apologize for the awful things that happen to you in this chapter. Now, without further ado, here’s chapter 2!

Read Chapter 1

As the tension finally dissipated from the theatre, Marvin could finally feel that the threat was gone. It was just them now. At first, he let himself calm down and relax while Jackieboy Man called whoever it was he needed to call and informed them on the situation. But then, it hit him all at once, just as the adrenaline from the fight wore off. A dizzying, blinding headache accompanied by ringing ears and followed by a nosebleed. His body began to ache and he felt nauseated and overwhelmed, skin prickling all over. He overdid it, he definitely overdid it. Normally he would take a moment to rest after a show because he needs to recharge after expending his magical energy, despite the amount he uses never being a significant amount. His shows not only never take much out of him, but they also never involve combat, especially when it's an overpowered, unkillable enemy. He actually hadn't fought anyone using magic in a long, long time. Hadn't needed to. He fell to his knees with a grunt, holding his head and groaning.

Jackieboy Man startled when he heard the thump, looking behind him to see Marvin doubled over on his knees. He cursed to himself and put whoever it was he was talking to on hold. "Shit, you alright?!"

"Overdid it," he got out. "Too much-- ngh! Energy…"

"Are you injured anywhere else?" Jackieboy Man asked.

"Nn-nnh," Marvin shook his head. Instant regret. His body lurched and he clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes beginning to sting. He swallowed thickly and slowly exhaled. "Don' feel well… gonna be sick…"

"Okay, shit, uh… you'll come with me, you can lie down and rest, um… D'you need anythin' else or are you alright?"

"Lie down… 'n a shower… 's it…"

"Alright, gotcha."

"I'll give you… my address. You c'n take me home…"

"Ah… no, can't do that. Sorry. You'll have to stay with me. Not safe with Antisepticeye after you now."

"I can... handle myself," Marvin forced out, his frustration making his head hurt worse. "'m a grown adult. Don' need protecting."

"No, trust me on this one. Please." Jackieboy urged. "I know what I'm talking about. I'm not having anyone else go missing or fall deathly ill under his control, not on my watch. And you're weakened, on top of that. You have to come with me. I've rigged the house in a way where he can't find me or anyone else who stays there. You'll be safe there until the heat's off you."

"...fine," Marvin agreed begrudgingly. Jackieboy Man sounded sincere enough, and the hero did appear to have more experience with Antisepticeye than he did. But mostly, the sooner he could lie down, the better, and at this point he would do anything to speed things along.

"First, though," Jackieboy began, fishing through one of his satchels.

Marvin groaned. Ugh, what now, he thought to himself, clearly annoyed.

Jackieboy Man held out a tissue to Marvin. "Your nose is bleeding."

"Mmh." Right. Aside from the metallic taste coating his lips, he'd nearly forgotten. He pressed the napkin to his nose and pinched it, tilting his head back. His nosebleeds never lasted long, thankfully, so as soon as it stopped a moment later, he was able to shakily rise onto his feet. Though, the dizziness struck back hard, nearly causing him to fall over again.

"Woah, careful! You alright?" Jackieboy asked, rushing over to steady him.

"Mmh… thanks."

"No problem. Y'know…" Jackieboy couldn't help but smirk, "considering you seem to have a connection to cats, I assumed you'd have better balance than that!"

Marvin furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes at Jackieboy Man, giving him a "what the actual fuck are you talking about?" face.

"Your cat mask?" Jackieboy supplied.

Marvin rolled his eyes and sucked his teeth, turning his gaze away from the hero. "Shut up."

Jackieboy snorted. "Alright, let's get you somewhere safe. Friend of mine should be waiting outside by now. He'll drive us. You don't get carsick, do you?"

"No."

"Good. Alright, easy does it, now… slow steps."

Jackieboy Man slowly led Marvin out through the exit door he sawed open earlier on. They headed through the hallway leading out to the main doors and were hit with the cold night air as they stepped outside. The bright city lights were glaring, making Marvin's eyes hurt. He hissed and shut them, feeling his head pound harder. The cold air was cooling down his overheating body, at least, but he could tell he would be shivering before long.

"That white car over there is where we're headed," Jackieboy Man informed. "My friend -- his name's Chase -- he'll be taking us back to the house."

"Mmh."

"You're really clammy," Jackieboy commented. "Sure you're not comin' down with something?"

"Jus' overdid it…" Marvin got out. "I'll be fine."

"There's a doctor that lives with us. He can check you out if you want?" Jackieboy Man offered.

"Mmh." Marvin really didn't feel like seeing a doctor, nor did he need to, but he also didn't feel like talking anymore. He figured the hero would shut up if he just nodded and agreed. Plus, the sooner he stopped talking, the better, because the nausea was hitting Marvin full force and the last thing he wanted to do was open his mouth to speak, lest more than words came out.

Finally, the pair finally made it to the car. Jackieboy Man helped Marvin in first, who scooted all the way towards the left-most seat, while Jackieboy sat on the far right. Marvin took the opportunity to pull his mask off his face and set it down in the empty space between them.

"Yo, Jackie, everything good?" asked the driver, who Marvin assumed was Chase. "And who's this you got with you?"

"Yeah, Chase, we're fine. Oh, and this is Marvin," explained Jackie. He then turned to Marvin. "Wait, your name is Marvin, right? I was just goin' off the sign on the theatre."

"Yeah, name's Marvin." he mumbled, trying not to open his mouth too much.

"Ah, okay. Good. Yeah, he was targeted at his show tonight. I'm takin' him back with us to stay 'til the heat's off 'im."

"Yeah, alright." Chase sighed. The house was big, sure, but if Jackie kept taking on new people like this… well, he supposed it was for the best. "So, uh… we heading straight back? Or d'you need to stop anywhere first?"

"Nah, just head straight home. Marvin needs to lie down and rest. But drive slow, alright? He's not feeling well."

"Yeah, alright. He injured?"

"No, no. Thankfully he's not. I'll explain later, but he just needs to find someplace to lie down."

"Alright. Everyone buckled in?"

"Yeah, I am. Marv, you buckled?"

"Mhm," Marvin hummed.

"Alright, starting the car now."

Chase pulled out of his parking spot and began to drive off. True to his word, he kept his speed slow, but Marvin could still feel every jerk and bump of the car. He had his head leaned against the window, taking slow, deep breaths, his eyes closed.

"Hey, Marvin?"

"Mmh?" Marvin slightly turned his head towards Jackie's direction.

"You see that pocket on the back of Chase's seat? There's paper bags in there. Keep 'em there just for situations like this. If you feel like you're gonna be sick, don't be afraid to take one, alright?"

Marvin hummed in acknowledgement, going back to closing his eyes. He was trying with all his willpower to settle his stomach as much as he possibly could. He didn't want to resort to using a bag, but he'd be mortified if he threw up in someone else's car. Gods, he hoped he could lie down soon…

Chase was paying close attention to the road, trying to watch his speed and make sure he wasn't driving too fast and not too slow, that he was in the correct lane, when suddenly a car from the complete opposite side of the freeway came barreling at him from his left. He spotted it just in time, largening headlights near blinding him.

"Holy shit!" Chase cried. He rapidly turned the wheel, speeding up to try and get out of the way. Jackie cried out from the back seat and held on tight to the handle on the roof of the car as it swerved and collided with the guardrail, the screech of metal on metal filling the car. Marvin groaned and hissed as his stomach flip-flopped and his head bumped hard up against the window. The other car thankfully missed, and aside from the car scraping against the guardrail, nothing was damaged and no one was severely hurt. He turned on the hazard lights and quickly pulled over, trying hard to catch his breath and calm his heart. His entire body was trembling.

"Shit… you guys… you guys alright back there?" he got out between pants.

"Yeah… think we're good," Jackie said. "Shit, man, what happened?"

"Dude, someone tried to fuckin' hit us."

"Shit, you serious?"

"Yes!" Chase turned around in his seat to face Jackie, eyes wide with fear. "Dude, I swear to god, this car came from the other fuckin' side of the freeway and came charging right at us, like it was trying to hit us. Coulda killed all three of us if I didn't move out of the way!"

"You… you don't think it was a drunk driver, do you?" suggested Jackie.

"Nah, man, that felt way too deliberate to be a drunk driver. It looked like whoever was driving was targeting us."

"...Well, then we better get home fast," Jackie said. "If the road's not safe, then we gotta get outta harm's way."

"R-right, right…" Chase turned back around to slump in his seat and took a deep breath, calming himself. He was still shaking, but he knew he had to get everyone home. They couldn't sit there forever. He reluctantly turned off the hazard lights and, after waiting for all the cars to pass, slowly veered the car back onto the freeway.

Marvin, meanwhile, had a hand over his stomach, feeling it turn and bubble. Throughout Jackie and Chase's conversation, he was desperately trying to fend off the nausea with little success. As the minutes passed by it only became worse. His breathing grew quick, jaw clenched as he tried with all his willpower to keep whatever wanted to come up, down.

"Marvin?" Jackieboy asked frantically, turning to Marvin with a worried look in his eyes as soon as he'd noticed his breathing had picked up. "Marvin, are you okay?"

Marvin didn't answer. His brow was furrowed, sweat beading on his forehead. He hated feeling this way. He hated nausea, the way his entire body prickled with it. He swallowed thickly and tried to steady his breathing, but swallowing triggered his nausea further. He gagged once and then finally his stomach lurched, bile rushing up his throat. Marvin quickly sat upright, clapping one hand over his mouth and using the other to reach out and open up a paper bag. Against his will his stomach lurched again, body convulsing, more bile filling his mouth and spilling out into his hand. He got the bag opened, and no sooner had he done so did he heave, vomiting into it.

"Get it up, Marvin, it's alright. I've got you," Jackie supported.

Marvin felt a hand on his back, rubbing in slow circles. He almost wanted to shrug him off but didn't have the mental energy to, not while also focusing on expelling whatever it was his body was so kind as to reject.

"Marvin's throwing up back there?" Chase called from up front.

"Yeah. Don't worry, none got in the car if that's what you're worried about." Jackie answered.

"Is he okay?"

"Uh… gonna say no on that one. He doesn't look like he's doin' too hot. How far are we from the house?"

"Uh, give or take twenty minutes?"

"Alright. Hang on 'til then, Marv. Okay?"

Marvin groaned, breath hitching as he was stopped up short by another wave of nausea. His head felt like it was being squeezed by a really tight rubber band, only worsening as he coughed and gasped. He wanted nothing more than to lie down somewhere, curl up into a ball and just sleep. When the nausea for the most part subsided, stomach empty of all it had and then some, he went back to leaning against the window, taking slow breaths as he tried to calm his heart and his breathing down.

Finally, Chase was pulling into a driveway. Marvin couldn't see as his eyes were closed, but he felt the car slowing down and heard the sound of tires against gravel. The engine whirred to a stop, the car filling with silence. Finally, there was the sound of Chase unbuckling his seatbelt and the silence was accompanied by cold air as his door was opened.

Chase naturally went outside to inspect the damage. It looked pretty bad… but it could have easily been a whole lot worse. He tried to be grateful for that. He could only force out a breath, running his hand through his hair. He knew he couldn't afford to pay to fix this right now, so he only hoped that this was all the damage that was done.

Jackieboy simply watched Chase from his window for a moment before turning towards Marvin. His eyes were closed and his breathing was awfully… still. "Marvin…?" he whispered. Was he asleep?

"Mmh?" Marvin hummed, not looking up.

"We're home."

"Mm…"

"Need me to help you out of the car?"

Jackieboy didn't get an answer. He hummed to himself and got out, going over to Marvin's side and opening the door. He unbuckled the seatbelt holding him and went to help Marvin up.

Marvin allowed himself to be helped up, but as soon as he moved, the world began to spin dangerously. His vision rapidly blurred and darkened and he collapsed, feeling a quick burst of pain shoot up his arm and through his side as he collided with the pavement beneath him, and then nothing.

"Shit, Marvin?! Marvin, are you okay?" Jackie cried out, bending down. He began to shake him. "Marvin? Marvin! Shit… Chase, Marvin's not responding. Go inside and get Schneep. Hurry!"

"Fuck, dude… yeah, on it!" Chase quickly locked the car before dashing towards the house, nearly tripping on the front steps and almost dropping his keys trying to unlock the door.

"Henrik!" Chase called into the house. "Henrik, where are you, man?" He was met with silence. With a slightly-annoyed huff, he headed straight towards a door on the right side of the hallway ahead of him and quickly threw it open, hurrying down the basement stairs. He finally reached the basement door at the bottom and burst through.

"Henrik," Chase repeated.

"Hm?!" Henrik startled, looking up from the paperwork on his desk and quickly swiveling around in his chair.

"Hen, we need you outside. Someone we're helping fuckin' passed out on the ground."

"Oh, für die Liebe zu…" Henrik huffed and rolled his eyes. He didn't hesitate in standing, though, immediately pulling on his white lab coat that was hanging nearby and grabbing a fresh pair of medical gloves. "Take me to them," he directed.

Chase nodded. The pair of them rushed back up the stairs and out the door, and Chase led Henrik over to where Jackie was, leaned over Marvin's unconscious form.

"What happened? Who is this?" Henrik asked, crouching down beside the stranger's limp body.

"His name's Marvin. He's staying with us until the heat's off him. He was attacked at his show tonight. By you-know-who."

Henrik hummed and slowly nodded in grim understanding. He had no qualms helping this stranger now, now that he had context. "What happened before he collapsed? What symptoms was he having?"

"Uh… he was really clammy, he was nauseous…"

"Was he vomiting?"

"Yeah, he was, though I should mention that was only after the car swerved. Uh… he said he had a headache and his nose was bleeding earlier. I think he said he just overdid it and used too much magic energy? But I still hoped you would check him out anyway, just to be sure."

"Magic? You serious?" Chase asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, man, another magic user. You shoulda seen it, though. Marvin's powerful."

"Ugh, enough of the chit-chat," scolded Henrik impatiently. "Help me get Marvin inside. Is cold out here and I do not want him getting hypothermia."

"Right, right. Sorry." Jackie apologized.

The three of them lifted Marvin, and while it was awkward, they managed to safely get him inside. After removing his cape, suit jacket, and shoes, they set him down on the couch for now, piling blankets over him and setting pillows underneath his head. Afterwards Jackie and Chase sat themselves at the kitchen table and Henrik heated up the food he'd been saving for them -- he'd eaten his own plate earlier.

"So," Henrik grunted as he sat down in his chair. "You had said the car swerved while you were driving, yes? What happened?"

"Someone… someone tried to hit us," Chase replied.

"Tried to hit you? Are you certain?"

Chase grimly nodded, swallowing what was in his mouth. "Yeah, pretty certain, dude. Car came at us from the opposite side of the freeway. I had to swerve outta the way. Car hit the guardrail, dunno if you saw the damage."

"Yes, I… I saw." Henrik fell silent, mulling this over. "I assume you did not get a license plate, did you?"

Chase shook his head sadly.

"I figured as much. Did you get a look at the driver, at least?"

"No. Headlights were so bright that I couldn't see anything. I mean, shit, it was dumb luck I was able to get us outta the way at all!"

"If the damage is bad enough I might have to be called in to help clean up debris and help the survivors, if that car hit anyone else," Jackie said, his voice having a serious edge to it.

"No, I think you are fine, Jackieboy," Henrik said with a shake of his head. "If they needed help cleaning up, they would have called earlier. Maybe the car did not hit any other drivers?"

"I can only hope."

The three fell silent then, Henrik simply watching over Chase and Jackieboy Man as they ate. Finally, Chase spoke up, setting his fork down.

"...I'm pretty sure there's only one person who would have it out for us enough to try and hit us."

"It… it couldn't have been him," Jackie said. "I dunno where he fucked off to, but… we did really heavy damage to him."

Henrik blinked. This was news. "You… you did? What did you do?"

"It was…" Jackie huffed, laughing silently. "It was mostly Marvin, if I'm gonna be honest. He's really fuckin' powerful, you guys have no idea. Who knows how long he's been eyeing Marvin for, with that kinda strength…"

"Mm, we could use someone like him, then," Henrik said.

"At one point, um… I thought he killed him."

Both Henrik's and Chase's eyes widened.

"Dude… you serious?"

"Swear on my Ma. He was… he was out for a good minute. Had a hole blasted through the center of his skull. But, uh… apparently, he can't die."

Henrik's brow furrowed. "What… what do you mean, "he cannot die?""

"I mean that… he's not alive in the first place. I guess he… never was. Which means I need to look at a different approach to taking him out."

Chase just silently cursed to himself, slumping back in his chair and dragging a hand down his face.

"I do have good news, though!" Jackieboy quickly added. "You know those prototype bullets I've been workin' on? They work! They're pretty effective! If I make 'em a bit stronger, who knows how much damage they'll do!"

"Good, good! So we have a starting point for building defense, then," Henrik said with a relieved smile.

"Seems so, yeah."

Finally, Jackie looked over to Marvin, who was knocked out on the couch.

"So… what are we doing with Marvin?"

"...Well, the only option is for him to sleep on the couch," Henrik said. "Chase has his room, you are using mine, and I sleep down in the lab… the only place left is the living room."

"Guess you're right…"

"I am going to watch over Marvin for the night, make sure he is alright. Are either of you injured, by the way?"

"Nah, I'm good," Jackie shook his head.

"Same here," agreed Chase. "Little shaken up, but I'm all good otherwise."

"Good, good."

"Wait, shouldn't you be by Jack?" asked Jackie.

"I mean, yes, but as of right now, Marvin is the priority. If he is sick, I need to be there in case he gets any worse."

"I can go watch Jack," Chase offered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, man. I mean…" Chase laughed, "I'm probably not gonna be sleeping tonight, anyways. Might as well do something useful, yeah?"

Jackie nodded and rose. "I'm gonna head upstairs and write everything that happened tonight down, and then head to bed so I can get an early start tomorrow. Gonna head out on patrols in the morning instead of at night just in case his puppets are on the loose. After tonight, can't be too cautious."

"That is a good idea, Jackie. I will be in the living room. Chase, if you notice anything that is not right with Jack during the night, we will swap places. I will go down to be with Jack and you will watch Marvin. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me." Chase rose as well, grabbing his plate.

"Oh, do not worry about the dishes. I will do them. You two both go."

"Thanks, dude," smiled Chase.

"Yeah, thanks, Schneep. Owe you one." Jackie was about to head upstairs, but a final glance at Marvin reminded Jackie of something important. "Oh shit. Chase, wait, need a favor from you."

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Go down to the car and grab Marvin's mask. It's in the back seat."

"Yeah, got it." Chase pulled his keys out of his pocket and headed for the door, pulling it open and stepping outside.

Jackie headed upstairs while Chase was gone, while Henrik proceeded to wash the plates and utensils. When Chase came back, he set Marvin's mask on the coffee table and headed downstairs to watch over Jack. Once the dishes were done, Henrik headed to the living room to get comfy in one of the reclining chairs opposite and to the right of the couch and proceeded to watch over Marvin during the night. Eventually, though, he fell asleep.

                                                                  ⁂

Marvin groaned as he awoke. His head was still throbbing, his body ached, his middle was sore… He always felt like shit after expending so much energy. This was normal, but it didn't make it any less unpleasant. He went to move his arms so he could sit up and hold his head, but the first thing he was made aware of was the pile -- not one, but an actual, literal pile -- of blankets covering him. He opened his eyes to find that he was on a couch in an unfamiliar living room. Off to his right, he detected the faint sound of someone snoring. It was someone he didn't recognize, sporting skewed glasses and a white lab coat, still detectable despite the darkness of the room. A scientist, perhaps? Or, wait, Jackieboy Man mentioned they lived with a doctor. This must be him. Marvin reasoned he was responsible for covering him in so many blankets. He made a mental note to thank him when he woke up.

Marvin pushed the blankets off of him and pulled himself up off the couch. He spotted his mask sitting on the nearby coffee table. He wondered who brought it inside, considering he didn't grab it before he passed out. Well, better here than in the car, he figured. He couldn't afford to lose that mask; it meant a great deal to him. Pulling himself from his thoughts, he headed out of the living room, trying to make his way around this new environment and memorize its layout so he knew where to go should there ever be danger. Also, it was helpful to know where the bathroom was, considering that was where he was heading.

He was still dizzy, so he made doubly sure to keep one hand trailing against a wall or against a piece of furniture at all times as he (rather slowly) explored this new place. The other was kept against his head. Despite the headache, he tried to take in as many details as he could. From what he gathered so far, the living room and kitchen were right across from each other, with the staircase separating them and the front door located at the point where they meet. Past the staircase was a hallway leading straight ahead from the front door, and there was a windowed door at the very end of the hallway that appeared to lead outside. There was a sole door on the left side of the hall, halfway down, and two doors on the right, one under the staircase and another a few feet down. The one under the staircase was a bit smaller, so given its size Marvin assumed it to be a closet of sorts. The left door, evidently, led to the bathroom, and for now that was all the info Marvin needed. He ducked in, flicking on the light and locking the door behind him.

It took a while for his aching eyes to adjust to the harsh light of the bathroom, but he at least had stopped squinting by the time he washed his hands. He leaned against the counter, taking deep breaths. Everything hurt. As he kept telling himself, feeling like shit was normal after expending too much energy, especially since he hadn't engaged in combat with anyone in a very long time. However, he really didn't feel very well and it was noticeable enough for him to tell that something wasn't right. The dizziness wasn't subsiding and neither was the headache. His stomach was caught between being sore from exertion and a genuine, slightly nauseating ache. What's worse, he still felt weak and shaky, as if yesterday's battle happened an hour ago. Did he really push himself that far? He knew he was slightly out of practice, but something wasn't adding up. He knew he needed to look into it as soon as possible, but for now he simply opened the bathroom door and stepped out, remembering to turn the light off as he did so.

The room looked so much darker now that the light was off. It was hard for Marvin's eyes to readjust. He kept a hand on the wall, feeling his way around and trying to keep himself upright as his vision slowly began to pick up the silhouettes of furniture. Anything large and stable he leaned on until he made his way back to the couch.

Or, well, almost.

It's hard to tell just how much the room is spinning when said room is pitch-black. All Marvin knew was that suddenly, he felt really lightheaded. And then, in a stroke of bad luck, he stubbed his toe against the coffee table and fell with a strangled cry, his right side colliding with the floor.

"Nnh?!" Henrik jerked awake at the noise, sitting up and adjusting his glasses and looking around with wide eyes. "Wh-who is it? Who is there?!" he demanded.

Marvin tried with all his might, but he was too weak and too dizzy to get up. Gods, what's happening to me?! he mentally panicked. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and then attempted to speak. "Hh… h-help me…" he got out.

Henrik quickly rose, adjusting his glasses and moving to flick on the living room light. Marvin hissed in pain as he was once again momentarily blinded by the drastic shift in brightness. This made the headache all the much worse and he whimpered.

"Marvin?" Henrik questioned near-disbelievingly. "Marvin, are you okay?"

"Help… please, help me up…" Marvin begged.

Henrik nodded and quickly got to work, moving the coffee table out of the way first before reaching down to help support Marvin and get him onto his feet. However, he was having a hard time trying to lift him up. It was like he was going completely limp in his arms!

"Ghh-- M-Marvin -- that is your name, yes? Y-you have to-- hhh…! Work with me here! I cannot-- ngh! C-carry you on my own!"

Marvin was trying everything within his willpower to get his limbs to cooperate with him, but they seemed to flat-out refuse. He felt numb from the chest-down. It was getting harder and harder to suppress the growing panic.

"I-I can't move my legs," Marvin quickly got out, eyes blown wide. "Gods, I-I-- I can't move anything! I can't move! What's happening to me?! Gods, what's happening to me?!"

Paralysis? Henrik mentally questioned. That is not a good sign. "Okay, okay, I am setting you down now." True to his word, he propped Marvin up against the couch and crouched down beside him. "Take deep breaths for me, yes? You will be fine. Just relax," he soothed. He even went as far as to take deep breaths along with Marvin -- which actually helped to clear his own racing mind. Once he saw that Marvin had calmed some, he nodded and hummed. "Good, good… now, can you tell me what symptoms you are having?

"I-I can't move my arms or my legs. I feel numb everywhere," Marvin explained, residual panic still present in his voice.

"Are you in any pain?"

"My head… and my stomach, but it doesn't feel sore anymore. It feels more upset than anything else... M-my foot should hurt because I fucking stubbed it on the table but I-I can't even feel that."

"Any other symptoms?"

"I'm still dizzy… the room's spinning. It's… it's making me feel nauseous, actually…" Marvin closed his eyes and took labored breaths. Keeping his eyes shut helped quell the dizziness, which thankfully also aided in easing the nausea, and he'd much prefer it if he could avoid throwing up again by any means possible. Especially since for the time being, he was unable to move.

"Hm…" Henrik reached out, feeling up Marvin's neck. "Lymph nodes are not inflamed…" he mumbled to himself. But then, he stopped up short. "Marvin, are you aware that there is a… a cut on your neck?"

"Hm? No, I was not..." Marvin's brow furrowed in confusion. "That's a bit peculiar… I didn't notice any sort of wound, or even any marks on my neck while I was in the bathroom."

"Well, is very small, so it would be hard to notice unless you looked closely. I… normally I would not pay any mind to small cuts and bruises but... a cut on the neck is not a normal place to have a cut…"

"Hm…"

"Jackie mentioned you were attacked…" Henrik brought up, worry flashing ever-so-briefly in his eyes.

Marvin knew immediately what Henrik was alluding to. And after a very short moment of recalling the events of Antisepticeye's ambush, he knew exactly how it happened.

"That… glitch. He had me at knifepoint. Pressed the blade to my neck and threatened to give me a matching scar if I moved even an inch."

"So he cut you, then?" Henrik asked, shifting as if he were about to stand up.

"Not intentionally, no. When Jackieboy Man took out the glitch's... puppets, I had a brief window of attack. I took it, and in the process I believe he nicked me when his arm swung away due to the recoil."

"Alright, so was not planned… good." Henrik nodded, looking away. He actually rose this time, letting out a breath. "Marvin, I… I have something that may help. Is an experimental drug and I have not tested it yet, so I need your consent to administer it. But I believe it is our best bet."

"Whatever you plan on giving me, I'm certain I've drank far more dangerous potions," Marvin huffed humorously. "Hit me with whatever you have. If you think it helps, I'm completely fine in taking it. Just, please… help me regain the feeling in my body."

Henrik nodded wordlessly before heading for the hallway and rushing down into the basement. Chase jumped as he heard the door suddenly swing open and pulled back the curtain shielding him and Jack, peeking out to see Henrik frantically rushing around the room.

"Henrik? Woah, dude, what's wrong?"

"Not now, Chase!" Henrik snapped. "I explain later!" He made a beeline for a cabinet filled with medicines of all sorts. He sifted through bottles and vials, growling when he couldn't find what he was looking for. He cursed under his breath, mentally scolding himself for losing such an easy-to-spot drug, when he remembered where he put it. With a roll of his eyes and a smack of his palm against his forehead, he sought out a small cooler by one of the desks in the room. He opened it and pulled out a vial with slightly-glowing green liquid in it. Closing the cooler, he set the vial delicately on the desk, steadying it so it wouldn't fall, and went to grab a clean needle, a disinfectant wipe, a band-aid, and a fresh pair of medical gloves. Now that he had everything he needed, he grabbed the vial of medicine and hurried back up the stairs, praying to whomever that might be listening that this worked.

"Alright, Marvin, I have it," Henrik notified, quickly crouching beside him. He set the needle and vial down on the coffee table and began to unbutton Marvin's shirt. Once one of his arms were free enough, he opened the pack of wipes and began to wipe down his upper arm, right below the shoulder. He then reached behind him to replace the used wipe for the medicine and needle and stuck the syringe into the vial to fill it. Finally, he set down the now-empty vial on the coffee table and flicked the syringe a few times to make sure there were no air bubbles in it.

"Alright… I would tell you to hold still, but…" Henrik huffed humorously, "Well, it seems you have no choice, yes?" He stuck Marvin with the needle, slowly injecting him with the medicine.

Marvin watched (or at least, tried to, as he was still dizzy) as Henrik administered the medicine. His eyes then widened as he saw every vein in his body begin to pulse with a green glow.

Henrik placed the band-aid over the area where the needle had stuck Marvin, then rolled up his sleeve and looked down at his watch, softly counting the seconds. Marvin closed his eyes to combat the dizziness and listened to him count, and as Henrik did so, slowly he felt his body begin to regain feeling. At around fifteen seconds he could move his fingers and hands, and by thirty he was able to move his arms and legs. By then, the glow had subsided.

"How are you feeling, Marvin?" Henrik asked.

Marvin swallowed thickly. "Still… still nauseous and dizzy and my head still aches, but I can move again. Thank you, er…"

"Henrik," he supplied. "Henrik von Schneeplestein, but "Henrik" or "Schneep" works fine."

"Right. Thank you, Henrik."

Just then, Henrik and Marvin turned their heads at the sound of the door to the basement stairs opening.

"Hen…?" Chase asked reluctantly, nearing closer. "Everything good up here?"

"Yes, everything is fine now. I am sorry I snapped at you, I was in a rush."

"What happened?"

"Marvin was suffering from paralysis. At first I was afraid he hit his spine on the edge of the coffee table when he fell, but it turns out he had a tiny, little cut on his neck from you-know-who's knife."

Chase slowly nodded, growing wary. "He's… he's not gonna turn, is he?"

"No, with the medicine, he is fine. I had to act quickly before it could advance any further in stage. You know how short the window is, yes?"

"Y-yeah, uh, that's why I asked."

Marvin silently absorbed all this information. It made sense; before Antisepticeye gained control of his "puppets," they all had fallen limp onto the ground. Whatever he'd done to them caused instant paralysis. Because the nick he'd given Marvin was small, however, it took a lot longer for him to be affected.

"Henrik, are you at all versed in alchemy?" Marvin inquired.

"No, I am not, actually," Henrik answered. "But we, um… used to live with someone who was. He was kidnapped and we have been looking for him since. He is the one who came up with the formula for the medicine I just gave you. One of the ingredients was a plant only he knew how to grow, and he would not tell us the name of the plant in case the information got into the wrong hands -- at the time, the house was not fully protected and we could never know who was listening."

"I see."

"Yeah, our plan was to fuck around with the medicine's dosage and the ingredients to make something to wake Jack up. You-know-who is responsible for Jack being in a coma," Chase interjected.

"Er… who is Jack, exactly?"

"Jack is our close friend," Henrik answered, his voice having a slight tinge of sadness to it. "He is also our "patient zero," as it were. He was you-know-who's original host before he took on a physical manifestation of his own."

"So… he's like a parasite, then?" asked Marvin.

"That's the thing. We dunno what the hell he is," Chase said. "Fuck, we just learned today that he isn't even alive!"

"Plus, as of recently, he no longer requires a host to survive. He has evolved himself past that. He is always changing in some way, shape, or form."

"How odd…" Marvin mumbled.

"Yes, very," agreed Henrik. "Jackie's mission once you-know-who is taken out is to take with him a large enough batch of an improved version of the medicine I just gave you and give it to everyone who has become his puppet."

"What's wrong with this version?"

"It is not strong enough, to put it simply," Henrik answered. "As I mentioned before, this is an experimental batch and I have not tested it. However, based on the formula, the dosage I gave you is only supposed to be enough to fend off the beginning stages of his corruption. Had I let it progress any farther, I would not have been able to save you. The window is very, very short, only about five minutes or so after you start displaying the initial symptoms. That is, if you have managed to escape him alive at all. But usually the wounds he inflicts are enough to kill, anyway. Apparently, however, the smaller and more shallow the wound, the more time his "toxin" needs to act. I would do a test study on this, but is far too risky."

Marvin simply nodded, understanding, absorbing all the information presented to him.

"You are lucky I had some of that medicine. The batch is very small and we are trying to conserve as much of it as we can until we can find our missing friend."

"What is the name of this friend of yours?" Marvin asked.

"JJ," Chase answered, his expression matching his voice. Grim. "Jameson Jackson. He was… he was like a son to me." He rubbed his arms and sighed, looking away. "I wish I could do more to help look for him…"

"Chase, I keep telling you that you do plenty!" Henrik argued.

"Yeah, and you and I both know that that's bullshit," Chase shot back, eyes narrowing at him. "I can't fight. I don't have any strength. I don't have powers like JJ did or Marvin does or medical knowledge like you do or intelligence like Jackie has. I have nothing to offer except my fucking car. But god, I swear, if I had powers, you bet your ass I'd be out there every single fucking day looking for JJ."

Henrik huffed. "Then maybe it is for the best that you do not have powers. That way you do not get yourself killed searching day and night."

"You do not need powers to make yourself useful," Marvin spoke up. He swallowed, holding a hand over his stomach. It felt fine for a little while as they were speaking, but now it seemed to be upset again. He took a slow breath and continued. "Maybe it is a bit... hypocritical for someone with powers to be telling this to you, but… my words have truth to them. Sometimes it is… it is those who have no powers that are the most helpful. Usually, they are the ones behind the scenes, keeping everything afloat. If…" he took another breath, shutting his eyes. His headache was worsening. "If all you had was everyone on the front lines and no support, your team would go down rather fast. Take my shows for example. Yes, I'm the one doing the performing, but without the crew behind the stage, I would have nothing."

"I… yeah. Yeah… I understand…" said Chase finally, rubbing his arms and looking down at his feet.

"Are you okay, Marvin?" Henrik asked, watching his change in demeanor.

Marvin had gone to taking slow, deep breaths, a hand slowly rubbing his stomach. He shook his head. "N-no… I feel sick… D-does that medication have any side effects?"

"I do not know. Like I said, I have not tested it."

Marvin just groaned in response, clenching his jaw slightly.

"Do you need a bucket?"

Just the thought of throwing up made Marvin's stomach protest. He lurched a bit and one of his hands rose, suspended in midair, waiting to see if he needed to cover his mouth, eyes wide and almost confused. He quickly nodded.

"Scheisse." Henrik quickly moved, as if he were going to rise, but Chase stopped him.

"No, you stay put. I got it." Chase hurried over to the closet under the stairs, searching for the mop and bucket. Once he found it, he left the mop behind and rushed over with the bucket, handing it to Marvin. He took it gratefully.

"Thanks," he muttered. He adjusted himself, leaning over it and closing his eyes. He took deep breaths, shuddering as the faint yet potent odor of cleansing chemicals slightly stung his nostrils.

"Yes, that's it. Deep breaths, Marvin, there we go…" Henrik comforted him, slowly rubbing his back. Chase stood by in case he needed anything else.

After a few minutes or so, simply swallowing his saliva became near impossible. Between labored breaths he spit up into the bucket and soon his stomach finally started to revolt. His entire body tensed as he gagged, his free fist clenching, and shortly after did he actually begin to be sick.

"Shhh… yes, that's it, Marvin… just get it up, you are alright…" Henrik soothed. Meanwhile his mind was racing. If this medicine had side effects, he needed to know and mark them down for future patients. So far nausea seems to be one, but at the same time, Marvin was already feeling nauseous beforehand. Still, he figured it would be smart to write it down just in case. "Chase," Henrik spoke up. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"Bring me a pen and some paper? I need to make a list of potential side effects this medicine might have."

"Oh, gotcha. Yeah, on it. Be right back."

Marvin felt awful, if he didn't already feel awful before. On top of the returning nausea and newly-worsened headache, his entire body felt sore, every nerve filled with a deep-seated ache. He felt out-of-it and as he lifted his head slightly and looked around the room, he found he was seeing triple. He mumbled something unintelligible before dipping his head back down over the bucket and heaving again.

"Marvin?" Henrik asked. "Are you okay, my friend? Can you repeat that?"

Marvin mumbled again. Even he didn't know what he was saying. He was panting hard, he was having a difficult time breathing, he could barely keep his eyes open… he felt shaky and weak and he didn't even have the brain power at the moment to contemplate what could possibly be wrong with him.

There was the sound of someone coming up the basement stairs and Henrik turned his head in time to see Chase come into view, pen and notepad in hand.

"Yo, got your-- holy shit, what's wrong with Marvin? I was gone for, like, two seconds!"

"I-I do not know, Chase!" Henrik replied, eyes full of worry as he turned back to Marvin. "One minute he is vomiting and the next he is mumbling nonsense at me!"

"He looks, like… really fucking out-of-it," commented Chase. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"I-I…" Henrik hesitated. He honestly didn't know, but… "Yes, I… I am sure he will be fine," he replied, turning back to Chase. "If his breathing issues and nausea persist I might have to administer more medications and have him rest in a bed down in the lab instead of on the couch, just to be on the safe side."

Henrik and Chase both sounded so far away to Marvin. Their voices were muffled so he couldn't understand them at all. He set the bucket beside him. He felt insanely lightheaded, and something in him knew that he wouldn't remain conscious much longer.

"M'gonna pass out…" Marvin mumbled.

Henrik stopped up short, turning back to Marvin with slightly-widened eyes. Did he hear that correctly? "Marvin? What was that you said?"

But Marvin couldn't hear him. He could feel his body giving out on him. Finally, his eyes rolled back in his skull and he slumped to the side, causing a loud thump as his body hit the carpeted floor.

"Marvin?! Marvin!" Henrik scrambled closer and tried to tap his cheek to get any sort of reaction out of him, but he got nothing.

"Holy shit, what are we gonna do?!" Chase cried.

"Chase, go wake up Jackie! Hurry! Have him help you bring my medical equipment up here. Oxygen tank and mask -- he needs more oxygen! Go!"

"O-on it!" Chase threw the notepad and pen on the coffee table and hurried up the stairs, yelling for Jackie on the way. Meanwhile, Henrik stayed with Marvin, trying to get him to wake with no luck.

If the medicine in that small of a dosage was this unsafe to use, then they needed another plan, and fast.

Taglist: @taizu-lazure @bupine @innocent-angel3 @immabethehero @wowowgoodurl @n-anon @g-rexthedino @scarletender @coconutpillow05 @friezzzboiii @jade-orade (some of the tags aren’t working and/or are missing, so I apologize for that. lemme know if you wanna be added to the taglist!)

[bethesky]

Broken Bodies and Broken Minds

Ed Moustis

I wonder if other people can feel time like I do - like how I can feel how wet a single tear droplet is as it falls down my face second by second. In specific instances in life, these moments become proportionally more abundant to me. I cherish those moments that specificity and nonspecificity meet - where someone can experience everything and nothing all at once. It means that I can feel.

I felt a single tear slide down my left cheek. It wasn’t due to anything I felt. I cried on behalf of my mom. She stood ten feet in front of me and held back the sorrow of a thousand widows. I didn’t even know how to feel. I wish I did but the person I looked to for that guidance wasn’t here. I had been the odd one out my entire life. Being unique was supposed to be a good thing but I despised it. It was like I had always been a chameleon mimicking another’s reaction.

Based on her broken response, I knew what was happening. The first time that this happened, I fell into a black hole so dense that the only way to crawl out was by tooth and nail. There were battle wounds deeper than scars could show. The teeth and nails - they weren’t mine. They belonged to my friends and family that stuck by my side on the battlefield when they didn’t have to. 

This time around, hearing those dreadful words was a tank shell that shot to the depths of my soul. The fallout was too large, my psyche shattered into another million broken pieces when I hadn't even finished scrounging up the pieces from the last time. This was the beginning of the end. The cancer was back and I would soon be deployed back into a war that I am not meant for.

After my doctor finished the discussion with my mother, his sorrowful eyes turned towards me. I would hate to be in his shoes - telling a sixteen-year-old boy that he would go back into hell. The demons he fought still cursed him and his last fight were futile - dying was for nothing. The first time his heart stopped was not the end of the war. The battle rages on and he will be sent to the front lines. Again.

Time was still. I began to experience a new level again. I noticed, my medical doctor has these exceptional specs in his eyes that made me feel warm. I had always been oblivious to their pungency. His words, as if bullets which left no visible battle wounds were undetectable to my brain. I knew I was going to go through this again - my brain was filtering the painful dialogue that accompanied the truth. Would it be another few years of chemo or a year's worth of surgeries? This drug of distress that I was on, it burned through me. His lips flopped around like a fish looking for water. My attempts to decode his foreign language were unsurprisingly useless. Even if I could understand what he was saying, I don’t think I would want to hear it. I had been using all the shrapnel from the tank shell to build an impenetrable wall that even my mother couldn’t tear down.

Once the doctor concluded his script, I noticed my mom approach me. She had always been so wonderful - a personal Joan of Arc by my side. The ferocity of this woman was simply unmatched by even an Amazonian warrior. Also, her vitality was that of a dragon. To mirror that further, she was as independent as a one as well. The troubling similarity between Joan of Arc, a dragon, and my mother was their extremely troubling tendency with being caught up in flames. 

The first time I was diagnosed, my mother became a baron of light. She crafted her whole universe for me and I was the sun - that was until she fell into her own black hole. One son was crippled with cancer while the other was crippled from a car accident. Torn in two, like her life was one brilliantly, horribly crafted medieval trap, she crumbled upon the weight of two. The broken puzzle that was my family was limited to a post-war Joan of Arc, a collapsed sun, but more fittingly, a collection of black holes.

My mother grabbed my hand. I was drafted back into reality. As small of a woman as she was, I required her to use a pinch less of her strength for the sake of my hands. I made a prolonged look at her and her hand ironically tightened. A sense of relief flushed through me though. I wanted to control this twisted world and I couldn’t. I knew she thought that she was trying to comfort me. In my heart, I recognized that she needed me as much as I needed her. The equality of our relationship was comfortable enough. 

In the auditory section, my brain still seemed to be malfunctioning. Once again, I sat in anticipation to see how my mother would react. As expected, upon the conclusion of the doctor’s final remarks, she approached him and wrapped her little arms around him. He gave a gentle, half-smile to me while she hugged him. I suppose, if I was going to be diagnosed with cancer again by anyone, I would want it to be him.

The white halls of the hospital were endless. I knew every twist and turn of this maze. I recognized the faces of too many nurses as I passed by. Children my age and younger flooded the floor. Those same children were fighting the fight I did - and will again. We were the children at war. The casualty rates were always too high and friends made here were in vain. The sudden loss of a fellow soldier would be too much of a burden to carry along with the rest. As we approached the exit of this underage morgue, a light stuck through the doors. It was always sunny when I left this bleak building. I wonder if I will see a light like this when I die someday. I hope I will. I didn’t see anything last time. 

The chatter of the world came back to me and the noise pierced through my brain. It grew louder and louder until it quickly overwhelmed me. I tried to keep my reaction to a minimum to ensure that my mom didn’t attempt to cradle me. I had a subtle feeling, under my special circumstances, I wouldn’t mind that. I could never grow the strength to let that myself succumb to my feelings. Every day I want to collapse but then I’m giving in.

Like two brick walls, we walked over to the filled parking lot. It was only when in private, in the security of our personal chariot, that she began to speak to me. I wasn’t looking at her, but I could sense the movement of her eyes dart back and forth. She was searching for the right words to say - a needle in a haystack. I began to worry she might bring up what happened inside right away. I was not processing. It would make everything too real for me to handle. I knew my mother like the back of the hand and I was well aware of the conversation we were about to have; even if I desired otherwise. As anticipated she said, “Finn, how do you feel about the procedure next week?”

I slowly turned my head toward her. I usually heard vital words like “procedure” when I spaced out. How did I miss that? “The procedure?” My face looked extremely puzzled. As soon as I noticed it, she did as well. It was my grave error that I let that slip.

A despairing breath slipped out of my chemo-damaged lungs as she questioned, “Oh… you blanked out, didn’t you? I thought that you were going to work on that with Doctor Graham?” Hearing the doctor’s name zoned me back into reality. It was to no surprise she would bring up Graham. That genius of a man was an on-site engineer, my on-site medic, that would dig me out of the debris that I got lost in. He was capable of telling me of truths that seemed so far gone, yet were true, that even Schrödinger’s cat couldn’t find. My mom sought out treatment from him after my dad passed away in a car crash. It was that same car crash that made my brother into a temporary pile of jelly. She only could pick one topic to mourn for at once. She decided to choose my brother, Parker’s, injuries since I was on the final days of my tour. Due to the raging success that Doctor Graham had with my mother, my brother Parker and I see him regularly. I quickly snap out of my personal solar system and hear my mom speak to me, “Finn?”

“Yeah, yeah. We’re working on it,” I said with bated breath, “What procedure?” I felt my body now firmly planted into the seat. My skin laid on my bones - a feeling only a cancer patient could appreciate. It wasn’t crawling. The thought of a procedure kept me slightly hopeful - something I rarely was. The tank shell that was shot into me earlier began to digress. The pieces slip back into me. A year of surgeries would be much better than three years of chemo. I have had plenty of procedures that called for me being surrounded by the brightest minds in the world - the one percentile of geniuses.

“They said that the procedure… it uh… it will… “ she stopped speaking. I couldn’t tell if she was choking up but the concept frightened me. My head was screwed forward onto the road. The hope I had mustered up lied in the balance of her next words. She had never had an issue breaking grim news to me and I had never experienced a situation so dark and brutal that my mother had stumbled over her words. 

This was the woman that stumbled into her dying son’s room to tell him that while they were at chemo earlier this morning his dad and brother were t-boned by a truck that ran a red light. She spoke to me, with the stillness of a mountain to not frighten me, that my father, her husband since the age of nineteen, died on impact and my brother was in critical condition with lady luck favoring him not to make it. And, if he does, then he will never take another step in his life.

“Mom, what is it?” I asked quickly. I recognized my dimwitted curiosity. My naiveness took control while I should have been bracing. Whatever came next, I was sure I was strong enough for it. I was my mom’s sun. Nothing could be fiercer than that.

“The procedure is the only way to eliminate the remaining cancer threat in your body,” she slowly whispered.

“And? That’s wonderful! I don’t have to do any more chemo or worry about relapsing again!” I said. My words grew in strength after each breath. The debris cleared completely. 

She immediately said, “The procedure has a ten percent survival rate.” The joy that came from my words was vanquished. The world stopped spinning. I flew a million miles per hour. My speed shredded my hope down to its finest atom. I had been alive for only sixteen years and six of those prime years were taken by cancer already. Now it was destined to steal my life. Even the suns have to die but at least they get to live a real life.

Time stopped when my Earth stood still. I had reached that same moment of singularity as earlier. Every lamppost, every sign, it spoke to me. I was attuned to the universe. Everything I had experienced on this Earth told me that I had already been unlikely my entire life and that, in this case now, there would be no difference in this procedure. Signing on to do this procedure is no different than making a deal with death. I wanted to be able to write my own destiny but it was road blocked by ten-percent. I would become nothing more than a statistic.

I was still in shock by the time we arrived at the house. Our car pulled up to the driveway and my mother ushered me by the arm into the house. My face was perfectly blank. She quickly sat me on the couch. 

A life I would never have flashed in my mind. I would never get to walk arm-by-arm with my mother at my wedding. That though meant she would never get to see me get married. She would never see my children and become a grandmother. I could never give a remarkable, memorable best man’s speech to Charlie, the only girl that has ever shown interest in my brother, and Parker at their wedding.

Worst of all, I would never be able to kiss Robin. The only woman in my entire life that I am sure that I have ever loved. Leaving her will be the worst. Parker and I were supposed to marry those sisters. Robin is the fourth amigo in our broken bunch. We are all supposed to get drinks with Doctor Graham when we reach twenty-one to thank him for keeping us under his umbrella of helpful advice and correctly appointed sympathy. 

As the memories of the future came and went, my mom was telling Parker. I was so convinced that he was going to rise from his wheelchair and hug me. His wheels were still on the living room carpet. He looked at my shaking hands on my knees where fingers were tapping like machine guns - bang bang bang. My consciousness was grasping at any reality that wasn’t this one. All feeling viscously vanished. I kept questioning “Do I even breathe anymore?”. 

With all the courage that I could find, I stood up. Instantly, I stole the attention, any words that floated in the room settled in the air. My feet moved for me. I wondered if this is what robots felt. In a blink, I was in my messy, teenage room. I grabbed my alarm, set it for three hours from now, and I laid down. Doctor Graham always told me that a beneficial way to relieve stress was by sleeping. After testing so many methods, that was the one that spoke to me the most. My eyes shut. Just for an instant, I felt real peace. The image of darkness reminded me of death. I was not going to come back again. I was already undead and there is no resurrection for those who have come back once. Hopefully, it would be quick and painless. The thoughts panned to troubled and painful ones in a flash. I began questioning too much about the life that was stripped away from me. I didn’t want to go. How long until I’m not talked about? That’s when I really die.

An ethereal hand shot from the sky in my dream. I was pulled into my unwelcoming reality. The alarm blared. My hand floated over it to stop the blaring. I sat up on the bed and felt my body and the sweat that covered it. I had one week to live. For once, in many years, I felt real hope. I knew what I was going to do with my last week on this Earth. I would make a death list for my broken self to live out - a scrambled last-ditch effort to achieve the things in life I haven’t had a chance to do quite yet. I scrambled over to my notebook sitting on my desk. It flew open. I couldn’t tell if it was denial that struck me or something real. I could run away and perform all these tasks. A brave adventure awaited me.

As I wrote down my last will and testament, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. After trying so hard, I couldn’t keep fighting so reluctantly, I began to sob. I didn’t want to go! My brother heard me as soon as I hit the floor and rolled into the room. From seeing his fallen, fellow soldier down in the ditches, he used any strength he could muster to leap from his throne. He crawled through his trenches to hold me. I just cried; and he just cradled me.

For a whole hour, I was laying down there as my brother comforted me. He let me cry in his arms until all of the water in my system had been flushed out. He knew there was no point in telling me to stop. I had only one week to live. When the tears were finished, we both sat up against my wooden bed frame. We sat in silence for another hour. He was next to me and that was all that mattered - my battle buddy had my back. No words needed to be spoken because the actions were loud enough. After the time had slipped away, I helped him back into his cushioned chair. When I noticed that he was looking at my notebook, my face began to flush red. He couldn’t see that. 

“What’s that?” Parker questioned immediately. He wheeled over to the notebook before I could walk over there. He was surprisingly fast in that chair.

“Nothing! Shit! Don’t look!” I pleaded. He skimmed the page with his finger. His chair was perfect reading height, unfortunately. I was expecting a long banter with him but when he was finished, he just looked at me in shock.

“Okay. But mom would let you do this,” he nonchalantly said. His words threw me off guard.

“I know. I was thinking of…”

He quickly interrupted me. I could hear the appalled tone in his voice, “Running away? Mom will find you.”

“I know. It sounds really stupid but I need this week. I need to live for once. No chemo. No cancer. Just me.”

“There is so much that could go wrong! You want to go to a high school party and go cliff diving and…”

“I’m doing it. I’m doing all of it. Me against the world,” I said with a smile on my face. I wanted to be a warrior like my mom - braving the world one step at a time. He wasn’t going to stop me.

“No,” he bluntly said.

“You literally can’t stop me,” I chuckled.

“Us against the world,” he sighed, “someone needs to keep you safe. If something happens to you, mom will kill me.”

I was surprised but seemingly not surprised at the same time. This wasn’t a solo journey. Someone would have to tell my story. A broken body and a broken mind running off to war together. This time I would be choosing and that felt freeing. I felt free.

[ravenaveira]

Just wanna clarify a few things after my long review/rant at the end for KH3 Re:Mind

My comments about the Sokai stuff I stand by, but I wanna be clear because I see Sokai shippers claiming antis complained about the lack of Sokai for it to be a believable relationship and now that Sokai has more moments we’re complaining about them shoving Sokai down our throats.

I cant speak for all antis on this, so I’ll be strictly speaking for myself on this issue and anyone else who feels similar to me. Warning it gets long again so be ready.

Yes Im one of those antis who complained about the lack of Sokai which made it underdeveloped and unbelievable, and yes I am also complaining about them now shoving Sokai down our throats.

Why? because Kingdom hearts is not a romance, and throughout every single game so far romance has taken a severe back seat and handled very subtely. For example Sora’s drawing in the cave of him giving Kairi the Paopu fruit, Riku teasing him about wanting to give one to Kairi, Sora saying hes always with her and promising to come back for her, Roxas calling Kairi ‘the girl he likes’ etc

All these moments were very short, subtle, and to the point. It was not a primary focus nor was it blatantly shoved in your face like

I mean in almost EVERY shot they were together Sora was holding her hand, which isnt something he usually does? keep in mind Sora and Kairi’s feelings have been known to eachother since KH2 and Sora still didnt behave the way he is now. He was always very awkward and uncomfortable/shy when it came to romance.

In KH2 Sora didnt hug Kairi, nor did he hold her hand, it was KAIRI who initiated the hug out of relief and happiness to see Sora again and that hes ok. Sora did not show the same sentiment and treated her like he always has, just casually walking up to her and just nonchalantly saying ‘You are different Kairi, but Im just glad your here’ as if she wasnt kidnapped and being held hostage this entire time. He should have showed the same concern for her as he did for Riku and Kairi for him but he did not, he just said that and then turned away and apologized.

But in KH3 Sora/Nomura pull a complete 180, Sora hugs Kairi to shield her from Terranort with his body instead of pulling out his keyblade and blocking his attack. Him hugging Kairi there was not only stupid, but it doesnt even defend her, Terranort will just kill Kairi AND him now. That was just a forced out of place Sokai moment for the sake of shoving a Sokai moment that was completely unnessecary and could of easily had the same impact by having Sora do the common sense thing and BLOCK with his keyblade like he did for Riku when they were in THE EXACT SAME SITUATION.

See the difference? good, then I need say no more.

This is only one of many situations where they would shoehorn in a Sokai moment that was completely out of place, didnt make any sense, or just forced in trying way too hard to convince you how much Sora cares for Kairi and how much they love and want to be together forever etc etc

Another example being when everybody ‘dies’ in the keyblade graveyard being swept away by heartless. Sora only loses his mind and breaks down emotionally after Kairi is the last one swept away, he then says the most inconsiderate line he could have ever said.

He says this while RIKU IS RIGHT THERE BESIDE HIM, even if you were arguing he was just speaking figuratively thats still no excuse, he was NOT alone but at that moment he just completely disregarded Riku as if his presence there was the same as being alone.

Not only that but seconds later he does one of the most out of character things for him.

Sora just WATCHES Riku risk his life holding back the heartless to protect him and Sora just WATCHES him fighting off this huge horde of heartless BY HIMSELF and not ONCE does Sora make ANY attempt to get up and help Riku despite knowing his life is at risk trying to hold them back alone.

Even if you wanna argue Sora was in shock, when has that ever stopped him before!? when have you EVER known Sora to just sit back and watch his friends put their lives in danger and NOT help them?

What makes this worse is thats not even the first time he does it, he sits back and watches AGAIN as Axel gets bodied right infront of him just to have him exhausted next to Kairi because you know, Sora’s never fought strong opponents and gotten right back up to protect his friends before.

Remember Terranort? Sora was overpowered by him and still made the effort to run over and hug Kairi to shield her from his attack, but Axel and Riku? nah just gonna chill and watch. This is BEYOND out of character for Sora.

When Axel told Sora to hurry and save Kairi, who was being held hostage by the organization and was in danger, Sora refused to leave him and stayed behind to help him fight. Sora chose helping Axel over Kairi, he put saving his enemy before his own friend/love interest.

When Neku betrayed him, Sora still helped and protected him when he was in danger

When Riku stole his keyblade and Donald and Goofy followed him and left Sora behind, yes Sora was discouraged but when he saw Beasts determination to save Belle no matter what, it encouraged Sora to do the same for the people he cared about

I could go on but you get my point, Sora saw Riku risking his life, literally dying and he did NOTHING, try to justify that all you want but that was incredibly out of character and was obviously put there to show how losing Kairi broke him.

I know your probably gonna argue it wasnt just Kairi it was everybody, and to that I say this, if it wasnt just about Kairi why didnt Sora snap when Ven and Axel got bodied? he froze for a few seconds but then snapped out of it thanks to Riku. After that everybody gets swept away, but the game made sure to put EXTRA emphasis, slow motion and all, to Kairi and Sora reaching out to eachother and then Kairi being swept away by the tide.

THATS when he snaps, if it truly werent just about Kairi they wouldnt have made sure to put emphasis on her being swept away, EVERYONE would have gotten the same treatment if it were truly their deaths also that made Sora fall apart. Im not saying he wasnt upset or heartbroken over them, Im pointing out how they made sure to single out Kairi as the most DEVASTATING loss out of all of them.

Yet again, he has Riku one of his closest bonds if not the closest right beside him yet he doesnt even acknowledge him? he says hes alone even though Rikus right there? you cannot justify that as anything other than downplaying Riku to boost Kairi up.

You do not see the other trios treated this way, every trio has equal focus for ALL of them and even the romantic hints for some of them [Roxas/Xion, Terra/Aqua, technically Namine/Repliku] have all been treated equally and did not feel forced or out of place but very natural and they still made sure to focus on the friendship bond between them overall.

Axel doesnt get played down in importance to Roxas just to boost Xion up, their friendship and bond with eachother are equally important to one another despite whatever ‘romance’ there might be. Same applies to Terra and Aqua, Ven is not played down in importance to them. As for Namine and Repliku they arent a trio but their romance was still handled well and it didnt overshadow their platonic bond or attempt to play down the real Riku or vice versa to boost the other, Namine was equally important to both of them.

So balancing romance and friendship CAN be done in their trio, but for some reason Nomura insists on pitting one against the other and playing down one over the other, in Sokai’s case thats Riku, which is an insult to his and Sora’s bond. The same way Sokai shippers felt the over-focus on Sorikus bond was a disservice to Sora and Kairi’s bond, its the same issue.

But lets get back to Re:mind because besides a few bad moments, overall KH3 was atleast passable with the Sokai nonsense. Then comes Re:Mind and oh boy...the damage control was strong in this one.

Again as I said earlier the Sokai moments in this game were very forced and out of place and in many ways out of character for Sora.

For starters the excessive hand holding, why? to convince us their a thing? but Sora suggests otherwise

Even after all the excessive hand holding, the hugs, the forced moments etc, in the end Sora still calls Kairi a friend. After aaaaall the forced Sokai bs they shoved down our throats Sora still friendzones her, which is it Nomura? you either want them together or you dont, stop playing games and pick a side already.

Dont get me wrong Im glad he hasnt made it official yet but after all this its like enough is enough, either follow through or cut this shit out and go back to being subtle like before.

Another huge insult was Sora constantly saying how his journey started with Kairi, since when? I remember Sora losing Kairi AND Riku that day not just her. I recall Sora not going back to Destiny Islands with Kairi BECAUSE he wanted to continue his journey to find Riku, but apparently in Re:mind it was just all about Kairi, nothing about his journey involved Riku no it was only Kairi that was his main motivation, gtf outta here man.

You can say something over and over but that doesnt make it true, Sora’s journey started with BOTH of them, lets stop playing down Riku’s importance to once again boost Kairi up.

That hug when Sora finally reunited with Kairi after restoring her was so obviously trying to make up for all the years of people complaining about Sora’s lack of reaction to Kairi in KH2 in comparison to Riku, so having him hold her for several seconds floating in the sky should rectify that right? you believe he cares about her now right? fuck off man. If your gonna do damage control than atleast dont make it so obvious that thats what your doing because then it comes off disingenuous, forced, and fake.

But my biggest issue is the ending where they really shoehorned Sokai where it didnt belong, literally stalking everyone else with the exception of returning Namines heart and Sora helping to reunite Chirithy with Ventus. But in Twilight town, why were Sora and Kairi there? they werent with Roxas but just sitting above them

Why were they at Mickeys castle? again their just in the background sight seeing.

These scenes were completely unnessecary and completely out of place and made the ending WORSE rather than better. Why? because these are Sora’s final hours ALIVE whether you argue only for a day or a couple days, in all of these ending scenes only one thing matters to Sora and thats Kairi.

Before we assumed everything that was shown all happened the same exact day and we didnt see Sora with any of them. But now we have confirmation Sora WAS there yet he only spent his last remaining time with Kairi in the background while quietly stalking everyone else? even if he didnt spend time with anyone else, he should have spent his last remaining time with Kairi AND Riku, after all hes his best friend and would like to spend what little time he may have with Sora too but we dont see any of that. Hell this contradicts Soras own danm words to Chirithy prior to this.

Instead of just shoehorning a bunch of Sokai in the background why not show the three of them FINALLY all together again like the old days? this is wtf Im talking about. We saw ALL the other trios together but the Destiny trio? hell naw fuck Riku lets have Sora spend all his remaining time with Kairi, thats the only one who REALLY matters here. After being separated from eachother constantly, now they finally have the chance to be together again and spend time together as friends and they DONT.

Instead Sora decides to take Kairi around the worlds hes visited, something he said he wanted to do with Riku as well, and just spend all his remaining time with her, even though in the base game before the final battle Sora was concerned why Riku was all alone and not spending time with them together. But here? nah fuck Riku. I remembered how important it is to share moments with friends only applied to Kairi.

So personally idc that theres more Sokai moments, my problem is the execution. It doesnt feel genuine, it feels forced and awkward and just doing damage control to pander to the rabid fanbase thats been screaming for this type of content for years, well congrats, you got it.

My problem is Kingdom Hearts was never about romance, it was always subtle and not shoved in your face, it felt natural and not forced and like there was atleast SOME heart behind it, but this? just felt hollow and forced.

Just stop, Im glad in the end Kairi just sleeps for a whole year and probably still will be sleeping when the next game comes out and the focus will shift to Riku and his search for Sora along with the other keyblade wielders doing their part as well.

So Im thankful it seems like we’re done with this crap and getting back to what ACTUALLY matters and what people really wanna see from this series.

Notice how nothing in either of my posts had to do with Soriku as a couple but about their bond as friends, enough said.

So dont try to twist this into just being about pairings because its not, its about what this series has always been about being forgotten for the sake of a fucking trash ship that nobody cares about besides rabid shippers and Sora’s bonds with his other friends being completely thrown out the fucking window to shorehorn in a bunch of unnessecary Sokai moments as a desperate attempt to convince people that these two love eachother which at this point if you have to try so hard to CONVINCE people of your pairing its obvious your doing a very shitty job at it.

Im done, this is my last long post about this for a while but I really needed to get that all out there since nobody else seems to be calling it out for what it is. My anger and frustration is still very fresh and it shows so I really need to stop talking about it because at this point? Re:Mind just ReMinded me why the Destiny trio is the worst out of them all, it is the most unbalanced and quite frankly feels more like Riku is a third wheel at this point and not even a part of the trio anymore. Before Kairi, it was always Sora and RIku yet hes the one whos being pushed aside and forgotten about in all this. That pisses me off.

So Im done with this topic, I need to cool off for the next couple of years till the next game comes out where hopefully Kairi stays asleep the entire time and NOT ruin another game.

[99centthoughts]

i keep reading 'orion' as 'onion' so thats. who they are to me now

ONION……………………….. now im picturing orion as onion from steven universe and i am very stressed out by the thought

MORE ASKS UNDER THE CUT!!! (a lot of asks im sorry)

1) D..DONT DIE YET ANON……….. SOON!!! I have a break coming up and i wanna do more comics stuff 😭

2) LOL omg IM SORRY !!!! I Messed up the layout a couple of times while editing it so it must have been weird 😨

1) Hiya! Honestly I think it would be best to get comfortable with more realistic proportions before you branch out into cartoon/anime style! I did it the other way round and I regret it a lot, bc I think it made my foundations really shaky and inconsistent. THAT’S NOT TO SAY u have to master the traditional art style before u start drawing any cartoons though!! I think it’s fine to do them together, just don’t neglect traditional anatomy and all that, bc it will help you a lot in the future regardless of the style you eventually choose to stick to!

2) LKMKLDS ANON STOP NOW IM GOING TO THINK OF THE STORE WHENEVER I THINK OF JC ………… he would be Mr penney???? MR..PENNEY..

thank YOU for enjoying my drawings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ahhhh thank you so much for such a sweet message oh gosh ANON YOU’RE MAKING MY HEART GROW 3 SIZES!!! Messages like this make me want to share everything with everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’M HONESTLY SO HAPPY that my silly little tips and stuff can make drawing fun for you BC THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN HAVING FUN WHILE DRAWING!!! MAY YOU INSPIRE LOTS AND LOTS OF PEOPLE and most importantly I hope you always find joy in your own art!!!! THIS MESSAGE MEANS THE WORLD TO ME AND YOU DO TOO ILU ANON!!! IM GONNA KEEP THIS FOREVER

1) A NERD AND A PUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2) omg I have thought about basically every combination o f my ocs at least once anon lKMDLskdlj they would be cute!!!!!!! and a very calm couple… I feel like emmett would be patient enough to handle fay though it would take a lot to get there bc rn emmett is low key terrified of fay LOL 

1) IM NOT SURE U WOULD WANT TO MARRY THEM ¾ OF THEM ARE A MESS!!!!!!!

2) OH I googled around a bit bc tbh I have no idea what they are called too, and I think it’s called the terminator/ half tone?? it’s basically the bit of colour between the light and the core shadow (the darkest part of where the shadow starts) 

THe coloured outline of shadows that alot of artists do is an exaggeration of how it looks in rl but it is pretty neat bc it makes the object look like it’s glowing haha 

1) AW THANK YOU ANON!!!!!!!!! it’s so sweet that you’ve stuck around for so long and that you take the time to do that!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HOPE I’LL KEEP DRAWING AND MAKING ART THAT YOU ENJOY FOR YEARS TO COME!!!! 

2) OH no that plant is a random plant that I made up hahhaaa 

1) HELLO AGAIN AND thank you ahhh it means a lot to me that you take the time to interpret and think about my art in such a thoughtful manner😭😭😭 It’s really sweet and it makes me look at my art in a different way? I was thinking that the redrawn version seems more stiff and I wasn’t sure if I liked them more than the old ones, but after seeing this message I was like ohhh that is true I did try different things with the new versions and that is something I should appreciate and be proud of !! so thank YOU for the lovely words, it is my absolute pleasure to share my art with u!! 

2) HE IS YOURS PLEASE TAKE CARE OF THIS WHIRLWIND

1) I like using poses from magazines to study anatomy!! I either follow blogs that post magazine scans or I buy them myself when i can! Another thing I’ve found rly helpful was using fitness books/ videos as references… like those for muscle-building/ weight lifters, where there are diagrams of which muscles are working for a specific exercise. YOUTUBE has a lot of fitness videos, just type xxx workout, pause the video at any random frame, and u should be able to get a nice reference to study muscles with!! If u want references for the muscles themselves, some good books I’ve found helpful are: Strength training Anatomy and Anatomy for sculptors (I can give them to you off anon if you’d like)!

2) I HOPE YOU ARE enjoying the brushes !!! NO WORRIES AT ALL I’m happy to share my brushes with anyone who might want to try using htem!! SENDS YOU ALL OF MY LOVE BACK I HOPE YOU ARE ALWAYS HAPPY AND INSPIRED ❤❤

1) omg this is so hard bc there are 213213 options and I could picture them as more than 1 type of fantasy creature tbh ……… BUT FIRST ONES THAT COME TO MIND WOULD BE : some kind faerie for fay haha, werewolf for tyler, centaur for emmett, vampire for jc, some kinda elemental spirit for cyrus, an orc for wade, and UHH some kind of wise gate guarding creature for parisi LOL 

ILY TOO AND thank YOU for loving my silly boys!!!!!!!!! 

2) AHHHH thank u anon I WISH YOU ALL tHE BEST AND I HOPE YOU KEEP DRAWING AS WELL ALWAYS 💞💞💞💞

1) OR PERHAPS PARISI IS JUST ENORMOUS but also yes it’s true baby tyler is a tiny baby bean

2) LSKMDLKSM HOW CAN I NOT SAY I LOVE YOU BACK TO YOU THE SWEETEST ANON OF ALL TIME 💖💖💖💖💖

1) omg anon this is a lie I am terrible at drawing anything symmetrically and if I somehow produced anything to make u think so, it’s probably because I spent 10 hours on getting it to look ok LOL I.. TRY TO USE GUIDELINES and flip my canvas to check that things are balanced… that helps me out a lot :’D 

2) thank u anon for this ask it is beautiful and I will frame it and keep it in my room to encourage myself to start drawing batfam art again 

1) HEY ANON and thank u! I have a list of resources that I’ve found helpful here (at the bottom of the page) !! I hope some of that might be useful for you and feel free to drop me another msg if u need more/ want something more specific!!!!!!! ALL THE BEST

2) omg I havent replied to asks in so long that I didnt even rmb what picture this was referring to and I had to go back and look LOL HE’S TRYING HIS BEST ANON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE CANT HELP BEING AN AVERAGE MAN SURROUNDED BY MODELS HOW RIDICULOUS OF THEM !!!! 

[marvelmando]

tempest [p.parker x o.c.] - eight

notes: ((posting my favorite chapter in honor of spider-man returning to the mcu!!!))

this chapter has been in my head for... like, years. i literally created tempest around the scene with marin and peter, and im so proud that i’ve managed to write almost all of it. this is probably one of my favorite chapters, just because i’ve had it in mind for so long, and you finally get a glimpse into how marin’s powers were exposed.

that being said, this chapter has a very in-depth discussion of a murder-suicide, and domestic abuse, so please please don’t read the following scenes if you’re easily grossed out or triggered.

“but it’s the bad parts i remember the most... and it became her undoing.”

“as my mother tried to soothe him... it took a moment to compose herself.”

if you need a general summary of marin’s background, please read the end notes of the chapter!

****contains: mentions of a murder-suicide, descriptions of domestic abuse, mental illness

pairing: peter parker + fem! o.c.

word count: 5k

previous chapter next chapter tempest masterlist

MARIN DIDN'T SLEEP THAT NIGHT. Between the memories that haunted her, and thoughts of a certain boy that kept her mind spinning, Marin couldn't shut her eyes for more than a couple minutes at a time without either gasping or breaking out in a cold sweat.

She laid in her bed until the sun peeked through her curtains, and well beyond that. She probably should have done something more constructive with her time, like train or read a book or something, but her limbs felt like they were weighted down with bricks. She couldn't muster up the energy to sit up in bed, let alone try using her powers or concentrate on anything other than breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.

Like she did every year on that day, she mourned her parents silently. But this year was different only because thinking about her parents, meant thinking about Peter. He currently hated her because he thought she had killed them. And thinking about Peter made her heart sink and her head pound.

But then the pounding wasn't coming from her head anymore—it was coming from her bedroom door.

Marin didn't respond, but Lucy didn't care, because she entered her room anyway. "Marin, you've got to get up."

Marin just buried her face into her pillow.

"Marin," Lucy pushed, grabbing Marin's comforter and yanking it off of her. "C'mon, this isn't healthy."

"Don't care," Marin muttered into her pillow.

"Well, I do. So get up, you're gonna go train your new powers."

Marin lifted her head up at that. "You know about that?"

"Yeah, Professor Xavier told James and I. But don't change the subject—Jean and Storm are waiting for you downstairs in the simulation room." Lucy pulled at her arm now, but Marin obliged into a sitting position. She noticed James lingering in the doorway.

"All right, give me time to shower, at least?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "Ten minutes, Frost—I don't want any dilly-dallying in there, because I know you would if I let you."

"Fine." Marin rolled her eyes. "Be ready in fifteen."

+++

It was more like twenty, but Lucy should've only been glad that it wasn't at least thirty-five, like her normal showers.

Sure enough, Storm and Jean really were waiting for her, and they'd set the room up with plenty of rubber mats. Marin eyed the otherwise-empty room warily.

Jean chuckled. "This is just to help you practice your control, Marin. No simulations, yet, so there's nothing to be nervous about."

"We're rooting for you, Marin," Lucy gave her a thumbs-up, and backed out of the room with James at her side.

Marin nodded, shaking the nerves buzzing in her hands. Now that she was out of bed and her mind was distracted, it was easy to put her worries to the side. She signaled that she was ready to the two older mutants.

"Okay, Marin. You've done this before, except this time, you're older—you're in control." Storm exposited. "Close your eyes. Picture the energy flowing in you, swimming in your veins, crawling through the layers of your skin. Just observe it for now—simply acknowledge its presence as a part of you."

Marin concentrated. This lesson was similar to the training she'd gone through with her hydrokinetic powers, but this time, she knew that the power was coming from inside her, which made it more difficult to locate and identify. After a moment of silence, Marin huffed. "I don't feel anything."

"That's okay, just focus, Marin." Jean spoke. "It's there, waiting for you to find it. Don't try so hard, let it come to you naturally."

"The energy fluctuates with your emotions—when you become angry, or upset, it reacts accordingly." Said Storm. "But now, you are in control. The purpose of letting it come to you when you are calm is so that you refuse to let the energy control you."

Marin nodded, relaxing her clenched fists, not remembering when she'd done so. She breathed deeply, searching her body from within.

Somewhere under her skin, she felt a nudge. After the nudge, came a push, and then a rush of emotion. I am in control, she reminded herself. Marin stroked the wave of energy rising inside her with her mind, causing it to hum pleasantly in response. The hum began to vibrate, starting at the center of her chest and radiating outward, washing tingles throughout her entire body. She felt the hair on her arms rise, and the weight of her hair resting on her shoulders lift. Her entire body felt like a single, continuous flow of energy.

Marin opened her eyes, finding the room bathed in a warm blue light. Glancing down at herself, she realized that it was her; the bright aquamarine blue light surrounded her, seeping through the pores of her skin—reminding her of pressing a flashlight against her finger, the light passing through her skin. Except for this light, she could feel as it ignited every nerve ending in her body—glowing from every atom within her.

She jerked when she noticed that she was also hovering a couple feet off the ground, her hair floating around her hair like she was underwater. Panicking, she flailed her arms and unintentionally shot a blast of energy into the wall, blowing a sizeable dent into the cement.

Marin fell, losing her balance and landing on her back. Groaning, she picked herself up. "Sorry," she said sheepishly to her mentors, who looked between each other, and Marin assumed Jean was making a comment to Storm with her telepathy powers. "Was that okay?"

Storm looked at her and smiled reassuringly. "It was great, Marin. You handled it well, especially for using it for the first time in years."

"So... do you think I'm dangerous, then?" Marin grimaced.

"Not at all, Marin." Jean smiled, cupping Marin's cheeks in a motherly fashion. "You just need to train, to practice your control, that's all."

"Okay," Marin nodded, stepping back, and bracing herself. "Let's train, then."

+++

It had taken Marin three years to learn how to freeze and boil water instantaneously, and six years to learn how to heal others with water. But by the time the sun had set that day, Marin had managed to control her powers enough to manipulate the energy around her to fly.

Shooting beams of energy was still tricky and not entirely accurate, but at least she was no longer shooting off blasts by accident. She could summon the energy within seconds instead of minutes, and she was getting the hang of releasing her powers without falling down (even if she landed wobbly nearly every time). By bedtime, she was floating around the mansion with relative ease—the stress of the day's memories never passing her mind when she glided throughout the halls.

"Marin, please get down from the ceiling," Charles called up to her from his wheelchair, his neck craning to address the mutant walking upside down on the ceiling.

"All right," Marin sighed, descending and releasing the energy, her skin returning to its normal, freckled beige.

"Please get some rest tonight, okay?"

Marin smiled. "I will, Professor."

And she had planned on keeping her word, she really did try. But the second she crawled into bed, Marin was restless with the onslaught of unwelcome thoughts. She'd managed to go the entire day without dwelling on her parents' deaths or let herself be consumed by worries about Peter. But now, with her body finally still and her mind no longer distracted, she couldn't help but torture herself with the impulsive desire to show off her new powers to her friend.

Marin sighed after a few minutes of restless silence, giving up on sleep. She got up, and tiptoed to Lucy's bedroom, knocking softly on the door. It was still fairly early in the evening, but she hoped that Lucy hadn't planned on getting an early night's sleep.

Sure enough, a voice said from within, "Come in," and Marin stepped through.

"Hey," Marin whispered, even though Lucy and James were both wide awake and sitting on opposite ends of the bed, seemingly in the middle of a card game. "Can I talk to you guys for a bit?"

"Sure, what's up?" Lucy obliged, scooping the cards away to make room for Marin to sit on the bed. "Is it about the new powers?"

"Kinda." Marin exhaled softly. "It's also about... Spider-Man."

"What about him?"

"I miss him." Marin admitted. "Like, way more than I expected. As I steadily gained control over my powers today, all I wanted to do was go and show him." She wrung her hands together. "But then I remembered that he hates me for things that aren't true, and I can't stop thinking about the horrified look in his eyes when Mr. Stark told him that I killed my parents—and how I never got to explain myself, explain why I lied to him about being a mutant, and I just know that I can't live with that kind of guilt."

Lucy and James studied her as she continued her speech. "I've been alone my whole life. Everyone has always hated me or feared me for horrific actions they believed I committed, and I've lived with that isolation for the nine years I've lived here because honestly, I didn't really know anything else. But then I met him, and he showed me a kindness that I'd never experienced before. I was fine with being lonely until the night I ran away when I followed him through his life—I made unexpected friends, fought my first supervillain, and even met an Avenger. It was like I was seeing a glimpse of the life I feel like I was always meant to have. And now... now, I don't know what to do. Because I know I have to keep training to control these new powers, but I can't help but yearn for that other life. I know I should stay here and train, but my life feels like it was left behind in Queens, and my soul is being split in half."

Marin sniffled wetly as she wiped at her damp cheeks. "I need to tell him the truth. But I don't know ho, because he's there, and I'm here."

Neither of them responded, only looking between each other, probably having a conversation in their minds. Eventually, the nodded, and both looked to Marin.

"We've got an idea."

+++

"Forest Hills—are you sure?" Lucy clarified once more.

"Yes, Lucy," Marin confirmed. "Land in Forest Park like last time, I can make my way from there."

"Won't that take a while?" James asked from his co-pilot's seat.

"I can fly now, remember?"

"Oh, right."

The jet was considerably fast; they reached Forest Park just shy of ten o’clock at night. As Marin was unbuckling herself from the passenger seat, Lucy pivoted in the pilot's chair. "And you're sure you don't need us to go with you?"

Marin shook her head. "No. This is something I need to do alone."

And as Marin took to the skies, she made sure to keep away from open streets, lest someone see her vibrant blue-glowing body flying through the air.

After only a couple minutes of navigating the streets of Forest Hills, Marin located Peter's apartment complex. She floated right up to the window, knocking into it slightly with her shoulder as she came to a jerky halt. She noticed Peter jump inside his room where he was standing at his desk, and then peer suspiciously out the window.

He walked toward her, and even though she could see he wasn't pleased to see her, he still pushed up the pane of glass, sticking his head out and glaring up at her. Marin moved back a little, indicating that she wasn't going to just barge right in. "What, so you can fly now?" He snarled at her. "Is that another secret you kept from me?"

Marin sighed, and shook her head at him. "Can I come in? I need to tell you a few things."

Peter stared at her, his expression annoyed yet mildly interested—but mostly just relenting. He exhaled after a few heartbeats and looked back at his closed door. "Not in here, I don't want to wake May up. Go to the roof," Marin nodded, backing up even further so Peter could climb out of the window after her. He clung to the wall, crawling up the side of the building. It was weird to see him do it without the suit, but Marin followed him anyway.

Her landing was unstable and she would've tripped against the graveled roof, but Peter's reflexes acted faster than he could remember his disdain for her. "Thanks," she gave him a grateful look as he steadied her, but Peter yanked his hands back and averted her gaze.

He stepped around her, going to sit on the edge of the roof with his feet dangling over the side. Marin, despite vertigo rolling around in her stomach from the heights, took the spot next to him. They sat in silence for a moment.

Just as Marin opened her mouth, Peter said suddenly, "Why didn't you tell me you're a mutant?" His voice was strained. He was wearing a Midtown sweatshirt, she noticed, as he tugged the sleeves over his hands. It was a nervous tick that Marin recognized from her own habits.

"I... it's kind of a long story." Marin winced, looking him in the eyes.

"Does it have to do with... y'know, your parents?" He cringed, and Marin's stomach twisted anxiously. She was really going to do this, wasn't she?

"Yes." She admitted, eyes shifting down at her hands, which gripped her knees so tightly her knuckles were white. "I... I'm going to tell you everything, Peter. Some of what Mr. Stark said was true, but the truth... the whole truth is complicated and messy, and I've... I've never told anyone else about what happened, so please don't—don't interrupt me until I'm done, because I don't know what would happen if I stopped."

Peter nodded skeptically, and Marin lifted her head up.

"So, I'll start at the beginning, I guess." Marin took a deep breath and began.

"I was born on February third of 2001 to my parents, Jamie and Kelly Frost. My dad... he grew up in an orphanage until he was kicked out when he was eleven because they thought he had schizophrenia. But the voices in his head were real, he just didn't know that he was really a mutant—a telepath, able to hear the minds of those around him.

"They had me really young, my parents. And my dad could never keep a job for more than a couple weeks, so it was up to my mom to provide for the family. But as a teacher in the city, she didn't earn much. We were happy, though, as far as I can remember.

"Truth be told, I don't really remember much, though. I remember some of the good bits, like my parents dancing with me to the music on the radio, or how my mother used to sing lullabies to get me to sleep."

Marin's breath grew shaky as she approached the worst parts of her story.

"But it's the bad parts that I remember the most. My father didn't know he was a mutant, and after a decade of hearing voices in his head, he was growing extremely paranoid. I remember he was always talking to himself, hitting and slamming things against any surface he could find. My mom would find him in these massive fits, and sometimes things got so bad that he would throw my mother around the room, or start beating her. My mom, though, she'd just... take it. She was so kind-hearted, so loving, and she'd never defended herself. She loved my father too much to stand up to him, and it became her undoing."

Marin clenched her eyes shut, the blood in her ears drowning out the noises of the city.

"It was all building to one final explosion. It was nine years ago, as of yesterday. I was six. I'd just come home from my first day of first grade, and I remember being really happy and excited to start the new school year. But I never made it to the second day.

"My dad was in the worst fit I'd ever seen him in. He was shouting into thin air, clutching his head so hard he'd ripped out chunks of his hair. My mom was trying to help him out of it, so she sent me to my room so I didn't have to watch. Normally, I'd obey her, locking myself in my room and burying my head under a pillow to muffle the screams. But I was feeling brave, and too concerned to leave. So instead, I followed them into the bathroom, where my father was thrashing in a drawn bath, still fully clothed. He was rocking back and forth, murmuring to himself angrily.

"As my mother tried to soothe him, he looked up at her—and for a brief moment, I saw his eyes clear. But the next second it was gone, and..." Marin inhaled a shaking breath, trembling violently as she gripped the concrete ledge of the complex. "And almost instantly, he had his hands wrapped around my mother's neck and he was throwing her into the bathtub, holding her under the water even as she struggled against him. It was the only time I'd ever seen her fight back. But it ultimately didn't matter. I watched as the water eventually went still, my mother's limbs went limp, and my father stumbled back as if he couldn't believe what he'd just done.

"He screamed out, telling the voices in his head to shut up, and grabbed the dryer left out by the sink. Somehow, he'd managed not to see me until he was clutching the plugged-in hairdryer in one hand, halfway into the bath. Then his eyes found mine, and he said 'they told me to do it'. He stepped into the water, and electrocuted himself."

It took a moment to compose herself. Marin was thankful that Peter had stayed silent through her story, but she wasn't finished. "I want to clarify something about mutants because I don't know how in-depth public schools teach about us."

She risked a glance at Peter, and was surprised to find tears trailing down his cheeks. He wiped them away, nodding.

"Mutants are born mutants—they already have the mutated gene in their DNA. It's a recessive, hereditary gene, so it's passed on through generations. But for the first several years of our lives, it lies dormant, waiting for something to trigger it. They're usually exposed when a mutant witnesses a traumatic event, or experiences a really powerful emotion. I think it has something to do with an enhanced sense of fight or flight, or for protection purposes or something. It's often destructive, and sometimes fatal, but rarely ever done on purpose.

"And, seeing... what had happened obviously triggered my mutant gene. You know that I can control water, so you can see how that kind of uncontrolled outburst can result in exploding all the pipelines in the building. But, as it turns out, I have a second, hidden power. Professor Xavier calls it Cosmic Energy manipulation, and it basically means that I can manipulate the energy that's normally found in, like, stars and stuff. It's hard to explain without detailing every nuance of astral and quantum physics. The only difference is, is that the energy is found inside me, and I don't need to draw on the energy from other sources like I do for my hydrokinetic powers. I can manipulate the energy to do pretty much anything I want it to do, hence, the flying.

"Anyway, my powers were unleashed to the fullest extent that night. I don't have any memory of what happened in the accident following my father's death—just waking up, surrounded by the decimated remains of my house. I was lucky that no one else was injured, even if the explosion did destroy the abandoned motel my parents had squatted in. When the emergency responders showed up, the entire building was in tatters, my parents' bodies were nothing but ashes, and I was untouched by it all. They didn't know what to think, so they called Charles Xavier.

"After he brought me to the Institute, he tried to figure out what exactly had happened. Charles is telepathic and extremely powerful, but even he couldn't access any memories I'd had, and therefore couldn't determine that my parents' deaths were a result of a murder-suicide, and not of my doing. So he assumed that it was my fault, and because I was uncooperative and traumatized, my Cosmic powers were growing increasingly unstable and destructive. He had no other reason to doubt my role in their deaths, and I gave him nothing to dissuade his opinion."

"I didn't notice that everyone was avoiding me. I didn't realize the looks they were giving me were ones of terror." Marin laughed dryly. "I didn't learn of the rumors until a new kid came to live at the school a few months after I did, and one of the older mutants stopped them just as they were walking up to me. The older student hissed at them, 'Don't go near her, she's dangerous. She'll kill you just like she killed her parents.' And of course, I retaliated, grew angry, and accidentally shot a blast of energy into the kid's leg, breaking it. Charles was freaked out, naturally, and he put a block on my mind so I wouldn't remember ever using my energy manipulation powers. It was supposed to keep everyone safe, but I felt the loss of those powers unconsciously, and I compensated in my hydrokinesis training.

"I spent most of my time training. I mastered most forms of martial arts by the time I was ten, and I could get a bullseye with every type of weapon blindfolded when I was twelve. I studied physics, and literature, and mechanical engineering until I could take any device apart and put it back together again. I was... I was missing something, and I thought that if I could fill it with knowledge and training, that I'd be okay again."

Marin shook her head. "But nothing motivated me more than the desire to help people. Every time I learned a new ability or mastered a new interest, all I wanted to do was show my mom. Then I'd remember the way she fought back, only to die in the end because no one was there to save her, and I'd burn with rage and helplessness. If only I'd had my powers, I could've saved her. I told myself that I wouldn't waste my powers—I'd never have to..."

Marin tilted her head to the sky, letting the wind sting her eyes until they burned and watered. "It's... I mean, have you ever had to watch as someone you loved so desperately, died right in front of your eyes while you watched, powerless to save them? I am haunted by that memory, that feeling of helplessness, and I fear that it will be my downfall, much like my mother's love for my father was hers."

"I have," Peter croaked quietly. Marin turned her head to look at him. There was so much pain in his eyes that it pushed the air out of her chest and clasped her heart in a sharp vice. "My uncle Ben—he was shot, right in front of me. And I was too late to stop the robber that killed him. I'd had my powers for a month, and hadn't used them for anything but selfish reasons. I'd had my powers, but didn't use them for anything good." It was his turn to draw in a shuddering breath. Marin scooted closer to him, brushing her shoulder against his, but otherwise not touching him. "He's why I do it. Why I became Spider-Man, and why I fight so hard to continue fighting bad guys, despite everything—my age, my schoolwork, May, everything. He told me once, 'with great power, comes great responsibility', and after he died, I felt like I was somehow letting him down if I didn't use them to help save those who can't save themselves."

"I know," Marin said. It seemed like it was all she could say. After a moment of silence, she confessed, "I hated being an X-Man, you know. I joined when I was thirteen after we watched the Avengers fight off an alien army on TV. I hated how we just sat there, watching as the world was in mortal danger, and we did nothing to help them. I wanted to save people, and I thought that I could do that as an X-Man. But I was wrong. All we ever did on missions was recruit new mutants and occasionally intercept drug trafficking rings. It was never enough for me. And so I acted out a lot, constantly got myself into trouble because I didn't like obeying orders and staying in line like an obedient little soldier." Marin pulled a face. "I played fast and loose with what lines I could cross as an X-Man, and I didn't care about the consequences. That's why I ran away that night, at the bank. The others heard those women screaming and they didn't care—they'd rather leave them to be killed so they could stick to the stupid orders Charles gave them. I wasn't going to be one of them, anymore.

"They don't care, mutants. All they care about is saving their own kind. Keeping us safe and hidden from the outside world, lest they try to hurt us. They don't care if humans are in danger; unless it's a threat to mutants, they refuse to help save anyone." Marin looked Peter in the eyes. "That's why I didn't tell you what I am. I didn't want to be a mutant if it meant that I'd have to pretend like I didn't care."

Marin sighed softly. "When I got kicked off the team, though, it hurt me more than I'd care to admit. I was a part of something, even if I didn't agree with their motivations. It was the only chance I had at being a hero, and I was too careless and lost it."

Peter ruminated in silence after Marin finished her tirade. The only sounds were the occasional honking of a car, the wind rustling branches and leaves, and their collective breathing.

"When I lost the suit, I felt like I lost a part of myself." He eventually said, his voice steady but low. "That's where we're different—you don't need to be an X-Man to be a hero, but I’m not Spider-Man without that suit. All I am is a stupid teenager who can climb walls and flip around. I’m no one if I’m not Spider-Man.”

Marin scoffed indignantly. "You're not no one—you're Peter Parker." She stared him down, pressing her sincerity into her gaze. "Spider-Man is not a suit. He's a person, and most importantly, he is you. You don't need that suit to be a hero, Pete. I should know, I knew you before you even had it."

Peter's eyes widened, gazing at her softly.

Before he could even think to object, Marin continued to confess, "You're why I left, you know. That night I ran away from the Institute." His expression changed, his eyes growing curious. "There's a reason why I came to you." She nudged his shoulder playfully.

"Why?" Peter whispered; his voice carried off slightly by the wind.

"Because I wanted to be like you." She tilted her head. "You stood down those men at gunpoint, wearing those ridiculous pajamas—"

"—they're not pajamas—"

"—and still saved those women." She grinned, purposely ignoring his protest. "Yeah, I helped some, but you went in there without any ulterior motive, and put your life on the line because you had to. I just went because I had a chip on my shoulder and a point to prove. But you... you going in there alone was both the bravest and stupidest thing I've ever seen someone do."

Peter chuckled. Marin pointed into his chest. "That was Spider-Man. He didn't need that fancy piece of fabric to be a hero, and you know why? Because it's you who's the hero, Peter. Not only did you save those women and countless others, you also gave me a place to sleep when I needed it the most. You gave me hope, and the courage to fight for myself. You gave me a sense of belonging that I've never found anywhere else." Marin smiled sadly. "Don't you see? You don't need to be super to be a hero. You're super because you are a hero. And I know for a fact that your uncle would be proud of you—with or without your powers, no matter what suit you wear."

Peter choked on a sob, curling into himself. Marin wrapped her arms around his trembling body, going to rub his back gently; but at her touch, he twisted, tucking into her chest. Moving her hand from his back to his neck, she ran tender fingers through his hair, soothing him with hushed sounds and words of comfort. It amazed her how quickly this turned from an exposition to an exchanging of bared souls.

They stayed like that until Peter finished crying, and his breath evened out. He nuzzled his face into her shoulder with a deep inhale, and spoke into her jacket, "Your mother would be proud of you, too, Marin."

Marin squeezed him tighter, feeling a fresh tear slide down her cheek. "We do it for them, Peter Parker, and we do it for ourselves."

endnotes:

Marin’s father had no idea he was a mutant, and everyone thought that his telepathic powers were actually symptoms of schizophrenia. Because he wasn’t trained on how to control his powers and was unstable, he often abused Marin’s mother. It all culminated to one night where he drowned Marin’s mother in the bathtub and then electrocuted himself.

taglist

@dark-night-sky-99​ @pushmeinablackhole​ @demi-starzak​ @-thatgirloverthere-​ @silver-winter-wolf​ @yourwonderbelle

[mittensmorgul]

I’m rewatching 13.15, A Most Holy Man, right now, and... and I remember when it first aired. The reaction was largely “meh,” or “the noir format doesn’t really do it for me and the episode was kinda boring overall.” It’s possibly the s13 episode I have the least amount of posts for on my blog. It was largely skimmed over as mostly irrelevant, with the only takeaway being:

A. They got the macguffin they needed to progress the A plot by the end of the episode

and

2. They really should’ve cut that scene of Dean going on about how he’d kill everyone who tried to steal his car...

But... this was a Dabb episode. I wrote this post back in May, but I think it merits an additional look now:

https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184946657745/so-im-still-out-ahead-of-the-tnt-loop-but-i

Because this single episode functions as a microcosm of their entire lives, at least thematically, if not in a 1:1 fashion. I mean, it is just a 42 minute episode. There were only so many twists and layers they could reasonably shove in, and the Rule Of Three is a convenient metric for demonstrating the pattern in narrative shorthand that invites us to consider the unspoken “etc. etc. ad nauseum” ourselves.

I’d go into the entire structure of the episode, but I’m hoping that just explaining the outcome-- after reading the post I linked above-- everyone will be able to see the parallel itself without me having to write 5k words on the subject today. :P

Let’s start with the exchange at the end of the episode that prompted this realization. Because it’s a bit of chicanery:

FATHER LUCCA: I think I got shot. [DEAN lifts up FATHER LUCCA’s shirt to see only a little blood.] DEAN: Looks like he just grazed you. A few more inches to the left and, uh... FATHER LUCCA: It’s a miracle. [SAM and DEAN, with FATHER LUCCA behind them, search the warehouse and find GREENSTREET still hiding.] GREENSTREET: I didn’t know this would happen. I… I’ll give you anything you want, huh? DEAN: The blood, where is it? GREENSTREET: It, uh… doesn’t exist. SAM: You… what? Wait a second. You told us– GREENSTREET: Exactly what you wanted to hear. It was just a bit of… DEAN: Chicanery? GREENSTREET: Exactly. DEAN: Well… chicane this. [DEAN punches GREENSTREET to the ground.] ACT FIVE EXTERIOR – WAREHOUSE – NIGHT [There are police cars outside the warehouse. A policeman leads GREENSTREET to a car and sits him inside.] GREENSTREET: No, no, no, no. Wait. Don’t – you – you – you’ve made a mistake.

For a refresher, Greenstreet was the author of this entire bit of chicanery. For a while, it appeared as if it was actually each of the other people involved:

Margaret Astor, the first person we meet, and also the one APPARENTLY holding all the cards when they walk into the final deal, who ends up backstabbed (well shot in the back anyway, close enough) by her own assistant

she sent them to Greenstreet, who introduced the term “chicanery” to the narrative, which I’m gonna focus on next, because despite all his plotting, his narrative didn’t end the way he wanted (he’s getting hauled off to jail, but heck, at least he didn’t end up dead like most of the rest of these conspirators...)

Greenstreet sent them to Scarpatti, with the partially true information that he’d been the one to have the artifact stolen in the first place, only to learn that it had been stolen from his man in turn...

(and remember, the skull isn’t actually what Sam and Dean need... it’s the currency they believed they needed in order to trade for what they DO actually need... it’s a bit of a chicane... which I’ll get to... sorry for this meandering on the way to the conclusion, but this little side journey is 100% relevant... you’ll see what I mean in a minute)

While investigating Scarpatti’s side-detour, they end up having to investigate a murder, and inadvertently stumble over Father Lucca Camilleri... but Sam and Dean have no idea that they’re now traveling through this episode with the thing THEY actually need. But rather than just... take what they need because that fact hasn’t been revealed to them yet, or even continue to pursue the currency they believe they need to trade for the elusive thing they need, they selflessly choose to do the morally right thing despite believing that in doing so they are forfeiting their chance to get the macguffin they need.

Ain’t it just Winchesters vs The Cosmos on a microscopic level?

Because one thing I’ve learned about Dabb as showrunner is that his absolute favorite thing is gleefully pointing back at canon and explicitly clarifying things. It’s not always obvious, he tends to be incredibly subtle, but if you’re looking for it, it’s impossible not to see in pretty much all of his writing. He LOVES messing with prior perception, and making us work for the satisfying moment where all the pieces fall into place.

Chicanery and the chicane. THAT ITSELF IS A CLARIFICATION. From vague to specific. Because “a chicane” is a very different thing than “chicanery.” And it’s all a bit of a winding deception.

For reference, the definitions of these two very different words:

chi·can·er·y /SHəˈkān(ə)rē/ noun, the use of trickery to achieve a political, financial, or legal purpose. "an underhanded person who schemes corruption and political chicanery behind closed doors" synonyms: trickery, deception, deceit, deceitfulness, duplicity, dishonesty, unscrupulousness, underhandedness, subterfuge, fraud, fraudulence, legerdemain, sophistry, sharp practice, skulduggery, swindling, cheating, duping, hoodwinking

and

chicane (/ʃɪˈkeɪn/) noun, a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety.

What the definition of “chicane” doesn’t provide is that in auto racing, a chicane isn’t seen as a “safety” measure, but an obstacle. If you’ve ever watched road racing, the chicane is where a lot of drivers wipe out. It’s a choke point where everyone HAS to slow down, but when you’re RACING each other, the objective is to remain out in front, you know? Jockeying for position, trying to get through the obstacle as quickly as possible to get back to direct racing toward the finish line. So while a chicane literally slows the racing by design, forcing drivers to adapt to the physical reality of safely navigate through the pinch point while not wrecking themselves, they need to maintain absolute focus to retain their position, as well. It’s not about slowing down for safety but about finding the balance point between “safely navigating through without wrecking myself or being wrecked by the other cars trying to achieve the same objective I am” and “but we’re still racing and I can’t let anyone pass me so I’m still gonna push it as fast as I can while still conforming to the laws of known physics.” It’s... difficult.

THREE TIMES in this episode, they use the word “chicanery” before Dean clarifies it to “chicane.” For reference, out of the other 306 episodes of this show that exist at the time of writing this post, they’ve used “chicanery” a grand total of ZERO other times. Seems significant, yes?

In the same way the show has frequently used Wizard Of Oz imagery to convey these same points, with the reminder in the end of the “you had the power inside you all along” sort of themes, this episode takes it one step further. Which... logical considering the nature of the spiral narrative, that when it comes around again, the circumstances aren’t exactly the same. Think of it in terms of that racetrack with the chicane.

In the case of the plot of this episode, a similar comparison can be drawn to The DaVinci Code, since through most of the wild goose chase running through all the games and puzzles, the guy is literally traveling with the object he seeks. It just doesn’t become obvious, like with Dorothy and her Ruby Slippers, until they’ve worked their way through all the puzzles and subterfuge along the way. As Dean says in Scoobynatural when Sam points out that if he knows how the episode ends, why don’t they just get to the point already, and Dean replies “Because sometimes it’s about the journey.” Rather intuitive meta observation about the point of the narrative structure, yes?

Back to our road race analogy now, after passing through the chicane chicane. Every lap, the drivers are driving through the same essential course. The shape of the road doesn’t change in the most fundamental way. The same parts are still paved, the walls around the edges don’t move, etc. But each time they drive around, other conditions vary. Their tires wear down so their traction changes. Heck, the drivers themselves are wearing out physically and mentally. Maybe a dude’s just thirsty or has an itch on his nose or just has to pee real bad. Maybe the wind speed or direction has changed. Maybe the sun has moved so different turns become more tricky with a glare in their eyes. Their engines are slowly shifting as wear and tear of operating at a high performance level alters performance. Their brakes might be wearing down. They may be in need of more fuel and are driving more conservatively, or may have just gotten new fuel or new tires or made some other alteration to their car that shifts not only their ability to go faster, but changes how they handle corners, etc. But there’s also the factor of all the OTHER cars driving around them. Maybe they’ve hit the chicane all by themselves because they’re out ahead of the pack (or trailing far behind it). Maybe they’re clustered tightly together with other drivers. Maybe there was a wreck that altered the road surface... cleaning up fuel/oil spills, sand or dirt having “spilled” out onto the road surface, maybe a slight drizzle started making it more slippery, or even random trash has blown from the stands into the road, or debris from a wreck-in-progress hampers their progress. There are SO MANY FACTORS at play that make each lap around the course an entirely different experience, you know?

Same with the spiral narrative. The major landmarks might be similar, but everything else is new.

And the moment Dean says “chicane this” and punches the author of this series of events in the face, that’s basically 14.20, yes?

They’re tired, and they’re on the last lap, and they’ve been through this chicane so many times now. And they’ve just been told that after every lap, Chuck refused to wave the checkered flag. They kept reaching the finish line over and over, only to discover it was also the starting line and the race was still going. And each time through Chuck’s big chicane, he’d deliberately change those variables, so the more experience they gained on the track, there’d always be a bit of new debris to navigate, a new difficulty level added.

And now in 14.20, it’s like they finally caught him in the act of throwing thumbtacks down on the road, you know? They caught him at his tricks.

And like, to use a favorite metaphor of Dabb’s, it’s like the roadrunner and the coyote. Only the roadrunner had always known all along that the coyote was laying traps for him and always found the most hilarious ways to foil the coyote’s plans and turn it back around on him. It took them 14 seasons for TFW to finally pull a roadrunner.

This has always been Dabb’s ending, because it’s actually the story he has been telling all along. The spiral’s broken, and instead of continuing lap after lap with no end in sight, they’ve finally realized they can just... stop driving in carefully paved loops and drive in a direct line to the finish.

(and maybe the only way to make it to the finish is to pave their own road around all of Chuck’s chicanery... it’s gonna be some heavy lifting and some rough off-roading, but it’s the only way to get off the track to victory lane)

(apologies, this is the sort of place my brain goes when Mr. Mittens is watching nascar at Road America in the background... but it’s super apt, and full disclosure, I started writing this about an hour before he turned the tv on. I was already on this road course >.>)

[silver-greedling]

Bad Timing

Robert Manion x Reader (wowie i love starkid now, ive watched, like, FIVE musicals in a week. small question, anyone know where i can find, like, vids or stuff of them just chilling? i wanna get a better feel for their personalities, tendencies, and relationships with one another before i write a whole lot about them. any help is needed and appreciated! sorry if this one is short!!! also, should i start putting a little “read more” thing after a paragraph or two? im fine with or without, so tell me what you guys would prefer)

My roommate, best friend, and crush, Robert Manion, was leaving for the airport in about six hours. I was busy preparing a hearty meal that would keep him filled up on the flight, so he wouldn’t go hungry or have to buy airplane food.

He was packing bags and scouring the apartment for anything else he may need on the trip. He was so messy; His clothes could be found scattered in almost every room, save the (tiny) kitchen and (tinier) living room. Even then, I wouldn’t be shocked if I found a long-lost shirt of his had somehow ended up under the couch or in a cabinet in the kitchen.

At last, the pan of eggs was done! All that was left was a few more pieces of bacon, which were done not long after. Multitasking two foods on the same stove that needed to be checked often was proving difficult, but I managed.

“Breakfast!” I half-yelled, knowing Robert was just a room over. I placed both pans, very carefully, on the small coffee table in the living room, where I had already set up two plates and forks. I returned to the kitchen for two glasses of milk, walking back to the living room to find Robert (somewhat) patiently awaiting my return.

I placed a glass in front of him, then put mine by my own plate, before plopping next to him on the floor. “Shall we?”

He nodded eagerly. If there was anything I knew about him, it was that he seemed to find my cooking amazing. One way or another, he found himself asking me to make every meal I could. When I pushed a joke of “women’s work”, he got embarrassed and told me the truth, that he liked my food. Since then, I’d been making every meal I could manage to, just to see him smile when I said our food would be homemade.

The smile on his face, as he took in a few bites of food, made the hard work of handling two hot pans over the stove completely worth it. I felt myself smile as I dug into my own plate of food. I had to admit, knowing he enjoyed it so much made me as happy as he was to eat it.

“Amazing, as always,” he said after, very quickly, finishing up his plate. He took a drink from his milk, then sighed. “I won’t have another one of these meals for over four months.”

“Awe, don’t make me sad,” I said over the rim of my own cup. “I’d make one for you to take, but airport security, man.”

He laughed. “Well, if I call asking for how you make your food, don’t be surprised. I will miss it.” He sighed again.

I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I stood, taking our plates and the pans back to the kitchen and setting them in the sink. Washing dishes could come later. My time with Robert was at five hours, not including the twenty minute drive to the airport.

“Let’s play some games, or watch a movie,” I suggested, sitting down on the couch. “We still have time to kill before you leave.”

Robert stood. “Yeah, pick out a movie. I’m going to make sure I have everything packed that I need.”

He padded off toward his room, and, as I picked out a movie (Grown Ups), I  thought about my history with Robert.

I had been working with Team Starkid for almost five months when Robert came in. We hit it off almost instantly. When I realized he had been living in a hotel room for almost a week, I offered to clear out a room that was, at the time, an office and storage space. He tried to decline, but I persuaded him. Now, he’s been staying here almost seven years, albeit traveling back and forth between here and Australia.

I wasn’t able to reminisce any longer, because Robert was coming back into the room, one suitcase, looking a touch overpacked, in hand. He placed it beside the couch, then plopped next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. Leaning against him, I picked up the remote and turned on the TV. The movie had already been put in what served as our DVD player (but was really my PS3). Robert tilted his head at the title screen.

“I haven’t seen this one,” he noted. “What is it?”

“Just watch,” I replied with a grin on my face.

His arm pulled me a touch closer, and I leaned against him almost completely as the movie began.

By the end of it, we were both almost in tears from laughter. Just under two hours of our time had gone by, leaving us at about three. “Wanna watch the second one?” I offered.

“Can we handle a second one?” he asked jokingly, but agreed.

When that was done, we were at about an hour and a half, but my eyes were getting a little droopy. Although it was around midday, I was extremely tired from staying up through the night making sure Robert’s stuff, or, at the least, the stuff I thought he needed, was in his room.

Before I knew it, I was being shaken awake. Five minutes until we had to leave.

I sat up from where I had fallen asleep on his shoulder, turning my head away to yawn loudly. “Sorry,” I muttered tiredly.

He shook his head. “It’s fine,” he assured me. “We just have to leave soon.”

With another yawn, I stood and stretched my arms, before turning to him. “I’ll get shoes, then I’ll be good to go.”

I padded over to the doorway, where we kept our shoes lined up. Robert offered my sleepy self an arm to lean on while I slipped into my shoes, which I was grateful for. When sleepy, I tended o have bad balance. He knew this, probably from hearing me, a million times, trip in the middle of the night, on my way to the bathroom or kitchen.

“I’ll drive us there so you can wake up a little bit,” he said, and I agreed. We clambered into my car, a crappy Civic that probably needed to be checked soon. I sat myself in the passenger side while Robert got in the driver’s side and started the car. In half a minute, we were buckled in and on the road.

The drive was quiet, mostly somber. It usually felt that way when he was leaving. I always knew that, for however long he was away, my life would change. I would make meals for one. I would do laundry half as much. I would watch movies and play games alone.

The airport parking lot came way too soon. We had arrive ten minutes early. Robert noticed this, I guess, as he stayed in the car a little while.

“Hey, Robert,” I spoke, not entirely sure of what I was doing. “Can you stay a minute longer?”

“I’ve got time,” he said, removing his seatbelt and turning to me. “What’s up?”

“Well...” I fiddled with my fingers, keeping my eyes on them. “I know that this is really bad timing, but...I don’t know, I’ve liked you for a really long time, now, and I just got the courage to say it. I know I should’ve probably said it sooner, but I-”

His hand reached over to grab mine, and I met his gaze. He grabbed both of my hands in his.

“Do you mean that?” he asked me, seriousness etched into his features. I nodded, and a smile broke across his face. “You should’ve said it sooner!”

His hands moved forward to grab my shoulders, and, before I knew it, he was moving closer. He met my eyes before getting too far. When I nodded, he put a hand on my cheek and kissed me.

It felt like flying. When I put my hands on his shoulders, he put his on my waist, trying to pull me closer, although the console between the seats sort of got in the way.

He released after a long time, and I struggled to find air. His hand was still on my face, the thumb gently caressing my cheek.

“I...” He started to talk, but trailed off. “Damn it. I have to go.”

I nodded. “I know. I wish you didn’t.”

“Right now, I do, too.”

I looked up, trying to give him a smile. “If you don’t find any pretty girls in Australia, I’ll be waiting for you when you come back.”

A wide grin took over his face. “I will not find a girl like you in Australia. I will come back to you, and I’m going to ask you out the minute I see you again.”

“I’ll say yes.”

His smile got even bigger as he kissed me again. Slowly, reluctantly, he got out of the car, retrieving his bag from the trunk. I exited, as well, catching him in a hug when he came my way.

“I’ll see you soon,” he promised me. With one more kiss, he was walking into the airport, glancing back to me every few steps. When he got inside, I sighed and walked to the driver’s side, sitting in the seat. He’d left the keys in the ignition, thank God. I remembered, once, he had taken the keys with him, earning him an earful over the phone as I hailed a cab and prayed someone wouldn’t steal my shit car from the airport parking lot.

The whole drive home, I thought about him, and everything he said to me. I couldn’t wait for four months to pass.

[jeonjagia]

To Save a Life- Chapter 3

You:

I wake up slowly, the affects of the drug wearing off leaving me groggy. Feeling cold metal, I come to the realization that my hands and feet are tied to a chair. Pain pulses in my leg, and I look down to see a four inch cut in it. Where am I? I think to myself. Kidnapped stupid, I reply to myself. Blinking a couple of times, I notice a bright light being shown at me. Hearing footsteps I look around to see who they come from and where. They eco, so that means it's a big place. "So, you're Luna," a voice says in the background. "Do you know about the shadows?" it asks. "N-No," I reply. "Of course you wouldn't." I'm scared. What is going to happen to me? "Have you heard of midnight?" it asks again. I shake my head in response. I hear a sigh. "You have never heard of them?"He asks again. I still shake my head. "Ok, have you heard or met a Min Yoongi or a Suga as he likes to be called?" I freeze. Why are they so interested in Yoongi? The man notices my hesitation and asks, "so you have." A dark figure steps in front of me. "I'll take your silence as a yes." He responds. "Can I please just go? I am of no use to you." "No, I think you are hiding something." He says pacing around me. "So, Luna, have you ever been given a truth serum?" he asks. I shake my head. "Well, it can be very painful, if you don't give the right information." I jerk suddenly feeling a needle injected in my side. Wildly looking around I search for the person. "Shh, shh, calm down, it won't be that bad." He coos. I pant heavily, the drug taking hold. I can feel the pain starting. "So, when I ask you a question and you don't answer correctly, or if you don't answer, the pain will increase." I look up at him, "that's sick," I say trying to hold back the pain as it begins. "So, Luna, how do you know Yoongi?" I don't answer, waiting until the pain is too much to bear. "Uggg...mmm," I struggle, "I'm...married...to him." I gasp "Hmm," he responds still pacing. I pant from the pain as it subsides. "What does Yoongi do for a job?" I freeze. Even I didn't know that. This is unfair. "I-I don't know," I spurt out. "Now, now, we know lying doesn't suit you." He tsks. Now I feel the pain begin to start. "But, but that's the truth!" I say grunting. I cannot handle it anymore and am visibly grimacing. Then, I start screaming. "I can't!" I scream at him. "Stop, please stop!" "I can't, you can." he says calmly. "I told you the truth," I whimper wreathing in my chair. "Please make it stop!"

Suga:

Im on her trail, half because I have a hint where she is, and where they are taking her. Sprinting up the steps, I freeze suddenly hearing a blood curling scream. No...they aren't. Rage comes back to me pushing me to move forward. Searching frantically through each room I keep thinking to myself: "Where is she?!" I freeze when I find her. She's sitting, tied to a chair as a bright light shines onto her frame. Her head is thrown back as sweat pools in her collar bone dips. Blood spots the floor from a slash on her thigh. 'Calm down Yoongi" I think to myself. Staying in the shadows, I don't want to let them know I am here. I watch her as she pants hard, trying to stay awake. "It will all end if you tell me," a voice echoes in the empty room. I watch the man as he walks around her and whispers into her ear. She's too weak to shy away. Quietly I take out one of my knives and throw it knowing exactly where it will land: on the ground: a distraction throw. By the time he looks in my direction I have already moved. He stupidly moves to where the knife was thrown. Rolling my eyes, I hit him hard on the back of the head and he crumples. Hearing no more footsteps, I walk over to my Jagia. I pick up my thrown knife to cut her bonds. Angry red marks streak her skin where the rope was tied. 'I need to get her out of here,' I think to myself. She can't walk because of the cut on her thigh. Lifting her up, I exit the horrible building and head home; hoping no one will see me carrying an injured unconscious woman. I struggle opening the door, but I get it soon enough. I take her to the bathroom and lay her in the tub. I then gather towels and extra comfy clothes. I turn on the shower and position it so that it doesn't flow into her face. I then carefully slide her pants off, soaking a washcloth in warm water, I wash her wound. 'She's too weak to wake up,' I think to myself as I watch her sleep. Turning off the shower, I undress her so she is just in her under clothes. Then I take off my soaked shirt that sticks to my skin and throw it in the laundry. Crouching next to her on the ground I wait for her to wake up. She soon stirs and rolls her head around. Her eyes slowly open and she stares at her surroundings for awhile. Her gaze soon meets mine. "Yo-Yoongi?" she croaks, voice cracking from her screaming. "I'm here Jagia," I say softly as I stroke her face. "Yoongi, wha- what-," she pauses as she looks down and sees how she's dressed. She slowly looks back up at me. I smile, "yes, I did that," I say as I chuckle. She smiles, blush coming to her face. "You're cute," I state. She smiles as me shyly. "Stop," she insists as she moves to get up. "hmm-mmm, nope," I say pushing her gently back down. "You are too weak to walk," "But-," she protests. "You are too weak Jagia," I state firmly. She closes her mouth in defeat. I wash the rest of her gently and help her out of the shower. I dry and dress her in one of my shirts and baggy sweat pants then carry her to the couch. "Suga, wha-," I shush her, placing a finger on her lips. "No,no. I take care of you now," I say walking to the kitchen and opening the fridge. I find her breakfast from this morning and heat it up on a plate. Gathering her favorite drink, milk, into a large glass, I prepare a tray and place them on my lap for her to use. "What do you want to watch?" I ask pulling the control from its hiding place between the cushions. "Um," she trails off, thinking. I watch her as she picks at the hem of the blanket. "What about the one that we watched last week?" she asks as she looks at me, eyes hopeful. "Again?" she looks up at me, eyes full of pain. "Okay," I say quietly flipping through Netflix to find it. Pressing play, I snuggle up with her, moving the tray out of the way. Midway through the movie I ask, "Do you need anything else?" With no answer, I look down at her and see she has fallen asleep. My sweet Jagia, I think to myself before falling asleep with her.

You: I wake up slowly, leg still throbbing as it brings back memories of what happened last night. Looking down I see the tray is gone and Yoongi is gone as well. Throwing the blanket aside I swing my legs off the couch and try to stand up. I wobble for a few seconds trying to balance, and then try to take my first step. Searing pain explodes in my leg causing me to crash to the ground, palms slamming into the carpet. Biting my lip I try not to cry out in pain. "Jagia?" you hear Suga's voice call from the hallway. Once he sees you crumpled on the floor he rushes over to you and crouches down. "Jagia?" he asks placing a hand on your shoulder. I look at him, eyes beginning to tear up. "I'm-I'm sorry Yoongi. I know I shouldn't have tried to walk. I- I just-," then the tears burst forth and you sob into Suga, clutching onto his shirt.

Suga: I hold her as she sobs into my shirt, fingers clutching fistfuls of fabric. I know how she's feeling because I felt it once, but I am strong now. Once she has calmed down, she is reduced to trembling slightly in my arms accompanied by sniffling every now and then. "You okay now?" I ask softly. She nods in reply. "We have spent enough time here," I say lifting her up in my arms. "We're going to visit a friend." I state. "Who?" she asks quizzically. "The only one I trust," I mutter walking to the front door of the apartment. Then I remember the message smeared on the wall in her blood. I silently curse myself for not removing it before, but I was too preoccupied. "Y-Yoongi?" she says clinging to me. She still had not seen it. Ignoring her, I gather the keys to the apartment and wallet. I lock the door behind me with her help and head for the ground floor. Exiting the building, I head for the car and unlock it, setting my Jagi in the passenger's seat. Then I get into the driver's seat and start the car. I pull out of the parking spot and head to my destination. "Yoongi, where are we going?" she asks looking out of the window at the passing buildings in the lamp light. "To a friends," I say bluntly. The rest of the drive is silent. As we pull up to the house, I see my Jagi is asleep. 'Good, she needs it,' I think to myself as I turn the car off. Quietly, I get out and knock on the door. I wait until I hear footsteps coming from inside. The door opens and I look steadily at the newcomer. "What do you want Suga?" he asks looking down at me. "I need your help," "How do I know if you will kill me?" he asks squinting at me. "If I need you then why would I kill you?" I monotone looking him in the eye. "Cause I know you," he replies glaring at me. Sighing I blurt out, "The Shadows are hunting Luna. Why you may ask, I don't know. She was kidnapped and sliced. I need to keep her safe. Will you help me?" I say staring at him. He takes a second to think about it the slightly nods. Sighing in relief, I nod back then turn to head back to the car to retrieve Luna.

Luna: I wake up when I feel myself being moved, arms sliding under my back and legs. Opening my eyes I see Suga lifting me up and then he heads toward a house. "Yoongi, where are we?" I ask looking at the house. "My......Friends," he answers hesitantly. Knowing that will be all he will say, I lean my head back onto his shoulder and fall asleep once again.

Coming awake from my sleepiness, I notice I am in an unfamiliar room. Then I remember the events of last night...night? What time is it? Feeling my phone next to me, I turn it on only to be accosted by the bright light. Cursing under my breath, I turn the brightness down and see the time. 3:45 AM. Sighing, I toss the blankets aside and stand up from the comfortable bed. Balancing slightly, I walk to the door and quietly open it. Hearing voices in the kitchen, I decide to find out what secrets Yoongi is hiding and stay close to the wall to listen as I get closer. "Suga you can't keep her here if the shadows are looking for her. Sooner or later they are going to find her and will come to kill her. If they see that I had a part in it they'll kill me as well!" "I know, I know Jin," I hear Yoongi's stressed voice sigh. "I just need enough time to find a safe place," "What do you mean?" Jin questions. "I mean I have to tell her what I do sometime or later. Tonight's events are not just going to be forgotten." Suga says tersely. "Ok, but why her," Jin asks. "Isn't it obvious? She's my wife?" Suga points out. "What do you think she'll do when she finds out?" Jin asks quietly. "I don't know," is Suga's reply. "I better go check up on her, be right back." I hear a chair scraping the floor and realize Suga might find me listening. Backing up I make it look like I was walking up when Suga rounds the corner. "There you are Yoongi," I say faking relief as you look around the house. "Where are we?" I ask. I watch him as his eyes narrow for a second then he straightens asking, "How do you feel?" "Better than before, but I am hungry," I admit. He nods and places a hand on my back leading me to the kitchen. Turning the corner I see a tall man dark brown hair in somewhat swooping to the side bowl cut. He has kind brown eyes and a beautiful smile. "Luna, this is Jin, Jin this is my wife Luna," Suga says gesturing to Jin then to me. He then points to a chair and I take a seat. Jin follows. Suga then turns and prepares a plate of eggs, bacon, toast and some fruit for breakfast.....at 4:00AM in the morning...again.

Suga:

I stare down at her as I wonder how much she has heard. I know she was instinctively lying to me when she said she was "just walking up". I should have been more careful with what I said. She isn't ready to know yet. "Jagia, I know you don't want to talk about it, but what happened when they kidnapped you?" I ask casually. She freezes, fork almost to her mouth as she thinks for a second. "Um, the man was interested in you Yoongi," she says frowning at her eggs. "And what did you tell him?" I ask more forceful. "I-I told him that I was married to you," she says slowly eating the bite of eggs as she looks up at me. Why would he be interested in me? I ponder. I pace around the kitchen, before deciding to think elsewhere: heading for the living room. Suddenly as I turn the corner, a black clad figure jumps in front of me. I duck as it throws a knife with a sweep of his arm. "Jin get her out of here!" I yell as I throw a punch to the figure, knocking him out. A scream and glass shattering catch my attention, looking around I see no more intruders. I head back to the kitchen hurriedly only to see a figure holding Luna in a head lock, knife to her throat. Jin is unconscious on the floor. "Let her go," I growl at the figure, fists clenching. "No, not until we have found out everything," the figure responds. "She's married to me and she doesn't know anything!"I yell at him. "Are you sure?" he asks pulling the knife closer to her throat. She flinches. "Let...her...go," I growl through clenched teeth. "Hm, depends on what I get in return," "What do you want," I ask slowly. "Information," he replies. "On what?" I scoff. "Dragon Lair," he says. My eyes widen. "No, I don't know of anything to do with that place." I reply jaw clenching. "Why do you need information on that place?" I ask. "I need it because-," he cuts off as a knife hits his back and the falls out of the shattered window. A figure lands in his place and grabs Luna. He then pulls her out of the window and out of sight. "No!!" I scream as I rush to the window, but they are already gone.

[breathings-of-the-heart]

Levi x Reader Part 3

Love me Black and Blue

A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! Hope all’s well so far, and looking forward to 365 days of self-love, prosperity, human relations, and of course, more Shingeki no Kyojin! I don’t really have a preface for this chapter, other than the fact that its probably one of my favorites. As always, enjoy <3

(Part 1);  (Part 2) (Part 4 sneak peek)

Please don’t tell me they already left...

You bolted forward, hissing in pain as your wrapped ankle protested against the fast and sudden movement of running. A self-induced sense of urgency spurred you onward despite it, but such carelessness twisted the injury further as you misstepped, stumbling forward slightly.

You barely flinched, bending down and tightening the bandages before treading forward once more with a bit more awareness. And without missing a beat, a distant gallop of horse hooves shook the ground. Like a cat hunting prey, your orbs darted towards the direction of the sound and spurred you onward.

“Of all days to wake up late,” you hissed underneath your breath, voice dripping with sarcasm.

A few greetings were tossed your way as you passed, casual at first until those who laid eyes on your intense gaze gave you a double take.

Your shirt wasn’t completely buttoned, the sleeve tucked on one end and rolled down on the other. Usually kempt (h/c) locks were a tangled mess tossed over your shoulders, pants consisting of flimsy sleeping shorts. It was probably a ridiculous sight to see you limping across camp so ungracefully, and in such a condition.

Catching a certain someone was more important than the throbbing sensation or uncharacteristic behavior, however.

“Captain Levi!”

Seeing a onyx-haired male just a few paces ahead of you now, you reached your arm out and tugged on the Captain’s sleeve desperately to stop him. But the burst of speed and short distance between the two of you was something you hadn’t considered.

He halted the uniform stride abruptly. You broke pace, yet being in such a hurried state left transitioning time too narrow. Unable to halt yourself in time, you collided with Levi’s sturdy back…

… and the ground slipped from beneath you.

“Shi--”

Weight precariously balanced on your back heels, you screwed your eyelids shut to prepare for your collision with the hard earth.

But the impact never came.

Levi turned around curiously, seeing the situation and calmly yet unnaturally quickly slipping his arm around your waist before you could completely trip backwards.

He muttered a small “tch,” at your lack of professionalism and shook his head, looking down to give you a much-needed lecture.

“(Y/N), how many times have I--” 

Levi’s eyes flickered lower, but as soon as they did, he froze.

The current angle of your half-dipped figure and barely covered cleavage made it difficult to restrain himself from... staring. Of course you’d be oblivious about such a thing.

Levi screwed his eyelids shut in exasperation.

“--Forget it,” he finished, reverting to his usual collected self. “I won’t waste my breath.”

You tentatively opened your eyes, hands gently brushing against Levi’s firm chest. Even underneath his uniform, you could feel his impressive muscles, and became embarrassed for not hating his hand gripping your side. Heichou’s body against yours made your heart pound so fiercely you were afraid he would be able to feel it.  

Stunned the whole situation, your pupils dilated as you were given the opportunity to properly admire the man in front of you.

But the moment had to end as Humanity’s Strongest cleared his throat and heaved you upwards. Blushing, you dusted yourself off as the tension-filled scene passed. Nearly everyone who knew Levi also knew it was impossible to deny his handsome appearance, but you were professional.

Maybe not at the moment, but...

“You’re a mess,” he clicked his tongue in disapproval. You rubbed your arm sheepishly at the comment. “Why aren’t you in the infirmary?” his voice brought you back to focus and you felt yourself flush once again.

“There aren’t any medics around to keep me away, and I just wanted to see you off, is all…” you answered shyly, biting the inside of your cheek.

“I literally think it’s impossible for you to just… do as you’re told,” he admonished finally as you observed the unamusement in his steele blue-gray orbs. Levi prepared to tell you off for disregarding your health so easily, but as he got a better look at you, something stopped him.

His fixed look shifted from your heaving torso down to the bandages on your leg, the panting of your laboured breathing filling the air.

Guilt and worry reflected your off of your eyes, pure and innocent. Your already petite form seemed even smaller underneath your crestfallen posture, and combining with the utter chaos of your appearance and the pain in your ankle you must’ve been ignoring to reach Levi so quickly, he couldn’t help but soften his expression a fraction.

You were simply really, really worried for your family.

“It’s just… This is the first time I won’t be going with you all, sir. I’m not used to it, and…” there was a pause. “I don’t like it...”

Petra’s gaze flitted to where you and Levi were stood, and she motioned to everyone around her, all nearby and saddling up their horses. They all smiled warmly, the waves of concern and anxiety radiating from you feasible from where they gathered around. The Captain felt their burning stares and ignored them, narrowed his eyes at you instead.

You grew flustered. Was he really angry with you for wanting to say goodbye? You replayed the brief conversation in your head, trying to find where it went wrong.

Oh.

“Not that I don’t think you’re capable without me! You obviously can handle yourselves just fine, even if you were all on your own. I don’t think I carry the squad or anything. I know you are--”

“--(Y/N)?” he cut you off, efficiently abridging your words. Out of nervous habit, you bit your lip. Levi squad all sauntered towards you, synchronized even in their steps.

“It’s just a regulation border patrol,” he continued, unfazed as they all approached. Oluo rested his arm on your shoulder, and you had to crane your head upwards to look at him, reluctantly breaking focus from the short Captain.

“Don’t worry, Shorty Girl. We’ll be back before you know it. Hell, I could probably do one of these by myself. In my sleep,” he boasted, predictably. You smiled softly at his pompous attempt to reassure you. Petra, unaffected by the Levi-wannabe’s ‘charm’, rolled his eyes.

“So you’re telling me you can spot titans with your eyes closed, dumbass?”

Before he could respond, Levi took initiative over the inevitable pointless bickering that was about to break out.

“Let’s stop wasting my time and actually get this over with,” he ordered, gaze never leaving you as he waved them off. Gunther sent you a discreet thumbs up as Eld pulled him away, waving at you as she went. Your stomach churned with anxiety regardless.

“I’m sorry, Heichou,” you croaked, playing with the ends of your hair. Levi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Stop worrying about it, brat. It’s not your fault. And start taking better care of yourself, if you want to come with us next time.”

“Yes, sir,” you conceded defeatedly, watching desparidly as Levi turned to mount his horse. Seeing his back to you, about to leave to the uncertainty of the outside, made something snap, though, and you tugged on his sleeve once again.

“Captain, wait!” you nearly shrieked, fear growing in a frantic spurt. He looked back, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes?”

There was a pause.

“I...uh…” to be honest, you had nothing else to say. All you knew is that you didn’t want him to go just yet.

You really cared about them, didn’t you?

“Oi,” the stoic man interrupted, lamenting to the crestfallen, puppy-eyed countenance you were wearing. He reached out, pulling your hand away from the hair it was tugging at.

“We’ll come find you when we get back.”

You sighed, but there was an undeniable sincerity in his words. Levi paused, studying your expression for an awkward, silent minute as if daring you to question the statement.

“Okay,” you gave in, skin suddenly set ablaze where Levi’s fingers touched it. The gnawing worry was forgotten if only for an instant. “I guess you should be off, then, so you can return before I drive myself insane.”

Levi’s gaze met yours steadily, gears turning in his head as he monotonously analyzed the dejection in your expression. He raised his hand and signalled to the squad behind him to move out.

Petra, Gunther, Eld, and Oluo all waved to you in turn before galloping off. You were sure Humanity’s Strongest was going to leave without another word, and the churning feeling in your gut made you lightheaded as the Captain’s grip on his horse’s reins grew tighter. It must’ve been evident on your face.

Levi rolled his eyes.

“Have a little faith, (Y/N),” He insisted apathetically before turning his horse to join the others, leaving you behind.

You nodded in defeat, watching the Special Operations Squad disappear in the distance, without you alongside them.

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

You sat on the nurse’s desk table, one leg hanging off and the other propped up, your head resting on your knee. Hange scuffled around, grabbing certain items for her titan experiments as you watched her intently.

She seemed to be in search of a particular item, eyes squinted in concentration. A bundle of materials rested in one of her arms, filled with intimidating scalpels, lighters, and vials of unknown substances. You began absentmindedly playing with the hem of your long skirt, the shuffle of the brunette’s movements blurring in your ears.

After rummaging through the cabinets for a solid five minutes, she pulled at her hair in frustration, whipping around to face you.

“(Y/N)...” she whined, rather loudly, jolting you back to awareness. “I can’t find a needle, and you’re just sitting there doing nothing!”

You shot the scientist a fierce glare and pulled out the drawer from the desk underneath you, pointing to the object she was looking for in silence. Hange shook her head softly, plucking the injection from its place.

“I’m getting gray hairs just staring at you, you know. Honestly, it’s like there’s a dark cloud pouring rain over your head. They’re fine, (Y/N). Lighten up.”

You crossed your arms and stuck your nose in the air defensively.

“I didn’t ask you to babysit me, so don’t complain about me polluting your good mood. You can always go if you want to.”

She clicked her tongue.

“Actually, I can’t. Corporal Shorty demanded I watch you while they’re gone.” There was a twinkle of humor in her eyes.

Taken aback, you scoffed lightly. “What does he think I’m going to do? I can barely move five feet in front of me.”

Hange laughed, provocatively grinning at you before turning around to grab a bag to place her things. The disposition in the room changed, and you knew the next thing out of the scout’s mouth would be utter ridiculousness.  

“I don’t know, (Y/N). Why would someone as dark and brooding as Corporal Shorty leave someone in charge to make sure your angelic self stays perfectly safe in this room?”

So you had been correct. Noting that you were in a particularly sour mood, you saved no expense in considering Hange’s potentially gentle ego as you bluntly glowered at her.

“You know I hate it when people speak in riddles. Insinuation is pointless, Hange. Either say what you mean or shut the hell up,” you huffed, any semblance of your typically cheery personality having disappeared with your squad members.

Hange folded her arms across her chest and you inhaled deeply, wondering what had come over you.

“You’re too perfect for words, (Y/N),” the woman laughed, poking you on the nose sweetly. “No wonder Levi has taken a liking to you.”

Your cheeks flamed. If you weren’t already red from you interaction with said man that morning, you were probably scarlet now. Gauging your reaction, Hange doubled over her strange cackling growing in volume as you willed your mind not to wander off into daydream about his perfectly sculpted body, alluring orbs, defined jawline--

Wait. Since when did I start thinking about that?

“Yeah, you’re perfect for his squad,” she finished, placing a hand on her hip.

Oh. That’s what Hange meant. Of course.

You cleared your throat, willing your face to cool down in the process. She was so friendly, you started to feel sorry for snapping at her the way you did.

“I’m sorry for my bitterness, Hange,” you started apologetically. “It’s just that my job is to help them, so when I can’t, what am I good for?”

“--If you want to help, it will do well for you to stay put and heal. Petra can’t survive much longer without someone to help her tame the other brats,” a voice broke in.

You perked up instantly as your gaze snapped to the familiar sound, nearly jumping off the table after realizing Levi was leaning against the doorframe. Sunlight seemed brighter, and the world regained a bit of its color.  

“Naturally. Only you can handle for such a task by yourself,” you smiled, feeling the ton of weight lifting from your chest.

Love and relief for your teammates hitting you like a rush as he sauntered closer. Your first impulse was to throw your arms around the short-statured man as soon as he was in arms-length, but you tightened your fists instead, puzzled by the urge to do such a thing. He placed himself between your legs and blew his hair out of his face.

“Hm,” Levi grunted, as if agreeing to the statement.

The raven turned to Hange, as if suddenly remembering her presence while you held your breath next to him.

“You can go now, if you’d like.”  

She nodded, clutching her things tighter.

“Finally! She’s been a pain in the ass, that one,” the glasses-clad female exclaimed, a cheeky smirk plastered on her face. She ducked with the preknowledge that something would be chucked at her head.

Your glower was pressing daggers into her skin, but nevertheless, Hange winked at you as she ushered herself out of the room.

Without much of a warning, Levi placed your hands on his shoulders and his own on your hips.

“Down you go. The others are waiting for you,” he montoned, assisting you gently climb down from the cold, steel table.

Touching Levi’s broad shoulders alongside with the fact that you hadn’t needed help at all, which he knew, made your heart pound. The entire way to the mess hall, he kept a soft touch on the small of your back to guide you, making sure you wouldn’t trip. He looked down at your shorter form and leaned down to whisper something.

“Oh, and in case you thought I was being nice: two weeks of kitchen duty for disrespecting Hange.”

Something nagging bloomed in your stomach despite Levi’s unknowingly seductive tone, however; a distant memory chiming in demand to be remembered. One that made your palms sweat as you stole a glance at him.

[franeridart]

Hey! So sorry if you already answered this but what application and tablet do you use??

I use Easy Paint Tool SAI and a pretty old wacom intuos tablet! Both questions are answred in my faq, actually~

Anon said:You. You awesome person. You are my new fav artist. 💘💘💘

AW thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:I love your art and the style, it’s all so cute and it might give me a heart attack

He c k let’s hope not! Thank you so so much!!! ;^;

Anon said:hey, can ya do more tokage, pls

Sure, I mean to draw more 1B in the future anyway~

Anon said:nori is soo adorable!! I love your art and seromina so much and seeing them combined makes me mega happy!!! I gotta ask though, how are sero and mina as parents and how do they handle nori’s quirk?

They’re disasters as parents but they try their best and are always having fun - Nori adores them! In their house not a minutes goes by without someone laughing, they’re all super loud and cheerful always~ neither of them has any problem dealing with Nori’s quirk, Sero has spent a whole lifetime learning how to deal with sticky stuff and tape and glue so he knows all the tricks to save clothes and furniture from accidental quirk usage and so on, while Mina’s own quirk makes it easy to counter any glue that might end on her - the main thing actually is that the quirk itself was a surprise! Since Nori looks a lot like Mina, both she and Sero had expected her to have acid like Mina so when she started gluing herself around in places and walking along walls and stuff it was a surprise (they had expected to have to deal with the house being constantly half destroyed by acid though, so glue is nothing compared to that haha)

Anon said:Heyy I saw your twitter account and was wondering if you could link some of those “fics about them boys sharing a bed..“ I’ve been following you for a while now and absolutely love your work (: I hope you don’t mind lol. I need more kiribaku in my life gahaha ❤️ thanks !!

I didn’t really bookmark any and most were old things I had read in the past and spent time rereading lately, but the newest one I read is this one - honestly though at this point 99% of the fics set in the dorms have them sharing a bed, you just need to open ao3 and scroll down less than a page to find stuff lol

Anon said:If you’re not an Adventure Time fan this ask will make no sense to you (so skip it), but when I saw your drawing of Katsuki with a guitar, I immediately thought he was singing some edgy Marceline song, like the teasing-aggressive “I wanna bury you in the ground / I wanna bury you with my sound” (which he actually says at some point I think XD) or the romantic and melancholic “Slow Dance with You” and Eijirou M-E-L-T-S.

Not an AT fan, but the concept is adorable so I’m keeping the ask anyway

Anon said:Do you think you might draw more of your fantasy AU children while you’re playing with you’re new pencil tool? It would be neat if you did! Regardless, I’m grateful for anything you draw!

Yup! Can’t promise when it’ll happen but I love the fantasy AU and I love childhood friends AU, so the chances of me going back on it are pretty high!

Anon said:Are you going to draw Mako and Taiyou again? They are so wonderful.

YAH that’s definitely in the near future plans! Thank you for liking them!!

Anon said:I just…I love all your art. It’s so amazing you’re awesome

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!! ;^;

Anon said:Stavo scorrendo il tuo blog e ho notato che hai risposto ad una domanda in italiano? Ho seriamente pensato fossi inglese tutto questo tempo! Amo seriamente i tuoi disegni, i tuoi oc sono meravigliosi e non vedo l'ora di scoprire più di loro.

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH grazie infinite omfg ;^; specialmente per i miei oc, è sempre incredibile per me sapere che alla gente piacciono abbastanza da volerli vedere di più ;^;

Anon said:Hewwo! I’m a huge fan of your artwork!! I was wondering if you have any time could you draw some more of those dorm room scenarios?

Anon I’m sorry but I need you to be more specific, which dorm room scenarios are you talking about? Most of my comics at this point are set in the dorms hahaha

Anon said:I just noticed that on every artwork you sign “do not repost” and I hate it.I don’t hate that you do it, but the fact you NEED to do it. Artists all over the Internet say to not repost their art but people still do it…I hope this will stop someday Sorry for my english btw

Yeah well, I guess as long as people keep on following and giving notes to reposters that’s not really gonna change is it orz

Anon said:You should draw Present Mic x Aizawa *awkward finger guns*

Hell I really should, shouldn’t I

Anon said:my god im gay for your kiribaku like they’re so good aibdjsbsknwnx and i love the interactions between the bakusquad ahh keep being awesome :)

HECK THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Anon said:Honestly, this might be an odd question I don’t know, but would you ever consider putting your art together in a art book to sell? Cause to be honest, there’s not a piece by you that I don’t adore and I’ve seen some artist do things like that before so I didn’t know if that was something you’d consider. Maybe like all your BNHA pieces or something?

It’s not like I never considered it? It’s more like I dunno how worth all the work to figure out how to make it/where to print it and then to actually make it would be compared to the interest people would have in buying something they can have for free on my blog? It’s just doodles after all haha

Anon said:Would you be willing to draw a little lavi (dgm) doodle for me? Anything tiny, I just love him and your art!!!

I’m not doing requests right now, sorry, but soon enough the new chapter is coming out so I might draw him around then!!! I always fall in a serious dgm mood around the time of the chapter release haha

Anon said:More abuse of the ask function: 1- I love your art and have been for months. On top of that, it often feels cathartic, which is amazing to me. 2- I love how balanced you can make KiriBaku. You even manage to make me appreciate that overrated attention hogger that is Bakugou, you can handle him so much better than the author, because your character dynamics make so much more sense!! 3- I always, ALWAYS find myself reading through all your tags. They’re awesome. Thank you for everything.//Avevo finito lo spazio nell'ask precedente, so I’d only like to add that aside from cutie-smoochy (“It’s not about whether you break” and “I don’t need you” might be my favorite, and for what’s worth, I remember writing something exactly like the latter in the past), you also make mu burst into laughter. Like, the comic where Katsuki is about to out Eijirou on his red hair, I am still rolling. Kiri’s giant mouth is seriously hysterical XD

Thank you for the compliments!! I’m glad I can make you like a character and a relationship you’re not much of a fan of in the actual manga? ? ? Bakugou’s actually one of my favorite characters ever though so………. maybe……….don’t offend him and the way Horikoshi writes him while talking to me………….orz

Anon said:I am starved for Bakukamikiri stuff in this fandom……..But you got some good shit.

I’m!!! happy to be able to help there!!!! haha

Anon said:They mama Mitsuki art you drew 👏💯💖☺️💕👌 I love your art so much

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Yessssss you have Twitter! It is boring at the beginning but then you’ll love it! I can’t wait to see you here and there! Now all my Bakushima favorite artist have one I can die of happiness!!

I’m!!!!!!!!!! Still trying to figure it out but!!!!!!!! For now it’s not that bad? Just!!! Very different from tumblr so I’ll need to get used to it first!!!!

Anon said:Omg do u shade jirous hair like its a heartbeat line? Dhdisbdisb thats so fuckibg good

THANK she actually has it in canon too, tho, so I can’t take credit for this!!!

Anon said:Im crying on how you draw kirishima’s soft hair

S O B I’m glad you like it!! ;^;

Anon said:Can I ask what your stance is on bakugo’s mom being abusive and sorry if you’ve answered this before

I love Mitsuki with my whole heart and while I don’t think she’s perfect I do think she’s loving and caring and trying her best and always looking out for what’s best for Bakugou 👍 no abuse anywhere, for me

Anon said:OMG I LOVE SEROMINA LOVE CHILD NORI

Thank you for liking her???? heck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:I wish I could use your art for my phone’s background ;^; You’re amazing! I love youuuuuuuuuu

No one’s stopping you from doing that, anon!!! Unless you don’t have a phone that allows you backgrounds, in which case ;-; thank you for liking my stuff that much tho!!

Anon said:Hey! I followed you way back when your main output was haikyuu!! comics and once you started putting out more bnha, i had to unf because i had no idea who everyone was rip. but now that ive finally had the chance to watch it i’m glad to come back and see how much you’ve improved!

HECK THANK YOU???? I’m glad you decided to come back????? oh man that’s super flattering !!!

Anon said:Yolo bakusquad bakubowl ?

I don’t really like the whole concept of [character]bowl, sorry!

Anon said:I absolutely adore your art style😍 every time I see your art it makes me happy:)

THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:Can you draw Hawks and Tokoyami together? You are rlly creative and amazing! So I believe you will produce sth. awesome!!!! (If you don’t want to draw Hawks, could you draw a Tokoyami fusion?)

I can draw that! I’m just waiting to know how tall Hawks is compared to him before doing that 👍 be patient pls relative heights are something I’m stupidly fussy about 

Anon said:Burn the whole world to ashes for you? R U serius?! You always killing me dude. I ascended to the heaven of soft things. I N C R E D I B L E. Im sorry for the break down, i was without tumblr 2 months and the firts thing i do is go to your profile. Keep doing this plis im trully love it 😭💖

mAN I’m so glad you liked that one this much, drawing the boys being unreasonably soft with each other is my fav thing to do tbh !!!

Anon said:Omg I can totally imagine Nori and bakushima’s daughter being friends!!!

THEY ARE !!!!!!!

Anon said:Your seromina is amazing!!! I love that ship I feel like it is so underrated! Thank you for this blessed image!! 😭

No prob!! thank you for liking it!!!!!!! I’ve been in such a seromina mood lately, I might actually draw more soon enough!!

Anon said:Omg imagine a Tetsuwase love child. Something tells me they’d be adorable and one rather angry child, considering who their fathers are

I can see them as being quiet and grumpy………. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Anon said:Hey just wanted to tell you I love your art. It’s so soft and beautiful. My dad doesn’t ship any characters from the series, but he does like the series and he thinks your art and style are really pleasing. We were talking about how nicely you shade and that the style is well developed and lovely to look at. Thanks for making such great art that makes me smile and giving me and my dad yet another thing to bond over.

YO THAT’S SUCH A COOL THING TO HEAR!!!! Thank you to both you and your dad for liking my stuff????? h e c k !!!!!

Anon said:Thanks to you I started reading haikyuu.

I hope you’re enjoying it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!