#not after the local kids stealing to survive
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
question-why-not · 2 years ago
Text
Jason’s full song, had Tim not changed its course:
I killed a guy, and I liked it-
Eight drug lord heads in a basket~
I killed a guy, and I liked it-
Took over the local drug trade
Don’t sell to kids, don’t sell to poor, stick to my rules or die~
I killed a guy, and I liked it-
Don’t you dare abuse sex workers~
All the pimps and johns, all the gangs and mobs, better not cross the lines, I laid out
I killed a guy, and I liked it-
No firefights near civs~
Making shelter for kids, the community, I’ve got their back so they’ve got mine
I killed a guy, and I liked it-
All the working girls, my allies
Got a network, vast, got a network, wide, Crime Alley is all mine~
I killed a guy, and I liked it-
Can’t eradicate crime, so control it~
Jason, singing to the tune of I Kissed a Girl: I killed a guy, and I liked it- Dick, whispering: Should we call the exorcist? Tim, also singing: The taste of his cherry chapstick. Damian, appalled: Call the exorcist.
#forgive me I suck at rhyming#Jason is a literature & theater nerd his actual song would be much better written than this#but yeah something along these lines#the thing I love about Jason is that he’s not a glorified cop like the rest of the batfamily#like#sure the batfamily aren’t abusive to the community the way actual cops are#they go after the drug lords mob bosses and white collar crime#and after serial killers and such#not after the local kids stealing to survive#but Jason actually grew up in the poorest parts of the city#he knows what’s it like to actually live in the community in a way none of them do#he actually works closely WITH the community#and does actual harm reduction on organized crime#instead of trying to slap band-aids on the problem like the rest of the batfamily does#the best versions of Jason Todd are the ones where he works with the community#and isn’t just another vigilante like the rest of his family#most of the batfam are rich kids or weapons engineered from birth rescued by Batman#Jason Steph & Duke are the only actual gothamites there really#Duke lower middle class with a relatively normal life before shit hit the fan for him#Jason & Steph being proper poor with both drug addicted and criminal parents#Jason’s dad being a goon having to do crime to survive#Steph’s being an abusive minor supervillain#Steph doesn’t go Jason’s route but still works with the community more than the rest of the batfam if im not mistaken#Which i very well may be#aside from my hyperfixation with Jason Todd i don’t know a ton about the batfamily individuals in general#i love Jason having a completely different perspective from the rest of the batfam due to actually living in the poorest parts of it#knowing what it’s like to be a poor kid in a poor exploited family#and then knowing what it’s like to live on the streets as a child after both his parents died#the batfamily views Jason as violent & ruthless due to his willingness to kill#but in reality he has more compassion than all of them
7K notes · View notes
sunderwight · 10 months ago
Text
AU where there's no system (or a decidedly less restrictive one) and Shen Yuan transmigrates into an OC rogue cultivator before the start of the novel, and decides he's gonna steal the protagonist before Luo Binghe even gets to Cang Qiong.
The logic is sound -- he'll keep Luo Binghe from experiencing neglect and abuse at Shen Qingqiu's hands, raise him away from the pressure of the sects and the likelihood that anyone else might find out about his heritage and try to harm him over it, keep him fully away from the Immortal Alliance Conference, and then Luo Binghe's course will change trajectory because he'll have no reason to want revenge against the world and no access to Xin Mo. Shen Yuan will be able to spare Luo Binghe some suffering and possibly survive in a world less subject to the harrowing whims of a half-mad tyrannical overlord. Win-win!
However, the tricky bit is that he's not sure exactly how far ahead of the novel he is, and also Airplane didn't specify where Luo Binghe grew up. This means that Luo Binghe could be any age younger than twelve and in any number of places along or near to the Luo river.
Shen Yuan decides he's going to approach this by pretending he is looking for the long-lost son of his sister, traveling through the likeliest areas, asking after abandoned children who might fit the protagonist's description. It's a long shot, he knows, and he's mostly relying on the existence of Narrative Destiny. But eventually he is directed by several people towards a particular city, which is not as close to the river as he'd have expected Luo Binghe to grow up, but then again he only knows that was where baby Binghe was found, not where the washerwoman who took him in ultimately lived.
It becomes clear to him, though, that he's been sent to the wrong target. But also why he's been sent astray is apparent in nearly the same breath, because among the slave children living in this area is a little boy who could be his much younger clone.
Seriously, this kid looks just like him! Or, well, close enough. He looks a lot like Shen Yuan's actual nieces and nephews from his past life. It's uncanny.
Also, because of his search, the slave kids get wind of what he's looking for (his long-lost nephew) pretty quick. The boy with the obvious resemblance to him greets Shen Yuan's own assessment with wary cynicism, but he's just a little boy. So it's not difficult to notice the way he's also practically vibrating with hopefulness, half-hiding behind a protective older kid and looking at Shen Yuan with big dark eyes like he expects to be rescued or destroyed with whatever he has to say next.
Shen Yuan has a big problem now. He just knows that if he says something like "actually no this boy is too old to be my nephew" or whatever other excuse, no one will believe him, and also this poor kid is going to be permanently scarred by it. He's going to think Shen Yuan is lying just so that he can reject him. On top of that, he's not in a good situation here. None of these children are even remotely well cared-for.
Shen Yuan's rogue cultivator self isn't rich on the level of being like a wealthy sect leader or anything, but he's made some money since transmigrating by doing random cultivator jobs and quests along the way here. He uses it all to purchase two little slave boys (Do Not Separate), then takes another job and uses that coin to acquire a somewhat rundown manor which used to belong to the local gentry. The Qiu family (rings some bells but that's not exactly an uncommon name) kept it up for a while in case a branch family sprung up in need of a residence, but they've been in decline and the place is downright decrepit, so they had been looking to sell it instead. It's too big for a wandering bachelor like SY to ever need on his own account, but that's sort of the idea. He makes more money taking on cultivator work, at first taking his boys along with him for lack of any alternative. Nerve-wrackingly dangerous! Eventually he hires workers to start restoring the manor, particularly setting up a yard to be a school area, and then starts taking on any freelance jobs he can get in order to steadily buy out the contracts on all the other kids. He gets it nice enough to house and care for as many orphans as he can acquire.
Not because he's a big old softie though!
His story of looking for his nephew is a bust now, since he's apparently "found" the kid. So he's got to change tactics! If he can't find baby Binghe and the washerwoman, the next best approach is to create an opportunity for them to come to him. So once he's got his new household established, he starts offering free lessons to all the local kids. Not just the ones he's taken in, but also any who come by and want to learn some things. It's a tempting setup for anyone who wants their child to get education but can't afford a tutor, and Luo Binghe's mother had been entirely the sort of person who would have packed up and left her situation if there had been an opportunity for it.
On that note, SY also starts hiring single mothers to help look after his new gaggle of children and do the work he doesn't know how to do in these times, like keeping house, laundry, cooking, actually raising kids, etc.
His "little school" is not universally popular. A few groups try and ruin him, because the poverty in the region provides a basis of business for them. The ringleaders of the human traffickers in the area don't want their trade to dry up, even if it means selling all of their merchandise for this round, so when they find out that their underlings let Shen Yuan buy off all the kids they try and intimidate him into returning them (it doesn't go well for them). The Qiu family also isn't thrilled after it becomes clear what he's doing, and get him investigated by the local authorities (read: use their bribed officials and local goons to try and interfere.)
When that doesn't work either the sects get involved, because the Qiu go crying to Huan Hua Palace that Shen Yuan is sketchy and is trying to establish his own sect. So Shen Yuan talks his way around the matter, and frankly the Qiu are small fish even if they're the biggest ones in the local pond, so HHP doesn't care to pursue things much further. (Read: SY could mop the floor with the disciples they sent to investigate him, and it's not worth it to piss off someone this mysterious and powerful just to bully some impoverished children.)
Shen Yuan is appalled by all this bullshit though. Trust the world of PIDW to make it so hard just for a guy to teach some poor kids how to read and do math!
It makes him dig in his heels about it, because he is at heart a stubborn bastard. The fires that once fueled a thousand angry screeds on zhongdian literature site is now aimed at the local magistrate. One of the women he's hired on has some dirt on the Qiu family, which leads SY to dig up some more until he eventually has enough to turn the tables on them. Local officials won't investigate because they've all been bought, but that in and of itself is of some interest to their superiors closer to the palace, and so SY arranges an investigation of his own that goes way further than he thought? Turns out there are some ugly skeletons in the Qiu closets, and the imperial investigator comes down on them hard.
Well, he can't say they didn't have it coming? Though he does feel bad for the children in the family, especially the oldest son, who gets hauled off to jail along with his father. At least the girl is sent to live with relatives. Maybe he should have done more to shield the minors in the situation...?
His kids tell him not to worry about it, though, that apparently young master Qiu was known to run people down in the streets and beat his servants and do other cartoonishly awful things. SY's not sure how much of it is true and how much of it is his little flock of fluffy sheep trying to ease his conscience, though they do all seem to take a lot of vindictive delight in the whole affair. Especially Nephew, who clings to his sleeves and loudly declares that the investigator should have publicly flogged the discredited nobles so that everyone could go watch, and then begs him for sweets as if that wasn't a creepy thing to hear come out of an eight-year-old's mouth. SY just sighs and tells him he can have something good when he finishes his calligraphy practice.
Of course, it's not exactly easy running what is basically an orphanage-slash-school (and maybe a budding sect...?), especially when pretty much all of the kids have been traumatized and faced stuff like rampant dehumanization, food insecurity, abuse, and neglect. Hiring single mothers soon becomes not only a plan to try and lure in Luo Binghe's mom, but an absolute godsend of an idea because SY has no clue WHAT he would do on his own about the discipline issues or emotional breakdowns or acting out that some of the kids get up to once it registers that they're in a safe enough place to unpack their baggage.
Apart from Nephew, SY's favorite kid is the one who came with him, the oldest of the flock of former slave children. He's the big brother of the group, the one who tries his best to look after the others and to not make any trouble himself. But even poor Little Yue is still just a kid who has been through too much, and he also eventually starts having some meltdowns and struggles with processing everything that has happened to him as a vulnerable child in an unkind world.
SY really didn't mean to start a trauma center for mistreated children!
Though, that's still not necessarily a bad thing for Luo Binghe to one day come across, provided he ever actually shows up...
Eventually, Shen Yuan does figure out that he must be ahead even of Luo Binghe's birth, though he still doesn't put together that he's interfered in the scum villain's backstory. Probably something even more amusingly obscure, like the creation year of some random artifact Luo Binghe used in some wife plot or other, tips him off and he mentally throws his hands up in the air. He's got to wait DECADES? Maybe he ought to try and find Luo Binghe's biological parents and just follow them around at this point!
Not that he can, now, though, because he has to make sure no negative IQ villains (who will probably just be cannon fodder for a subplot one day) decide to send goons to literally burn down his orphanage. Also if he's gone for too long his kids get upset. Probably because no one else is as weak to their puppy dog eyes and pleas for treats and toys as he is.
At least it gives him time to shore up his position, and train Nephew and Little Yue more extensively in cultivation. Despite his initial assurances to HHP that he was but a humble orphan wrangler who was only incidentally a cultivator, Shen Yuan does also teach the other kids some basic cultivation exercises. There are a few reasons for that.
One is just the principle of the thing. No, these kids don't all have the potential to become great immortals or anything, but they can still learn some of it and it's good for their health if they do. The only trouble is if they try and push too hard or attempt things beyond their range, and that's a risk with everyone who cultivates. Or even just exercises!
Another reason is that it helps stave off the jealousy that some of the kids have towards those with more cultivation potential. Teaching a lot of the basics all around makes it into just another topic at school. Some kids might not be as good at it as others, but those kids might also be better at math, or memorization, or board games, and while cultivation can open more doors to people as adults, for the children this is generally enough to satisfy their sense of fairness. Or at least reduce outbursts and fights.
Finally, the impression that any of SY's kids might be a cultivator also makes wicked people more reluctant to try and abduct or interfere with them. Cultivators are revered and nearly mythological figures in the public consciousness. It isn't difficult to see why, if even a rogue cultivator NPC like SY* can mop the floor with most random muggers (*Shen Yuan is not a normal rogue cultivator). Not many people want to risk bringing SY's ire down on them, but of those who might chance it if he wasn't around to immediately react, even fewer want to risk that the kids themselves could kick their asses.
Not knowing that only two of the orphans probably could in fact mop the floor with them helps keep all the rest safer, and is more believable when all of them can conduct themselves enough like disciples to fool anyone who doesn't know what to really look for.
Developments that surprise Shen Yuan but wouldn't surprise anyone else who is paying attention:
People start leaving unwanted babies and younger children on his doorstep. Not all the time, but more than once has he had to frantically find wet nurses and worry that he's changed things enough that some fishermen might just randomly drop the protagonist outside his gate, and he wouldn't even know because Binghe would be a literal infant??
Nephew (SJ) and Little Yue (Yue Qi -- only Shen Yuan calls him "Little", especially when he gets taller than SY by the time he's sixteen) are prodigies who get really good at cultivation, really fast, and between that and Shen Yuan's OP skills they completely warp Shen Yuan's ideas for what normal cultivation potential looks like. This would probably cause more problems if he wasn't teaching all the kids how to cultivate anyway, but means his students actually do kinda run the usual range of skills for a small sect.
SJ and YQ swiftly reach the point where they need more advanced equipment than just SY's teaching can provide, if they're going to keep building their skills. Gaining access to certain tools, aids, and materials (like spiritual swords) is a real hurdle though, and usually is for rogue cultivators (one of the major disadvantages of no sect affiliation.) Shen Yuan is hesitant to use stuff from the plot, since it's For Binghe, but he eventually caves and starts going after some things that he doesn't think the future protagonist will miss much. He also ends up buying stuff from HHP, since they're willing to sell things like spiritual tools and weapons if the price is right, whereas most other sects like Cang Qiong reserve them for members only.
They get an invitation to the Immortal Alliance Conference. Not the one where the Abyss opens up, obviously, the one where (originally) Shen Jiu reunited with Yue Qi and killed Wu Yanzi. Shen Yuan debates on going but the boys really want to, and things have calmed down enough that no one's trying to burn down the school whenever he leaves these days, so eventually he figures it'll be interesting to see some of the Cang Qiong characters and should be safe enough if he keeps his disciples close.
They don't run into young Yue Qingyuan or Shen Qingqiu on the trip, but Wu Yanzi does show up and get killed, and SY only hears about it and assumes they just missed all that action. (WYZ just got caught by some senior cultivators who recognized him and killed him to avenge some disciples he murdered.) Nephew and Little Yue do meet young Liu Qingge, Shang Qinghua, Mu Qingfang, and Su Xiyan though! Which gives Shen Yuan the opportunity to tell them all (mostly Su Xiyan) that if they're ever in trouble near his school, they can come to him for help. Hint hint.
This open invitation ends up being accepted broadly by a lot of traveling cultivators after the conference, who from then on treat Shen Yuan's school like a free motel whenever they're passing through. Plenty aren't even people SY met, but it seems his statement was taken as a general one to fellow righteous cultivators all around! Luckily, this has some advantages. Shen Yuan has no qualms running off anyone who tries to take unfair advantage of him or especially his kids or staff, and no shame in conscripting anyone who is decent enough to help teach his students, even if it's nothing to do with cultivating, and somehow word gets around and people start bringing school supplies, medicine, food, or other useful things along with them as gifts to help repay the hospitality. Young Liu Qingge comes by a lot on his way to and from various quests, or even seems to just turn up randomly sometimes (he comes to challenge YQ and SJ to fights), and SY's just like "I guess this is happening now" and teaches him to recognize the early signs of qi deviation and advises strongly against meditating in caves.
At one point a young Shang Qinghua turns up in one of the spare rooms, very obviously hiding an ice demon. Shen Yuan again is just like "I guess this is happening now" and shelters them until Mobei Jun has recovered, and sends a message to Cang Qiong that one of their An Ding caravans was attacked and their disciple is recovering under his roof but isn't well enough to travel yet. Much less stressful situation for Airplane (who is desperately trying to figure out what he did to manifest SJ's benevolent uncle from somewhere???)
Su Xiyan seems like the only person they met at the Immortal Alliance Conference who doesn't turn up at their door in a state of emergency at some point.
A few years later, there is a big scandal involving her and the demon emperor. Su Xiyan disappears, Huan Hua Palace accuses Tianlang Jun of plotting against the righteous sects, and Shen Yuan is even invited to the meeting where they try and rally everyone to go kill Binghe's dad. Naturally, he declines to participate in the witch hunt, but the major sects agree to it. By luck (or narrative fortune) Shen Yuan comes across Zhuzhi Lang on his trip back home, and mentions the ambush and his distaste for it (not knowing who ZZL is). ZZL warns Tianlang Jun and the confrontation goes very differently, especially since there's no Yue Qingyuan wielding Xuan Su.
It doesn't go well for the sects involved. Huan Hua Palace gets decimated. The Old Palace Master gets killed. Shen Yuan is like uhhhh that's... whoops? Didn't Luo Binghe need that in the future?? Fuck.
But the sect isn't wiped out completely, they just take a massive beating. Some of their younger disciples end up leaving and turning up on Shen Yuan's doorstep, for some reason. The manor house is becoming too small to account for all of these foundlings! They have to expand. Though the expansions would be a stretch to term a "palace" they end up occupying a much larger chunk of territory, and even investing in farmland and some storehouses to help support the sect. That's still not really a sect, of course. Even if a lot of the business that would have normally gone to Huan Hua Palace starts coming to them instead. Once HHP is back on its feet the stream will probably dry out. Probably?
Zhuzhi Lang starts hanging around. He's actually looking for Su Xiyan or their baby, dead or alive and per Tianlang Jun's instructions, but he uses Shen Yuan's school as base camp for his kind of hopeless efforts to find any traces of them, while also looking for ways to try and repay Shen Yuan. All the kids are just like "oh great, another weird man has fallen in love with Shizun -- someone go run interference" about it.
Some years later, an older woman and her young son turn up. Shen Yuan's off on a quest at the time, so SJ receives them. As is standard procedure he gives the woman a job and places the boy in classes, after giving him the aptitude tests. The kid is cute and precocious, so SJ uses him to distract YQ while he himself sneaks out to go join LQG on a monster hunt (and claim the valuable parts of the beast's remains for himself), and neither SY nor ZZL notice anything until SY's going over the paperwork for stuff he missed while he was gone. Since he procrastinated, it takes him like a week to find out that Luo Binghe is finally under his roof. He's going over the admission form right when SJ arrives with The New Adorable Child to try and distract SY enough that SY will let him go on a solo hunt -- as far as being distracted goes, it is way more effective than even SJ anticipated.
Then he has to figure out how to let ZZL know, so that ZZL can let Tianlang Jun know, so that Luo Binghe will have more family than just his mom and more resources than just a shabby little not-sect! But even once he figures it out and sets up the dramatic reveal, TLJ is just like "great! so can he just stay with you? he's probably fine there" which... irritates SY.
SJ fully conscripts Luo Binghe as a minion in his many cons. He never lost his street kid conman tactics, although he now uses them less as a ruthless survival tool or weapon and more to just get things to go his own way. LBH has the face and disposition of a little angel, which SJ no longer can pull off as a full grown adult, so he fills a gap. LBH also knows full well what's going, especially since a lot of SJ's tactics involve throwing LBH at SY like a smoke bomb.
Luo Binghe inevitably still develops a big fat crush on SY, so this is fine by him. Especially when he gets older, he starts bringing SY tea and making him breakfast and running his errands until even SJ is like "wait a minute, this little brat's stealing my job!" and by then it's too late. Luo Binghe is SY's personal assistant, the disciple at conman puppydog eyes has surpassed the master! While SJ was busy being like "I'm going to trick this idiot into doing my chores" LBH was going "I'm going to trick this idiot into giving me his job".
SY takes too long to officially name his school so everyone calls it the Shen Sect, much to his embarrassment.
7K notes · View notes
Text
Dad-Coded Billy
Consider, if Billy had been dad-coded even before he'd gotten his powers.
He's the eldest (he's 12) of the street kids.
He ends up gathering the Shazamily over time, either abandoned, lost or having run from home and he keeps them safe and out of CPS hands.
Eldest child syndrome (i.e. parentification) except he's done it to himself.
He tries so hard to keep them fed and clothed and with some semblance of a roof over their heads.
He buys clothes from the thrift store in bulk, gets coats sized for adults so they can bundle up more, steals leftovers and has them take turns at the local fridge to get them canned foods, fights off bullies and other people for the right to live in condemned buildings for them all.
The older kids had a couple years of school and he teaches them to read. They frequent the library a lot and use public toilets to wash up.
It isn't perfect, but they've survived this long.
The one that nearly broke the camel's back was Darla, a toddler (about 2ish?) who got really sick. Billy debating so hard on whether to willingly bring them to CPS if only to get her help because winter is closing in and he's SO scared she'll die.
But he PROMISED.
He ends up getting his powers when he ran into the subway after stealing from the local pharmacy.
Honestly he nearly refused because this kid has been in survival mode for so long and his entire focus is on keeping his family alive and possibly giving them a better life.
And then the Wizard promises him magic and spells to help them if he accepts the duty and like a man signing up for the army Billy agrees for their sake.
He's a little more closed off to the JL maybe? He has more regular hours compared to his Canon counterpart bc his focus is still on his family.
They call him big brother, but after he'd gotten even bigger, they accept the truth they'd always had subconsciously, that they actually consider Billy their dad.
548 notes · View notes
camilieroart · 7 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
TMNT COLORCODED CHARACTER LINEUP COMPLETED !
After MONTHS of work, here is finally the lineup of all
61 CHARACTERS
That will be relevant at one point or another in Colorcoded season 1 :) More non-spoilery informations about them below !
Tumblr media
Harry the Pickpocket gets beaten up pretty often. People like to hate what is ugly, and Harry wasn't the prettiest homeless guy around. Then again, most of the time he got beat up because he was caught stealing, but that's irrelevant. He had to do what he had to do to survive, and in New York, if you don't steal what you need, well people won't give it to you. More often than not, New Yorkers liked to step over him and a few sometimes walked on him, while still ignoring him. Harry was used to being hated, being beaten, being ugly and undeserving. What he was definitely NOT used to, was being saved by a group of reptilian people that, despite the fact that he stole from them, did not beat him up, talked to him nicely, and even built him a safe shelter. The Purple one even got him running water ! Now that he could drink and shower and look presentable, he might even be able to get a job, all thanks to these kids ! Harry didn't care that they were green and had a tough back. They were nice to him, and it was only fair Harry shared whatever scraps of infos he got to help them during missions. Especially when they brought some of these tasty pizzas…
Tumblr media
Angel had always been called a bit naive, a bit stupid, a bit too good. She was always accommodating, always saying yes and her trust could easily be abused. But that wasn't true. Angel wasn't stupid. She knew what she was giving, and she knew that sometimes it was a bit too much. But she wanted to believe in the good of people, and in their good intentions, because it's always nice to be believed in ! So, what if she felt horribly ostracized by her only friends Casey and April, always out of the loop and pushed aside, ditched out of nowhere for them to run off with poor excuses ? They surely had a great reason ! Plus, she also kept secrets from them. You see, Angel had a part time job in the local Dimmart. She didn't really need it, it was just a good way to store away cash. And the fact that she didn't NEED it, made her able to freely walk out or shrug off if she gets fired. That definitely came in handy the night she caught a giant rat man and 4 turtles stealing from the store. So maybe she let them get away and purposefully covers for them everytime she can, but what else was she supposed to do ? She knows that people who steal, are usually people that don't have choice. Some nights, maybe the cameras have some strange malfunctions.
Tumblr media
Steve Spiegel was a failed artist. At least that what his mom said. No matter how much work he put in his comics, nobody seemed to care. Maybe he just wasn't good at coming up with nice stories... But if there's one thing he's good at, it's listening to other people's stories, and giving advice. Now that's his thing ! Maybe he doesn't enjoy it as much as making his own stories, but at least, it pays the bills ! Plus there's that new client, Casey Jones, that had been telling him the craziest stories. Of course, Steve knew realistically, that this kid was either having a laugh at his expense, or in a serious situation that he struggled at expressing and tries to explain through silly stories instead. Either way, Steve listened like it was real, gave advice like it was true, and everytime the kid seemed happy and satisfied. And professional confidentiality be damned, these stories were too good to not be turned into a nice comic…
Tumblr media
Vernon Fenwick was what you can call an asshole. After he failed to work in any of the TV channels the city had to offer, he made his own show called the Earth Protection News, courtesy of his roommate Ulysses S. Grant, that might have passed away soon after giving him the right to his show and all of it's audience. Vernon's show didn't work well at first. In this stupidly 'woke' world, having an openly racist, and misogynist and transphobic show seemed to have a certain impact on how it performed. It wasn't until the apparition of the monsters (that the arrogant and blind-sided left calls 'mutants' to hide their horrific nature) that Vernon truly started to shine. Each new footage or even pictures was dissected in his show and explained. People listened ! Finally the world knew he was right. These reptilians had grown tired of waiting, and decided to finally start to take over, but humans won't let them ! we'll fight back, starve them, torture them, kill them ! His show was bought by Channel 3, and millions hung to his every word ! And if Vernon hid some footage that proved these mutants weren't as dangerous as he thought, then who would know ? It was only a matter of time anyway. He could see it, when they mess up and the entire world is at stake because of them, oh he would be right. He would have won. And when it happens, Vernon would be there.
Tumblr media
Akira is the Shredder’s right hand. When Shredder rose to power, he went against her, and was thrown into a prison pit to rot. But Shredder knew the man had talent and skill, and she didn’t want it to go to waste. She broke his mind, and took his eyes, and Akira is now completely obedient to his master.
Tumblr media
Tanner G. Rollins is the failure of the family. His family moved to New York to make it, 2 generations ago, and were very successful. Tanner chose not to take over the family business and become a doctor. They were kicked out and banished because of it. He struggled really badly to become a dentist, and even then, clients were rare and barely enough to survive. Thanks to Splinter’s kindness, they decided to devote his life to helping mutants. He became a pro-mutant activist and takes care of mutant patients without ever compromising their safety. Also they’re a big rabbit fan. They’re just neat. He’s very blunt and honest, and heavily depressed.
Tumblr media
Avril and xer twin Amaro Knox work in their grandma's (Anet Knox) Calm Corner Comics shop, and often scare of assholes that try to bother. They are both pro-mutants. Both are Tanako no Ichi fan. Avril is very chill and cool (xey/xer). Amaro is a party guy and always poppin'.
Anet Knox might be a small woman, but she is strong-willed and is a person to respect. She rules her comic shop with an iron fist, and is ready to beat the hell out of anyone disrespectful, despite her grandchildren being there to do so. She’s loudly pro-mutant, and is very happy to see Leo and Donnie whenever they come over for the new Tanako no Ichi manga or some Lynthia’s Legends.
Tumblr media
André Murakami is a blind japanese chef, owner of the small but delicious restaurant "Fuyuuran". He was blind from one eye when he was born and fucked up his other eye by running around with a knife as a kid. He's very sweet and pro-mutant.
Tumblr media
Renet Tilley is Casey's and April's history teacher, as well as their reference teacher. She is pretty awkward and shy around other adults and tend to relax around teens and younger. Her classes are always interesting and she strives to help her student as best as she can.
Tumblr media
Shinigami and Yumiko live together. Shinigami was Karai's nanny and basically raised her. After Saki's death, she talked to Karai calling her sweetheart as she always have and got gutted and thrown out. Thankfully she was saved by one of the clan's cooks, Yumiko. They both ran away from the Foot and they assume they're dead. Since the Foot had always provided for them, they live in extreme poverty, and Yumiko works 5 jobs to try to save up to buy a proper wheelchair for Shinigami.
Tumblr media
Baxter Stockman found, one day, a lot of canisters clogging his lab’s water tunnels, and after a few experiments, saw the potential in the mutagene. He sold it to scientists all around the world, and kept some to himself to experiment with. Ethicality and morality didn’t have it’s place in Stockman Entreprises, and it was in the way of progress. However, Baxter knew it was dangerous, and thus took it really badly when he noticed one day the Foot Clan spying on him, and decided to teach them a lesson. Baxter’s main drive is learning and discovering, advancing technology and driving humanity forward, no matter the cost. With global warming and world leaders playing with atomic bombs, time is limited, and Baxter will be the one to save the human race.
Tumblr media
Don Vizioso is the nicest guy alive, he's known as the philantropist Vizioso. He would help you pay off your debt, take you under his wing if you're struggling, pay an ice cream to a little kid, shoot a guy that betrayed him 35 times in the head, pay for your college tuition, help fix the fucked up streets, or even give you access to his free hospital he set up in Manhattan ! His employees are helping out everywhere in the city, even if their influence is mainly in Manhattan. Recently, they have been bravely battling the group of thugs named the Purple Dragons, that keep aggressing people and destroying properties. Of course, Vizioso always helps with the reparations, sometimes coming down himself to fix up a wall or entertain the kids. For some reason, people keep coming after him with wild accusations, and these thugs often end up being recruited by the Purple Dragons. Plus, after the city announcement about the existence of monsters in New York, he's taken a stance on protecting New York, and has been bravely fighting back the creatures that keep trashing the city ! What a hero.
(This is the version that Vizioso believes about himself as well as the propaganda)
Don Vizioso is a mafia boss, despite being known by the mass as "the philantropist Vizioso". He would help you pay off your debt, but in return you're indebted in him. He'd take you under his wing, then shove you into a life of crime you can't escape. He would pay an ice cream to a little kid, because that way the shooter on the roof can't get to him. He would shoot a corpse until it's disfigured, and then go after his family. He would pay for your college tuition, and then ask you to kill the dean. He would fix the fucked up streets, and ask a tax from the people to pay for it. He made a free hospital, that actually records everything about you, and steals money every month without you noticing. His goons are looming over the entire city, but Manhattan is what is truly under his control, including the information. A group of resistant was created, called the Purple Dragons, but they are constantly discredited and Vizioso's crimes are pinned on them. Vizioso helps this idea that he's innocent by helping rebuild buildings he destroyed, but not the families he killed. When people realize they've been dupped, and lost everything after trusting Don Vizioso, they go after him, and then join the resistance. The mutants are a menace for his organization, and they won't destroy what took him so long to build. Plus, if he could capture them and sell them, he could make a good buck out of it.
Tumblr media
The Purple Dragons are angry people, most of which have been wronged by Don Vizioso, that let their anger known. They are demonized by Don Vizioso and the city, and cast aside. Hun is their leader, driven mostly by anger and resentment. He always feels as if everything is being stolen from him and reacts impulsively and violently, which has often has negative effects in his life. He tries to aim that anger directly onto Vizioso and his energy into taking him down. During the raids to places that would weaken Vizioso, Hun goes wild and is often the reason for the bigger property damage. After hurting his loved ones when he was little however, he is always careful to not hurt people unless they ask/agree to it (like for a spar or he asks people if they want to fight. If they refuse he insists but doesn’t lunge for it anyway), or to defend himself or the people he wants to protect. Only when it’s directly and immediately. The few crimes they do commit in order to fight Vizioso is often the justification for the other, bigger crimes Vizioso commits and pins on them. Hun knows that getting mad at that and being violent back would only make their reputation worse, but he refuses to stay idle or passive in the face of the mafia boss. Hun, Koios Streight (the voice of reason), Nermin (tries to better the reputation of the Purple Dragons and deal with the damage. She's the n°1 reason Hun reigns himself in property damage). Also Koios and Nermin are dating. it's like irrelevant to anything ever. All the purple dragon things they wear is merch from Lynthia's legends (donnie's fav books) because it's about dragons and the color theme is purple.
Tumblr media
Miss Chow, Malo and Arune are a little recomposed family. Miss Chow owns a food stall called "Chow's food and drink" in Manhattan. Arune and Miss Chow are married, and each handle a different job for the stall. Miss Chow is the main face and makes the food and such. Arune is usually working on paperwork and taking care of the finances and going to pick up Malo from school… Malo is from Miss Chow's previous marriage. She loves her moms but she's very very shy. She’s also partially deaf, but is able to hear pretty well with her hearing aid. Miss Chow is battling cancer, and thanks to Arune’s incredible talent in handling finances and worming through admnistrative, they’re able to stay afloat and have most of her treatment covered. Arune had a congenital malformation, and due to the fact she spent her entire life disabled and surviving America’s legal system, she really knows her way around their traps.
Tumblr media
8-ball needs to feel like she has control over her life, and herself. After 18, her parents pushed her out for her to become independent, but 8-ball struggled and failed to get a job. Desperate and unable to seek refuge at her parents’, she was extremely grateful when a kind man took her in. What she thought was kindness turned out to be abuse, as he used her fragile mental state to control her. His constant pressure to be more beautiful and thinner, and her need to feel like she still belonged to herself led her to the dangerous path of controlling her food. It started small, not allowing any snaks after 2PM, then it became not eating more than once a day, then that one meal became smaller and smaller. It felt good, to be able to control that, to see the changes on her body that at last SHE was making happen. One day, as he hit her, one of her bone broke, due to malnutrition. He realized that his puppet would no longer work, and he left. 8-ball was right back where she started, in a much worse condition. Her control over her life kept slipping away, even with him gone, and it only amplified her need to control her food intake. Then, an evening she looked in the mirror after showering and it hit her like a truck. She was not okay and she needed help. But with no job and barely surviving, she couldn’t afford the help. She had no support group, nothing. So she made one, with other girls that like her were struggling and needed help but couldn’t get any professional one.
She is slowly relearning to eat without the swirl of guilt and horror to appear, but it’s very hard, and set backs happen often. But she’s going to survive it, she’s determined to make it. She wears wigs to hide her falling hair, and contacts because she likes it. Her favorites are the 8 balls ones.
Tumblr media
The Turks were originally just a support group for disabled girls to talk about their problem, but it quickly turned into a way for them to expel their anger and sadness at being abandoned by society. It was founded and is being lead by 8-ball (favourite weapon baseball bat), along her two right arms, Aïda (spiky punchy things) who has down syndrome and is tired of being pushed aside, and Ruth (knife hidden in cane), an old black lady that seems fragile but will tear you apart, earning her the nickname “ruthless”. The gang often trashes the city and beat up people that make comments on their appearances. They tag a lot of walls about the city’s abandonment of disabled people and the lack of help and care for them if they do not fit hyper-specific criterias. As well as they are constantly judged due to their disability, leading to an impossibility to get jobs and sometimes even housing. They are led by 8-ball, that cannot fight due to her fragile physical state, but is the voice of their group. As the group gets known, they are being joined by other women, that while not disabled, are victims of societal or domestic abuse, and wishes for things to change. Of course all of this nuance and why the group was created is being pushed aside by medias and they are being labelled as a violent mob gang that only wishes to create anarchy. All their messages through tags are not relayed by the media, and some of them even present 8-ball and her right arms as big strong men (because how else could they have trashed the street ?). They are regularly being stopped by the turtles for hurting people, whenever it goes too far. However the mutants have never stopped them from writing their messages, as long as they didn’t hurt anyone. For a while, the girls abided to the rules, but they are getting tired of their messages disappearing in the wind. They need to do something big. To finally be listened to. Also this women only club does accept trans women, who goes through the same selection as everyone else.
it was originally a support group for women to reunite and talk about their problems and such. now, sure they trash the place but technically that's still the case. It's a support group for women about women discrimination, which includes all women, but it's a support group for women. Like that's just it. It turned into a gang which isn't great, but yeah. Plus it's not like a windmill. There's like questions they ask you before you join and stuff. It's a group that includes everyone that has experiences woman discrimination, and so includes trans women and Ft anything. Of course regardless of gender or build or whatever if you start being an ass you get kicked out
Tumblr media
General Blanque is loyal to his country, and after that the world. He will defend it from any threats, and after New York City’s mayor gets attacked by monsters, and the mayor gets convinced to stay inactive, General Blanque decides to act in the shadows, helped by his assistant Lonae. It would take him a while, but he would get rid of these pests, before they fester and grow. He has a plan for a special squad of trained criminals, as he could not use soldiers without being noticed, and he’d grant them immunity if they succeed... Lonae is a model secretary and assistant. Always proper and straight, remembering all the meetings and accommodating her general whenever she can. Dutiful and loyal to a fault, especially to her clan’s leader, Shredder. She’s a wonderful spy, not once suspected by the General. Shredder stays aware of all the political movement happening in New York, without ever giving away her precious asset.
Tumblr media
Libby and Harold Lilja own the store “Friendly neighbourhood store”, in the end of Brooklyn, towards Staten Island. Originally both graduate of a science PhD, their paths led them to each other, and in the end, to this little store that is their pride and joy. They met Splinter and the turtles when they were still little, as Splinter was trying to steal for food. The Lilja were the first ones to welcome the mutants with open arms and help them out. They are considered precious allies, despite not being in each others life all that often (not visiting each others houses or anything). Both of them are very outspoken pro-mutants, despite Harold being generally very quiet, and Libby avoiding political discussions.
Tumblr media
Oxymary's maker, nicknamed "Ox" by fans. They're a bit fan of non-human creatures, going as far to inspire their main guiding character from a non-human, and then always dressing up as them when they go out. Which is ironic, when you know how anti-mutant they are.
Ox, making the game : "ommmmmg so like monster characters are soooo cool, so mysterious and interesting, and different ! i love how different from us monters are :D" Ox, as soon as they learn about mutants "oh ewwww what the hell is that kill it with fire"
Tumblr media
The mayor is sooo important. He's so important you know. A big important man, that needs to be respected. And taken care of because he works soooo hard for this city. A good business man. A big boy. He can yell reaaal loud if you don't listen to him ! So brave ! So imposing ! He's doing soooo well, his mama sure thinks so. She supports him when he goes after the big bad monsters that harmed her baby boy ! Like a superhero.
Tumblr media
James Bond is just a guy. He likes animals, and he’s a trans man who had Bond as his last name and just ran with it. He’s the only pro-mutant vetenarian in an anti-mutant clinic, so he keeps a low profile but he helps the turtles when he can. Nothing fancy or big, just a guy doing his part.
286 notes · View notes
neysaadept · 24 days ago
Text
Prometheus Chapter 4
Tumblr media
Emily Prentiss x Female CIA Reader
Chapter 4 - Socially Blocked
Little different chapter style. Hope you enjoy. Also, I have no beta so mistakes are all me.
Tags: Limited use of y/n but established last name. Swearing, mentions of the pandemic and human and sex trafficking. Canon typical violence. Sexual innuendos. Minors DNI.
Word Count: 4.8k
AO3
Chapter 3
You had joined Prentiss in her office several hours ago to go over the forensic evidence that had come in. Laptop balancing on your thighs, you compile the data and cross reference missing persons with the families that Lewis had been gently consoling until the lab techs worked their magic. This was your nightly ritual with the section chief since joining; identification and providing closure.
What you did during the day was follow her around like a fucking assistant. You were now well versed in FBI budgetary matters, regulatory concerns, and how long new policies would be put into practice. You knew there were countless mind-numbing meetings, but this was insane. Most of the meetings could be cut in half, be done over Zoom, or just not happen at all. Just fucking email one another.
Then there were piles upon piles of paperwork to sort, sign and scan and files to review sent by local law enforcement agencies asking for FBI assistance. Just briefly glimpsing some of the cases made you wonder how one could decide which case mattered more. Go after one psycho but let the less of a psycho go free for the state to handle? Some requests had to be denied general FBI involvement due to a jurisdiction juggling nightmare that needed to be sorted first.
If this was a section chief’s life, how the fuck did Brian survive being the director of the entire CIA?
The more pressing question on your mind was why Prentiss was doing her damnedest in limiting time between you and the rest of the team. Okay, yes, Prentiss didn’t know anything about you, and yes, it was difficult to delegate work to you without knowing all your capabilities, but being a special agent in the CIA meant something.
You just gave the BAU a ton of money! Least you could do something more than be a glorified secretary! Not like you expected time out in the field, you totally understood that was out of bounds, but it’s been three days like this, and it was getting on your nerves. Why were you familiarizing yourself with FBI manuals if all you were good for was be a gopher for Prentiss?
Day 1
1145
Prentiss had given you a quick tour of the bullpen leaving the conference room for last. When you enter, excited to present your sweet offerings, you saw the team was already standing and ready to break. Introductions were made quickly, with almost every team member thanking you for the food and grabbing something.
Luke grabbed a chocolate frosted long john with a grin. “Can’t wait to catch up with you when we get back!”
You blink. Back from … what?
JJ grabbed a handful of macarons with delight, already stuffing one in her mouth as she left. “Dis isz weally nice ov ya!” she said, covering her mouth to not accidentally spew crumbs at you.
Rossi was far more debonair and rounds the choices with an index finger before plucking out a glazed twist, flashing a smile. “Thanks, kid.”
You saw Garcia slipping out quickly without making eye contact.
The hell?!
You open your mouth to say more, but he looks apologetic. “We’ll talk more later. Gotta lot going on right now, but we’ll make time.”
At least Tara had the decency to stop for a few seconds to exchange simply pleasantries. “So nice to finally meet you! Rebecca says nothing but good things.”
You raise a brow and chuckle. “Really?”
Prentiss looks unconvinced as well.
She shrugs and steals a macaron. “Yes, for real. I’ve gotta lot of family interviews and sessions lined up today, but we’ll chat more later.”
Patting you on the shoulder, Tara starts to exit the conference room backwards, pointing at you with promise. “You’re gonna have to tell me all you can about that HSC* in Saxony. Later!”
You sigh with close eyes and your head falls back. These little tidbits were not helping without context for your new boss. Even before you open your eyes to look at Prentiss, you just know she is staring at you with contempt.
Yep. There it is. Just missing an eyeroll.
Without being asked, you take a seat at the table and shove the box towards Prentiss. “We were tailing ISIS members. One decided he could get away when we moved in and learned how very wrong he was about it.”
1315
Prentiss left you to read FBI procedural manuals while she went to meet the deputy director. She had thought it prudent to delay you two crossing paths for as long as possible considering he was not happy with either of you. It was nice to hear that you had something in common with Prentiss. The tiny scrap of connection was something, no matter how pitiful. And you knew Prentiss was happy to upset Bailey.
This leaves you alone for a short time and you decide to use it wisely and check in on Garcia. It was really bothering you why she ignored you earlier today. Yeah, the team was busy with the Sicarius case, but everyone else had acknowledged you as they hurried off. Surely the bold color choices of her ensemble meant she was outgoing and not shy. You didn’t even make polite eye contact.
So, you go by instinct and grab a few left over macarons and position them with purpose on a white paper plate before heading to what you learned was The Lair.
Aware of not barging in on a tech’s work, unless you wanted to have your head bit off, you knock and wait.
“Entrer!’ you hear through the door and smile.
You open the door and poke your head in with a playful grin. “Hey, Garcia.”
The flurry of typing abruptly stops and you see her stiffen. Your grin quickly falls into a frown.
“I’m sorry.” You fully move into the room, noting the same outlandish decor that matches Garcia’s clothing. “I hope I’m not bothering you?” you say hopefully.
“Nope!” She pops the p and goes back to typing. By a cursory glance on what was on the screens, yeah, you had no idea what she was working on.
Garcia said nothing more but the stiff body language and her outright ignoring you once again, made it clear you upset her. Pushing her at this moment would only cause the divide to widen. You barely know each other.
“Well, I saw you didn’t take any treats and brought them to you. Probably hard getting away while you’re …”
“Cataloging important data,” she said quickly, still not looking at you.
“Yeah, so …” you look around and see an open spot on the table to her right. You are careful to not move anything when you put the plate down next to a fuzzy neon green turtle. “Enjoy when you-“
“Hey Garica, I’m jus-“ Prentiss’ fond tone quickly dissolves to accusatory. “You’re supposed to be in my office.”
“And I took a break. That a problem?” you challenge, taking in Prentiss confident posture, hand out before her with the other in her suit pants pocket. She cut quite the authoritative figure.
Garcia keeps typing away but slower so she can concentrate on you and Prentiss.
“No, but I’d appreciate you leaving the team alone while they’re working.” The words sound like a suggestion, but the tone was an order.
“Yeah, sure,” you concede, again, not wanting to cause an unnecessary argument. But first, you bow to the back of Garcia sitting in her chair. “Bon appetit!”
You rise and move pass Prentiss, both of you locking gazes and it ticks you off you had to look away since you were the one leaving.
“Oh, darn it!” whimpers Garcia. “Why?!”
Alarmed, Prentiss walks over to her with concern. “What’s wrong, Penelope?”
With a deeply etched sullen look on her face, she shows Emily the plate you had left. It was a macaron smiley face. One eye was pink, the other blue, and the smile was purple. You chose the bright colors on purpose.
“Why'd she have to do something this cute?!” she complains. “I’m not supposed to like her!”
1750
You roll your head working out the stiffness that settles in your shoulders from being hunched over most of the day on Prentiss’ couch going over manuals and signing off on orientation documents. You had tried various positions to find any source of comfort once joints began to ache. You sat on your ass with feet on the floor, legs on the couch, cross one leg, then the other, then had to stretch them along the couch. Then you said fuck it and placed the laptop on the cushion and laid supine while working and then to top it off, you sat on the floor with the laptop on the couch like a desk not giving any fucks what Prentiss thought.
She offered the couch, not her desk, to work on, and you didn’t want to get all up in her business setting up shop across from her. She’d probably shoot you if you decided to leave for a desk in the bullpen. And oddly enough, when it appeared you were going to get up, she engaged in questions about what you were reading or if you had any concerns. All sterile and by the book, but with suspicious brown eyes trying to figure you out.
It was only day one and you were willing to play the game, not letting her get to you. All in all, it really was a typical first day of boring bullshit. Just without a cubicle.
Eh, you had suffered far worse with even more irate coworkers and direct supervisors. But this felt different. Maybe Brian was right and you weren’t made for the general population. And yes, that meant the people at Quantico.
You weren’t kidding that Prentiss was a legend when you made that quip. Faking her own death to protect that kid and her team was a brilliant self-sacrificing move that you deeply respected. Then as you dug deeper into the team’s background, you gained a deeper respect for the BAU’s work, dedication, and the trauma they’ve been through to keep the people of your country safe.
Of course, you honed in on Prentiss’ work since she was your superior. One assumed if you were CIA or former CIA everyone knew each other and that simply wasn’t the case. While Prentiss was infiltrating Doyle’s criminal organization, you were gathering intel in Afghanistan on al-Qa’ida's operations. You two worked very different operative circles.
Despite your specializations never intersecting professionally until now, on paper, you two should at least get along and have something to talk about then just … whatever this was in her office right now. You both were driven, intelligent women who were dedicated to the people on your team and would protect them at all costs. Your skill sets were complementary and overlapped with being seasoned international operatives, you spoke several languages, focused on counter terrorism, and were awarded many commendations for mission successes and demonstration of skill sets.
But here you are, sitting on the floor of her office like you were her kid finishing homework.
“You should probably head home.”  
You glance over your shoulder and scowl, seeing Prentiss was looking down at a file and not you.
“I don’t mind staying and catching up with all this. Same thing I’d be doing at the apartment. The lab reports are important to review ASAP.” You didn’t want to correct her about what home was and wasn’t.
You look at the files cluttering the desk and cross your lips in thought. “Need any help? Granted, I’m not savvy enough yet on all the FBI lingo but paperwork’s still a bitch however you cut it.”
That made her look up at you. She was motionless as she considered your proposal and your earnest face.
“Thank you, but no.” She looks down again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n.” After you salute, you stand up and stretch, hearing your knees pop. You then grab your laptop and manuals, tucking them under your arms securely.
Note to self, bring a backpack.
You are polite as you walk by, offering a nod she didn’t appear to see. “Night, Prentiss.”
She hums noncommittally but as you drag your eyes away from her desk, you notice something that provides a glimmer of hope.
On a napkin that had been tucked out of view near one of the file stacks was a half-eaten red macaron.
Day 2
0630
You came to Quantico early with a bottle of Diet Coke in hand and your black and grey backpack secure around both shoulders, ready to tackle the day before anyone else got here.
Yet you see a movement coming from Prentiss’ office window and have to stop. She was already here? You squint in thought and presume she had stayed late and came in early – basing this assumption on her work ethic and how every good leader worked themselves ragged on little sleep.
You down some more pop and climb the stairs to her office, gently knocking. She opens the door and you raise a brow at her because she was wearing yesterday’s clothes.
“What are you doing here?” she asks with surprise accusation.
“Wanted an early start. What’s your excuse?” you probe gently.
She thins her lips and steps aside as a silent invitation to come inside. “Sicarius.”
Prentiss didn’t have to say anything further for you to understand the unspoken. She had no one to go home to, so why worry about time and just bury herself in work. And by the time Prentiss realized what time it was, she might as well stay in her office and sleep. She probably had a change of clothing in the closet, and it was easy to freshen up in one of the locker rooms. It was a more productive use of her time than driving home to do the same thing and come right back here. Avoid all that traffic.
You should know. You’ve done it yourself many times.
“Fair enough,” you say without judgement as you drop your backpack on the couch. “Does the team know?”
She reaches for the white FBI seal decorated coffee mug on her desk and frowns. “Know what?”
“That you stay here sometimes.” You knock back several gulps of pop before setting the bottle down on the side table.
After a moment of consideration while sipping her coffee, she looks to you with a narrowing gaze. “No.”
You nod, understanding the silent request. “Secret’s safe with me.”
1233
You were grabbing a cup of coffee for an afternoon pick me up, when you hear slow purposeful footsteps coming closer.
“Like a little coffee with your cream there, kid?” Rossi jokes, coming to stand beside you.
You chuckle. “I do. Bonus if it’s French Vanilla.”
He regards you with wizened eyes, but you could tell he was exhausted with how often he blinks. “How long have you been CIA?”
Oh here we go.
“Long time.” It wasn’t a precise answer, but it also wasn’t a lie.
“Sounds like me and the FBI.” His eyes twinkle with mirth.
“Hey, I’m not that old,” you answer with a grin before taking a sip of coffee.
He laughs as you swallow and continue. “You know, it’s probably not a surprise I know your work, Mr. Writer.”
Rossi acknowledges with a nod. “No, this does not come as a surprise at all.”
You hum, nodding. “Broken Child was the first one I read. Though, I did follow your work with the Gideons closely.”
He smiles with delight. “Really?” Rossi pauses and gestures for you to follow him to continue this conversation elsewhere. You could tell he was fascinated by this. “How far back?”
“Oh, pretty far. As you know, your guys’ work wasn’t all BAU related.”
“True. The CIA did take part of our research for profiling training. And to use for psych evals on operatives.” He smiles. “Am I getting close?”
“Definitely warm.” You smile back. “It was part of my training.”
“You’ll have to tell me more.”
And just as things were becoming interesting with a non-Prentiss member of the BAU, she has to come and ruin it. It’s like the woman had a sixth sense when you were getting too close to one of her teammates.
“Hey, Dave. I need you in the conference room. JJ and Luke have an update on our unsub in Texas.”
“Right.” He holds out his hand, which you take, and he gently squeezes. “I look forward to continuing this later.”
Your smile was bright. Working with Rossi was a perk of agreeing to this. You never thought you’d have the chance to have face to face time with someone who wrote the blueprints for training you, again.
“Yeah, me too.”
He keeps your hand for a moment longer before letting go and looking at Prentiss. “You sure the kid can’t just listen in?”
You try not to look eager and utterly fail. You just know you got the sad puppy dog eyes going. Which, of course, doesn’t work on the leery section chief. “Whitlock has promised to help me with paperwork. Isn’t that right?”
Fucking hell! She’s using generosity from last night as an excuse to keep me busy. ARGH!
Of course, you’re not going to call her out on it as you really did offer to help and meant it. You manage to keep the disappointment hidden from your voice and raise your cup to her. “Indeed, I did.”
“You can start with scanning the reports on top of my desk calendar.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” you salute carefully with your coffee hand and wander off.
As you are leaving, Rossi looks to Prentiss with a knowing look. “You do know she might be able to help us with the case. You just don’t want her to.”
Emily heard the unspoken question of why. “We barely know anything about her. I don’t need a wildcard fucking anything up.”
“Emily. Come on. She’s a seasoned CIA operative. We could pick her brain while she’s here instead of hiding her away in your office. Actually use her as a consultant.”
“You just like her because she read your books,” she fires back sarcastically.
“Well, yeah, but that’s not the point…”
1435
Whitlock: I hate this place
You were chatting with Brian on the CIA secure network on your laptop instead of your phone to avoid making Prentiss press as to what you were doing. You even silenced the chat notifications
Korogoth: It’s only the second day.
Whitlock: All I’m doing is reading and paperwork :(
Whitlock: Prentiss keeps socially blocking me!
Korogoth: What does that even mean?
Whitlock: I’m stuck in her office all day and when I need to go do something, she’s always up my ass. And when I’m free and have time to chat the team up, she magically shows up and stops it. It fucking sucks!
Whitlock: Stuffs coming in with the big case and I get to know nothing.
Whitlock: So all I do is read the FBI shit, which I know I need to do and scan in shit. I’m a over qualified secretary
Whitlock: UGH
Korogoth: Regretting it?
Whitlock: Yes
Whitlock: No
Whitlock: Maybe. Helping the families find closure is important tho.
Whitlock: And … I got to speak to Rossi for a sec
Korogoth: … and?
Whitlock: I told him I was a big fan :D
Korogoth: LOL really?
Whitlock: Why is that so funny?!
Whitlock: :P
Korogoth: What did you talk about?
Whitlock: That I read his books and papers.
Whitlock: With the Gideons
Korogoth: *facepalm*
Korogoth: Tread carefully missy.
Whitlock: ;)
Present Day
1145
JJ had returned earlier this morning with Luke and was now sitting with Garcia at her desk in the bullpen. They were focused on whatever was on Garcia’s computer and were animatedly discussing something about a message app behind a weather one.
You start to head over there but Prentiss comes in with Bailey and the deputy director makes a bee line right for you.
Ah, fuck.
You beat him to the introductions and hold out your hand towards him. “Hello Deputy Director Bailey. Special Agent Whitlock.”
“Yes, I know who you are.” He does not take your hand, and you curl it into a fist before dropping it. “I’m surprised it’s taken us this long to be formally introduced.” His tone was dripping with malice as he scrutinizes Prentiss.
Before Prentiss can react, you jump in to defend her. You hate high profile dickwards like him. “Well, there’s a lot going on with orientating me to FBI standards. Can’t go all CIA on your protocols.” You smile patronizingly. “Gotta be by the book, right?”
“Despite her unorthodox addition to the team, it’s prudent her training remains up to FBI standards,” Prentiss adds while Bailey attempts to stare you down.
He wasn’t even pathetically cute. Just … pathetic. The deputy director’s appearance was far too clean cut and pristine. He didn’t have that disgruntled tone that revealed years of field work that jaded an agent. There was no desensitized look in his eyes, just bureaucratic contempt.
“I’m glad to hear that. It takes months for an agent to go through training at Quantico, Whitlock. You wouldn’t want to diminish their hard work with the quick pass you’ve gotten.”
You smile sweetly.
What an asshole.
“We’re all on the same side, even though we’re on different teams, Deputy Director.” You lean forward with promise. “I won’t besmirch the good name of the FBI.”
Then your eyes drag over to Prentiss’ and soften. “I’m here to help.”
1345
You see the team assembled in the bullpen and have no idea what they’re talking about because you are in Prentiss’ office sorting paperwork. Your sincere invitation for Prentiss to trust you when Bailey was here was ignored.
1437
You are slowly dying inside sitting in on a budget meeting with Prentiss …
1634
… and then an advisory meeting with the DOJ. Too bad Rebecca wasn’t here but then that would be socializing.
You two chatted briefly after your first day and made a promise to properly catch up when you could. With your schedules, it’ll be difficult but with how things are going. Well, more her schedule than yours …
1930
You come back from your introspection that had occurred over the last few days and try to focus on the unfinished email you were drafting for Lewis. The problem is that the words remain blurry, and you are unable to concentrate to type the rest of your thoughts. Your thoughts are swimming around the fact that in the three days you have been at Quantico all you've been is snubbed by the woman currently ignoring you at her desk.
You close your laptop and rise to take a seat across from Prentiss. Her mouth hangs open, with what you presume would be a line of questioning as to where you were going to go, and instead found you seated before her. Your boldness took her by surprise.
“Ah, yes?” she asks cautiously. “Something wrong with the lab reports?”
She was well aware if you had an issue with the reports, you would have said something from the couch. As you have done before.
“No. Just, you.”
You know you should be more patient like Brian encouraged you to be. Let Prentiss take the lead and integrate you into the unit. But you weren’t stupid. You can read the room, and the room wanted you far away from the members of the BAU.
Prentiss straightens up with wide eyes at the audacity of your words. “Excuse me?”
“No, you’re not excused. Not unless you can tell me why you’re keeping me all to yourself,” you respond flippantly.
She licks the back of her bottom teeth before it drags along her lower lip. Oh yes, Prentiss is ready to throw down with you. You see how her pupils blow wide at being provoked and she caps her pen before her. “All right. You want to do this? Let’s do this.”
The pen drops, as does the pretense before you.
“I don’t know you. But I do know I can’t trust you. Anyone I can’t trust is a danger to my people and therefore, you get to stay the hell away from them.”
You throw your hands up in celebration. “Finally! A real conversation.” You lower your arms and lean back, resting a leg over the opposite knee. “I’m sorry I can’t be completely forthcoming about everything about me. But that’s not my call. My shit’s sealed for a reason but it’s not because I did anything illegal. I'm sure that's what you're worried about."
“Then why did you need a lawyer?” she presses.
Fuck.
“I can’t say.”
She shakes her head with displeasure. “Of course you can’t. Because good agents don't need help covering up their messes.”
“Oh come the fuck on, Prentiss. Wilson’s a good person. A good lawyer. She helped me because …” You grit your teeth because you need to collect your thoughts before you say too much. You inhale deeply and uncross your legs to lean forward, gesturing with open hands for understanding. “… because it was a call I had to make. Follow orders and have people die. Or I did what I did. Which I was absolved of, ya know. That's gotta count for something?"
Without knowing the exact circumstances of what you did, you weren’t sure if Prentiss would care or not. You could have disobeyed orders because they were truly the wrong call or your superior was compromised in some way, or this was a cover up because you fucked up. You are hoping that she thinks the former because of dropping Wilson’s name as a good person and lawyer. Which is all true!
You watch as she subtly shakes her head, at war with her thoughts. “But there’s nothing about you. You barely exist. I can’t just accept you if there's nothing to back up your claims. So, you’re a means to an end for me. For the BAU.”
Wow. Pretense is so gone now ...
“You know, I’ve been thinking of myself as your highly paid secretary, but hey,” you roll your eyes, “let’s go with CIA sugar mama.”
“See that,” she points at you with indignation. “That right there’s why I can't take you seriously. You’re fucking lack of respect. Making jokes that are way outta line.”
“Oh fuck you and your wine addiction.” Yeah, you went there, gesturing to the half empty bottle. The woman downed a one a night and that was only what you saw. You wouldn’t be surprised if she had more. “Least I use humor to mask the trauma of my past instead of drowning it with alcohol and work.”
“How dare you make fucking assumptions about me,” she snaps, voice raising to meet yours.
You audibly scoff and rise, Prentiss doing the same. “You’ve been doing it the whole time since we met, let alone profiling me. Which I get, since you don’t know shit about me. But at least I was trying to get along with you despite the fucking cold shoulder. I ain’t expecting to be best friends but you don’t need to be a bitch about the situation.”
You turn around to grab your things, knocking over several empty Diet Coke bottles that you balanced on the couch arm.
“And where do you think you’re going?”
“Leaving your delightful presence.” You stuff your backpack with your laptop and books. “I’ve had more than enough of this shit.”
You miss the moment of panic on Prentiss’ face since your back was turned. Her mind was reeling with the ramification of what this could mean. Are you leaving for good? If you weren’t working with the BAU on paper the contract would be in breach. Pride kept her from asking you to clarify as she watches you storm off and slam the door behind you.
Emily grits her teeth as she leans over her desk, trying to stop her hands from shaking. She gives up, the anxiety of the situation she finds herself in too much and pulls the top left drawer open of the desk to get the pack of cigarettes stashed there. She quickly lights up and takes a long drag off the cigarette, unable to fight her trembling lips as she blows the smoke free.
“Fuck…”
What was she doing to do?
*High Speed Chase
Chapter 5
82 notes · View notes
zwolfgames · 7 months ago
Note
Hii! If it's not too much trouble to ask, can you make a Yandere DIO x Child Reader who escaped and is now with the Crusaders? (Reader would have a strong Stand) 🙃
(So idk wether this was meant as like biologically DIO's kid or not but I just went with unrelated because i dont know how many hoes DIO had back in Stardust Crusaders. Also, how does one think up a stand, lol.)
Requested: Annon
Warnings: Slightly OOC DIO, silly kidnapping, bizarre
Tumblr media
(3rd person POV)
Life had been turned upside down for you lately. As a poor ten year old alone on the streets of Cairo, you had expected this year to be the same as last year.
Just surviving and having your Stand help steal food.
Thus is the life of a street rat. Kicked out by their abusive father...
But just a month ago, when you were once again getting your Stand to filch some fruit from a night market, you got spotted.
A tall, impending figure had stopped in the alleyway to look down at you.
His piercing golden eyes made you freeze once you were in his field of vision. Did the air just get colder or was that you?
"Tell me of your stand, Child."
The man had spoken, all those nights ago. Truthfully, you hadn't know what a Stand was back then. So he pointed to yours. All you really knew of it was that nobody else could see it... So why was he looking straight at it?
With such intrest too.
Before you could actually talk to the man, he had leaned down and poked something into your head, thats the last thing you could remember.
"So yea, thats all I remember..." You spoke to this strange band of people.
That disintrested looking fellow had been the one to rip whatever that weirdo so long ago put into your head... A 'Flesh Bud'. A means of controlling people, or so you've heard from that french guy and his green clad fellow as they were complaining about the time they had yours.
So they had been attacked by the blonde guy too?
Intresting.
"You have a hell of a Stand kid." The oldest guy pats your shoulder, he looks pretty buff for an old guy. Who are these people.
"My stand? Ah- you mean Arnold?" You made your stand appear. You faintly remember it just... appearing one day when you were being chased by street dogs... It kinda saved your hide. Named after Arnold Schwarzenegger, as you had heard that name on a tv in a store once. Very creative, obviously.
"Yes... Arnold. Does it perhaps do special things. Like superpowers?" The old man asks. Trying not to look back at how one of his friends is being patched up from all his cuts.
"Why should I tell you my secrets?" You cross your arms defiantly.
"Because we saved you, don't you want to defeat who-ever did this to you? Huh, kid?" The old man nudges you with his shoulder.
"Not really. Who are you guys anyways, you don't look like locals at all." You take a step away from the man.
"I'm Joseph Joestar, thats my grandson Jotaro and his friend Kakyoin... Thats Polnareff, and the one you almost blasted to bits is Avdol." Josephs eye twitches as he look back at his hurt friend.
"I didn't do anything." You retort quickly.
"You did, because of this flesh bud. A vampire named Dio was controlling you-" Joseph starts.
"I'm not controllable." You stick your tongue out.
"Oh yea, so then you almost killed Avdol by yourself?" Joseph replies with the same childish tone.
"That was my twin brother, you've got the wrong person." You smirk like the annoying brat you truly are.
The argument gets more heated as Joseph refuses to listen to the sass of a dirt covered child.
Meanchile, in a dark dark room in a castle far away- No, a mansion just a couple of streets away, a certain blonde seethes.
Another one lost. Those damned crusaders... Joestars.
They had taken away many of his subjects.... His pawns.. But this was by far the worst.
A child, a powerfull child. He had plans for you. Shattered, all in a single fight.
Dio clenches his fist and a piece of the parchment he's pretending to read rips.
He wasn't attached... Not at all. You were just strong. And.. Too similar to him. A scumbag of a dad, he had looked into your mind that night you two locked eyes. And he had seen... Things that reminded himself too much of himself. The only diffrence between you two was that you weren't just born evil. A bummer, really. He's always wanted to see a maniacal kid.
But... Oh dallit, who's he kidding, he did get attached. And really he doesn't understand why. You were a dirty, foolish child...
But you had potential...
Dio had always planned to be the lonesome ruler of his ideal world... But you were.. ideal enough. Yes.
You could like... stand next to him and chirp about whatever useless tought you had this time.
Something to quench the silence he's grown to hate after years of being confined to a coffin under the sea.
It's a miracle that you hadn't gotten on his nerves, really. He usually hated all kids. But well, maybe it's that mischievious glint in your eyes. Makes him think too much of his time back in his living ages.
So, ofcourse he sent two of his stand users out to retrieve you.
Wich is how he had leanred of your capture by the Joestars.
Oh he had wanted to gag, what if they made you into the same goody-two-shoes all Joestars pretended to be?
Disgusting. He's have to end your suffering in that case...
But for now, he could wait for his pawns to bring you back. Maybe you were ready for the no flesh bud treatment.
Probably not. But hey, who knows what other nonsense you'd come up with if he let you be that free.
If only his pawns would hurry up! He's bored!
"I'm not helping you, I've got things to do." You declare to Joseph for the sixth time now as they kept on asking you to help them get to Dio.
"We'll give you lots of food." Jotaro pipes in with that same bored tone, seemingly having figured you out after his grandfather had tried convincing you the whole time.
"I'm in. This way."
You hum and start walking. Joseph yaw falls open dramatically as Jotaro walks past him with a slightly proud aura.
The group of guys follow you around the sunny streets of Cairo as you walk to the mansion you just so faintly remember.
Actually... you don't really remember much of your mind controlled times. A faint face of the vampire that had enslaved you... a slight sensation of a hair ruffle. For the rest it's mostly gone.
But who knows, with what these guys have been telling you, this Dio figure is quite the bad guy. And you'd be getting food. So...
The first round roof of the mansion had appeared in your field of vision, you had attampted to call out before someone just jumped onto you from above.
Now this man you remembered just faintly. Cowboyish looks, an attitude and the most annoying smirk.
"Gotta ask you not to struggle kid. Dio's been whining about you for a week now." Hol Horse huffs as he picks you up at the scruff. Glaring at Jotaro's group of friends.
"Let me go or I'll blast you to bits." You declare simply. Crossing your arms childishly.
The cowboy's eye twitches and he takes it as a bluff.
Stupid idea, really.
You activate your stand, Arnold, and use it's ability that you have yet to name. The crystal like being grabs ahold of Hol Horse and sharp crystals grow out of his arm, piercing his skin.
This effectivly drops you as the man screams in pain behind you.
So that's what you had done wit Avdol then? Yikes. Since when did you even have this ability? Must be Dio's fault.
Tough, this seemed way too easy. You were proven right moments after as you were ambushed by a pretty woman... Who you actually didn't know.
She surpisingly just hoisted you over her shoulder mid run and ran away from the Crusaders as they yelled for the woman to stop. You could sense her stand... So this must be another one of Dio's henchmen.
Altough your stand was super duper cool and epic, you're an untrained kid who doesn't know what they're doing.
So you weren't that great at summoning your stand without concentrating fully. And all these jolts you got from this womans fast running weren't helping your concentration.
A puprle vine suddendly wrapped around the womans ankle and she fell to the floor, dropping you as you rolled along the sandy pavement, scratching your skin and further staining your clothes with more dirt.
Joseph had stopped the womans kidnapping attempt. Wich was cool but damm that fall hurt!
The rest of the crusaders came running to you and the unknown stand user. This time it was Polnareff who picked you up like you were damm nothing. To prevent you from getting snatched again.
"You didn't say you were some kind of prized possesion. What does Dio want with you?" Polnareff yells dramatically.
"As if I know! I barely remember him!" You huff back.
"Are you perhaps his offspring?" Kakyoin asks a lot more calmly.
"What? No, I know my dad, he's an asshole but we've got the same hair, so we're obviously related." You shake your head.
"Thats the stupidest explenation I've ever heard." Jotaro sighs while Joseph ties the woman to a pole so that she can't chase again.
"What can I say, never been to school." You shrug with a matter of factly face. Polnareff looks bewildered while the others have taken on a bit of a pitying look. Wich you really don't like.
Seriously, life could be worse.
 Polnareff had loosened his grip slighly as he must have felt safe or something. A stupid descicion really, as a faint barking was coming from down the alley before you.
You caught a glimpse of a funny looking dog with big ears barking up at the sky before you got lifted up really fast by sharp talons.
A hawk, a damm hawk got you.
How was this thing even carrying you? Sure ten year olds aren't big an you don't grow a lot on the street but this is just bizarre!
The hawk dropped you off in the fountain of Dio's courtyard.
Landing with a splash into the unkempt water. Good thing this wasn't deep becasue nobody had ever tought you how to swim...
The hawk squaqed hard before flying back up to protect the mansion you had been brought back to.
Now if you knew one thing about vampires it's that they can't come into the sun or they expolde or something.
So you made it your mission to stay here in the sun as long as possible... Wich.. isn't that long, it was almost sunset... Shit.
"Tought you could run off, child?" A sultry voice spoke from the dark halls surrounding the courtyard.
Two piercing yellow eyes looked straight at you. That same feeling of impending doom hit you again.
"Why don't you come to me. I promise not to harm you..." Dio whispers in a slightly sweet manner. Wich really made it even less convincing.
He'd probably snap your head right off for even attempting to talk to the Crusaders.
You didn't want to walk towards him. But the alluring feeling the man possesed made you take a shaking step.
Screaming in your head to stop wasn't working.
Slowly but surely you were walking out of the suns warm embarce and into the darkness of a vampire's lair.
You're gonna die, oh my god!
The vampire held his hand out so elegantly for you to take, sharp- well kept nails the only indicator of the underlying nature of this predator.
Your hand reached out for his, out of your control. Damm this creature's charm.
The moment your warm hand touched ice cold flesh you were dragged into the darkness and into a strong body.
You were held tightly against the man as he ran a hand trough your hair before you were out like a light. Seriously, what kind of powers does this asshole even have?
The next thing you knew, you woke up in a dark room. Feeling a bit.. cold?
You open your heavy eyes, looking for any sign of life in this room. Closed curtains... unlit candles. Now where in the fuck-knuckles were you now?
"Y/N, would you like to know something?" That same deep voice spoke from behind you. You turn around and face the vampire on his fancy couch, lazing around.
"Not really.." You mutter unsurely.
"Hah, still the same kind of annoyance as before. How I've missed you." Dio muses down at you as if looking at a little lapdog. Wich techically you had been.
"Fine, what's the thing I need to know?" You sigh.
"I've made you a vampire, just like me. Isn't that generous of me my little Y/N? Now we can talk forever." Dio smirks as if this was his best idea ever.
You deadpann and walk over to a curtain to go kill yourself full on vampire way.
"No, foolish child. Come back here." Dio tsks in annoyance and whatever control he has over you now pulls you back to stand behind his couch.
Wow, can't even sit in this place huh?
"Do you not understand why I share my gift of immortality with you?" Dio muses, smiling again. Tough that teeny tiny spark of softness doesn't go unnoticed to your trained eyes.
You just shake your head. Who knows, even age old vampires could be pedo's-
"You... are similar to me. I simply wish for you to have a better life then I had."
Dio speaks a bit less... confidently.
Now, that's something you had never expected from the blonde..  Ever.
Where's the uncaring cold villain you knew? The guy that killed his servants for failing?
Why was he looking at you as if his words were genuine?
And why was it affecting you like this?
"Y/N, when Jotaro Joestar and his group make their way to my estate, I want you to stay firmly beside me. Do you understand me?" Dio narrows his eyes as he stands up to tower over you. That sinister shadow casting over his face to get you to comply.
You just nods your head. Wich apparently isn't good enough for him as he squishes your cheeks between his hand.
"Use your words, child." Dio tsks.
"I'll stay at your side..." You speak up, not like you actually would... they were coming here to kill Dio... You didn't wnat to die aswell...
Dio sighs and ruffles your hair roughly before leaving the room to go do whatever the hell he does all day.
You hear a little lock click shut, once again trapping you somewhere, tough unlike last time, you have full control of your mind...
Dio didn't need a henchmen anymore, not of you.
He couldn't even understand it himself. Maybe deep down he missed a brother he could bully.
So just sit in that tower and don't complain and everything would be alright.
He wouldn't let those crusaders take you away from him again...
Tumblr media
_____☆_____
Thank you for the request! Also available on Wattpad/Tumblr.
Dio was a bit OOC but I really don't know how to get this man to like a kid, i think he'd throw one out of a window if given the choice. Xd.
Have a nice night/ Day!
Words: 2502
93 notes · View notes
solar-bean · 2 years ago
Text
Jut found out that the full Touchstarved game might not be out till 2025 so here's a scenario I imagined with Ais. Has the others interact with mc too, but Ais is the main love interest. Hope this doesn't feel too much like my oc. I chose the Unnamed route so that may be brought up.
Tumblr media
Worth The Trouble ( Ais x GN Reader )
( Content Warning: Violence, Blood, cursing, Ais being Ais, Remember what he did to that guy in the demo )
MC = Y/N ( I'm too tired from finals to type the slash, sorry 😭)
It started off as a normal day in Eridia, or at least as peaceful as things could be in the hellscape of a city. MC went to the market for some light grocery shopping, their small tote bag half full, when a group of kids zoomed past them. For a flash they could see that the kids' arms were full of produce, a few stray fruits leaving a trail in their wake. It was mere seconds before an enraged yell from a man was heard.
" Get back here you little shits!!!" the a man, a local produce seller, barreled down in the kid's direction. Nearly knocking down passersby, MC included.
One of the smaller kids tripped, dropping all of their stolen goods. They called to their friends for help but it was too late. The seller had already grabbed them by the collar like a stray puppy.
" Stupid maggot! I'll show you what happens to thieves around here!!" He pulled back his meaty fist to strike them.
Without thinking, MC ran to grab his wrist before the blow landed.
" Hey! That's going way too far."
The seller looked down at them and snarled.
" Stay out of this! This is between me and this little thief here."
" I get that but look at them." MC pointed to the kid's dirty clothes that were holding on by threads. " Clearly they aren't stealing for the fun of it. Can't you let them go?"
The seller scoffed at them, foul breath fanning their face. Thankfully they held back their disgust.
" I'm not running a charity. If the kid wants to eat the kid's gotta pay."
MC thought for a moment as they stared at the child, who was still curled in a protective ball. Although their face was covered, it was clear by their trembling that they were crying. MC immediately remembered all the times they'd been hungry and in need after they fled the temple. While they survived they couldn't imagine doing so at this child's age. How long had they been suffering?
" I'll do it."
" Do what?"
" Pay." MC reached into their cloak and pulled out their coin purse. " I've got plenty to spare." which wasn't true but they'd manage. The seller gave them a long, calculated glare before sighing.
" Fine."
He put the kid down. They gave a quick glance to the seller then the MC before grabbing their haul and scurrying off to where the rest of the group went. MC wasn't expecting a thank you, but the last look the kid gave to them over their shoulder was enough.
" Ok," MC counted the coins in their palm, leaving the purse nearly empty. " Will this be enough?"
The seller took the coins. Counting each while scratching his stubbly chin.
" Yeah, almost..."
MC looked at him confused. They were sure that they gave him much more than his nearly, spoiled produce was worth. They almost didn't notice his arm go up. But they did feel the strike across their face. Everything went white for a moment as they stumbled. Pain flared over the entirety of the right side of MC's face. They pressed their palm to it and whipped their gaze back to the seller stunned.
" What the fuck is your problem??!!" they shrieked at him.
" Don't look so confused. You said you'd pay for everything. That includes punishment. " He let out a dark chuckle and walked pass them. " Maybe think twice next time you wanna be someone's savior."
MC gawked at his back. What kind of asshole pulls a stunt like that. He got his money fair and square. Clearly he just wanted a reason to cause someone harm. They wanted to let it go and move on but crap that hit really hurt. His hands were big enough to crush their skull and they were pretty sure that his ring cut their cheek. There was no way they were gonna let him walk away so easily.
" Hey!"
The seller turned around and was met with a fist right to the nose. He reeled back, giving MC enough time to land a kick to his kneecap. He fell to the city floor with the gracefulness of an old dying ox, MC's coins going down with him. They grabbed a handful of them before making a break for it back to the Wet Wick.
Out of breath, energy, half their coins and what little faith they had in humanity, all MC wanted to do was go to sleep in their room and maybe have some of their scraps for dinner. It could've been made into a full meal but they hadn't realized they'd dropped their tote bag until it was too late. Thankfully, the bar sounded empty from the outside, so at least they could avoid the headache of possibly socializing.
" Hey sparrow."
Shit.
There right in his usual spot at the bar sat Ais, accompanied by Vere and Leander.
" Hey Ais..." they said weakly, pulling up their hood even more to hide the blooming bruises.
" Um Excuse me. I'm here too dear. Goodness has being here already dulled your manners?" came Vere, tail playfully swaying.
" Hey Vere." they said quickly as they tried to flee to their room, but that would've been to easy.
" Oh MC how was the market did you get anything good?" Leander asked, conveniently getting in front of them and blocking their path. They didn't look up at him and did their best not to adjust their hood again.
" Yeah, yeah it was good."
" But where's your tote ba-"
" It's getting late I'll see you guys later." MC swerved around him, nearly home free.
" Sparrow."
They stopped. Ais' piercing gaze burning into their back.
" Come here, please." he instructed in a soft yet stern tone. They couldn't resist him. He'd only pry more if they did, so reluctantly they sat next to him, avoiding eye contact.
" Take off your hood."
They stayed still. The air filled with a tense silence.
" Ais come one. They've probably had a long day. I'm sure their fi-" Lenader nearly choked when MC took their hood off. " What the hell happened?! Are you ok?!"
" Obviously not." Vere scoffed. " Thought I smelled blood but that's nothing new for you. Do tell, what mess have you found yourself in this time, MC?"
MC let out a tired sigh. Leander's worrying and Vere's teasing made for a sickening combo on an already shitty afternoon.
" It's nothing. I just ran into a bad guy at the market. Nothing interesting." They were about to get up to leave when Ais' hand was placed firmly on their shoulder.
" Humor us would ya? What really happened?" While the slight smile on his face was meant to be assuring, MC knew he was up to no good.
" Really it's nothing. I just saw some kids steal some food and one of them got caught by the seller. So I thought hey why not be nice and help this clearly starving child. But nope! As usual the situation blew up in my face. Apparently coins weren't enough payment for the guy so he- " They mimicked the back-handed slap motion they'd been a victim to. " The asshole didn't even have the decency to warn me first, so I thought it was only fair to get in a few blows in myself then run like hell before things got too heated. So yeah that's it. Nothing special."
After what they hadn't meant to be a ramble there was another thick silence. Crap maybe I said too much. Then a low chuckle came from beside them. Oh good Ais found the story amusing, maybe they were worried for nothing. But that was quickly put aside when they turned to look at him.
His grin was downright dangerous. Fangs gleaming and all. His eyes were even worse, glowing with a bloodlust that would scare a soulless shitless.
" I'll be right back." he said, getting up from his seat and stretching out his tired joints with a pop.
" Ais." Leander warned. " Let's think about this, ok buddy."
" Nothing to think about. Now," He stood in front of MC and leaned down to their level. " Which seller was it?"
MC felt their pulse quicken. Not just from being at eye level with Ais, but also from the immense violent aura he began to exude.
" Really Ais it's fine. I hit him pretty hard so we're even."
" I'm sure you did. But this is purely for my own selfish vices. I can't rest easy knowing this jackass is going around threatening kids and hitting customers. So who was it?"
" Ais. It's not worth the trouble just let it g-"
Ais' hand swiftly taken ahold of their chin. With a gentleness that greatly contrasted his character, he tilted MC's face to better examine the damage. They couldn't help the heat that rose within them.
" Plenty worth the trouble to me." He tilted their head back to face forward. " Who was it, MC."
Maybe it was the softness of his tone or the way he said their name instead of Sparrow, but they confessed. Even down to what stalls the seller's had been next to. He gave them a small, genuine smile and went on the hunt.
" Well, there's no stopping him now. Let's get some ice on that bruise, hm." Leander went around the counter, paying no mind to MC's breathless expression. In no time he came back with clean rag and another with ice inside. " Alright let me see."
Before he could attend to their face, Vere cut in.
" Leander, didn't the doctor leave some magic elixir or whatever for minor injuries in the backroom?"
" Oh you're right. He did. I should go get it."
" Yes you should." Vere smiled sweetly then frowned once Leander was out of sight. " Good I couldn't tolerate him for much longer without Ais here."
" Don't get too excited, he'll be back soon." MC reminded him.
" No he won't," Vere swiped the rag that Leander left on the counter near the ice bag before turning back to them with a mischievous smirk. " I poured those nasty medicine bottles out weeks ago."
MC gawked at him.
" Why would you do that? What if someone needed those?"
" What like you? Don't be such a baby you'll be fine. Now hold still. I can only take so much of you blood smelling up the place."
With a similar gentleness as Ais, Vere took hold of their chin and began to dab the blood away from the cut that was already beginning to close. MC didn't have the energy for anymore shock today, so they relished in the care.
" You know. This pacifist act you're playing won't do you any good in this city"
MC sighed and grabbed the ice bag to put on their bruise once he was done with the cut.
" I'm not a pacifist. Trust me I've got nothing against that jerk getting what he deserves. I just don't want Ais to get in any trouble because of me."
" Hmph, now why would Ais get in trouble?"
" Because, he's a monster. What if the Senobium punishes him for being too violent?"
Vere hummed to himself. He carelessly tossed the bloody rag on the floor and leaned back against the counter, tail swishing languidly.
" Oh don't fret dear. The Senobium's too up their own asses to care about a few lowtown brutes getting torn apart. Besides I highly doubt Ais would do anything so dreadful as to get a punishment like mine. And if he did..." Vere's eyes turned a bright pink, his fangs seemed longer as well. " I'd tear this city to the ground before they laid a finger on him."
MC just stared at him for a while. The primordial fear in their gut was unmistakable, but they couldn't help but feel a bit relieved.
" Well I'm glad Ais has a friend like you to look after him."
The fox scoffed.
" I'm not his friend."
A bit confused by that response, they were sure he was joking. The duo seemed as close as Mhin and Kuras if not more.
" Ok then I'm glad you're his very close, foxy furry acquaintance."
Vere's ears went down as he scowled at them.
" I can break you like a twig. Don't forget that."
They merely chuckled at that although they weren't entirely sure if he was serious or not.
" Sorry for the wait!" Came Leander's chipper voice. He rejoined the two with a small container of bandaids and a bottle of unknown liquid. " Took me forever to find this elixir. I could've swore we had more bottles. Thankfully, I always stash a spare."
" Wow how great is that Vere." MC gave him an innocent smile that in turn got them glare. Vere definitely meant that threat now.
----
Ais arrived back at the bar late into the night. He wreaked of blood despite his best efforts to clean himself. He didn't want to make another bad impression on his new...new friend? Acquaintance? Whatever they were he wanted them around him more often. Which would be hard if they were scared of him. Did he scare them before when asking about the seller? They seemed nervous, but most people were around him, especially after knowing about his brutal tendencies.
Perhaps they didn't mind. He got a good look at the seller's broken nose, and what he could assume was an injured knee that made it all the easier to catch and corner him. The sparrow really did have a tough side after all. He was almost sad that he sullied their work with his own. No one would suspect that what was left of the asshole was the handiwork of two pissed off individuals. Maybe returning their tote bag full of goods and the coins that he'd swiped from the guy's pockets would be a good enough apology gift.
The barkeep was cleaning shot glasses when he arrived. Out of no where a wave of unease hit him. Maybe he came back too late and should just leave their stuff here.
" Got something for MC. Can you give it to them for me?"
The barkeep only spared him a quick glance.
" Do I look like a delivery boy? Drop it off at their door yourself, I'm busy." She replied with a bitterness that he always found amusing.
" Yes ma'am."
He was in front of their door when the doubt came back, sweaty palms too. What the hell was he nervous for? He doesn't get nervous. This was just a small favor for a frien-aquaintance. Just put the stuff down and go. But what if someone took it? Maybe he should see if they're awake first. Maybe not what if he wakes them up.
Annoyed by his rambling thoughts he did least smart thing and opened, which should've been locked, door. It was dark inside, aside the moonlight from a small window. His higher than average vision could make out a small bed with a lump under the covers. Next to it was a dresser. He made his way to it quietly, mentally cursing the metal on his boots for the creaks they made in the floorboards.
Finally at his destination, he set the tote bag and coins on the dresser and turned to leave. But curiosity got the best of him. He snuck a peak at MC and it was all over. The covers were up to their nose. There was a small bandage on their cheek. The bruising seemed to have healed a bit. Ais had never seen them look so peaceful. It was actually pretty cute. Then he realized how creepy this whole situation was and made his way to the door.
" Ais...?"
Shit!
He stopped mid step, looking over his shoulder at them. Their eyes were barely open and their voice was quiet and soft.
" That you?"
He sighed.
" Yeah it's me sparrow. Don't worry just wanted to return your bag. I'm leaving, go back to sleep." he kept walking.
" Are you ok?"
He stopped again, wide eyed.
" What?" he asked.
They yawned.
" I smell blood."
Oh, he thought. They were worried about him? That's actually really sweet. When was the last time anyone got worried for him? Vere and Kuras maybe. But they knew he could handle himself. It's what's he's good at. Looking out for himself when no one will. When everyone else leaves eventually.
But maybe MC wanted to stick around.
He smiled, unsure if they could see his face so he made sure they could hear it in his voice.
" I'm just fine sparrow. It's not my blood you're smelling."
They smiled back before yawning again.
" Good. Well see ya later I guess..."
They curled back into their blanket and pillow, already drifting. He took in the sight one last time before leaving and closing the door.
" Yeah see ya later."
The barkeep and every wander through the night had no idea why the feared demon renegade, Ais, had the softest smile on his face all the way back to the wastelands.
558 notes · View notes
givemewallywestorgivemedeath · 10 months ago
Note
I'm not sure if you've already said this but I'm asking anyway. Since you're the local Flashfam expert and also a PJO lover (you have no idea how happy I am that we like the same things), what godly parents would the Flashfam have? Like, all of the fam. Counting characters like Linda and Iris
And it'd also be cool if you assigned a cabin for the Titans and/or the Young Justice too-
I mean it has to be Hermes. It literally has to be Hermes for the speedsters. Like, maybe we throw in a Roman twist and say Mercury every once in a while, but that's just gotta be the answer.
Jay literally wears Hermes' helmet. Max named himself after Mercury. Barry wears Hermes' winged shoes and has wings on his head. Same with Wally. Jay is also literally given Hermes'/Mercury's powers on Earth-2.
And it makes sense, it really does. God of travellers? Check. The winged aesthetic? Check. God of messengers? Check! God of tricksters, liars and thieves? Look, the speedsters are all of the above just in a VERY chaotic good way. They don't rob people but also when Wally found out that the museum had the bones of a fallen soldier from another country without said countries permission or consent? HE STOLE THEM BACK. Bart has absolutely no qualms taking things, Max has been a thief in the past, Jay and Barry work by pirate rules aka 'if I defeat you, I get your stuff', ect. They don't do armed robbery and they don't like stealing from random citizens, but bad guys are free game.
Iris I have to go on the nose and say Iris because Iris is the goddess of messengers and rainbows, and Iris is literally a reporter? So her whole thing is spreading information? While looking stunning.
Linda is an Athena kid 125%. Linda writes books, she was a kickass investigative reporter, she went to med school, she knows more about speedster biology and how it works than literally anyone else in her home dimension, she regularly fights aliens with no powers and just whatever weapons she finds laying around. Linda is intelligent, she's cunning and witty and she will cut a bitch.
Joan is a Hestia kid. Just... family, love, warmth. Need I say more?
As for the Titans... well, Donna is already taken care of. Garth... is technically also taken care of I think?? Atlanteans exist in Greek mythology so Garth is just the same I think. Roy... fuck it, Ares. I said what I said come at me bro. For Dick I would want to go with a minor god or goddess, I like the idea of him being a child of Psyche (Goddess of the human soul) because he is very human and he understands people on a level that might be considered supernatural. Lilith would be the oracle. Karen would be a child of Hephaestus and Mal would 100% just be a guy who can see through the mist and has a shield.
Gar is the last son of Pan because that's cool AF. Raven would be the daughter of Tartarus I think. Vic would be a son of Apollo. I know it's really easy to go for Hephaestus for Vic but honestly, the key part of Vic's story to me isn't that he's a cyborg, it's that he's human. He's a survivor, who, against all odds, received bat shit crazy medical treatment from his father and survived a fatal accident. I like the idea that Apollo saw a guy doing crazy stuff to advance medical science and was like 'Hey there 😉😉😉😉'. Also pre accident Vic was a football player which has a lot to do with aim, so idk, I just like it. Starfire would be a demigod child of the sun deity on her home planet.
For Young Justice, Cassie and Bart are already covered. Kon would be a legacy of Nemesis (Lex) and a legacy of a deity from Krypton. Cissie would be a daughter of Ares and a legacy of Apollo. Greta would be a child of Morpheus. Tim would be the son of Lachesis. Slobo is Slobo. Anita.... Tbh I want to say she's a legacy of Aphrodite? Love is a huge part of her backstory and I dislike giving the non powered characters godly parentage that explains away their abilities. They worked hard for those skills!
76 notes · View notes
sunischhittheraccon · 2 months ago
Text
So I've been scrolling through gf au this is my personal version of relativity falls ok Mabel steal dippers identity just like in canon with the fords ill be using the trans dipper head canon so no one knows about dipper being trans other than Mabel Pacifica ( who replaces fids) and bill parents (who will be replacing bill) because of the times being pretty transphobic Mabel still could replace dipper dipper fully transitioned will in the portal .
Pacifica and dipper meet in college just like canon ford and fidd but instead being his lab assistant Pacifica funded the project and was the one brought dipper to gravity falls for his weirdness research since she still lives there since she was a kid a say all freaky shit that happens there she still got sucked in got her ass traumatized and went crazy dipper was the one to make the memory gun in this timeline and Pacifica stole it and started using it as in canon her son then kicked her out because of her going full crazy she the started working in the local dinner for grenda she still rich since she made sure to have a secret personal account precrazy .
Mabel and dipper relationship isn't as messed up as bad with the canon stanses since I they don't have as much resentment towards each other here since there was no the science project incident never happened they were never compared to each other by there parents the drifted apart after high school in the whole Portal incident the never had a full brawl like in canon instead instead it just a shouting match were Mabel just feel like she's be used by him and it ends with her trowing the journal at him but dipper moves out the way and it hits the button and activates it dipper holds that over her and they make up right after he gets back
Dipper erased his memories of about the equation to destroy the barrior around gravity falls since he knows bills parents would need it to escape and hide clues about it in each journal just in case he ever need it in weirdmagadon ford figures it out and the stan swap happens as normal
Instead of the whole situationship with ford in bill had scalene and Euclid have more of parent child relationship with dipper seeing him as a replacement for bill who died trying escape Euclida leading to it's destruction leaving them as the only survivers instead of weirdmagadon there trying to recreate Euclida and using this universe to do it they act like dipper is just going through a rebellious phase since in their mind he just a child with how Euclidans have different life span than humans they fully just act as thought dipper is bill they even calling him that and with how similar they are
30 notes · View notes
fountainpenguin · 3 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
Origin of the Pixies
Fairly OddParents ~ (August 2016 - Ongoing)
"Talk of these things should be reserved for fathers and sons. I'm Head Pixie. I'm your aldra mór, but I'm no one's daddy."
Head Pixie backstory longfic
Drama & Angst (I hear there's fluff in here somewhere...)
First-person POV
Dead Dove
Summary
After being infected with Wolbachia pipientis - the real-life bacteria that causes insects to reproduce asexually - Fergus Whimsifinado soon finds himself a single father struggling to provide for 500+ genetically-identical offspring he never really wanted in the first place. Suddenly becoming the first member of a brand new species means complex politics to deal with, a Pixie World to build, a shipping company and a therapy business to manage, and a budding interspecies war to survive... ... All on top of raising children.
Not Rated; Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings
Read on FFN | Read on AO3
Chapter Recaps | Gen 2 Pixies Sheet
Cloudlands AU - Detailed warnings & other AU info
More Fairly OddParents 'fics
This work has a largely T tone. Borderline M for themes like 'queen bee' insect people fighting to the death, getting abducted by Cupid's family for study, being forced into a will o' the wisp's harem to ensure milk for newborn Sanderson, and general themes of non-human reproduction, child loss, and war.
Head Pixie-centric longfic with a focus on:
- Growing up with freckles in insect society, where you're typecast as a violent "queen bee" who'll stop at nothing to defend his hive. Set Daddy's fortune aside for wergild; you're gonna need it. - Accidental selkie wife addition (Please don't send her back to Mom; she needs this job) - Local party boy struggles to prioritize fatherhood above raves - Getting abducted by Cupid's hot grumpy mom, who's absolutely willing to push you to your limits if it means she can unravel your biology and show you off to all her friends - Raising little worker bees... I mean, drone pixies who regularly need their faces licked for pheromone exposure or they'll cry - Cloudlands' most eligible rich bachelor rejects hugs because he fears bee-instinct cuddle death attacks; more at 11 - Building a company up from nothing. Gotta start somewhere- Why not with cupcakes? (Maybe cute kids are good for something after all...) - Raising an heir you're biologically programmed to kill... It's fine- Sis is raising the spare - Why did we think adopting a cù sìth that can steal your soul if you lie was a good idea? - The cool girl who founded the human godparenting division is afraid you'll hurt her with your big, scary muscles and she'd rather "just be friends." oh no. - WHAT midlife crisis? Hahaha... Don't read Chapter 37. - The war over godkids from "Balance of Flour" (Season 7); H.P. and his 4 eldest pixies are drafted on the Fairies' side. Huh... That's gonna cause issues with the whole "BFF with the leader of the Anti-Fairies" thing... - Divorce? Child loss?? Raising some anti-fairy kid with Anti-Cosmo? Uh-oh. - His hat is also a pen
Read on FFN | Read on AO3 | Blog Tag
"I'm impolite and I make fun of everyone! I'm immature but I will stay this way forever <3" (x)
21 notes · View notes
changingplumbob · 3 months ago
Text
Knightstone Household: Chapter 9, Part 10
Tumblr media Tumblr media
CW: Low level sim spice - Guide to Content Warnings
Silas did not have a good school day. He didn’t want to explain what happened but he got a very sad moodlet. Luckily for him he’d already arranged to have his friends, and fellow aliens, Tyree and Ruth come over after school. It was too cold to do anything outside so the three took over the living room and started a video game battle.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Ruth: Important question, what are you two bringing for show and tell
Tyree: I found this cool leaf that looks like-
Ruth: Boring! As aliens we have to set the standard in cool stuff. Silas can you bring an alien
Silas: What? We’re aliens
Tumblr media
Ruth: I meant from your mum’s collection of critters
Silas: Oh, maybe. She doesn’t really like people touching her science stuff
Ruth: You don’t have to ask her, just bring one
Tyree: Like you would steal from your mum’s
Ruth: I would if they had cool stuff for show and tell
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Silas: Maybe I should just borrow a geode, Mummy has a bunch. I think she said the whole collection but she never got a collection plaque? I don’t know
Ruth ends up winning the game leaving the boys annoyed. She and Tyree head home while Silas takes a nap until his mum gets home.
Tumblr media
Suzanna had a stressful workday and returns home with a bad headache. After waking up Silas she grabs her dinner, Adam votes they eat in the lounge in front of the TV tonight.
Suzanna: Good day?
Adam: I leveled up my guitar skill and Pollock and I sent a book off
Suzanna: That’s great!
Silas: Mummy... can I... have an alien?
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Pollock: We aliens
Silas: I know. I mean one of the ones upstairs
Suzanna: Why? As like a pet?
Silas: Not exactly. I’d like to take one for show and tell. Please
Adam: I don’t think that’s a good idea, but your Mum and I will talk okay
Suzanna: You don’t want to take a crystal? We have plenty of those
Silas: Maybe. If I can’t have an alien
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Adam and Suzanna worked in tandem that night getting their sons to bed. Adam read Pollock a story while Suzanna sprayed the monster under the bed for Silas. When they got upstairs they got in their sleepwear.
Suzanna: Why don’t you want him taking an alien
Adam: I don’t want us to be the local weirdos
Suzanna: But Adam you know the alien population ratio is high here, that’s why we came
Adam: I know. I just... we got so much unwanted attention as kids. I don’t want that for him
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Suzanna: I know but he seems bright and he’s got friends
Adam: So I need to stop being so protective
Suzanna: I wouldn’t tell you that. But he should to be able to share something he’s excited about
Adam: Would any of them even survive a trip to school and back
Suzanna: The porcupine might. I can check with it tomorrow
Adam: For now would you get on the bed, I’ve missed you today. Let me show you how much
Suzanna: I think I’d rather convince you of my view
Adam: I like the sound of that
Suzanna: *giggles* Close your eyes
Tumblr media
The next morning Silas can’t wait for his parents to get to the breakfast table. Bringing an alien was Ruth’s idea but he would like to be able to talk about one, his mum has found so many.
Adam: Morning sport
Silas: Daddy did you decide
Suzanna: Your dad wants you to take an alien
Silas: REALLY
Adam: Hold on there are some ground rules. Don’t let anybody else touch it, keep it in your sight and listen to your Mum when she tells you all about it
Silas: Huh
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Suzanna: If you want to take one we need to go over my notes first. Otherwise you won’t have anything to say other than what colour it is. Show and tell is Friday right? I should have some time after work tomorrow
Silas: Yes, thanks Mummy, thanks Daddy
He happily washes the breakfast dishes and gets ready for the bus.
Adam: Thanks for convincing me. Anytime you want to do that to me again-
Suzanna: Shh, he’ll hear you! Let him be young and innocent a while longer
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Silas headed to the road to wait for the bus to come. Rather than just stand and freeze he decided to make some snow angels. Suzanna meanwhile headed to her garden to harvest and care for the plants. Slowly some were evolving into better plants under her care.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Arriving at work Suzanna was confronted by a grey sky and an angry Shelley.
Shelley: Thank the watcher you are here, I need to talk to you
Suzanna: What about
Shelley: When you had your vacation day-
Suzanna: My son was sick
Shelley: And as a mother of a Silas I sympathise but Faye did not
Suzanna: If you’re going to tell me she hates me I’m well aware
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Shelley: Doesn’t that piss you off
Suzanna: It comes with the territory of being an alien
Shelley: She was lording it over me all day, barking orders, I have the same rank as her
Suzanna: I’ll talk to her about it
Shelley: I wouldn’t mind if you did more than just talk
Tumblr media
Shelley stormed inside and Suzanna groaned. Personal management was her least favourite part of the job. She just wanted to be a scientist tinkering away but no, since she was “the best” she was expected to control the behaviour of others. She set about her usual morning tasks thinking hard, how could she talk to Faye without it becoming a full on confrontation?
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Previous ... Next
22 notes · View notes
briochebrioche · 4 months ago
Text
Grave of the Fireflies ( brb, crying )
Tumblr media
So now that I can see my keyboard (I stopped crying finally) I can type my thoughts on this film. Although the film takes place during WWII, I believe the main focus was not actually about the war. Sure, there are a few scenes that show the gruesome consequences of war (the burning homes, dead bodies, rush to hide in shelters, food rations, etc.). But other than those few times, everyone else in the community actually seemed to be doing fine. Many people still had homes, even though food was rationed they still ate every day, and children were playing happily. It was harder than usual, but as long as everyone stuck with their families and followed the rules, they made it by okay. The real problems came from the lack of empathy the adults in the show demonstrated toward Seita and Setsuko.
Tumblr media
Ironically, going to live with their aunt was more of a catalyst for their eventual death than the start of the bombings. The aunt became bitter toward the siblings, acting condescending and almost scolding Seita for not helping out in the war effort more. She equated them to freeloaders and even went as far as to say something along the lines of “this is what I get for taking in two orphans”. This line really stuck out to me because it showed an alarming lack of empathy. Their mother had recently just died and their father had also likely perished in the war, but the aunt was more focused on using them for extra rations and being petty. This tense environment caused them to leave their aunt’s home and move into a small cave, where they tried to survive on their own.
Tumblr media
Eventually, Setsuko becomes sick with diarrhea and lack of energy, which Seita tries to alleviate by stealing a crop from a local farmer and using it to make a sort of home remedy for her stomach. The farmer catches Seita and beats him severely, despite him pleading and explaining that his little sister is very sick. After this event, Seita tries taking Setsuko to a doctor that merely tells him that she is suffering from malnutrition and needs food, then brushes them off to move on to the next patient. Sometime after Setsuko succumbs to her malnutrition, Seita does the same at a train station where everyone around him ignores him.
Tumblr media
In the end, it was not the war that killed these two children, but their own people. I believe the movie is a critique on how adults turn a blind eye to those in need, especially children. This is seen in the real world with homeless people that are completely ignored by society. The average person would rather pretend they’re not there than do something to help and acknowledge them. There’s also the parallel to many adults questioning the intentions and credibility of young people. They are quick to judge a child’s actions as delinquency and don’t take into account the context of why they did what they did. They fail to put themselves in the child’s shoes and understand that they cannot deal with stress and hardships the same way an adult can. The light from these two kids who were full of love and joy was snuffed out by the cold indifference of the adults who were supposed to protect them.
24 notes · View notes
hows-my-handwriting · 1 year ago
Text
Hobie Brown Headcanons
long post ahead. will put as much as i can under the cut but i will have a.... loose table of contents.
and im not feeding you everything. i need more content to drip feed you later.
the inspo is driving me crazy but the hands are refusing to write.
the table: backstory food british animals
lmk if ppl want this to be split up into individual posts per category. cuz its l o n g
BACKSTORY:
Not based on the comics. purely my own attempt at writing his backstory and his particular villains.
Hobie's Doc Oc was a university professor pressured by Osborn's regime to produce weapons. Hobie had met the guy while crashing a university class, but nothing more than that. Octavius snapped and took the revolution to the extreme. he built a WMD and planned to use it on the city. Hobie talked octavius down and disarmed the weapon.
Hobie's lizard was his close friend and bandmate who got jealous over their lead singer's affections towards hobie. they were close friends until hobie started drifting away. curtis was bitter and never really forgave him. the final straw was when hobie returned in full, having just abandoned his spider suit. the band is back together but curtis still has hard feelings. he knew vaguely about hobie's connection with spiderman but thought that it was some kind of special deal or friendship which was just another nail in the coffin. he turns himself into the lizard and attacks hobie, demanding answers and refusing to listen.
the above is just an excuse to hurt hobie really bad >:3 i love my angst and my beating my muses up. i wanted to break his ribs.
electro was a civilian who just happened to get struck by lightning. he is the sole reason hobie has insulated all of his gear and one of the reasons all of his spikes can shoot excess electricity like one of those funky little electrode balls. hobie took one look at this guy and immediately got to work.
Kraven was a bounty hunter hired and possibly engineered by osborn and fisk to hunt down hobie. classic kraven activities. he tried to drown hobie in the thames. hobie managed to escape but couldn't breathe or eat properly for a week after the attack
hobie's ship was hauled from the local junkyard. It was originally just used as a figure head to lead the charge from the government locked dam blocking off water. it somehow survived so he uses it as his hq.
hobie is immune to his scorpion's venom after being stung so many times and stealing samples of it to build up an immunity. yes it hurt. yes it sucked. but it worked. (loosely inspired by a fanfic)
the above are not in chronological order. mostly.
FOOD:
Hobie's world doesn't have a lot of spices. it's a closed state unless importing 'important' materials like lumber, steel and other sciency stuff, food is a lower priority or just a restricted luxury. the spice trade has regressed to something like the 1600s where foreign spices are held by those in power purely as a status symbol. the common man might have access to salt, sugar and cream, but anything else- especially anything spicy- is a luxury item.
hobie would love spicy food. i just dont think he's gotten much exposure to it. day one out of e-138 he opened a bag of spicy chips in the cafeteria, touched one and exploded.
exotic/foreign fruits fall under this same category but for more legit reasons of travel and lack of safe storage. so for example: mangoes, oranges/citrus, kiwi, pomegranates.
boba would freak him the fuck out. he has no idea what those little jiggly things are and its only made worse when one of the kids inevitably shows him the hamster 'is it worth it' meme. he becomes scarred for life.
if you take too long to take a bite out of whatever you're holding and hobie is hungry, he will just lean over and take a bite out of it. sandwich? bitten. spaghetti? stolen off the fork. chocolate bar? wrapper and bar, gone.
his favorite flavor of cake is chocolate or caramel. sue me im projecting onto him
BRITISH
he holds out his pinky when holding cups. it's just an unconscious thing that turns conscious once someone calls it out. in which case he sticks it out even further
flips the police and the royal family off regularly with the one fingered or the two fingered version. will only respect the french for inventing the creative two fingered fuck you, but nothing else.
has a winter fit that is just like a pile of whatever sweaters he has and two scarves. and long socks that make the space in his tight boots even more tight. sometimes cuts off circulation to his feet.
loves going to pubs and just chatting with people. also loves picking fights with the drunk people. Particularly the irish. he thinks their accents are funny and has long arguments with them while they're both speaking absolute gibberish.
knows french but only the insults. has an arsenal of french insults he will just whip out of his back pocket and drop on someone's head.
not really a british thing but i bet he doesn't know how to ride a bike. he was a) too tall and b) not willing to get his entire skeleton rattled by riding over the cobbled streets of london.
wimpy's fan. (its like the british version of mcdonalds but less popular and less famous. according to my research).
ANIMALS
Hobie keeps pigeons. he built a little house when he was bored and was surprised to find three pigeons hiding from the rain underneath it the next day. he didn't really intend to keep them but they nested and he kept bringing them food and water. he did name the brown one hobie jr.
hobie has a cat. again, not really 'has' but rather 'it broke into his boat and wont leave'. he didn't name her because he can't think of a good one. for the longest time he had no idea she was living in his floorboards but later discovered a hole in the side of his boat and found a crawlspace just large enough for a kitten.
he is freaked out by snakes. not as in a fear of snakes. but rather in utter disbelief that they can be the size of a human person. he's read about and probably seen the average snake, about the size of an arm. but anything larger than that will make his jaw drop right off of his face
he did have a symbiote dog for a short time. the dog was badly hurt and the passive symbiote had merged with its body to try and help it. he offered it a place to stay and rest and it happily agreed. it followed him around for the short while they had together and one day went off on its own.
he still sees that dog around (affectionately named 'spider-mutt') and offers it head scratches or belly rubs but they always part ways sooner than later.
loves opossums. thinks they look funny.
part two? maybe....
might add more to this as my brain keeps turning.
62 notes · View notes
hn-undercover-9503 · 2 days ago
Text
hotp!Etho details I wanna talk about after releasing the new backstory chapter because he's one of my favorites:
Etho is two years younger than Impulse and Skizz (them being 42 in the main storyline, and Etho being 40)
Etho grew up living on the outskirts of a smaller trading village in northern Dogwarts
He was an orphan (not too dissimilar from Martyn as a kid, and Grian and Pearl and Jimmy) and survived by stealing fancy things from the traveling merchants and selling them to the locals to buy food/clothes/etc
He wears a mask to cover the scars on the lower half of his face, and only ever takes it down when he's alone or with people he loves and trusts (re, when he takes it off while talking to Martyn at the end of our years apart)
The scars are a product of his childhood, specifically one instance where he was caught trying to steal food from a traveling cart and got a pot of boiling water thrown at him--he stopped stealing food after this, and started doing what I mentioned above instead
He's a skilled fighter with pretty much any weapon, but prefers hand-to-hand combat above all else
As a kid, he had a nickname among the local shopkeeps who knew him only from coming by to sell them his stolen things; they called him "White Fox"
Despite what you might think, he's the one who probably worries about Martyn the most--although you'd never know it by looking at him (unless you're Skizz, in which case you're insanely attuned to your friends' feelings and will always notice)
He's normally very quiet, but enjoys teasing those close to him (especially Martyn--I should really find an excuse to write a one shot of just them bc they're so fun oh my god)
9 notes · View notes
superman86to99 · 3 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
Superman #92 (August 1992)
Massacre, a big red alien who goes around the universe punching people, comes to Earth to steal some ice cream... and punch Superman, while at it. The ice cream thing isn't a joke, by the way. The issue starts with a space mobster called Chadda telling Massacre that he owes him for punching too many people to death "from his direction," so he has a mission for him. Massacre is ready to punch him to death too, until Chadda mentions that the mission involves going to Earth.
Tumblr media
Earth, as you might know, is where Superman lives. Massacre feels like he owes Superman some punches from the last time they met, so he agrees to take the mission as a flimsy excuse to do that. He turns himself into energy and lands in some island in the Southern Hemisphere, where he instantly yells out for Superman to "reveal himself," but the only people around are some confused locals.
Massacre draws an honestly pretty good rendition of Superman's symbol on the sand (has Massacre been drawing the S-shield on his notebooks for months? omg he's just like me) and the islanders point him in the general direction of the USA. Of course, the USA is actually pretty big, so Massacre ends up asking directions from a random cowboy, who tells him he's "gots to go" to Metropolis to find Superman. And so, Massacre goes to Metropolis... Illinois.
Tumblr media
Meanwhile, in the correct Metropolis, Superman is hard at work rebuilding the city's water purification plant after it was destroyed by Lex Luthor's missiles (along with most of the rest of the city), probably because he just wants Lois Lane to take a damn shower for the first time in a week. Unfortunately for the increasingly stinky people of Metropolis, Massacre finally finds his way to the city and distracts Superman from his job with, you guessed it, punching.
Tumblr media
While Massacre keeps Superman occupied by burying him in cement, the little "Skimmer" alien who follows him around completes Chadda's mission: filling up a spaceship with an exotic substance that only seems to be produced on Earth called "ice cream." Superman breaks free from the cement, but Massacre throws him towards the ice cream-filled spaceship, causing it to come crashing down and explode. Did the little alien guy survive? Did the ice cream? Will Lois ever shower?! You'll have to wait to find out, because this is the part where I say TO BE CONTINUED!
Plotline-Watch:
Massacre kept his promise to Superman from his previous appearance that "We will meet again -- on Earth!" Now he needs to fulfill the second part, which is that he'd kill all of Superman's friends. Or at least Jimmy Olsen. C'mon, Massacre. You can do it!
Despite the insalubrious conditions in Metropolis, Superman feels like he can't fly off to some other city with Lois for a little romantic vacation because the last time he did that, their work friend's child was murdered by the Toyman. That's an understandable concern, but look at it this way: what if Jimmy is the one who gets killed this time? C'mon, Superman. You can do it!
Tumblr media
Speaking of which, there's a subplot about Jimmy and Lucy Lane looking for clean clothes because all the ones they owned were blown up by Lex Luthor. I don't remember where this storyline goes, if anywhere, so I'm just going to assume it leads to Jimmy trying on a sweater that's two sizes too small and accidentally choking. Fingers crossed.
Don Sparrow points out that Massacre is part of a trend where villains were built up as the next Doomsday. They're not subtle about it, either. Superman already remarked during their first fight that he hadn't been punched that hard "since Doomsday," and now Lois says "That Massacre looks so tough! Almost as tough as... Doomsday!" You know one thing Massacre could do to elevate his status in Superman's rogues gallery and surpass Doomsday? Killing Ji-- okay, that's enough dead Jimmy jokes, sorry.
Tumblr media
I like how Massacre says "Today, someone dies!" right before the Doomsday reference. That's right, kids! This one could be another collector's item!
Don says: "I appreciate the line of dialogue explaining that Clark will shave before jumping into action as Superman, so that no one connects their matching stubble." My question is, won't they end up looking alike anyway once Clark shows up again with a clean face? And won't the other Metropolis survivors be like "Hey, man, where'd you find shaving implements? You holding out on us?" The logical solution would be for Superman to glue some hair to his face once he goes back to being Clark.
Tumblr media
I'm not clear on what Chadda the ice cream-addicted space mobster means when he says, in his weird Yoda speak, that Massacre owes him for "Kills you have from my direction." Is he saying he gave Massacre directions to people he could kill? Or that Massacre killed too many people in his general direction? We need a Chadda miniseries to clear this up. (Or someone could ask Dan Jurgens, but I doubt he'd remember.)
I feel bad for the cowboy who kindly told Massacre about Metropolis and got killed as thanks. Based on his attire, he'd apparently survived since the 1800s, only to die in such a senseless way. If only that had been some other member of the supporting cast...
Shout Outs-Watch:
Ice cream-flavored shout outs to our supporters, Aaron, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, Bheki Latha, Mark Syp, Ryan Bush, Raphael Fischer, Kit, Sam, Bol, Dave Shevlin, and Dave Blosser! Join them (and get extra non-continuity articles; we just finished covering all of the 1994 Superman Elseworlds annuals) via Patreon or our newsletter’s “pay what you want” mode!
And now, more from Don!
Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):
We start with the cover, and it’s an absolute beauty, combining the talents of two of my all time favourite pencillers (making up two out of four on my comic art Mount Rushmore), Dan Jurgens and Jerry Ordway (though on this cover, Ordway handles inks).  There’s always a greater sense of depth and texture from Ordway’s detailed signature hatching, and it elevates a fairly static cover into a really gorgeous piece.  As the story continues, we’re thrown into an alien tavern, with some imaginatively diverse creatures within, which must have been fun to design.  [Max: Speaking of which, the guy on the far right here looks familiar... where have we seen him before, or at least his race?]
Tumblr media
It’s on page two that we’re re-introduced to Massacre, the new big bad in the Superman mythology (who we saw briefly in Adventures #509, murdering the loose end known as Auron).  Full disclosure: I never really warmed to this character.  To me he was emblematic of a bad trend in Superman comics of the time, to try to recapture the heat of the Doomsday storyline by adding characters who could go toe-to-toe with Superman, requiring the telltale comment that the new character was “almost as tough as Doomsday”.  Massacre was one of these types, completely devoid of personality, other than confidence, making him read like a humourless Lobo (right down to the dreadlocks, it seems).  [Max: I'll admit I did warm up to Massacre, but mainly because I had the action figure and thought he looked pretty badass as he punched my other toys.]
It’s in these early pages that we’re reintroduced to Skimmer, inexplicably our narrator for this issue, as he was in Adventures #509.  He looks like an earthtone version of a Ralph Bashki design from Heavy Metal, and of all the one-off characters I’d like to see more of, this guy is not high on my list.  As the story continues, I appreciate the look at bomb ravaged Metropolis, especially the detail that the terrain is uneven, really making it seem like a disaster area. 
Tumblr media
Quite a nice drawing of Lois Lane on page 7, in profile.  I always felt like Dan Jurgens generally drew her as resembling Geena Davis (Ordway’s Lois always looked like Julia Roberts to me) but in this instance she looks like Emma Caulfield as intrepid 90210 reporter Susan Keats).  The world tour Massacre takes as he hunts for Superman is an interesting way to fill the time, a nice detail that not every alien lands in the continental USA right away.  I appreciated the subtle hints through language and attire that Massacre’s second stop in the outback, interrupting what must have been a Foster’s Lager ad with Paul Hogan.  [Max: I always assumed it was somewhere in the US, because otherwise that'd mean the islanders pointed Massacre in the wrong direction and they strike me as honest folks.] Given that our real-world Metropolis Illinois is the home of the biggest Superman convention in the world every year (I gotta make it out to that one of these times!) it’s neat to see it mentioned in these pages.
The fistfight that occurs once Massacre finally does find Superman is well-drawn, even with the irksome dialogue establishing just how deadly this guy is.  The push that Massacre gets through Superman’s lines like “Too fast” and “how can anybody be so fast” or “I missed? Impossible!” put me in the mind of Poochie’s first appearance on Itchy and Scratchy.  And Massacre is totally in my face.
Superman bursting out of Massacre’s concrete trap is a killer image, and I like the Neal Adams style rim lighting on the next page as Superman gets blasted backward by Massacre’s wrist gauntlet.
Tumblr media
SPEEDING BULLETS:
The revelation that Skimmer is on Earth to stock up on ice cream is cute, but perhaps a bit out of place in a story that is otherwise so violent.  [Max: Ice cream is never out of place, Don.]
Proof that I read too many comics—I had remembered Jimmy and Lucy being broken up already (maybe back during the Cerberus storyline?) so maybe they’re scavenging as friends? Or maybe that was just a blip? [Max: Maybe Lucy couldn't resist his manly stubble... which, in his case, I'm pretty sure he did glue to his face.]
Tumblr media
I wonder what Elliot S! Maggin would say about Superman rebuilding things like water treatment plants, given the point of view espoused in the now classic “Must There Be a Superman?” story.  On the one hand, creating infrastructure seems beyond the normal “catch them when they fall” Superman parameters, but on the other hand, I felt a little uncomfortable seeing Clark just chilling out and barbecuing in the disaster area earlier in the issue, and not doing more to help.
Another pet peeve of mine (which happens more in the movies than in the comics) is where super-beings use props to fight each other, when their fists would be more durable and do more damage than, say, the i-beam Superman uses to bat Massacre with on page 13.  The baseball looking hit is a nice visual I suppose, and breaks it up from just being a boxing match, so maybe that answers that.
Tumblr media
There’s some dissonance in the placid expressions these middle-aged concrete workers wear as they stand feet from a monster named Massacre, and casually discuss that “Supes ain’t got a chance.”  Maybe we should run a caption contest for what else they could be saying with those benign faces. 
Tumblr media
[Max: Let me give it a shot...]
Tumblr media
10 notes · View notes
frowningfox · 2 months ago
Note
pspspspsps can u tell us more about uncle jiba because i really like your art of him he's such a Guy
😭I thought nobody liked Uncle, I thought I scared everyone away with him being??? idk being very visibly disabled and also happening to not be particularly skinny. he's my least interacted with art
Lil mini pic of Uncle for people before I ramble
Tumblr media
[BIG INHALE] Let's start with his NAME. Jiba comes from J'ba, an underelven masculine title for a close family figure with a mostly friendly relationship with the speaker. Often translated as "uncle" even though dairau(darkelves/drow) don't really keep track of blood relations like that.
The street urchin children, largely the disenfranchised and displaced people like those who would speak underelven, took a shining to him and dubbed him their J'ba. Which he then took as his name because he left his at home*. Add Uncle to the front of it and he's essentially going by "Uncle Uncle". Now WHY they took a shining to him.
He is a conman and trickster magician. (Mechanically in DnD he started out as Monk with the Charlatan background and a feat that gave him some tricks.) He regularly steals from people and will often share his spoils with the street kids.
*He ran away from home because well... he's running from the burden of being "the chosen one". Every so often someone from his species(the Corarenke,/Korinki) is born as an Avatar of their god, a fey Wind God named Kotengu. Jiba was ever so lucky to be born as this Avatar and he HATED it. All the expectation and decorum and everything about it, he hated it. That thing on his chest? Natural fur pattern, baby! A permanent natural tattoo reminding him of his chosen-ness.
He yearned for being just a Guy. So he ran away and left everything behind except for his crow familiar, who was yet another avatar of Kotengu, one meant to be his spiritual guide.
Now, at this point he still had his arms. Which were also wings. (Coraranke have feathered wing arms that fold up kind of like a pterodactyl's). The amputation was a later in life development and one he is still learning to adjust to. Coraranke wing arms are very important to their mobility and spirituality, he can still manipulate things with his monkey feet and tail so it is functionally a lot more like a real life double leg amputation than a real life double arm amputation.
But I supposed how he lost his arms is an important character moment.
So you know how I said he was a conman and a trickster? Well he uh. Conned the wrong person, a higher up in a very influential gang, a rookie mistake, but he was... unfamiliar with the city and its politics. They put one of their hitmen after him and when wrangled he begged, pleaded, and bargained for all he was worth, and the hitman settled for taking his wings as trophies in stead of his life, and leaving him to die.
Luckily Kotengu the Crow was not about to let his charge die in a back alley and croaked out some words to get a passerby to follow him down the not at all creepy dangerous alleyway(that man would not have survived a horror movie... following a talking crow into a back alley in gang violence central smh), and he was carted away to a local monastery that took care of his wounds, nursed him back to health and attempted to rehabilitate him.
He very much wants to steal from the monastery but is conflicted because they took such good care of him
[collapses into a heap of bones and dust]
[reanimates]
Oh also the character concept came about from a joke about "unarmed attacks" and I decided to take it Too Seriously and explore an amputation disability and its impacts on a hero's life in the world we play dnd in.
Okay bye
[returns to dust]
11 notes · View notes