#if I was marvin I would have walked into the ocean

[spock-smokes-weed]

Never in a million years would I defend act I Marvin, however I feel like we’d all lose our minds just a little if our psychiatrist married our ex wife

[cambriancrew]

What is Young Wizards, is it anything like The Aepects by L C Mawson at all????

(And if it isn't that's even more of an excuse to Tell Us About Young Wizards!! Win-win!!!)

AHHH YES. We could talk about Young Wizards literally for hours.

So. It's, in a nutshell, a series by @/dduane Diane Duane, about teenagers who get the ability to use magic, which is enacted primarily by use of the wizardly language The Speech, in exchange for using it to fight the Lone Power who created death and entropy. The main wizard characters are Nita Callahan, a nerdy bookworm with an affinity for plants; her best friend Kit Rodriguez, who has an affinity for mechanical things; and Nita's little sister Dairine, who is a geek whose Wizards manual is a walking laptop. The books are incredibly inventive, with places in them like an alternate universe Manhattan where cars and other vehicles are alive; multiple distant planets, each with amazing aliens; the bottom of the ocean; Ireland where the myths really are true; a Mars where people's ideas of Mars from various forms of media including War of the Worlds and Marvin the Martian from Looney Tunes are present.

They're also beautifully diverse and life affirming. The Senior Advisory wizards are a gay couple. Kit is Hispanic. One major side character is black and autistic. There's other various queer characters. The series deals with serious topics like bullying, cancer, death and loss. But there's a throughthread of determination and hope.

Also, supportive adults! Parents who really care about their kids and support their wizardry! Family dynamics that are actually really good! (Most of the time. Nita and Dairine have their moments lol.)

And then there's the Oath. It's so wonderful, we patterned our Code of Conduct partly on it. There's many different versions, but the one we love the most is as follows:

In Life's name and for Life's sake, I assert that I will employ the Art which is Its gift in Life's service alone, rejecting all other usages. I will guard growth and ease pain. I will fight to preserve that which grows and lives well in its own way. Nor will I change any creature unless its growth or life or that of the system of which it is a part are threatened, or threaten another.

To these ends, in the practice of my Art, I will ever put aside fear for courage, and death for life, when it is right to do so, looking always to the Heart of Time where all our sundered times are one and all our myriad worlds lie whole in That from which they preceeded.

Also an art version of the Oath:

I can't seem to find the original creator of the art, it was someone on Tumblr but Tumblr search isn't helping, as usual.

We want two tattoos based on this series. One would be Wizard's Knot plus the first little part of the Oath, "In Life's name and for Life's sake". The other would be the traditional greeting of the Lone Power: "Fairest and Fallen, greetings and defiance." Probably would have that one surrounding the semicolon for depression survival, as suicidality is our personal battle with this universe's version of the Lone Power.

They're also super cheap to get as ebooks through the author's own website, as long as you're not in the UK due to Brexit.

We cannot recommend this series highly enough. If you do end up buying the series and reading it, let us know! We'd love to hear what you think. :)

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Here and Away Again

Fantasy Masks AU: Chapter Thirty-Eight

A JSE Fanfic

Here's a long one! But it's long because it's very important and a lot happens! We skim through the ship journey back to camp, as everyone prepares, physically and mentally, to go to the Wyldwood. Henrik opens up to Vsevna about something serious. Chase has another strange dream. The guys briefly reunite with the rest of the Phantoms before they have to leave again. You know, a big quest to learn something that will help save the kingdom, no big deal, but they should probably leave as quickly as possible XD Enjoy!

Previous Part | | From the Start | More AU | Read on AO3: CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Taglist: @brokentimewatch

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

If Chase thought being on a boat was amazing, being on a ship was incredible. He couldn’t believe something so big could float, much less house so many crew members and their supplies. Granted, the Serpent’s Wake didn’t have much space, with most of the crew sleeping in an open space below the main deck filled with large iron items that Jackie told him were called “cannons.”

“You put something in the opening here and shove it all the way down,” Jackie said. “Then press down on this lever to activate these witchcraft carvings.” His fingers traced a series of letters and pictures carved right into the metal. “They propel whatever’s in the barrel out at a high speed.”

“That... doesn’t seem safe,” Chase said slowly.

“That’s why they’re pointed away from the ship,” Jackie laughed.

Luckily, even with the small rooms and crowded decks, the Serpent’s Wake was still a massive ship, so Amabel and Quentin didn’t spend the whole journey in a cramped area. Chase warned them to be careful while running around the deck, saying that they shouldn’t get in the way of the crew. But they must have been excited to have more space, because they did, indeed, run around and get in the way of the crew. For the first day at least. Then Amabel slipped on a wet spot on the deck and one of the sailors tripped over her. After that, the two of them were more careful.

Jackie spent most of the time on the deck continuing to spar and help Jameson with his self-defense lessons, though Jameson was having a bit more difficulty on the ship, with its deck that pitched and ducked. Marvin was also having difficulty with the swaying deck, though in a different way. He spent pretty much all of the two days on the ocean hiding in one of the passenger cabins. At one point early in the voyage, Chase walked up to the open cabin door and saw Henrik shouting at Marvin in there. “I swear to the Sun and Moon and every other god, Marvin, you will take a seasickness tonic or so help me!”

“You have seasickness tonics?” Chase interrupted. “Good, I was going to ask about that. Quentin probably needs one. He’s not going to stop running around but he’s still feeling a bit off. He’s willing to take one so he won’t, uh, let it out while walking around.”

“Yes, of course, Chase,” Henrik said. He turned back to Marvin. “See? You are being more stubborn than an actual child.”

“Alright, alright!” Marvin groaned. “Bring me the tonic!”

“I will.” Henrik smiled. It wasn’t smug, just relieved.

But after that encounter, Henrik withdrew from the rest of the group. He spent a lot of time in the captain’s cabin—Vsevna’s cabin, apparently. Chase and Jackie probably would have made some comments about that, if it wasn’t for two things. One, Vsevna actually didn’t spend much time in his own cabin, preferring to go around the ship chatting with and helping out the sailors. Thus, not giving the two of them much material for comments. And two, Henrik was very clearly not enjoying himself, to say the very least. If he hadn’t told Chase about his false world curse and its symptoms, Chase would have been worried he was becoming physically ill. He looked pale and a bit shaky, and seemed constantly anxious and distracted.

Around sunset on the first day, Chase saw him leaning against the ship, looking over the stern towards the spot where the light hit the horizon. After a moment of hesitation, he approached. “Hey, Henrik. I haven’t seen you all day.”

Henrik didn’t answer right away. The pause was long enough that Chase coughed for attention and leaned closer. At that, Henrik jumped in surprise. “Ah! Right, yes, you are—that is—you are here. What did you say?”

“I haven’t seen you all day,” Chase repeated.

“Right, sorry.” Henrik nodded. “I was... not... experiencing good things.”

“Are you okay now?” Chase asked gently.

“Yes.” Henrik took a deep breath. “The air helps. Things get stuffy when you stay in one room for a long time.”

Chase nodded. “Right.” He leaned on the wall of the ship. “Elders... it’s so beautiful.” The way the light bounced off the endless waves, a perfect mirror of the world. Chase had seen many beautiful sunsets, but this was a new one.

“Yes, it is, isn’t it?” Henrik said quietly. A few moments passed, then Henrik suddenly straightened. “Ah! I’ve almost forgotten! Chase, wait here, I need to get something.”

“Huh?”

Before Chase could do anything more than look surprised, Henrik turned around and left. Chase watched him go below decks, then shrugged and turned back to the sunset while we waited. Only a few minutes later, Henrik returned. “Here.” He held out a square glass bottle, offering it to Chase. Inside was an amber-colored liquid with something floating inside.

“Uh... thanks?” Chase took it, squinting at the floating bits. Leaves? Or petals? What was this, tea? “Why are you giving this to me?” He started to uncork the bottle.

“You may need it in the Wyldwood,” Henrik said. “I suppose I could have held onto it for you, but sooner is better than later, yes?”

“I’ll... need it?” Chase looked down at the bottle, confused. “For what?”

“Well, I figured that you need to discover something there, yes?” Henrik said. “This is a potion called shialeora. It will sharpen all your senses. And I do mean all of them. I am told that you will be able to see and hear everything around you, and your thoughts will speed up so you do not get overwhelmed, and be able to understand what it all means.”

“Woah.” Chase turned the bottle over in his hands. The liquid inside moved around slowly, more viscous than water and most other drinks.

“It will only work once, though,” Henrik said.

“What do you mean?”

“You will need to drink it all. Afterwards, even if I manage to make another, your body will reject the magic and the effect will not happen again.”

Chase’s heart sank. “Reject the magic in what way? Will it hurt?”

Henrik shrugged. “Everything I have read says you will get a stomach ache for a while.”

“That’s pleasant.” Chase continued to mess with the bottle randomly. “So... am I just supposed to carry this with me until we reach the blasted heath Marvin mentioned?”

“That is the plan,” Henrik said. “Unless you want one of us to do it, but I think that it would be best for you to keep it on you. Just in case.”

“Just in case,” Chase said slowly. After a moment, he put the bottle in his pocket. “Alright. Thank you, Henrik.”

Henrik smiled softly. “Do not mention it. I just wanted to help.”

“Then... let me help you, too,” Chase said. “Do you need anything? Oh! What about advice?”

Henrik made a choking noise. “A-advice?”

“About how to tell Vsevna about your symptoms.”

“...oh.” Henrik was quiet for a moment. Then he took a deep breath. “Alright. Ah... how about... when do you think I should do it? Wh-what would be a good time?”

Chase thought about that. “Sooner would be better, I think. If, um... if you really want to go into the Wyldwood with me and Marvin, then you won’t see Vsevna again for at least two more weeks, right? Maybe more, if the ship leaves while we’re in there.”

Henrik’s eyes widened—and then he laughed. “I-it really is the deadline that spurs me on, I think. Hearing about even a temporary time limit is what spurred me to talk to Vsevna about my, ah... feelings in the first place. So... you think I should explain this to him while we are still on this ship? In that case... I think I will w-wait until we are closer to the Cliffs. Just... in case... something goes bad. W-we would have to spend less time together.”

“Nothing is going to go—” Chase sighed. “Alright. So you have that time in mind. Anything else?”

“A-a lot else.” Henrik laughed again, more nervously this time. “Ah... so... h-how do I start? Wh-what is the first thing you say?”

“Well, I think you should address his concerns,” Chase said. Henrik just stared at him, so Chase explained further. “Me and Jameson both noticed that you were acting differently. We were worried that something was bothering you, or even that you were coming down with something. If Vsevna really cares about you as much as it looks like he does, he’s also noticed this. He’s probably also worried.”

“...I see,” Henrik said. “So I... say that I am alright?”

“You say that it’s not as bad as he’s worried about,” Chase said. “Or, um... I’m not sure how bad your symptoms usually are. But you say that this is normal for you. But... not normal?” He shook his head. “Is this making any sense?”

“I think so,” Henrik said. “Continue on.”

The two of them talked until the sun finally disappeared behind the waves of the water.

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

The rest of the journey was nothing special. Other than it being Chase’s and the kid’s first time on a ship, of course. Apparently it was even Jameson’s first time on a ship as well. Which did make sense, with some thought. The Jairsolas claim was up in the Northaven Mountains, there wasn’t much access to ships up there, since the north coast of Glasúil was too rocky for them to safely dock. And Jameson hadn’t left home much before the King arrived, taking him away. Naturally, the King—or, the spirit, as Chase kept reminding himself—wouldn’t be eager to let Jameson escape after that, so bringing him to a ship would be a terrible idea for him.

When it got close to the evening of the second day, a bell rang out. “Land ho!” a voice called, and other sailors repeated it, a ripple of sound passing from the center of the boat outwards.

Jackie and Jameson were still training, but they soon stopped. “Do you want to help load things up?” Jackie asked.

Sure, I think I could be of some use, Jameson replied.

The two of them headed below—which was where Chase and Marvin were, with Chase standing in the open doorway of Marvin’s passenger cabin for idle chatter. “Hey, we’re coming up on land!” Jackie said. “I think we’re reaching camp!”

“Great!” Chase grinned, excited to see this new camp—and a little wary, too. The Cliffs of Feall were said to be bad luck, after all. “Marvin, let’s go up on deck.”

Marvin groaned and refused to lift his head from the pillow. Draco took this as an opportunity to snuggle up to his face. “Gah! Draco, no!”

Chase laughed. “Do you need help, there?”

“That’d be appreciated.”

Back up top, Henrik heard the call for land while in the captain’s cabin. His stomach immediately started tying in knots. This was it. This was the time he’d planned to talk to Vsevna. He was practically shaking with nerves; this was so much worse than his first confession. But he had to do it. He had to push aside the fear.

Vsevna would be busy getting the ship settled soon. He had a narrow window to find him and talk to him. Henrik opened up the cabin door, preparing to walk all around the ship to look for him—

“Oh! There you are, sova! I was worried you would stay in there all day again!”

Henrik yelped in surprise. He pressed a hand to his chest. “Vsevna—y-you startled me.”

“Ah, apologies,” Vsevna looked embarrassed. “Is... everything okay, Henrik? You have not been enjoying the sea air.”

Henrik laughed. “Not everyone enjoys the ocean. Have you noticed what Marvin has done? Hiding below decks all the time?”

“That is true, but... you have not done that before,” Vsevna said slowly.

Henrik scanned his face. He can see the worry there. Chase was right, Vsevna is worried about him. He’s known this the whole time, but now that he really took a moment to let that sink in, he felt somewhat guilty about that. No, no, he should not feel guilty for being afraid. And yet... He swallowed a lump in his throat and said, “Ah, Vsevna, I... have something important to tell you. Do you mind... stepping into the cabin with me?”

Vsevna’s expression flashed with fear for a moment, but then he brushed it off with a smile. “Of course, sova.”

As the two of them reentered the cabin, Henrik closed the door behind them. The captain’s cabin on the Serpent’s Wake was much bigger than the one on the river boat. And it had many more personal touches as well. There was a wardrobe full of Vsevna’s clothes, and a desk with his writing and captain’s log. There was a table full of trinkets that he’d picked up from his many years sailing, including a round, spinning sphere with a map of the world on it—a globe, it was called—and a jeweled egg-shaped box that Vsevna said was an expensive keepsake from his home nation of Leylodka. Everywhere Henrik looked reminded him of Vsevna, so he figured he might as well look straight at the man himself. “I... need to tell you something... about myself,” he said.

“About... yourself?” Vsevna repeated. He gave a little laugh. “Are you going to tell me your dark past, Henrik? I did not you the type to have one.”

“Ha... no, it is not... exactly like that.” Henrik tried for a faint smile. “But it is... It is...” His throat closed up. Vsevna’s smile fell, and he looked at him very seriously. Focus, Henrik. Remember what the others said. “I... h-have not been myself lately. Or, ah—I have been acting strange. I-I know that this may have worried you.”

“I did notice,” Vsevna said slowly. “And I have had worry.”

“I-I am sorry to have concerned you,” Henrik said.

“No no, sova, do not apologize,” Vsevna hurried to say. “Whatever is happening, it cannot be your fault. Is something worrying you? Is this what this is about?”

“In a way,” Henrik said slowly. His chest hurt from the anxiety clawing at his heart. “The truth is, I... am... I have... I...” He stopped for a moment, taking deep breaths.

“Just say it, Henrik, maybe that will help,” Vsevna said.

“I-I have... a curse,” Henrik said slowly. “Not a—not a magical one. I mean—I-I mean that here, in Glasúil, that is—is what it is called. I-I do not know the word for it in Leylodka. But in Alterde, it is called a sickness. It is... m-my mind. It does not...” He had to stop again.

“Your... mind?” Vsevna prompted, looking confused.

“It... tricks me, sometimes,” Henrik said. As if on cue, he heard something like a breath in his ear. He jumped slightly, but then steadied himself. “S-sometimes things happen that... are not real.”

“But you said it was not magic?” Vsevna asked.

“It is not. It is just... my senses...” Henrik took a mental step back. “L-let me start over. Here in Glasúil, the name is Dynympha’s false world curse. It means that... that sometimes, I will hear things that are not there.A-and sometimes I... very rarely, I...  I see things that are not there, as well.  I am usually able to know this is happening, but sometimes I do not. Sometimes I will believe that there are voices that are not there. Even when I know in my head that it is not real, it is still... s-scary.” He took a deep breath. “There are... other symptoms as well. Untethering, mostly, and frantic thoughts.”

“I have never seen you go through any of this...” Vsevna said slowly. “Is this new?”

“No.” Henrik shook his head. “I have had this for longer than I’ve known you. But... I usually have medicine that helps with these symptoms. They are much, much weaker, if there at all. But recently, I... lost it. M-my medicine. A mind soother elixir helps with some of the problems, the untethering and franticness, but... it cannot help with the things that are not there.” Another deep breath. “I... wanted to tell you because... if we are to continue courting, this is... this is part of me that... you must be aware of.”

“Is there a cure?”

Henrik flinched. “No,” he whispered. “There are some places in Alterde and the other kingdoms nearby that claim they will cure curses like this... but they are wrong. Terrible places that hurt the people there. I am happy that people in Glasúil would not even consider something like that. I am happy that they are very accepting.” Another breath. “Vsevna. I... care about you. Deeply. I was... a-afraid to tell you this. I thought it would change things between us. Even...” He trailed off, unable to say what he was most afraid of. That this would end the relationship between them. “But... e-even so, I know that... this is a part of me. It will not be going away, though once I am able to get more medicine in a couple seasons it will fade to something less intense. I do not want to hide anything from you. I want... us to both know this, so we can continue on.”

Vsevna stared at him. Henrik squirmed slightly. He couldn’t read his expression, but he could tell that he was thinking intently about something from the way his eye moved slightly back and forth.

“W-well, um...” Henrik cleared his throat. “That is... all I wanted to say.”

“...oh.”

‘Oh’? All he had to say was ‘oh’? “Ah... so...” Henrik shifted on his feet. “Now that I have told you... do you... have anything to say?”

Vsevna leaned back. His expression was still difficult to read. “...I think land is close now. I should go help the crew bring the ship around.”

“Wait, you are going?!” Henrik said.

“Yes.” Vsevna turned to the door.

Henrik’s hand darted out and grabbed his arm. “Y-you—” He stared, but didn’t know what to say. Of all the reactions he worried about, this was not one of them.

Vsevna looked back at him. “I... really need to go help. They will need me.”

“But...” Henrik just stared at him.

“I will see you again later,” Vsevna said, and pulled his arm free. He left the cabin, the door swinging shut behind him.

Henrik stayed where he was, confused. A deep ache digging into his chest.

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

“So... that’s the new main camp?” Chase asked.

“Yea.” Marvin nodded.

The ship’s anchor had dropped, and the crew were preparing boats to row out to the base of the cliffs with. A narrow path led up the side of the rocky Cliffs of Feall, towards the encampment of tents at the top. Chase was relieved to see that the tents weren’t right on the edge of the cliff, but he couldn’t lie to himself and say he had no problem with it.

“I’m not... fond of high places,” Chase said slowly. “I don’t even like to climb trees.”

Marvin was quiet for a moment. “I wasn’t exactly there for this, so correct me if I’m wrong, but... Didn’t you jump out a window once? As part of the plan for my execution rescue?”

“Only because there was no other way and the building was on fire!”

“On fire?”

Chase jumped and looked down to see Quentin had suddenly appeared at his side. “Elders, Quen! I didn’t hear you walk up.”

“Dad, you were in a building that was on fire?” Quentin’s eyes were wide. “Are you okay?”

Chase gave a little, nervous laugh. “That was a while ago, Quentin. I’m alright. And, uh... don’t jump out of windows unless you really have to, okay?”

Quentin’s eyes just widened further. “You jumped out of a window, Dad?!”

Oh. Apparently Quentin hadn’t heard that part. “Yes, I had to do that because the building was on fire,” Chase said. “And you should only jump out windows if something really bad, like a fire, is happening.”

“Okay.” Quentin nodded. “Uh... are we going to get into boats?”

“Yes, soon,” Chase said. “Where’s your sister?”

“On the big ropes.” Quentin pointed at some of the rigging, where Amabel was sitting, feet dangling at a height just over Chase’s head.

“Oh Elders. Well, um, I’ll go get here, you stay here with Marvin and wait for the boats.”

About ten minutes later, Chase and the kids were in a rowboat with some of the Wake’s crew members and some supplies. They soon pulled up onto a pebbly beach, along with some more rowboats, and some of the crew started unpacking the bags and crates of supplies. While Chase helped the kids out of the boat, he saw Henrik and Jameson get out of the boat to his left. “Y-you can head on the path, Chase,” Henrik said. “Help the children keep their... keep their feet.” He looked... preoccupied with something.

“Is everything okay, Henrik?” Chase asked.

“Yes, I just... need a quiet moment,” Henrik said.

“Alright, well... I’m open to talk if you need it.” Chase waited for Henrik to nod in acknowledgment before taking a child’s hand in each of his and reluctantly heading up to the path.

He really, really didn’t enjoy the climb to the top of the cliffs, regardless of how short it was. He kept imagining what would happen if he slipped on a pebble and tumbled head-first over the edge. But he tried to stay calm for the kids, sticking as close to the cliff wall and making sure that they felt safer than he felt. Even so, he couldn’t push back a sigh of relief when he reached the top, or stop himself from hurriedly walking away from the cliff edge.

“Hey, Brodyson!”

“Chase! You’re back!”

Phantoms waited around the edge of camp, having seen the Serpent’s Wake sailing towards them. The first people Chase picked out from the crowd—because they were running at him—were Tripp and Holly. “Glad to see they couldn’ keep you down!” Tripp shouted, and Holly wrapped him in a tight hug.

“Whoa!” Chase couldn’t help but laugh. It felt like forever since he’d seen any of the Phantoms, and seeing them now felt like walking out of a stuffy house and into the fresh air. “It’s good to see you! Uh, Holly? This is a bit tight.”

“Sorry!” Holly let go. “After Marvin suddenly appeared and told us you’d been left in Suilthair, we all got really worried about you.”

“And Jairsolas, too,” Tripp added. He then looked down. “Now—who are these little scamps?” Quentin giggled at being called a ‘scamp,’ but Amabel looked a bit overwhelmed, and was constantly staring at Tripp’s ram mask.

“These are Quentin and Amabel,” Chase said. “My kids.”

“Kids?” Lukas walked up to the group. Some other Phantoms were approaching too. “So... this is them?”

Chase stared at Lukas for a moment, then nodded slowly. “This is them.”

More Phantoms shouted out in greeting, many of them going past Chase to meet up with the others coming up from the path now. Jackie led the way, with Jameson behind him, and then Marvin, some of the crew, and finally, Henrik, his expression still shadowed. Almost everyone was carrying supplies, with Henrik being the only exception.

“Hey, you all!” Holly shouted, laughing. “Left us dangling a little without any of our leaders!”

“Looks like you’ve done well enough without us!” Jackie shouted back, also grinning and laughing.

“Come on, Jair, I’ll show you where we’re keeping the supplies,” Marvin said.

Jameson nodded, pulling on the straps of the bags he’s carrying. We should let everyone know about the King...

“You mean how he’s—” Marvin glanced around. He was clearly reluctant to talk about this right away, not wanting to cause unnecessary panic. “We should, you’re right. We’ll call a meeting after we drop everything off.” He paused. “Though... maybe we should keep things packed up. We should head out sooner rather than later.” For the Wyldwood. Evidently, also something he didn’t want to mention in front of this crowd.

“Dad?” Quentin pulled on Chase’s belt. “Can we... look around?”

Chase looked down at him and Amabel and smiled gently. “Of course. I’ve never been here either, so let’s look around together.”

“This is...” Amabel said slowly, “...very... interesting.” The rather dull words are accompanied by Amabel bouncing on her feet, revealing that she was actually very excited to look around.

Chase laughed. “It is, isn’t it? Come on, head me this way. Uh, clear a path, please!” That last statement was called out to the ever-growing crowd of Phantoms. They parted easily. Many of them stared at the kids, but tried to be friendly about it, waving and smiling. Quentin waved back, saying “hi! hi!” over and over, while Amabel just smiled. Chase gave the Phantoms some brief greetings, then they broke through the crowd and headed on an exploration of the camp at the Cliffs.

While Chase disappeared and Marvin and Jameson walked across camp towards the storage tent, Henrik stayed where he was. He was still trying to understand Vsevna’s reaction. Were his fears justified? Did Vsevna look at him differently now that he knew about the false world curse? Did he want to end the courtship? Henrik tried to tell himself that Vsevna was not the sort of person to do that, but he couldn’t shake the feeling away. What if he was wrong? What if this really was the end? But... no, if it was the end, Vsevna would have said something about ending it at the very moment Henrik told him about the symptoms. Wouldn’t he? But he didn’t do that. He just walked away without saying much. What the damn did that mean?!

“There you are!”

Henrik snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the shout. No... could it be...?

A woman pushed through the crowd, wearing a bird mask with a long, curved beak. She pulled it off, revealing her face, dark skin and eyes framed by black curls. She smiled at Henrik. “Sounds like I just missed you, Henrik.”

“Nemet?” Henrik gasped. “Nemet?!” He couldn’t believe what he was seeing for a second. Then he ran forward, passing through the surrounding people, and threw his arms around her. “Nemet! Y-you are alright! You are okay!”

“I am alright!” Nemet laughed and hugged him back. “You were so worried about me?”

“Of course I was!” Henrik pulled back so he could look her over. “The last time I saw you, you were fighting a fire-throwing wizard!”

“Ah, Lady Tinechroí.” Nemet made a face. “That was a fight I was not keen to continue. But, ah, she definitely wanted to keep it going.”

“H-how did you—W-we saw her in Suilthair, so I thought that—That she got away but you—”

“Died? She did give it her best try. I did not help things by attacking that dog of hers.” Nemet pulled down her sleeve, revealing a burn scar that covered her right shoulder and upper arm. “I pretended to fall after she threw a very big fireball at me, and that must have been enough for her to move on. She likely thought I was dead.” She pulled the sleeve up again. “I am sorry I was not here to meet you, but the injuries slowed me.”

“Are you alright now?” Henrik asked, concerned.

“The scars hurt sometimes, but now that I am here I have access to some of the cooling salves to help,” Nemet said.

Henrik let out a breath of relief. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders... but there were still some weights remaining.

“Henrik... how have you been?” Nemet asked, her tone softer and more serious. Apparently she had picked up on his mood.

“Ah... much has happened,” Henrik said slowly. “Let us... go somewhere. To talk.”

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

That night was the first night Chase spent in a tent in a long time, having slept on the ship for the past few nights, and in the boathouse before that, and in random inns and wayhouses before that. The tent wasn’t his, specifically, since that had apparently gotten lost in the skirmish at Wyvernlair. And he’d lost all his belongings on the long journey to and from Suilthair, so there wasn’t much on the inside to mark that it was his. But Amabel and Quentin slept there with him, so that made the tent feel like home regardless of any of that.

That night, he had another draísling.

He was once again in the hallway leading to the throne room, but something was different. The walls were dark, blackened as if with soot. The deer with the golden antlers was not there. And Chase could feel that invisible force pushing against him from the beginning. But he gritted his teeth against it and slowly walked forward.

There was a foreboding air in the throne room. It pierced even through the dreamlike state of the draísling. The room was much, much longer than it was before. And the dais at the end was much, much taller, multiple steps leading upwards. Chase dreaded walking up those steps, but he kept going, pushing through the force trying to knock him back to the waking world. “You’re not going to keep me from this!” he shouted. “I’m going to help him!”

The strange force—no, the spirit possessing Jack’s body—only seemed to get angrier, pushing him more and more. But Chase persisted. He reached the first steps and started to climb. Every single time he lifted his foot to get up the stairs, he felt like he was going to tumble backwards. But he refused. He grabbed onto the steps ahead, more crawling than walking, and continued up. “Jack!” he shouted. “Jack!”

But Jack did not answer.

The reason why became clear as Chase reached the top. Jack was not just chained to the throne tonight. There was also something on his face. Some sort of mask covering the lower half of his face. Chase got up and stumbled forward, causing Jack to look up in surprise.”H-hold on,” Chase said. He grabbed onto the armrest of the throne and pulled himself forward. Jack tried to say something, but his voice came out muffled. “Don’t worry,” Chase said. “Just—hold on.” He reached out hesitantly. “C-can I... see if I can... fix that?”

Jack stared at him, then nodded slowly. Chase gently reached out and grabbed onto the side of the strange mask. It was made of leather, and sort of reminded Chase of a muzzle someone would put on a dog. Anger boiled in his stomach. There were straps going around the back of Jack’s head, but there were no buckles or anything. Fine. This was a dream, so reality was what he wanted. Chase grabbed into the mask on either side and pulled.

It took a few seconds, but soon the mask snapped off. Jack gasped, like he couldn’t breathe before—even though breathing didn’t matter as much in this dream world. “H-he’s just going to put it back tomorrow night...” Jack whispered.

Chase had never heard such hopelessness in a person’s voice. “I-it’s going to be alright,” he whispered. “It’s going to be—”

“Shut up.”

That wasn’t Jack’s voice.

Jack stiffened and went pale, eyes flicking over Chase’s shoulder. Chase whirled around... and saw someone else there. A man who looked a lot like Jack... but not exactly the same. There were slight differences, his features slightly sharper. But with those green eyes, Chase knew exactly who—or was it what?—he was looking at. The spirit wore a green tunic, with narrow sleeves and black designs embroidered at the wrists, over a pair of black trousers. A short black cape hung from the shoulders, with an attached hood. Dark leather armor covered his chest and upper arms and legs. 

But the strangest thing was the shadows. The edges of the spirit seemed to fade away into a dark, swirling mist made of pure darkness. At times, it was hard to tell where the spirit ended and the shadows began. The green eyes were bright against the darkness.

“You,” Chase breathed. “Wh-what do you want?! Why are you tormenting Jack?! Why are you controlling the kingdom?!”

The spirit’s head tilted to the side. “I told you to shut up.”

There was a bright coppery flash, and Chase suddenly felt pain in his stomach. Jack cried out. Chase looked down to see a bronze seax buried in his torso, blood dripping down from the wound. A seax held, of course, by the spirit.

The spirit’s eyes glowed brighter green as his body turned more into shadow. He twisted the seax, causing the pain to spike, and he used the momentum to throw Chase to the side, sending him tumbling down the stairs—

And then Chase woke up, gasping, a phantom pain lingering in his stomach.

“Dad?” Amabel sat up. Faint sunlight was leaking through the fabric of the tent. Quentin was still asleep, curled up next to her. “Are you okay?”

Chase looked at the two of them. He nodded slowly. “Yes,” he said. “I just had a bad dream.”

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

They were going to leave early this morning. The sooner they reached the Wyldwood, the sooner they would get to their destination deep in the magical forest, and the sooner Chase would learn whatever was so important to defeating the King.

“But we just got you back!” Amabel protested when he told her and Quentin what was happening. “You can’t just leave again!”

“I know, I don’t want to leave you, either,” Chase said sadly. “But this is pretty dangerous. You’ve  been so brave to follow me this far, but I can’t let you come with me this time. Mom would murder me if she knew I let you come with me on this quest.” He got down on his knees so he could meet their eyes. Had Amabel always been this tall? He was actually a bit shorter than her when on his knees. “Don’t worry. The people here will protect you. They’re very strong. You need to stay here and listen with them, okay?”

Amabel started to protest, but Quentin grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She looked down at him and sighed. “Alright, Dad,” she said. “We’ll stay here.”

Chase smiled. “Thank you so much. Look after each other, okay?”

“We will!” Quentin said cheerfully, and Amabel nodded.

This conversation was happening right next to the new cooking fires in the center of camp. Other Phantoms were nearby, eating breakfast. ���Good to hear,” Chase said. “Now, let’s get some food.” He started to guide the two of them over to the nearest fire, where a pot of oatmeal was simmering over the flames, but was stopped by someone else. “Oh. Hi, Lukas.”

“Hi.” Lukas nodded. “Do you mind if I... talk to you?” He glanced down at the kids. “Alone?”

“...Sure.” Chase looked down at the two of them. “You can get food on your own, right?”

“Of course, Dad!” Amabel nodded determinedly and grabbed Quentin, running towards the pot ready to prove she can do things on her own.

“Ask for help if you need it!” Chase called after them. Then he looked at Lukas. “What is it?”

Lukas bowed his head. “I wanted to apologize.”

“Huh? For what?”

“For my attitude towards you,” Lukas said. “My mistrust ever since you arrived at camp.”

“O-oh.” Chase laughed awkwardly. “Well, I, um... I thought that was... quietly dropped. You didn’t need to apologize.”

“But I felt I should,” Lukas said. “Especially now that you’re heading into the Wyldwood. It’s never been clearer that you’re determined to help the Phantoms.”

“Well... I guess, yes.” Chase nodded. “But it’s not just the Masked Phantoms. It’s the rest of my family, a-and all the other families in the kingdom, and—and Jack, of course. You all know about him, right?”

“About him being the real King while this tyrant is a possessive spirit? We were filled in last night.” Lukas nodded.

“Right. He’s as much a victim as any of us.”

“But that does bring up a question,” Lukas said. “The others informed us that the King himself was pursuing you. If he reaches us... if he finds this camp...” He paused significantly. Chase’s eyes couldn’t help but flick away from him, towards where the kids were carefully scooping out oatmeal while other Phantoms kept an eye on them. “...Will we be able to fight him off?”

“I... I’m sure Jack would understand if you have to... injure him to defend yourself... or others,” Chase said hesitantly. “But... we’re still not sure of this spirit’s abilities. So it may be better to run.”

Lukas nodded. “We’re already preparing.” He turned towards the cooking fire, following Chase’s gaze. “Don’t worry,” he said in an uncharacteristically soft voice. “We’ll take care of them.”

Chase took a deep breath. “Please do,” he whispered. “They mean everything to me.”

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

What did one pack for a trip into a Wyldland? What did one need to travel through a place where magic warped the land itself? Marvin said that he never got too hungry or thirsty while wandering through, and that there was plenty of fruit, berries, and streams around for when he did feel hunger and thirst. But he wasn’t sure if this was because Draco was helping him or just how things were in the Wyldwood. They decided to pack weeks’ worth of food and water, just in case.

They also packed the standard traveling supplies, like lanterns, a compass, and medicine, just in case. Weapons, as well. Chase had his bow and quiver of arrows, as well as a hunting knife, Jackie had his two swords, Jameson had a bow and knife he wanted to practice with, and Marvin and Henrik had two knives each. And apparently, after Henrik, Jackie, and Marvin left on their journey to get Chase and Jameson back, some of the other Phantoms began working on magical supplies.

“These are the unmixed potions,” Tripp said, holding up a shoulder pack. “I suggest whoever carries them be very careful. There’s seven of them, we’ve put labels around the bottle necks for what they do.”

“And these are a handful of talismans that might be helpful.” Anna held up a small package. “Invisibility charms, protection against magical spells, animal taming—”

Animal taming? Jameson asked, interested.

“They’re usually used to keep horses from getting spooked while traveling,” Anna said. “For such big animals, they’re surprisingly jumpy sometimes.”

“If memory serves, don’t you need to put an animal taming talisman on a collar or necklace around an animal’s neck?” Jackie said. “Wouldn’t that be difficult if the animal was, say, attacking us or running from us?”

Anna shrugged. “Better than nothing, isn’t it?”

“So who wants to carry everything?” Holly asked cheerfully.

Everyone was gathered on the edge of the camp to say goodbye to the group heading to the Wyldwood. Despite some of the Masked Phantoms’ protests, Henrik, Jackie, and Marvin were heading there, leaving the camp without their leaders for another two weeks at least. Chase was going, of course, and Jameson was as well, wanting to know more about this spirit. Among the Phantoms saying farewell were Tripp, Holly, Lukas, Anna, and Nemet. And Amabel and Quentin, as well, who Chase was currently saying goodbye to. “You two be good, okay?” he said.

“We will, Dad,” Amabel said.

“We promise!” Quentin added.

“Henrik, do you want to carry the magic supplies?” Jackie asked.

Henrik didn’t answer. He was staring out of camp, towards the west where the Wyldwood was.

“...alright, I’ll carry them, then,” Jackie said, taking the shoulder pack and smaller package.

“Hmm.” Henrik nodded slowly. So... they were leaving camp already. One night spent here, catching up with everyone they’d left, and then onto the next quest. Maybe he should stay, after all. It would be good for the Phantoms to have a leader here. But would there be any way to contact the others once they disappeared into the Wyldwood? He doubted it. Maybe he should go with them?

“Wait!”

The Phantoms turned towards the shout, jostling around as someone ran through the crowd. Henrik took a moment to fully understand who shouted, then he also turned—

Vsevna tackled him in a hug, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing tight. Henrik shouted in surprise and stumbled, held upright only from Vsevna. “W-what?!” he gasped.

“You cannot leave without saying goodbye!” Vsevna said, voice muffled slightly from where his head was pressed against Henrik’s shoulder. He pulled back and straightened, looking down at him. “That does not set a good example for the rest of our relationship!”

“I—I-I—Relationship?” Henrik stammered. “But—you—after I—” He shoved Vsevna, anger momentarily flaring. “Why didn’t you say anything?! I tell you something that I was so scared to share, and you say nothing in return?! You just leave?! And I do not see you for the rest of the night?!”

“...now that I think about it, maybe that was not a good idea,” Vsevna said.

“Maybe?!” Henrik gaped at him. “I thought that—that it was over! That you would never want to see me again!”

“No, no, Henrik, that was not it at all!”

“Then why did you not say something?!”

“I... I had a lot to think about,” Vsevna said slowly. “Henrik, I-I am sorry I did not say anything. There was a lot in my mind. I had to take some time to think about everything.”

“What? What was on your mind?” Henrik asked, folding his arms.

“You,” Vsevna said quietly. “I... Henrik, I never met anyone before with that ‘curse,’ as you called it. In all my travels, I have barely even heard of it, only in legends of people going mad.” He shook his head. “But you are nothing like the people in those legends. You are my dear sova. My dear, brave, smart sova. And this... this does not change that. I am sorry that you have to experience these symptoms, Henrik. But I hope I can help with them. If only... if only by being there for you.”

Henrik relaxed slightly. “So... why did it take you all night to realize that I am the same I’ve always been?”

“It only took me an hour, actually,” Vsevna said. “Or less. But by then, it was evening, and I thought you would want some time alone.”

“You thought I would want some time alone?! Instead of a real response to me sharing something I was so very scared about?!”

“You wanted some time alone after you told me your feelings.”

“That... is true,” Henrik admitted. “But this was different! I-it was—was part of the reason I delayed my first confession.The main reason, maybe. Because I was so scared you would reject me once you knew. And the way you turned away yesterday, without saying anything, I thought... that it was...”

“I am so, so sorry, Henrik,” Vsevna whispered. “It was not problem with you, it was all with me.” He shook his head. “I should have said something.”

“Yes, you should have,” Henrik said. “It would not take too long to say ‘I need to think.’”

“It would not, and I am sorry.” He reached out and hesitantly took Henrik’s hand. When he didn’t pull away, he squeezed it tighter. “That was thoughtless of me. I will not do it again.”

Henrik sighed. He nodded, and looked up at Vsevna with a slight, nervous smile. “Well... so now that you know... how do you feel about it?”

“Like I said, you are still my sova. I will be there to help you with these symptoms of yours, if that is what you want.” Vsevna glanced at the other four waiting nearby. “Well... I will be there for you when you get back. Are you sure about going?”

Henrik fully relaxed, and nodded. “Yes. I think they will need a doctor, and I... would like to be with my friends. I would also like to be with you, but... this is very important.”

“Say no more, I fully understand.” Vsevna nodded. “Be safe, Henrik.” He looked him over. “Are you really going into a Wyldplace with only a knife?”

“Well I am not exactly a weapons expert.”

“Here.” Vsevna unbuckled a belt around his chest, handing it to Henrik. It was a sheathe, with Vsevna’s weapon of choice on the back. A boarding axe.

“What?!” Henrik gasped. “I cannot take this from you!”

“It is okay, I have spare.” Vsevna flashed a smile. “I would rather know it keeps you safe.”

Henrik hesitated, then took the axe and its sheathe. He awkwardly slung it around the back and buckled it in place. “Well, how do I look?”

“Amazing.” Vsevna smiled, a softer, fonder smile than the one before.

“Ah... thank you.” Henrik felt his face get hot. An idea came to him then. And before he could think too much about it and get afraid, he leaned forward—and kissed Vsevna.

It was really quick, just a peck, actually. Even so, when he pulled away, Vsevna’s face was bright red. He opened his mouth, but was at a loss for words for once.

“I will come back safe, and we will spend more time together,” Henrik said.

Vsevna cleared his throat. “Yes. That sounds... that sounds lovely.”

“Alright, you lovesick kids,” Jackie called. “We’re losing daylight!”

Henrik whirled on him. “The Wyldwood is not that far, and we are not delaying you that much!”

Vsevna laughed. “Please, go on, Henrik. Save this kingdom with your friends.”

Henrik looked at him and smiled. “I will. Farewell, liebling.”

“Farewell, sova.”

The rest of the Phantoms had already said their goodbyes. Chase gave his children one last hug, then waved at the others and turned around. Marvin led the way forward, Draco trotting ahead of him. The other four walked at an even pace with each other.

This quest would be dangerous. But they were ready for it. They would learn what they needed to protect their home. And then... they would come back to the ones waiting for them.

[his-writing-blog]

Jak ostatnie dni | Shane x nb!Farmer

Shane wasn't it the best mood right now. It has been raining for three days, which meant that the summer was about to end. That meant he had to get back to working even more than full time. Yoba, he's gonna miss having more time to spend with Jas or sloping around the house. As he was walking by Emily's house, someone ran past him almost pushing him down. He yelped but easily steadied himself.

The person slowed down a bit and turned his head around. "Sorry!" And with that they bolted again towards the staircase by the clinic. Ah yes. The new comer. Marvin, or something. They've been living on the old farm for almost half a year now. They were quite a wierdo, in Shane's opinion.

From what he heard from Marnie, they hadn't been socialising at all with anyone. They only talked to Pierre, Robin and her in matters of buissenes. All other interacctions were shot down with them telling how busy they are.

Looking at it from Shane's perspective, he wouldn't fucking care if they didn't almost crash into him. He frowned and yelled at their back. "Watch out, douchebag!" They didn't even look back at him when they dissapeared behind the building.

Shane shook his head and slowly continued forward. As much as he hated his work, he needed the money. He looked at his feet and kicked the pebbles laying on his way. He was already soaked and battered. Shane couldn't wait for visit in the saloon after his shift. He wondered whether he should get himself beer or beer. Tough question, he said to himself trying to light up a bit.

It wasn't a long time before he was by Pierre's store. Shane stopped by the board and looked at the news. It was 26th day of the month, which truly meant only three days and ofically the autumn would start. He sighed and continued onwards.

Shane barely stepped out behind the store when he heard someone shout out "Look out!" and something crashed at him with full strenght. He automatically shut his eyes and grabbed the mass. They fell to the ground.

Shane grunted in pain and opened his eyes to see who was so careless. The problem was, that all he saw was white. At that moment Shane was almost sure that he was left blind by the accident, untill the whiteness got creased and moved with the huff of the person on top of him. As Shane was about to move, a mixture of a few scents hit him hard enough to left him stunned for a bit. He smelled the younggrass, a bit of the salty ocean breeze and, the most impactful, the scent of the ground after a storm. Those scents mixed with the smell of the rain on the concrete messed with his senses. A few second passed before he noticed that the person rolled off him to the side and that the smell was gone.

"Oh shit, are you alright?" The person was now kneeling over him. Shane looked over them. Of course it was the new farmer who could be running around so carelessly at this time. As he tried to sat up, they grabbed his arm and steadily helped him up. The scent hit him again and he couldn't help himself but look the newcomer up and down. They were quite young, probably still in their twenties. They had tanned skin, longer dark purple hair and big hypnotizing lavender eyes. He could swear that they almost glowed in the gray of the day. They wore a white shirt under brown jacket and jeans.

"Maybe we should go to the clinic? I think the doctor will take us in if I tell him what happened." The farmer was getting worried over the lack of any response from the man. Shane imidiately shook off the wierd feelings and shot up to his legs.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? Running around, not even looking if there is anyone around you!" Shane scolded the kneeling person. "What if it was Evelyn that you crashed into? She wouldn't be able to just shake it off like me!" He grabbed his head and looked impatiently at the farmer.

They looked at him, their mouth open as if in disbelief that Shane could become so angry. They stood up and brushed off some dirt from their wet pants. They looked sheepishly at Shane and quietly responded.

"I am really sorry. You're usually over the bridge by now and there is no one expect the old lady that would be coming out in a few minutes..." They fiddeled with their fingers anxiously. "But I usually manage to get around here in between of you two walking. It's just that my dog managed to run away and went into the woods in the morning. He didn't get far but made me just enough late to throw me off the rythm... And then you were a bit late to pass the store which I didn't foresee. And I am really sorry about that." They rambled.

Shane shook his head and looked him up and down again, this time putting some disapointement behind it. They were a bit taller than him, but only by a centimeter or so. "Just don't let it happen again, okay?" He felt a bit sorry for the farmer. He couldn't imagine what would happen if he woke up and Charlie endes up missing.

The farmer smiled at him brighly and extended their hand towards him. "For sure." Shane grabbed their hand in an awkward handshake. "I'm Marley, by the way." They introduced themselfves. "Hope we could have met up in a different scenario." They laughed lightly.

"Shane." With that he let go of their hand. They smiled awkwardly at him again. But within a second their face got worried and they were again rushing towards the beach.

"I'm sorry, I have to go now." They called after him. "See you around!" And they were gone.

Shane stood there in shock. But as the nine has struck on the mayor's house clock, Shane was pulled back from his thoughts. He's late to his shift, fuck. He ran to the jojamarkt, cussing at the weather, his boss, and the strangely captivating farmer.

Later that day, Shane dropped a whole package of soup when he realized that Marley smellt like everything he loved about summer. Morris did cut his pay from this incident.

[my-brothers-corrupted]

Hen you don’t have to be jealous of Ash. You know good and well Chase loves you too, I know you do. No one is being chosen over anyone else, I’m certain that’s not what Chase is trying to communicate. You both want to do something important to you but they contradict. That’s all it is. The things you find important should be important to each other, and I know you two would love each other the same even an ocean away. You are allowed to do separate things but never stop loving each other. I know it’s more complicated internally than that, I know. But the scenario has arisen for you to finally each do something you care for, and even if it means doing it apart physically, you both know you’ll meet back at home and still have your twin.

"Oh, jealous!"

Chase starts laughing bitterly as Henrik protests.

"I'm not jealous!"

"I've told you that before and you denied it. Took the cameras two hours to fucking peg you for it - "

"I am not jealous."

"You can't stand her, and you know what, it's totally unfair to her. She has been an angel to you."

"She thinks I'm your damaged twin psychopath," Henrik snarls.

Chase's teeth grit together again. "No, she fucking doesn't. She's good to you - "

"Condescending."

"I can love you both," Chase snaps. "So stop being a baby, Schneep, for fuck's sake."

"I've held my tongue about it for months," says Henrik sharply. "About her."

"Oh, really? If that's holding your tongue, I don't want to hear you talking."

Henrik says nothing, arms crossed, looking out the window. They've caused enough of a commotion at this point that Marvin is walking back towards them, frowning. "Guys, geez."

[saidrolav]

Laundry virgin

Steve Rogers x gn!reader

Summary: You meet a really sweet guy while doing your laundry.

Warnings: none! pure fluff 🧡

A/N: Hiii! I don't know why i wrote that, just feeling in the mood for some fluff! As always feedback is always appreciated 🥺 Have a good read!

not my gif!

You had a very small appartment. In the middle of Washington D.C. The building wasn't new, you could tell by the walls that were.. questionables. Walls were thins, people had dogs, kids, without lying, you couldn't sleep at all. When it wasn't the big road you were living next to, it was a teen throwing a party just above your head that was keeping you awake. You were tired and today was no difference. You woke up tired after waking up a couple of times during the night. You quickly made yourself something to eat, dressed up then you checked what you had to do for the day. You sighed. Laundry.

As i said in the beginning, small appartment, which meant, no washing machine, which also meant, taking your huge bag of laundry at the laundromat. It wasn't pleasant because you would loose at least one hour of your time without counting the walk to the laundromat. You prepared yourself, putted on your jacket and took your huge bag of laundry, almost falling in the stairs with it. Well today was a shitty day.

When you arrived at the last corridor of your building that lead to the outside you putted your bag of laundry against a wall and putted on your headphones. As soon as you did so you met the eyes of your neighbor, Mr Nakajima. You immediatly flashed him a brilliant smile even though you were exhausted and took back your bag of laundry, then he returned your smirk.

"Hi Mr Nakajima how are you doing today ?" You took off one of your earbud to listen to his answer, still wearing that big grin on your lips.

"I'm doing fine Y/N, thanks for asking. Where are you going with that huge bag ?" He pointed your bag and you gave it a quick glance before focusing your gaze back on your neighbor.

"M'just gonna do the laundry, do you have some? I could take those with me if you want." You arqued an eyebrow with a soft smile.

"No i'm fine! I made a new friend just across my appartment, his name is James, he took my laundry just yesterday!" Your heart melted at the sight of the old man being this happy.

"Already replacing me as i see!" You chuckled. "Okay Mr Nakajima, i'll go, have a great day!" You putted back your earbud on, gave him a small wave that he returned quickly and with that, left the building.

You listened to your favourite playist the whole way to the laundromat. When you arrived, your favourite song of Marvin Gaye was playing and a simple smile appeared on your lips. There was not a lot of people in the laundromat and you putted your bag of laundry on a washing maching, waiting no time to start separating the coloured clothes from the white ones.

You still had your headphones and you didn't heard the familiar bell telling you that someone had arrived in the laundromat. You were too focused on separating your clothes and preparing your laundry that you didn't even saw a tall gorgeous blonde walk in.

He joined you at your right and you putted all of your clothes in two different washing machines. You putted your own detergeant in it then paid the two machines. Once they started working you sat down on the closest chair. You tilted your head up and you catched the sight of the man that were not too long ago standing next to you.

He was wearing simple clothes but he still looked stunning. He had a simple white t-shirt with beige trousers. He finally turned around, you met two ocean eyes and you drowned in them. He had short blonde hair and a sharp jaw line, you were so mesmerized by him that you didn't even saw that he catched you staring, a soft pink tinting his cheeks.

You quickly looked away and blushed deeply. You felt him sit next to you and you took your phone to stop the music that was still in your ears. You took off your headphones and gave him a quick glance, your eyes met and he fastly looked away, not wanting to make you feel uncomfortable.

As soon as he walked in the laundromat his eyes were on you, he watched you from afar for a couple of seconds before taking all the courage he had to do his laundry next to you. He had never walked in his laundromat, it was his first time, but if he could see you everytime he did his laundry he would always come here. While sorting his clothes he detailled your face, your eyes, your nose and finally your lips which made him blush slightly. He thought you looked like a real angel and he has never been this hypnotized by someone, so when he catched you staring at his back only a couple of minutes earlier, it gave him chills and a tiny bit of hope that you were feeling the same way about him.

He was still feeling your eyes on the back of his head so he turned around, gave to you his ten million dollars smile and extended his hand towards you.

"I'm Steve Rogers." He watched your lips turning into a big grin and it made his heart melt. You took his hand, shook it while looking him in his eyes.

"Y/N L/N." You finally let go his hand. Steve Rogers. You definitly heard that name somewhere but you had no time to think because you had to start a conversation. "I never saw you around here. You're new ?" He laughed slightly while scratching the back of his neck.

"I usually make my laundry at work," you gave him a strange look and he laughed even harder, "I mean, my work place is also where i live, a huge building, but i took an appartment not too long ago." You nodded your head while smiling.

"So you're a laundry virgin ?" You chuckled and he quickly joined in.

"I guess i am," he shrugged, "I used to do laundry back in the days..", he looked afar with a hint of nostalgia and you laughed.

"Back in the days ? Come on it's not like you're one hundred years old." Steve refocused on you and grinned at your comment, oh, if you only knew.

"And, how do you know i'm not ?" He cocked an eyebrow in your direction and you laughed even more.

"Well look at you, no white hair, no wrinkles and you're pretty handsome for an old man don't you think ?" His eyebrows shot up and yours too, your mouth talked before you could think and you became a deep shape of crimson. As you were about to apologize for this akward flirting he laughed out loud and you felt yourself relax a little bit.

"Thanks, for telling me that i'm America's handsomest grandpa." You joined his laugh quickly making your cheeks hurt of how much you smiled this day. Your two laughs died in silence and it was only you and Steve looking at each other with huge smirks plastered on your faces. You gave Steve's lips a quick glance and bit your lower one. The blonde looked at your lip that was caught between your teeth and he thought it was incredibly hot. As Steve was about to approach his lips from yours you were cut by a strident sound telling you that your laundry was over. You mumbled a quick "sorry" before getting up and taking your laundry out of the washing machine.

"Do you need help ?" You heard behind you. You turned around just to be met with Steve which made you smile even though you were quite destabilized by the height of the man in front of you. "I thought you were the laundry virgin here ?" He rolled his eyes as you laughed before starting to help you with your laundry.

"You'll be quite impressed by how experimented i am, actually." He gave you a wink as he grinned. Damn that man knew what he was doing and that conversation was going somewhere you only imagined in your dreams. You didn't realized you had stopped in your tracks until your sweatshirt fell from your hands. You quickly continued your work and took back in your hands the sweatshirt.

The both of you finally putted all of your clothes in your bag and you realized that you had to leave because Steve's laundry was far from ending. He gave you a quick look and you looked at him too, you putted your bag on your shoulder and approached him to give him a quick kiss on his cheek, he blushed. "So this is goodbye then ?" He asked, looking down while playing with his fingers. "I guess so.." You answered softly while giving him a sad smile. "Goodbye Y/N." "Goodbye Rogers."

You got out of the laundromat, feeling terrible at the thought of never meeting Steve again. You tried not to focus on that too much but he was the only thing you could think about. You quickly putted on your headphones to distract yourself, so you didn't heard the blonde running after you and calling your name. You felt a hand on your shoulder and you turned around quickly while taking off your headphones that you uust putted on, you were at like 1km from the laundromat, how did he ran so fast ? He didn't even looked exhausted.

"Steve ?" "Call me." He gave you a piece of paper with a phone number on it and you smiled like you never did before. "Okay i'll do, i promise." As you started walking on the opposite direction that he was you heard him shouting behind you.

"Don't worry if i don't answer! I'm an old man, smartphones are hard!"

part two!

[aftqrglow]

A Blessing, Beautiful And True

pairing: bucky x fem!reader

word count: 3.2k

warnings: use of she/her pronouns; swearing if you squint; mentions of death; mentions of food

a/n: this is a rewrite of one of my old fics that i absolutely hated with my entire being. i hate this a little bit less djaksjsjs also pls ignore how i literally cannot write a good ending to save my life.

dedicated to @xsamsharons for lending me her name. i hope i did it justice mi amor ily <3

Bucky learnt to value things.

Not the great, terribly material things people around him seemed to rush after. Not money, not even when he was barely getting by.

No, for Bucky, it was the small, seemingly insignificant things.

The tiny toy WWII soldier figurine he found at a yard sale one Tuesday afternoon, the one with the missing arm. The near-exact model of the car his father used to drive—rusted around the tiny steel axel, the rubber wheels worn from use. That yellow screwdriver set that sat at the very back of the tool cabinet in the garage, unusable because of the cracked plastic handles and rusted steel, that looked exactly like the kit he had once used to fix up the plumbing in his first apartment.

Bucky was used to valuing the broken little things.

He never truly understood what loving something whole, something complete felt like—not until he met you.

You, in your white sweater and blue jeans, hair tossed up in a braid. You, your eyes that dancing with unbroken light, like the rays of the sun on the ocean on a bright summer’s day. You, with the sort of kindness he never truly thought he would ever be worthy of, not until you showed him that he was.

You, the girl he fell in love with before he could ever truly know what love was.

Steve might’ve been the first to notice. He was with him that day, the day he first saw you. They had been hunting for a Christmas present for Tony, and even though Bucky wasn’t exactly thrilled to have to attend, he wasn’t about to show up empty handed.  

Steve didn’t even realize that the sly-footed assassin wasn’t by his side until he had walked the two blocks from the mall to his car. Hands ghosting over the gun tucked into the holster hooked into his waistband, Steve retraced his steps, his heart thundering in his throat.

Until he heard Bucky’s laugh.

Not the obviously fake chuckles he used to placate those around him. No, this was the laugh he remembered, the laugh he thought Bucky had lost.

This was Bucky’s laugh—his Bucky’s laugh, before the world stole him away. Pure and innocent.

Happy—so undeniably, inexplicably happy.

The tension eased from his shoulders when he saw you. Steve knew who you were, of course. Everyone did—or at least, everyone who had been around after the Battle of New York. Everyone who had seen you walk among the rubble, bleeding through your jeans, helping dig survivors out of the rubble, guiding them to shelters. Everyone who had seen you do everything you could help those who needed it more than you did, until your legs finally gave way and the only reason you didn’t collapse to the floor was because Steve caught you.

But Steve also happened to know why you’d done it. Because you were kind. Because you were selfless. Because you knew what it was like to lose everyone you loved, and to garner the strength to build yourself up anyway.

You’d lost people too—everyone you loved, killed during the Battle. Your family. Your friends. It might’ve seemed cruel to be spared. Might’ve seemed like a cold, dark twist of fate—and for a time, it did.

Steve had never known anyone to be resilient the way you were.

And maybe, just maybe, he thought to himself, as he watched his friend from through the glass, maybe you would teach him to hold on to the tiniest sliver of hope too.

—

Bucky didn’t even like books.

The only book he’d read—aside from the coursework assigned to him in his school days—was The Hobbit. And even that had taken him an ungodly amount of time to finish.

So yeah, Bucky didn’t exactly like books.

But he still visited the tiny bookstore on the corner every day.

He didn’t even buy anything. He just looked around, running his fingertips over the spines of the books that jutted out of the wooden shelves, the sunlight turning his eyes into uncharted waters of the oceans, swimming with undiscovered secrets and untold lies.

You would talk to him. All the time, and with no trace of the usual pity or sympathy that he heard when he spoke to people. You talked to him in a way that made him feel like himself, in a way that made him feel like he just might rediscover the man he used to be.

That first time he’d seen you was burned into the back of his brain, the image of you standing there with a hip braced against a bookshelf, dressed in a white sweater and jeans, your hair pulled into a braid over your shoulder. He had watched as a strand escaped, falling into your face.

And him—he'd stood there, watching you talk to another woman he couldn't recall because really, how could he look at anything else but you? Bucky was certain he looked like a gaping idiot, both wanting your attention to turn to him, and dreading the fact that he would surely make a fool of himself if you so much as looked at him.

Back in the 40s, things would've been so much easier. He would already have said something witty to make you laugh, he would already have been telling you about the carnival down at the beach and asking if you wanted to go with him.

But when your friend left, and you asked him if there was anything you could help him with, his voice sounded strange to his own ears as he croaked, "Books?"

You had laughed—and he found himself laughing along. A true laugh—for the first time in a long time, the sound didn’t sound fake to his own ears. For the first time in a long time, he felt like himself.

Bucky had taught himself to value that which wasn’t whole—because he wasn’t, either. Love was give and take. Love was equal.

If he was to deserve your love, he would have to be whole again. If he was to deserve your love, he would make himself whole again.

—

There was a sudden shift in the way Bucky viewed the world.

It had been three days since he last saw you, but he walked in through those doors anyway. He had no cause, no reason—he just couldn’t go any longer without seeing you.

You were sitting by the bay window at the very back, reading a book. He took a second just to take you in, to get used to the fact that you weren’t just a figment of his imagination.

The second you looked up, your face split into a grin, like you were truly, genuinely happy to see him. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had smiled at him that way. “Hey, you’re back! It’s Bucky, right?”

He nodded. He couldn't trust himself to speak, not when he was sure he would stumble over his words, not when he couldn't bring himself to string together a coherent sentence in your presence. 

"What can I help you with today?" you asked, snapping your book shut and placing it on the table. 

"Uh... What're you reading?"

You glanced down at your book before looking up to meet his eyes again. Blue, you thought, supressing a smile. Icy blue, but warm nonetheless—familiar in the way most things aren’t. "Wuthering Heights. You've never read it?"

He shook his head no. "Never been much of a reader, no. Is it any good?"

"It's one of my favourites," was your answer, watching as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The light caught the steel of the chain around his neck—the chain of one of those military-issue dog tags.

And maybe that was how it started—on that dreary cold Wednesday, when you'd stood next to the bookshelf by the window, telling him about your favourite book, but really all he could focus on was the late afternoon sun rendering the hue of your eyes several shades lighter, the soft slope of your nose, the fullness of your mouth. Every little detail about you was etched permanently into his mind—and he wanted to learn more.

He wanted to know everything there was to know about you. 

It was about closing time when he decided he had to go. Not because he wanted to, but because he had promised he would have dinner with Sam and Steve. And as much as Bucky wanted to stay, he was a man of his word.

Which is why when he promised you he would come see you as soon as he finished reading the book, you knew he meant it.

—

And you were right.

Two days later, he was back. 

It was raining that day, early in the morning when you were just about to open up. And there, standing under the awning in the freezing rain, was Bucky, the collar of his coat turned up against the wind, drenched to the bone.

"What're you doing here?" you asked, eyes wide.

"I just... I don't know," he said. Because he didn't. Bucky didn't even like books—but he did like being around you. There was a strange sort of calm about you, a sense of peace he'd only known in Wakanda. Around you, he was just Bucky—not Sargent Barnes, not the Winter Soldier—just Bucky. 

He liked being just Bucky.

You shook your head, but he could've sworn he saw the corner of your mouth tilt upwards as you fished your keys out of your pocket and unlocked the door. "Well, come on inside. I'll turn up the heat and get you something warm to drink. Christ, Buck, you could get pneumonia or something.”

He only nodded once. It didn't matter that he wouldn't get sick—not when the serum in his veins healed his body faster than normal. It didn’t matter that even if he could sick, he wouldn’t have cared, not when you were looking at him like that, with concern in your eyes for something other than your own safety.

You had a coffee machine in the back room, you told him. He followed you, lingering in the doorway as you bustled about, humming a tune under your breath. He recognized it as a song from that one Marvin Gaye album Sam couldn’t stop talking about. He recognized it as a song he wanted to listen to for the rest of his life, if only you were the one singing it.

He recognized that, for better or for worse, you would be his undoing.

—

After that, he came to see you every day.

When the weather got colder still, he brought you steaming cups of hot chocolate from your friend Bella’s café down the street. And on the days when he didn’t, he would head into the back room and make you coffee. You’d never had to tell him how you took it—after that in the rain, he’d somehow remembered what you liked.

You weren’t about to tell him, but you remembered what he liked too.

It started out simple—plum cider that you found on your weekly trip to the farmer’s market. An old vintage copy of The Hobbit from the forties. Rubber silencers for his dog tags that he never used but carried around in his pocket anyway—until eventually, you had something new for him every week, some insignificant thing that he looked at with the kind of childlike awe that made your heart twist into knots in your chest.

He walked you home too. Every evening, with his hands stuffed in his pockets, slowing his stride so that he could walk alongside you. He would stand outside, across the street, hands in his pockets, waiting for you to walk into the apartment you shared with Bella. Only leaving when the lights came on and he knew you were safe.

Bucky wasn’t much of a talker—you learnt that about him. He would spend all day sitting quietly in a corner of your store, reading one of the books he found on the shelf of used copies you kept in the back of the room.

He seemed to love those used books more than the new ones—books someone had already read, books that had already been loved.

He felt a little that way sometimes, too. A little too used for love, not loved enough for use.

But never when he was with you.

And you—you were falling for Bucky Barnes. A little by little, day by day, without even realizing it—not until it all came rushing to you one afternoon, like a dam breaking, like the ocean of his eyes pulling you under, especially when you felt his gaze on you from time to time, watching you as you worked.

That afternoon, a new shipment of books came in. You didn’t even have to ask him for help—he was already on his feet, snapping his copy of Anna Karenina shut, mumbling a soft, “I’ve got it,” as you signed for the order. Hefted the two cartons of books like they weighed nothing at all, and carried them inside.

There was a strange tightness in your stomach as you watched him, standing in the middle of your store—the only thing the Battle of New York hadn’t taken away from you—and you wondered just how it took so damn long to realize that the feeling of familiarity didn’t lie among these books, but rather, in Bucky himself.

—

It was a slow day, so the two of you spent the rest of the afternoon restocking the shelves. He asked you about each of the books, watching your eyes light up as you talked about your favourite ones, until conversation lapsed into a comfortable silence, the two of you basking in each other’s company as you worked.

You didn't even realize how much time had passed until you heard the door open and your friend Bella breezed in. She'd been here the first day Bucky had walked in, had noticed the way your eyes shifted to him mid-conversation like you couldn’t focus on much else when he was around. “Ready for lunch, y/n?”

You looked at Bucky, opening your mouth to ask if he wanted to come along. Not because you didn’t trust him to be alone at the store, but because you wanted his company. Because being around him felt like coming home.

He only waved you off. "Go ahead. I've got plans with Stevie. I'll be here when you're back though."

You believed him. You believed that he would always be around, for as long as you wanted. And you wanted forever.

"Was that the guy from before?" Bella asked, looping an arm through yours as you left the store, walking down the street. She brushed her fiery hair out of her eyes, turning her head slightly to look at you, yellow-green eyes filled with curiosity. “What’s his name?”

"Bucky. He... He's a friend," you said. 

"Well," Bella said. "He sure doesn't feel the same way."

"What do you mean?" you asked, confused.

"Y/n, he looks at you like you put the stars in his sky. Are you sure he's just a friend?"

"I... I don't know, Bella."

Because you didn't know what else to call him. Because you and him weren't friends in the way people usually are—you had always been more.

Bucky was always more.

—

"I've barely seen you," Steve said, picking up his can of Diet Pepsi and taking a sip. "Where have you been?"

"Around," Bucky mumbled. Because how could he explain why he was spending so much time at the bookstore with someone he'd only just met? How could he explain the magnetic pull he felt toward you, the inexplicable desire to just be around you?

How could he explain the way you made him feel like himself again?

But Steve knew. Steve always knew. He saw the growing stack of novels on his friend's bedside table, saw him reading at the kitchen table, book propped up against the jug of milk.

He also knew that all this was because of y/n. Because Bucky mumbled that name when he was too exhausted to even know what he was saying. Because Bucky talked in his sleep—and Steve could hear him calling that name through the thin walls that separated their rooms. "You've been at the bookstore?"

Bucky set his drink down. There was so use denying it—his friend would see right through him. Steve had known him for too damn long to believe in his lies. "She's so... I can't even put it into words. She makes me believe that there's good in this world. That all the things I did wrong don't even matter—not when I'm with her. It’s the way she looks at things, the way she’s capable of finding a little bit of good in everything. Like she found something good in me, Steve."

Steve knew it was true. Because he hadn’t seen Bucky this way for a very long time. Because he hadn’t seen that light in his friend’s eyes in a very long time, and ever since he met you, it hadn’t gone away.

—

Bucky had to leave for a couple of days.

He didn't tell you why—just that it was a work thing. How long would he be gone? He didn't know.

"I'll be back soon," he said. "I promise."

And he was. Five days later.

But Bucky was quiet—quieter than usual. 

It was a Sunday, and you’d somehow managed to drag him along to the farmer’s market with you. He walked alongside you, hands in his pockets, like he was aching to reach out and touch you but desperately holding himself back.

He’d almost gotten himself killed on that mission.

You took up too many thoughts in his head, too much space in his heart. And when the bullet narrowly missed him, grazing his ribs, his only thought was whether or not you’d miss him if he was gone.

You deserved better than someone who’s life was tied to the death of others. Someone who didn’t have so much blood on his hands.

A few paces ahead of you, Bella walked hand-in-hand with Bucky’s friend Sam. You were glad that Bucky had introduced them, glad that Sam made Bella happy in ways you’d never really known or understood before.

“Look at them,” you said, watching with a smile on your face as Sam quietly slipped a couple of oranges into Bella’s bag. “They look real happy.”

Then, turning to look at him, you smiled, and he couldn’t hold himself back anymore. Because you might deserve better, but he was selfish and stubborn, and the only thing he had wanted in so goddamn long was you you you.

“Go out with me,” he blurted, every thread of self-control he had so carefully cultivated to keep his head in your presence snapping. He felt like he was taken back to that December evening he saw you for the first time, when the words refused to leave his mouth, when you’d rendered him tongue-tied and helpless. Only this time, he couldn’t stop the words from coming out, not as he said, “One date, y/n. One date, and if you don’t have a good time, we can just forget it ever happened and move on.”

His heart shuttered when he saw the small frown creasing your brow, your voice soft as you asked, “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything. I want to do this for the rest of my life with you, y/n,” he said quietly. “But for now, I’ll take that date.”

“Okay,” you said, nodding slowly. “Okay, Bucky, I’ll go out with you.”

He couldn’t help it. Bucky wrapped his arms around your waist, drawing you to him, lifting you off your feet and spinning you around until you were both laughing, childlike and breathless, blissfully unconscious of the knowing look on Sam and Bella’s faces.

Because really, how could he see anything but you? You had been it from the first day he saw, and you were it now—a blessing, beautiful and true.

tags:

@goldengoddess @wherearethesantreys @ughlantsov @for-bebbanburg @mriddlemethis @xleiaorgana @xsamsharons

if you would like to be added to or removed from my taglist, just send me a message or an ask off anon!

[spooky-draws-stuff]

Reposting something that is extremely important to my cannon ego timeline.

Please ask me about my ego headcannons. Please reblog my writing.

"Schneep? Why are you crying?" Robbie used his sleeve to wipe his face. "I've done things...Terrible things..." Schneep's  hands shook violently, and the  syringe's needle was inches away from his arm. "I have to do this now..I have no choice...If I don't take the next dose..."

"It doesn't have to be like that." Robbie yawned. Schneep turned around and whisper shouted. "Anti doesn't know I've been hiding you from him. I don't want him to hurt you too." The Doctor wept softly to himself. "Okay.."Robbie moved slowly back into the tiny room where Schneep kept him safe.

Marvin knew he would have to find Schneep and free him first. The task would be proven difficult, but without Schneep helping Anti it would lower the chances of more egos staying corrupted. Even then if the task was done successfully, it would slow Anti down and use up extra time.

Marvin hovered over the ground in his bubble shield, hoping he wouldn't get noticed. After all, it would be a pretty awkward sight to see. He searched and roamed through many halways, until he stopped at a particular location. Using extreme focus and meticulous concentration Marvin lowered himself to the ground and sunk his body onto the floor, crawling on his knees. The floor was freezing cold and the color of the stone was easily comparable to dark clouds on a stormy evening. Marvin pressed his ear to one of the doors. His heart raced in his chest and realization smacked him in the head.

A low rumbling sound and breathing was behind that door. But the question wasn't what was near the door, it was the monster himself who slept in that very room. Whose name was so feared, many dreaded the time when he would return. The monster's name was Antisepticeye, and he slept peacefully in his bed. To what others would consider traumatic nightmares, Anti's sinister dreams are what made him smile in his sleep.

Marvin had to forcefully control every muscle in his body not to leap 10 feet into the air(304.8 cm) and run away screaming.  Marvin also noticed that there was a plaque hanging over a door made out of gold and engraved carefully at the end of the hallway labeled "Dr Schneep's office" Marvin used his magic, teleporting inside. There he found a devastated Doctor who could not bring himself to take his "Medicine" as ordered by Anti. Schneep snapped his body around and his expression went from sorrow to shock instantly. "M-Marvin? Is that really you?" His hands Jittered as he dropped the syringe.

Marvin used magic to create the illusion that his eyes were glowing ocean blue, and olive green vines warped themselves around his arms. "How many times did Jackie get injured in a single month 2 years ago, and at what time and place did he get injured?" Marvin barked.

Schneep blinked rapidly and responded "20 times in one month, 589 walnut Avenue near the side of a wallmart company building at approximately 2:25Am."

"What's my favorite type of ice cream?" Marvin stopped the glowing eye illusion spell, becoming hopeful and relaxed.

Schneep closed his eyes. "Vanilla bean ice cream with chocolate chips and rose petals on top."

Marvin called off his magic vines and rushed to hug schneep. "Oh my god it really is you." Schneep moved his arms around Marvin. "There was always some good left in me."

"We have to hurry now doc. We need to free the others!" Marvin spoke in a hushed whisper. Schneep shook his head. "You see Marvin, it's not that easy...Once your under control of the corruption..You can't just change back to the person you once were." Schneep sighed and covered his hands over his face. "It's hopeless."

"Can't you just make a cure?" Marvin tilted his head with curiosity.

"There is a cure, but my plans for it were destroyed and Anti made me unable to remember what it was." Schneep turned away from Marvin. "But there is one way...And it's dangerous...."

"Why is it dangerous?" Marvin was taking notes in a notebook.

"You walk up to your corrupted friend...And you talk to them to make them remember who they once were...It might not work. They might attack you, or even worse...Call for....Anti...." Schneep pushed his glasses closer to his face.

Marvin nodded and put the notebook away. "Then if it's our only chance, let's do it!"

"there's only one problem with that...How do we find them?" Schneep faced Marvin, and then crushed the syringe with his hand.

"Trust me, I've got a plan." Marvin replied confidently.

Anti woke up in his bed. He stood up yawning and walked over to the mirror to brush his hair. After he was done with that, he walked outside his room. His ears twitched, and he could hear talking from Schneep's office. A sudden rush of anger and excitement filled him as he walked closer to the door.

Anti kicked the door open. "Doctor did you take the corruption as requested?" Schneep nodded. His green eyes were fake this time. He was wearing contacts. Marvin was hiding with Robbie in a closet. Schneep kneeled on his right leg, lowering his head and groveling for Anti as required.

"Good puppet." Anti commented before giving Schneep permission to speak. "Now tell me, have you found Marvin yet?" Anti waited patiently for an answer. "No master, I do not know where he hides." Schneep answered. Anti raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying something, doctor?" Anti's eyes flickered. "Not at all, master. If you wish me to search, I shall obey your every command." Schneep bowed his head again, lowering himself to the ground. Anti stomped his foot into Schneep's back repeatedly as schneep gritted his teeth from the pain. "Please...No more..." Schneep whispered hoarsely. Anti cackled. "We shall see about that, doctor. Find them now idiot. And send in...the others..."  Anti searched the room, until he found a closet behind a curtain. "Keeping secrets from me, puppet?" Anti opened the closet. There was no one inside. Marvin had teleported with Robbie to a new hiding place. "How disappointing. You continue to be useless. I guess I'll just have to correct you again." Anti snapped his head around before grabbing Schneep by the shirt collar and shaking him violently. "I know when you are lying to me." he spat, before tearing off Schneep's glasses. "Why the fuck are you wearing contact lenses?" Anti roared. "I....I look nice in them...." Schneep squeaked. Anti shoved schneep into the wall before grabbing Schneep by his legs and slamming him into the ground. Anti pinned Schneep down before reaching his claws close to Schneep's eyes. "I'll just pull them out myself." Anti sighed. "Don't move." Anti ordered before pulling out the contact lenses. "You're not corrupted are you? Don't answer that question. Do you know what happens to puppets who don't follow orders?" 

Schneep said nothing. Anti smacked the Doctor across his face before standing up and dragging Schneep away to an unmarked door. "Let's see how long it takes for you to lose your hands." "Have you ever wondered what your organs look like?" Anti opened the door and locked it.

Schneep laid down on a surgical table, tied down. He struggled to breathe. Anti held a scalpel close to his eye. He carefully pushed the blade into Schneep's pupil. Then Anti dragged the scalpel out of Schneep's right eye. Schneep shrieked.

Anti's sickening laughter filled the room. "Tell me where they are, and I'll spare your hands." Anti threatened. "No...." Schneep gasped. Anti picked up a chef's knife and slowly dragged it across Schneep's left wrist repeatedly. This went on for about 10 minutes. "You know your wrist is bleeding raw and eventually I'll reach bone." Anti grinned. "Fine...Marvin....He was in the closet...hiding from you...." Schneep surrendered. "Now that's information I like to hear." Anti pushed the palm of his hand into Schneep's right eye. His hand glowed green as he healed the Doctor. He did the same thing for Schneep's wrist. "You have regained my trust. Now prove your loyalty to me. Bow down before my power." Anti commanded.

"I would do anything for you master, but I am still tied to this surgical table." Schneep felt weird and frightened, unable to think clearly. Anti shrugged before setting Schneep free. Schneep bowed multiple times to Anti. "I am nothing. Serving you is my purpose. I belong to you. I will not speak unless given permission. I am a puppet. I cannot make choices. I would do anything for you. I will do everything you ask, I will not question you." Schneep shuddered. The way Schneep spoke was flat and robotic.

"Even without the corruption you remain loyal to me. However, I'm afraid I'm going to have to put strings on you. Which do you perfer, thread or chains?" Anti tilted his head, looking down at Schneep as if he was nothing more than a tiny bug.

"The chains." Schneep cried. Anti hissed before slapping Schneep's face. "Did I say you could choose?" Red strings formed in Anti's hands and he tied them carefully around Schneep's neck and wrists. "For every time you disobey me, I will pull on them and you will burn." Anti finished. "You can stand up now puppet. I'm done with you."

Schneep stood up and walked back to his office, the strings dragging behind him. He felt sore in his eyes and his shoulders. His back ached from being stepped on.

Marvin carefully opened the door to Chase's room. There chase sat on his bed with tired green eyes. His skin was pale and he had scars across his neck. Red strings were tied into cute little bows around his wrists. "What do you want, cat man? Can't I drink my whiskey in peace? It's no use. You'll never escape him. Get lost dumbass. You can't save me. This is my life now, serving Anti and guarding a gate all day for who knows how long. Just a nightmare I can't wake up from." Chase took a long sip from his whiskey bottle before looking at the fake window Anti put on the wall. "Are you kidding me? That bastard won't even bother to take me outside so I can see daylight again. It's always "Chase do this or do that. There's no video games in here. This is basically prison."

Marvin smiled at Chase. "I've come here to rescue you!" Marvin held out his arms, offering a hug. Chase looked at Marvin and groaned covering up his face with his hands. "Great, just great. A naive optimist who acts like a child and thinks that everything is going to be okay. The corruption gives me a sense of power, it makes me feel strong. Makes me feel good, just like my alcohol." Chase flopped onto his bed looking up at the ceiling. "I'm not dangerous like the others, so whatever your planning to do just make it quick before Anti gets here." Chase rolled over onto his side.

Marvin frowned and his smile disappeared. "Do you remember who you used to be? Do you remember the days when Jackie would come home with a big box of pizza, and you would eat large slices of chocolate cake together and play video games with him?" Marvin become more calm and focused.

Chase started to cry as tears rolled down his face. "What is this? Why is there water on my face? What is this feeling called Marvin? Why does it hurt so much?" Chase sobbed and something in his mind clicked back into place.

Marvin hugged Chase, and Chase's eyes returned to a blue color. Chase hugged back. "You saved me. Thank you." Chase tightly held onto Marvin pulling his shirt sleeve. "I'll never leave you again." Chase buried his face into Marvin's clothes. "I'll never let go." Marvin replied.

Jackie was in the kitchen, drunk from whiskey and breaking the empty bottles with his bo staff. "HA! Take that coward! I AM STRONGER THAN YOU'LL EVER BE!" Jackie sat down at the table and shoved some cupcakes into his mouth. "Wow these are really good." His hair was darker than it's usual light brown, and of course his eyes were green just like all the other corrupted egos. "I'm having so much fun destroying things and beating up anyone who stands in my way. Oh please, forget superhero work, no one really cares if you save them or not. Being a villain is cool. I don't get attached to anything anymore. I can go wherever I want to, I can take whatever I want. Giving back to others is a waste of my time, it's their fault they can't help themselves. Not my problem anyway." Jackie took a long sip from his whiskey bottle. Ever since he became corrupted, Jbm no longer cared about going on adventures. He ended up turning into a self absorbed loser. When he was bored, he would go on these long talks thinking out loud. This was one of those times.

Suddenly, Marvin burst into the room shooting vines out of his hands. "Fuck off Jackie." he growled, catching Jbm off guard. Jackie didn't have time to react, because Chase had been following behind Marvin and tackled Jbm knocking him onto the floor. Jbm snarled and attempted to bite Chase, but the vines were too strong. "I bought you comics for your birthday and you loved them. You used to fight off people robbing banks. They'd pull a gun on you and with your staff you'd hit them on the head, crush their gun beneath your foot and drag them to the police. You used to be a hero, now I don't even know who you are anymore." Chase began his assault on Jackie with his words.

Jackie stuttered, he was absolutely speechless. "Hey now, you've got to understand something. I used to be  weak, my super speed and strength were failing me. Then Anti captured me, tortured me for a while. He gave me something that made me feel powerful again. Anti makes us stronger. And if you can't accept that being a puppet keeps you safe from him, then what are you doing with your life?" Jackie announced proudly. He always had a bold energetic voice than kept people feeling hopeful.

Chase leaned close to Jbm, and Marvin kept control of the vines. "No Jackie, you're not the greatest person in the world. You are not better than everyone. You've become the monster you promised yourself that you would never turn into. You are a failure. The worst hero I've ever seen. You are a self absorbed asshole and if you don't change your ways then I'm never going to be your friend ever again." Chase finished his speech and then smacked Jackie across his face.

Jackie sighed. "Hey, that's not true. But you know what I am good at?" Jbm smirked. "What?" Chase replied in an irritated tone. "Kicking your ass." Using his strength, Jackie tore off the vines and landed a punch into Chase's eye. Electricity crackled in Marvin's hands and blue sparks shot themselves at Jackie. Jbm dodged this before landing Chase into a choke hold. "Step any closer and I'll snap his neck." Jbm threatened. "Why don't you stop faking your courage already? Come out of your hiding and fight me coward." Marvin smiled forming a green shield around himself. "No one calls me a coward." Jackie's emerald eyes flared and he turned into a blur running at Marvin.

Marvin teleported behind Jackie and shoved him into a wall. Marvin then made fire in his right hand and shoved his palm into the back of Jackie's neck burning him.

"Jackie, you can't run from your problems. Anti doesn't help us, he ruins our lives. I just wish things could go back to normal, with your computer repair job and bringing home coffee every night. We used to sit on the couch together and tell stories about ourselves and talk about our favorite movies, and then we would do something dumb and Schneep would yell at us for it." Chase continued rambling.

"No stop it. These memories are just a  distraction. I have to prove my worth to Anti!" Jackie exclaimed before pushing Marvin off of him. Marvin fell backwards as Jackie towered over him, cracking his knuckles. "I've been waiting for this day." his voice became harsher. He stomped his foot into marvin's left shoulder blade. Marvin squeaked before teleporting next to Chase. He hovered above the air and concentrated on his anger. Bright orange flames danced in his hands lighting up the room. "Oh, getting fancy are we? Let's see what you've got Cat boy." Jackie taunted, picking up his bo staff and getting into a fighting stance.

Marvin moved his hands and the embers shot themselves like bullets, fire throwing itself at Jackie. Jackie evaded these attacks, but some fire did get on his bo staff. He simply put out the flame with his hand. "Stop wasting my time. I have better things to do than fight worthless people like you." Jackie sat down at the kitchen table. Marvin retracted the fire in his hands and lowered himself to the ground. Chase covered his eye, it was starting to swell. "Um Marvin could you please heal me?" Chase breathed heavily from the pain. Marvin nodded and healed Chase with his magic.

"Jackie, we've known you for a long time now and we really enjoy your company. You've always been there for us when we needed you. Please let us be here for you." Marvin held out his hand. Jackie looked at him with tired, sad eyes. His smile disappearing and so did his fake confidence. He buried his hands into his face and rested his head down on the table. "I'm sorry for everything." The corruption in his body slowly faded out as he gazed at the duo with beautiful sky blue eyes. "Do you forgive me?" Jackie's voice lost its stutter and aggravation. His head was hurting, the alcohol wearing off. "Of course we do." Marvin and Chase answered at the same time.

Anti sat on his throne. Jameson remained chained to the floor, and looked at Anti with sorrowful eyes. Schneep was searching the castle for Chase and Jbm, but was worried that he could not find them. The strings on his wrist tightened themselves. Suddenly he stumbled forward, he could feel hands digging their claws into his shoulders. Schneep yelped from the pain as blood began to seep through his clothes. "Times up Doctor. So you didn't find them yet? What makes you think you can get away from me?" Anti purred before turning schneep around to face him. "Come with me Doctor. You have failed me once again."

Schneep went limp, resting his limbs. He allowed Anti to drag him to the throne room. "Sit down." Anti instructed. Schneep sat down next to Jameson. Anti tied down schneep with his strings. "Good puppet. Now stay there, and don't move until I tell you so." "I'm assuming that since you didn't find them, and that you're not corrupted like you should be that you were planning to distract me while your little friend Marvin went out on his rescue mission. Tell me Doctor, was that your plan? I know when you are lying to me." Green flames danced in his hands. Schneep nodded. "Yes master. I have betrayed you." Schneep regretted these words. Anti proceeded to wrap his hands around Schneep's throat burning his skin.

He pulled his hand away and tugged at Schneep's strings. The sensation was agony, mix of pure fire and a tingling that felt like electricity. Anti held onto it for at least 20 minutes, Schneep's suffering progressed further. "I could do this all day you know. However you did do one thing right. You brought them all to me." Anti's lips curled into a broad smile, his fangs gleaming against the red light emitting from the strings.

In front of Anti stood a worried Marvin behind a huge green forcefield. Jbm held up his bo staff in a defensive position, and Chase held his gun close to his chest. Schneep was paralyzed before Anti let go of his strings. "You are all so stupid. What made you think you could stop me? Storming into my castle playing hero like some sort of child. You should really learn your place puppets. "How could you forget about precious Jameson?"

Or the doctor you cherish who surrenders so easily. Then again, soon you'll all join me.  So accept it puppets and serve yourselves as my vessels." Anti's eyes blacked out, the green fading into darkness.

With a sickening crack and crunch sound, he moved his neck looking up in the ceiling. He raised his arms into the air, and red strings shot themselves out of his hands. They moved faster than any speed Marvin had ever seen, and broke through the shield latching onto Chase and Jbm's ankles.

They viciously hissed and singed pulling down chase and Jbm and forcefully lifting them into the air until they dangled helplessly from the ceiling. Anti pulled on them and they screamed in unison. "Oh hey, I could make music with this. Chase, you sing a high note. Jackie, sing a lower one. Schneep, I want you to join in too." Anti pulled on three different strings. Schneep yelled hoarsely and Jbm and chase wailed in misery. "Anti what the fuck is wrong with you?" Marvin pressed his hands onto the ground and a huge wall of trees grew in front of him. "I don't appreciate your taste in music." Anti moved his head to the side, his eyes glowing green giving Marvin a displeased look. Anti made fire in his hands burning down all the trees Marvin had made.

Anti glitched for a few seconds before holding Jack's unconscious body. "If you want him back so badly, then why don't you save him?" Anti's voice bugged out becoming layered with static sounds and a tone that was a blend of high pitched and low pitched voices. Anti stroked Jack's hair. "I remember it so well. How it felt to have a body of my own to operate. And then you all gave me the power to have my own body. Now I just possess bodies for fun. I love my physical form.

Anti held up Jack's body closer to himself. "So fragile, isn't he? Marvin, I'd like to offer you a trade. I will give you back everyone you love but first....You have to stay as my puppet for two months. I will torture you until your mind snaps. But the others....Will be spared. Do we have a deal?" Anti giggled an unusual high pitch laugh that made Marvin tense up. "I refuse your offer." Marvin created another shield. Unexpectedly robbie walked into the room. "and who is this fellow that has decided to join me?" Anti looked at Robbie. "Hi there. I'm Robbie. Robbie the zombie. Please don't hurt me." Robbie muttered. Anti's ears twitched.

"Mhm...Schneep has told me about you. I've seen you in his thoughts. You don't seem like puppet material. Anti gestured his hands at Jameson. Jameson whimpered. "Help me." he signed. "No...Take me...Anti....I'll be yours....." Schneep crawled slowly to Anti, hugging his leg. Anti looked at Schneep with disgust. "Do not touch me." he nudged Schneep away. "Schneep no..." Marvin's eyes welled up with tears. Anti howled with laughter. "Offer accepted." Anti pointed at Marvin with his knife. "It's over. I will leave you all at peace for the next 9 months. I will heal Jack's wounds, I will let your friends go but until then Schneep will be my prisoner." Anti snapped his fingers and Chase and Jbm plummeted to the ground. Anti freed Jameson from his chains and healed him. He also healed Jack with his coding magic. "You can leave with them if you want to Robbie. I don't know you very well. Go on puppets. Leave." Anti shrugged looking at the group that was in front of his castle doors.

Chase, Jbm, Marvin, Jameson, and Robbie all stood together side by side. They hugged each other, and they cried together. Even Jack himself walked with them. They stared at the clouds watching a beautiful sunrise. The birds chirped happily and the egos hair blowed in the breeze. Marvin took one last look at the gates of Anti's castle behind them, forever remembering that it was Schneep's kindness  to stay behind and save them all. He wished things didn't have to end this way, but it did. It was over. The nightmare was gone, Jack and the rest of the egos would forever struggle with the horrific memories of torture, starvation, mental abuse, and extreme physical harm.

The group marched foward before running together. They did not know where they would go, but they knew it would be back home.

2 months later.

Since the egos had been missing for a long time and couldn't pay bills, they lost many of their homes and furniture including some items of value. They decided to go live in Schneep's old two story house(He had moved to a new property) and they named it the ego house. This was their new safe place.

Life continued as normal, but Jack didn't want to do youtube anymore and as the days went on the other egos struggled to enjoy themselves. They counted down the days until Schneep would return, and feared Anti dropping his body at their foot steps, claiming that he wanted to take another person back home with him.

@n-anon

[yourlocalshittywriter]

Class 1A Music Headcanons

Author’s Note: Howdy y’all! I’m back with some more headcanons, specifically headcanons involving Class 1A’s music tastes! Please go easy on me, I don’t listen to country or Broadway showtunes, so I did the best I could when it came to talking about those. Enjoy and feel free to send requests!

Also, until an offical hero name is confirmed, I will be making Hitoshi Shinso’s hero name “Mind Fuck.”

🥦Izuku Midoriya - Deku🥦

Who does he sound like? I personally think that he would sound like Ian McCulloch from Echo & the Bunnymen

What is he like at karaoke? He’d be a total nerd and sing Heroes by David Bowie. He’s too good for this world.

What song does he play for his S/O? I Melt With You by Modern English, he’s a sucker for cheesy indie rock love songs.

What are some songs on his playlist?

Laughing by R.E.M.

This Charming Man by The Smiths

Bring on The Dancing Horses by Echo & the Bunnymen

Forever Now by The Psychedelic Furs

We Close Our Eyes by Oingo Boingo

Guilty pleasure song? Everywhere I Go by Hollywood Undead

💥Katsuki Bakugou - DynaMight💥

Who does he sound like? Katsuki most definitely sounds like Oli Sykes from Bring Me The Horizon. 

What is he like at karaoke? Just imagine him at karaoke night doing a cover of Chelsea Smile by Bring Me The Horizon because Denki and Kirishima made him get up there and sing so he decided to pick one of his favorite metalcore songs just to piss them off.  However, it turned out that a lot of people actually thought that it was really fucking cool.

What song does he play for his S/O? This Love by Pantera because it is the only song that talks about love that he actually likes.

What are some songs on his playlist? 

Gasoline by I Prevail

B.Y.O.B. by System of a Down

I Am Going To Kill The President Of The United States Of America by LeATHERMOUTH

Spit It Out by Slipknot

Disciple by Slayer

Guilty pleasure song? Crawling by Linkin Park. He loves Linkin Park, but since Crawling has been memed all to hell, he doesn’t listen to it unless he is positive that everyone who could possibly joke him is out of earshot.

❄️Shoto Todoroki - Shoto🔥

Who does he sound like? Todoroki with the singing voice of Frank Iero? That would be so rad.

What is he like at karaoke? I personally think that Todoroki listens to a lot of angsty shit and punk rock (halfway just to piss off Endeavor), so it would not be out of the question for him to sing My Dad Sucks by Descendents.

What song does he play for his S/O? tragician by frnkiero andthe cellabration

What are some songs on his playlist? 

Richer Than You by Frenzal Rhomb

Last Caress by The Misfits

Give Me The Cure  by Fugazi

No Feelings by Sex Pistols

Everything's Your Fault by Face to Face

Guilty pleasure song? Hot N Cold by Katy Perry

🦈Eijiro Kirishima - Red Riot🦈

Who does he sound like? I have no clue as to why I headcanon this, but I can picture Kirishima sounding like Caleb Followill from Kings of Leon.

What is he like at karaoke? I feel like he would sing Sex on Fire  by Kings of Leon just because he thinks it’s a fun song. Homeboy would not care about the song being about sex.

What song does he play for his S/O? Walking After You by Foo Fighters

What are some songs on his playlist? 

Porch by Pearl Jam

Sex Type Thing by Stone Temple Pilots

Sleep Now in the Fire by Rage Against The Machine

Cochise by Audioslave

Would? by Alice in Chains

Guilty pleasure song? Bang Bang by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj

⚡️Denki Kaminari - Chargebolt⚡️

Who does he sound like? Denki Kaminari sounds like Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day. No reason, I can just picture it.

What is he like at karaoke? This motherfucker sings Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye just for the memes. It pisses everyone off.

What song does he play for his S/O? Electric Love by BORNS because of his quirk.

What are some songs on his playlist? 

Gives You Hell by The All-American Rejects

Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus

Stacy's Mom by Fountains of Wayne

Scotty Doesn't Know by Lustra

Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard

Guilty pleasure song? Into the Unknown from Frozen 2 

🧻Hanta Sero - Cellophane🧻

Who does he sound like? I can sort of imagine Sero sounding like Post Malone.

What is he like at karaoke? I have a feeling that he would sing Santeria by Sublime and somehow get most of the class to sing along. It would be great.

What song does he play for his S/O? Sunflower by Post Malone and Swae Lee

What are some songs on his playlist? 

ZIPLOC by Tyler, the Creator

The Brightside by Lil Peep

Still D.R.E. by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg

Mask Off by Future

My Name Is by Eminem

Guilty pleasure song? Como La Flor by Selena, or anything by Selena for that matter!

💞Mina Ashido - Pinky💞

Who does she sound like? Okay, I’m not saying that Mina sounds like Ravyn Lenae, buuuuuut I’m not saying that she doesn’t sound like Ravyn Lenae.

What is she like at karaoke? I just know that she’s going to be singing something sassy, so I think she’d be singing Material Girl by Madonna!

What song does she play for her S/O? Cuz I Love You by Lizzo

What are some songs on her playlist? 

telepatía by Kali Uchis

Freak by Doja Cat

Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato

thank u, next by Ariana Grande

Heart of Glass by Miley Cyrus

Guilty pleasure song? Maria by Hwa Sa. It’s a guilty pleasure because she doesn’t speak a word of Korean, but she still tries to sing along.

🐸Tsuyu Asui - Froppy🐸

Who does she sound like? Billie Eilish? Billie Eilish.

What is she like at karaoke? She’d sing something cute like Cloud 9 by Beach Bunny.

What song does she play for her S/O? Ma Chérie by Palaye Royale

What are some songs on her playlist?

Everybody Talks by Neon Trees

Sweater Weather by The Neighborhood

i wanna be your girlfriend by girl in red

505 by Arctic Monkeys

Out Of My League by Fitz and The Tantrums

Guilty pleasure song? Fancy by Iggy Azalea

💸Ochako Uraraka - Uravity💸

Who does she sound like? She’d probably sound like Natalie Merchant from 10,000 Maniacs!

What is she like at karaoke? She’d sing Soak Up The Sun by Sheryl Crow and it would be pretty swell!

What song does she play for her S/O? She’d play something that’s really sweet and really beautiful, like Fade Into You by Mazzy Star.

What are some songs on her playlist? 

Barracuda by Heart

One Way Or Another by Blondie

Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks

Somebody to Love by Jefferson Airplane

Like the Weather by 10,000 Maniacs

Guilty pleasure song? Dragula by Rob Zombie, I feel like she’s secretly a huge Rob Zombie fan!

🔊Kyoka Jiro - Earphone Jack🔊

Who does she sound like? She sounds like WILLOW. It just fits her so well!

What is she like at karaoke? She’d probably sing Take Me Down by The Pretty Reckless and she’d look damn good doing it!

What song does she play for her S/O? Still Into You by Paramore, I will not be accepting criticism.

What are some songs on her playlist? 

Still in Hollywood by Concrete Blonde

Cherry Bomb by The Runaways

She's Kerosene by The Interrupters

t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l by WILLOW

Ready to Go by Republica

Guilty pleasure song? Shake It Off by Taylor Swift

💰Momo Yaoyorozu - Creati💰

Who does she sound like? I can imagine Momo sounding like Lana Del Rey. I just feel it!

What is she like at karaoke? I think she likes old jazz along with some newer pop music, so I feel like she’d sing Primadonnna by Marina and the Diamonds!

What song does she play for her S/O? Never Let Me Go by Florence + the Machine would be her go to song to play for her S/O. It would be beautiful.

What are some songs on her playlist? 

Criminal by Fiona Apple 

Lilac Wine by Nina Simone

Summertime by Ella Fitzgerald

Royals by Lorde

I'll Be Seeing You by Billie Holiday

Guilty pleasure song? You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette. Nobody has a clue as to why Momo likes that song, and neither does she.

🏍Tenya Iida - Ingenium🏍

Who does he sound like? Okay, so say Iida sounded like Elvis? That is all.

What is he like at karaoke? He would want to do a classic song that he likes, but he’d also kind of want the class to sing along with him, so he sings Stuck In The Middle With You by Stealers Wheel. Everyone knows the song but is cringing while singing it because they only know it thanks to that one scene from Reservoir Dogs. P.S. Don’t watch it if you’re sensitive to gore, it’s a Tarantino movie.

What song does he play for his S/O? I have a feeling that he’s into older music (some of it’s kind of cheesy), so I think that he would play Put Your Head On My Shoulder by Paul Anka. Aww, how sweet!

What are some songs on his playlist? 

I Wanna Be With You by The Raspberries

I'm a Believer by The Monkees

Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations

Happy Together by The Turtles

A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles

Guilty pleasure song? These Boots Are Made For Walkin' by Nancy Sinatra

🌑Fumikage Tokoyami - Tsukuyomi🌑

Who does he sound like? I firmly believe that he sounds like Peter Steele from Type O Negative. I just feel it, man.

What is he like at karaoke? He’d probably sing a song that is not exactly meant for karaoke, like Black No. 1 by Type O Negative, but he’d obviously be having fun, so nobody would say anything and just sort of cheer him on.

What song does he play for his S/O? Lovesong by The Cure is most definately something that he plays for his S/O. Yes, it’s because he loves his S/O, but it’s also kind of because of his raging obessesion with The Cure and Robert Smith.

What are some songs on his playlist? 

Gallowdance by Lebanon Hanover

New Dawn Fades by Joy Division

Судно (Борис Рыжий) by Молчат Дома

A Forest by The Cure

The Man With X-Ray Eyes by Bauhaus

Guilty pleasure song? Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood

🦑Mezo Shoji - Tentacole🦑

Who does he sound like? He sounds like Axl Rose for no fucking reason at all.

What is he like at karaoke? He gets the entire class and most of the teachers singing with Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N’ Roses. He’s actually amazing.

What song does he play for his S/O? I Remember You by Skid Row

What are some songs on his playlist? 

Wanted Dead Or Alive by Bon Jovi

Kickstart My Heart by Mötley Crüe

Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard

Cherry Pie by Warrant

We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister

Guilty pleasure song? Girls Just Want To Have Fun  by Cyndi Lauper

🍰Rikido Sato - Sugarman🍰

Who does he sound like? He sounds like your stereotypical country singer.

What is he like at karaoke? He sings Your Man by Josh Turner and Denki winds up laughing his ass off.

What song does he play for his S/O? I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton

What are some songs on his playlist? 

A Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash

Walkin' After Midnight by Patsy Cline

In the Pines by Lead Belly

I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow by Sawyer Fredericks

Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver

Guilty pleasure song? I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow. Is it because of his quirk? Yes, yes it is.

🐿Koji Koda - Anima🐿

Who does he sound like? He sounds like Geddy Lee from Rush. If you’ve heard his speaking voice, then y’all know why I picked him.

What is he like at karaoke? He doesn’t sing, he’s way too shy.

What song does he play for his S/O? He would play something really cute like Count on Me by Bruno Mars.

What are some songs on his playlist? 

In a Week by Hozier & Karen Crowley

Runaway by AURORA

rises the moon by Liana Flores

Lemon Boy by Cavetown

YKWIM? by Yot Club

Guilty pleasure song? Girls On Film by Duran Duran

🥋Mashirao Ojiro - Tailman🥋

Who does he sound like? I can imagine him sounding like Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac!

What is he like at karaoke? Will Ojiro sing a classic rock song at karaoke? Yes, and it would be Another Brick In The Wall by Pink Floyd.

What song does he play for his S/O? You Really Got Me by The Kinks! I imagine Ojiro listening to a lot of classic rock, so playing a song like this for his S/O just seemed to make sense.

What are some songs on his playlist? 

Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival

House of The Rising Sun by The Animals

Break on Through (To the Other Side) by The Doors

Bring It On Home by Led Zeppelin

Move Over by Janis Joplin

Guilty pleasure song? Hey Lover by The Daughters of Eve

🌫Toru Hagakure - Invisible Girl🌫

Who does she sound like? She has a dramatic Broadway-esque voice.

What is she like at karaoke? She’s going to be dramatic and pick Memory by Barbra Streisand. Aoyama cries because he’s a dramatic bitch.

What song does she play for her S/O? So This Is Love from Cinderella

What are some songs on her playlist? 

Showtunes.

Just.

Nothing.

But.

Showtunes.

Guilty pleasure song? She has none, if she likes a song, she’s going to sing it until her lungs give out. She has zero shame.

✨Yuuga Aoyama - Can’t Stop Twinkling✨

Who does he sound like? Tim Curry, specifically as Dr. Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I will not elaborate.

What is he like at karaoke? He most definitely gets up there and sings Single Ladies by Beyonce. It pisses everyone off, even moreso that it was actually pretty good.

What song does he play for his S/O? Lovefool by The Cardigans. Once again, I will not elaborate.

What are some songs on his playlist? 

Tiny Dancer by Elton John

Voulez-Vous by ABBA

Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen

Let's Dance by David Bowie

Born This Way by Lady Gaga

Guilty pleasure song? Sweet Trans******* from The Rocky Horror Picture Show

🧠Hitoshi Shinsou - Mind Fuck🧠

Who does he sound like? This mf right here sounds like Maynard James Keenan.

What is he like at karaoke? I can just imagine him screaming his heart out to Judith by A Perfect Circle and absolutely killing it!

What song does he play for his S/O? His taste in music can be a bit dark at times, but that doesn’t stop him from being adorable, so he plays By Starlight by Smashing Pumpkins for his S/O.

What are some songs on his playlist? 

The Day I Tried To Live by Soundgarden

Ground Zero by BAM BAM

You Know You're Right by Nirvana

Jealous by Eyedress

Wake Up by Mad Season

Guilty pleasure song? MONTERO by Lil Nas X

[twinantithesis]

Father to a half-existent family, and lean green-haired machine, I present...

Chase Ó Brennan!

Information and backstory under the cut! (tw mental illness, alcoholism, & suicide attempts)

Chase is 28, 5′10, and a cis bisexual man! He has a distinct scar on his head that he covers with his hair and hats.

Jack didn’t mean for things to go so badly when he created Chase. He had a whole lovely backstory planned out about a family man and boundless goofball to love and play with his other Creations. Jack planned to make Chase to make himself happier, a loving and kind littlest brother! But Jack was hurting, badly. Jack was dealing with mental illness, physical illness, and the onset of awful depression while trying to create Chase. Whether you call it by nature or by nurture, Jack’s mental state rubbed off more and more onto his Creation. Chase was born with a pistol in his hand, meant for protection and safety. But overwhelmed with every pain put into him hitting him all at once... The first action Chase took - before even opening his eyes - was shooting himself in the head. 

Marvin and Jack were home and immediately called 999. Jack was distraught and inconsolable, so Marvin was the one to go to the hospital with him. Chase got lucky. That’s all the doctors could tell Marvin after 9 hours of surgery. The bullet tore through Chase’s brain and did cause damage, but by miracle it was as superficial as gunshot wounds to the head can be. Chase still needed to relearn complex speech and how to eat and walk. 

While Chase was in the hospital, all he could ask about was a woman named Stacy. He wouldn’t stop asking to hold his baby from the moment he relearned speech. Marvin, alone without Jack to consult, had no idea what to do, except promise him he would see them soon. Jack eventually worked up the courage to visit, and explained to the both of them that Stacy and their baby, Greyson, technically do exist. But because of the backstory Jack created them with, appeared in America. Stacy also was created with next to no desire to see Chase. Jack explained that he ensured Stacy would be born with a cellphone that has Jack’s number. Stacy had called, confused and alone with no one but her baby, and Jack had explained it all and pre-paid the lease for a furnished apartment just for her. With no desire to see Chase and an ocean between them, Stacy only ever talked with Jack prior to Anti’s involvement. 

Chase is a point of pain for Jack, the failure to protect his Creations, and yet, that has never once stopped them from being best friends! They hangout almost all the time as Chase goes through recovery. They cook, play video games, read manga, watch fantasy & sci-fi movies, go for walks around town, anything to spend time together. Jack disappearing affected Chase most of all, and he couldn’t understand why he’d leave; unlike the others who understood he had his reasons. 

Marvin is Chase’s big brother the way Jackie is Heinrich’s. They’re best friends who have sworn their protection over each other on many fearful nights. They’ve always gotten on very well, which is odd for Marvin who was expecting another little annoyance to affectionately argue with. They act more loving and gentle with Chase throughout every angry outburst and emotional breakdown in Chase’s recovery. 

Chase and Heinrich have the most stereotypical “big brother & little brother” relationship you can imagine. Shoving & pushing & arguing & protecting & teasing & caring for & just plain loving on each other with their whole hearts! Heinrich was VERY upset the doctors wouldn’t let him help with Chase’s care when he was first born and makes up for it by caring for every single cut, bump, cold, or cough Chase gets. 

Anti sees Chase as the most pathetic vessel ever made available to him. He would possess Chase just to watch & revel in his dissociative, suicidal breakdowns afterwards. To Anti, Chase is a fun toy and not much more. 

Chase remembers an entire lifetime, for better or worse. He was abused by his mother his entire childhood, dropped out of high school right before graduation, got in a van with $2,000 in stolen money from his mother, and never, ever went back. He met Stacy in Colorado and married her after only two years. They had Greyson when Chase was 25. Chase remembers moving temporarily to the UK for work and befriending Jack through a youtube event. Chase had had an awful drinking problem that he and Stacy were in a fight over when he left. Chase remembers spending over $8,000 on the trip and nearly $3,000 more on a business opportunity that fell out almost instantly. Stacy called and told him to not even bother coming home, she was selling their home, moving in with her sister and never plans to see him again. This was his last memory before being born, and Chase’s attempt was the fallout of this. 

Chase loves comfort food and cooking for those he loves! If someone’s been injured or distressed, expect enough chili and biscuits and cupcakes and hardy stews to feed an entire army. 

Chase has fibromyalgia and the constant pain is part of the reason he struggles with anger issues. 

He’s in rehab for alcoholism, but still smokes. 

He has a stutter and occasionally can’t think of the correct word for objects or emotions.

Chase is incredibly skilled with guns or projectiles and has consistently perfect aim.  

[loneberry]

Lmao, this was def my dilemma when I was choosing between staying at a tenure-track job in NYC or moving to a tenure-track job in LA. NYC is a truly Great Metropolis. Los Angeles is a giant suburb with charming, culturally distinct neighborhoods. NYC was built for pedestrians. LA is a giant traffic jam. I truly hate winter and wilt when deprived of sun, so LA wins on weather. On work-life balance, LA wins. Frequent trips to epic nature spots (Joshua tree, parks, mountains, bluffs, desert, beaches) are easy from LA. NYC has some truly great cultural institutions (💜💜💜 the New York Public Library), but LA has freaks and less establishment gems, like the Museum of Jurassic Technology. People watching on Venice Beach is a huge plus on the side of LA. But my roots are in NYC, since both my parents came from immigrant communities there, it’s always felt like a second home. By far the biggest strike against LA is the fact that the city was built around the automobile. As a lifelong pedestrian/bicyclist, my mantra has always been “I hate motorists.” I try to make do with my ebike, but the city is not friendly to cyclists. But. In LA there is a 22-mile BEACH bike path, the Marvin Braude Bike Trail (or The Strand), which I biked on for 30 miles yesterday (15 miles each way). While I’m biking on The Strand watching the sun set over the ocean while listening to a cumbia playlist I often think I have discovered the meaning of life. In NYC I feel free and alive walking around, seeing so many people, knowing I can go anywhere I want. In LA, going out is always a headache, most people only hang on the weekends, which I admittedly kinda like, since I am somewhat of an introvert. Maybe NYC has a slight edge over LA but maybe it’s easier to romanticize New York since I technically have never lived there, though I’ve spent so much time there people would often mistake me for a resident. LA will never beat NYC culturally, since Hollywood and influencer culture is trash. It goes without saying that I identify more with cerebral and gritty New Yorkers than the whole Gwyneth Paltrow white woo wellness vibe out here. But that’s not all of LA—LA is a Latinx city and also has more Asians than anywhere else I’ve lived. Yet I’m much more of a ‘New York Asian’ than a ‘California Asian,’ something that’s crystal clear to me when I visit my auntie in Flushing, Queens. It’s also very possible I’d never be able to leave California since I love sitting outside reading and writing throughout the whole year. It’s possible I’d grow weary of NYC’s fast pace after a month, since I’m a tortoise at heart. Maybe I’ll grow weary of not having spring here. I don’t know.

[inkribbon796]

Crows from the Father Ch. 2: Tense Ties

Summary: The meeting with Phil goes well in some respects, and poorly in others.

Chapters: 1, 2

Phil continued to apologize as they walked up the stairs. In an open area were sitting the rest of the guests.

Dark and Phantom were glaring at each other from across the room. Chase sitting next to Dark and staring at Phantom, braced to attack the demon.

Anti sitting close by, more than a bit upset that Phantom was getting the bulk of the attention. Before the Sides and Marvin walked in, Anti had been looking exceptionally bored until the heroes walked in.

Eret was sitting with Slime and Foolish.

Techno was reading by a window, sitting next to a small library of bookshelves.

“Cat fooker[1],” Anti greeted.

Marvin flipped him off.

“Glad yer[2] here, this fooker[1],” Anti jabbed his thumb at Chase, “doesn’t react when I poke him anymore. Dark trained him on bein’ a fookin’ buzzkill an’ now he’s no fun.”[3]

“Good,” Marvin scoffed.

Dark’s attention moved off Phantom and he glared at Logan, as Slime stood up and let out a loud gasp.

“You are friends with the funny green man,” Slime gasped. He was staring at Thomas with huge eyes.

“The Duke?” Thomas asked.

“Yes, he and Anti taught me valuable lessons about arson,” Slime smiled.

“Yeah, thanks for that,” Foolish scoffed. “He’s been fun.”

“Logic,” Dark stood up, clearing his throat to bring attention to himself.

“Dark,” Logan greeted. “Did you ever get a new assistant?”

“I should kill you where you stand,” Dark threatened.

“Hey,” Phantom smiled at Logan.

“Every second you spend breathing is a strain on my patience,” Logan spat at Phantom.

“Harsh,” Phantom smiled at him.

“You should be thrown out the window,” Dark told Phantom.

“Not while I’m reading under it,” Techno retorted.

“Alright!” Phil announced “let’s get this started and over with before I gotta kick someone else out. Anyway, glad you could all come. I’d offer snacks but very few of you would probably take them.”

“You’d poison me for a corn chip, crow boy,” Phantom reminded.

“Don’t tempt me, I will put you in a coin an’[4] throw you inta[5] the ocean,” Phil flashed a toothy smile at Phantom before clearing his throat.

“So, my Lady is coming to town to see Niki an’[4] the boys,” Phil smiled sheepishly.

Phantom rolled his eyes and dragged his hand over his face as he screamed into his hand.

Dark muttered a quiet, “fucking hell” under his breath as he stared at Phil.

“What’s wrong? Who is it?” Anti asked Dark.

“No, she’s fine,” Dark sighed.

“She’s hellfire incarnate,” Phantom spat. “When? When’s she coming? I’m leaving town on that day.”

“That’s kinda[6] rude mate,” Phil frowned.

“Well, fuck you, that’s for Argaba,” Phantom spat.

“Ehh, Agraba was the best thing that happened all that decade,” Techno laughed. “You discorporated like a bag of flour hitting a wall.”

“I did not,” Phantom spat.

“You did, it was hilarious, your host died and you discorporated and that was probably the best year of Ent’s life,” Techno goaded.

Chase’s eyes tracked over and drilled into Phantom with a look that Marvin had never seen Chase give someone before. It was like Chase was trying to make Phantom explode into a blood-colored mist with just the look of palpable hatred in them.

“So she should be here in a month or so,” Phil told them. “Renovations for her temple are going ahead ‘a[7] schedule, I just wanted ta[8] let all of you know so you didn’t see her coming and think a fight was happening.”

“Well, if that’s all you want to talk about,” Phantom decided, heading towards the door. “I have important business to take care of.”

“Yeah, enjoy doing nothing, yeh[9] sack ‘a[7] shit,” Philza told him.

“See, this is why I don’t deal with empaths anymore,” Phantom huffed. “So emotional, you all waste so much time with these little appeals when you could be doing so much more with your time.”

“It’s not a waste ‘a[7] time ta[8] be happy,” Phil told him sharply.

Phantom let out a scoff, “My happiness is tied to success, and this is not helping with that.”

“Well then maybe you won’t find it,” Thomas said, speaking up for the first time since Phil had begun talking.

Phantom laughed at that, “You’re what? Twenty? You’ll learn, or you’ll die.”

Thomas looked at Logan and Janus, “I think I’ve learned enough.”

Phantom rolled his eyes, and walked out of the room to head back down the stairs.

“Good riddance,” Janus decided.

“He’d ‘a[7] thrown a fit if I didn’t invite him,” Phil said. “Alright! So Dark, yeh can bring yer boyfriends and two ‘a yer kids. Not all ‘a ‘em ‘cause you have a fucking ton, mate.”[10]

Dark glared at him.

“Just keep the robots away, Kristin might wanna keep ‘em. I don’t wanna turn inta another you with five million kids,”[11] Phil warned.

Dark’s glare became hateful.

“Anti, you can bring that boyfriend you’ve been stalking,” Phil told him.

“Don’t have a boyfriend, fooker[1]!” Anti shouted.

“Then what the fook[12] do yeh[9] call Henrik then?” Marvin asked.

“Yeh shut yer mouth ‘fore I send yeh ta him in a fookin’ box!”[13] Anti hissed.

Marvin at this point was starting to tune Philza out. He was mostly going through guest lists. Thomas got to bring three friends, they didn’t all have to be “his arms” but he was advised to bring at least one.

But Marvin caught Chase glaring at the door Phantom had disappeared. He was just staring at it.

“Gonna[14] check Avg[15]. after this, you gonna[14] be able to walk the big guy home?” Marvin texted Logan.

“Yes, of course, is he alright?” Logan replied.

“Pretty sure he’s about to do something really stupid,” Marvin texted and then put his phone away, not wanting to keep chancing it with Anti physically in the room.

After Phil made the rounds the guests began to leave, Dark was quick to make a portal that he and Chase quickly vanished off to.

Anti left with Slime, talking about finding the Duke and that made Janus start rushing Thomas and Logan out the door.

Thomas and Logan split off soon after to find the rest of the Sides and Marvin . . .

Marvin had a problem.

Namely, he had an ex-close friend to find before he got himself into trouble.

Marvin at first wandered around Egoton looking for Chase. Then a stray thought occurred to him before wanting to slap himself in the head. He turned and started racing towards the tourist district. All the while he was texting Henrik that Chase was probably going to get himself into a bad fight and to have a stretcher ready.

No sooner did he spot Chase, alone, walking down and street and seemingly looking for something . . . or someone.

“Hey!” Marvin shouted and Chase whipped around, pulling a very real looking gun out and pointing it at Marvin.

Marvin whipped up his magic to protect him as the two just stared at each other. The magician couldn’t see a single human emotion in Chase’s eyes except for rage.

Rage and seething hatred.

Chase looked fully demonic in this moment and all of Marvin’s instincts screamed to attack, or at least to call for help.

It took everything Marvin had to just stay braced and eventually Chase’s gun lowered.

“Fook[12] Marv, yeh[9] need a bell or somethin’[16] like an actual cat,” Chase snapped.

Marvin flipped him off. “Here ta stop yah from doin’ somethin’ stupid.”[17]

“Not in the mood Marv, all I need is ta[8] catch him once,” Chase said. He was still angry, his eyes still boiling with rage, but he seemed to be slowly calming down.

“What’d that fooker[1] say ta[8] get yah[9] so pissed?” Marvin followed Chase when he tried to walk away to keep hunting.

At first he didn’t talk, but then he admitted something to Marvin. “I think I found someone I hate more than Wil.”

“Really? What’d Phantom do? Spit on the Dark’s shoes?” Marvin tried to joke.

Chase wasn’t laughing, he was looking around, his gun still in his hands.

Marvin briefly toyed with the idea of actually calling Dark up to get him to drag his boyfriend home, but Phantom walked out of some random building and Chase’s entire body flinched.

The gun came up and he shot Phantom before Marvin could say anything.

And Phantom immediately turned to look at him, the bullet doing nothing.

“Fine,” Chase said as he popped out the clip for his gun and snapped a new clip in.

Phantom glared at Chase and Marvin realized how uncomfortable he felt with having a face so similar to Nate’s looking at them. At least Crank and Silver wore masks, but Nate didn’t.

Chase didn’t seem to care or mind.

The deal maker stared at Chase, summoning his cane and resting his hands on it in front of him as his dark red aura wrapped around him. “You’re Ent’s new boytoy, aren’t you? I think I’ve seen you around. The first one wasn’t good enough, he had to whore himself out to you too.”

Chase began screaming angrily at him, his face heating up with rage. He shot Phantom again and this time, his bullet seemed to do damage. The demon screamed and grabbed his shoulder, Chase smiling as he shot again but the bullet hit Phantom’s protective aura instead.

“Ent really likes gunmen, doesn’t he?” Phantom said, his face contorted into a snarl. “Wonder if he likes dead gunmen just as well.”

Phantom began surging towards them with his cane in hand and Marvin braced with his magic and Chase braced with his gun for the fight. As a result, Phantom knocked Chase back and hit him with the cane.

“I’m going to enjoy dragging your husk of a corpse over to Ent’s place,” Phantom threatened before Marvin knocked him back.

“Hands off, yeh gobshite!”[18] Marvin shouted.

Phantom was about to move in to attack him again when someone that all three combatants hadn’t noticed coming up to the fight, reached out to grab Phantom.

The demon felt himself getting electrocuted. He ripped himself away to recover. Marvin and Chase realize that Henrik had run up to them and instead of staying out of the fight until someone got injured like he normally was forced to do, he charged up and attacked.

“Vat vere you tvo zinking?”[19] Henrik shouted at them.

Marvin stared at the electricity coming off of Henrik’s fingers. His eyes looked like there was a thunderstorm barely contained inside them. “What were we thinkin’? The fook are you doin’ here? An’ when’d yeh get weird electric powers?”[20]

“I vas not aware zat I had zem before zis,”[21] Henrik looked down at his hand.

“Geez, I need ta[8] date a demon if fookin’[22] one gives yeh[9] demon aura powers,” Marvin scoffed.

“Desist,” Henrik spat.

“Shut the fook[12] up, Marv,” Chase spat.

Phantom charged at Henrik as the group was arguing, going from the face. Marvin moved in to protect Henrik.

Chase took his gun and as Marvin hit Phantom with a spell, Chase took a shot.

Phantom discorporated and his aura shot into the protected magical cane. The demon taking the time to reform properly.

“Yeh[9] okay?” Chase asked Henrik as he picked up the cane.

“Ja,”[23] Henrik answered, he was scratched up and bruised but none the worse for wear.

“Good ta[8] hear,” Chase snapped his fingers to open a small portal over the river. Then he tossed the cane into the portal and it fell into the river. Shouting as the cane went in, “How’d that feel, fooker[1]?”

As the portal closed up, Chase felt a wonderful sense of triumph and vindication. “That felt good.”

When he looked back at the two heroes they were both staring at him. Marvin’s mouth hung agap and Henrik opened his mouth to say something before closing it. When he opened his mouth again, the German doctor said, “Isn’t zat littering?”[24]

“It ain’t[25] litterin’[26], it’s corpse disposal,” Chase spat at him, before stomping away.

“The two ‘a yeh are really makin’ a case fer fookin’ demons,”[27] Marvin commented.

“Don’t spoil my mood, Marv,” Chase warned.

The light ringing of Dark’s aura accompanied his arrival just after he cleared his throat.

Marvin tried not to resent it when Chase smiled and walked over to him.

“Sup[28], Dark,” Chase greeted.

“Having fun?” Dark asked.

“Yeah, I fooked up yer ex an’ threw his corpse into the river,”[29] hase told him.

“Excuse me?” Dark asked him.

“Phantom,” Chase said. “He fooked with yer head, so I fooked his spleen. An’ Hein an’ Marv helped.”[30]

“Helped?” Marvin yelled. “Helped? Fooker! Yah’d be coughin’ up yer spleen if not fer me.”[31]

“Wanna[32] head back?” Chase offered to Dark. “Gotta story ta tell.”[33]

“If you insist,” Dark agreed and opened up a portal.

Chase left with him, giving a quick goodbye to Marvin and Henrik as he left. Marvin and Henrik headed back to the base to give information to the rest of the group about both the attack and Marvin’s thoughts on the meeting. All they could really do is wait for the signal of the guest demon coming to town.

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

Post A/N:

Me: Iplier and Henrik are too squishy. I should give them something or some kind of power up that helps them defend themselves.

Also Me: *gives Henrik, Anti’s powers*

Me: [to myself] Good job me!

Accessibility Translations:

1. fucker

2. you’re

3. doesn’t react when I poke him anymore. Dark trained him on being a fucking buzzkill and now he’s no fun.

4. and

5. into

6. kind of

7. of

8. to

9. you

10. Alright! So Dark, you can bring your boyfriends and two of your kids. Not all of them because you have a fucking ton, mate.

11. Just keep the robots away, Kristin might want to keep them. I don’t want to turn into another you with five million kids

12. fuck

13. You shut your mouth before I send you to him in a fucking box!

14. Going to

15. Average

16. something

17. Here to stop you from doing something stupid.

18. Hands off, you idiot!

19. What were you two thinking?

20. What were we thinking? The fuck are you doing here? And when’d you get weird electric powers?

21. I was not aware that I had them before this

22. fucking

23. Yes

24. Isn’t that littering?

25. not

26. littering

27. The two of you are really making a case for fucking demons

28. Hello

29. Yeah, I fucked up your ex and threw his corpse into the river

30. He fucked with your head, so I fucked his spleen. And Hein and Marv helped.

31. Helped? Fucker! You’d be coughing up your spleen if not for me.

32. Want to

33. I got a story to tell.

[iamvegorott]

Salt of the Sea Ch. 27

Finally!

Wilford didn’t even think. He heard water and he went. Wilford held JJ tight to his body as he went overboard with him, not hearing the commotion from above and soon plunging into the water, the rush of cold hitting hard. Wilford opened his eyes, immediately feeling the pain and barely seeing the other Sirens swimming over to him. 

“What happened to him!?” Marvin asked, grabbing JJ from Wilford. 

“Humans can’t hear in the water,” Chase said. “Anti, get Wilford to the shore, and Robbie go with him. Henrik, help us see what’s wrong with JJ.” 

“On it.” Anti grabbed Wilford, thankful he didn’t protest, and went up to the surface with him. Anti flipped to his back, floating on the water, and had Wilford stay on his chest while he flicked his tail, making them swim backward towards Mad’s island. Robbie stayed next to them and saw Jackie, Mare, and Phantom come up to the surface as they got near. 

“We saw the Hunters,” Phantom said.

“Anyone hurt?” Mare added.

“The others are looking at JJ, Wilford’s just cold, and the other Humans we’re not sure of,” Anti answered, turning his tail into legs with everyone else. 

“Just a little cold.” Wilford chuckled, letting Anti and Jackie practically carry him to the sand. “Everyone else is okay.”

“They appear to be leaving completely,” Mad said with Blank sitting on the ground next to him. “I don’t think they have any interest in the island.” 

“They better not.” Mare huffed. 

“You guys can hide your markings?” Wilford asked when he was finally out of the water and resting. 

“Why do you ask?” Mare’s huff was gone. 

“JJ, he looked like a Human when Ma-the Hunter was talking to him. He was also moving his lips but wasn’t saying anything and yet the Hunter was acting like he was.” Wilford saw the Sirens share a look. “I’m missing something.” 

“You know Henrik to be a Healer, right?” Anti asked. 

“Yeah.” Wilford held out the word. 

“There are also Persuaders.” Anti slapped at the sand for a second before continuing on. “They’re able to make others be more inclined to agree with them, it’s a lot easier to do with a Human when the Siren feels pressure at the moment.” 

“So...JJ’s one of those?” Wilford looked off as he thought. 

“It’s-It’s only used to protect the Pod, he-he wouldn’t-” 

“Good God I’m in love.” Wilford started laughing. 

“Did he swallow the seawater?” Mad asked when he heard the sudden laughing, distracted by his conversation with Mare. 

“He’s just proving that I was right about these Humans being different.” Anti sighed. 

“I hope I’m not part of that statement,” Mad said. 

“You are.” Mare and Phantom both said while Blank giggled. 

“Excuse-”

“I need to get back in the water and let them know what’s with JJ.” Anti got up and went for the ocean without waiting for a response. Anti swam back to where the others were and without a word he ruffled JJ’s hair. 

“What are you doing?” Henrik asked. 

“He’s just tired,” Anti said, already slowly making his way towards the ship. “Wilford said he went full Human to avoid Hunter suspicion.” 

“Oh, he is so sanded,” Chase said. 

“I’m going to fill in the Humans, bye.” Anti was gone just as fast as he was before. He popped up to the surface of the water and saw that the anchor was still down. A glance over his shoulder showed that Google and Bing were on their way to the island. “Hey! Can I pop up?” Anti called. 

“Yes!” Yandere called back. 

“Thanks!” Anti easily climbed up the chain and went back to legs so he could stand on the dock. “JJ’s fine. He’s just exhausted from going full-Human.” 

“Full-Human?” Bim asked.

“No markings, small ears, flat teeth, the works.” Anti looked around and counted the Humans. He saw CJ and RJ sitting together and fidgeting with some ropes. “Dark!” Anti finally saw that Dark was on the ground and Edward was kneeling with him. “What happened!?” 

“It’s fine,” Edward said. “He just needs to rest.”

“Then take him to his bed!” Anti ignored Edward’s protest and scooped Dark up. “Tell me where I’m going or I’m taking anyone’s bed,” Anti warned and started walking. 

“Is that safe for Dark?” Bim asked. 

“Is he going to have another episode?” Yandere added.

“I believe he’s basically asleep at this point. That the episode is technically over but we’ll have to wait and see how he is when he’s awake.” Edward scrambled to his feet when he saw that Anti was just heading in. “Room on the end!” 

“Got it!” Anti carried Dark like he weighed nothing. He popped the door open with a hip and he placed Dark down on the bed. Anti stood there and stared for a moment, thinking Dark would get up any second. “Dark?” Anti’s shoulders slump when there was no reaction. “Hey, Dark.” Anti poked Dark’s arm. “Are you resting like JJ is?” Anti sat down on the edge of the bed. “Or are you resting because of something else?” Anti watched Dark twitch a little, his face scrunching in pain. “Dark?” Anti didn’t like seeing that. “Are you hurt? I don’t see any blood.” Anti moved up more on the bed. “You’re resting, you’re asleep...are you having a bad one?” Anti watched more pain appear on Dark’s face. “I got you, I can help.” Anti knew this helped Sirens when they were having a bad sleep, it should do the same for Humans, right? 

Anti opened his mouth and started to sing a soft melody, a calming tune that would either waken or soothe the one being sung to. He sang more as Dark’s face started to relax, glad to see he was already doing better.    

x~x~x

“Can I kiss you?” Anti went still when Dark asked that question. His mind went back to the shore, which was only a night ago but it felt like years. He felt his face go warm and wondered if Dark’s felt the same. “I-” Dark started to lower his hand but Anti caught it. 

“Y-Yes.” Anti had to clear his throat. “Yes, you can...you can kiss me.” 

“Okay.” Dark gently guided Anti’s head down, pressing their lips together. Dark was expecting wet and cold but it was surprisingly warm. It was soft and tender and when he felt Anti’s hand on his chest, he opened his mouth to get more from the kiss. Anti showed his enjoyment as well with a little gasp and leaning in even more. 

“Finally!” 

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

Tag List: (let me know if you want added)

@takethepainawaybae @shadowkitten0321 @adverseflyer909 @constantgaycrisis @m0th-goo @rainymae523 @phonenix @vociferous-chaos @batsam19 @bapbee @walking-mess25 @voonespelle @madallice329 @grnpurplgrmln @graveyardlettuce @aoimatsurika @nightwillow18 @the-writing-from-space-world @teenwithaphone​ @a-star-with-a-human-name

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Unremembered

Switch AU

Finally, another entry in this series. I’ll admit this one was a bit difficult, but I’m happy with how it turned out. This is from Marvin’s perspective, as we learn more about what’s going on in his life. Particularly when it comes to a certain gray bastard. I don’t know what else to put in this description so I’m just gonna leave it there. Hope you guys like this one :)

More of this AU found here

Nothing could be better on a rainy day than lying in bed with a book and a cup of tea. Marvin adjusted the pillows behind him as he propped up the book. But before he could take in a sentence, he heard a faint mrrp? Glancing at the door to his room, he saw Mr. Fluffington squeeze his way through the gap in the doorway. “Hey, Mister,” he said, smiling. “You here to keep me company? I woul’ appreciate it.”

Fluffington wandered over to the bed. Marvin lowered his hand, dangling it over the side. After sniffing it for a bit, Fluffington butted his head against it and hopped up onto the mattress. Correction: nothing could be better on a rainy day than lying in bed with a book, a cup of tea, and a cat. “Normally I’d warn ye against sittin’ on me and trappin’ me on my bed,” Marvin said, idly stroking Fluffington’s back. “But I’m not goin’ anywhere today, so feel free.”

Though Marvin did have to be honest with himself: he couldn’t shake the lingering feeling that he should be doing something. After all, the kids were still missing. Schneep was out almost every night looking for them, JJ was studying any spells that could help—at this very moment, in fact—and Jackie and Anti were...well, they were doing their best. The stress of having their respective kids missing for two weeks now was wearing on them both. Everyone was involved except for Marvin, and he couldn’t help but feel that he should be helping right now.

“Ridiculous feeling,” Marvin muttered to himself. “‘M doin’ all I can.” Fluffington made another mrrp sound, stretching out across Marvin’s legs. “Ah, you’re lucky, Mister. You don’ have t’do anyt’ing at all. We even take care of food for you. Maybe I shoul’ve been born a cat, t’at sounds amazing.”

He leaned back against the pillows, looking up at the ceiling. So tired today. Some days he woke up and could feel the fatigue dragging down at him like an anchor pulling him into the ocean. Inevitably, the guilt would come with it, telling him that he shouldn’t just be lying in bed. He should be productive! Nevermind if he physically couldn’t walk that far! Marvin did his best to ignore that part of him, but sometimes he couldn’t help it.

And as he tried and failed to focus on the story in the book before him, he found that this was one of those times. That niggling feeling was growing quickly in intensity. Sighing, he picked up the bookmark from the nightstand, slid it between the pages, and slowly sat up straight, trying not to disturb Fluffington. He managed to gently nudge the cat away, pulling off the miracle of moving without making him run away. With not a small amount of effort, he walked down the hall, and with some more effort and a few breaks, he climbed the stairs to the second story.

Ever since Marvin had turned the office on the first floor into his bedroom, JJ had started using the second upstairs bedroom to practice spells. He’d moved all his spellbooks and any other materials there, and recently he’d been considering somehow padding or reinforcing the walls in case any spells backfired in an explosive way. 

Marvin stopped outside the room’s door, breathing heavily and leaning against the wall. His legs were trembling, but he only took a moment before standing up straight and knocking on the door. Only a few seconds later, JJ opened it, looking surprised.

“Hey Jems,” Marvin said, smiling. “I came to check on you.”

JJ nodded slowly, still looking surprised, and walked further back into the room. Marvin poked his head through the doorway, scanning the shelves full of books, the desk with yet more books, and the simple wooden table in the center of the room, free of books. “I see your collection is growin’ fast,” he whistled, impressed.

“Oh, are you Marvin?” There was a woman in the room, red-haired and wearing a pale yellow hoodie. She waved, friendly. “Hello. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Aoife.”

“Ah, you’re t’at other magician,” Marvin recalled. “The one who came to rescue Jems when he left the city an’ ran into—I shoul’ say thank you for t’at. Thank you. It’s a pleasure t’meet you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Aoife said. “JJ’s told me a lot about you. Though I seem to have underestimated your Irish accent.”

Marvin laughed. “Well, I can pick up a trace o’the same in you. Especially your name, t’at’s a strong Irish name if I’ve ever heard one.”

JJ tapped the table, drawing Marvin’s attention back to him. He held up a notepad, which had apparently been left nearby, on which he’d written, I thought you were going to rest today.

“It’s fine,” Marvin dismissed. “I jus’ wanted t’pop right in, see what you two were doin’, magic-wise.”

“Well, Jameson was just telling me about his attempts at animal transformation,” Aoife explained. “I’m impressed, in all honesty. It’s a very difficult spell.”

I still haven’t done it, JJ wrote, pouting a bit.

“But you’ve gotten close! Marvin, have you seen him?”

“Yes, apparently he’s s’posed to have someone t’ere when tryin’,” Marvin nodded. “T’ere was a lot of smoke. And feathers.” He paused, swaying on his feet for a moment. “Are you doin’ anyt’ing else? Is t’ere...t’ere anyt’ing I can do to help you?”

Yes, you can go back to bed, JJ said sternly.

“Aw, c’mon, Jems, don’ be like that.”

I’m serious. You’ve gotten much paler in the last few minutes.

“But—” Marvin wanted to protest, but saw JJ immediately writing again and stopped.

I know you want to help. But you’re always telling me to take care of myself, shouldn’t you do the same for yourself? JJ smiled. Hey, if you want something to do, are you up for practising some more sign? We still need to get the hang of it.

“I s’pose I could,” Marvin mumbled. He took a step backwards, wobbling for a moment. “Hey, when you two are done with your magic, come tell me about it, alrigh’? It's int’restin’.”

Of course!

Marvin waved goodbye awkwardly and headed back downstairs, thankfully finding it easier than heading up. He only had to stop twice: once on the stairs and once in the hallway. Entering his room again, he sighed and collapsed on the bed. Well. Looks like today was just going to be another one of those days.

A small cat face poked into his field of view and he chuckled. At least Mr. Fluffington was still here. Marvin patted him on the head, then reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a book. Not the one he had before. Instead, this one was titled: “Basics of BSL: Learn to Sign in Ten Chapters.” He opened to the spot he had marked and started to read intently.

———————

The room was freezing, bone-deep cold leeching the warmth from any exposed skin. He could see parts of the sky through the gaps in the boards across the window. It looked just as gray and cold as it was inside.

His breath rattled in his throat, and he coughed into the tattered pillowcase. Even though the door was ajar, he didn’t think he’d be able to make it off the bed and across the room. He was so...so tired. This was the sort of fatigue that left weakness in every limb, a fatigue that he was, unfortunately, all too familiar with. Sometimes when he felt like this, he couldn’t help but remember the first time: barely eight years old, lying in bed too tired to even move, terrified that it would stay that way for the rest of his life.

But at least back then, he had some family still there to stay with him. Now? He didn’t even know where he was or how he got here, and he’d much rather be alone than with this thing.

Speaking of which...he glanced over at the door again, just in time to see it start to creak open. A hand crept into the room, blackened and dead-looking. He immediately turned his head away, burying it in the pillow. Maybe if he pretended to be asleep, it would go away. Doubtful, but it’s worth trying.

He didn’t hear the footsteps, but he felt the sudden weight settle down on the edge of the bed. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to keep his breathing slow and even, difficult as it was. The silence in the room weighed down on him. And then he felt the weight shift, getting closer to him. “Still sick, then?” said that voice, that eerie voice with absolutely nothing memorable about it. “Aww.”

The blanket was pulled back. It was thin, but it was a layer of warmth, and without it, he started shivering. “Hey.” A hand grabbed his shoulder and started shaking. “I know you’re not asleep. Look at me. Look at me.”

He didn’t want to think about what would happen if he didn’t, so he lifted up his head and glanced over his shoulder. There it was. Black eyes dripping. Face always smiling. “Leave me alone,” he whispered, voice rasping from disuse.

“But I’m here to help you.” It sounded upset, but of course, he didn’t believe it for a second. “See?” In its hand, it held a small purplish bottle with a white cap. It held it up and waved it. “I got you medicine.” 

“N-no...” He pushed himself upward, but wasn’t able to completely get into a sitting position, so he ended up awkwardly scooting back against the bed’s headboard. “No, I-I don’ want...”

“Don’t want what?” It crawled closer, and he flinched, unable to get farther away. “You should accept help from your friends, you know.”

“You’re not my friend,” he mumbled, turning his head away. And besides, he didn’t want anything that it would give him. Past experiences have proved that it wouldn’t be anything good.

“Now that’s just mean.” He glanced toward it just in time to see it unscrewing the lid of the bottle. “I just want the best for you.” Quickly, its hand shot out and grabbed him by the chin, turning his face toward it. He tried to push it away, but in this condition it just turned into weak flailing. “Now help me help you, or I’ll have to do something drastic.”

———————

Marvin woke up with a start, still shivering from the cold. It took a solid minute for him to look around and ground himself in his surroundings. It was just his room. Everything was fine. Everything was okay. Slowly, half-expecting something to grab him from the shadows, he reached out and turned on the lamp on his nightstand.

The light was comforting. Nothing could hide in the light. But even with that, his eyes kept scanning the area for anything. After a few searches of the room, he sighed, leaning back against the pillows.

Why could he only remember things in dreams? Marvin didn’t know much about memory, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t how it worked. It wasn’t how it worked for Jackie. He remembered every moment of the nine months he spent with Distorter. Meanwhile, Marvin didn’t even know how long he was with that...creature. But given how many dreams he’d had, it must have been quite a while.

He lay back down, but his eyes felt glued open. It was some time before sleep came again.

———————

Good Owl Books was a quiet shop. True, it received a steady stream of customers, but there was always a hush in the air, like stepping into a library. Except you could actually keep the books you got here. The shop owners were a pair of elderly women who were understanding of their employees’ needs, and always forgiving of absences. Not to mention the shop’s collection was extensive, mostly fiction but with an impressive set of nonfiction as well. They even had a small area of the shop that was taken up by a coffee stand. And it was for all these reasons that Marvin had taken a job here.

He was working the register today. A simple enough task, so he was happy to take it whenever it was available. It was much easier than moving boxes of books from storage to the shelves. The manager allowed him to read when he wasn’t busy helping anyone, provided he keep an eye on his own book so it didn’t get mixed up with the wares. Also, they had chairs for the workers behind the registers. Now that was a definite improvement since Marvin’s own time.

The sound of soft footsteps on the shop carpet was familiar enough that Marvin instantly bookmarked his place and got ready to help the approaching customer. He slid the book under the counter and looked up. “Hello, how was your shoppi—wait.” Marvin blinked. “Miss Stacy?”

“Oh, so this is where you work.” Stacy looked mildly surprised at this. It was understandable, though. After all, she’d just run into an acquaintance in a place she wasn’t expecting at all. “Well, it, um...” She glanced around, clearly feeling awkward for once in her life. “It suits you.”

“T’ank you.” Marvin cleared his throat. “I haven’ seen you in here before. Just droppin’ by?”

“Yes, I figured if I’m going to be staying in town indefinitely, then I might as well get familiar with the area.” Stacy set a small stack of books on the counter. “And pick up some reading material while I’m here.”

“Great idea.” Marvin picked up the fancy scanner and started looking for the barcodes. “Ye much of a reader, Miss Stacy?”

“Just Stacy is fine,” she said. “And no, not really. My sister was always more into books than me.”

“Sister?” Marvin raised an eyebrow, curious, but then made his face blank as he decided not to push it. He wasn’t sure if the two of them were close enough to talk about that.

But nonetheless, Stacy wanted to talk about it. “Yes, she lived here,” she explained. “Moved here for college, then decided to settle down with her boyfriend and get married. We visited each other as often as we could, but flights are expensive, unfortunately.” 

Marvin nodded, trying to look understanding. He’d scanned about three of the books, and there were about five left.

“So...you like books, right?” Stacy asked.

“Woul’ I be workin’ here if I didn’?”

She chuckled a bit. “Well, I wasn’t sure. I thought maybe it was close enough by that your partner could drive you—”

“My what?” Marvin blinked, taken aback by the phrase.

“Your...partner,” Stacy said slowly. “You know, Jameson.”

It took a moment for ‘partner’ to register as something other than ‘for business,’ and the moment it did, he dropped the scanner in shock. “No! No, Jems and I aren’—not that way.”

“Oh my god I’m so sorry.” Stacy’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock. “I shouldn’t have assumed—”

“Well, a lot of people t’ink t’at, but no, we’re not—not together.” Marvin felt his face grow flushed.

“I shouldn’t have thought—just because you live together—”

“It’s alrigh’, don’ worry.” Marvin picked up the scanner again. “We’re close friends, t’at’s all. I’m not Jems’s type, anyway, and he’s not mine.” He coughed awkwardly, and scanned another book. “What were ye goin’ t’say? About books?”

“I was...just going to ask if you had any suggestions,” Stacy muttered. “Based on these ones here.”

“Ah.” Marvin set down the book and looked over Stacy’s choices. Two biographies, one advice book, four realistic fiction novels, and one...well, that was odd. “Sorry to ask, but...did you mean t’get t’is picture book?”

“Oh. Um...yeah.” Stacy shifted awkwardly. “It’s stupid, it just reminded me of my niece.”

“T’at’s not stupid at all.” Marvin scanned the cover of the book. A simple drawing of three rabbits took up the cover, the art style soft and watery in pastel colors. “I t’ink it’s sweet t’at you’re t’inkin’ of her. She’d like it.”

“Oh...yeah, she did. It was her favorite.”

Marvin glanced up. He wasn’t all that great at judging tone of voice, but even he could hear the deep sadness in Stacy’s last sentence. Immediately, he felt bad for unknowingly bringing up something to cause that, so he cleared his throat again and moved on, scanning the picture book. “Well, I can’ really give you suggestions, t’be honest. I’m more of a fantasy type of reader. Maybe jus’ stick wit’ the section you found these in.”

“Right.” Stacy nodded. 

Marvin finished scanning the rest of the books in silence. He hit a couple buttons on the cash register. “T’at’d be 147.25,” he said.

“Yes, yes.” Stacy took a wallet out of her purse and pulled out a debit card. As Marvin scanned it, she shifted awkwardly on her feet. As he handed her the receipt and a pen for her signature, she suddenly said, “Can I tell you something?”

Marvin looked up, surprised. “Ah...I s’pose so?”

“The reason I came to this country...wasn’t originally for a vacation,” she said slowly. “I come here every year, around the same date. Normally I don’t stay this long, but I was...I wanted to make sure everything worked out with you, after I found Jackie.”

“...Oh?” This felt deeply personal, and Marvin wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to hear it, but she seemed like she needed to say this.

“I come here to pay respects,” Stacy said, almost too quiet to even hear. “To...my sister. And her kids.”

“Oh.” Marvin’s stomach slowly sank. “My...my condolences, Miss Stacy.”

“It happened years ago, at this point, but I still remember them.” Stacy kept her eyes down at the counter. “They were my only family.”

“I...I’m so sorry.” Marvin shook his head slowly.

“Thank you.” Stacy took a deep breath, then picked up the pen and signed the receipt. She handed it back to Marvin, who put it into the appropriate slot in the cash register. “I’m sorry for suddenly bringing this up. I just...I’ve been thinking about them lately.”

“You had t’get it off your mind, it’s alrigh’,” Marvin nodded. “I just hope t’at you don’ do t’at wit’ every cashier.”

Stacy laughed suddenly. “No, don’t worry. I suppose that...because I recognized you, it just all came spilling out. I’m still so sorry. I promise I’m not usually like that.”

“It’s really alrigh’. Now, d’you need a bag?”

“Oh. Oh right. Yes, please.” Again, Stacy fell silent, watching as Marvin slid the books into a bag. “Thank you.” She took it from him, then cleared her throat. “Well...perhaps I’ll see you soon.”

“Perhaps. G’bye, Miss Stacy. Feel free to return anytime.”

Marvin turned to the cash register and pretended to mess with it while Stacy left. He didn’t move until he heard the bell at the store’s entrance chime merrily. Then he slumped. “Well.” It was all he could say. “Well.” That was...a very odd encounter. He wasn’t too familiar with Stacy, but he knew enough to know that was sort of out of character. It must have really been weighing on her. He couldn’t help but wonder if she had anyone she could talk to about this.

He shook his head. This wasn’t the time to think about this. He was at work, and in fact he could see another customer heading towards the till. Marvin straightened, put his best customer service smile on, and got back to work.

———————

The darkness was almost complete. Almost being the key word. There was a sliver of gray light coming from underneath the closet door. He pressed his face to the floor to peer out from under it. Why was everything in this place, even the light, tinted with gray? But gray was better than pure blackness, so he stayed close to the small bit of light.

It felt like the room was getting smaller. He knew it wasn’t, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling. And he could barely move as it was, his legs pressed against the wall. Maybe it was smaller than last time. Maybe that was why he thought it was shrinking.

Everything was cramped. His throat was dry, and his stomach clenched painfully. How long had it been? Must’ve been almost a day. A day since he...he couldn’t remember what he did, but he remembered that it got angry with him. “If you’re going to be like that, then I’ll just leave you alone!” It had shouted.

He didn’t want to be left alone anymore. Slowly, he reached up and knocked on the closet door. “Are you th...?” he asked, quieter than he wanted. He cleared his throat and hit the door again. “Are you here? Can you hear me? I...I’m sorry.” His voice broke on the last word. “Please, I’m sorry.”

There was no answer. He pushed himself into a sitting position, pausing for a moment as his head spun, and banged against the door as hard as he could. “Can you hear me?!” he yelled. “Please! I’m sorry, jus’...jus’ let me out!”

Long after his fists started to hurt, the voice came from the other side. “Did I hear you asking for me?”

He rested his forehead against the wood of the door. “Please...I-I’m sorry. Jus’ please, please let me out.”

“Oh? But didn’t you want to be alone?” Its voice was mocking him. “Didn’t you want me to go?”

“No...” he whispered, slumping downward. “No, I don’ want t’at.”

“Well, what do you want, then?”

A sob escaped his throat. He wanted to know where he was and why he was here. He wanted to get out of this twisted house. He wanted his cards back. He wanted his life back. He wanted to see his friends and family again. He wanted to go home.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t quite catch that.”

But of course, it didn’t want to hear any of that. It only wanted to hear one thing. “I want...to be with you. Because...we’re friends.”

Silence. And then the door slowly opened. With his weight resting against it, he fell forward. Right into a pair of arms. He shuddered, but didn’t pull away. “I’m glad you remembered that,” the voice said cheerfully. “We really shouldn’t fight like this, you know. But you’re sorry, so it’s okay.”

He nodded, and closed his eyes.

———————

Marvin woke up, breathing hard. His throat hurt, like he’d been crying out without even knowing about it. Just like every other time he woke up, he turned on the light and scanned the bedroom.

“Hello again.”

He tried to cry out, but it turned into a wheezy rasp. It was him. Distorter. Standing in the corner of his bedroom and grinning. Immediately, Marvin made to get away, scrambling out of bed and falling onto the floor. He grabbed the nightstand and pulled himself up, then ran for the door.

“Ah ah ah.” Just as Marvin reached for the doorknob, a blackened hand grabbed his wrist, and then the other, pulling his arms back. “I need a favor, Marvy.”

“Don’t call me—!”

He wasn’t able to finish the sentence. Distorter yanked him backwards and threw him to the ground, slamming him hard against the floor. While Marvin was still dazed, he wrapped his hand around his neck and pressed down. Marvin choked and instinctively grabbed Distorter’s hand to try and stop him. “Now that I have your attention,” Distorter said calmly. “I want you to deliver a message. Because he probably won’t listen to me, so I’ll ask you.”

Eyes wide, Marvin shook his head. “I’d never—”

“It’s just a small favor. Calm down.” Distorter pressed his other hand against Marvin’s mouth. “You look so upset. You should smile more.” He leaned closer, the blood from his eyes dripping onto Marvin’s face. “Listen to me. Only listen to me. No room for anything else.”

Thoughts were becoming difficult. Marvin struggled to move, but he kept...kept forgetting. Forgetting...something. Did it really...did it really matter? What was happening...?

“Listen to me.”

———————

There was a door. He knew it, recognized it, but the details couldn’t pierce the thick gray fog in his brain. His hand reached out, and he watched it, as if it wasn’t his at all, but someone else’s. And the hand knocked.

When nobody answered, he knocked again.

And again. Much harder.

That one finally got a response: “Alright, I’m fucking coming, don’t break the door down!”

Footsteps from the inside, and then the door opened. A man was standing there, brown hair and green-and-blue eyes, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with some sort of band logo on it. The man was familiar, very familiar, and he struggled to remember. But the gears of his mind were clogged up with gray cotton, and he fell back down into the fog. “Marvin?” The man asked, surprised. “What are you—your eyes!”

He took a step forward, staggered, and fell against the man, who stumbled in turn but caught him. “...hhhnntsseeeyuhh.” A garble of sounds fell out of his mouth.

“M-Marv? What...?” The man stepped backwards and awkwardly reached around to close the door. “It’s him, isn’t it? What did he do?”

He blinked, and the motion caused two streams of warm red liquid to slip from his eyes. Those eyes locked onto the man’s face. That’s him, whispered a voice. Tell him what I told you. A voice that didn’t stand out at all, yet he couldn’t stop listening to it. Give him the message. The only thing in the gray fog that gave him a purpose, so he listened. He stared at the man, looking at him so worried, and said, “He wants to see you.”

The man was silent. “He does, huh? Well, he could’ve told me himself instead of...this.”

A light appeared in the corner of his vision. A green light. He glanced in that direction. A small green sphere was floating in the air, flicking a tail. An eyeball. It came closer, and the light was...piercing. Shining through the fog. He stared at it, transfixed.

“You don’t look so good. Here, sit down.” The man pulled him toward a sofa and set him down, crouching down across from him so their eyes were level. “Did this fucker have anything else to say to me?”

The address. The return of the voice made him look away from the green light from the eyeball. Strange, it sounded quieter when he was staring at the light. “68 Aspen Street,” he said, monotone. “Three days from now, at noon.”

“68 on Aspen?” The man repeated, confused. Then his eyes widened. “That’s the—Are you sure?”

“68 Aspen Street. Three days from now, at noon.”

“Goddammit, Marvin, snap out of this!” The man grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “He’s treating you like a fucking puppet, it’s sick! You’re so much more than that. Wake up!”

He blinked again. Those words...they were echoing through the fog, but muffled. Still, he felt like he should focus on them. On this man.

“C’mon, c’mon.” The man shook him again. “How’d you get here? Jackson couldn’t have driven you. Did you walk?”

Jackson? Jackson, Jackson...J...JJ? Did he walk here without him? He’d be upset about that...about him pushing himself.

That eyeball appeared in front of him again, shining even brighter. He heard the man—he knew him he knew him—gasp, but he was too focused on the light. It hurt his eyes, hurt his head—no, it hurt the fog inside his head. It was...burning it away.

Wait, where was he? He’d been here before. It was a friend’s home, wasn’t it? A friend...who was staring at him.

Something suddenly snapped. Marvin gasped. “Anti!”

“Oh thank god,” Anti sighed, relieved. The small eyeball—Sam, it was Sam—flew forward and bopped against Marvin’s forehead. “What happened?”

“I...don’t quite remember.” Marvin shook his head. “‘T’s all...foggy.”

“Well. That’s okay.” Anti leaned back. “Do you want me to call someone?”

“I...Jems. Can you call him?” Marvin’s voice sounded very small. “I want to go home.”

“Right. I’ll text him.” Anti took his phone out of his pocket and started typing.

“Right.” Marvin felt himself slowly listing to the side, and he let it happen, lying on the sofa. Sam flew down and settled on his head, their glow slowly pulsing. He didn’t really notice.

“So...you’re alright?” Anti asked.

Marvin didn’t answer for a while. Anti waited, but eventually got up and started to walk away. It was then that Marvin spoke up. “Why...do I never do enough?”

Anti turned back to him. “You do what you can. I mean, who would be Jackson’s best friend if you weren’t here? Who’d I go to the pub with? Who’d look after Mr. Flufflington?” He paused. “If you ask me, all that sounds like enough.”

Marvin stared at him. He nodded. “Alrigh’.”

“Alright.” Anti turned away again. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“T’anks.” Marvin let his eyes fall shut.

Maybe he should just rest. He was so tired. He should let himself rest.

[beerecordings]

Mythology AU - Chase is a Selkie, Marvin’s a star spirit, Jameson’s fae but likes to look like a little black dog, Henrik’s the seventh son of a seventh son, and Jackie is Jackie! See other pieces from this universe here and here.

Thanks for the prompt, Kit! This fic is not actual ego shipping but features what’s basically a love spell on one ego which needs to be broken. But no one tries to take advantage of anyone else and they all work together to help. This is the earliest point in the timeline I’ve written so far, with Chase meeting Henrik, Jackie, and Marvin! I hope you like it.

As a lil mythology debriefing, most Selkie who have their coats stolen in the stories have them stolen intentionally and are then either forced to marry the men who stole them or fall in love with and marry the men who stole them. Giving a Selkie their coat back releases them to either stay or go, but I wanted to explore what would happen if a Selkie had their coat given back to them but was still too love-drunk from having it stolen in the first place to be able to think clearly and get back in the ocean.

.

He’s nervous.

A lot of Henrik’s clients are. A lot of Henrik’s clients are nervous. A lot of Henrik’s clients, these days, aren’t human.

The seventh son of a seventh son can see us, they might tell each other, flitting between the branches of a tree or drifting with the waves of the water. He learned human medicine, but he’s quick. He’s quick. He’s learning and his luck is good.

His luck is very good. His mind, he likes to tell himself, is better.

(But the truth is that his luck is better than anyone’s and maybe if it hadn’t caused him so much grief and driven him away from everything he had ever known he would appreciate it better.)

He’s nervous then, yes, but Henrik can’t see the glamour of a fairy on his skin or the flickering color of a shape-shifter’s eye. There are no horns hiding in his hair, no hooves tucked away in his sneakers, no water streaming endlessly from his eyes. He does not speak in tongues or hover just a centimeter off the ground. He does not glow. He does not breathe like the cosmos are running through his lungs.

He just looks human.

But if you are the seventh son of a seventh son, you might catch, in the air, the same thing that Henrik did - a slight smell of salt and stone.

And a faint feeling that the man and his child are not human.

“How’re you now?” asks the man in a whisper, tucking the baby close to his chest and taking a step back from Henrik as he swung open the door to his run-down little clinic. Henrik stares back at him and then around at the alleyway, wondering if someone is following him, but there is nothing there but the man and the bundle in his arms.

“Good, and yourself?” answers Henrik politely, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s late, I’m about to close.”

“Sorry.” He tugs on the cap over his hair nervously, disturbing a single blond curl in the middle of his dark brown hair. “I thought the fever would go away, but it hasn’t. If I don’t get it checked out my ex will have me for sausage.”

“Mh. A baby?”

The man clears his throat and holds the infant out.

Henrik stares down at the baby. Up at the father. Down at the baby.

Now there is something slightly inhuman to them.

It’s in the eyes. He’s never seen eyes so dark and deep, like they were made for nothing but light to come in. With one, it’s an oddity. With the two of them...

It’s strange.

“The baby is human?” asks Henrik, in a voice that says he already knows the answer.

The man stares at Henrik, black eyes wide.

He’s nervous.

Henrik sighs and steps back from the door. “Come on in.”

“Thank you. Thank you. My ex would have killed me.”

The man darts in the door, heaving his backpack up on his shoulders and scurrying over to the examination table, where he takes one last glance at Henrik and then begins to unwrap the baby like a little Christmas present.

Baby shampoo and salt smell warm the chilly little clinic while the baby fusses unhappily at his father, reaching up to snag his finger and shove it into his soft, slobbery baby mouth for something to gnaw on. He has a little white onesie with different colors of fish patterned all over and a tiny breast pocket that says “I’m a real catch!”

Sometimes being supremely lucky is very nice, especially if it brings you cute babies to examine while you were in one of the slightly tired, bored, generally-unhappy-and-not-really-knowing-why moods you’ve been stuck in for some weeks. Henrik washes his hands at the sink and comes over to examine the baby.

“His name’s Hunter. I’m - ”

“Don’t tell me names,” Henrik cuts him off. “I don’t ask questions. You have money?”

“Yes, whatever you charge.”

“Dangerous offer.”

The man gives a weak chuckle.

Hunter gurgles angrily at Henrik’s hands roaming over his chubby body, kicking his feet in their booties and slurping on his father’s finger as a form of protest.

“Yes, his temperature is high,” Henrik agrees. “How long has he been like this?”

“Since yesterday. I just have him for the weekend and he’s been the grumpiest little sucker in the world. I have to take him back to my wife’s tonight. Sorry... my ex’s. She was my wife but now she isn’t, and so with the kids it’s kind of, uh. Well. Hard.”

“Don’t have to explain, I understand,” says Henrik mildly, listening to Hunter’s heart.

“Oh? You’re, uh, divorced? Or should I not ask questions either?”

Henrik raises an eyebrow at him, a small smile rising on his mouth. “I’ll excuse it this one time. We’re separated. But the child was much older.”

“Ah. Yeah. Messy split or was it, like, pretty clean?”

“It was a natural disaster,” answers Henrik wryly, and the man manages a full laugh this time, his stance relaxing a little.

He isn’t like the men from the gangs, staring in Henrik in silence as he works. He isn’t like the kids and adults who are running away from something and try to stay quiet despite the nervous confessions that keep falling from their mouths, looking for someone to confide in. He isn’t like the fairies who run their eyes up and down Henrik’s body, whispering to each other about how clever or how silly this human is or making snide jokes about him stinking of beer or bratwurst.

Henrik is glad. He thinks he needed a break from all of that. His work is his great love, but often it fuels his fury or, worse, breaks his heart.

There has been a melancholy in him lately. He does not know how to disperse it. No one would have noticed, because Jackie never can pick up on it, but Marvin said that his eyes had gone sad, whatever that means, and informed their roommate that Henrik needed cheering up. Since then he’s been hiding in his office more often than not - he can only be smothered in starboy kisses and served sympathy pasta so many times before he needs some space.

“Saw the game last night?” asks Henrik, noticing the father getting tense again.

“What game?”

“Well, my roommate said there was a game and he was very excited and mad and enthusiastic, which usually means it was worth watching.”

The man laughs. “Right. Yeah, football, wasn’t it? Good stuff, yeah. I saw the score. Didn’t watch it cause I got him here and the other one at home. Try to spend the whole weekend with them. Your roommate sounds like a character. He watches just football?”

“He’ll watch anything with a ball and some collisions,” says Henrik. “And he is certainly a character. How long have you lived among humans?”

The man’s head shoots up, his blond curl hanging in front of his eyes. “Hey, now!” he says. “That football question was a trap!”

Henrik winks at him and leans down to check the baby’s ears. “Fair play?”

“Fair play,” concedes the father, sitting back with an amused sort of irritation. “Since I was nineteen, if you must know.”

“So that’s, what, six years?”

“Eight.”

“And the baby?”

“Well, uh.” The man frowns and glances down at his son. “Well, he’s new, you see.”

Henrik bursts into laughter for the first time in days and fuck, that feels good.

“I meant how old is he!”

“Oh! Well, I - I didn’t know!”

He’s bright red, his freckles drowned out in blush. “I wasn’t sure what you meant, I don’t know what sort of babies you get in here - ”

“Hahaha! Not immortal ones!”

“Well, you say that, but I’ve met some weird creatures in my time!”

“Alright, that much I understand.”

“Maybe you thought he was a little spirit or something, I don’t know.”

“Aw, a little spirit baby.” Henrik hides his eyes and then pulls his hands away, catching Hunter’s attention with a game of peek-a-boo. “Are you a little god, Herr Baby? Are you a little spirit?”

“He’d be the god of spitting up carrots all over his dad.”

“Tom once walked up to me as I was sitting on the couch and when I asked him what was wrong, he immediately puked all over my slacks.”

The father throws back his head and laughs loud and wonderful, his shoulders shaking and her dark eyes a-glow. “Fuck’s sake. But then they’re worth it, aren’t they?”

He leans over Hunter to blow a blubber kiss into the fat of his stomach, but the child must be feeling unwell again, because he chooses this moment to begin wailing, his small face scrunched up with distress. The man is quick to try soothing him, rubbing at his hot, bumpy baby head and murmuring to him in Irish.

Truthfully, Henrik is grateful for the distraction. He shouldn’t have brought Tom up. Yes, they’re worth it. But sometimes they break your heart too.

“I can see why you were concerned,” he said. “His fever is quite high and has lasted a while. But I am wondering why you didn’t see a normal doctor? If you’re illegal, just tell me you couldn’t.”

“Ah, no, I could have,” admits the man, picking Hunter up and rocking him. “But I guess I don’t trust them. Or I’d prefer someone who knows... just, well, who knows, you know? We always used to see a doctor who was one of us, but now we’ve moved too far away. I didn’t know who to go to... I was told you had the Sight, that you would treat... people like us.”

“But I don’t know,” answers Henrik gently, pulling open his cabinets for a prescription. “You haven’t told me what you are.”

He looks up at Henrik. Down at the baby.

“We left everything we had known behind when we came to live with humans,” he says softly. “Since then I haven’t met another like me living among them. And I haven’t told anyone - not a soul - about what I really am.”

Curious. Curious. Only so many creatures would choose to make a split so deep. He must be able to pass as human almost perfectly. He knows he is not a werewolf, or he would need others of his kind to survive. He knows he is not demonic, or he couldn’t have passed through Marvin’s warding. He knows he is not a Pooka, because Henrik did not fear him, and Pooka do not love their sons, and Pooka do not speak as humans do, and a million other reasons, too, and yet the thought still crossed Henrik’s mind. Even when it is irrational, it always crosses his mind: what if? what if?

“I’m not going to tell anyone,” says Henrik, writing down Hunter’s temperature.

“I’m a little in the public eye, is the thing.”

“Oh-ho,” laughs Henrik, letting his eyes flick up to the ceiling for a second. “I got a celebrity in here.”

“I didn’t say that,” protests the father. “Come on, man. It would just be bad if anyone found out who would believe it. Some people don’t like people like me living with humans.”

Henrik puts his clipboard down and reaches out to touch his arm, meeting his gaze. “Look, ‘man,’ there’s really nothing to worry about. I get all kinds in here and I know how to keep the mouth shut when it should be. I would prefer to know. Some creatures can experience medical complications which would be misdiagnosed without understanding. But if you really cannot tell me, you can take the medication and go, just like if I were a human doctor.”

The man looks down at his child, patting along the baby’s stomach to soothe both Hunter and himself. “Okay, alright. Can I come back if any of the kids ever get in trouble again and I need a doctor?”

“Of course you can,” answers Henrik genially. “Especially since you can pay.”

He chuckles, stroking Hunter’s soft head. “Do you know who the Selkie are?”

Henrik stops short in the middle of preparing a syringe of medication.

“Take that as a yes,” says the man, sitting down at a visitor’s chair, his hands in his lap.

Henrik tries to go back to work as calmly as he can. “You’re something of a rarity, then.”

“There’s less and less of us every year,” he answers. “Most of us don’t live among humans, so we die as the ocean does.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well. Me and my family don’t live like that anymore, anyway. Safer on land.”

“What is it like?” asks Henrik, unable to deny his own curiosity. “To be a man one moment, and a seal the next.”

He smiles grimly, playing with the cap of his hat. “To be able to transform is incredible. You feel like you’re apart of something much bigger than you. And that ability, to swim like that, to smell like that, to see like that... well, it’s an experience. But the truth is that when you’re Selkie you’re never expected to do anything but live and die by the ocean. And I wanted something more than that, even if it meant leaving everything behind.”

“I’m going to give him some medicine.”

“Oh, yeah. Okay.”

Henrik and the father coax the needleless syringe into Hunter’s mouth and convince him to swallow the medicine despite his fussy groaning and whimpering.

“Will that help?”

“Yes, I think so. Should reduce the fever. I’m going to prescribe you something to take with to help him recover more quickly, though I expect he’ll be just fine.”

“Oh, great,” breathes the Selkie, staring warmly down at Hunter, who sucks earnestly on his fist and wriggles his feet. “Thank you so much. I think my ex would have about killed me if I had brought him home with a fever and no trip to a doctor. I really didn’t know where else I would have gone.”

“It’s no worry,” answers Henrik. “But, if you were open to it, I might recommend bringing him down to the ocean for a while.”

The Selkie looks up, surprised.

“Whether or not you let him transform, it isn’t always good for creatures like you to be away from all of their people and their... natural habitats, you might say. If you don’t want to live among Selkie, I understand. But a Selkie baby is a Selkie baby. This part of his nature cannot be buried. Letting him play in the water might be good for him sometimes.”

The Selkie stares down at his baby, blinking.

“I don’t know,” he says uncertainly.

“Just something to think about,” replies Henrik levelly.

“Right,” sighs the Selkie, beginning to wrap Hunter back up again, but the suggestion seems to have left him uncertain and thoughtful, focused intently on his child. “Oh, uh, I gotta pay you. How much?”

“The medicine wasn’t expensive. Twenty-five pounds should cover it. But if you can give me more, it helps me keep the place running.”

The Selkie hands him a full fifty pounds. “I don’t know what I would have done without you, man. I don’t really trust human doctors with my kids.”

“If you ever need anything, you know where to find me. Tell me if his fever does not break. Here, my number. Don’t put me in your phone as anything suspicious.”

“Strange doctor in that backalley clinic on Lincoln, got it.”

Henrik smiles grimly at him. The Selkie grins back.

“Thanks for being cool, doc,” he says, touching his shoulder.

“I try.”

“Ha. Okay. Bye.”

“Hey,” says Henrik. “I was driven away from Germany a few years back. I left everything behind too - including, perhaps, people who needed me - but I had my reasons for going. And that doesn’t make me a bad person. Yes?”

The Selkie smiles softly at him, something small and grateful in his eyes.

“Yeah,” he agrees quietly. “Yeah. We have our reasons.”

As he turns to leave, Henrik sees the thoughtfulness come over him again. It’s like he’s far away already. And for whatever reason, when he goes, Henrik himself feels that strange and quiet unhappiness return to his chest as the silence of the lonely clinic consumes him again.

It isn’t until fifteen minutes later that he realizes the Selkie has left his backpack behind.

“Fuck!”

Henrik scoops it up and races out the door just in case he has the chance to catch the Selkie at the bus stop, but he and the baby are gone.

“Goddamn,” murmurs Henrik, walking back to his clinic. “At least he can come back for it. What does he have in here that’s so heavy anyway?”

It’s not really his business to look. In fact, it is his business to not ask questions and respect people’s privacy unless he thinks someone’s getting hurt by his silence. He really should not look in the Selkie’s bag.

But a sheen of smooth white through the almost-but-not-quite-entirely zipped-up backpack pauses him.

Henrik sits down in his office, staring.

He shouldn’t.

But he’s never met a Selkie before.

And if that’s what he thinks it is...

He’s pulling it out before he can doubt himself any longer.

“Wow,” he whispers. “Wow.”

The Selkie coat is beautiful. White and blond and brown patterns decorate the Selkie’s skin on a luxuriously soft coat. Henrik stands up and puts it on for a moment, marveling at the weight and warmth of it. He breathes in that same deep, salt and stone smell he caught on the Selkie when he first came in the door.

And if this were his skin, all he would have to do was walk down into the water of the ocean and then - transformation. He would be a seal.

“Incredible,” he murmurs to himself, taking the coat off again. “Truly.”

Being the seventh son of a seventh son is lucky, sure, but he thinks it might have been even luckier to be born as something as cool as that.

He sets the backpack down in the clinic. He doesn’t think much of it at the time.

.

Someone’s knocking on his clinic door.

“At one in the morning.” He tsks his tongue against his teeth. “Better not be those werewolf kids again, I swear.”

He gets up, straightening his coat.

“Who’s there?” He calls to the door.

“It’s - it’s - it’s - ” They seem to hardly be able to get the words out, breathless and stammering. “It’s the Selkie, fr-from earlier!”

“Oh, right.” Henrik unlocks and opens the door. “Did you come back for your - ”

Hands grab his lapels, marching him back towards the wall of the room as wild dark eyes bore intensely into him. The Selkie pants, his grip unwavering on his coat.

“Hey!” cries Henrik, a little alarmed. “What are you doing?”

“My coat,” whispers the Selkie, something desperate and terrified in his deep eyes. “Please, did I leave it here? Please, can’t I have it? I have to, I have to, I - ”

“Oh, alright,” sighs Henrik, finally shoving his hands off. “Yes, I suppose that must have been scary to lose. You seemed distracted.”

“You do have it,” sobs the Selkie. “Oh, fuck. Please, I’ll give you anything you want to have it back! I can pay you a lot of money!”

“Calm down, man.” Henrik shakes his head at him. “You are freaking the good doctor out. I don’t want your coat. You can have it back. Here.”

He steps over to the wall of the clinic and picks up the backpack, bringing it back towards the Selkie. He takes it from him with shaking hands and pulls the zipper open, finding the coat inside. Tears run down his face as he reaches in to trace his fingers over the smooth, familiar surface of his own skin.

“I’m sorry you were so freaked out,” says Henrik. “You should have called me.”

“Oh,” says the Selkie, in a very small voice. “I had your number, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. Are you okay?”

But he’s just staring down at his coat, flushed and weeping, silent.

“Hey,” says Henrik, touched by concern. “Hey. It’s okay. You’ve got it now. Everything’s okay, right?”

The Selkie stares at his coat. There is a change happening in his face, but Henrik doesn’t recognize the emotion there - just the fact that his face is going from very white to enthusiastically red.

“Can you say something?” asks Henrik. “You are beginning to worry me. Perhaps you have caught your son’s - ”

A pair of hands wrap around his wrists and then Henrik is thrown back against the wall and pushed into a passionate kiss. He yelps in surprise against the warm mouth pressing into his lips, too startled to push back. The Selkie draws away for a moment to breathe and grips at Henrik’s hair, staring at him with eyes that Henrik would think were glazed in fever if he could feel any heat coming off of him.

“Doc,” the Selkie half-groans, making embarrassment burn bright red against Henrik’s cheeks. “You gave it back to me.”

He leans forward to kiss him again and Henrik is glad to realize his brain is no longer crashing like a computer with a virus. Throwing a hand up to stop him, he yanks himself away from the Selkie, stumbling along the wall away from him.

“What the hell!” he cries, nearly tripping over one of the chairs. “You can’t just kiss someone!”

Distress floods down the Selkie’s face, his mouth flipping miserably and his eyes going wide with alarm. “Did I – I did something wrong?”

“You have to know it’s not normal to just start kissing someone.” Henrik scans those blank eyes a second time, beginning to be concerned. Is he having some kind of delusion? Is he drunk? “You said you’ve been living among humans since you were young. What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry,” chokes the Selkie. “I – I know I’m a screw-up, I didn’t mean to make you angry, please don’t make me do anything – ”

“Make you do something?”

“My head feels wrong,” cries the Selkie, and when he curls in on himself he does it so suddenly Henrik thinks he is collapsing. He rushes forward to help him, alarmed. “I didn’t think it could be this strong!”

“What? What is it?” demands Henrik, taking his face between his hands and pulling his gaze up. “What did you take? What are you on?”

“My coat,” breathes the Selkie, his eyes going soft again as Henrik draws his gaze back to his face. “You gave it back to me...”

He surges forward for another kiss and Henrik yelps, shoving his face away. The Selkie makes a squawking noise that would be pretty damn funny in just about any other situation and goes crashing back onto his ass, distress tearing up his freckled face. He stares up at Henrik with enormous eyes dark as the universe, tears welling up in his thick eyelashes.

“Oh, no, oh, no,” he cries, grabbing his own shoulders. “I didn’t mean to make you mad. Please don’t make me do anything. I can be good for you. I want to.”

This is officially too much. Something is wrong, and if Henrik’s luck holds - and it always does - the sense he’s getting that this is because of some magical bullshit will ring true.

“You’re not on drugs, are you?” he asks. “Or drunk. This is something else.”

The Selkie clutches the soft fur of his coat to his chest and sobs, rocking himself back and forth on the floor of the clinic. “Please, I have children, I only just recently got divorced, I don’t want to do anything...”

“You... you don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I won’t make you. Calm down.”

Henrik sinks slowly down to the floor in front of him, giving him some space and trying to look non-threatening, his hands held gently out in front of him. He lets out a shaky sigh, still feeling unnerved. “Just, uh. Don’t try to kiss me again,” he laughs nervously.

“You look so perfect right now, though,” cries the Selkie, hiding his face from him. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this attracted to a person, not even Stacy. I thought this was just a myth. I didn’t think it would feel like this.”

Henrik’s face flames with embarrassment. He tugs at his collar, looking anywhere but at the Selkie, trying to think of anything to say.

“Look - just - stay here for a second. I’m going to give my friends a quick call. They’ll help us figure this out, okay?”

“They won’t hurt me either, will they?”

“Hurt you? No, no, never. They like to help people like you.”

“Cause I’m vulnerable right now, man, I’m - ” The Selkie’s voice shatters and he shakes, wrapping his arms tighter around himself. “I think I’d do anything you asked me to.”

“I’ll just give them a quick call. They’re very trustworthy. They saved me too, when I was vulnerable. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” he says in a small voice.

Henrik slips into his office on feet that are tingling as though he’d just looked off the side of a very tall building. He’s pulling the door tightly shut and yanking out his phone to find Jackie’s number before he’s even given himself a second to breathe, all but slamming the phone to his ear and collapsing into his rolling chair.

“Hullo?”

“Jackie!” he yelps, squeezing the phone to his face. “Hilf mir!”

He knows Jackie has leapt up because he hears him swear as he slams his knee into the coffee table like he always does and, subsequently, Marvin’s laughter in the background. “Okay, I’m coming, I’m coming! What’s wrong, are you hurt? Marv, get up, let’s go!”

“No, no, it’s not that. There’s a Selkie here and I think he’s been cursed to fall in love with me! Can I bring him to the house?”

There’s a long pause on the other end.

Then Jackie is laughing at him.

“Hey!” shrieks Henrik, spinning around in his chair, his anxious feet pedaling him around and around. “It’s not funny!”

“Marv, some guy is hitting on Schneep and his dumb ace ass doesn’t know how to handle it, hahaha.”

“Jackie!”

“You’re so funny, Schneep, I bet you’re red as a tomato.”

“Shut up! Jackie - well, maybe I’m red, but listen! Something’s really, really wrong with him. For real, I mean. He keeps saying how into me he is but he’s terrified of me at the same time - shaking and holding himself. He keeps talking about his coat. I think something’s really wrong.”

There’s a pause on Jackie’s end as Marvin and Jackie confer. A moment later, the phone is passed to Marvin.

“Hi, rabbit’s foot. Is the Selkie hurt?”

“I don’t think so. Just acting really weird.”

“Best be gentle with him, Henrik. Endangered species.”

“I know. I’ve never met one before. I don’t know what else to do.”

“Most Selkie are very social. They live in big clans with normal seals mixed in and many don’t mix with humans anymore. I’ve been to a couple families and they’re the friendliest, most open you’ve ever met. Maybe he just doesn’t understand how to flirt with you?”

“No, Marv, this isn’t that. He’s lived with humans for years. And even if he hadn’t... something’s wrong. Are love potions real?”

“Uh, not sure! Jackie? He doesn’t know either. Okay, clover, better bring him back to the house.”

“Okay. Okay, yeah. I’ll be home in fifteen, alright?”

“Henrik, if he tries to touch you and you don’t want him to, use force, alright? Even if he’s cursed he doesn’t get to take advantage of you.”

“Right.” Henrik feels some of the red drain from his face. “Yes. No one takes anything from me I don’t want to give anymore.”

“Love you!” says Marvin cheerily. “See you soon! Humans are so funny when they blush. Like, that’s not where all that blood’s supposed to be, silly! I - ”

Henrik hangs up on him before he can really get to ranting. He puts his phone down on his lap and takes a deep breath. He gets up. He can do this.

He opens his door and comes face-to-face with the Selkie.

“Sorry!” he squeaks, backing away from Henrik and darting back towards the clinic. “I got nervous when I couldn’t see you, I’m sorry.”

He’s all wrapped up in his coat, his soft brown hair curling out of a fluffy hood, his eyes huge and dark in its shadows and his arms wrapping it around himself like a blanket. Henrik’s discomfort is briefly halted by his ravenous curiosity.

“You are wearing the coat, but are not a seal?”

“Oh, no.” He glances down at himself. “I have to be in living water.”

“How biblical.”

“Is it?”

“Sure. Jeremiah. Zechariah.”

“I just mean moving water, I suppose. We call it living. Salt water, preferably. But I haven’t been in that for a long while.”

“The ocean is so close. You don’t swim?”

The Selkie shakes his head, staring down at the floor, and something hot and aching flashes through his ink eyes. “Not for me.”

Henrik purses his mouth, looking at him. He cuts a miserable image, shaking and wrapped up in his furs, his face red and scared, but damn if he doesn’t look sweet too. Henrik sighs and reaches out a hand.

“Let me take you to my friends,” he says. “They’ll be able to help.”

The Selkie looks up in astonishment, mouth parting. Tentatively, he reaches out and wraps his fingers around Henrik’s. The touch seems to soothe him, though his eyes water.

“Really?”

“Yes, of course. We’ll figure this out together, alright?”

“Wow,” croaks the Selkie, his voice breaking. “You’re so nice. Wow. I’m lucky it was someone like you, Doctor.”

The raw admiration makes Henrik fumble with his keys as he locks the door to the clinic behind him, pulling the Selkie along with him.

“It’s Schneep,” he says, leading him towards the bus stop.

“What?”

“My name. Everyone calls me Schneep. Henrik if you really want to get my attention.”

The Selkie stares across at him, turning the name over in his head. “Henrik... wow.”

“Please, don’t sound so in awe of me. This is terribly strange.”

“I’m sorry this is happening,” says the Selkie, turning away again. The moonlight makes his coat glow sleek and shining in the night. “Guess in the storybooks I’m meant to be a girl anyway.”

“I’m not much interested either way, thank you. What’s your name?”

His pale mouth parts. His dark eyes flicker. He stares out at the asphalt, gripping Henrik’s hand tightly in his own.

“Just call me Chase,” he says. “The rest doesn’t much matter.”

They wait for the bus in silence, questions waiting in the air between them. When they get on the bus, Chase puts his head down on Henrik’s shoulder, and Henrik does not stop him.

.

That’s all for now but I’ll write more if I feel like it :) basically this turned into an introduction for how they met. The rest of the story would be Chase and Henrik both getting along really well and Henrik protecting him and taking care of him while he’s in this sort of dazed state. Ultimately, Stacy would tell them the attraction was supposed to wear off days ago. That makes Chase realize that he isn’t romantically attracted to Henrik anymore - he’s just been really lonely and feels like he’s part of a family again around Henrik and Jackie and Marvin and he didn’t want to leave them. He thought he was just feeling that way because Henrik stole his coat accidentally. Henrik confesses he likes being around Chase a lot too.

[softdadcarlos]

Date Me

Masterlist

Fandom: Resident Evil/Biohazard

Pairing: Jill/Carlos

AU: College students!Carlos and Jill

Summary: Upon his first meeting with Jill, Carlos was whipped. But with constantly being shot down only to be teased by long time friend Tyrell, Carlos is determined to try anything.

Requested by @xnearyx​ and an anon. I am so sorry that this is basically crack.

There was never a dull day at the College of Raccoon City. Doors had strange locking mechanisms and puzzles that you had to solve in order to even get into the class. And unless you were Ada Wong, you’d need a fucking miracle to get into the room after a lesson was scheduled to start. It wasn’t unusual to see Ada scaling the outside of the main campus building or Chris Redfield brute-forcing a door open. The faculty seem to be okay with all this… Well all of them except Marvin. Poor Marvin was the new head of security on campus and could only give hints to help students out. It was legitimately written into his contract. And what happened to the previous head of security Mr Irons? It happened when Professor Burkins bought his daughter to show her what he does for a living. Mr Irons was taking an interest in her and the next thing you know he’s mysteriously fallen down two flights of stairs and Professor Burkin was taken in for questioning. So yes, never a dull day at all.

Which is why Carlos didn’t bat an eye when he saw the college’s star football player, Nemmy, approach S.T.A.R.S captain, Jill Valentine. S.T.A.R.S was the college’s soccer team but don’t ask what it means, no one knows. What did have Carlos preparing to intervein was when things went from calm to hostile, in the blink of an eye Nemmy was throwing a punch at Jill… And she fucking caught it! She caught his fist and thrown him judo style over her shoulder!

“Holy shit. What a woman…” Carlos uttered in amazement before movement out his peripheral vision caught his attention. Dragging his eyes from the victorious captain, Carlos spotted the silver-haired Nikolai creeping up behind her, trying to get the drop on her. Carlos was quick to run and subdue the would-be assailant, getting him into a headlock.

“Hey!” Nikolai shouted, a mistake on his part.

Quick as a flash Jill whipped around and, as soon as she spotted the struggling bug-eyed bastard, kicked him in the dick. Carlos immediately let go, letting the man fall into a heap on the floor cupping his delicates.

“I told you Nikolai: ‘The next time I see you I’ll be taking away your ability to reproduce’. Did you really think I’d let you and those other Umbrella Scholarship bastards spike the drinks of my girls?” Jill growled out, crouching down to jab at him.

Carlos awkwardly cleared his throat, he and his friend Tyrell were also on the Umbrella scholarship programme… Jill looked up at him, smiling. Carlos was done for, her smile was so precious as well as her need for justice. Definitely his kind of girl.

“Oh, sorry about this. Thanks for the save earlier.”

Carlos scratched his beard, looking away so he doesn’t get entranced by her ocean blue eyes, “No problem. The asshole is in my business class and let’s just say we have clashing views on workers rights and treatment.” Jill raised a single perfect eyebrow in question. “He’s a militant conservative capitalist. I’m a liberal socialist.”

Jill nodded getting up out of her crouch, “Fair enough, well best be going before these two recover. You should too.”

And with that, she walked away.

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

Two months passed. Two months of Carlos attending S.T.A.R.S matches and practices so that he could see the girl who stole his heart in action. Boy, seeing her shout out orders to her teammates was something incredible. It also meant two months of talking to her afterwards and asking her out to dinner, which always got shot down because “I need to focus on my matches and studies. I don’t have time for a boyfriend”.

And Tyrell hadn’t been blind to his friend’s new-formed habit that has him arriving in their shared apartment later than usual and out on weekend mornings.

“So who are you hung up on this time? I haven’t seen you this down in the dumps since that girl you were crushing on in high school started dating that Brad guy.”

Carlos sighed, head in hand as he stared down at the assignment he was working on, “It’s Jill-”

Tyrell snorted, an amused smirk on his face, “Captian of the women’s soccer team Jill?” Carlos didn’t respond, giving Tyrell his answer, “Man you better give up on that soon. I heard that she’s never dated anyone in her entire time here.”

“But I can’t T, she’s just so incredible. How could I possibly stop thinking of someone who cares about her team so much she’ll sacrifice her social life and dare to go toe to toe with Nemmy? Fucking Nemmy. And on top of that, sometimes if she’s free and I’m late to a lesson, she’ll pick the doors lock so I can get in. And you know how fucking weird the doors are here. That is an honest to god talent right there.”

“Yeah, but didn’t she accidentally set off a trap that had the ceiling nearly crush her if it wasn’t Professor Bruton?”

“That was in freshman year, we’re seniors now.”

Tyrell just shook his head and got back to work, knowing that there was no reasoning with Carlos once he set on something.

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It was after a victorious match against the male S.T.A.R.S team that it happened. Carlos was waiting outside the women’s locker room like he usually did. Not in a creepy kind of way. If anything he chugged respect-women-juice as if he would die without it. No, it was simply because that’s normally where he’d wait for Jill to talk to her and make sure Nikolai wasn’t lurking nearby to ambush her. However, this time while he was waiting, a freshman named Claire approached him.

“Hi there!” She greeted him cheerfully, smiling up at him.

Carlos being someone who never ignores a person unless given a reason to, smiled back, “Hi.”

“I’ve seen you at all our games and practices for the past couple of months, I love that you’re so supportive of the team.” She was positively beaming at him, her hand coming to rest on his arm. “Do you play any sports? If you do, I’d love to go watch.”

“Uh yeah, I’m on the football team under the Umbrella scholarship- but I’m nothing like some of the other guys on the team. I heard about how they tried to spike your drinks.”

“Oh, I know you’re not like them. Jill told us about how you helped her kick some sense into Nikolai… So if I asked you to dinner after your next practice, would that be okay?”

The sound of Jill’s voice coming from behind startled them, Claire’s hand quickly returning to her side, “I’m afraid he can’t. He’ll be busy.”

Carlos was confused, “I’ll be busy?”

“Of course, you’ll be having dinner with me. Isn’t that what you’ve been asking for these past couple of months?” Jill’s hand came to rest where Claire’s had been as she turned to face her slightly, “So sorry if I’ve inconvenienced you, but I just found a free slot in my time today so it’s a little impromptu.”

Claire pouted but listened to her captain, walking away to meet up with her older brother who shot Carlos the “I’m watching you” sign.

Carlos looked to Jill, “What happened to ‘I can’t date because I’m dating my GPA’?”

Jill met his gaze but couldn’t last long before looking away, bashful, “It's selfish but I didn’t like the idea of you going on a date with anyone that isn’t me.”

Carlos grinned, wide and boy-ish, “I’ve only got eyes for you, chica.”

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