#his stand can change peoples opinions of each other but needs physical contact to activate

[anxiousandapathetic]

Two dudes with an umbrella

[forthekags]

Number Nine

Kageyama x FemReader

Part Three

Read Part 2 Here

Read Part 1 Here

About: You were introduced to the Karasuno Boys’ Volleyball club during your second year. Yachi needed help after Kiyoko had taken her leave, so she asked you to join her. Although, it would have been smarter to look for a first year, but you were new and looked lonely. When you met the boys you were bit overwhelmed but they grew on you in no time. Kageyama was a little rough around the edges at first, he was awkward and couldn’t hold eye-contact. He was a blushing baboon for the first few days. He was sure to keep his distance but you only found it exciting and hilarious. Sure enough you two became friends from all your taunting and teasing. You’re about to enter your third year, and this was your make it or break it. You had to start thinking about your own future- and so did Kageyama.

Thunder

"Hey, Y/N?" Yachi had a nervous voice when she approached you. It was lunchtime and instead of taking your nap like scheduled, you were bouncing the ball on the side of the building. A bit aggressive, in Yachi's opinion. 

"Hey whatsup," you greeted. 

"Um, is everything okay with Kageyama?" You smacked the ball harder. "I just wanted to make sure because well I haven't seen you two talk to each other the past two days. And Hinata told me that Kageyama has been asking him for help on his homework." You hit the ball so hard, it lost control and flew right past you. You groaned and banged your hand on your head. “Did you have a fight or something? Why is he not studying with you anymore?”

You jogged over to get it and Yachi followed. 

"Look Yachi," you said nonchalantly, "I'm not really his babysitter or whatever. So I can't tell you what's going on inside that empty skull of his." 

"Sorry… I just- I thought�� nevermind." She offered a smile, "I’ll figure it out." 

You released a breath, a bit shaken up from the extra physical activity and the mental burden of an abnormal Kageyama. It wasn’t your job to get him back to normal. He’s a big boy, someone who can handle their own issues so you shouldn’t feel bad about turning Yachi down. If she was intensely worried, maybe she should go ask him directly. 

How bad could it be? 

It had been two days since your little argument. You had missed morning practice and the beginning time of your first class because you woke up late. He’s always there for morning practice and that didn’t change but stopping by your house did. Your mom usually lets him in so he can get your lazy butt out of bed, so when he didn’t show up... there wasn’t anyone to wake you up. 

Kageyama had been turning in crappy homework, it was a small plummet in his work so that itself put him a bit on edge. During his study time with Yachi and Hinata, he’d spend most of the time arguing with Hinata about taking up too much space or explaining it too fast. And you, you weren’t sleeping during lunch partly because you had to do some work for your first class causing you to be a little sour to anyone who tries to have a conversation with you. During after-school practices, the whole team felt the strange tension between you two. How you didn’t want to look at his way and how he pretended you weren’t even there. He would be long gone before you changed out of your gym outfit when practice was done, so you walked home alone. 

Little did you both know that Yachi was getting real sick and tired of it. After your conversation with her, she marched to where Shoyo had been waiting around the corner. He was annoyed too with Kageyama’s increase in abuse. He was scared that if this kept up, that there’d be a full-on fight between the King and Tsukishima. However, Tsuki had also been a bit quieter, not enough but a noticeable amount. 

They ended up coming up with a plan. A plan that would get you two in the same room and be forced to talk to each other. That way whatever happened can be sorted out and things will go back to normal in no time. At least, that’s what Hinata thought. Yachi thought it would worsen things and you two would just end up arguing more. Though Hinata said that was a good outcome too. Needless to say, the plan was in motion and their setup was a success.

After school, instead of going to practice, you headed towards Mr. Shota’s classroom to receive your punishment. You had the luck to have an altercation with Mr. Shota while he was in a sour mood. He was known for giving detentions like a grocery store taste test. You don’t get detention, it never seemed to come up, but this week hasn’t been a normal week for you… You couldn’t find your skirt uniform after your recreational time, so you went with your gym pants to class and passed by Mr. Shota himself. He didn’t even give you a chance to explain! You went back to look for your damn skirt uniform and found it in the exact place you left it. When you walked out with the proper attire, Mr. Shota saw you again and assumed you were lying either way. 

When you stepped into his classroom, there were three other people already there. Poor souls that were in Mr. Shota’s line of sight. As you took a seat and made some shuffling sounds, they turned their heads to look at you and there he was. Kageyama was sitting in the second row near the windows on the third seat, he quickly looked away when you looked his way. His cheeks burned with an unknown feeling so he covered them up by resting his head on his hands and his elbows on the desk. 

Kageyama was in there because Hinata had triggered some sort of river of cuss words in him. Mr. Shota was not very fond of it. He sulked about it the rest of the day until now, because now he was sulking about you. He won’t admit it to anyone but he hated ignoring you. It was so much work. He wasn’t even mad at you, he just couldn’t look at you- not in an angry way! Just… that… it was something he was still trying to figure out. Unfortunately you were mad at him. 

Every time he’d look away you would get angry. You didn’t understand what was going on with him and he wouldn’t tell you, so good riddance. 

You sat near the back and closer to the back door- far away from him. 

“Great you’re all here- I don’t have to go searching in club rooms.” Mr. Shota sounded like he was over this teaching and disciplining. You quietly thought why would he create a reason for him to stay later than he should. “My room needs deep cleaning, it’s about that time anyway, and the music room is worse. Since it’s four of you, Hiro and Miyamoto you’ll be in here while Y/N and Kag-”

“No!” You jumped out of your seat.

“Y/N! Do you want another day added?” 

“No no no… but can I clean your class instead, Mr. Shota?” You had all eyes on you because of your little outburst but you begged either way. The awkward tension that will emit during this will kill you for sure. 

“Oh of course let me give you a hand while I’m at it.” His voice dripped with sarcasm but his facial expression was stoic. “Lying is a great deal Miss Y/N, especially when it’s done to a teacher. You get the music room with potty mouth over here.”

“But I didn’t lie-”

“Enough, Y/N.” That sat you back down, defeated and upset. 

Tobio was a bit hurt. No- not just a bit- he was pained that you were so bothered by being in the same room as him. You two were friends, right? He’s never been so close to someone before. He’s never been able to keep a friend for this long… Other than the team, you were always there. Even outside of school, he’s never one to hang out with people- it’s too much sometimes- but with you. Well, he likes hanging out with you. 

You two followed Mr. Shota to the music room and listened to his instructions and warnings. He gave you one last warning about that attitude, it was irking him. While you stared away, Kags would glance every now and then. He wanted to make sure you were okay, but didn’t know if he should keep his distance or go for it and apologize. What did he need to apologize for? Not going over… ignoring you… Okay, yeah he needs to say sorry for that. 

But what if you bring up that thing again. The whole reason you had that one argument. 

You polished some instruments until you could see your reflection and put them away neatly. It was therapeutic for the most part, but when the other person in the room would move some chair to broom the area, it would throw you off again. Mr. Shota exaggerated when he said it was a mess in here. It was disorganized, sure, but nothing tear-worthy. 

“Y/N?” You looked up and matched Kageyama's confused eyes. There was a pause while you expected him to continue. He was looking for the right words… "Are we… Are we still friends?" 

His voice was low and he blushed from embarrassment while avoiding eye contact. Something fluttered in your chest, a familiar feeling, and it made you soften your features. You looked away and took some time to ponder the question. Not that you needed any, because you already knew the obvious answer. 

"Yes," you say- a little bothered and aggressive but sincere. "Friends fight, it's normal." You pick up the instrument and put it away then move on to the next. This time you were cleaning it a bit more aggressively. As if you were irritated with the inanimate object. 

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He couldn't help but smile in relief, he wasn't going to lose you. 

"So… Can I come over today?" 

You dropped the instrument and made a few of them chatter with each other. They made a ruckus as they hit one another and toppled over a nearby stand. Kageyama rushed over to help you before you two got in trouble again, especially since you were already walking on a tightrope with the teacher.

You were bamboozled, like a sneak attack on a careless soldier. This boy might be the most oblivious airhead you’ll ever meet. How did he think that was okay to ask? 

“Leave it!” You picked up the instrument that he was reaching for along with the many others. Soon you were carrying eight different instruments with a variety of sizes in your arms looking like one breeze will knock you over. 

“Y/N, you’re going to hurt yourself or break one of those things!” He hesitated in reaching over, rightfully so because you threw a glare at him when he neared you. 

“I’m not going to break one of these things, I am perfectly capable of doing it myself!” You got your footing back and mentally thanked the gods, and a second later you hear a clank hit the ground. One of the flutes slipped through your fingers and chipped. Your eyes widened and you glanced back at Kageyama who looked like he was about to make a run for it. “So much for a volleyball player, Kags!”

“What! Did you want me to receive it and throw it up in the air?” He asked bewildered. 

“Aren’t you supposed to have fast reflexes, you turdball!” 

“You’re the one who didn’t let me help you with all those!”

“God, I am so telling Coach about you lacking,” you threatened. “Well don’t just stand there! Help me with this!” 

He rushed over and grabbed the big ones from your arms. You rubbed away any scratches and evidence of a disturbance before putting them up. Kageyama stood there until you got all of them one by one from his arms now. He had a pouting face but didn't say anything during that time. 

"I'm still mad at you," you mumbled. His pout only annoyed you because you were in between pinching his cheek and stomping his foot. Only because his cheeks show up more and his eyes are always avoiding, and his lips do this thing where his bottom lip sticks out more from frowning. Kageyama only has a handful of intense expressions, most of which can be seen whenever he's on the court. But when he's not, he gets embarrassed and upset and tired and nervous. And when you're not watching, he gets excited and soft and hurt. 

But they were rare, so when it happens in front of you, you can't help but appreciate it or tease it. 

"I'm sorry," he said. "Really, I am. It's just… I still haven't figured it out." 

"What is it about?" You wanted him to know that you were there if he needed you. And, you wanted your best friend back. 

"I promise you'll be the first person I tell." 

You rolled your eyes. "As if that's saying anything, who else would you even tell?" He chuckled and that made you smile. You can still humor him, that's good to know. 

"No one that matters as much," he sighed. He wasn't looking directly at you, he said it more as if he was saying it to himself or if it was like a distant memory. "So… Can I come over?" He asked again. 

You started tapping your finger on your chin, as if you were pondering the question. "Only if you buy me tea for a week! Morning AND afternoon!" You raised your pinky in the air and waited for his word.

"A week! Do you think I'm rich!?" He looked at you crazy but you were determined. 

"Not after this week," you said.

He groaned and huffed but took your pinky with his, sealing the compromise. He was warm compared to your freezing hands, so much that it surprised you. Your eyebrows raised and you quickly grabbed onto his hand with both of yours. 

"Ah! You're ice cold, Y/N!" He tried pulling back but you held on. 

"And you're soooo warm!"

[ddarker-dreams]

In Passing. Yan Shigaraki x Reader [COMM]

“It sure is getting worse around here, huh?” 

A dejected sigh leaves your lips as you glance down at your screen, news alert notifications weighing down your soul further. This area of Japan isn’t renowned for being a safe haven, yet it was never this bad. Seeing the area you’ve called home your entire life deteriorating is a frightening experience, making you wonder if it’d be easier to move. 

Moving sounds nice in theory. When it comes to bringing your thoughts in fruition, too many outstanding obstacles stand in the way. Having to find a new job, a new place, your lease that stated you’d pay rent on this apartment for another six months, and having to move away from all your friends. These factors are what you remind yourself of when you entertain the thought of going elsewhere. 

There are more news alerts, your phone vibrating in your pocket.

“League of Villains confirmed to be behind the latest attacks.” 

“Heroes from all prefectures are being called in to deal with new threats.” 

“Mayor to enact 8 PM curfew to mitigate casualties.” 

The final flashing headline feels like the last nail in the coffin. There’s no denying the extremity of the situation in your prefecture, but isn’t this a little extreme? For such an intense measure, it’s being enforced on the same day as the announcement. You make a note to yourself to check in with your nearby friends to make sure they’ve made it home safely. 

Life as you know it is changing, in a way you don’t appreciate.  

This is headache inducing. The clock now is set an hour before curfew, leaving you with some options. While it might be wiser to stay at home, an inner craving for sweets is gnawing at you from within. Your everyday schedule has been hectic, leaving no room to breathe. It couldn’t hurt to treat yourself with some desserts, and the place you’re thinking of is less than ten minutes away. 

Significant incidents thus far haven’t been within thirty minutes of you. You’ll be fast, it can’t hurt to try. Having sweets to hold you over a few days is a tempting concept that you give into with ease. 

Heroes are being sent in from everywhere in Japan, it’s only a matter of time before the dust settles. According to news anchors, at least. You’ll choose to have faith in their words, and not worry more than necessary.

With a newfound pep in your step, you grab your bag and head towards the door. This is just the thing you need, a small pick me up. Maybe you can grab some extras for your coworkers, everyone has been on edge lately. Nothing a little chocolate can’t fix. 

Still keeping an eye out for any suspicious behavior, you keep your guard up. Fewer people are on the streets, as to be expected. Some shops are even closing earlier in anticipation of the later curfew. The sight of this instills you with a new sense of vigor, picking up your pace in hopes of making it in time. If they close right when you get there, it’d be beyond disappointing. 

The typical bustling sounds of life from Japan are dying down, saved for your own footsteps against the cement and passing cars. People are taking this more seriously than you envisioned, cooping up in their residence even an hour before they need to. Lack of fellow humans in your vicinity is an unnerving sensation, your muscles going taut. Shutters are being closed, doors locked, like the calm before the storm. 

After a moment of thinking, you decide it might be best to head back. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Even if it means missing out on chocolate truffles. There are other ways you can treat yourself, your mind going to that. A movie night wouldn’t be a bad idea, maybe making some popcorn to accompany it. Making the best from a dire situation is what keeps you from falling apart at the seams. 

The opportunity to turn on your heels is stolen from you.

A flying blur suddenly slams into the sidewalk in front of you, earning a horrified gasp from your person. Startled, you back up, lips quivering and head darting around frantically for more information. The sickening crunching sound reverberates within your head, bile rising to your throat. 

The person in front of you is wearing a distinct hero uniform, tattered and caked in blood. Mind overflowing with desperate thoughts, you consider your options. From what you’re able to gather, he’s clearly physically hurt. Incapable of even lifting up his own weight without stumbling down again. 

A local hero from the looks of it, his name escaping you. Doing a double take, there’s no danger that you can spot. Heart pounding rapidly within the confines of your chest, you make a hesitant approach, lending your hand in assistance. 

“A-are you okay? Here, let me help you up,” you stutter out, uncertain of the best course of action. He coughs up blood, unlikely registering your existence next to him. “Oh, uh, okay, let me get help. I’ll call an ambulance--” 

“Run.” 

It’s a low gurgle, the scent of iron hanging in the air like a death sentence. You shiver, sensing the impending doom within his single utterance. From the depths of his being, a frenzied plea managed to leave his bruised mouth. It’s only now you see how mangled his body is, open wounds spilling pools of blood onto the ground.

He’s not going to make it at this rate. From what you’ve read in the past, and seeing the rapid blood less, it’s only a matter of time before he goes into shock. It’s a miracle that he’s even incapable of offering a single word to you, one that goes beyond your understanding. Surely there’s no one around, not that you can see. He must’ve been thrown from the thrall of battle, ending up here on the outskirts. 

What takes priority is getting this dying young man help. Ignoring his warning, you get your phone, dialing the emergency number with shaky hands. Smoke begins to rise in the distance, sirens getting louder and causing your head to swirl. The line continues to ring, each second feeling like centuries apart. 

It’s taking the operator forever to pick up, are they being overwhelmed with calls? Whatever is happening elsewhere must be a nightmare for you to not be able to reach any help. 

The hero next to you crawls forward, body shaking violently and rapidly losing strength. He clutches your ankle, a shriek leaving your lips at the unexpected sensation. 

Without wasting any time, he repeats his earlier warning, wheezing through labored breaths. “You… you need… to run.” 

A hero’s job is to protect the public from harm. Even as he lays here, presumably moments away from the pearly gates, he insists on helping you. It didn’t get through to you before, your mind wrapped up in the moment and concern for helping him. As painful as it is to realize it, he’s not going to make it. Not at the rate he’s going, numerous wounds marring his body. 

Tears stinging the corners of your eyes, you try calling for an ambulance again while walking away. He slumps down, believing that you’re finally heeding his warning to flee. 

It all happens faster than you can register. 

Hazy colors surround him from behind, a foreboding image. Stemming from the ground and swirling their way up, dark blacks and purples mix together to reveal a nightmare from the gates of hell. It takes form into a more human shape, eyes devoid of emotion and narrowing at the sight of you. Stepping out alongside him is a hunched over figure, detached hands covering his body.

Your blood runs cold. Lips part, not a sound leaving them as you intended. It’s impossible to scream, to run, to think. Adrenaline pumps throughout your blood vessels, fight or flight response activating. Too little too late, your vulnerable self surrounded by villains. 

This is what he was warning you about. At the time you didn’t consider your well being to be in jeopardy, no threats nearby. Now, materializing in front of you, stands two overarching people capable of ending your life. 

Or worse. 

Your only saving grace is that their attention is set on the nearly lifeless hero in front of you. A pale hand reaches out towards his neck, skin making contact. In a way that shouldn’t be possible, his once ruddy skin crumbles away like sand onto the ground. The sight manages to shake you up enough to scream, backing up with shaky legs. 

Alerting them to your presence serves to be your downfall, even if they would’ve noticed you eventually. The hand covered figure looks up at you, head tilting to the side. Through your paralyzed state, you pick up on more of his physical features. Tousled silver hair, hunched over posture, a black hoodie… it strikes a chord within your memory, a name leaving your lips before you can bite your tongue.

“Shigaraki, is that…?” 

He flinches at your tentative tone. The fog hovering over your mind clears, giving you a moment of unwanted realization. Shigaraki is a distinct person within your mind, one that you never characterized as a villain, much less a killer. Finishing that young man’s life without hesitation, donning a fittingly morbid outfit. 

Your initial interpretation was that Shigaraki isn’t a people’s person. By chance or fate, a few months prior, you had run into him at your job. He had trouble maintaining eye contact with you, voice guttural and uncertain. When you recommended a specialty drink to him, much to your surprise, he accepted it. 

That was the insignificant start of your quaint friendship. 

Despite first appearances, he was enjoyable to be around. You two ended up exchanging numbers after having more run-ins, discovering your shared interests. He preferred to listen to you speaking rather than leading conversations, still feeling comfortable enough to offer his input. 

Not many people were like Shigaraki. He felt like a breath of fresh air, someone who didn’t mince his words. You recall the times he’d tell you how it is, never being one to blend in with the popular opinion. For that, you respected him. Even if you didn’t see eye to eye on everything, his passion and knowledge on subjects was inspiring. 

You felt special, getting as close to him as you did. Many had tried and failed where you had succeeded. It didn’t make sense why he seemed partial to you, yet you never questioned him. A blooming bond formed, tended by your considerate hands. 

Only one aspect struck you as odd. While indulging in your own personal life, Shigaraki vehemently refused to extend the same courtesy. Knowledge of his job or family was nonexistent. It isn’t easy for everyone to talk about -- you assumed at the time -- so you never pushed the sensitive subject. 

Now that leads you to this position. 

“W-what… this, no… this can’t be you! You just,” you gulp back a lump forming in your throat, the word not wanting to come out. “You just killed him! Why?” 

He approaches you. Your prior words are met with a wave of regret, your tongue in usage before you could stifle it. For the lack of hesitation used in offering this hero, it’s natural to assume he’d have no trouble disposing of you too. There’s no way you’ll allow yourself to fall victim without putting up some form of a fight. 

There’s subtle hesitation in his approach. Or are you imagining things…? 

“No, this isn’t right!” 

It’s Shigaraki’s voice, clear as day. His tone accentuates how troubled he is, his fingers scraping the sensitive flesh of his neck. You wince at the sight, streaks of blood coming into fruition from his distressed action. Now towering over you, a silent stand off begins. The tension in the air is palpable enough to cut through it with a knife. Looking down at what little remains of the hero, you feel a new sense of resolve. His final wish, his final plea, was for you to run. Selflessly, instead of thinking out for himself, he urged you to safety.

You won’t let his sacrifice be in vain. No matter what it takes, you’ll get out of this. 

Taking a deep breath to steady yourself, you take in the situation. Shigaraki is in a similar confused state as you, mumbling under his breath and planning what to do with you. The next few seconds will be critical, time a luxury you can’t afford to waste. With the influx of heroes coming into this area to fend off the attacks, there’s a chance one might be chasing him down now.

It’s not a reliable enough idea. Fighting against two isn’t plausible either, given the gap in your strength. The best option is to run when there’s an opening. You know this area fairly well, and flagging down a passerby for help could be the ticket out of this. Readying yourself to sprint at any second, you stare Shigaraki down. 

“Shigaraki Tomura, what do you want to do with this person?” The foggy apparition from behind speaks up, earning both of yours attention. For a brief instance, Shigaraki turns his head around towards the source of the question. His uncertainty will be his downfall. 

‘This is my chance!’ 

Conjuring every ounce of your strength into your legs, you run. Feet hitting the ground with swiftness, heart pounding violently. The world around you is a blur, primal emotions taking over to flee this deadly scenario. None of the potential consequences matter, having dipped too far to pull back. It doesn’t come as a surprise when you hear footsteps approaching you from behind, the threat serving to keep you on high alert. 

Out of breath, you continue to look around for any potential help. No one is out on the streets at this time, so running is all that can be done. Your chest is heaving for air, legs burning and face flushed. Energy rapidly draining, your speed wavers. It won’t be much longer until whoever is chasing you -- be it that fog creature or Shigaraki -- is capable of killing you. 

Right as you think this, you turn a sharp corner into an alleyway. It’s a familiar area, your only advantage. This area leads to the backyard of some houses, if you jump the fence you might be able to wave down help. Brimming with potent determination, you prepare to spring up and bounce over the wiry fence growing closer to you. 

It’s claustrophobic in this area, brick walls and either side of you tight and restricting. Taking a deep breath to brace yourself, you jump up, hands clutching to the fence. Not bothering to spare a glance behind you at your pursuer, you utilize all your energy. Hoisting yourself over the top of the fence with shaky arms, you huff after accomplishing your goal. Dropping back down onto the ground on the other side. 

Only to be met by the hazy figure, Shigaraki coming out with him. 

You’re completely cornered. Looking side to side, no other people are in sight. The rush of adrenaline is diminishing at a frightening pace, droplets of sweat running down the sides of your face. Wiping your mouth with your hand, you glare up at the imposing duo. 

“Stop running.” Shigaraki hisses at you from behind his mask, tone irate. All of your actions are under close scrutiny, the wrong move being a death sentence. He stalks closer to you, limiting any further chances at escape. 

“Kurogiri. We’ll bring them back with us.” 

You and the person whose name is presumably Kurogiri look at Shigaraki in shared confusion. 

“Hurry up. I don’t have all day.” 

Broken free from your stunned stupor, you protest. “Wait!”  

Darkness wins over light, bewitching you in its macabre beauty. Your fingers, your arms, your legs, all of it is surrounded by shades of monochrome. Floating along into the unknown, sunlight is stolen. The walls are now made of concrete, bars on the windows. Wherever this is, it won’t be easy to escape. The crumbling environment brings with it a sense of dread.

Kurogiri’s quirk must allow the ability to transport, or something similar. It’s the only logical explanation. 

Shigaraki doesn’t look back at your other guest again. “Leave us.” 

The statement isn’t meant for you. Shigaraki takes a seat on the ground, giving an opportunity for you to gain your bearings. Panicking won’t help you, acting careful is in your best interest. Silence fills the air, eating away at you from within. 

You take the opportunity to speak up, not sure if you want to know the answer to your question. “So, what’s going to happen to me?”

“I don’t know.” 

That’s far from reassuring. Hostile intent isn’t anywhere to be found, so you continue to test the boundaries of your luck. Shigaraki isn’t in control of his feelings, it’s possible to capitalize off of that. If you say the wrong thing, it could also be your undoing. A double edged sword. Flurries of emotion swirl within you, ranging from despair to hope. It isn’t too late for you to get out of this. 

Deescalating the tense atmosphere is the first step in your plan. 

“For you to be doing this,” you purse your lip, successfully gaining Shigaraki’s attention. “There must be some… grander reason, right?” 

‘Get him talking. Identify a weak spot and go from there.’

Your question has the opposite effect on him, Shigaraki growing visibly restless. Shuffling his weight around and considering the merit of your words. It’s good you’re incapable of seeing his face right now, the deranged expression a sign of his unhinged mood. 

Shigaraki grimaces behind his mask, lips set in a snarl. “I hate heroes. You know that.” 

He’s mentioned it in the past. The hatred he speaks of never bordered on murderous intent, a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Everyone has their reasons, it still doesn’t justify their actions. Admonishing him might be a risky move, so you think of a neutral approach. 

“Shigaraki, I don’t think you’re a bad person.” you tell him, not certain if it’s a lie or not. Getting him to open up and lower his guard is the best action you can see for the time being. He hums lowly at your statement, not giving it too much thought. An uncomfortable silence settles in between the two of you.

Is he planning on holding you here as a hostage? 

“Say something.” Shigaraki speaks up, shooting you a look. When you spent time with him before, it was filled with talking and laughter. Replicating that sense of normalcy now feels absurd, yet you give it your best shot. 

Swallowing thickly, you hug your knees close to your chest. “I was thinking about texting you earlier.” 

The chaos that surrounded your home had you disturbed. Shigaraki never struck you as the fighting type, shying away from human interaction outside of you. Even the suggestion to meet your other friends was immediately shot down without remorse. So to think he’s capable of murdering someone in cold blood… it causes you to shiver. 

It’s impossible to ever really know someone. 

“What for?” he inquires, interest piqued. Behind the mask, his voice is muffled. Facial reactions gave away insights of the soul, exposing a person at their most vulnerable. In this state, he must be too ashamed to show you his face. Or you could be imagining things, a plausible explanation given the extreme circumstances. 

Honesty is the best policy when you’re in doubt. “To check in on you.” 

“So you care, then?” 

You open your mouth, only to close it once more. His posture is rigid, voice pointed. There isn’t a broad physical gap between you two, the same can’t be said for your emotional distance. Months spent weaseling into Shigaraki’s life crumble in between your fingertips, too fine to catch. He must feel this way too. 

Indignation is sparked within you. “Care...? Of course I cared. You are -- no, were -- important to me. How do you expect me to feel now that I’ve seen you murder someone?” 

As your sentence goes on, your voice grows in volume. Nostrils flaring and fingernails puncturing the skin of your hand, all caution is thrown to the wind. The audacity to question you like that, after all the effort you put into your relationship is offensive. 

Shigaraki doesn’t take your piercing words laying down. “There’s no reason to care for trash like that.” 

His version of the earlier events is a wickedly twisted one, remorse nonexistent. Being next to him is stifling, your brain shouting at you to get away. Antagonizing him further should be the last thing you do, yet you can’t control the sense of justice burning within. To have killed a hero who spent his final moments protecting you is the worst type of insult. 

“Why you’re getting so worked up about it is beyond me. It’s pissing me off.” 

Alarming you with his crazed voice, you shut your lips together. In the heat of the moment you lost yourself, unraveling the hard work from earlier. Now he’ll know that you’re lying if you backtrack. Had you been anyone else to Shigaraki, you’d be dead by now. Attachment for you, contorted as it may be, is what’s keeping you alive. 

Challenging him will put you on thin ice. From his secrecy, you can gather he didn’t want you to know about this. 

Shigaraki reaches up to the hand on his face, removing it. You glance over his familiar facial features, wan complexion and bags under his eyes prominent. Crimson eyes narrow at you, unrecognizable emotions dancing inside of them. He’s upset. At you finding out about him, about this world. How you look at him with disappointment, the weight that it places on his tortured soul. 

He chews violently on his lower lip. “You hate me now.” 

It’s not an empty assessment. The repugnance that rises like bile in your throat could be classified in that way, but you don’t confirm it. More than anything, you feel let down, like you’ve been misled. How many times has he lied to you? What did your time together mean to him? If it meant anything at all. Humiliated, you purse your mouth together. 

“Don’t ignore me, [First].” 

Staying silent no longer an option, you snarl. “I don’t get what you’re expecting me to say. You kill someone in front of me, kidnap me, and now expect me to act like it’s no big deal? Don’t make me laugh.” 

No one else could get away with demeaning him like this. The part of you that cared withered away, bitterness taking root in its place. A criminal is sitting next to you, moping about your rejection. It makes for a pitiful scene, your current reality. 

Shigaraki looks towards the ground, incapable of holding eye contact with you. “You’ll stay here until you understand.” 

“Stay...? What do you mean by that. I won’t accept this, I won’t accept you. Not now, not ever.” 

He doesn’t acknowledge your animosity, getting up from his spot on the ground to walk towards the wall. How he’s dictating you makes you see red, refusing to give up any ground. Preconceptions and expectations you never knew existed have been chained to you by Shigaraki, who seems content to let it stay that way. 

“I don’t recommend trying to escape. More trash will die if you do.” 

‘Is he threatening more heroes?!’

Shooting up from your position, you reach out to him, reasons unknown. Extending a hand to the person you once regarded highly, who spat on your feelings and triumphed a ghastly cause. There has to be more you can do, even though it won’t be much. You can’t let him trample over you like this.

“Kurogiri.” 

At his quiet beckoning, Shigaraki is warped out of the drab room you’re occupying. You call out to him, raw emotion erupting without shame. When he disappears from your sight, a final comment is made. One that promises that this is the beginning of your nightmare, that all began due to your well intended kindness. 

Shigaraki’s eyes are crazed, a sardonic grin stretching across his face. 

“You’ll understand, I’ll make sure you understand...” 

[buckysmischief]

sweetest girl - 2

Scott Lang x reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Warning: language

Summary: You were a highly trained assassin who needed the Avengers help. Tony isn’t a fan, not yet. Steve really has all the patience in the world. Bucky is, again, waiting for his past to blow up in his face. And Scott, well Scott has a very important question for you. Sucks for him that you’re not much of a talker.

AN: I'm really sorry this took so long, y'all deserve more but this is all I have until next time ❤️

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜

The next day was business as usual; skipping therapy, training, team meetings, everything after that was personal time unless something important came up. A perk to skipping your therapy session was that you got the training area to yourself. You still had to participate with everyone else, but at least this way you could mentally, and physically, prepare yourself to deal with the others.

You began with stretching your body, even though you won’t be going on missions it still wouldn’t be smart to pull anything during training. Just in case. You started with your arms and wrapped it up by stretching out your legs before a run. Halfway through your mile the team walked in, including Scott.

“What a surprise to see you here so early, Yn.” Steve sarcastically said. You ignored him and kept running, they would be ready by the time you were finished.

It was Natasha’s day to train with you, which meant the next two hours were dedicated to your legs. Thanks to your above average hearing you heard her coming, blocking what would have been a kick to your head.  “You’re getting better, Natasha.” you confess, dropping her leg.

“Was that a compliment?” without skipping a beat, she’s going for your head again. The two of you instantly are insync with each other after that, trading off blocking the other. You decided to switch things up, so the next time she grabbed your ankle you used it to your advantage. Quick with your feet, you hoisted yourself onto her shoulders and used your weight to slam you both on your backs.

When you and Natasha would train together, you would both block the rest of the room out. Mostly because you needed to focus, but also because everyone would like to spectate every now and then.

“Do they have that choreographed or are they both scary?” Scott asked while watching you and Natasha get back up and start again.

“You got a crush, Tic-Tac?” Sam walked up to Scott, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“What? No. She could totally kick my ass.” he looked at Sam, “Yeah, probably.”

“Don’t tell her that, she’ll definitely kick your ass.”

“I hope so.” Scott breathed out.

-

When training was done for the day, you left before everyone else like usual, or so you thought. You decided to take a detour to the kitchen to make some lunch, but Scott was already there preparing something for the whole team.

“Whatcha makin’?” you only ask while no one else is around, wanting to get your own opinion on him. Just because the Avengers trust him doesn’t mean you automatically should.

He’s standing at the stove, back towards you, “They told me about you, you know? About how you haven’t talked to anyone but Cap since you got here, if you can even call that talking.” He turns around and puts a plate in front of you, “It’s just a grilled chicken salad. Anyways, what’s your deal?”

You pick at the food in front of you for a minute or two while contemplating your response, “I guess you’re gonna wait to find out. Tic-tac.” The rest of the team began to walk in just as you finished your sentence.

“You heard them coming didn’t you?” he was looking directly at you, not acknowledging the team at all.

The tension in the room grew with each passing second, no one knowing quite sure what was going on, only that there was definitely something going on between you and Scott. While they made their plates and began to eat, you hadn’t broken eye contact with him for a second.

Bucky speaking to you, in Russian to everyone's surprise, breaks your concentration, “Stop looking at him like he’s your prey.”

You look back at Scott and smirk, “What makes you think he isn’t?” Bucky, Wanda, and Natasha are the only ones who understand enough to laugh at your response.

“Did we step into the Twilight Zone or something? What’s going on?” Sam finally asks, “Scott shows up and you’re suddenly social, even speaking Russian to Winter Wonder over here?”

“I could always stop.” you tease.

“Does this mean you’re going to start being an active member of the team?” Of course Steve had to ask the question, you would have been surprised if he didn’t.

“Sure, Rogers. If it means I can finally leave the property.” you put your empty plate in the sink and begin to walk back to your room. “See you suckers at the meeting later!”

-

It was odd at first, everyone seeing you around more. You started going to the meetings, get a feel for everyone's place and how they feel about different things. Then you started going to your therapy sessions, which wasn’t progressing at all but “it only matters that you’re going, yn, it shows initiative.”  The only thing that changed about training was that you stayed longer with the rest of the team, but even that was progress to them. But the thing you started to do that not only shocked the team, but yourself, was accepting an offer to movie night.

“Hey, Yn, wait up.”

“Hey, Scott. What’s up?” you were both leaving another strategy meeting. There were rumors that a HYDRA cell was gathering in the Bronx, and apparently Steve and Tony thought you were ready for your first mission.

“Well, um. I didn’t quite think this through.” you laugh and gesture for him to follow you. “Right, so, Sam told me they planned a movie night for tonight-”

“What movie?” lately you’ve made a habit of throwing Scott off whenever possible. You noticed that whenever you would give a smart ass remark, he would be ready with another, but for some reason, whenever you talked to him like a normal person, he’d get flustered. And that was intriguing.

“Uh, he picked Clueless I think-”

“I’ve never seen it.”

“You’ve never seen Clueless??”

“I didn’t have much of a personal life up until recently.”

“Oh yeah,” he stopped walking, “I’m sorry, I shouldn't have said that.” You reassured him that it was all okay, and instead of dragging it out, you told him to save you a seat next to him later that night. And he did.

That’s how you ended up in the situation you were in now; laying in an open field on the compound, watching the stars, and spilling details about yourself to none other than Scott Lang.

“So, why did it take you so long to open up to everyone? They’re pretty easy people to get along with, you know, if they’re not trying to kill you.” You were out there for hours at this point, it had to be past midnight.

“I just never remember trusting anyone. I don’t, didn’t know what it felt like. When Bucky and Wanda saw me getting on the jet they immediately took me on and detained me. I understood why, but that didn’t make me want to trust them. Especially since my options were here or the Raft.”

“I wouldn’t recommend the Raft.” Scott laughs.

“Oh yeah, I heard about that.” you pause, “But, um.  What really pulled me out of my comfort zone was you.. There was just something about a stranger coming in, knowing about me, and not being afraid. Not wondering if they were going to be added to my kill list. It felt good, still feels good. I feel like I’m making progress now, so I guess this is me thanking you.”

He stands up and pulls you to your feet, “Don’t go soft on me now, killer. We gotta mission to go on tomorrow.” But before you both walked back inside, he added, “I’m always here though if you need anything, Yn. I mean that.” He then grabbed you by the hand and walked you to your room, promising to save you a seat at breakfast.

-

The next morning when you don’t show up to breakfast, Scott had assumed you slept through your alarms. He started to get suspicious when he heard you skipped therapy. But when the whole team realized you weren’t coming to training, he suggested they go check your room.

When they opened your bedroom door, they noticed your room was a mess, and since no one has been in it, they didn’t know that wasn’t normal. Wanda and Steve checked your bed and bathroom, but you were nowhere to be found. “FRIDAY, do you notice anything out of place here?” Tony asked, starting to get worried.

FRIDAY took a moment to scan the room, “Everything, Mr. Stark, but what’s most out of place is the note under Miss Yln bed, the handwriting doesn’t match her or anyone that has access to the compound.”

Wanda picked the note up off the floor and read it, hoping it would help identify where you were. “It’s HYDRA, they took her.”

🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜

Permanent tags: @sociallyeneptbarnes @rogvewitch @saturn-aka-six @stuckonjbbarnes @superavengerpotterstar @estillion14 @sleepingspacedragon @geeksareunique @infj-slytherclaw @imsoft-barnes @piper-koko-barnes-rogers @murdermornings @disaffectedbarnes @screaming-fridge @readeity @aestheticrelated @my-drowning-in-time @valkyriesryde @sebbbystaaan @perpetually-tuned-out @distractedgemini @buggy-blogs @hey-its-grey @pinknerdpanda @brokenthelovely @sandyclaws @death-unbecomes-you @rhymesmenagerie @actualdpshuri @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @mushyjellybeans @https-bucky @nea90sweetie @goalexis123 @missmeganrachel @sunflowersandcherry @miraclesoflove 

Series tags: @chiefwobblerauthorrebel & I think I lost some others I'm sorry

[ferie-anon]

Can I get a astrology ship with Stray kids and monsta x? My signs are Aquarius sun and rising Taurus moon,Aquarius Mercury, Pisces Venus and Aries mars. Thank you so much! Please be safe and healthy!

Suree~ Let’s see your aquarius sun and taurus moon make you for someone who knows what they want and are clear about their opinions and answers. Self powered I think is the word many use to describe this. You are inventive at times or make clear of some points in topics and situations and your friends appreciate that quality of yours. Taurus moon do care about those close to them and their family, while being private. With aquarius mercury I imagine when you backup your reasoning you will use a unique standing point or execution that others might find convincing. I do think aquarius mercury could be good at satire. Your pisces venus may make you feel attracted to individuals with romantic and sweet qualities. You may be someone that sometimes dreams a bit, or harbors your sweet side that is not often seen by distant acquaintances or people at first. With your aries mars, you may be prone to get angry easily and shortly, with your airy placements your tempers may sometimes be unpredictable at times but you always seem to be far from exploding and probably settles down. Your aquarius rising prompt you to attract others through your unique style or individuality. Aquarius rising ppl have their own original style or impression that leaves other ppl to remember them or may feel drawn to them.

In straykids... your match is I.N aka Jeongin~

Jeongin is also an aquarius, with a leo moon, prompting him to be lovable and cheeky yet smart and aloof. You both are aquarius, so the similarity in personality and thinking may be prominent, and witty and fun banter can be found frequently. Your strong, cool demeanor with Jeongin’s youthful and charms balance each other well, as Jeongin respects and is in awe of your caretaking independent side, while you admire the happiness he brings to people simply from his conversations and being himself. For a first encounter, he might’ve thought you were distinctive in the crowd of people he was surrounded by, your mature and  reliable demeanor from your astute thinking and senses, gave him the thought “Woah that Noona is cool...~” You also noticed the sunshine that made everyone smile cheerfully from just looking at him or chatting with him, and you thought he was interesting while finding yourself smile unknowingly as he laughs heartily at his friend’s joke.

First, I’ll elaborate on his leo moon, Jeongin is humorous and loves fun, also is expressive and friendly. Usually when Jeongin is happy, it’s very visible and displayed clearly on his face, and he often seeks the fun and interesting things with his hyungs and members. Leo moons are hilarious in the fact that their smart usage of words or just speaking in general can create a reaction. I.N’s comical imitations and words are usually the source of laughter during a game or event with his members. Your moon is in taurus, and despite being more reserved on the end of your emotions being displayed you offer a warm and trustful aura for others that I.N also finds comfort in. You are persistent and at times Jeongin finds himself admiring you as a mentor and close one as well. You both can be the source of closure and comfort for each other on a bad day or personal day, like cheering each other up in times naturally.

His mercury is in aquarius also~ Having the same placement for mercury, you both have similar forms of communication and initiation on explaining. There will be a lot of expansive theories and thoughts you two could toss at each other or the most random thoughts that come across your minds and make a whole convo or even laugh about it.Talking chill and hanging out would be a natural for you two, and you would probably have similar interests in the topics you tell each other, since aquarius mercuries are usually not limited to one thing. You guys can get serious and deeply invested in the things you talk about, when hanging out can result in unexpected fun activities planned or decided during the time, or range to watching movies and coming up with interesting theories or logicalize things in it.

Next up, his venus is in aries~ Venus in aries natives are quite the affectionate one to their close ones and partner, in Jeongin’s case he probably craves attention and affection. He may get jealous easily, on the basis that he wants your attention ya know 🥺. Expect cuddles, hugs/back hugs, or just some form of physical contact or cling :3 from him. Your venus in pisces may feel at first a lil reserved or shy, but eventually you both have each other charmed in different ways. Your sweet and endearing nature of caring when being affectionate can be heartwarming for Jeongin. A little downside could be the differing energy between you two, for maybe you may not be as bold or clear on your needs or affection as much as Jeongin may naturally have it visible or expressive on him and his actions. But with understanding it can be eased, and your interactions and affections with each other are sweet and sincerely loving. ☂️🍬✨☀️

Lastly his mars is in scorpio, to which can be present in his work ethics, passion, and drive force. With scorpio mars, Jeongin is quite set on improving and persistent in his goals/incentive. This can be seen in gods menu here the choreography is very complex and utilizes a lot of strength and precision, and I.N’s dancing is seen to show improvement during the comeback compared to their debut stages and before. This side is also partially contributes to I.N’s aspect of becoming serious or focused when necessary for something important or that he prioritizes and you appreciate this other side of his. Additionally, your aquarius mars also yields for you to be independent and smart on your ways of achieving set goals, prioritizing own options and decisions while being unrestricted and open to new activities and predictions/possibilities. You two would make for quite the intellectual duo working on a project, activity, or when helping each other. Aquarius and scorpio are both fixed signs, and they’re both adamant about their thoughts and perspective while being loyal and perseverant. Trust is formed easily and secured, and you both appreciate each others independent individual nature that carry their own charisma and uniqueness, and inner strength.

Overall, the couple that surprises people with many of their differing traits and charm. Clever but in a well-rounded sense, like not only limited to academic or book aspects, in life and reflective ways. You both can be analytical or rational, but also naturally compassionate and contemplative. When together, deep lessons and philosophy can naturally be mused out during a random conversation one starry night, and then the next day there may be a pillow fight or infectious laughter that fills the atmosphere. An unpredictable sense of manner within you two, giving way for a new adventure or new types of feelings each time. Vibes -> 🌎🌙☀️🍧⛈💖✨😚⚡️🦊✨✌🏻

Next up.... for Monsta X, your match is I.M or his real name Chang-kyun~

Here is I.M, an aquarius as well! But it’s not just because his sun is also in aquarius as the similarities shared between his placements and yours complement for good synergy and balance. He has a moon aries that prompts for a passionate mindset and healthy competitive attitude, but overall is also a softie and a thoughtful person found in the way he expresses his thoughts and feelings about people and music. Despite some differences with your taurus moon, as you may be a lil less active constantly or more on the ‘going the extra mile if it’s necessary when you want to’ comfort zone, you both are subtley (in action and notion of manner) compassionate and considerate regarding close or cherished friends and acquaintances, partner, etc. No doubt at first meeting, there was a spark or glance encapsulated into a trance, as a longing of curiosity appear naturally within you two.

First off, lets elaborate on his aries moon. Changkyun is a very creative individual who seeks the fun and has a playful/friendly demeanor to others. His self-written raps and musicality can be evidential of his expanding creativity and artistic motives. Aries moon can be childish (in a positive term) in their actions at times, but can be deep and think a lot of their own opinions and mindset (doing reflecting). and get along with others or display care and thoughtfulness of empathizing. With your taurus moon, when together there may be a nurturing warm bond felt between you two and trust is given mutually. Your moon placement shows your clarity innerly, a resilience of knowing when and what you choose or want. Similarly, Changkyun’s aries moon is honest and clear about their resolves/goals, so both of you guys get along well mentally and may get into bickerings that don’t last long due to mutual compromise eventually. I think Taurus moon can sometimes be parental like nagging or looking after close ones and etc, and with Changkyun, you both feel open about personal or unsaid thoughts/emotions. You provide I.M as being the calm soothing supportive pillar, and with I.M’s warm and cheerful nature you find yourself leaning on him in times of personal and hard events happening. I.M will be there to give you a deep long hug or soothing pats on the back, as he listens to your day and problem while giving small nods and words of advice or thoughts.

His mercury is in capricorn, and his form of communication can involve pragmatism and a calm grounded way. Most of the time, aside from monsta x being chaotic, I.M can be seen mature for a maknae/youngest of the group. His opinions, ideals, and thinking is spoken in a self-certain way but calmly mannered way. Your mercury is in aquarius, similarly both these signs don’t waver their opinions usually for others, their opinions and perspectives are built and contructed through the analytical and multiple process of breaking down things to come to a conclusion of what they believe and agree in within their mind. You could say these two are individual thinkers, sometimes resulting in those “genius moments” or aha moment, but exclude the overexaggeration it comes with and there you go. You two would enjoy disecting and learning of each others thoughts, opinions and etc, you both would respect and listen to each others different approaches of views, but you both might butt heads when having certain different concepts sometimes. For a scenario, you guys could be working in a lab for class one time and the air is filled with focused, primitive silence around you both, as you each simultaneously carry inspection while working together with an intellectual peace when communicating. Ofc potentially, you guys will definitely get into “cute, sarcastic banter”. ✨

His venus is also in pisces! Having the same venus placement, you both have similar initiation and take on affection and romance. Aw, this is cute you two might be a bit mellow at first with physical affection or contact but once comfortable it’s like you two are like puppies cuddling, fuzzy and soft. You both provide the affection and things each desire, sincerity and attentiveness. I think dates would be sorta planned or done where some romantic things done on cue like hand holding, sitting in a cafe or having dinner in a romantic setting. Both of you guys can be selfless for friends and loved one, putting their needs into consideration as priority first sometimes. For a scenario, it might include Changkyun blushing when you back-hug him after meeting up together personally and you notice his pink-tinted cheeks from the reaction, your face: ☺️

His mars is also in aquarius! Having the same placement here allows for similar thinking and easier understanding of how each other acts on their motives and priorities. Work ethic/similar thoughts on initiation shows the unity you guys can be in when working together or responding towards each other. Mars in aquarius, you both value your personal space/freedom and being independent on your occassions, so you both would give each other space out of understanding and this allows for a healthy growth in the relationship that will only pull you two closer. Working together, there is mutual agreement and communication that makes you two have good chemistry here as well.

(Ps. Ran out of room for gifs ;-; even tho I wanted to put a gif to end it)

Overall, it’s like having both coffee and cafe latte, you both are cute and have a fuzzy heart, and yet can be the most intellectual/skilled boss of yourself in your serious mode and field of work. Logicality and hidden sass with vulnerability/soft on the inside hidden, you two are quite the duality couple or having dual charms :3 Your vibes together -> ⛅️⭐️🌗✨🍪🍿🌱💖✨🍎 ❤️

[kuuderepunkin]

May I please have a match up for Death note and Assassination classroom?

I’m an INTJ, Scorpio,I like to draw/paint and write. When I get the chance to Im very out going but I’m normally very shy and cold at first. I love true crime and psychology sometimes I just watch people to see why they act a certain way I have a very low self esteem and I have problems eating and sleeping, I know how to use people to get want I want and I can change my personality to make the people around me like me a lot better

When I’m in a bad mood I normally just want to be alone and way from everyone except for the person I love or am closest with. I deal with a lot at home so I don’t like being yelled at at all and tend to flinch a lot. When I get comfortable with someone I am very cuddly and clingy.

I have dark blue hair right now and blue eyes, I normally have to wear glasses but don’t if I can help it. My style is punk mixed with grunge. I love dark things but secretly like cute things.

Of course! Honestly I love true crime/psychology too o0o and I feel you on the home life, so I hope these help out at least a little bit <3  I hope you enjoy these!

Death Note matchup:  L Lawliet

 I would match you up with L for a couple reasons, you’re both analytical and observant of people, your interest in true crime and psychology obviously interests him as well. And your initial shy or cold personality does not bother him one bit, he’s a patient man and highly observant himself. He is very interested in your appearance as well, it’s quite unique and draws his attention immediately. When he first sees and approaches you, it’s a bit awkward, because he kind of just stares at you which may be a bit uncomfortable. 

Your first meeting was probably a public police press conference, it was discussing the current growth in unexpected and unexplainable strings of deaths attached to criminals. 

As always L was there just in the background despite being the one who wrote most the police reports, when he spotted you in the crowd. 

You had probably heard about the case on the radio or news and became curious about the details, being a fan of true crime you wanted to see what the police investigation had turned up. 

As the press conference went on you began to feel uneasy, when you caught someone staring at you. It was unsettling at first but the moment the dark haired male caught you making eye contact with him, he approached you. His piercing eyes just bore into you as he remained quiet, the two of you just standing there in false silence as the detectives began to talk about their leads in the case. 

After that long awkward exchange L finally speaks and bluntly tells you he likes your hair and the “manner in which you dress.” 

He curiously asks you about your opinion on the case, if you tried to cater your personality to fit a discussion with him I think he would catch on to the flexibility in your disposition. 

L is very interested in what you have to say about the case, any outside perspectives are always riveting to him. If given the chance he is very excited to tell you about his personal theories on the case. 

Before the two of you go your separate ways he asks for your phone number or other means of contacting you. And to ease your suspicion of his strange mannerisms he tells you who he actually is, because the time he spent talking with you he decided there was no chance you would be involved with the case, so revealing his true identity wouldn’t jeopardize anything. 

It doesn’t take long for him to become attached to you, and he invites you over often to talk about different true crimes and analyze different people in deep intellectual conversations. He really enjoys having someone to discuss these topics with, let alone someone he finds himself becoming attracted to. 

Even before the two of you become an official couple he will point out that you haven’t “eaten the proper amount of food necessary to sustain the human body.” And he does not hesitate to get you some food, insisting that it’s important for your mind and body. 

Sadly, he is also not the best when it comes to getting rest, so sometimes he will make a compromise, he will join you in trying to get some much needed sleep. If it’s not just because you fail to get sleep, but have trouble falling asleep he will do his best to find solutions for you. 

He’ll make you tea, rub your back, play with your hair to lull you to sleep, and if you’re up for it he will cuddle with you to make you feel warm and secure. 

L never yells so you don’t have to worry about that at all, besides he’s so patient I feel that it would take a lot for him to become remotely upset. And if someone else is raising their voice he is quick to deescalate the situation. He’s also not a fan of people being loud, and if you’ve told him about your rocky home life he does not tolerate people making you upset. 

And while L may not seem to be the type to be into affection, he truly adores it, but he never rushes into it. Especially understanding you are more introverted. Once you become comfortable with physical touch he will always crave to be near you. Not always in extremely obvious forms of affection, but he enjoys sitting next to you with his legs touching your own as your arms press into each other. 

He will intertwine his fingers with yours as the two of you sit beside one another. He loves when you lean your head on his shoulder and sometimes he will put his head on your own. 

When watching television on his couch he loves being the big spoon, or just sitting up and having you sit between his legs with your back against his chest. I feel he may be a bit touch starved but he only craves being near people he trusts. 

I can see him watching you from the side as you draw or paint only to sneak up and gently take your glasses off and put them on, curious as to how it feels to look out of them. He gives them back after checking himself out in a nearby mirror. 

Contrary to belief he is not critical about everything, by this I mean he is never critical of your art. He is curious and observant and will ask questions but he will never give his own opinion unless told explicitly to do so. 

He appreciates your creativity and believes putting any kind of critical analysis on something you care deeply about, that has to do with self expression, is counter productive. 

He also loves getting you gifts, it’s a mix of both your grunge/dark aesthetic and your love for cute things, somehow he finds the perfect things to get for you. Anytime he has to leave you for a job he sends gifts to you to remind you he’s constantly thinking about you. 

Assassination Classroom matchup: Karma Akabane 

  As for Assasination Classroom there are a lot of good candidates, so choosing a single character to match you with was a close call. Nagisa is a great match for intellect and psychological discussion but his well mannered behavior may prove difficult in breaking through your initial cold exterior. Karma on the other hand is quite smart despite not initially putting his full effort in the series, and his edgy aesthetic and personality would be a great match for your own grunge/punk style. Talk about power couple, he will bring out the best (or worst) in you. He’s slightly teasing but he knows where to draw the line because his intention is not to make you upset just to see your reactions. 

If you have even an ounce of sass in you, he’s going to help draw it out, making remarks about others and having you join in makes his heart grow 10 sizes. He’s so proud he can have the effect of making you more confident, even if it’s just because he’s around you. 

While he hates to admit it, he’s pretty smart if he would just put the effort in. So while you discuss your interests in criminal cases and psychology he will do his best to entertain you without revealing too much of the intellect he is in public. 

Luckily in private he doesn’t care how much he shows off his intelligence, he will hold long discussions with you about different people you’ve seen and the two of you will pick apart their personality and analyze every aspect of their possible psychology behind why they act the way they do. 

When the two of you watch a movie you often discuss the characters and maybe how ridiculous the plot is. He’s a savage and will tear down the villains in the media because of how ridiculous they can be. It can get to the point where he’s analyzing the writers at some point because “who would write such a two dimensional character? They’re not even likeable.” 

He will not let you neglect your health and will constantly remind you to eat and keep hydrated. Sometimes it sounds like he’s nagging but it’s because he doesn’t want to seem like too much of a softie. 

And as for your sleeping trouble’s he’s not going to let those slide either, he’s going to be giving you massages, running you soothing baths, preparing you some tea and bed time activities to help you unwind. 

If you’re down to let him cuddle he’s going to do everything in his power to lull you to sleep, tactical hair brushing, rubbing small circles to your arm. 

If people yell around you he’s going to go into dark Karma mode and just be little them to the point they have crippling anxiety and just leave the two of you alone. He tries not to be too confrontational around you because he doesn’t want to make you anxious. 

But he’s your body guard and won’t let anyone say or do anything that makes you nervous.

In public he’ll let you cling to him, but he insists he’s just being a good supportive boyfriend, and not that he loves to have you attached to his side. 

He slightly teases you about your love of the more cute things, but he bought it for you so he obviously cares enough to make you happy. It just really gets him going to have you be expressive, whether you’re telling him off or blushing from the teasing he’s happy either way. 

[fdd700]

Accepting Deceit Part. 3

@ab-artist

WARNING; Sympathetic deceit, a brief mention of blood

Logan liked to think of himself as impartial, not caring about which direction Thomas chose to follow as long as he obeyed the rules and his choices made sense. He thought himself easy to please as well. He wasn’t like Roman, who needed to be rewarded for his actions, or Patton who needed to know everyone was happy with his decision, or Virgil, who just seemed to need constant validation that he wasn’t messing up. He just needed self-gratification and that was enough.

However, he had recently been forced to accept that maybe - maybe - he was a bit headstrong when it came to making decisions that he may be - a slight chance - that he tended to ignore the others. And maybe thats why Deceit left him out. Or maybe it was because Deceit was just afraid of logic because he was literally the exact opposite of what Logan stood for-

But that couldn’t be proven so he wouldn’t keep himself awake at night. 

But he was surprised when Virgil approached the three of them about giving Deceit a chance. He had some logical arguments and he was even more surprised when Roman - yes, Roman - was suddenly in Deceit’s corner. Logan wasn’t mad, per se, but he wasn’t happy. Patton was always too forgiving and easily trusting so Logan couldn’t count on him to have a logical and thoughtful debate on th subject.

So, naturally, he turned to Virgil.

“But I’m just confused, you are -were more than hostile towards him at the start and frequently told him that you didn’t want him around. What’s changed?”

“I never really realised what I was doing. In a way, I responded to the aggression he gave me, and us in general. The only difference was, my aggression came from spite and meanness, he came from his vulnerability,” Virgil explained. “Plus, I treated him as you all treated me at the start. I thought to ice him out would make it easier but it just brings down a lot of feelings onto him that he doesn’t deserve.” 

“But thats the thing, he has also been mean to us, and you can argue that it was out of vulnerability but that still doesn’t exclude his actions and he has to be held responsible,” Logan said.

“But does it excuse our actions?” Virgil asked. Logan blinked at him. “Uh, I’m awful with words. uh,, does him being mean to allow us to be mean back? Like, if someone pushes us, are we allowed push back? Because, if he has to be held responsible, then so do we.” Logan didn’t have a response to this.

“I suppose you make a valid point.”

“Wait, I just shocked Logan into silence? Logan ‘I-always-have-something-to-say’ Sanders got shocked into silence,” Virgil teased before he heard someone calling his name. “Probably princy. He has run out of villains.” 

Logan was somewhat clearer on the situation. But he still wanted to talk to Deceit. He seemed to be targetting Logan - excluding him, not allowing him to voice his opinion. He wanted to understand why, seeing as Roman, who actively tried to fight Deceit many a time, had turned around and was now on his side. He would consider talking to Roman, but he seemed to be busy recently. He would go to Patton, but he as so blinded by his emotions. The thought made him shudder.

So he decided the best person to understand the actions of Deceit was, well Deceit. So, that’s where he headed.

-x-

Logan had been down at the dark side’s rooms once before, and it was purely accidental. If you were to consider where the sides lived as a corridor, then Roman, Patton and himself were at the opposite end, Virgil was somewhat in the middle (both metaphorically and physically. Though his room had previously been in the dark sides corner, but as Thomas’ view of him moved, his room did as well, hence as to why he was in the middle) and then the dark sides were at the end. Of course, it wasn’t just one long corridor, but for the sake of simplicity, that would be the best way to describe it.

He continued on his route, thinking over what he would say to the other side. He knew it was important to not get (A) Physically, (B) Emotional or (C) Defensive. Upon reach the side’s room indicated but their emblem carved onto their door, he went to knock but found the door open. He was about to knock anyway, he understood how rude it was to enter a room unannounced even if the door was unlocked, but was stopped by the sound of cries. Through the crack in the door, he noticed deceit sitting with his back to a dark wall, his knees to his chest and tears running down his face. Upon further inspection, he noticed the walls were covered in sentences. The sentences themselves were horrible things, insults, jeers, backhanded compliments, the list went on. Logan, upon realising that even if he did enter the room to help that he would be unsuccessful in calmer the other down, slowly retreated. He had no idea what these phrases meant. Had Deceit written them on the wall? It seemed like a very depressive thing to do, and they clearly had been bothering Deceit, so he couldn’t have done them. Logan figured he has to ask one of the few people who might know. Virgil.

“Well, they’re, uh,” Virgil said, thinking through his words. “They’re things that have been said about that side. It only seems to appear in the dark sides area though. Like, for example, when I was still the villain to you guys, all the mean things you said to me came up on the wall.” Logan nodded, signalling he understood. “So, those things, well they’re things we’ve said and thought about Deceit, whether it's to him, or behind his back, they’ll appear.”

“But only the negative ones?” Virgil nodded. “So when we talked about you-”

“Yeah,” Virgil said, awkwardly shifting in his chair. 

“All of them?”

“All of them.”

-x-

“Family meeting?” Patton asked, looking at Roman who shrugged.

“Thats was glas- sorry, Logan said.” Patton just smiled. 

“Alright, Kiddo, thats for letting me know. Have you told Virgil?” Roman nodded. “Well, then let's get going!” As all four of them were seated Logan stood.

“So I’ve called this meeting talk about Deceit.” A tense cloud seemed to sweep over the room. “As I’m the only undecided party-” 

“Bu Patton-”

“-doesn’t hate anyone and will openly accept all of us.” Patton smiled and nodded. “So, I’m what I’m trying to say is that I agree with all you. I think we need to do something, and soon.”

“Yes but what?”

“We need to begin to help Thomas change his viewpoint of Deceit and the dark sides in general.” There was a decline in the tenseness of the room. “But we need to do something now, and I have an idea.”

-x-

The rapid knocking on Deceit door made two thing flash through his mind

1) Someone was here to kill him

2) Someone was here to annoy him.

Turned out to be a mix of both, as he opened the door to see Patton, who waved at him cheerily, Virgil, who gave him a half-smirk, Roman, who gave him an awkward smile filled with love, and Logan who had his usual unreadable expression but soft eyes.

“What-”

“You’re moving.” Logan cut him off. “Roman, you help him pick out clothes, Virgil, you grab the duvet and pillows and Patton-”

“Hug deceit?”

“No-” But Logan noticed that Patton was already hugging the side. Deceit blinked, looking like the group packed up his stuff.

“W-why?”

“Your wall. I can’t stand you just looking at it and thinking its true. So, we’re taking you out of here for now. Virgil’s got the biggest room space, so you’re gonna stay with him.”

“But the others-”

“We’re working on that.” There was silence as tears slipped down Deceit’s good eye.

“Why are you doing all of this?” There was a stop in movements as they looked at each other.

“Because we’re a family, Kiddo,” Patton said after moments of silence. “And we don’t leave anyone behind.” With that, the work resumed. Patton left deceit to help pack any knickknacks the side wanted. Logan made him over to the side, handing him a tissue. They both stood in silence, as Deceit regained control over his emotions and Logan looked at the trio packing up his things.

“You’re not a monster.” Deceit’s head whipped to the logical side. “You did bad things, yes. But so as Virgil, and he’s not a monster. I’ve done things I’m not proud of, all of us has. And I’m not saying it'll be easy, but we have to try.” Deceit nodded and Logan, never one for physical contact took Deceit hands and squeezed it for a moment before letting go as if to say ‘you’re not alone anymore’. But Deceit smiled and nodded in reply. ‘I know. Thank you’

Original post / one / two / three / four / five

[what-if-rpg]

Welcome to the family, ELLIE! Your application to AVERY FABRAY was accepted. I am really happy to have you around! Make sure to read the beginners checklist, and remember, have fun! I can’t wait to roleplay with you! Have fun!

IN CHARACTER

CHARACTER NAME: Avery Annette Fabray CHARACTER AGE & DATE OF BIRTH: 30, July 7th. OCCUPATION: Front desk at hotel in NYC FACE CLAIM: Lily James HOMETOWN & CITY WHERE LIVES NOW: Shreveport, Louisiana & New York City, New York. SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER: Bisexual & Cisfemale RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single POSITIVE TRAITS: Personable, Organized, Honest NEGATIVE TRAITS: Confrontational, Overworked, Nomadic CHARACTER QUOTE/LYRIC: "My dear, I don’t give a damn.“ (Keeping the same one!)

HEADCANONS

Avery Annette Fabray was born to Russel Fabray and Flora Devereux and ended up the middle child of 3, but for a long time it was just her and her older brother Daniel. She loved her brother, always following him into fun situations or tackling and tumbling with him. Flora was a wonderful hard-working woman, while still being open to her children. Russel was cold and often times absent from the family, which had Avery, or as she preferred Ava, pretty angry and resentful towards him. She never warmed up to him in her childhood and would often get reprimanded and spanked by him whenever he was around. But she refused to ever show him love. When Juliette was born, Ava was shocked to see it, but got over it quickly enough. She was protective of her new little sister, constantly glaring at Russel whenever he was around.

Since a baby couldn’t exactly be a playmate, Ava was still usually running around with Daniel. Or more recently, she’d begun to take up other hobbies to let out her pent up frustrations. She tried any and every sport and active kind of game. She wasn’t overly girly so figure skating, ballet, and gymnastics never appealed to her. Her favorites were usually soccer and lacrosse or just a good old game of flag football with her brother and his friends. Anything to keep her from thinking too heavily.

As Avery experienced puberty, she struggled with how she felt about every change she went through. It took her talking to Flora and letting it all hang out about her feelings to understand how to deal with it all. With Flora’s help, Ava realized that she was always nervous because of her attraction to both boys and girls. Her mother never judged, but she was quick to warn her daughter that others might not be so accepting. Thanks to the advice, Ava experimented with girls on the down low, but she wished she could be more open like she was with the boys she dated.

After high school, Avery didn’t go to college since she didn’t care much for school. She wanted to be free and flexible with her life even if her opportunities might be less. With just enough things to fit in her car, a used but not too old RAV-4, Ava ended up traveling state to state. She took odd jobs, but discovered that physical labor wasn’t her favorite despite her childhood as the tomboy. When she landed a job at a hotel, something about it just clicked. They were desperately in need of someone who would stick around longer than a few months and didn’t get frustrated with every difficult customer or crisis. Everything that could be thrown her way definitely was, but Ava never faltered.

In the years after taking her front desk job at the hotel and moving around to their different locations, Ava has simply just lived her life married to her work. Thanks to her exemplary dedication, she ended up at the New York location when she was around 25 and has been pretty content to stay there. She loves meeting the variety of people, but she doesn’t need to be around them a heavily long time. It’s easier to be a bit of a nomad, though she does have a tight knit friend circle, especially with Daniel and Juliette. She goes on many dates, even has long term relationships, but more often than not Ava prefers friends with benefits.

At 30, maybe there’s a bunch of women who chose to start families already, but Ava’s perfectly content as a bachelorette. The shocking and hurtful discovery of her father’s double life and other family had only further proven this in Ava’s eyes. Why run that risk? No need to entangle herself in further family dramas. She’s got enough issues ignoring Russel, trying to forgive her mom, sticking closer to Dan and Juliette, and attempting to extend the olive branch to her new half sisters Quinn and Frannie. If she wants family drama, she’d just take extra hours at the hotel.

CONNECTIONS

RUSSELL FABRAY (Father): Avery can’t stand her father, full stop. She already had the worst vibes and opinion of him growing up, long before finding out about his double life. Russell hated her attitude and tried to punish her but it didn’t change a damn thing. When she found out about his other wife and children, she made sure he knew her feelings by sending him daily voicemails and text messages of her just yelling at him and telling him off. It lasted for several weeks until she finally just blocked his number, giving him the cold shoulder whenever they come in contact. FLORA DEVEREAUX (Mother): Avery and Flora were incredibly close growing up, with her mom being the one to help her through figuring out her sexuality, making the bombshell of Flora knowing the whole time that much harder to swallow. The moment everything came out about Russell’s other family, Avery cut off most contact with her mom too. Time has passed to allow Avery to get used to it, but their relationship remains heavily strained. They don’t have weekly calls baring their souls anymore, which she misses greatly, but she’ll stand her ground on her feelings. DANIEL FABRAY (Brother): Avery loves her siblings more than anything and tries her best to remain open to them. She and Daniel were often running around and tumbling with each other since they were so close in age and Avery was such a tomboy. When she came out to her family, she and Daniel would often be each other’s wingman, which never fails to be something they look back on fondly. Now with his busy job in NYC, Ava does her best to just show him support at his job and to answer his calls whenever he’s too busy to meet her in person. JULIETTE FABRAY (Younger Sister): Avery is nothing but proud of Juliette, always ready to give her support. Despite their big age gap, she’s always been open and honest with her little sister. She was constantly ready to fight any of her sister’s bullies and put them in line, but most of the time she held back and simply did her best to just be there for her sister. When her book was published, Ava bought several many copies, planning to give them as gifts to the children of her co-workers and friends. FRANNIE & QUINN FABRAY (Half-Sisters): Avery has tried to reach out to Quinn and Frannie but it’s remained difficult. She’s not sure how to connect with either woman and it doesn’t help that Frannie refuses. She’s made sure to just extend the olive branch as best she can manage, but sometimes she convinces herself she just needs to try harder, reminding herself that they weren’t part of the problem. MARGOT & ZACHARY DEVEREAUX (Uncles): Nothing to mention.

[mars-colony]

Hello, yes, please do all of the odd numbers for that ask re: Dollie and Danse? 🥰

I answered 1, 3, and 5 already soooooo... woof a;sdlfkj;asdfj This took a while but here it is ^^; (hopefully i can get this read more to work)

7. What annoys them the most about their partner? Would they change it if they could? Dollie's incessant need to do everything alone without any help drives Danse absolutely insane. He hates when she bottles things up, as well, because he firmly believes that things should be talked through. It's the only way to come to terms.

At odds with this, it irritates Dollie that Danse has to talk about everything. Some things, in her opinion, aren't worth the energy and you can just let them go, but, as we all know, Danse doesn't subscribe to that ideology. I don't think they'd even consider changing these things about each other, they'd both grow to accomidate the other. Dollie learns to depend more on other people and to feel less ashamed of asking for help. Danse learns that not everything needs to be fixed.

9. Do they discuss big issues? Religion? Marriage? Children? Death? When it comes to the big issues, they will often debate. They have very similar political views (as far as political views go in the Wasteland), and Dollie was a lawyer. She loves reasoning through conversations, and she'll happily offer an argument for any side. They do consider religion sometimes, though Dollie has never been particularly religious and it isn't a topic she prefers. They definitely talk about children, raising Shaun, wanting more... And death is a very urgent topic for discussion in the Commonwealth. Danse attempts to be very pragmatic when it comes to the topic, but Dollie will often change the subject, preferring not to consider the possibility of being without him.

Funnily, marriage doesn't come up. It's one of those instances where they both assume the other isn't interested and it isn't until Shaun brings it up that they realize they should probably talk about it. Dollie assumed Danse would bring it up if he was interested, Danse assumed she wouldn't want to re-marry after Nate. Upon discussing the topic they agree that they should get married, and have an intimate ceremony in Sanctuary surrounded by their friends and loved ones.

11. Do they celebrate holidays? Anniversaries? Dollie is gung-ho about holidays. She reinstates the 4th of July at the Castle. She holds Christmas parties, Halloween parties, and New Years celebrations. She's an old school hostess and she loves every minute of it. Danse get's roped in and genuinely ends up enjoying the festivities. As for anniversaries, they celebrate those when they can. Funny enough, Danse is the one that points out the anniversary of when they met. Dollie hadn't even noticed, but was touched that he had kept track.

13. What do they do for fun? Do they have a favorite activity or do they like to switch things up? Fun is difficult to come by in the Wasteland. They spend most of their time helping settlements and keeping the Commonwealth safe. On the rare occasion that they have free time, and they don't have any weapon maintenance or mods to work on, and no one in the 'Wealth needs help, they'll attempt to relax. Danse really enjoys tinkering with Shaun, bonding with him over their mutual enjoyment of weapon making. Dollie likes to catch up on her reading, take strolls with Codsworth, or find little ways to bring the old world to life. Her pet projects include making ice cream with the cryolator and repairing the projector at Starlight Drive-In.

15. How adventurous are they? On their own, neither of them are particularly adventurous. However, Danse brings out a more adventurous side in Dollie. She goes out of her way to make things interesting, encouraging him to live in the moment more. Whether this is a spontaneous trip to Diamond City after midnight when they could just as easily go to Sanctuary, or delving into the Glowing Sea to retrieve an intact film reel depends on whichever way the wind is blowing.

17. What would make them break up? Would it be permanent? It's difficult to think of much that could drive them apart after all the things that they've been through. I think that if Danse had been unaccepting of Synth Shaun it would have ended things pretty quickly, but this wasn't a problem. It would have been a pretty permanent thing had that been the case.

19. What do they fight about? What are their arguments like? How do they make up? The only thing they really fight about are things that involve how they're raising Shaun. From time to time, Danse will overstep his bounds. They don't always agree what's best for Shaun. Dollie thinks they should wait to tell him the truth about his nature, Danse thinks the sooner the better. Danse also tries to get her to put off teaching Shaun to use weapons, Dollie thinks he should learn sooner.

Usually they discuss things, and they always try to be civil. If things get heated, one or the other will walk away to cool off. They rarely devolve into actual shouting matches, but it happens from time to time, especially where Shaun is involved.

They make up by discussing what happened. Whoever was out of line will apologize. If they stand by their opinions, they'll still apologize for losing their cool and agree to disagree.

21. Do they share any interests or hobbies? Dollie's interest in Power Armor was initially a vain attempt to remain close to Nate’s memory, emotionally, but eventually becomes a genuine interest, and one she shares with Danse. He's a well versed teacher, and she's an eager student. They mod together. This extends to weapons and armor as well, and he's helpful and knowledgeable about traps and turrets for settlements. They bond over these things initially, and they discover more and more common interests as time goes on (history, politics, music, etc.).

23. How do they hug? Kiss? Tease? Flirt? Comfort? Danse surprises himself with how much he enjoys the physical contact, how much he craves it once he's had it. He'll wrap Dollie in his arms when they're alone, when they're out of the field. His hugs are often spontaneous. He's a warm cuddly wall. Sometimes his hugs are too snug, which usually just makes Dolls laugh. Early on their kisses are uncertain and timid. His lips are chapped, and he's very self-conscious about it, but Dollie doesn't mind.

Dollie only ever flirted unintentionally or when she'd had a few drinks, but once they're in a relationship she'll flirt teasingly. Sometimes she does it to get a reaction, to see Danse's eyes get all big and see his face flush, to hear him get all stuttery. Eventually, he does the same for her. He's more prone to teasing than she is, and will poke fun at her, especially for her pre-war habits (complaining about "littering" as a concept, for example).

When comforting Danse, Dollie has always worked to ground him with a hand on his shoulder or his chest, just a soft reminder of the world around him and that he isn't alone. These brief moments of contact meant a lot to him, and when he realized it was something she only did for him, it was even more meaningful. To comfort her, he is often a literal shoulder to lean on. And he's more than willing to hold her, should the situation arise (lol)

Overall, Danse is pretty sparing with his physical affection at the start, but he really kind of caves into it and realizes how much he's longed for it in his life. Dollie is much more physically affectionate, rubbing his back, touching his arm, little kisses on his shoulder or his cheek, the top of his head while he's busy working. Danse is more likely to show affection through actions than physical acts.

25. How much time do they spend together? Do they share their feelings, or hold things in? Post game, once the initial discomfort and uncertainty of their relationship settles, once Dollie has had time to be with Shaun on her own (because they both agree that it's important for her to do so), they are rarely apart. When Dollie officially resigns from the Brotherhood, this becomes even more true. They just prefer to stick together.

Dollie was very bad about holding everything in (her entire life), until Danse, because of Danse's insistence that she didn't need to carry everything alone. Where other people gave up when she showed resistance, he never did. He's the person she shares most with in her life. He's the only person to know her deeply and see behind the facade she puts up.

27. Do they have kids? Grow old together? Split up? Danse helps her raise Shaun. He's the closest thing to a father the boy ever really knows. They discuss having more children, growing their family, but because of certain limitations... it isn't possible. They stick together through all life in the Commonwealth throws at them, their relationship aging like a fine wine. It's all thanks to consistent communication and hard work.

29. How do they handle disasters or emergencies? Minor injuries? Sickness? Danse is more often cool under pressure. His control in hectic situations keeps Dollie at ease, allowing her to react more calmly than she would on her own. They can tackle disasters and emergencies alike. They both tend to compartmentalize so the gravity of the situation wouldn't hit either of them until later. It'd likely hit Danse first. They'd help each other come to terms with whatever aftermath there was.

As for minor injuries, they'd be reasonably concerned, but far more likely to tease the other. Like I mentioned in 5 about in-jokes. They'd try to use humor to lift the other's spirits. "I'll have to amputate," "we'll have to put you down," etc.

If either of them contracted serious illnesses, Dollie would likely be the one to handle it best. Especially something terminal, something incurable, Danse would feel completely powerless. It would eat him alive, watching her wither. While it would cause her a lot of emotional pain, it's something she's already lived through. They'd be by each other's side through it all, though, regardless of their own pain.

31. Do they finish each other's sentences? Pick up any phrases or habits from each other? Know when the other is hiding something? The first time Dollie catches herself saying something is "Outstanding" unironically she screams internally for like fifteen minutes. Danse absorbs so much information about pre-war life that he can talk about it almost as seamlessly as she can. They learn to read each other very well, both knowing the other's tells for when they're lying. They do finish each other's sentences from time to time, but more amusingly learn to communicate by facial expression and gesture without having to say a word.

33. What kind of presents do they get each other? Do they only do it on special occasions? Aside from collecting tabasco/snack cakes for each other, they also pick up random trinkets they think the other would like. In addition to this, they also swap weapons/armor and mods, things like that. Usually only on special occasions, but also just because.

35. Do they bring out the best in each other, or the worst? Do they have a fatal flaw? They definitely bring out the best in each other. Dollie helps Danse remember that there's more to life than just rules and regulation, that sometimes doing what's right means breaking the rules. Danse keeps Dollie honest and alleviates a lot of the pressure that causes her to cave and make extremely risky decisions. Thanks to him, her judgement is more sound.

37. How much would they be willing to sacrifice for the other? Any lines they refuse to cross? Blind Betrayal occurring before their relationship ever shifted into a romantic one kind of solidified early on that they were both willing to die for each other. The only real limits would be things the other wouldn't ask them to do, things the other would be angry with them for doing (within reason). They wouldn't ask the other to die for them of course, but each values the other more than themself.

39. Who initiated the relationship? Who kissed who first? When did they realize they were in love? Danse is the one that initiated the relationship. Dollie was concerned that making any kind of romantic advances would be manipulative with everything that happened to him (Blind Betrayal). Danse decides that it's better for him to tell her how he feels about her than to never tell her, believing completely that she'll reject his advances. She scolds him for thinking she wouldn't be in love with him because he's a synth. That's where the who kissed who thing comes in. He kisses her (after asking permission) right then and there.

They both realized they were in love way sooner, but there was so much in the way of a romantic relationship (professionalism, rank, obligation, etc.)  at the time they thought it best not to pursue it. Danse realized first, shortly after Dollie returns from the Institute the first time. Dollie realizes a few months later. There was a point where they sort of admitted things to each other but were both so caught up by their positions and statuses that they refused to do anything about it.

41. Are they party-goers? What are they like when they're drunk? Does it happen often? It's hilarious to imagine Dollie being a "party-goer," and even funnier to imagine Danse as a "party-goer." They're both kind of introverts when it comes to social gatherings, but Danse would be the more outgoing one. Neither of them are really party-ers. They'd be the type to make an appearance at a gathering and leave before things got too wild. They're more of the back yard bbq kind of couple than the clubbing, night on the town kind of couple. They both loosen up when drinking, Dollie more than Danse. She becomes a lot more chatty and flirty, and shares personal information more freely. The flirtatious behavior is only really directed at Danse, even before they're romantically involved. Between being busy with their responsibilities in the Commonwealth and being parents, they don't get drunk often.

43. Do they talk often? What about? They do talk often. They talk about weapons and armor and new mods they want to try. They talk about current events in the Commonwealth as well as Dollie's life before the war. They talk about how they're feeling and what they want to do and achieve. They help each other achieve personal goals and all of that is through communication. Communication is the back bone of their relationship. They didn't always communicate like they do once their relationship is romantic, having often been at odds because they weren't telling each other what they were thinking or what was bugging them. Things became a lot easier once they started talking things through.

45. Any special dreams or goals they have as a couple? Any heartbreaks? Regrets? They dreamed briefly of having a child of their own. Dollie always wanted more than one child, and Danse had always wanted kids. Complications due to his synthetic nature make them conceiving impossible. Danse takes this very hard, believing that he let her down. They eventually end up adopting a baby who's family was killed in a raider attack. Bringing her into their life eases the heartache. They raise her as if she's biologically their own, and she even resembles Danse a bit as she grows up.

[marvelous-heroimagines]

Bad Press

Requested by: @havaawhoose (Here are the specifics)

Pairing: Reader x Steve Word Count: 2.6K Warnings: Angst, fluff, racism (implied), swearing

A/N: Reader is POC

You’d always dreamed of becoming an Avenger, of being able to help people all over the world and give young children of colour a superhero that represented them. But the media had soured your dream the moment Tony announced that you were joining the team. You’d grown up being ridiculed by racists, but you’d never expected to be such a controversial topic in the media.

No matter how much your teammates tried to help - reminding you that each of them had been in the negative spotlight themselves - it still hurt to hear the harsh and offensive comments that were said about you everyday. All you wanted to do was help people and save the world; but the media disregarded all your good work, instead just focusing on the fact that your skin was a different colour from the rest of your teammates’.

Even though the world outside the Compound was divided on the subject of a person of colour being an Avenger, your teammates were welcoming and warm towards you, they made you feel a part of the family.

You’d only been a part of the team for a couple of months when you and Steve confessed your feelings to each other - your other teammates had seen it coming from the moment you moved in to the Compound. And while the two of you had fallen deeply in love, you’d both agreed that keeping your relationship secret from the outside world was best for now, until the controversy of your skin had died down.

While that had been the plan, it didn’t work out that way. And now, just as the media had started to back off; a fateful mission changed all of that. Now footage of Steve passionately kissing you - after you had almost died at the hands of an enemy - was plastered all over the media. You couldn’t turn on a tv or open the internet without seeing that footage played over and over. You tried not to pay attention, but you couldn’t deny that it was getting to you.

Walking into the living area, you hear daytime talk show hosts discussing your and Steve’s public display of affection. You stop in your tracks as you see Steve walking the talk show, he hasn’t realised you’re frozen behind him, watching his body language more than the show itself.

The hosts are discussing whether it’s appropriate for the symbol of America to be dating you, a woman of colour. Usually, on talk shows, one of the hosts has an opposing opinion, but there seems to be no debate with this topic.

As the hosts continue to criticise not only you, but Steve too, you watch as Steve’s shoulders slump and he lets out a sigh. Your stomach churns as you watch their words affect the man you love. Steve had always wanted to be a role model to the public; and while he himself has gone through the media hating him, you’ve never seen him affected by their opinion - until now.

Your heart hurts as you watch your love get affected by the media’s words, and as tears start to well in your eyes, you turn on your heel and hurry away silently. You barely make it to your room before the sobs rip through you. This whole drama was ridiculous and stupid - why was everyone making this such a huge problem? You’d always tried to keep a thick skin to people’s comments about you being a person of colour, you had dealt with it your whole life. But now your ethnicity was dragging the man you love back into the negative limelight.

You hoped that Steve wouldn’t take their comments to heart, but a part of you felt guilty that you were the reason that all the hard work he’d done to clear his name after the Sokovia Accords was becoming undone.

Over the next few days the drama around your and Steve’s relationship only increased, and you tried your best to ignore it - and hope he was too. But you noticed that something was different.

Steve stopped sleeping in your room, he stopped being affectionate even within the privacy of the compound, and you felt as though he was actively distancing himself from you. While you could ignore the public’s comments, you couldn’t ignore the fact that they had deeply changed Steve in some way.

You hadn’t seen you boyfriend all day, and decided that it was up to you to confront him on what you had secretly seen last week. Your heart raced as you softly knocked on his door, unshed tears already prickling at your eyes as you thought through what you were about to do.

“Come in,” you hear him call from inside, and you take one last, deep breath before entering.

You feel like you’ve been stabbed as you watch him stiffen the moment he sees you’re the person visiting you. It was only for a second, he quickly relaxed his body - probably consciously - but it still hurt to see.

“Hi,” you say tentatively, closing the door behind you and hovering near it; unsure if you were really welcome here anymore.

A tight, closed lipped smile spreads across his face, “Hi,” he replies and motions to the bed as he sits on it on.

Your hands were almost shaking as you cross his room and join him. You have to force yourself to look at him; even if the knowledge of what you were about to do was making eye contact uncomfortable.

“What’s up?” he asks after a few too many seconds of silence,

“You’ve been ignoring me,” you blurt out. It wasn’t a question, and by the way he deeply swallows you know it’s the truth,

“Y/N, I-” he starts,

“I saw you the other day,” you interrupt. Your thoughts are racing and you’re not even taking a second to think of words before they force themselves out, “Watching the news...” you drawl out.

Steve’s eyes flit to the floor and he shuffles uncomfortably; he obviously knows which day you’re referring to. You, too, look down at his floor, unable to look at him any longer - partly because you didn’t want to see him try to hide his true feelings and partly because you wanted to hide your welling tears for as long as possible.

“Look,” you sigh, your chest feeling heavy with the weight of your decision, “I don’t want to put you through this anymore. I can handle the media ridiculing me, I’ve dealt with people hating me for my skin my whole life, but I don’t want to drag you through this shit too,”

From your peripherals, you see Steve’s eyes snap to you, but you keep them trained on the floor, needing to get through this before you cry uncontrollably.

“I know you’d never want to hurt me,” you continue, “So I’m going to do it for you-”

“Y/N-”

“It’s over Steve,” you strongly say, “It’s better for you, especially after the Accords, if you keep a good public opinion,”

Steve stays silent, his breathing ragged and a frown set between his brows. But he doesn’t say a word, so you finish what you came to say, hoping that your tears hold off just long enough.

“I can handle the hate. I’m not going anywhere, no matter what people say about me, and they’ll get over it sooner or later,” you add, “Maybe once all of this dies down we could try this again?”

Silence falls over the two of you, Steve’s mouth is agape, and when you finally steal a look at him - you wish you hadn’t. Tears are slowing rolling down his cheeks and he stares at you as though you’d just caused him physical pain.

But he stays silent. Feeling uncomfortable with the silence, you just nod to yourself and leave - not once hearing a word from your now ex-boyfriend.

~~Steve’s POV~~

“What’s wrong with you!?” Sam yells the moment Steve finishes telling him that you had broken things off, “Why didn’t you say anything?! You’re an idiot!” Sam continues. He paces around Steve’s room while huffing with frustration.

“I-I don’t know,” Steve admits, hanging his head in shame, “It all happened so fast, and... and-”

“God help me, if you say she had a point, I-” Sam stops himself with a sigh, finally stopping his pacing and crossing his arms as he stands in front of Steve. Steve stays silent, letting his friend continue.

“She hasn’t been in this life long enough,” Sam says sombrely, “She doesn’t know yet that giving in to what the media wants won’t make them stop hating her for the colour of her skin,”

Steve glances at his friend with confusion, “Won’t it all blow over, in time?”

Sam scoffs, “Yeah right, just like it has with me,” his tone thick with sarcasm. Steve is only further confused, and Sam must notice this as his friend explains, “I’ve been a part of this team for how many years now? And yeah, while they have never publicly berated me... They seem to simply ignore that a black man is a member of the Avengers,”

As Sam’s words roll over Steve, he begins to feel guilty that he’d never picked up on it before; as he thinks over all the coverage of the Avengers had gotten since Sam joined their ranks, he realises that Sam’s words are true.

“S-So there’s never going to be a time when I can be with Y/N without the media portraying us negatively?” Steve asks, a sinking feeling settling in his gut.

Sam just shakes his head, a look of sympathy on his face, “The only way to get them off your back is to own it. It’s no one’s business if you and Y/N are in love. They can say all they want, but if you show that your love is stronger than their comments, they’ll have to deal with it,”

Steve nods, mostly to himself. He knows Sam’s right, and while it made him feel even more stupid for letting you walk away, it also made him more determined to get you back.

Steve stands abruptly, a new found motivation coursing through him. Sam smiles proudly at his friend, “Got something in mind?” he asks,

Steve nods, “Where’s Tony?”

~~Reader’s POV~~

You’d spent all night curled up in bed, crying and wishing you hadn’t broken up with your love. You’d tried to convince yourself that it was the right thing to do, to save Steve from the media’s ridicule; but after you had left his room yesterday, you felt nothing but regret.

“Ms. Y/L/N,” F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s voice sounds through your room, “Mr. Stark requires your attendance in the East Wing’s conference room, 30 minutes,”

A frown knits between your eyebrows with confusion - the East Wing’s conference room was where Tony held all of his press conferences - but you get out of bed and start getting ready to be in front of the press; the last thing you wanted right now.

“Cutting it fine, Y/L/N,” Tony scolds in a whisper as he drags you to the side of the stage, just out of sight of the news and paparazzi cameras,

“What is this all about?” you question, staring out at all the media representatives that had nothing but bad things to say about you,

“You’ll see,” Tony says, a small smirk pulling at his lips. You’re about to question him when Steve’s voice pulls your attention to the stage.

Your breath catches in your throat and your stomach knots as he glances over, catching your stare and holding it for a few seconds before he turns towards the press and clears his throat.

“Thank you all for coming here today,” he begins, “I’ve decided it was time I came forward and commented on the footage of me and Y/N that has caused everyone to erupt in debate.”

Your heart sinks as you listen, the paparazzi camera’s flashing a mile a minute as every reported in the room excited chatters about what Steve is about to discuss. Your cheeks flush as you realise he’s here to break the news of your break up.

“I’ve heard everything you have all been saying not just about me, but about Y/N,” Steve takes a brief pause to breathe before squaring his shoulders and continuing, “I think you should all be ashamed for ridiculing Y/N on nothing but her ethnicity,”

Silence falls over the room, and your jaw drops open, as Steve’s parent-like scold resonates. But that doesn’t stop him, he doesn’t even miss a beat.

“In the past, you have portrayed me in a negative light for the decisions I have made, which is a fair topic to criticise. However, the colour of Y/N’s skin, nor my choice to date a person of colour, is a topic that can be fairly debated on,”

You can’t tear your eyes away as every reporter in front of Steve shuffles uncomfortably and seems embarrassed - as if they were children being told off.

“Now,” Steve continues, seeming unfazed by the awkward tension he had created, “While I can not control the news cycle discussion, nor the opinions of racists,” he pauses for a second to let his words really hit home, “I can control how I respond to the hate comments regarding my personal life,”

If your heart wasn’t racing before, it definitely was now. Steve glances over at you and beckons you to join him. Your breathing shallows as you’re frozen in place, not wanting to go out and face the crowd full of reporters and cameras. Tony shoves you, and you barely save yourself from falling as you stumble up the couple of stairs to the stage.

The paparazzi camera’s flash wildly and everyone in front of you can’t tear their eyes from you and Steve. Steve wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you close, making the reporters explode into chatter.

“I want everyone to know - whether you think you have a say in my love life or not - to know that Y/N is a valued member of the Avengers, she isn’t going anywhere,” Steve pauses briefly to lovingly stare into your eyes, “And I love her,”

Your stomach flips as you hear him say those three little words for the first time. While you had been concerned about facing the hoard of reporters before, they seemed to immediately fade away as Steve leant down and kissed you softly. Nothing in the world mattered now, it was just you and Steve.

Steve pulls away and turns back to the reporters, who are now screaming over one another, desperate for their questions to be answered.

“That will be all,” he concludes, a smirk pulling at his lips as he grasps your hand and pulls you off stage.

When you and Steve leave the conference room, the sound of the yelling reporters now all but silenced, thanks to the closed door. Tony is only staring at the two of you, a wide, proud grin on his face.

He makes a move to enter the conference room - probably to answer questions and quell the crowd - but Steve stops him, “Don’t bother,” he says with amusement, “There’s nothing more to be said,”

Tony chuckles and nods before instructing F.R.I.D.A.Y. to ask the reporters to leave the premise.

You’re still in a daze as Steve walks with you, hand in hand, through the compound, “I can’t believe you did that,” you breathe out,

“I don’t care what they have to say,” Steve says as he stops, turning to you and holding you by the hips, “I love you, and nothing in the world can change that,”

You can’t help but grin as Steve leans down and kisses you again.

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[spectrumscribe]

i got u dude. mikey picking fights when he knows he wont win or mikey feeling like he isn't really contributing to the group (hope you feel better btw)

rottmntverse human au because that makes this even more fun :3c

((trigger warning for a brief homophobic slur, avoidable if you look for the paragraph becoming italics.))

In Mikey’s opinion, it doesn’t make sense. He reasons thatpeople should want to avoid startingfights with the biggest guy in the room, not actively try and do just that.

Raph isn’t the one who ever starts it. Donnie sometimesstarts things, mostly by just being his lovable prickly self, and occasionallyLeo blunders through a conversation badly enough someone has steam coming outof their ears about whatever dumb thing he’s said this time. Raph, though?

Raph doesn’t pick fights. Fights pick him.

It sucks, because Mikey knows that even though Raph is big,and a little awkward, and kind of intimidating if you don’t know him- Mikey’s oldest sibling would rather just get along with everyone. Wants to, even.

It’s probably because none of them fit the mold, the four ofthem. The only other person they hang out with is April. Mikey is fairlycertain half the reason people get pissed off at them is because they just.Don’t need anyone else.

Or maybe they’re just assholes, jostling and elbowing Raph inthe subway station they all have to share. Leo ditched school halfway throughthe day to go see Donnie at hisschool, which is the university halfway across the city. It’s just Mikey andRaph here today, waiting for the train, trying to wait out the snide remarks andcomments and rude as hell insinuations. No one is even noticing Mikey, sinceRaph made himself a barrier between Mikey and everyone else.

Mikey doesn’t even know what it is today. Why this ishappening at all. It’s Friday, theyall definitely have better stuff to do.

He’d had his earbuds in before this started, swaying to his private concert while he waited next to Raph, but he took them out the second he noticed shit starting to happen. Mikey is listening, and growingfrustrated, and hating every new minute they spend standing here. Raph says toignore them, they’ll lose interest eventually. (They never do.) They don’t haveto stoop to their level, says Donnie, like the hypocrite he is. (Donnie would fistfight older students in uni over scientific theory if he could.) They don’t wantto draw any more attention to themselves than they already do, says Leo, whenhe’s sobered from his bravado of keeping an air of lazily not caring. (Leo and his barest hints of mascara and meticulous eyeliner, Raph and his little sewing crafts in his backpack, Mikey and hisglittery binders he couldn’t resist getting and now regret having done so, for the eyes that stare and stare and stare at them all.)

Someone shoves Raph hard enough he stumbles backwards,knocking into Mikey and nearly toppling them both. Their train still isn’there. None of the adults waiting for it look like they’re going to step in. Everything about this sucks.

Mikey has to jump away to avoid Raph’s wrong footed retreat; his brother,though he’s at least a head taller than everyone here, keeping his clenched fistsat his sides as some jerk Mikey doesn’t know tries to physically push Raph intolashing out.

And Raph won’t,because he can’t, it wouldn’t matterthat he’d been goaded into it, everyone would blame him and wouldn’t ever lethim forget that he’d hit back. Onceit’s done, it won’t ever go away, and no one knows that better than Raph himself.

So his fists stay by his sides, and the split second they’reraised it’s to block a punch aimed at his chest. Raph’s expression is tight andangry, trapped like he is as the crowd of boys press closer, taking turnsshoving him, calling out names, laughing at his lack of reaction. You scared? Are you scared? You even got anythingdown there, or did ya get ‘em chopped off like your fag brother-?

The biggest kid, next to Raph, winds up to throw anotherpunch, and Mikey can already tell that it’s going to make contact with hisbrother’s face.

Raph doesn’t pick fights.

Sometimes, when he has to, though… Mikey does.

He’s half the size of everyone else, maybe smaller, but hisknuckles still impact against the asshole’s jaw and sends him reeling. Mikey shriekswordlessly and throws himself at the crowd of bullies, knowing he’s got theedge of surprise and nothing else. For a few seconds, he manages to hold hisown.

Then, someone with a lot more muscle mass than him socks himacross the face, then the stomach, and Mikey chokes on his own spit.

He breathlessly tries to keep going, but he’s thirteen andeveryone here is fifteen and older. Not to mention outnumber him almost a dozento one.

It’s a blur of pain for a minute there, fireworks of lightflashing behind his eyelids every time someone punches him. Fists and feet hittingwhatever they can of his skinny body. Then, something grabs him by the collar,and pulls him out of the fray with strength far greater than anyone else’s.

The guy who started it all swims in Mikey’s vision, rightbefore a big shape obscures it and picks him up with ease.

Mikey coughs on the blood of his swelling nose, and staresalong with everyone else as Raph holds their leader almost a foot off theground.

“Gonna say this once,”Raph growls out. “Piss off, or I throw you on the tracks.”

He drops the other kid, tossing him away a few extra feetfor good measure. The asshole lands poorly and has to be dragged to his feet byhis friends, wide eyes staring at Raph as he folds his arms and glares.

Their train finally arrives, coming up to the platform withthe usual shrill sound of its braking. What few other people that’d beenwitness to the whole fight stow their phones and get into the train cars,sensibly getting away.

Mikey and Raph reach for each other at the same time, andboard the train, too.

Raph’s bullies don’t follow.

“You gotta stop doin’ that, Mike,” Raph scolds anxiously,pressing another band-aid over a cut Mikey hadn’t noticed himself getting in thefight. “You don’t have to get caught up in that shit. I can take it. You’re gonna break yourhand one’a these days and then where’re you gonna be? You can’t do art if youcan’t use your hands.”

“Eh, I’d be fine. It’ll be a good time to try feet art,” Mikey says, sitting on their bathroom counter while Raph half-kneels, not even wincingas his banged up knee is taken care of. He’d almost ended up on the floorduring the fight, which could’ve had the whole thing go way worse for him. He’s lucky he got out of that with just a fewdark bruises and bloody scrapes, even if they’re turning nasty purple and redcolors against his dark skin.

Raph glares at him, mouth in a terse frown. Mikey pretendsnot to notice, and puts a cheerily colored band-aid on his brother’s cheek. It’sgot a fading bruise from a different fight still, now mottled with yellow, and Mikeyfeels a little lonely, being the only one in the room with bright littlepatches all over himself.

Raph doesn’t even try to move away from the band-aid as it’sapplied to his face. He just sighs long-sufferingly, like all of Mikey’s olderbrothers do sometimes, whenever he’s done something like this.

“You can’t keep pickin’ fights you won’t win,” Raph says,staring hard at Mikey’s bruised face. He looks so sad it makes Mikey sad, too. Whichwon’t do at all.

Mikey gently slaps his hands on either side of Raph’s face,and grins. “I only pick ‘em ‘cause I’m with you guys, and if I’m with you guys I’llalways win. Four against whatever, plus one when we got April. Sostop being a sadsack already and feel loved ‘cause I’m willing to punch stupidpeople in the face for you.”

Mikey’s smile is opening the split lip he’s got all overagain, but it’s worth it to see a hint of an echoing smile twitch on Raph’s face.

“Stupid,” Raph mumbles as he ducks away from Mikey’s hands,and Mikey doesn’t comment on the gloss his brother’s eyes have before he rubsat them. Mikey just hums and leans on Raph’s head with his elbows, idlythinking about changing the slivers of red wraps around his brother’s longdreads again. Maybe using a brighter red this time instead of a subdued maroon.

It might be something akin to waving a red flagin front a bull, but Mikey doesn’t mind playing bullfighter if it’s for hisbrothers.

if you’d spare some change to a writer who’s trying to build up finances after not getting paid for nearly three months, spec’s kofi tip jar would appreciate it,,

[skaylanphear]

Can you tell us about your OCs? I'm really interested. Who's your favorite out of them?

breecandraw said: Ocs? I would like to learn about some cool ocs!!!! Plz share?

The OCs I’m working with right now are the ones from my fantasy novel, Dragon Seer. 

Nadraya: The protagonist is a princess named Nadraya. She’s always had visions, but because magic is so stigmatized in the desert kingdom of Casasis, discovering what these visions mean has never really been a possibility. That, and the fact that she and her two sisters–Amirya and Ventya–are completely isolated from the rest of the world contributes to her ignorance. There’s a plague that’s been ravaging the borders of her kingdom for generations. After the empress contracted it and died, their father forbade them having any physical contact with the common folk. But tragedy strikes nonetheless and Nadraya, faced with a future she doesn’t want to accept, makes the decision to run away, searching for a cure. She joins up with a band of rag-tag mercenaries with the same intents and so they leave her kingdom and encounter all sorts of mysterious dangers along the way–races of people that had once thought to be banished, undead brought to life anew (Deathborne), dragons, and an impending threat that could change the future for all the peoples of Vraed. 

She’s about 24 years old with a sharp wit and a developing bravery for facing the unknown. She’s a bit insecure about the fact that she thinks she contributes very little to the quest and is more of a burden, and reacts rather defensively when others try to boss her around. Sometimes she lets her self-righteousness get the best of her, leading her to take actions that offend or upset her comrades because she thinks she’s doing what’s best.

She’s got long, wavy black hair that is usually held up in a bun, and tanned, darker skin trademark of those born in the desert. Brown eyes too, if anyone cares. She’s got some curves, but their quest and all the physical activity involved quickly wears those away, as they’re starving a good chunk of the time, lol. 

Vaun: Prince of Zrao, the country north of Casasis across the Siants River. He’s a thoughtful young man with good manners coming to Casasis for “diplomatic reasons”–because Emperor Devrah, Nadraya’s father, hopes to marry her off to him and send her north to eventually become queen of Zrao. Which Nadraya knows very well and has no interest in, but Vaun’s pleasant personality wins her over anyway and the two become fast friends. He’s got a charming, teasing type of humor, which sometimes leads him into saying things he shouldn’t. But he’s well-intentioned and fond of Nadraya despite the expectations of their meeting. He’s one of the first to willingly open up to her about the world and all the things she doesn’t know. Black hair, blue eyes, pale skin.  

Erof: The number one sword for hire that the people go to when there’s a beast in need of taking care of from the deep sands. He’s pretty well known in the city for both his beast hunting skills and his common sense wisdom. Even those considerably older than him give him an ear where advice is concerned. He’s one of three that Nadraya would eavesdrop on during her illegal ventures out into the city (she disguised herself), a pastime that Erof becomes quickly aware of. He’s the most down to earth of the group, facing both people and circumstances with an open mind. He does tend to be distant, despite his friendliness. Suffers from chronic insomnia. He’s a wiry, muscular sort with blue eyes, platinum blond hair, and pale skin to match (sunburns very, very quickly, so he wears a cloak a good chunk of the time). Add in his foreign black leathers and he stands out considerably in the desert landscape, at least compared to the locals. 

Anier: Erof’s best friend. He’s a teasing, joking, fun-poking type that gets considerable glee out of prodding at others with his words. As a result, Erof ends up scolding him quite a bit–not that it makes much difference. He goes with Erof on a lot of his hunts, but isn’t nearly as well-looked on by the locals. Underneath his bravado, however, he’s pragmatic and will generally warm up to people once they prove their worth. His pragmatism leads him to be very careful. He’s the type that would prefer to avoid danger whenever possible, and is oftentimes the voice of caution for the group, pointing out the potential ill-consequences of their actions and lamenting the dangers they’re always facing. Despite this, he doesn’t shy away from confrontation and is happy to call out others’ behavior when he feels it’s uncalled for. He’s a tall, skinny guy with long, black hair and russet skin. 

Fratalie: The last of the hunting trio. Tall for a woman and built like a brick house, she stands just as sturdy in person as she does for her beliefs. Though she does not conform to the gender norms of her society, she does avidly believe in the teachings of the God King and isn’t shy about calling out heretics. She’s a bulldog and will force her way into getting what she wants, both in conversation and with her sword. But much like Nadraya, she’s seen very little of the world and so is ignorant of a great many things. Her bullheaded behavior and self-righteous beliefs tend to rub those of a different mind the wrong way, thus she and Anier bicker constantly. But even so, she is a loyal companion and determined in the face of things that would send most others turning tail. Short, auburn hair. Bronze, tanned skin with vague freckles. Brown eyes. 

Siateve: A Knight of the First Order. The Congress of Knights are supposed to be the servants of the God King directly, and so align themselves with him first and serve their assigned sovereign second. Having no loyalties to any kingdom, knights are dispatched to each kingdom equally to serve, but also to maintain peace. Their ranks have suffered in reputation in recent generations, however, the title of knight earning little respect as they’re seen as lazy crooks that abuse their power by a majority of the people. Despite this, Siateve is proud of his service and tries his best to live his life by the knight’s code. Though he is meant to have no loyalties, he was born in Casasis and was also assigned to serve there. He has little respect for rule-breakers, no matter their intentions, and no qualms with voicing his opinions about such. The teachings of the God King are secondary to what he views as the proper way to conduct oneself. They are a common sense backdrop to his stern, unyielding lifestyle. Despite this, he does have a softer side that makes him prone to sympathy for others even when his code would deem them unworthy. While the teachings say one thing, he is more likely to make the final judgement of a person based on their character and actions, less so on what the rest of the world thinks of them. He’s determined to get Nadraya home after she runs away (he kind of views it as his own fault) and so ends up dragged along on their quest despite constant objections. He’s young–the youngest of the group (maybe 21?) with a tall, broad form, short brown hair, and a light dusting of facial hair. Darker, bronzed skin much like the other desert natives. 

Chaswyn: An incompetent wizard that gets forced along on their quest. Timid and generally one to avoid confrontation, Chaswyn ended up with the group because his mentor forced him. He’s a Lreesadian civilian–Lreesadia being the country our party is headed to–and so he will make it easier for them to get inside the capital city because of his good family name. As far as magical ability, however, his worth is lacking. He’s never had much success in casting any spells, though he can sense magic and its aftereffects. He’s also very knowledgable about magic and other lesser known things and so proves his usefulness to the group in that respect. He’s a scholarly, bookish type, who relies more on his knowledge than superstition or religious beliefs. He’s curious and thoughtful, though shy and initially quite intimidated by the rest of the group. Skinny and always swathed in mage’s robes. Dark, umber skin, dark eyes, long hair that he keeps in dreadlocks and tied low down his back. The lower half of his hair is dyed white. 

Iera: Forest Elf with a chip on his shoulder. Initially helps the group of travelers out of obligation, as it goes against elf practice to allow life to be wastefully spent. He has no respect for humans, however, and has no problems voicing such things–much to the irritation of a few in the group. There’s a bitterness about him as well that makes him standoffish from the start. But he does feel companionship for the group and is more than willing to put himself in harm’s way for their sake. He’s rather long-winded when he wants to be, much to Siateve’s annoyance. Where Siateve believes that all things should be done the right way, Iera is more of the opinion that the ends justify the means, and so the two butt head all the time despite actually having a lot in common. Wispy in form, yet rooted, Iera is skinny but strong, with wavy, copper hair flecked with gold. His skin is almost paper thin and pale, and his eyes are entirely black (sclera and all, like a barn owl). His ears are long and described as blade-shaped along the side of his head. 

Beatrice: Commander of the Lreesadian military. Strict in personality, she’s known as the best swordsman in Lreesadia, though some say that doesn’t say much as Lreesadia doesn’t have much of a military in the first place. Most of their guards and such are knights, the corruption of their ranks leading Beatrice to be very strict in her own practices as well as rather ruthless. Despite how she views the Lreesadian upperclass to be foolish, she is loyal to the crown and serves without question. She’s strong and steady, more fuller-figured, with dark, copper skin and hair that is layered in long, tightly-woven, golden braids. 

Gwenira (name subject to change–I haven’t finalized her character yet): Queen of Lreesadia, though her position is more of a formality as she has very little power and what power she does have is puppeted away from her by her court. As a result, she is quiet, demure, and very rarely possessing in opinions of her own. Nadraya’s forward thinking is, therefore, quite a shock to her, and she spends a good chunk of the time they’re together asking questions behind the backs of those who would rather keep her silent. She is unhappy with her situation, but knows not what to do about it. She’s oftentimes described as the most beautiful queen to ever grace Lreesadia’s throne, and even those from other kingdoms have been known to admire her beauty. She’s rather waif-like in appearance, adding to why some refer to her as “delicate” and “graceful.” Dark brown skin, dark eyes. She generally wears her hair in a tight afro that she pulls back with a headband–it kind of appears like a halo around her head as a result.            

That’s the main cast for the first book, anyway. Uh… I don’t really know what else to say, so if you want to know more, I guess just shoot me an ask?

EDIT: And who’s my favorite? Kinda tied between Siateve and Beatrice I guess, but I like them all, lol. 

[sheddingserpent]

My Spotify playlist shuffle chose Heaven in Hiding by Halsey and it inspired me to write this little piece. Might turn it into something longer? Opinions would be great, and if there's enough people who want me to write more, I will!

WARNINGS: none really, some allusions to sexual activity.

As I approached the unfamiliar house, music rang out from what seemed like every crevice, the bass pumping through my veins before I even reached the door. Multicolored lights flashed inside, creeping out through the windows and open front door. A group of guys in varsity jackets roughhoused in the front yard, beer cans and red solo cups littering the lawn, girls giggling and fawning over the obvious jocks. I rolled my eyes and made my way inside, nervously scanning the crowd. As soon as I passed through the front door, a tall dark haired boy in one of those same varsity jackets pulled me to the side.

"And how have I never seen you before? I never forget a pretty face. I'm Reggie, and you are?" He smirked at me and leaned in closer.

"Not interested." I smiled back, breaking away from him and making my way towards the crowd of people dancing.

Halsey's Heaven in Hiding playing loudly, her raspy voice echoing through the house. "This is heaven in hiding, when you start to look at me, a physical fatality"

Peering around, It was at that moment my gaze was met by a familiar pair of deep brown eyes. Tall, dark hair, a smile that could kill, and a worn leather jacket. Electricity rippled through my body as our eyes locked, instantly drawn to each other like magnets. He muttered something to the beautiful curly haired girl he was dancing with, and forced his way through the crowd to me. Everything had melted away until he stood towering before me.

"Ari? Holy shit. What're you doing here?" He rested a hand on my shoulder and pulled me into a tight hug, his face a mix of disbelief and joy.

"I'm back." I said shrugged and smiled at him. "Grandma's house finally sold, and mom and dad thought it would be good for me to come back home. We have a new place here in Riverdale, and dad got a better job at town hall. It's kind of a long story, but Greendale just wasn't for us."

"We have a lot to catch up on. It's kind of loud in here though, maybe we can head somewhere less noisy?" He nodded over at Fangs who waved excitedly at me. Sweetpea wrapped an arm around my waist and led me upstairs past a cluster of people, searching for a place to talk before deciding on what seemed to be a study.

I closed the door behind us and let out a sigh. "God, it's been so long since I've seen you." I caressed his arm, his stare intense but loving.

He pulled me into a tight hug, resting his chin on my head. "I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again. After you left, everything changed. The south side is gone. I lost you, my home, everything I knew." He said softly, stroking my long espresso brown hair.

"I'm sorry, Sweetpea. I never wanted to leave, not the south side, and not you. Definitely not you." I closed my eyes and inhaled the scent of his cologne and leather jacket. "Just let me explain everything. Please."

He knew that my family had left the south side to help care for my grandmother in Greendale who had fallen ill. She was my grandmother on my mom's side, and she had always resented the south side and my parents' affiliation with the Serpents. She only saw them as bottom feeding criminals, not people who often got the short end of the stick and fought for survival. Part of the agreement that was made was that we had to leave our home behind and live with her until she had passed, and that if we accepted she would leave a hefty inheritance behind for us. Unfortunately, that meant absolutely no contact with anyone from our old lives, no Serpent jackets, tattoos were to be hidden, my initiation had been cancelled, and the facade of being a clean, cookie cutter suburban family was the new norm. I explained this all to Sweetpea, who just watched me intently and digested everything I was telling him.

"She threw my phone away the first day. I had no way of contacting anyone here. She refused to get Internet, social media was blocked on the school computers, I had no way to reach you. I tried so hard, but I couldn't mess this up for my parents either. It was the only chance we had to better our lives."

"She seems.. intense. I don't blame you, Ari. But it killed me, not knowing what happened, if you had moved on or if you even cared about me anymore. I called you so many times, I even tried going to Greendale myself to find you but all my leads came back empty. I just kinda gave up because I thought you gave up on me." He shook his head and plopped down on the loveseat in front of the unlit fireplace.

"I never meant for that to happen. But I'm back now. For good. Dad got a job at town hall, he's head of a new project called The Second Chance Initiative. It helps those with criminal records find work and provides resources. He took the job to help the Serpents mostly, because he never stopped caring about our second family. Mom is going to go back to school, we have a nice place here now." I played with the edge of my flannel sleeve and sighed. "I don't expect you to take me back so quickly, but I never stopped loving you, Sweets."

He looked up at me and softly ran his tongue across his lips, standing up and sauntering back over to me. "Well, since my girl is here to stay, I think an official welcome is in order." He said in a low voice, almost a growl.

He picked me up suddenly, my legs wrapped around him. Next thing I knew, my back was against the wall, his teeth grazing my neck. I leaned my head back and took in the moment.

The bass of the music vibrated through the walls, the lyrics silencing our rapid breathing. "When you start to feel the rush, a crimson headache, aching blush. You surrender to the touch, you'll know I can put on a show. Don't you see what you're finding? This is heaven in Hiding."

I traced the tattoo on Sweetpea's neck and smiled to myself, feeling more at home with him in a stranger's house at a crashed party than I ever did living in Greendale. My grandmother always warned me that the Serpents were dangerous, but I somehow found my way back to Sweetpea in the end. Before things were able to escalate further than a steamy makeout session, the door to the study burst open, the girl Sweets was dancing with earlier fuming.

"You tell me you were going to grab a drink and you're upstairs hooking up with some trash?" She shouted angrily, a finger pointed at Sweets.

"Dude, I tried to stop her but someone ratted you out!" Fangs trailed in momentarily after, hands raised.

"You KNEW he was with her?!" She growled at him.

Sweetpea set me down gently and tried to put some distance between her and I.

"Josie, I know you're mad. I get that. But you're the one that said we were just some meaningless fling!" Sweetpea said, taken aback by her outburst.

"You were seeing someone?" I choke out, straightening my clothes and looking from Josie to Sweetpea.

"Ari, we weren't even dating. It was just a summer fling, that's it. If I had even known you were coming back I would've never, you know that." He pleaded, his eyes showing genuine pain.

"Whatever, I'm done. You're dead to me, Sweetpea. You can keep your little serpent slut." She smiled daggers at me, and turned on her heel and stormed out.

"I suddenly need to go have some snacks to balance out all this booze." Fangs laughed nervously, his face going pale. He quickly closed the door behind him, leaving Sweets and I alone again.

"Ari, I'm sorry." He cupped my face in his hands and bit his lip. "I never meant for any of this to happen. She doesn't mean anything to me, it's always just been you. Let me fix things. Please." He pleaded, a tuft of his hair falling perfectly on his forehead.

"I get it, Sweets. You couldn't wait forever. But if it happens again, you're on your own." I sighed. "First day back in Riverdale and I'm already caught up in something."

No matter what, we both knew we would never be able to stay away from each other. I knew he would never hurt me, especially not on purpose. We were electric when we were together, and nobody could deny the chemistry we had. It filled the room, we were magnetic, and I'd be damned if something got in our way again.

[page-of-tales]

Story: Faith in Humanity III

Word Count: 1800

---

Censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself

-Potter Stewart

---

Senior Agent Barann watched as his communicator buzzed on his desk. The calls were becoming endless. High level officials continually asking for updates or input on policy. Colleagues badgering him for advice or help. All noise in the background to current events. In the month since interstellar communications with all aliens had been cut. things had spiralled out of control. It wasn’t the economical impact, that consequence had been accounted for, and in fact hadn’t been as severe as analysts feared. No, it wasn’t the corporations who were causing trouble. It was the common people. Their interest in humans had spiked just before the communications blackout. There had even been small gatherings of citizens to protest the deportation of all humans residing in Ergotoid space. Those initial warning signs were all they had of what was to come.

The Bureau of Surveillance had reported a rise in subversive acts since the blackout. Citations for illegal possession of alien contraband. Indicative of a thriving black market for alien products. An increase in unregulated media stations had been evading the Bureau of Communications. Spouting radical agendas inspired by whatever alien influence had corrupted their minds. The Bureau of Propaganda was hard pressed in a campaign promoting the superiority of the Ergotoids. Political action was on the rise, protests, dissidence, and all other treasonous activity was beginning to disrupt the peace.

The authority was becoming increasingly nervous about this sway in public opinion. Recent decrees illustrated the drastic measures they felt had become a necessity. Quotes, song lyrics, and references of alien culture would be punished severely. If necessary the police would beat it out of the populace. Crackdowns on illicit activities were becoming increasingly harsh. The automatic censors caught most of the visceral imagery from those raids before it spread. Illegal distribution would be punishable by death, without trial. Yet even with all these measures, massive amounts of net contraband were being seized and discovered online daily. Physical backups were dumping their contents onto the net making censoring less effective. The viral videos continued to be the primary source of this unrest. Emulations being the most visible element of this illegal contact.

The Bureau of Alien Contact had been compiling a report to present to the top levels of government regarding this precarious situation. His department was compiling a video, ironically a version of the Faith in Humanity format. The purpose of which was to exemplify the subversive elements contained within the messaging of such videos, messaging which had struck an affinity with the Ergotoids. A message which sparked the ongoing cultural wave of rebellion.

A pink finger scrubs the lens before allowing the camera to adjust to the lighting of the scene. As the light flares and recovers an outdoor scene comes into sight. The ground covered in a white material that falls from the clouded sky. A number of humans dressed in bulky clothes stride about. Condensation from their breath indicative of a cold temperature. A group of humans are meandering in a field. Rolling the white material into waist high spheres. These spheres are piled together forming a mound a half length taller than the humans. The group set to shearing away layers of the mound with their hands. When the group steps back, an imperfect cube of white material is left behind.

The group gather round in a circle around the work. They sway in unison, arms over each other’s shoulder. The camera approaches and the wavering pattern of a song can be heard.

♩  “We wish you a Merry Christmas-” ♫

As the song continues other humans approach from across the field. Joining the circle they also join in the song. As the song ends the group launches into another.

♪ “Dreydle, Dreydle, Dreydle.” ♪

More humans join, forming two encircling loops. More snow is piled to form a low wall around the cube. Another pile of snow is formed and from this one a pyramid is carved out. And as more humans join the group, another sculpture is created. The footage begins to cut to different perspectives. Jumping across the field to capture all that is happening. A lighthearted mood kicks up with an impromptu snowball fight briefly disrupting the singing. Piles of snow are made into impromptu benches. At some point a food stand stops by and a line of people form for food. A second soon joins it. As the light begins to fade, the crowd only grows larger. Glow orbs hover above to light the festivities. Someone stuffs lights into the sculptures, the muted lighting reflecting off happy faces. All throughout the singing continues. Different songs in different tongues of an ever changing cast of singers.

As rapidly as it grew the spontaneous party vanished. The field going dark and quiet as the last revelers left. The flash event gone as rapidly as it had appeared.

The footage vibrates from atop a vehicle. A gun mounted camera, the long barrel of the weapon protruding into the view. As the gun rotates in its top turret a convoy of military vehicles are seen following closely behind. A stamp in the upper corner marks the military unit as Jik’an military, Imperial Executors some cycles ago. Abruptly the vehicle comes to a stop. The gun rotates to face forward. A line of humans stand in the road, a human wall.

A speaker on the vehicle crackles to life.

“Humans, disperse immediately.”

The humans remain.

“You are obstructing an active military operation. By Codex Line 23, obstruction of military operations is punishable by imprisonment or death. Disperse immediately.”

One human steps up. A second speaker booming at the convoy.

“Turn back. There is no need for violence. Leave the Lassarn alone. Go home.”

The vehicle speaker booms louder.

“Sheltering of rebels is an illegal act. This assembly is an illegal act. Disperse or be shot.”

A few individuals jump out of line, but the line remains.

“This is our right, and our homes. You do not belong here.”

The people begin to yell in chorus. Demanding the military leave. The gun levels out. Then the camera cuts to black as the gun opens fire.

A camera sweeps across a devastated landscape. Alien natives stumble through the bombed landscape. Rubble blocks the street. Smoke rises high on the horizon. Electricity is knocked out as evidenced by the darkened buildings. The surroundings lit by only the dim light of the sun filtering through a heavy cloud layer. Shocked and stunned individuals sit in silent contemplation. Whatever had attacked these people had left as quickly as it had come, leaving behind a devastated city. The camera sweeps up as a low rumble can be heard. Aliens scatter as a shape begins to descend through the clouds.

The footage cuts to the interior of a vehicle. Racing out of the city to a nearby field. The camera struggles to keep the descending shape of a spaceship in view as the vehicle bounces on the ruined road. The blackened and scorched fields giving a clear view of the descending ship. Massive in size, and gleaming with the emblem of the Federation.

The alien is not alone, a few others have driven out to the field and watch the ship as it finally touches down. Gusts of wind beat at their faces, covering them in ash. But they remain fixated on the ship. A ramp begins to descend. As it touched ground people begin to disembark. Like a showcase of the diversity of the Federation, a full spectrum of member species descend from the ship. Stygil hopping awkwardly down the sloped ramp. Lalochans seeming to float down the ramp. A troop of Anthdae moving in sync. Komus, large enough that they disembark individually. A dozen more unidentifiable species. And all throughout Humans intermingled in the crowd.

The mercy ship begins to unload supplies as well. Drones roll off the ramp loaded with crates. Vehicles are lowered from bays to roll away and make contact with the impacted area. From a hangar lifts several aircraft fly out. Shooting high and disappearing above the clouds. Back on the ground the group split into teams and begin setting up a base facility.

A human bounds over to them. Brushing at the ash that lingers in the air. He stops in front of the aliens, and reaches a hand out.

“Hello, we are here to help.”     

An alien hand extends in response before the footage cuts out.

Unknown Station: Black Box Footage- Hangar B

Grainy footage. Lines of static crawl up the frame. A large room is depicted in low light. A hangar on a space station judging by the fielded wall on the far side exposed to space. Within the hangar there are lines of species in chains. Many more in enclosures. Green skinned quadrupeds walk about controlling the other species with neural prods. Ethyl slavers. The camera has a poor audio receiver and the screams of the slaves are distorted. An untranslated alien voice rasps in the hangar. The slavers begin to prod the chained slaves more vigorously. Corralling them into the enclosures. Others prepare to receive another shipment.

Through the field a large ship enters the hangar. It turns and lands in front of the slavers. The bay doors open and from the ship’s hold storm out a band of humans. The slavers closest to the ship are dropped quickly by weapons fire. The others barely have time to react before the humans are also upon them. As more humans pop out of hatches atop the ship it is apparent they are not a professional bunch. Their dress bearing colonial markings. Their weapons a varied arsenal of scavenged gear. But they throw themselves relentlessly at the slavers who fall back from the hangar.

The humans rally, gathering together. “For Freedom.” They proclaim as one and then they push forward. Chains are broken, and the lines of slaves freed. Any slaver left behind is executed. Reaching the end of the hangar the humans continue to blast their way into the station. Finally the camera is taken out by an explosion.

Barann looked away from the monitor and considered the form in his hands. His resignation. This entire event was his failure, and it was time for him to bear responsibility. He planned to present his resignation after the presentation. He didn’t plan to stick around to see where his failures would lead. Unlike the others he had an inside view into what was going on, had felt the emotions that would drive other Ergotoids to rebel. Witnessed the inspiring actions of ordinary people change those who bore witness. What had been an intrusive influence had now become an unstoppable force of society.

[whatwewrotepodcast]

Character Profile - Ithuriel

Basic Statistics  

Name: Ithuriel Age: 6 months or eternity, depends how you look at it Nationality: Currently American, formally Divine Socioeconomic Level as a child: N/A Socioeconomic Level as an adult: Low Hometown: Heaven Current Residence: Brooklyn, New York Occupation: Enforcer for Raif Income: N/A Talents/Skills: Proficient with a range of hand guns, good aim, also competent in hand-to-hand fighting, and the use of a spear in both ranged and hand-to-hand combat.   Salary: N/A Birth order: 3rd of 7 Siblings (describe relationship): Technically the other 6 Arc Angels are his brothers and sisters. Previously a good relationship with most of them, though he was closest to Gabriel, Amitiel and Raphael, however his relationship with Gabriel suffered after his fall.   Spouse (describe relationship): N/A Children (describe relationship): N/A Grandparents (describe relationship): N/A Grandchildren (describe relationship): N/A Significant Others (describe relationship): N/A at commencement of TSC Relationship skills: Ithuriel’s relationship skills are not the best. He has a tendency to be prickly and overreactive, and often blows things out of proportion. He can be shy and reserved and hard to get to know. He makes up for these deficits by being a genuinely kind, warm person who never intends to hurt anyone, and generally feels guilty when his actions adversely affect those he cares about.  

More beneath the cut

Physical Characteristics:  Height: 6’2” Weight: 110kg Race: Caucasian   Eye Colour: Golden Hair Colour: Dirty/Dark blonde Glasses or contact lenses? No Skin colour: Fair, but with a bit of a golden hint, tans easily Shape of Face: Sharp, strong jawline, high cheekbones, long, straight nose. Overall impression of hard, clean lines, very little softness.   Distinguishing features: Two large, nasty scars down his back, from shoulders to hips. A pair of stylised Angel wings tattooed on the inside of his left wrist and a tattoo of an ornate spearhead on the inside of his right forearm.   How does he/she dress? Jeans, usually fairly loose cut, blue. Black or grey long-sleeved shirts or t-shirts. Black trench coat, military style boots, a scarf if it’s cold. Always muted tones though, never wears colour, always black/white/grey.   Mannerisms: Often runs his fingers through his hair when he’s troubled. Pinches the bridge of his nose when he’s thinking hard or when things are driving him to frustration.   Habits: (smoking, drinking etc.) Has a fondness for chocolate, but nothing that really counts as a habit per se.   Health: About as good as can be. More than human. Doesn’t suffer from most human illnesses or diseases, has improved healing from injury and is able to survive with less food, water and rest than the average human.   Hobbies: Currently doesn’t really have hobbies, though he does like to people watch. Favourite Sayings: N/A Speech patterns: Tends towards overly formal language, doesn’t use a lot of contractions, does have a New York accent but it’s towards the more upper class end of the scale, and sometimes veers into a very generic, hard to locate sort of American accent.   Disabilities: N/A   Style (Elegant, shabby etc.): Professionally broody chic. Tends towards the shabby side though.   Greatest flaw: His short temper. He had a propensity to explode over minor issues, has a very short fuse, and often says things in fits of anger that he later regrets.   Best quality: A genuine kindness and love for humanity.   Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes and Attitudes  Educational Background: None Intelligence Level: Technically very high – he’s an Angel and so has divine intelligence, but his lack of experience in the world means most of the time that intelligence is of very little use to him as it hasn’t got anything to back it up.   Any Mental Illnesses? Technically no, though it could be argued he has a bit of PTSD about his Fall.   Learning Experiences: Everything is a learning experience for Ith. He’s been living on earth for just over 6 months and so everything, from learning how to safely cross the road to making toast are learning experiences of him.   Character's short-term goals in life: Work off his debt to Raif and be able to live his life free of debt and restrictions.   Character's long-term goals in life: Get back to Heaven.   How does Character see himself/herself? Ithuriel has a pretty complicated relationship with himself. On the one hand, he’s quite proud. He was an arc, and as such had quite a high opinion of himself. He was very powerful, there were few who could tell him what to do or how to do it. He was convinced of his own righteousness. However, since his Fall, his sense of worth took a bit of a hit. He still sees himself as ‘better’ than most humans, more moral, more ethical, but he also fell, and that took some of the wind out of his sails. He is now conflicted about who he is and what his existence means, and where he stands in the world.   How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others? Ithuriel doesn’t think much of how other people see him, especially at the start of the story. He doesn’t think much about other people’s internal worlds. However, as he develops, he does start to worry that people think of him as a bit stuffy, a bit uncool, and a bit overly righteous.   How self-confident is the character? Initially very, but he lost a lot of faith in himself and his ability to make the right decisions when he Fell.   Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof? Definitely ruled by emotion – probably one of his greatest flaws is letting his feelings get in the way of making the sensible, logical decision.   What would most embarrass this character? Any reference towards sexuality or sexual activity, especially towards the start of the story.   Emotional Characteristics Introvert or Extrovert? Introvert How does the character deal with anger? Very, very badly. Mostly by letting it explode all over the place. He has a short fuse.   With sadness? He lets himself feel it, but only within himself. He doesn’t tend towards being demonstrative about his emotions.   With conflict? Again, not well. He tends to shout first and think later.   With change? He’s gone through a lot of changes recently and considering the magnitude of them, he coped remarkably well. That said, he did struggle a lot with readjusting to his new role in life.   With loss? By suppressing it until it bursts out of him in explosions of jealousy towards those who have that which he has lost.   What does the character want out of life? At the moment, he’s just trying to do with best with what he has.   What would the character like to change in his/her life? He would go back to Heaven and get his wings back.   What motivates this character? Partially the desire to get back to Heaven, though he rarely admits it to himself. Mostly a deeply in-ground sense of what is right and what is wrong and the desire to correct the wrongs and do the right thing.   What frightens this character? The idea of dying alone, in a strange world, and going to Hell. The thought of becoming corrupted and evil and losing the parts of him he sees as ‘good’.   What makes this character happy? Simple things such as chocolate, watching people who are happy, the feeling that he has made the right decisions, Merry.   Is the character judgmental of others? Oh boy yes. Incredibly judgemental, though often he feels a bit bad about his original impressions once he gets to know people.   Is the character generous or stingy? Generous.   Is the character generally polite or rude? He likes to think he’s polite, but often he can be a bit rude, in part because he doesn’t understand social cues very well and in part because he’s just a bit brusque and too self important to worry about the ‘niceties’.   Spiritual Characteristics Does the character believe in God? God literally created him and he knows Him personally, so yah he does.   What are the character's spiritual beliefs? He doesn’t have beliefs, he has knowledge.   Is religion or spirituality a part of this character's life? Not really, because Ith doesn’t need to ‘believe’ in things. He knows and understands the truth of the world and the Heavens so it’s not a spiritual experience for him, it’s just his reality.   If so, what role does it play? N/A How the Character is Involved in the Story  Character's role in the novel (main character? hero? heroine? Romantic interest? etc.): Hero/Romantic interest   Scene where character first appears:  

Ithuriel shifted his weight, pins and needles tingling down his legs. He sighed, a brief allowance of impatience.  He was crouching uncomfortably on the edge of a low building, his gaze fixed on the dark street below. It was nearing dawn and the streets were empty with the early morning hush. A biting breeze was whistling around the edges of the stout brick buildings, its prying fingers reaching under coats, lifting hats, and chilling blood. He turned the collar of his heavy trench coat up against the cold, but didn’t dare shift his position. In the quiet, even the slightest of sounds would carry. He’d been hunched on the exposed rooftop for hours now, and he was damned if he was going to risk startling his quarry for the sake of a moment’s release.    

Relationships with other characters: 1. Merry -- (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the novel).

Ithuriel initially sees Merry as a bit of a helpless human in need of rescuing, though it doesn’t take long before he begins to see her as more of an important tool to use against Moloch. He’s bemused by her and the often flippant attitude she takes towards life. She’s the first human he’s had prolonged contact with and she forces him to re-evaluate the way in which he perceives humans and accept them as individuals rather than one sort of mass that he can judge all together. As they get to know each other better, Ithuriel starts to respect Merry’s independent nature and her bravery in the face of a world that’s much bigger than anything she ever knew before. This respect soon turns to friendship before developing into something deeper.  

2. Belial: -- (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the novel).

Ithuriel’s relationship with Belial is initially antagonistic. Ithuriel fears becoming what he sees in Belial and as a result tries to push Belial to be better to assuage his own fears of losing himself without hope of return. It quickly becomes important to Ithuriel that Belial choose the right side though this is primarily a reflection of his insecurities. Belial becomes a proxy through which he tries to convince himself that he can still be saved. Over time, this attitude shifts towards a genuine desire to see Belial save himself, and an appreciation for who Belial is as a person.   How character is different at the end of the novel from when the novel began: 

Ithuriel’s arc is one of coming to accept his new existence and appreciate the grey areas that make life so interesting. He begins to see the value in people and the ways in which they can be good and worthwhile without having to adhere to a strict sense of morality. By the end, he has come to realise that humanity is worth saving because of the intrinsic value of life, and all the beauty and wonder that humanity has created.  

[wrong--lever]

Your Thoughts for OW’s Lore At Blizzcon

**Edit - would help to tag you hurr durr @freckledmccree

I like how you will indulge in detailed speculation and interpretation of OW lore and don’t center all ideas around one specific (noncanon) idea but will admit occasional personal bias. I also really appreciate that you steer relatively clear from fanon and when people respond to your writings you don’t have an attitude or seemingly disregard them. Sooo, that’s why I wrote this disgustingly long thing even tho I’m paranoid about being annoying.

 (Apology beforehand if you have answered any of these before, I have not properly stalked your blog yet. Also, excuse my rambling I did my best to be coherent. Lastly, I only have one friend who is kinda into OW and I feel bad to bother them 24/7 so I talk a lot in this.)

McCree Speculation

The following assumes that the new cinematic will be McCree’s.

If there is another known character in the short along with McCree, excluding flashbacks, who do you think it would be? 

I have 3-4 ideas even though I would not say they are likely. And with any of these I don't imagine a role any larger than Brig's in Honor and Glory or even Zarya in Infiltration.

A.) Genji. I don't think it's likely but I wouldn't be surprised. It also might be risky on Blizzard's part because many are salty about Genji's abundance of lore compared to others. (Which is dumb and I would gladly rant on it but it's not the point) Reasons:

Notable increase of McCree's interactions w/him.

McCree might've left OW in a less professional fashion than others. Which would mean he may not have anything to be alerted by for the recall. Especially since he went underground for a while.  Winston’s contact info? Long since changed.

From how I interpret “Dragons” it seems that Genji has received the call as well as offered Hanzo a choice to go w/him “The world is changing once again, Hanzo. And it's time to pick a side.” So why not others?

Genji has also been canonically in touch w/at least one other ex OW member. So why not try to get in touch with another member that we know he directly worked with?

My logic - Why would their interactions matter?

McCree's asking about how Genji dealt with the loss of his body emotionally/physically as well as Genji's response leaves room for the implication that Genji knows how he lost his arm.

Why would Genji go in person?

Well, I mean you probably don't wanna broadcast that your getting the highly illegal band back together. In which said band also is also hated by the UN and every other terrorist organization on the planet.

How will Genji know how to find him?

Cause he's a ninja, duh. But seriously McCree most likely said something before he quit OW and if not Genji would just have to look at the news and he'd be there.

B.) Sombra. If anything I wouldn't be surprised by a small reference to her rather than actually seeing her.

Reflections comic (duh)

My logic - I expect Sombra to get involved with a little bit of everything. She likes making people question their beliefs on who is “right” or “wrong”. 

She would most likely know about the recall so if she wants to manipulate that at all she could be the one to tell McCree about it. Idk, she’s a wildcard with anything.

C.) Fio. The Blackwatch Pilot in Retribution. (I used “known” characters loosely) I'm not sure on my certainty with her, tbh. But I do find it rather intriguing. (I said no flashbacks but maybe with this one)

Fio's only lines that are not directly related towards the mission are all directed towards McCree.

The tone of them is clearly on the teasing/banter side of things.

My logic - Why have this side character show any interest in conversation outside of the task at hand? 

If she was just being used for the game mode and as lore filler it would make more sense to have only lines relating to the mission. Or have generalized ones for the team. But she has multiple focusing on the one and only Jesse McCree.

Reasons for that could be that they ran out of time to add other interactions. Which would explain why McCree does not acknowledge her comments. (The only time he was quiet during the mission is when she talked to him, rip you got denied girl) Or it could be that they knew each other previously or trained together in some of the early days of Blackwatch.

D.) Mercy. This one I would be surprised to see but it would have some logic to it.

Losing his arm, depending on the how/when/where.

She is not one of the characters who speak to him about his arm.

My logic - Who fixed his arm up for him?

Depending on how/when/where he lost his arm he may have shyed away from public hospitals. Especially with Talon  seemingly controlling so much of the press. So he may of wanted someone he personally trusted as well as doctor patient confidentiality.

Why does Mercy of all people not ask about the prosthetic? 

Out of the people who question McCree Mercy isn't one of them. Which may seem odd since she has known him for so long and her being a doctor. However, she does call out his smoking. So this proves she does pay attention to his over all health. (Which I am aware is a much older interaction) But it would have been a good opportunity to have her inquire about the arm there if she doesn't already know.

 Do you think McCree will directly receive the recall or from some other source?

What do you think of the fact that McCree lost his left arm specifically?

If the loss of McCree's arm is related to the Deadlock Gang do you speculate that it was intentionally the arm that had his tattoo on it? With how far McCree got in his career/life with OW and potentially spilling info on the gang when caught some people might want him to hurt. Not just die. To me forcefully sawing off the branding of the gang he betrayed would fit the bill. As well as be a good warning for others. (Not that blizzard would show that)

How do you imagine the camaraderie within Deadlock to be?

I ask this since in “Hero” right before the Los Muertos member throws the grenade it shows him actively choosing to help the other gang members (very broken gang members thanks to Soldier 76)onto the back of the truck instead of getting out ASAP. 

I just found that to be notable in how their social structure works. It makes more sense for Los Muertos specifically since they originally wanted to stand up against the politics and speak out for the people still suffering from the Omnic Crisis. They are not formed from the shady work they do.

Deadlock, however, doesn't seem to represent a core ideology. So I wouldn't be surprised if when OW caught some of them the others ran. Especially since McCree would probably still be pretty low in the pecking order at the time.

Can you imagine a shoot out in the warehouse tho, that'd be so risky people could be anywhere and there's no good line of sight except for where the truck drives through. Sneaky teen McCree climbing around and ish

Do you expect/hope for the origin on any mementos to be revealed?

My only idea is his iconic BAMF belt buckle. We know he's had it for quite a while since he wears it here: 

Just  thought Blizzard could do something cute with it if they wanted.

Do you have any thoughts on the Deadlock Torb skin?

Idk, this is kinda silly but people have talked about it. People do have a good point that it’s odd for him to have that skin.

Lastly, do you have any little head canons that you hope to see confirmed? 

Nothing serious just simple personal hopes from the cinematic which may or may not set you up for disappointment cause fun

(When I first started writing this I had two questions, rip. I'm pretty sure I forgot one of the original questions too)

Other Blizzcon Lore Speculation

Do you have any ideas for the new hero?

Personally, I do not have any super strong theories but I do have a few loose ideas. Tbh, I can’t especially convince myself of any these besides the likelihood of said character being a tank.

A.) Talon Tank

Reasons:

Moira’s origin story contains two possible indicators towards this, or another Talon member in general.

We need another main tank added to the roster (opinion)

Talon has a character for every role except tanking (weak)

Popular request (weak)

My Logic lacking- Majority of this idea comes from Moira’s origin story which shows this relatively well known photo with a person or armored suit of some kind on the back panel here: 

I used to think of this to be much harder evidence than I do now since it looks like it could be a uncolored design used for the Talon members in Retribution. However, there’s another detail in the photo (including the version with the different back panel that I believe could point to another member. Each character, excluding Moira, has their line of sight going to the same spot. My doodles for emphasis:

(Reaper is kind of hard to tell but that’s basically his entire role in Talon at this point, lol) Who are they all looking at? This could just be an artistic choice for viewer immersion but it also could be rather purposeful. To me, it looks like a proposition to someone, with the panel in the back for emphasis. If not a proposition, perhaps the workings of a plan or setting clear expectations for said person. (either version works for this context) This someone must be rather important to have them all there. Moira is looking back at the rest of them, seemingly reading their expressions/body language. She seems pleased but then again she’s a tad bit odd.

B.) Mystery Characters

Idek, I added this cause I could. This is not likely at all but will remain on the list of possibilities as long as Overwatch shall live.

Have been shown or spoken of very early on but nothing since

Recently mentioned names but no physical hints of who/what they are

Tying up some long held questions (weak)

Popular demand (weak)

My logic (or lack there of) - I have exactly one tiny speck of logic for this. Mystery characters shown and/or spoken of before the cancellation of the First Strike comic are still occasionally brought up to the OW team. Yet they have conveniently  not retconned them.  Why not say they are no longer a significant part of the story when there has been no updates on them for 2ish years? Maybe they are just keeping the possibility open. Liao and the two from Ana’s origin story are the best (only?) examples:

There is also more recently mentioned characters such as Ray and Fio. Ray was discussed mostly early this year and all we know about them is the following:

We do not know anything else about who or what Ray is. I do not 100% believe Ray is an actual person but you never know. The comment on the beard and his response to has Ray’s combat experience could be some teasing on Michael Chu’s part. To me, Ray is either a person, an omnic, or some sort of computer system used in the Orca.  I should note that another AI other than Athena would seem odd especially with the whole reason OW formed and all.

(Fio I have already discussed but at least we know she’s an actual person, hopefully...OW is weird man)

What do you think of the common theory of Sanjay Korpal being the next hero?

Personally, I think he lacks the look of an OW character. He looks rather plain to me, almost like a background character used to fill up comic space. I do believe his role is going to grow substantially in the lore but as an in game hero? Eh, I don’t know. Another thing I struggle with imagining is him being a tank like a lot of people presume. It would be interesting with what Vishkar can do with hard light technology to have a tank based on that, I will admit. Just don’t see him filling the role of that, he doesn’t strike me as someone who wants to get his hands dirty. I will admit, that this is very strictly my opinion and read of his character and by no means is anything to go off of speculation wise.

 But, if I’m wrong, then next years first cinematic should definitely be a Symmetra/Lucio one and it should definitely have Symmetra kiCKING HIS ASS FOR MANIPUlATING HER foR GOD KNOWs hOW LONG..ahem.

Do you think a comic will be released soon?

They usually put out comics on Wednesdays but they have been odd this year when it comes to them. Idk, if they’ll announce one at Blizzcon. I kinda doubt it. Personally, I’m hoping for a really kick ass Christmas comic since in Reflections it ended with Winston saying he has a good feeling for “next year” (OW’s next year cause timeline) plus last year’s was cute but underwhelming.

I think that’s all I have to ask/discuss for now? I had ideas keep popping up but I kept going back over what I already wrote and my attention span is all or nothing soooo there goes my ideas into the void.

***Random ass question cause you like RDR2. I keep getting a gamestop ad for it and it’s bugging me cause I can’t make out what this guy is saying. It sounds like “I don’t want to kill all you smooth dutch. Just you.” Idk where the exact video is rip, but I feel like I’m really mishearing the guy, lmao.

Non Sequiturs and Stupid Fangirl Squealing

(possibly completely incoherent warning idk how to wenglish when im excited pls ignore mw)

I saw a comic aart thing once and it had young jesse punch Jack in the face and Reyes thought it was the funniest thing and I feel like that’s in character

What if Reyes had a few choices on who to recruit and he was like I want the cowboy chose the instead of the trained older guys. Ana would be like Reyes no and Reyes would be like I want the damn cowboy

I never realised how much I appreciate McCree’s character until the hints of him having a short started popping up. Before I liked him sure, I just never thought too deep into how they could expand on his character. Originally I was just like, “so Reyes picked this kid out of a big ass gang and had him trained among the world’s most renowned soldiers and he still is perfectly content being a cowboy?” Good for you my dudely man, good for you,

wanna see skinny (lean)  young McCree but everyone will want the skin but it wont look the same with his in game model so blegh

I agree with you on how you think reyes recruited him, so many people think he just yeeted jesse at a bunch of angry omnics and was like lol have a cowboy

Imagine McCree being so confused by the weird ass original OW team like y there captain america, my new found father, a dwarf (swede) and an 8 ft german happy meal

He’d be so intimidated by Ana I bench lift Reinhardt for fun Amari being his coach like asdfsdf

But I think with her training it’d be the first real time he let his guard down without him realizing it because he was so in awe of her sniping skills and being able to get taught by her, bonding over shooting people half a continent away yAY

What if we see lil pharah??? I’ll die???

Okay I’ve said this to another  blog but even tho McCree is not my “type” I’m still gonna need to strap my ovaries in place for this short, cause booooooooyyyyyyyyy (I dont even have a type but I guess I mean a lil scruffy?)