#if I may. doc ‘no we aren’t telling anyone what happened. it���s not a threat to them anyways and this isn’t the first time I’ve replaced this

[storiesforallfandoms]

what are we going to do? ~ 10k;z nation

word count: 2250

request?: no

description: it’s hard to take precautions during a zombie apocalypse, and when these lack of precautions catches up with a young couple, they have to decide what the best option is going to be

pairing: 10k x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist

“Can we find some fucking transportation now?” Murphy groaned as he trailed behind the group. “My legs are killing me.”

“Oh, the poor baby,” Doc teased. “If you haven’t noticed, we haven’t seen any vehicles for miles! Do you expect one to magically show up?”

“I hate to agree with Murphy, but I need to stop, too,” (Y/N) sighed. “This heat is starting to get to me.”

10k wrapped an arm around his girlfriend, pulling her tightly to him as she began to sway. “Let’s find some shade.”

The group threw their things to the ground as (Y/N) and Murphy slumped under the shade of a nearby tree. Warren unhooked the water bottle she was carrying from her bag and passed it around the group. There was very little left, so everyone had to take a small mouthful.

When the bottle came to (Y/N), she meant to take just a small mouthful, but the moment the cold liquid touched her lips she couldn’t help but finish the rest of the bottle. Everyone yelled in protest, but she didn’t stop until the bottle was ripped out of her hands by Murphy.

“Hey kid! That’s supposed to be for sharing!” he snapped. “We don’t know when we’ll find more water.”

(Y/N) meant to apologize, to say she didn’t know what had come over her. Since the beginning, (Y/N) had been the one to insist that they ration out their food. At times, she ate and drank less than the others in order to save the food they had. She wasn’t one to be greedy with their rations.

But the moment she opened her mouth to apologize, she felt her stomach lurch. She quickly stood and moved so she was a fair ways away from the group before she doubled over and began to throw up. She heard her friends make noises in disgust before feeling 10k’s gentle hands on her, pulling her hair from her face with one as the other soothingly rubbed her back.

“What’s wrong with her?” Murphy asked. “She’s not sick, is she? We can’t afford for any of us to get sick, I can’t give all of you my blood.”

“Shut up, Murphy!” Addy hissed. “It’s probably sun stroke, we’ve been walking for so long and it’s been so hot. We haven’t had rain in days.”

10k guided (Y/N) to sit down and continued to gently rub her back. She looked up at him and gave him a half smile, trying to push down the nauseated feeling that was growing in her stomach again.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice soft.

“Yeah, just a weird feeling in my stomach,” she responded. “That’s why I drank all that water, my stomach has been off for a while. Probably sun stroke, like Addy said.”

The sound of footsteps caused 10k to look over his shoulder suddenly. Warren put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s just me, kid. Mind if I look at your girl?”

10k nodded. If there were anyone he trusted in these crazy times, it was Warren.

He stood and allowed Warren to kneel next to (Y/N). Warren looked into her tired eyes and inspected her face. She leaned forward close enough that a whisper would only be heard by (Y/N).

“When was the last time you had your period?”

(Y/N) felt her heart race. It had been months since her last period, at least two months for sure. She had shrugged it off as nothing, it was hard to tell what was normal and what was abnormal anymore. She hadn’t thought anything of it until she started feeling nauseated, something she managed to hold back until the night times. It was why she was so tired, she had been so sick that she hadn’t been sleeping.

(Y/N) glanced up at 10k, who had a look of concern written across his face. How did she break this news to him? How did she break it to any of them?

The look on her face was enough of an answer for Warren. “How long have you known?”

“I haven’t,” she responded. “I didn’t think anything of it...I just thought...I thought...”

Warren sat back, holding (Y/N)’s hand in her own. “Does your boy here know?”

10k looked between them, confused. He began to think the worst, that maybe (Y/N) had been bitten and no one knew, or that she was suddenly sick and wouldn’t be able to beat the sickness.

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she looked up at 10k. He felt his concern grow then. (Y/N) looked at Warren to ask, “Can you guys give us a moment alone?”

Warren smiled at her and nodded before standing. 10k quickly took her place next to (Y/N) as Warren called the others to leave. (Y/N) couldn’t look at him, instead she kept looking down at the ground in front of her.

“What’s going on, (Y/N)?” 10k asked. “Are you okay?”

Tears stung (Y/N)’s eyes as she looked at the ground. She shook her head, trying to will the words from her mouth. “Tommy, I’m...I’m pregnant.”

The news caught him off guard. He faltered a little, sitting back on his legs as he looked off into the distance as well.

On any normal occasion, this news would’ve excited 10k. His whole life he had wanted to be a father, to be as good as his own father. But that was before; before the apocalypse, before the constant threat of Zs, before it was dangerous to carry around a screaming, crying baby.

“Are you sure?” he asked her.

(Y/N) winced at 10k’s tone of voice. Although she had been expecting that reaction, part of her had hoped that maybe he wouldn’t sound as worried. She hoped that maybe, for once since the apocalypse happened, that they could enjoy a happy moment that any normal couple would celebrate.

“If it’s not pregnancy, then there’s something else we should be concerned about because I haven’t had my period in a while and now I’m getting sick.”

10k ran his hands through his hair. “What are we gonna do?”

He hadn’t meant to ask the question out loud, and he felt after seeing (Y/N) flinch at the question.

“What can we do?” she asked. “I have to have the baby, there’s no safe way to...to get rid of it without the risks.”

“But...do we keep it?”

(Y/N) couldn’t suppress her second flinch. She knew it was the right question to ask, raising a baby in these crazy times wasn’t easy. They had witnessed that first hand when Murphy tried to have his baby girl.

But would she be able to give the baby up? Would she be able to leave a seconds old, defenseless baby on its own, waiting to be killed by a hoard of Zs before it could even live? Would she be able to give her baby to someone she didn’t know and continue her life knowing that her child may or may not be out there, that they may or may not be alive or dead or a Z?

(Y/N) covered her face with her hands and began to cry. 10k wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

“I’ve always wanted to have kids,” she said, trying to keep her voice even. “I was hoping that, once we get Murphy to California and we find the cure, that maybe that would be a possibility. But...the longer it takes for us to find where we’re going, and the longer it takes to find anyone who really knows what to do...it feels like the cure will never come. And now this...”

10k soothingly shushed her and ran his fingers through her hair. “It’s alright. We’ll figure out what to do.”

~~~~~~

They decided not to tell the rest of the group, not until they made a decision regarding the baby. Whatever the decision, (Y/N) knew she’d have to divert from the group when it came time to give birth. She couldn’t risk them like that, no matter what they told her.

That night, the group set up camp in an area tucked away by trees. Warren littered the surrounding ground with anything that would make noise and alert them of someone, or some Zs, arriving.

Like most nights, (Y/N) was awake, except this time she was awake with the worry of her future decisions. Although it seemed as though the decision should be an easy one to make, she was still conflicted. The decision was easy, but was it the right one?

Afraid of waking 10k, (Y/N) sneaked out of her tent and went to sit in a nearby tree. Growing up near the woods, she always found that sitting in trees calmed her down. Being one with nature and all that cliche stuff.

She started when she heard the sound of leaves rustling below her. She slowly moved to pull her knife from her shoe, ready to attack whoever or whatever was approaching, but stopped when she saw the familiar lanky figure of her boyfriend pulling himself up onto the branch below her.

“Why aren’t you asleep?” she asked him.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said as he struggled to pull himself onto the her branch. (Y/N) giggled and helped him up, taking hold of him to steady his balance. “You sitting in a tree is how we first met.”

(Y/N) covered her face and slightly groaned. “You have to let that go. You were a stranger and I was all alone, I had to be careful.”

“I don’t hold anything against you for attacking me, I just think it’s a funny story,” 10k responded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “She dropped from a tree brandishing an knife, threatened to cut me open unless I told her what I wanted. That’s how I knew I loved her.”

(Y/N) smiled and leaned forward to kiss 10k. His kisses were always gentle, as if he were worried about hurting (Y/N). Of course, there was no need for that worry. (Y/N) was probably one of the toughest in the whole group. She had been fending for herself for years after the apocalypse started, you had to be tough in those sorts of situations.

“It would be a story for our children if we - ” she started as she pulled away. Her words cut off abruptly as she realized what she was saying. “I mean...fuck, forget that. That was...old habit.”

10k took (Y/N)’s hands in his, running his thumbs over her knuckles. “Tell me the truth, (Y/N), do you want to keep this baby? Even with the threats, do you want to have a family with me?”

Tears started pricking (Y/N)’s eyes again as he asked the question. She looked away from him, not wanting him to see her cry again.

Stupid pregnancy hormones. They’re gonna make you soft.

“Yes,” she responded. “Yes, I want to have this baby, and yes, I want to have a family with you. I’ve always wanted to have a family, a small one if nothing else, and I even dreamed that, if we could find the cure to Zs, that I would be able to have that. I know that it’s reckless, and I know this puts us in danger, but fuck, Tommy, I wanna raise this baby with you.”

Tears were starting to form in 10k’s eyes as well, but he quickly blinked them away as he cupped (Y/N)’s face. “I wanna have this baby, too.”

The words shocked (Y/N). She looked up at her boyfriend in disbelief. “You...you do?”

He nodded. “I also know it’s dangerous, and I know we’ll have a lot of talking to do with the group, but I don’t think I can give this baby up. Our perfect little thing that we made...I’d never be able to live with myself if I didn’t at least try.”

(Y/N) threw her arms around 10k’s neck, almost pushing the both of them out of the tree. They laughed together as 10k hugged her back, holding her tightly to him. He didn’t want to let her go. The safest place for her to be for the next nine months was in his arms.

“I want a baby girl,” he admitted. “A little daddy’s girl that I can be overprotective of. I’ll even teach her how to shoot my gun when she’s old enough.”

“Hopefully she won’t have to do that when she’s old enough,” (Y/N) responded. “But...but I think it will be a girl. My mom always said that she had strange dreams about a little girl when she was pregnant with me, and a few nights back I had this dream that a little girl saved us from the apocalypse, but I couldn’t understand what it meant.”

10k chuckled as he put his hand on (Y/N)’s stomach. “That’s a lot of pressure mama’s trying to put on you already. Don’t worry, we’ll save the world before you come out.”

(Y/N) placed one hand over 10k’s and leaned in to kiss him. “I love you so much.”

He smiled brightly as he kissed her back. “I love you more, (Y/N).”

[boogiewrites]

No. 9 The Body Ch. 8

Characters: Diego Hargreeves & OFC Eve Corpuz

Summary:  Eve learns more about her powers while on a real date with Diego.

Warnings/Tags: Flirting. Sexism. Threats of violence. Canon Typical. Date. Diego Protecc. 

Click on my icon then go to my Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. Please like, comment and reblog if you enjoyed it! It helps out us writers A LOT! If you’d like added to the tags, just let me know. This is a multi-chapter fic.

The day had started strong for Eve. She was being interviewed by a local women’s club for her transformation from using their services to becoming a respected doctor with a winning reputation. It’d been flattering and put a little perk in Eve’s step admittedly.

She was headed from a conference room, a much easier place to get to for a non-employee than her small office. But the ease for the interviewer was something she quickly wished she’d not cared so much about as she felt eyes on her, walking alone back towards her wing. She didn’t typically have to be around the board member hallways, it was a place most women avoided.

“Evie?” A familiar voice that immediately made her nose wrinkle came from behind her. “Long time no see.” Bryon Gray, a son of a bitch who happened to be a son of a chief of staff. They’d gone through residency together and every woman that had ever met him had quickly learned to avoid him. “What brings you over to this side of the hospital.” He gives her arm a faux friendly smack of greeting and she grimaces.

“I had an interview.” She answers flatly, his cross-fitted, legacy-name body blocked her path as he manspread across the hall and put his hands on his hips as if everything he said were to be stopped and observed most intently.

“Now I know everything going on around here.” He winks and taps his temple. “And I haven’t heard about you interviewing for anything.”

This may come as a shock to you Bryon but you don’t know everything, which is what she preferred to say. But instead, “It wasn’t for a job. I was interviewed for a magazine.” She says with a low brow.

“Oh! Which one? I mean, which ones are even in print anymore?” He laughs. “We talking the big NEJM?” He laughs. ”Oh wait, that was me.” He brags.

“No. It’s called Ms.” she begins to lean to initiate an exit.

“Mrs.? It like a wedding thing?” He asks with narrowed eyes. “I thought you were single.”

“It’s M. S. A feminist magazine started by Gloria Steinman in the 70s.” She wanted to slap herself for trying to defend it. He wasn’t worth it.

“Yeah that’s hot right now, isn’t it? What was it for?”

She sniffs and twitches her nose trying to not have such a knee-jerk reaction to this... jerk. "My work.”

“You are all work aren’t you Evie? Always have been.”

“Well, you know me.”

“I know Dads noticed the numbers you've been managing. Makes sense word would be getting around about an ex-stripper turned doctor who has the least amount of deaths of patients by a landslide would be a feel-good piece.”

She wanted to defend herself. To slap him and tell him to kiss her ass but she knew it would be fruitless. “Next thing you know they’ll be making a Barbie of me for all the things I’m great at.” She decides to retort with praise instead of defense. ”Stripper heels and a stethoscope would be a hell of a combination for accessories, huh?”

He gives her a look up and down. “You sure you aren’t dancing anymore? You’re looking... great by the way. Very… tight.” He motions a squeeze with his hands. More like how old male plastic surgeons do when they explain implants to young girls.

“I’ve been working out.” Another flat response as she clears her throat and begins to move far past him to continue back on her path. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

“Keep up the good work there Evie. Both professionally and personally.” She didn’t need to turn to look at him to know what look he had on his face. It was one every woman had had to suffer at some point in her life.

——————-

Eve was determined not to let some silver-spooned dumbass ruin her day. She had much more important things to put her energy on. Like going out with Diego that night. Oh, and saving people. Can’t forget that.

For early spring the air felt heavy and it didn’t help the sour mood that had followed her that day. She had stood too long in the shower, getting pruney, debating on whether to shave above the knee or not. She wasn’t gonna fuck him on the first date. No, she didn’t do that stuff anymore. But was it a first date? She’d known him for months now. Maybe best to not shave to deter her from making any rash decisions.

She’d been particularly mean to herself while trying to find an outfit to wear. She didn’t think she should be so easily frustrated with something like this but she realizes it’s been a long time since she cared about her outfit. Much less fussing over what to wear for a date. As always she played it cool, even when she wasn’t. She was relieved by the few pairs of stretchy denim she had still fit. She wrapped herself up in a black jacket and made her way to the gym in shoes that were nowhere near as comfortable as her usual sneakers. She figured boots with a heel were more low key than pumps. She rolls her eyes and swings her head to shake out the non-productive stream of thought.

“Hey Eve.” Diego’s voice breaks her out of the intrusive thoughts and she gives a smile that doesn’t give away that she’s been in a mood all day.

“Hey, Diego.” She answers in a relieved exhale.

They exchange pleasantries before heading off on foot in the direction of the bar. Her hands kept to the strap of her purse that was across her body. She hadn’t hugged him when she’d greeted him, but should she have? Should she… try to hold his hand? Was that too much? How do you date again? She chews the inside of her cheek.

“You worked today right?” He asked partly to kill the dead air but mostly because he was curious.

“You know I did.” She rolls her eyes and smiles.

“Overnight shift, huh? Have to pull anything out of anybody’s butt?”

He gives a wide boyish smile and she laughs in response. “Not tonight no.” she shakes her head. “What about you?”

“I luckily have not had to pull anything out of anyone’s butt.”

She laughs and gives him and below that knocks him slightly and as he returns to her side he stands closer than before. “Smartass.”

He smiles closed-lipped but proudly.

“Everyone’s always asking me about gross stuff. There are other things to ask a doctor…to ask ME about.”

“Like what?”

“Anything besides butt stuff.” She chuckles at her answer.

“Oh I didn’t think that was where we were going with this so soon BUTT-“

She scoffs and laughs and shoves him again before he comes back at her and smoothly, she must admit put his arm around her shoulders as they walked. “If it’s not then where IS is going?” She gives a playful pause. “Why’d you decide to ask me out?”

“Why’d you say yes?”

“I asked you first.”

“I respect you playing by grade school rules.” He teases before answering.

“What took this from two super freaks helping each other out to Diego asking Eve out on a date?”

“We’re still super freaks.” He corrects. “What do you wanna hear huh?” He gives a cocky nod. “That you’re… pretty? Smart? Funny?”

“I mean it’s a good start so go on…” she smiles.

“I...y’know. You don’t annoy me... all the time.” He shrugs slightly to play it cool. “It’s… easy with you. You aren’t a dick. Well I mean, a real dick. You’re a DICK don’t get wrong-“

“A dick but not a DICK-dick.” She clarifies.

“See! You get it.” He nods his head her way and she feels the sincerity he’s trying to give her in his way. They walk for a moment, the location in sight now. “You not gonna tell me I’m pretty now?” He jokes and hip knicks her before separating for the door.

“You’re very pretty Diego.” She coos as he holds open the door for her.

“That's better.” He bats his lashes and she walks in first, him close and protective behind her.

———————

Diego looks down at his phone with a sigh. “It’s my brother. I have to call him.”

“The serious little one from the gym?”

“ that’s the one.”

“ he doesn’t seem like a patient kind of guy.” She gives a soft laugh to show no hard feelings. “Go on, it’s fine. I understand.” She gives a nonchalant shrug. “If you have to leave just tell me first. Don’t disappear like you’re so good at.”

He gives a quiet, almost apologetic chuckle in response. “I won’t. I’ll be right back.”

Eve takes out her phone to keep to herself and pass the time. Five seemed like a very intense guy. Especially if he was someone that could get Diego to do something he didn’t want to.

“Hey.” She’d heard it already but kept her expression unmoving. “Hey, Girl.”

After the 4th time, it’s clear the guy sat between two friends who looked like they all fell out of the same legacy fraternities, and was not going to stop trying to get her Attention. she turns to meet his eyes with the most indifferent face she could manage.

“There she is. That guy leaves a hot thing like you alone?”

“No.” She answers flatly.

“He...uh, ya brother or somethin’?”

“No.” Another monotone answer

“Ah so is that lucky bastard ya mans then?”

She slowly blinks and takes her time to answer. “Why do you care?”

“I wouldn’t be letting you be nowhere alone if I was your man sweetheart.”

“Duly noted.” She turns back away.

“Oh, a smart one, fellas. You know I like it when they get feisty. What you do baby? You lookin' good as hell. You one of them dancers? Those freaky European girls over at the school?” He laughs and elbows his cohort. “Those broads talk all kinds of smart.”

“I’m a Doctor.” She continues to look at her phone and not engage. Diego would be back soon. And this guy was an idiot.

“Oh! a fuckin DOCTOR bros!” He mocks. “I might’ve listened to my doc if he had an ass like that.”

She sighs and feels her jaw tighten.

“Hey! I got something I need ya to look at sexy doctor. I bet you’ve never seen one like this before.”

“I’ve diagnosed the clap before so I have seen it.”

The guys with him laugh but he doesn’t.

“Why the ones with the smart mouths always such bitches?” He complains with a childish retort. “I was being nice and you gotta go act like that. You’re lucky your so hot sweetheart. Most men wouldn’t put up that shit.”

“Would you put up with it?”

“Fuck no, I keep my woman in line.” He says proudly

“Ah, good. So you can quit talking to me then. Because I’m just going to use words that further confuse you if you keep it up.” She rolls her eyes and keeps on her phone as Diego walks back to the table. For the moment the guy was silent.

—-

Eve excused herself to go to the bathroom, perhaps the beers had gotten to her. Or all the water she was forcing down her pie hole constantly it seemed. Trying to be properly hydrated was hard.

She was still distracted in thought, wondering how much she’d drank in water tonight to know how much she could pour out when she got home. She’d bought a jug with hourly markers because targeted ads worked and it was black matte and had-

Her train of thought is sharply interrupted by a forearm jutting out in front of her path. She looks to the perpetrator and there stands Chad. She assumed his name was Chad. He looked like one, acted like one. And if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...well you know how that goes.

“I saw you walkin' back here in those tight fuckin jeans and was compelled to continue our conversation from earlier.”

“No thanks, dude. I’d like to get back to my date now.” She answers flatly.

“Ya little man’s left sweetheart.” His other arm comes up and her now to the wall back was tense and defensive. Their bodies blocked the small back hallway and she hoped someone would interrupt them soon.

“Then he’ll be right back.”

“He answered his phone and jetted babe.” He tsks. “Yahate to see it. “ a predatory pout comes across his face as he reaches to caress her forearm. “And to a dime like you.” She tenses and noisily exhales. “His loss my gain yeah?” He laughs and she smells a nauseatingly familiar combination of nacho cheese and cheap beer.

“Excuse me...Chad? Is it Chad? I’d like to get back to my seat if you-“

“I’m right here baby.” He smirks and wiggles his jaw. “Face or my cock girl, I ain’t picky.” His hands move to her waist and pull her against him. She didn’t want to make a scene. To let this asshole ruin her date.

“I’m giving you one chance to get your fucking hands off me bro.” She bucks back, deeper voice and glaring into his eyes.

“Mmm, what are you? Where ya mama from eh? You must be a little Latin mami lookityou.” The slurring was beginning to stand out more. He did loosen his grip and she put as much space as she could between them. Progress.

“It’s none of your business and you’re being rude and you’re drunk. You should go home.”

“Only if I’m taking this back with me mami,” he reaches his hand to her ass and before he’s fully grasped she’s shoved him hard against the wall. “Oh fuck yeah hard to get. I’m gonna hold you down and beat that pussy UP.”

“You couldn’t even get hard you needle dicked dumbass.” She straightens her jacket. “Let me say this so you understand. Leave me alone. I am not going to fuck you, you fuckin rapist. You should be ashamed of yourself. I hope your mother's dead so she doesn’t have to see what a piece of shit she raised.” She moves to walk away.

His glassy eyes look a strange mixture of hurt to mad to confused.

“Everything okay here?” A tone she hadn’t heard from Diego before as he stood with a wide stance in front of Eve but eyes on the walking cliche. “You okay?” He asks softer as he flicks his eyes to hers, a hand lightly on her arm.

“I’m fine. This guy is garbage. Don’t bother he’s not worth it. Just another moron who never got to the cognitive thought stage.” She sighs and pats his hand, heading back to the table.

After doing a poor job of acting interested in Diego explaining something about knives, she kept seeing Chad eye fuck her from across the bar. She could feel his eyes boring into her. He kept looking and acting casual otherwise, eating and running and talking with his beef necked buddies. Eve was no stranger to harassment. She was a woman and a woman who worked in the medical field. She’d been accosted more times than she could count. From old men winking and having their dicks out to young men locking her inside of an exam room and not letting her leave until he got what he thought he was owed.

She wasn’t even mad about him anymore, her rage was fueled by every man that ever made her feel uncomfortable. Every creep ass ex, every older man trying to take advantage of her. She felt like her face should be hot and Diego’s words become background noise.

-

Diego didn’t notice for a while, too excited to talk about a new knife rig he was working on. He looks behind him at the sound of choking and sees the guy that was bothering Eve earlier trying to clear his throat. He notices Eve isn’t responding even when he stands and tries to gasp. He moves to see her still and focused with flickering eyes. Like electricity was behind them. He watched her curiously, eyes set like a lion in the tall grass. He looks back to Chad, now red and holding his throat.

“Eve…” he reaches out to touch her arm and he’s met with a crack of static electricity. She doesn’t even acknowledge him and the guys turning a weird shade of purple. “EVE.” He says harsher and grasps her forearm, feeling the tingle of hair rise on the back of His neck. “EVE! HEY!” he reaches and as Chad's eyes bloodshot he turns her face to him and breaks her focus.

The desperate gasp of air from Chad was immediate.

“Eve… what the hell was that?”

“What?” She blinks rapidly as if she’d just come to.

“He was choking and you were…” he lowers his voice and moves closer to her. Everyone was now preoccupied with Chad. “...using your powers weren’t you?”

Her mouth holds open as her eyes now normal flit back and forth. “I…” she feels it. Something she could identify. A cooling rush in her veins. “I hurt him.” She whispers in shock.

“Yeah, you almost choked him to death. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m… I did that.”

“I didn’t know you could do that?”

“Neither did I.”

———-

Diego and Eve sit back in her apartment after a fast exit. She seemed worried, so he tried to hide his concern. He kept having to reach for her wrist to keep her on track and eventually settled on holding her hand. They hadn’t said much on the walk back. She was coming to terms with a lot and once again they’d fallen back into the roles of helping each other through these secret things only they understood and out of the dating pool they’d tiptoed in successfully tonight.

“Look you can control them, alright? You can control healing and you can control hurting. They’re the same thing. You got carried away. And that guy was an asshole and he deserved a scare honestly.”

He rubs her upper arms and she wipes at her face with a tissue. “I’m sorry for...ruining tonight.” She sighs out with eyes now makeup-free.

“You didn’t ruin it.” He grimaces. “We’ve just… got sidetracked. It happens.” He shrugs and tries to be supportive.

“I’ve had such a bad day, Diego.” She laughs to not cry and meets his eyes. “I didn’t want to cancel because of it and let it win. But I’ve been so sensitive today. I don’t know.”

“What happened?.” He moves to pull her to the edge of her bed.

“There’s just this guy, Brian at work and he was shitty to me today-“

“Brian who?” Diego quickly interjects in such a dramatic way it makes her crack a smile while he remained serious.

“You don’t have to beat him up.” She gives a thankful smile and pats the back of his hands. He takes her hands into his and lays them in her lap.

“If someone's makin' you so upset you lose control I'm pretty sure I DO have to kick their ass.”

“Thanks. Your heart is in the right place. I appreciate it. Seriously.” She frees one hand as he holds tight to her others. “I don’t want to be known as the woman who you can’t talk to because her b- her friend might beat them up.”

“Your what might beat them up?” He teases with a smile.

“Friend. My friend. That’s what I said.” She whines playfully and he smirks. “He’s one of the director's sons.” She shrugs.

She’d just given him enough information to easily find the guy. Not like he wouldn’t have gone through every Brian in that hospital. “Why would he be a dick to you?” He takes her hand back into his and it makes her smile as she looks down at them. He held her hands in a clear expression of his want to protect her. She thought it was very sweet of him. But she didn’t know he had full intentions of beating the white off Brian.

“Sexism mostly?” She offers and Diego gives her a look of impatience.

“I ran into him and he said some things about my past in a tone that wasn’t nice and he’s in general very… sleazy and gives uncomfortable compliments. No one says anything because he’s Knox’s son so...he’s a privileged white dude. That should tell you enough.”

“It does.” He accepts her elaboration. She was quickly learning he was stubborn as a mule when it came to wanting something, particularly information.

“Then the guy at the bar.” She rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, that asshole.” He sighs. “I would’ve decked him but you seemed like you didn’t want me to.”

“I could r done it myself if I wanted. But I didn’t want to ruin the evening.” She emotes dramatically, saying it didn’t matter in the long run. “He was talking to me while you were gone the first time too.”

“Seriously? Eve. Why didn’t you let me knock his punk ass out?”

“Because Diego I wanted to have a nice date with you. Without involving fighting. We can work it out at training later. I didn’t want to…” she groans.

“Okay, okay. I...get what you’re saying. And I think you’re wrong. But I understand.”

“Thanks. Maybe we’ll get it right next time.” She offers with a tired smile.

“Next time?” His smile gives away his glad reaction to the insinuation.

“Yeah. I figured we could go out on another date. Unless you don’t want to?” He feels her hands begin to pull away and he keeps them close.

“No! I do! I do Uh “ clearing his throat, “I mean I’d like that. It’d be..chill”

She snorts a laugh at his recovery. “I’m excited to go out with you again too. Don’t try to play it cool I already know you. I know you aren’t” she teases.

“That’s cold man.” He deflects and they share a nice pause between them. “We’ll go somewhere where no one can upset you.”

“If you’re with me you could.”

“Normally I’d agree. But I don’t plan on upsetting you... You know. I mean it might happen but like...I don’t wanna hurt you. For real.”

“I think I knew that Diego.” She gives him a warm smile and squeezes his hands. “I don’t wanna hurt you either. I’ve gotten pretty fond of you. As much as I hate to admit.”

“I don’t hate to admit it.” He gives a dopey smile and she pays his cheek.

“Thank you for… everything tonight.”

“Was nothin,” he answers cockily.

“You can be really sweet when you aren’t trying too hard.” She says as they feel their heartbeat flip for a moment as they look into each other’s eyes a bit too long for it to go unnoticed.

“I don’t have to try hard with you.” He answers back softly and he sees his moment. She sees the tell of his eyes moving to her lips, that tilt of his head that made him look like a sweet little pitbull puppy.

She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to thank him for everything he’d done for her. Properly. They could both feel the tension between them now. “Diego… I do-“

“Uh yeah, you’re right. It’s not- yeah-..” he stutters in reaction to what he thought could be rejection.

She smiles and rises to go after him as he puts space between them. “I WANT to, Diego I just don’t think right now is the right moment.” She explains gently with her hands to his chest and she yawns. “I’m exhausted from using my powers tonight. I don’t want to be… not giving you 110% if you get what I’m saying.” She wiggles her eyebrows and it knocks his defenses down as intended.

“Oh. Good. You...you’re right.” He chuckles shyly. “I can go now and I’ll see you at training then?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” She offers a hug instead of a kiss and he happily takes it. His temple to her temple for a moment and feeling her let out a content sigh in his arms. “Be careful headed home.” She offers as they part. “Despite everything I still had a good time tonight. For the record.”

“I did too.” He offers before ducking out the door with a “Goodnight. Sleep tight.”

She knew she would thanks to him.

@jaegeeeeer​ @diegos-butt​ @anglovesthis @likedovesinthewnd

[apprenticenerd]

"Anyone can send me an ask with one of the titles and I’ll post a snippet or talk about that WIP!" The Acropolis, Tacet, Checklist, A Tiny Galaxy, Hearsay, Going Back, Ella Disenchanted, Making Peace, The Slashed Circle, Wake Up, Tenno, Midnight, Heliotropism, Arrhythmia, the one about Among Us, the one about Library of Ruina, the one that’s a D&D world concept. Yes, all of them. I know you wanna talk about all of them. So go, go forth and do it!

Hoooo boy, this is gonna be a long post. Lots and lots of writing snippets under the cut to avoid dash stretch!

The Acropolis - original - length uncertain - 1.4k and counting

im not ready for this im not i thought it would be yrs i thought id at least get an english degree first

omg sal whats goin on

fuckin hell whyd it have to be now i have a chem lab tomorrow

sally-tate macpherson. u never swear. ever. wtf is goin on.

ok. jess. i need u to listen really really carefully. understand?

answer the goddamn question ur scarin me

shut up and listen and this will go a lot better

fine but u need to tell me wtf is happnenig

ok. im going to tell you a bunch of stuff. not giving u advice, thats not allowed, but im gonna tell u stuff it seems like itd be impossible for me to know.

?????????????

i said shut up this is really important dont question how i know it. just go with it and figure out what to do. and dont die. bc no matter how crazy stuff seems, if u die, ur dead. here and everywhere. ok?

This is an original story coming straight from a @/writing-prompt-s prompt about a crack in a kid’s hardwood floor that they fantasized was a portal actually being one. I originally intended to write the entire thing like this, as a conversation over text, but that may not be feasible given a certain world-building detail at the other end of the portal (and the limits of my creativity lmao).

---

Tacet - The Blackout Club - one-shot - 3.2k and counting

She closed her eyes again, and there it was. Hallucination? Some new science trick with electromagnetic radiation off the visible spectrum? Evidence that she was actually going insane? Whatever it was, it burned behind her eyelids in bright, incontrovertible red - and was completely invisible when she opened her eyes again. There was just the usual mess of club posters and one big one about someone’s exceedingly dumb-looking lost cat.

Eyes open, there was only Sargent Snuggles. Eyes closed, there was the normal darkness and then three lines of text where the poster had been, wavering like scarlet fire:

JOIN TBC JOIN TBC JOIN TBC

TBC? What the fuck was that? She’d never heard of any group with that acronym before. Hardly aware of the flurry of weird looks from half the other people in the hallway, she crossed the hall to examine the lost cat poster more closely. It felt like perfectly normal paper when she touched it, and there wasn’t even a hint of red with her eyes open, unless you counted the cat’s tacky pink sweater. How the hell was this even possible?

“You’re finally cracking, Bri,” she groaned under her breath, then headed for her locker. She did have to get home. Add another big fat entry to the weird shit list.

A backstory one-shot for my Blackout Club OC Briar, telling the story of how she got into the club in the first place. I’ve been stuck in the same spot for a while now, after Briar’s friend Dani explains the club to her, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the scene’s over as is. Of course, writing the next one is the tough part.

---

Checklist - The Blackout Club - one-shot - 1.7k and counting

8. You still have a headache. Shouldn’t you go back to sleep and try to do this in the morning?

9. (wake up)

10. Nah, you’ve always been a night owl, and school starts criminally early, too early to get much done beforehand. It’s quiet, except for Dad snoring. Your parents are asleep already. You can stay up until this is done, and they’ll be none the wiser.

11. Your head hurts worse. It’s getting harder to think. At only 9 pm? 9:30? Whatever. You should sleep.

12. (wake UP)

13. What are you thinking? You have to read at least a little of this chapter, or there’s no way you’ll be able to bullshit your way through class tomorrow. Besides, all of a sudden, the silence feels...strange. Heavier? You can’t describe it.

14. You need to sleep. You need a drink of water or something. You need to finish this damn homework. You need to sleep. You need to sleep.

15. Stare at The Great Gatsby. It doesn’t make sense. Nothing makes sense.

16. Realize what’s up with the silence. Dad’s not snoring anymore. You aren’t feeling like yourself. You need to sleep.

17. Something’s weird.

18. (WAKE UP) 

19. ...No. Something’s wrong.

Another Blackout Club story and another Interface Screw, as it were, this time in the form of a (very long) checklist. None of the characters have names (yet). It describes another way a kid could find themself running around at night with the Blackout Club, this time by fighting off the Song just enough to run into a club member who could wake them up the rest of the way. As with Tacet, I still need to write the suspenseful part.

---

A Tiny Galaxy - Warframe - 4 chapters planned, 1 complete, 1 in progress - 7.8k and counting

Try it if you don’t believe me, the kid in the vent had said.

It was impossible. It was physically impossible. All of this was impossible. Had the Void...? Could the Void...?

The ship was at a standstill. Her mother had tried to kill her, and something had happened. She’d made something happen. There had been no holoprojector in that kid’s hand. Nothing was impossible anymore.

Jhia took a deep breath. How the heck was she supposed to do this? Was she supposed to feel something, some internal guide? Blue Hair hadn’t said. Feeling incredibly stupid, she did a quick mental checkup on herself. Nothing felt wrong, or different - but now that she thought about it…

Afterward, she would try many times to explain it, and fail every time. The best she could come up with was that once she found the Void, calling on it was as easy and as natural as breathing. She opened her hands in front of her, concentrated on that force like an extension of herself, reopened her eyes, and there it was: a riotous little ball of energy, wisps and motes of light and not-quite-light like a tiny galaxy, the Tau system in the palm of her hand, raging.

More OC backstory time! This one’s for my Tenno, a nerdy fourteen-year-old (at the time of this story, anyway) by the name of Jhia, going through the hell that is the Zariman Ten-Zero and what happened on it. This is possibly the first part of the story I actually wrote: the roll-credits moment when Jhia realizes the Void’s changed her more already than she thought.

---

Hearsay - Lobotomy Corporation/Library of Ruina - one-shot - 1k and counting

"Oh? Did they investigate further?"

"They tried. Found a few fingerprints, but they didn't match anyone in the database."

"What's the update, then?"

"Reports from elsewhere in the district of someone not in uniform carrying a Zwei sword. They're slippery, good at avoiding us, which would suggest Syndicate operative to me and HQ. Except that in every one of the descriptions we managed to get, our sword thief is a child."

"What? How?!"

"You tell me, Iona. You're the one who went to the crime scene."

"Right... Jeez, if it's a kid, I guess that'd explain why Petrov thought they weren't a threat..."

"My thoughts exactly. HQ has a fair amount of hearsay to go on, but nobody can quite agree on how old the child is, or whether or not she's with a Syndicate. Most agree that she appears to be a girl, tall for a child, auburn hair, clothes and demeanor typical of a Backstreets native."

"We got a name?"

"They've heard Yeri, Kali, Redbird, Suma, Aelfin... No one knows which is her real one, or if it's even any of them at all."

"Damn. ...Say, are you going to drink that entire pot of coffee?"

"Help yourself."

This is one of those stories that turned into an accidental AU when more of canon came out. The idea behind it is that it’s Kali’s backstory told entirely in conversations in which she did not participate, showcasing the fact that a Fixer’s fame is their livelihood and Kali was about as famous as they come, before the whole L Corp thing happened. Of course, the vast majority of the headcanons here got invalidated with a certain Ruina update, so my motivation’s kinda down on this one.

---

Going Back has already been talked about here!

---

Ella Disenchanted - The Blackout Club - one-shot (maybe two-shot??) - 1.4k and counting

She woke. Her stomach went through a series of panicked flip-flops as she thought something strange had done it, Dad or a little-kid-nightmares shadow beast had made noise, but no - why had she fallen asleep in the first place? Her butt and shoulder were sore where they’d been leaning on the bottom and side of the windowsill, presumably all night, since the sun was full up over the trees on Old Growth Hill. 

All night. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t fall asleep, but she did anyway. God dammit.

As she unfolded herself from her cramped ball, though, she froze. Under the comforter she’d pulled around her shoulders for warmth, she was wearing her gray jacket, a T-shirt, jeans, sneakers getting dried mud all over the carpet. 

Last she remembered, she’d been in her pajamas.

In which a Blackout Club kid’s little sister wonders where he’s gone when he runs away to the boxcar, and tries to get to the bottom of the mystery herself. Usually she’d be too young for the club to recruit, but her investigations and an incident involving SAO are more than enough extenuating circumstance. Unlike most of my other WIPs, there’s a whole outline at the end of my doc for this one.

---

Making Peace - Warframe - multi-chapter - 1.5k and counting

“I…” Iksoh finally said. “Sorna, I hope you realize. I’m not into this. I never - I’m not doing this. Whatever you’re doing, I can’t.”

“I know,” Sorna said softly. The decision tore at her heart again and she almost backed out of the vent, but no. She had to go. She wouldn’t see another innocent crumple in her rifle sights. “I hope you realize. I’m not coming back.”

Behind her, Iksoh let out a long, shaky breath. “It’s taking all I’ve got not to report you right now. Sorna… the Queens’ll have my head for this. Please, please, let it be worth it. Go. Don’t let them take yours.”

“I won’t,” Sorna promised, and meant it.

Later, after her last fight for her freedom was done, on the Steel Meridian ship headed for Kronia Relay, Sorna looked out at the planet retreating behind her and thought of Iksoh. She’d just learned a new word from a Meridian soldier: vaykor tal, the defector’s spirit. Iksoh had let her go, at risk of their own life. They’d had a bit of the vaykor tal themself, even if they hadn’t known it, even if they’d thought it was just some weakness that was bound to get them killed.

“Ranre treri, duf krun,” she whispered into space, a Grineer well-wishing passed down from sergeant to tube-fresh lancer since time immemorial. May your hands be steady, and may life be kind.

This is an AU born of me and some friends wondering why in the heck Perrin and the Meridian hate each other so much in game. It’s about a group of Kavor - Grineer defectors distinguished from other Meridian members by their pacifism - who get to a Relay and start wondering the same thing. Besides Sorna (and, later in the story, Iksoh as well), there would have been Chakh, Beket, and Sydon, plus at least four of the syndicate leaders and a bunch of side-character OCs, all caught up somehow in what turns out to be a surprisingly far-reaching web of intrigue.

--

The Slashed Circle - Warframe - one-shot, probably - 429 and counting

In addition to their written and spoken language, the Grineer have a full language of hand signs. It has its quirks, as all languages do - be careful of confusing it with the Corpus sign language, in which the sign for “to pay” roughly approximates the Grineer sign for...a certain portion of the male anatomy. Among these is the common Grineer sentiment against those who defect from their ranks, baked into the sign just as much as their spoken words. 

The sign of the slashed circle, the sedashkur - a finger drawn in a circle on the chest, followed by a diagonal line - is the highest of taboos to any loyal Grineer. It shows support for such scum as the Kavor and Steel Meridian, enough so that it forms the basis for the Meridian’s battle standard. To sign the sedashkur is to betray your siblings, commit a grave insult to your superiors, paint a near-indelible target on your back. It is an object of hatred and fear throughout the ranks.

She fears it, yes, but she does not hate it, for all her life and into her death as well. It shouldn’t trouble her now, though. It is easy to hide a language, and she burned her journals before she was called to the fortress.

This is a fic about Jhia and her one (1) converted Kuva Lich, namely about the process of said Lich’s defeat and defection, that kinda never got off the ground. Contrary to this snippet, I think most of it would have been written in what are essentially space emails back and forth between Lich and Tenno? I definitely got as far as Jhia sending an audio recording of a bass-boosted dog fart, anyhow.

---

Wake Up, Tenno - Warframe - one-shot - 950 and counting

“Wake up, Tenno.”

She wakes. She is - she is Tenno, right? She is a Tenno? Her mind is confused, so full of fog and dead ends - how long was she asleep?

The voice that woke her seems familiar. She might have loved the speaker, in her scrambled past life, the woman in the purple helmet, the one called Lotus in her HUD vision. Her surroundings are a ruin of some sort. Her body is—

...what?

She can move just fine. Her fingers and arms and legs respond with suspicious ease, given how long she must have slept to be this scattered upon waking up, and yet there’s some fundamental disconnect. This is her Warframe, her body, but it’s not her body somehow.

...wait, where did the term “Warframe” come from?

A Tenno, unnamed but intended to be Jhia on my end, wakes up on Earth at the very beginning of the in-game storyline. Since the tutorial has gotten an overhaul in recent months, I may have to modify even what little I have on this a lot.

---

Midnight - Iconoclasts - poem - 280 and counting

been anything smaller than been anything

never been anything smaller than

“good morning, how’s miss grump doing today? i heard about that last mission...if you didn’t sleep well i can call you in sick, it’s alright-” “oh, shut up, grey”

there has never been anything

“oh, shut up, grey” “love you too”

smaller

“love you too”

than

me

A very fragmented, stream-of-consciousness-y poem meant to represent Agent Black’s failing sanity near the end of the game. The words of her famous one-liner (“there has never been anything smaller than me”) are interspersed, out of order until the end, with poetic descriptions of other characters and bits and pieces of a flashback involving Agent Grey.

---

Heliotropism - Iconoclasts - one-shot - 1.1k and counting

Lily, though she’s superstitious, will have none of these self-important truths, none of these semblances of certainty when really all it is is wishing on Ivory and hoping for the best. She calls for Miss Andress instead. 

A stout but severe woman with ten grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way, Miss Andress is perhaps the quintessential matriarch: nurturing, selfless, brutally honest. She is the one the people of 17 trust when they feel they can trust no one else. Lily needs the kind of reassurance only she can give, with the authority of ninety-one years and the wisdom of two sons, one daughter, and some five dogs raised under her care.

When Miss Andress visits House 4, she asks Polro and Lily to each bring an object they cherish the most. For Polro it’s his largest wrench, pitted with use but still polished to a brassy shine; Lily surprises everyone by pulling out a tiny, unloaded stun-gun, and surprises them more by not explaining it at all. Miss Andress doesn’t question it. She just turns the two tools over and over in her hands, head bowed, squinting at them as if trying to read the secrets of the universe in the scratches carved into them by time.

Finally she straightens up and sighs, pushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear. Her forehead is slick with sweat, though the night is cool outside. “I don’t know what she’ll do,” the wise woman says, heavily, as if delivering bad news. “I just know she’ll change the world.”

Can you tell I like backstory fic? This one is for Robin, with one short anecdote for each year of her life, up to age 17 and the events of the game. It’s also an excuse to world-build a bunch, lol.

---

Arrhythmia - Crypt of the NecroDancer - one-shot(?) - 4k and counting

The creature didn’t say anything, just beckoned to the shadows. Before I could move, two other creatures came for me, sending the other humans - former humans? - scrambling away in panic. One landed a hard blow on the back of my head that sent me to my hands and knees, seeing sparks; the other said “Freeze!” and I could only watch as ice sprouted from the leaf litter, cementing me to the ground.

The one who’d hit me produced a dagger from the inside of its cloak. I tried to pull myself up, to do anything at all to keep myself from getting shanked, but it was no good. There must have been a secondary effect on that spell; my limbs wouldn’t respond. I felt the dagger tear cloth in the region of my back, and prepared for the pain.

It didn’t come. The creature cut a slit in the back of my tunic, then another. Neither one touched the skin at all. I can’t really describe what happened next - my brain was having trouble computing how my arms were in front of me, visible, unable to move, but it felt like the creature was pulling them through the gashes in my tunic, but that was wrong, they didn’t feel like arms at all.

“Holy fuck,” I heard someone say.

The ice holding me down melted into nothing as the spell wore off. I jumped back up, head spinning a little, ready for another fight, only to spot two flicks of scarlet in my peripheral vision. I spun around, but they moved with me.

I think I already knew what they were. I just couldn’t admit it to myself.

You’ve already seen this one, Nick, though I’m pretty sure it was well over two years ago. It’s a pile of old headcanons, some of them now outdated I’m pretty sure, about how Nocturna ended up a vampire in the first place and a little bit about how vampire society works. According to Google Docs, I’ve been stuck on this one since March 2018. Whoops.

---

untitled (working title “adult citra meets an impostor bc what is self-control”) - Among Us - one-shot - 572 and counting

“I know. You’re stuck, aren’t you?” Having well and truly gotten their full attention, Citra continues, “God, I can barely imagine. Having to take a weird-ass host whose biology might even be toxic to you, I don’t know. Needing to get to a whole other galaxy, feeling like the only way to do that is by deception and death.” “How…?”

She sighs. “I told you, this isn’t my first rodeo. One of your kind saved my life when I was a kid. Since he’d killed Mom and Dad had been out of the picture long before, he stayed here and helped raise me afterward. It’s how I learned to pronounce...a few of your words, at least.”

“You missed the ‘H’ sound.”

“Isn’t that the one that’s literally impossible to do right with Terran anatomy?”

“Maybe. You think I know Terran anatomy all that well?”

Citra chuckles. “Fair point. You let us find your buddy and fix the ship, I’ll raise Xai when we get comms back and he can try and help you get home. Deal?”

I found an Among Us comic on Tumblr, absolutely ran into left field with it to make a couple of OCs, and then made AUs of those OCs because of course I did. This one is from a future scenario in which Citra (typically orange) meets someone rather familiar on a mission with the crew of the Skeld.

---

untitled (working title “library of ruina but they adopt half the guests”) - Library of Ruina - length uncertain - 1k and counting

“And what happened to not caring about others because it’s a waste of time and heartache?”

Now it’s Roland’s turn to sigh. “I don’t care about him. I just don’t want the guilt of killing - look at him, he can’t be older than eighteen or nineteen!”

Raised eyebrow. “Finn will be twenty years old in fifteen days’ time. He is a legal adult. I fail to see why this should matter to either of us.”

“He’s fresh off his first Fixer license! I have years of experience! He had no idea what he was getting into when he signed that invitation and you know it!”

Angela fixes him with a glare that turns his stomach, his freshly remade body reacting to the memory of its sudden, and extremely painful, dismemberment. “I could quite literally hold your soul in my hands if I wanted,” she reminds him in an undertone of steel. “I must do the same for him, following the invitation’s guidance, or my entire plan will be lost, my coworkers’ sacrifices all for naught. Do not disappoint me or ask any more impertinent questions. You know what to do, and what will happen if you do not.” 

Look, some of the people you fight in this game deserved so much better, okay? I came up with an AU concept where if a guest willingly concedes the fight and agrees to stick around, you can get their book without killing them. Finn doesn’t die; neither do Tomerry or Shi Association; all the former employees realize exactly what’s going on with Philip after the Wedge Office fight and manage to calm him down, avoiding the whole Crying Children situation. (And then Gebura makes him collect his jaw off the floor by revealing herself as the Red Mist.)

---

The one that’s a D&D world concept doesn’t have anything concrete written for it yet. (Don’t read this bit if you might want to play in my campaign at some point!) Instead of your typical Forgotten Realms planar setup, the world at large would be called the Seven Spheres, each of them different in terms of climate, geography, native species and magic, etc. The First Sphere would be the most “generic” one (to our way of thinking) and the main setting of the campaign; it would also be the smallest of the Seven, its primary continent home to a former empire of dragons that spanned most of the Sphere until its mysterious fall a thousand years ago.

Now, since the empire fell, the dragons and their children have slowly been dying out. Best estimates are that there’s only a thousand or two left in the entire First Sphere, with fewer eggs hatched every decade. The player characters enter a world with pretty typical low-level quests to start with, but every so often, especially if they engage with optional story stuff (this would be a more roleplay-focused than combat-focused campaign), they get wind of changes in the air - a failed harvest here, an unusually hot and stormy summer there, a trade war once they start hitting mid-levels.

It mimics real-world climate change in all but cause. As coastal cities struggle to contend with rising seas and, more alarmingly, wizards all over the Sphere start to notice their magic falter and wane, the PCs’ goal becomes getting to the bottom of this. And what’s at the bottom is...your typical Nerd fusion of science with fantasy settings.

The Seven Spheres are not planes of existence in the normal D&D sense, but seven planets in the same solar system, each with its own ancient god far more powerful than any god in any mortal pantheon; the First Sphere is so named because it’s closest to the sun. These planetary gods are incredibly large and incredibly alien, thinking in geologic time and concepts far too broad and slow for most sapient beings to comprehend. A thousand years ago, the fall of the dragon empire was caused by an ill-advised ritual meddling with the god of the First Sphere’s natural process of rebirth, causing said god to die without a replacement.

It’s taken this long for the First Sphere to feel the effects because, again, geologic time - a thousand years is a blink of an eye in this kind of time scale. But now the ancient earth-magic that had kept the Sphere’s climate temperate and its magicians in business is failing. The dragons, as beings of magic intrinsically, have been failing all along. And now it’s up to the PCs, up at level 17-20 if not higher by that point, to figure out how to fix the situation and find a new planetary god for the First Sphere before the whole Sphere burns to death.

[unwoundvisions]

Pirate Villains Tags + Info

I assumed we would want tags for them at some point so I went ahead made some. I used there last names because they just sound more intimating: 

⇝ deadly chisaki

⤜ obsessive toga

 ✸ anarchic dabi

⥼ dastardly beck

⤷ wicked bolton

⤀ feral hargove

I also thought I’d post some information about the characters you aren’t  familiar. I would have done this on the doc but it was giving me trouble so now we get a big post.

Let us begin with Kai Chisaki.

Simple summery: Germaphobe who sees super powers as a illness and wants to rid it from the world while also making the gang he was raised in super successful and respected again (funny how he wanted to do that but was somehow okay with getting to keep his own powers). He’s a truly vile piece of garbage. I’m still going to post some of the stuff about his personality from the Wiki here because it’s helpful: 

“Overhaul is a mysophobic, antisocial sociopath obsessed with returning the world to the way it was before the Quirk phenomenon (aka super power phenomena). Due to a combination of an old theory claiming Quirks derived from rats and his own mysophobia, Overhaul believes that Quirks are actually a plague on humanity, having infected people with "syndromes" of heroism and villainy. He looks down upon those that use their abilities for either purpose, referring to acts of heroic sacrifice or petty crime as "sicknesses". Overhaul is extremely determined to his ambition of eradicating Quirks, not only due to his own personal phobias, but also because such a thing would allow the yakuza  (his gang) to reclaim the power they once held over society. Overhaul has no moral compass and an enormous ego, viewing himself as the only person in the world that's enlightened to the "true nature" of Quirks and deserving of the spot as ruler of the underworld.  As the leader of the Shie Hassaikai (that’s just the name of the gang)  Overhaul is usually levelheaded, thinks strategically, and, according to a conversation with Twice, seems to be nice at first. Whether he is acting or behaving genuinely, Overhaul does possess polite mannerisms and can come off as very calm and classy even to people he considers potentially troublesome. If aggravated, however, he may end up displaying a powerful and visible killing intent, more fitting of his true character. Overhaul is very germophobic and hates anything he perceives as unsanitary, frequently remarking about the unclean appearances of certain people and locations. He refuses to be touched by others, or even breathe in the same air as theirs, which is one of the reasons he wears an air-filtering plague doctor mask and forces his subordinates to do the same while around him (don’t see a need for him to do that in our fic). If blood, dirt or some other unclean substance comes in contact with Overhaul's person, he will start developing hives and lose his usual composure, becoming increasingly unhinged as a result. In drastic circumstances though, Overhaul will let go of his aversions in order to crush an enemy that's standing on his way, either due to pragmatism or out of sheer hatred. Overhaul doesn’t value humans, viewing people as pawns for their utilitarian value and being willing to experiment on them to accomplish his objectives. He carries this sentiment even towards the other members of the organization he has dedicating himself to since childhood, treating them as expendable sacrifices for his well-being and having no qualms in killing them off for the smallest mistakes. The masks worn by his closest subordinates also serve as a reminder of this mindset; he doesn't view them as worthy of sharing the same air as his. Even Eri, the centerpiece of his operations, is not spared from this brutal way of thinking as he frequently shames and abuses her through threats and guilt trips, seemingly as a method to force subservience on her mind ((They really glossed over Eri here. She was a girl he abused since she was a baby until she was around like 7 years old. Literally, kept her locked up, called her cursed human, drained her blood all the time and he regularly killed and brought her back ((which is something he can do with his power)) to life just to keep getting fresh blood out of her. Of course, in the name of the “greater good.” I fucking hate him.) As a young yakuza, Kai was extremely ruthless and would kill anyone who didn't show the Shie Hassaikai the proper respect, constantly getting into fights with rival gangs. Kai's boss, who was growing aware of the violent, immoral path his underling was following to uphold the name of the Shie Hassaikai, attempted to sway him towards a more honorable course, but to no avail; Kai became more and more convinced that illegal, questionable dealings were the only way the yakuza could ever restore their former honor. In the end, Overhaul's failure to recognize others and his own obstinate nature result in his downfall. Despite his strong-willed attitude, he is capable of expressing true fear and shock, especially post-defeat..

And if you ever need to know like how he speaks and his mannerisms you can skip around this video. Totally don’t have to but I wanted to share it just in case it may be useful: 

Now as for what I thought his motivates could be in our fic: 

Since he obviously can’t be obsessed with getting rid of super power, we need to change his character a tiny bit. I thought that in our world he can have a big thing against pirates who don’t have ambitious goals. Let’s say a pirate want to evade authorities and maybe cause them some mild inconveniences. Chisaki would think you weren’t thinking big enough and say the authorities should be killed and everything that put them in place should be destroyed. If a pirate has average goals, he deems them sick and they need to be cured (killed). I just think in this world his big goal would to go after real power. I could see his goal being to like completely restructure society and eliminate pirates with average goals and ensure the only ones who remain are one who share his vision. 

Not sure if we’ll even need his backstory but let’s say in our fic it goes like this: 

He is orphaned at a very young age and tries to find for himself on the street. It’s miserable and he probably thought he was going to die. Then, he is found by an older pirate (like 60′s) who takes him in. This pirate and his crew used to be really respected back in the day when they were more traditional pirates who did all the pirate things ( rob, pillage, ect).  However, in his older age the pirate has decided that pirates should care more about destroying high society (an understandable cause that some can get behind but simply don’t want to put in the work ).  Because of this, his crew has gotten a lot smaller and the biggest disruption they’ve had on high society is destroying a few wealthy business.  But it’s important to know this pirate was never extremely violent. Didn’t approve of vile crimes and genuinely wanted to bring a more positive change on society. He really wasn’t that bad (not an angel by any means but not as bad as most). It’s also important to note that he wouldn’t condemn other pirates for having simple goals like fame or adventure. Did he wish they had a drive for more? Yes, but he wouldn’t harm them. So, Chisaki grows up genuinely wanting the same change in the world but also wanting to ensure his caretaker’s crew became respected again so things slowly become more and more twisted as he gets older. 

I figured that when Chisaki is around 12 is when he’s properly introduced to Katsuki. How this happens is that I could see Katsuki’s mother helping the caretaker’s crew by looting and destroy wealthy business (simply because it paints her as more threatening figure while also putting money into her pocket). On of these missions, Katsuki’s mother’s brought him along. That’s how Chisaki and Katsuki become friends. But as they both grow older, they drift a part a tiny bit. Chisaki becomes transfixed on ensuring his caretaker’s vision becomes a reailty. He thinks to ensure this happens, they need be more violent, more ambitious and kill those with true power. In Chisaki’s ideal world, average pirates would be put down, nobles would be put down and the only people left would be those who admired them or were willing to work with them. He kills easily, he starts brutal fights with other pirates and his caretaker can do nothing to make him see sense which is why he tells him that he is no longer member of the crew. Ultimately, Chisaki feels so betrayed that he kills the man. Tells the crew he was murdered (obviously they don’t believe him) and decide they would kill Chisaki for the betrayal. Chisaki genuinely tried to give them a chance to come to his side but he knew what their intentions were (because he’s genuinely really smart). He poisons them all in at a supposed peace dinner. Since no one really cared about this crew anymore, no one really noticed that they were dead. But still, Chisaki, feels a strange sense of loyalty to his caretaker and still wants to carry out his vision. This is why he goes looking for Katsuki, thinking he could rebuild his caretaker’s crew but he quickly realizes that his old friend already has a crew. Chisaki intended on joining the crew and persuading to strive for the same vision he did. Of course, Katsuki doesn’t mind letting Chisaki join because he wanted a familiar person on his crew. Chisaki geuinely figured it would be easy to get Katsuki on his side but it proved to be harder than he thought. Thankfully though, the rest of the crew admired his vision so it was easy to convince them all it was time to overthrow Katsuki. Chisaki simply planned on dropping Katsuki off on an island and letting him die but Beck convinced him to ask for ransom first because they were a brand new crew and would need money. So, they did just that. Katsuki’s mother refused and they abandoned Katsuki on an island with nothing but a gun to kill himself.

This leaves Chisaki with a loyal crew that sail under his old caretaker’s banner and on his ship the Kraken. Chisaki never expected Katsuki to escape so you can imagine how infuriated that Katsuki is still alive. They always planned on offing him for good but usually got distracted by more important matter like killing people who opposed them and important nobles. 

Okay, I went into way too much detail there but he’s like the most important one so I’ll keep the others brief. 

Now onto Dabi:

If a quote that could some up Dabi is, “ Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” That’s Dabi. His chaotic, destructive and hates society.  He’s really hot too but that’s beside the point lol (i may just have a thing for fire guys). 

Here’s the important stuff from his Wiki:

“Dabi is a stoic, aloof, confident, and focused individual who rarely shows emotion. While rather crude and violent, he is actually cautious, choosing to retreat when needed. Overall, Dabi is a highly enigmatic individual who trusts no one, preferring to do things alone and in his own way. He also gives off the impression of knowing more about certain people than he lets on. Despite his usual expressionless behavior, Dabi finds joy in establishing himself as a villain fighting against what he believes to be false heroes, an ideology proposed by his apparent inspiration, Stain (just a guy who killed heroes because he thought they were hypocrites for getting paid). Dabi is dedicated to Stain's mission and desires to destroy superhuman society, sharing his belief that one person with the necessary conviction can do so. He appears to share Stain's sentiment that Heroes are hypocritical and unworthy of their title, but unlike Stain, he does not seem to seek a society with better heroes. Dabi takes pleasure in taunting heroic figures, students, and Pro Heroes alike, sadistically enjoying the pain he inflicts on others, including those he murders. Sometimes, Dabi engages in psychological warfare in order to unnerve whoever his opposition is (while also allowing himself to cool down from his own Quirk's effects). Very pragmatic in battle, he is rather savvy about how heroes operate and will exploit their natural tendency to rescue others. He's not afraid of causing collateral destruction, rarely holding back, even if it puts his allies at risk. Dabi is intolerant of most people and can be very derisive, being quite rude and condescending to essentially everybody he interacts with. He insulted Tomura Shigaraki immediately after meeting him and constantly does the same to both his allies and enemies. While the League would go on to develop a strong sense of camaraderie, Dabi has remained distant from them for the most part. He has admitted that he doesn't care for Tomura or the rest of the League and that the value he puts on them comes mostly from their ability to bring his ambitions into reality. This selfish way of thinking establishes Dabi as an extreme sociopath. However, Dabi appears to at least be capable of feeling remorse. While he had no problem killing a Pro Hero, their last  words appear to have resonated with him, implying that Dabi has sympathy for those that have lost family due to villains.”

Again, here’s a video just for his speech and mannerism that may be helpful: 

Okay and lastly, Himiko Toga

Overall, she’s fucking crazy and fun to watch but actually really scary. Her abilities we can’t include but their really cool. If she consumes someone’s blood, she can become their clone. Maybe in our fic we can just say she’s like really good at being sneaky and disguises. I’ll post the important Wiki stuff about her personality: 

“Himiko is a very cheerful girl, to the point of smiling even after having presumably killed someone, displaying sadistic tendencies.This continues even when danger is imminent, but it tends to stop when she is bored or annoyed. Himiko is frequently seen blushing seemingly out of excitement rather than embarrassment, giving her a permanent look of what appears to be lovesickness on her face. However, she has shown that she can easily be embarrassed, such as when she thinks people are coming on to her. Himiko is obviously mentally unstable and has a very twisted perception of love and friendship. Proven when, despite wanting to kill Ochaco Uraraka and Tsuyu Asui, she still attempted to befriend the two girls as they fought, affectionately calling Tsuyu by her first name and describing the former as "lovely". When talking to Ochaco, she said that it was only natural to want to be like the one you love, to the point of literally becoming that person. Later she further explains and compares that like how "normal" people kiss the people they love as "normal", she sucks the blood of the people she loves as this is her "normal", further showing her twisted understanding of love, which thus justifies her carving up and butchering "guys who are tattered and reeking of blood", as they fit the description of her ideal lover. Himiko's interest isn't just superficial, as her questioning Izuku Midoriya about what his values and beliefs imply, showing that although twisted, she does indeed want to know more about the person she "loves". She also has shown a comedic and childlike demeanor when faced with different situations. Like most of her allies, Himiko has stated that she finds life to be difficult for the current world and wants to make it an easier place to live in. She looks up to Stain and sees him as her role model; declaring a desire to kill and "become" him. She has shown to care greatly about her comrades and was enraged by one of their deaths. So much so that she wanted to kill the one responsible and their men as payback. Himiko is also shown to be prone to mood swings when she finds a target of "affection" (often Izuku) she is loud and cheerful. However, when an obstacle gets in between her and her prey, she shows a very angered expression, instantly switching priorities to kill whoever the nuisance is. In the past, Himiko was noted by her family and former classmates to be, "a cheerful, reasonable, well-mannered girl" whose subsequent turn to a life of crime surprised everyone who knew her. However, her own recollections imply that this was merely an act she put on to try and fit in with what society deemed "normal." She believes the way she acts presently is her own normal. 

Again here’s a video just for speech and mannerisms:

Okay, that’s everything I think. The only plot addtion for her is that we could potentially have her be interested in Laurie the same way she’s interested in Izuku on the show. We totally don’t have to but I thought it could potentially be interesting to have a really dangerous person for you to have to protect Laurie from. Of course, he can defend himself but she’s a little bit harder to deal with the average person. Again, we don’t have to do that at all, just an idea. :) 

I’ve gone on for WAYYY too fucking long but I think I’ve covered the important things. :)