#rip i miss having a scanner

[pokeberry5]

tim as a magical school girl......

tim as a magical girl .........

inspo from this cardcaptor sakura art

[lightnersdream]

i've been thinking about exactly why people portraying one of the other crew members successfully killing Jimmy as a "for what you did to Anya" kind of thing rubs me the wrong way a bit and it's because like..... this is just another form of taking agency away from Anya, in a way. it's kind of framing her as some meek, shivery woman-thing who's entirely at the mercy of the men around her, either to hurt her or save her.

(i understand these are mostly for wish fulfillment on the audience's behalf because everyone would like to see Jimmy pay for his crimes. whether or not this is the intention of the person writing it isn't really relevant, characterization happens with or without intent. i feel like it misses the point by portraying it as an 'ideal ending'.)

because... Anya is a capable person. she takes things into her own hands when she can. it was partially(?) her idea to get into the cargo,

(before he interrupts her.. remember when she interrupted Curly in the dead pixel segment?)

it was her idea to get the code scanner from the cockpit,

it was her idea to get the medication from behind the foam.

(the chance to do these things herself is not given to her.)

she'd been keeping Curly alive for months in a critical state somehow, her psych evaluations at the start are only so useless because Jimmy refuses to take it/her seriously and Curly is obviously biased when he puts it into his own hands. he's known him a long time, like he said. "I'll just put good for that one."

there's not a lot of material to work with because of how the game is framed, but it's there. we are working with two very biased perspectives and neither one lends Anya what she deserves

there's significant changes in how she speaks post- and pre- crash, and depending on who she happens to be talking to. i recommend re-reading her dialogue, because the difference is drastic

she acts the way she does around Jimmy because he has tangibly done horrible things to her, is actively hostile, and physically could not escape him by any means. she can't take away Curly's agency herself, in my eyes. you have to remember that Especially in the post-crash segments of the game, it's entirely from Jimmy's POV, and he obviously does not (and has never) thought very highly of her or treated her with a shred of respect

i've seen a general idea that she can't bear to hurt other people for any reason, but that doesn't really track to me. this is the real point of the post by the way

it seems based on the parts where she says she struggles to give Curly medication. "It just hurts him so much, I can't stand the noise." "It makes me nauseous."

it's not really the same thing as, say, hurting someone in self defense

this sounds like she did want the gun itself. this never felt worded like someone who would refuse to, at very least, threaten Jimmy with a gun, with violence. if she had been given the agency to make that decision on her own. she wasn't though

she still tries to reclaim some of it even as she's denied it

by the end she's still trying to keep that gun out of his hands

i think some people overly soften her, for similar reasons the game itself is trying to comment on. she's not a tender victim who couldn't cause pain to another out of the softness of her soul, she's a person who's had every last bit of agency ripped from her repeatedly until she couldn't take it anymore. that's the point. that's why framing her that way, "needing" someone to save her, is odd to me

she didn't need Curly to save her, she needed him to take responsibility

she didn't want to escalate things, but she's not an idiot. self defense was absolutely on her mind

but who knows im just saying shit *smiles serenely*

[techhiz]

Felt a little bit angsty tonight...

Faded Spark

The medbay was quiet—eerily so, with only the faint hum of machines breaking the silence. Knockout, always so meticulous, was tending to his tools, making sure everything was in its place. It had been a rather slow day, but that was normal. After all, the Decepticons had been laying low for a while. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, something he couldn’t quite place.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden crash of the door slamming open. Two Vehicons rushed in, their armor battered and scorched, struggling to drag a third figure in between them. The moment they entered, Knockout���s entire frame stiffened. His spark skipped a beat.

His optics locked onto the form they were carrying—the broken, battered body of a young femme. Her body was covered in deep gashes, energon dripping from the torn openings in her frame. She was barely conscious, barely even moving, her head hanging limply between the two soldiers. Her right arm was missing entirely, the jagged end a cruel reminder of the battle she had just faced. Her side was torn open, energon leaking freely.

For a moment, Knockout’s mind couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing. The injuries were so severe, the body so unrecognizable, that his first thought was, It can’t be...

And then, as if his processor had finally processed it, the horrifying truth crashed down on him like a wave. His body froze, the tools slipping from his hands and clattering to the ground. He could feel his energon run cold in his veins, a sudden surge of panic overtaking him.

“Y/N...?” he whispered, his voice barely a breath as his optics flickered over your form again. It can’t be...

But the realization was unmistakable. His twin sister—his baby sister—lay in front of him, broken and nearly lifeless.

The Vehicons, having done their part, stepped back, their faces showing a mix of worry and reluctance. One of them spoke with a strained voice, his own concern showing.

“W-We found her like this, Knockout. We tried to get her back... but we... couldn’t.”

Knockout didn’t hear him. He didn’t need to. His entire focus was on you. His twin. The one who had been by his side for so long.

He stumbled forward, unable to believe the sight before him. “No... no, no, no, no... Y/N!” His voice cracked on the last syllable, the word ripping through his chest like a blade.

You were barely hanging on, your movements sluggish and weak. You hadn’t even opened your remaining optic to acknowledge him, your head lolling to the side as you tried to fight the pull of unconsciousness.

With shaking hands, Knockout gently cupped your face, brushing away some of the blood and dirt that had smeared across it. His voice broke as he whispered again, “Y/N, please... please, wake up... don’t do this to me...”

But you didn’t respond. Your labored breathing was all he could hear, shallow and uneven.

He moved quickly, his hands trembling as he began to assess the damage. His medical knowledge kicked in, but even as his scanners registered the overwhelming extent of the damage, he couldn’t bring himself to stop. His twin needed him—you needed him.

“Stay with me, please...” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion as he began to work. He sealed the open wounds on your side as best as he could, but the damage was extensive. The missing arm couldn’t be replaced—not this quickly. And then there was the matter of your damaged optic. He couldn’t fix everything, not in time.

Breakdown entered the room at that moment, his optics going wide when he saw the situation. He had been following behind, unaware of what awaited him, but the sight of Knockout cradling your broken body made his spark drop. He quickly moved toward Knockout’s side, placing a large, reassuring hand on his partner’s shoulder.

Knockout’s optics locked onto Breakdown’s, full of desperation, pleading for help in a way that words could never express. “Breakdown... I can’t... I can’t lose her... Please, tell me I can fix her...” His voice cracked as the weight of the situation settled heavily on his shoulders.

Breakdown, usually the steady, unflappable one, couldn’t hide his own grief. He saw the way Knockout’s frame shook, how his partner was barely holding it together. He had seen Knockout in countless dangerous situations, but this was different. This was personal. This was the one person who had always been with him, the one person Knockout loved unconditionally, now broken beyond repair.

“You don’t have to do this alone, Knockout,” Breakdown said quietly, his voice rough with sorrow. “I’m here. We’re here for you.”

Knockout didn’t respond. His hands continued to work frantically on your body, but there was no way to fix the unfixable. He felt so helpless. He wasn’t used to feeling powerless, but now... now he was faced with something even he couldn’t repair.

“Y/N, don’t leave me... Don’t leave me like this...” His voice trembled as he spoke, the fear and panic now fully taking over. “Please, Y/N, please...”

He felt the vibration of your weak pulse beneath his fingers, and for the briefest moment, he allowed himself to believe that you might make it—that you might pull through. But his hopes were dashed when the vital signs came through as dangerously low, and your remaining optic flickered out.

“Y/N...” Knockout whispered, his voice barely a sound, his hand trembling as it held yours. “No, no, no... please...” His chest tightened painfully, a pressure he couldn’t escape. His spark pounded in his chest like it was trying to escape the cage of his frame.

And then... it happened.

With one final, ragged breath, your body went still.

Knockout didn’t notice at first. He was so caught up in his frantic attempts to resuscitate you, his thoughts wild with denial, that he didn’t see it—didn’t see that the life had left your frame.

When he finally realized that your chest had stopped moving, when the quiet became deafening, it hit him all at once. His spark, his twin, his Y/N—was gone.

“No...” Knockout’s voice barely formed the word, his whole body trembling as his grip tightened around your cold hand. His optic flickered with the sting of tears he hadn’t allowed himself to shed. “No, no, no...” He repeated over and over, the word losing all meaning as it became a desperate chant, a plea to bring you back, to fix it, to undo what had been done.

Breakdown didn’t say anything. He simply sat down beside Knockout, his massive frame resting against his partner’s smaller one. He gently placed a hand on Knockout’s back, pulling him close, his own optics filled with sorrow for the one he loved so much.

“Shh... Knockout, I’m here,” Breakdown murmured, trying to offer whatever comfort he could. But the words felt hollow in the face of the devastation that had overtaken Knockout. He could only hold him as the medic’s body shook with the force of his sobs.

Knockout let out a broken sob, his optics closed as he buried his face in his hands. He could feel the weight of grief settling in on him, suffocating him. His spark had never felt so cold, so empty. You were everything to him. And now you were gone.

“I couldn’t save her...” Knockout whispered between his sobs, his voice raw with guilt and loss. “She was just a sparkling... I should’ve protected her better... I should’ve been there...” He couldn’t bring himself to look at you, even though every part of him wanted to. It was as if, by looking at your lifeless form, he would be admitting the truth he couldn’t bear.

Breakdown pulled Knockout closer, his hands rubbing soothing circles on his back, even as he tried to hold himself together. “You did everything you could, Knockout. You fought for her. And she knew you loved her. That’s all you could do.”

But the words didn’t reach Knockout. Nothing could.

And so, there they sat, in the quiet medbay. The body of Knockout’s twin sister lay motionless, and the silence between them was deafening. It was a silence that echoed with the loss, with the pain of a life cut short.

And Knockout’s heart, once full of pride and strength, was now an empty, aching void.

The love he had for his twin sister would never be forgotten, but it was now a memory, a shadow, something he could never reach again.

The medbay was still. Silent.

And Knockout, for the first time in his life, felt truly alone.

gn! ^^ *runs to a corner and sobs to sleep*

[in1-nutshell]

Love the new daughter buddy we have, I don’t know what you already have planned for her but I imagine she spends half her time helping Fowler on his duties, functioning as his car and as back up. Imagine those first few episodes when lazerbeak captured Fowler, he also captured her since she was driving him instead of him flying the helicopter.

Bulkhead hears he’s missing and is like “oh well, rip” the. Realizes his daughter is always missing and goes “oh no, my baby girl!”

The complete change in attitude with Bulkhead has been living rent free in my head for a while! Love it!

Hope you enjoy!

Iron bolt and Fowler get kidnapped by the Cons

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Cybertronain reader

TFP

Iron bolt hadn’t been introduced to the kids yet, having been on a mission with Fowler.

Because of that, she had received most of the news through the comms.

Which was also how she received the news of Cliffjumper passing.

She made sure to tell Arcee her condolences and that she would be wrapping things up with Fowler as fast as they could to get to the base.

… Everyone seemed to have forgotten to tell Iron bolt that they now had children…and to mention the kids that there was another bot on the team.

Bulkhead and the kids hear the proximity alarm.

“Where is it coming from Bulkhead? It’s not from the rooftop alarm.”--Raf

Bulkhead reviews the scanners and spots a familiar looking car heading to the bases entrance.

“Oh, it’s just Iron bolt.”--Bulkhead

“Iron bolt? There’s another bot on the team and you didn’t tell me?!”--Miko

Bulkhead slowly dawns on him that he hadn’t told her about the kids and the chances of Fowler begin with her…

“Oh Primus, its Iron bolt!”--Bulkhead

The kids look at him curiously.

“Kids behind me now. Don’t come out until I say so.”--Bulkhead

The kids hide behind Bulkhead’s pede just as Iron bolt pulls up.

She opens the door for Fowler and transforms stretching a bit.

Iron bolt looks Bulkhead smiling.

Bulkhead smiles back.

“Took ya long enough Bolts.”--Bulkhead

Iron bolt smiles a bit.

“We came as fast as we could after the mission was done. Where are the others?”—Iron bolt

“Patrolling. How was everything on the mission?”--Bulkhead

Iron bolt looks at him seriously.

“No Cons… Is everything all right?”—Iron bolt

Bulkhead nervous sweats a bit.

“Nothing! Nope, nothing is wrong here.”--Bulkhead

Iron bolt and Fowler give each other a look.

Iron bolt knew something was up when Bulkhead didn’t crush her in a hug like he normally did after long missions.

Fowler also gets a feeling that Bulkhead is hiding something.

Then the wire comes in.

Three humans move from Bulkhead’s pede.

Fowler is furious.

Iron bolt is more surprised seeing the kids than anything.

She politely waves to them as Fowler and Bulkhead begin to argue.

She wants to get to know the kids more, but Fowler already wants to go.

Bulkhead gave her a pleading look.

She smiled a bit, telling him that she was going to do the best she could to talk to him about this new situation.

Bulkhead does sigh a bit with relief.

If there was one bot that could talk to Fowler from a bad mood it was his Iron bolt.

Iron bolt driving with Fowler.

“I’m sure there is a logical explanation for all of this—”—Iron bolt

“They brought more civilians into this! DO you have any idea—”--Fowler

“William! What did we talk about interrupting each other.”—Iron bolt

“You just did it!”--Fowler

“I’m the oldest, I have a pass.”—Iron bolt

“You still act like a kid.”--Fowler

“I Am a kid compared to everyone on the team, William. You do remember that we Cybertronains age much slower right?”—Iron bolt

Iron bolts scanners pick up a con signature.

“We’re going to have to put a pin in this. We got an airborne Con to worry about. Send the S.O.S to base.”—Iron bolt

Fowler looks out the window to see Lazerbeak trailing them.

“It’s just a minicon. What’s it gonna do?”--Fowler

“That minicon is one you don’t want to mess with William! Lazerbeak is never too far from Sound—”—Iron bolt

BOOM!

An explosion hits the side of Iron bolt causing her to transform midair.

“WILLIAM!”—Iron bolt

She quickly grabs Fowler as they tumble into an unkown groundbrigde.

Iron bolt gets grabbed by a couple of Vechicons and gets Fowler pried from her servos and pushed to the ground.

She looks up to see Starscream and Soundwave in front of her.

Glancing to the side she spots the Con with Fowler walking away.

“Let him—”—Iron bolt

Iron bolt gets hit in the back of the helm.

The last thing she sees is Starscream’s talons coming too close to her spark chamber.

Meanwhile at base…

“The S.O.S was incomplete. Oh well.”--Bulkhead

“But Bulk! What about that other bot that was with him?”--Miko

Bulkhead stops dead in his tracts.

“Bulkhead?”--Jack

Concern and scared car noises intensifies.

Meanwhile…

Iron bolt was tossed into one of the cells and chained to the floor.

She would have been chained from a higher place, but the cons had been called outside after spotting an Autobot.

Iron bolt wakes up hearing blaster fire outside the cell.

She was already fiddling around with her restraints when the doors opened and closed.

Iron bolt nearly has a stroke seeing the three humans from the base making their way into the cell.

“What in Primus’s name are you three doing here?! Don’t you know how dangerous it is?”—Iron bolt

The human girl perks up seeing the bot.

“We found ya!”--Miko

The humans look over at her restraints.

“How did you three even get here? There’s no way that Bulkhead would bring you with him.”—Iron bolt

The eldest human gives the girl a look.

Iron bolt sighed.

“I’m just going out on a limb and saying that Pinky here followed Bulkhead and you two followed.”—Iron bolt

“That’s… actually pretty accurate.”--Raf

“What gave it away?”—Miko

“Call it Wrecker’s instincts.”—Iron bolt

The blasting started to get louder as her optics hardened.

“Talk later. If any of you can get the key to the lock, I’ll have a better chance at protecting you and Fowler when we get out.”—Iron bolt

The doors burst open.

“Kids get behind me!”—Iron bolt

The three humans quickly hide behind the bot who was ready to give it her all to protect them.

“Beep? (Bolts?)”--Bumblebee

Iron bolt sighed in relief seeing her team.

She smiled even more seeing Bulkhead.

“Took you all long enough.”—Iron bolt

Once the rescue had been a success, Iron bolt made sure to get the human medics down to the base to look over Fowler’s injuries.

She does feel a bit guilty for not keeping him safe, but also understands the situation they were in.

There wasn’t much she could have done.

The kids are curious who this other bot is, and some want answers on the spot.

Miko looking up at Iron bolt.

“So, what’s your name anyway?”--Miko

“I am Iron bolt. Official, unofficial, weapon maker, engineer and repair bot.”—Iron bolt

“How come we didn’t meet you when we first met the other bots?”--Jack

“I was on a mission with Agent Fowler, and I didn’t know about you three until I was at the base.”—Iron bolt

Iron bolt gives Bulkhead a glance.

“You really need to work on letting me know on important things when I’m out.”—Iron bolt

“Sorry kiddo.”—Bulkhead

“SHE’S YOUR KID!”—Miko

[lordgrimoire]

The Goonion would Like a Word, Chapter 2

“You have GOT to be kidding me.” Samuel Kincaid hissed as he pressed himself flat to an alleyway wall. Along the wall behind him was a dozen Goons, mostly members of the Red Hood Gang and it’s subsidiaries, meaning they were packing some serious heat. But! Kincaid had spotted a Bat, and all of it’s Birds, staking out the building they were about to raid. He thought for a minute before uttering a ‘fuck it’ and turning to his compatriots. “Gonna get their attention, if they’re looking into it...” The mob behind him uttered agreements, some cussing qiuetly as Kincaid picked up a stone and slung it up at the Bats, hiding in the little shadows there were. He was rewarded with the Big Man himself appearing faster than he should have, staring him down as Samuel straightened up slightly.

“Hood tell you about Miss Jazz?” The Batman nodded, still staring at him, his jaw set in a firm line. “Good, we were just gonna storm the place, still gonna, I think a few of us are willing to get bruised up if we can find out what’s going on.” Batman stared at him for a moment, eyeing him and the two dozen men and women behind him. 

“You have ten minutes, if you can avoid killing do so, but I want to be able to obtain information from their files.” Kincaid nodded and turned, everyone gave signs that they understood, from Old Hannson, grey all over and lugging a mean looking baseball bat as old as he was, to the youngest muscle they had, a man boy really named Charles, though he went by Charlie, still wet behind the ears and sporting a blade as long as his forearm. They all knew the new parameters. When he turned around he saw The Batman clamor back onto the rooftops. 

“Alrighty, LETS DO THIS!” The first thing the GIW Guards heard was his shout, they never saw the full force that came spewing out of several alleyways, as the cameras had been hacked and the gate guards had been knocked out by cast stones.

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

Bruce stalked through the GIW Facility, it had been better defended than first assumed but Jason’s Gang had been disturbingly well prepared, if faced with a reinforced door they had blasting charges, if faced with armored opponents they brought forward weapons with longer reach, by the time the Bats and Birds arrived in the facility one of the Red Hood Gang’s cliques had gotten to the core of the Outpost and captured the commanding agents, now they just had to gently fight their way to the center, thankfully the Gangsters were quick and quiet enough that there could be plausible deniability, especially when one of them set off a C4 charge to open a new entry into the outpost through which a majority of the Cliques escaped.

Only one group had stuck around, under the headmanship of Samuel Kincaid.

“We found something, looks to be kicking still, don’t know how to open it and help it out.” Bruce nodded, allowing the short man to guide him through the chaos to a room near the center of the Outpost, which had formerly been tenements. Within the clean, VERY bright room they found a cage, and within it was a haggard looking figure that Bruce was struggling to keep an eye on, his shadow seemed to flicker every now and then. 

“Oh great, here to rip more of me off you jackwads? Wait, who are you?” The cage, with glowing green bars that reminded Bruce more of Kryptonite than anything else, shone a light on the blond teen in the cage. 

“I am Batman, do you mind telling me who you are?” Kincaid had vanished as soon as Bruce had nodded to him, the man likely gathering his people to beat a hasty retreat, they already looked rough from their entry into the building.

“Johnny, friends call me Johnny, I call myself Johnny-Thirteen, Your not a Guy in White are ya? Not with them that is?” Bruce huffed slightly as he began searching the cage, looking for a padlock, or even a scanner. 

“Obviously, how’d you get captured?” Johnny flinched slightly as Bruce found the keypad. 

“I promised a friend I’d check out Gotham, it’s a possible safe spot until a new portal to the ‘Realms opens up, hell there might be a proto portal cooking here, I can feel it. But my friend, his parents kicked it, his sis apparently found some good folks out here so I came to take a look, they actually picked me up in Metropolis, thought I was one of the Supers, which is kinda fucked, they had stuff all set up for “Kryptonian Subjects” Yeash!” Bruce found the lock, it was complicated, and there likely wasn’t a key, so he began trying to lockpick it, with both a digital device and the old method.

“Would you’re friends sister happen to be named Jazz?” The Ghost started slightly, eyes frantically staring at him. “Don’t worry, your friend and his family will be safe here. You have my word on it.” Johnny stared at him for a moment before looking around. 

“Do the Camera’s still work?” 

“No, why?” Bruce looked at the now slightly sheepish ghost.

“Well er, Ghosts, we like our secrets, but we like talking about what our living family is up to, how they’re doing, Your Grandfather, He’s proud of you, your parents weren’t near enough Ectoplasm and didn’t become Ghosts, but Old Man Wayne is proud of you, when he found out I’d be coming around he asked me to “Find the Batman, tell him his Grandfather is proud of the man he’s become, and that hopefully I can visit some day.” Guy’s always  creeped me out a bit, though most folks killed by the Court of Owls have some stuff, wrong, with em.” Bruce was floored, sitting completely still for a moment before resuming his work.

“Thank you for the message, do you have anywhere to stay?” Johnny chuffed as he pulled himself out of his squatting pose, pushing the lid of the cage off after hearing it’s click. 

“Not really, Kitty, my girlfriend, she’s around somewhere, I can feel her, sorta, she’s got my bike, we may just hang out, might cause some havoc via teenage rebellion, it’s our schtick.” Bruce raised a brow at him. “Oh don’t be a dad at me like that! Fine, fine, we will try not to break anything, heck we won’t even do possesions, but there will be chaos!” And with that, Johnny vanished, leaving Bruce confused but happy to have freed the Ghost.

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

[Ring Ring, Ring, Ring Ring, Ri-CLICK]

“Hood here, go ahead Kincaid.”

“Hey Boss, we got a new couple of friends from that raid, Bat’s update you?”

“Yeah, I can assume our new Friends are of the Spooky variety?”

“Yessir, Johnny and Kitty, good kids, if distrusting, good reasons to as well. We’ll get em set up, call back when you’re back from your flight, we’ll be comin off our, third maybe fourth raid today by then.” 

“Thank you Kincaid, stay safe out there, these guys don’t follow any rules.”

“Well we’ll just have to chuck ours when they stop following em won’t we? See ya later boss.”

[CLICK]

[Ring Ring Ring, Ring Ring Ring, CLICK]

“Walker Residence, Alicia speaking.”

“Code Wings of Pandora is in effect.”

“Thanks again bub, I’ll tell ‘em.”

“Thank you.”

[CLICK]

[kimtaegis]

{Kimtaegis' GFX Breakdowns, Ep. 2: ↳ Rainy Days 1st Anniversary}

a little insight into the editing of the set, featuring texture, brush and mixed media extravaganza

.... Can you believe it's been a year and that I literally started this the week the mv came out and then abandoned it over and over again??? ANYWAY

Since the song is all about yearning and missing someone, I went with an "old memories" (letters, postcards, notes) kind of vibe and of course also incorporated the rain theme in several different ways. For a nostalgic, heartbroken look, black and white plus dirty ripped up paper always works in my opinion. Now all the paper rips, torn edges, creases and water stains you see weren't there from the start; using brushes and adding, masking and blending textures, I made the photos, letters and papers look like they've been touched hundreds of times like a sad lover would </3 Here's a comparison so you can see how much that affected the look (I couldn't disable all the rough edge masks for this or the general rectangle form would've been gone too, but you get the idea):

Another detail I love is the colour bleed in the last one, picking up that water theme again!

The rain in that panel is made up of 10 individual pictures with ten 10 rain brush variations.

The most fun and interesting thing is probably the fact that the middle panel’s folded paper is actually made from paper scans! I never thought I would spend a concerning amount of time thinking about how to fold a paper prettily, but it took several attempts until I was satisfied with how it would open up with each unfold. This is how some of the raw scans looked like:

And some fun facts at the end: I don’t like my handwriting, so I used a font throughout. And funnily enough, they later used the excact same font in Taehyung's Dicon photobook! I'm glad the professional editors agreed that it totally fits the Layover era vibe, lol. (They probably had the full, paid version, though - I had to replace all the apostrophes with another font so they would show up....). I initially wanted to include many more mixed media elements but sadly my printer and scanner aren't particularly great, and I also didn't have sturdy enough paper for what I was planning to do. Namely stitching and sewing paper with yarn! I did try, though, and ended up ramming a needle into my finger and nearly fainting at a family gathering. The fruitless sacrificies I made for this. Embarrassing.

[sehtoast]

Part of His Plan (Homelander x OC Smut)

18+ | vaginal sex, semi-public sex, getting caught, spidersona oc | Fic Directory

This was all part of his plan.  His glorious revenge.

See, Starlight crossed a line.  A very, very obvious line that should have never been a thought in her idiot fucking head.  The little goody two shoes decided to try to recruit Benjamin to her cause.

Homelander was no fool, and he knows damn well she’s been conspiring against him.  Sure he lacked definite proof until now, but he needed to make her realize just how fucking stupid she is for even thinking Ben would ever turn on him.

What a sight it’d be for her to stumble upon them like this.

“Oh– fuck, fuck!”  Ben cries out, legs pressed to his chest, ass hanging off the meeting room table as Homelander drives his cock in and out of that sweet, warm pussy.  He’s been eaten to completion several times, and now Homelander meant to drive him to insanity.  

Benjamin has no idea that Starlight thinks there’s a team meeting in five minutes.  He’s angled so that he won’t see her enter– hear her, maybe– but he won’t know.  Homelander had the courtesy to fuck him so that he’d be facing away from the door.  She wouldn’t be lucky enough to see his fat cock driving into that sopping wet cunt, because that sight was just for him.

“Who do you belong to,”  he grits, palms pressed to either side of Ben’s face, directing his gaze.  He leans closer, practically pressing their chests together.

Homelander can hear the heels of her boots clicking down the hallway.  She’s just about here.

“Y-You!”  Ben mewls. 

Homelander gives an extra sharp snap of his hips, lips curling into a devious grin.  He picks up the pace, fucks harder to ensure the wet claps of skin would be wholly unmistakable.  He wants her to hear it just as much as she sees it.

He hears her palm press to the scanner next to the door.

“Say it!  Who do you belong to!?’  He roars, eyes raising, staring right at her as soon as the doors cracked open.

“I’m– Fuck, fuck, I’m yours!  Yours!”  Ben whines, body twitching, hands wrapping around John’s wrists.  His eyes are rolling back too much to notice Homelander’s fixed gaze, and he misses the hiss of the doors between sounds of their skin colliding.  

Fucking perfect.

“I– Johnny, ah!”

“Attaboy,” Homelander praises him.  The horror written on Starlight’s face is enough to turn his smirk into a wide toothy grin.  For good measure, he flashes his eyes– a burning crimson to remind her that he can and will fucking kill her for what she tried to do.  Giddiness rises in his chest as she turns and scurries away, wide eyed and surely mortified to her core. 

The door seals behind her.

“Now come on my fucking cock,” Homelander demands, leaning back to take Ben’s clit between his thumb and forefinger, stroking it like a little cock.  “Milk me good, bug boy.” 

Homelander himself is already on the fucking brink after what happened.  Knowing he’s put his foot down in such a way goes straight to his cock and ego, and he’s so–

Ben arches, legs trembling and body spasming, pussy clenching so hard he sees stars.  It rips Homelander’s release instantly, halting his thrusts as he buries himself deep, cock spurting and marking his little spider from the inside out.

“Mine– fuck– all fucking mine!” John grits, grinding deep into the wetness.  

He’ll make sure the whole world knows it.

[vestaclinicpod]

Oh, I have another question! Hopefully not a silly one. From what I've observed, Sec usually cannot "see" anything that isn't on his own screen. We've heard him interact with various microphones, and even the venacraft's imaging systems, but I don't think we've heard him interact with cameras?

Fae's willingness to explain what things look like for him is of course convenient for the audience, which I assume is the foundation for this decision. But on an in-universe level, I'm curious (if I'm not just wildly misremembering/misobserving), whether or not he *can* interact with cameras (missing drivers etc.) or if there just aren't any around for him?

Not a silly question at all! A great question and something I had a big think about when first writing the show!

As you have very correctly noted, Sec can access a range of different systems including the scanner and other imaging. Anything that he can connect to, you best believe he is peeking at! (RIP Dr Underwood’s emails)

And, yes, it is convenient for characters to describe what’s going on because we’re working in audio! However, the main reason Sec doesn’t have a camera feed running at all times is because he’s in a clinic room and patients are in there all the time in various states of undress, having various bits +/- pieces prodded +/- poked! Even if most alien species have wildly different opinions about nudity as a concept, Sec was installed by a human who wanted to protect their patients’ dignity as they understand it.

I also think that Sec has such a vast array of information at his disposal at any one time, he really doesn’t miss 1920x1080 pixels of the same clinic room every day! But, certainly, he has a built-in camera, he’s just been advised to not use it unless requested or the humans will get twitchy!

Thank you so much for asking!! We love a bit of Sec lore!

[xyilous]

Everyone Needs Rest Sometimes

————————————

a friend and someone on here asked, i am (nervously) delivering

comfort fic but this time it’s Optimus getting the care he deserves 💞💞 written as my oc, but no names will be mentioned so it feels more like a self insert thing. Also intended to be read as either platonic or romantic, but my lean towards the latter based on people’s boundaries !! Written with tfp Optimus in mind, uses his holoform (cough cough heres my design cough)

cw for mental health stuff, anxiety, paranoia // might be slightly ooc but shhh

also there’s a bath scene (get your head out of the gutter!!/lh,j)

————————————

It’s been relatively quiet as of late, no new decepticon sightings or M.E.C.H. mischief popping up on the scanner. The peace was welcomed by most of team prime, the kids taking advantage of having free time with their robotic companions while the adults could be at a little ease knowing the youngsters aren’t in immediate danger. Considering there was a bit of a surge of enemy activity, the crew relished in being able to wind down from an intense week. Even Ratchet stepped away from his enhanced computer and projects to watch Raf and Jack go head to head in some (slightly too graphic) fighting game. You just finished prepping different popcorns and gathering a couple large bottles of various sodas, carrying everything including cups and napkins with the help of Arcee.

The only one missing out was Optimus. The old war warn autobot felt uneasy, cautious. While the team did just bust the decepticon’s most recent plan, he can’t help but worry himself by wandering what new scheme they’re coming up with. Seeing everyone having fun and conversing with each other was more than welcomed, the fear of that joy being ripped away from them made anxiety seep into his tired frame. He replaced Ratchet’s usual spot near the ground bridge switch, hitting multiple keys as he typed in the coordinates to yet another location to patrol. This is the third time today alone that he was preparing to drive off and watch for any possible leads, that’s the way it’s been since the updates died down. There wasn’t even enough time between attacks for them to plan something big and yet you could see that it was making him paranoid. Poor thing desperately needed a break, and yet he continues to push through, even though it’s clearly taking a huge toll on his spark. It was sad to witness, you could see how his eyebrows were tilted up in concern, how his steady servos hurriedly danced along the keyboard, it was beyond apparent the Optimus is running himself to the breaking point.

Slinking away from the others, you jogged to where he was standing and leaned against the rails, flagging him down just as the ground bridge started opening. Confusion was written all over his face as he turned towards your much smaller self, wondering why you weren’t mingling with the others. Before Optimus could even get a word out, you opened your mouth.

“You’re not going.” The Prime’s confusion increased at your order, not necessarily out of anger or annoyance, just surprise that you said it so plainly. However you stood your ground and sent him a look that showed you were more than serious. Standing face to face with a 30 foot cybernetic alien would’ve sent anyone else running with their tail between their legs, apparently not you though.

“Excuse me?” Turning to fully face you, Optimus rested his large servos on the railings of the platform, surrounding you like a cage. With a clear view of his front side, you can see just all the scratches and scuffs from recent battles, clearly unchecked by the base’s lone medic. Paint was chipping in areas, mud caked into others, apparently he’s been so caught up in protecting everyone that he didn’t even take his well-being into consideration.

“You’re not going. When’s the last time you recharged? O-Or even had energon?? Have you even seen yourself lately???” With every word that came out of your mouth, you sounded more and more upset, that concern you felt for the bot being beyond apparent in your tone. Optimus’ face drifted from confusion as he thought for a moment, before stating that your worries have been noted. That’s it? Yep. That was indeed it. Silently he turned back toward the still glowing ground bridge, completely brushing off your mini speech.

“No get your ass back here!! Don’t walk away from me!” Charging down the stairs while doing your best to not trip and stumble, you made your way infront of the walkway that led to whatever location he punched in, immediately doing your best to block his path. It didn’t do much, even with your hands sassily propped onto your hips, but it was enough to make his alt mode stop infront of you. By now Ratchet has picked up on your little spiel, alerting the others before inching his way to where he can hear. Not necessarily out of concern for a full argument starting, the old medic just hasn’t seen many tell the high and mighty Optimus Prime off.

It was rather tense, you clearly weren’t going to move from your spot and Optimus was just about as stubborn. After a long pause he folded outward and became upright again, wondering if he should just step around you. You are very small compared to him, he can do it, but he knows both you and Ratchet will chew him out later.

“I must go, if they are planning something it must be stopped before it comes to fruition.” That’s his first reason, usually the first one he says since it’s often times enough to get his teammates to side with his reasoning.

“It’ll be there later, you know that. Besides, they just tried to build some weird giant laser, big Earth threatening plans like that need time. You’ll be alright for a day.” And there’s your counter argument. Although you’ve not been with the autobots for years, you’ve been there long enough to have already thought of ways to get through whatever excuse he tosses at you. At the very least he has good motives.

“I don’t know how cybertronians work, but i do know that any living thing needs a break. That includes you, Optimus. Come on, I know what’ll make you feel better.” It helped convince him a little, but he’s still apprehensive. Ratchet finally buts in, just to confirm what you said, and then goes quiet again. The Prime’s face softened as you rested your hand on his knee, by now he’s kneeled down to be more level with you. Your attitude was harsh, yes, but you still showed that it was because you cared for the mech.

“I’m still a prime. You know this, I have a duty to fulfill.” And there’s the prime excuse. It was often a backup if his original reasoning wasn’t enough, but now isn’t the time for it to be tossed out. His worsening exhaustion is evident in his features and movements, the large digits that attempted to console you felt sluggish, drained. Guilt echoed out of his vocal cords due to the exchange, he felt terrible for making you and his team worry over him. A glance around the room revealed the distressed looks in his teammate’s eyes and optics. They knew just as well as he did that he was being overly cautious and in turn hurting himself, but they weren’t sure of when to intervene.

“Then for a few hours be Optimus. Nothing more.” An ex-vent heaved itself from his chest before he drew back.

“Just a few hours. I will grant you that and then I will patrol. For real this time.” As the words left his mouth you immediately sprung up, somewhat taken back that you got him to reluctantly agree. Ratchet, still hovering behind you, looked beyond bewildered at the fact that you were able to convince him, even when he, a millennia old medic and friend, failed to do so. A few hours isn’t a lot of time so you had to get to work immediately in order to take advantage of the situation. One problem though, a rather large one at that. The art of taking care of massive metal aliens was one far too foreign to your fleshy self, however humans are a different story.

“…Would you mind using your holoform in the meantime…? You don’t have to of course!! It’s just uhh, a bit hard to reach that high.” Rest in peace to your cocky attitude, it was a good run. A small nod and flash of light later, his much smaller and meatier form revealed itself. Technically a very high definition hologram, he still had the sensory inputs that you needed to soothe him the best you knew how. If anything, the softer form would allow you to do better than if it remained stiff. Optimus still towered over you, by the looks of it his intimidating height transferred to his holoform, as well as features to show how tired he is. Scars decorated his exposed bits of skin, a few adorned his face but from what you can see numerous ones were etched into the calloused skin of his hands. His eyes drooped and the bags underneath were beyond visible, the combination of his tired expression and slouched shoulders felt like a crude impersonation of the strong leader you’ve grown to know. It must’ve been obvious that you felt pity towards him since Optimus averted his eyes from your view, almost like an animal preparing for a scolding after doing something it was specifically told not to do.

“Come on, I’ll take care of you.” Your hand took his and you led him down the hall, straight to a bathroom that you did a slight renovation to in attempts to make it more homey. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but the underneath the sink you stored numerous bath salts, some used to help with sore muscles and some infused with lavender to help soothe anyone that could possibly need it. The door swung open effortlessly as the two of you walked into the smaller than ideal room, there was enough space for the both of you to move and exist without knocking into eachother, but it was still a snug fit. With a twist of the faucet knobs cool water flowed out before gradually starting to heat up, while the water slowly filled the tub Optimus found himself lost on what to do besides stand there with his arms stiff at his sides. He wasn’t dirty, you weren’t either, so why did you start a bath,,?

“Here, while this fills up I’m gonna dig out a couple things to help you relax, god knows you need it. Go ahead and get undressed, I promise I won’t look.” Your grin was evident on your voice as you spoke, trying to ease the tension by making joking a bit before hiding behind the now open cabinet doors to dig out the previously mentioned bath salts.

“Is this not an… intimate? thing for humans?” His words were a bit hesitant, unsure if that was the correct term to use. Optimus was always curious about Earth culture and routinely asked you questions about stuff he finds, whether it be online or something he saw a family or friend group do while on patrol, but this time it seems like he was figuring out things on his own.

“To some people, sure. Depends on who you ask in all honesty, for me I don’t mind it. If it makes you feel any better I’ll step out and wait until you’re settled if you want-“

“It’s alright. I’ll let you know when to look.” Turning your head back towards the inside of the cabinet you resumed your hunt for your bath add ins as the sound of rustling clothes filled the room. By the time you finally got a glimpse of the lavender flowers and the word ‘epsom salt’ slapped onto a bag, you could hear rippling water settle before Optimus let you know you’re not at risk of getting flashed.

Crawling on your knees towards the tub, you showed him your miracle workers you salvaged from under the sink, explaining that the salt helps muscles stop aching and that the lavender scent can help people take off the edge, even helps some sleep better. You sprinkled a generous amount of each into the water, getting a glimpse of even more scars that riddled the old Prime’s body. Some were raised, others with lines across them that show just how the skin mended itself together, all caused by a countless amount of battles, some of which were won, some of which were lost. They even speckled his knees and the bits of his legs that weren’t covered by the warm water. He was tense, unsure of what to do. Optimus isn’t used to relaxing like this, the vulnerability of it all made him feel exposed and like danger is lingering around, even with the ‘aromatherapy’ as you called it. His fists were clenched against his own will, he must be ready at all times to protect his team, he has to do anything he can to prevent another loss. Pressure and paranoia gnawed at him, the echoing thoughts in his head didn’t help in the slightest. He shouldn’t be doing this, it’s selfish to stop when everyone could be in danger, he needs to go-

“If something happens the others can handle it. You need to take care of yourself just like the others.” At your words the racing thoughts halted, immediately pausing to let him take in what you said and to wonder how you knew what he was thinking. Your hand rubbed soft circles into his shoulder as you spoke, gently trying to bring him out of his unfavorable headspace. He looked at you for reassurance, eyes wide and nearly timid, you could see his adam’s apple bob as he swallowed rather harshly. Millions of years of wars and battles, and yet one of the coldest things he’s faced is his own anxiety. Nothing to fall back on, nobody he can turn to in hopes of reeling him back from his sea of what ifs. As a prime he felt like he had to hold his head high all the time and did not have the right to step back and let himself rest. You adjusted yourself a bit to try and sit at a better angle, but the second you raised a bit his tattered hand flew out and grabbed onto your shirt like you were going to disappear. The poor thing looked terrified as his knuckles turned white from his death grip, he needed your reassurance and was scared of you being ripped from his grasp like others from his past. Your hand rested against the back of his own, still desperately clinging to your now wet top.

“I’m not leaving, you’re okay, I promise. You know I don’t break promises.” You grazed your thumb against his hand, reassuring him that you just needed to adjust before your knee snapped in two. It took him a bit to give you any response, the only reply being a small nod before his grip loosening slowly before dropping to the edge of the bathtub, followed by the rest of his body.

“Let me wash your hair, hun. You can still hold onto me if you need to, yeah?” Grabbing a cup you had set off to the side specifically for baths, you started the water up again before getting Optimus to tip his head back. It still felt beyond foreign to him, but he couldn’t deny the warm water dancing across his scalp could put him to sleep. When you put shampoo in his hair and began to massage it into the follicles, you could watch as his eyes got heavier, his sleepiness trying to creep up on him. It was tempting to let him doze off, but with the size difference it wouldn’t be a good idea if he started slipping underwater. A light prod to his face was enough to wake him up enough to rinse and finish up with conditioner and a final spritz of water. You stood to grab a couple towels, one for his body and one for the soggy mess of hair on top of his head. The bath alone made his posture a bit less rigid, hopefully that lavender actually did it’s job. While he dried off, you jogged put the door and further down the hallway to a room with spare clothes, grabbing a mostly new t shirt and some pajama bottoms, praying that they were the right size. It felt a little strange to be grabbing a cozy outfit for someone who was tall enough to make some houses look small and someone who happened to be made out of metal, but at least you got him to take it easy-ish. Could be worse.

Upon your return you realized he was probably frozen, your evidence being the goosebumps that littered his crossed arms.

“Sorry for freezing you to death, here’s these. I’ll wait out by the door while you get dressed and when you’re done i’ll blow dry your hair, alright?” With a nod Optimus gratefully took the pajamas as you stepped out into your aforementioned position. In a sense it felt like you were keeping guard of the old man mech, the thought triggers your curiosity and you can’t help but wonder if he’s had someone take care of him like this. If his reactions have told you anything, it’s that he’s not allowed himself to be treated in such a way. Perhaps it’s a matter of not wanting pity, or maybe it’s as simple as he feels like he’s too mature to accept such treatment. It’s a shame really, the one that needs it the most is usually too selfless to allow it. A couple minutes later the door creaked open, revealing a damp, but slightly more relaxed Optimus. You stepped back into the cramped room and instructed him to sit on the toilet seat as you dug out the blow drier and plugged it into the wall outlet. He watched every movement you made with curiosity filled eyes, he always had a fascination with human objects, the way people have invented items for basically everything was so interesting to him, especially considering how primitive Earth’s creations can be.

“What is that in your hands?” He asked you, using his hands to point at the blow dryer in your hands. He’s not seen one before, and the way it resembled a gun made him a little nervous over it, especially considering flesh will suffer much more with a bullet than if he was his usual metal self.

“Oh this? It blows out hot air to help dry your hair. It’s not as scary as it looks, I promise.” As you spoke you used your freehand to lead him to sit down and got to work, flipping the switch that caused the simple device to do what you said. The sudden sound startled him a little at first but with reassurance he calmed enough to let you do your thing, his eyes closing while he absorbed the peace around him. Optimus was still apprehensive to letting you tend to him, but the longer time passed the more he felt his walls chipping away, reluctantly letting his guard down to you. Partway you grabbed a plain comb to send through the synthetic hairs that rested atop his head, the sensation was yet another new one considering his holoform was mainly used as a disguise, not a tool for self care (or in this case care from a trusted individual). It was a nice change of touch, if that made sense. The sensation was a lot more enjoyable compared to battling or trying to track down energon to refuel the already exhausted team. Unfortunately, due to his short hair the moment didn’t last near as long as he wanted or deserved, but at the very least he wasn’t damp anymore. Between the heat from the blow drier and what’s left of the steam from the bath, he felt so cozy and weightless, almost as if the water washed the weight from his tender shoulders. With a click, the air stopped blowing on his scalp and a gentle tap on his shoulder made his eyes open up again.

“Come on, I’m making you watch a movie. Don’t worry, I picked an animated one so it’s nothing too intense.” Despite your order, your tone stayed soft and gentle as you spoke, making sure not to jolt him from his little moment of peace. As you put your tools away Optimus stood and ran a hand through his hair, taking in just how soft it became from something as simple as wind. Being made of metal most of the time didn’t allow him to have such moments, to a human this would be such a normal everyday thing but for him it was a welcomed break. Being able to be over all softer and vulnerable after being alert for Primus knows how long, it was soothing after the first anxieties fizzled away. You took his hand and led him back to the main area of the base, dragging him up the steps and to the slightly worn down couch. A small tv, fit with the kid’s gaming console and various movie and game cases scattered about. By the looks of it, the team has already escorted their human companions home while Ratchet lingered in the background, typing away at his computer as per usual. It was abnormally quiet considering the hubbub that filled the room earlier, but the lack of music blasting or prepubescent voices squeaking their way into everyone’s ears (or audials) wasn’t unwelcome. You led Optimus to sit down before you crouched in front of the tv, popping in your choice of entertainment. Most have already been watched so you made sure to avoid anything overly angsty or gut wrenching, from what you know the prime doesn’t sit down and watch these, hopefully you can get him into something besides recon. Everything was up and ready to go as you made you’re self comfortable next to a rather stiff holoform. His hands were awkwardly tapping against his thighs as his back was straightened, clearly unsure of what to do or even where to look. Has he ever taken the time to actually wind down…?

“You’re stiff as a board, here, get comfy.” A little maneuvering later you managed to get him to lay down with his head in your lap, though the lower part of his legs ended up dangling over the arm rest due to his sheer height. His body was still fairly rigid but, it’s an improvement at the very least. A blanket rested on the back of the couch, it was a thin but fuzzy one that June brought over in case the you or the kids got cold, it’s coming in handy right about now. You draped it over his body and your legs the best you could, it was a bit difficult considering the size difference between you two, but you managed the best you could. After a couple button presses and a huff from Ratchet due to you asking him to turn off the light, the movie began.

The screen displayed whimsical colors as exciting music erupted from the speakers, immediately capturing the prime’s attention. You could see vibrant hues dance along his cheeks and nearly child like wonder swirl in his eyes, the way he processed every sentence and action was endearing, especially considering you’re doing something as small as watching a movie. You could practically see the cogs turning in his head as he clung to every word and movement of the characters, the sight of such a strong bot finally getting a more than well deserved break was heartwarming.

Part way through the movie your hand drifted into his hair, immediately raking your fingers through his soft locks. There was the slightest, almost undetectable, tensing in his body before he eased into the touch, even trying to cuddle closer to the best of his abilities. You could feel how he sunk into you even more as he watched the screen, eventually letting a yawn slip from his mouth. He fought to stay awake though, hellbent on seeing how the main character beats the antagonist and resolves the main issue at hand. Optimus was much more exhausted than he let on, even he didn’t realize just how tired he was. By now he’s twisted to lay on his side and his upper body was layered on top of your abdomen, arm wrapped somewhat around your hip with his head laying on your stomach. Eventually his eyelids grew too heavy and drifted closed, his fleshy frame softened ever so slightly as sleep overcame the poor mech. Your hand still danced around his hair, mindlessly playing with the strands as a similar fatigue settled its way deep into your bones. The ending of the movie will remain unknown (to Optimus at the very least) as you both dozed off, getting some well deserved rest.

————————————

sorry this took me ages!!! between surgery, mental health stuff, and being exhausted every day it’s been in the works for a lot longer than i intended!!!!

[somestorythoughts]

Eldritch Echo Pt6

I come bearing more Eldritch Echo. Now with more fanged clones!

For reference. When I mention "needle teeth" I'm picturing a dragonfish or an anglerfish. Take those teeth, put it in a person's mouth, and get something I would not want to find unexpectedly two inches from my face.

Enjoy!

The twins Tech had reminded them of are waiting for them when they arrive.

“Echo!” One of them shouts and Echo pushes past Hunter with a fanged grin and is wrapped up in two pairs of arms without hesitation.

“How have you two been?”

“Eh you know. Same shit different day.” One snorted before abruptly turning solemn. “We heard about Fives. It’s never right when we’re separated.”

Echo smiled, something that could have been wild or sad. “I think he’s marching elsewhere rather than ahead. But I’m only as sure as I can be without seeing him, and I miss him more than I miss my arm.”

“We’ll hope he’s still around then.” One, Cobalt that’s Cobalt, replies. “But for now, we’re supposed to be taking you to the General. And all of you avoid the medbay if possible, almost everyone who isn’t injured is sick and I’m sure you don’t want to catch it.”

“This is a twin thing then?” Crosshair asks as they follow the troopers. Hunter makes a note to ask Crosshair what exactly he saw that made him ask, because he isn’t sure whether the rippling under their words was only audible to him.

Cerulean spins, walking backward without any apparent trouble. “What are you asking about? I mean probably but also what in particular?”

“They’re trying to figure out why my eyes change color.” Echo replies, and even with his helmet on no one could miss the smirk in his words. Certainly not any of the clones, who grew up communicating in armor. The twins laugh.

“Yeah it’s a twin thing.” Hunter can hear Cerulean’s smirk too. “If you can get further than that without getting straight answers out of another trooper I’ll be impressed.”

Hunter catches Tech’s hand before he goes for his datapad. Mystery or not, they have work to do.

…

A Few Weeks Earlier:

Twins had a knack for recognizing each other. There was often an added kinship there, and any pair of twins – and it is always pair because all know in their bones that they are not to be separated – upon seeing another pair will introduce themselves as soon as possible.

You just don’t separate twins. The vod who had met twins learned that quickly, the vod who had heard of them knew not to do so either, and those two groups numbered more than half the army. As for the vod who had never heard of twins, they could recognize a matched set of troopers that did best together. Even the Kaminoans had rarely separated them, and since they didn’t truly know what twins were the vod can only assume it’s either accidental or instinctive.

But rarely isn’t never.

Blood feels the absence of his twin every day. At least he knows Bones is alive, he can’t imagine his twin’s death would do anything other than rip his soul in half, but it hurts that he isn’t there, that they can’t seek each other out when they’re overwhelmed by the people they couldn’t save. He doesn’t have his batch either. They’d all become medics, and all found themselves stationed in different companies.

But solitary or not, worn to the bone or not, Blood knows another twin when he sees one. And maybe it’s because he’s a medic as well as a twin, but he knows even before he brings out the scanner that this ARC trooper in unpainted armor isn’t dead. So he takes care of the injury and waits.

It takes a while. Fox is a good shot even when he’s horrified. Blood is morbidly curious as to whether his commander deliberately missed the ARC’s heart or not – and he’s probably going to need an answer at some point. But he has too much to do for just watching to be worthwhile, so he works while he waits.

And then hours later when he’s too tired to fight a regular twin much less an ARC, he turns around and finds a maw overflowing with needle teeth and five eyes burning golden violet inches from his face.

“Nice to meet you ARC trooper Fives.”

[bloodgulchblog]

s2e2 here we goooooo. i have not found a better way to do this, so i'm doing it the same way.

once again, spoilers and uncharitable opinions and unfunny jokes.

So anyway, to do my minimal diligence in telling you what's going on, Kwan Ha shows up again at the end of episode 1 (she's the one Soren's kid has been sneaking off to and talking about monsters with).

Anyway.

Episode 2 already off to a bad start.

Halsey is somewhere talking to a girl named Julia, asking her about what she sees when she leaves this place (Julia doesn't say much) and about a man in charge.

Chips on the table: this is a Spartan-III and the man is Ackerson. I'm putting my bet down here.

Also, she gets a nose bleed and passes out so that's normal.

Then we have Kai talking to Riz and about her injury, and Riz insisting she's fine. Kai even suggests Riz put her pellet back to reduce the pain and Riz says:

Kai and John talk about how they kinda miss Halsey because at least she trusted them vs Ackerson.

I've mostly been distracted by this frame, though, because it has some Spartan names we haven't seen in it:

So we know there are at least 5 teams and they're using some old canon Spartan-II names.

Also, we've had it stated directly that it's been 6 months since the end of season 1. Which is a very short amount of time to have had multiple planets glassed, those campaigns each generally took months to fight out in the main canon.

What's important here, though, is that Cobalt team (mean jocks from earlier) are being put on standby while Chief knows they are still out on a mission and haven't come back yet, so he's getting upset.

We don't get any conclusion to this yet because it's time to jump.

Kwan is back, like I said.

I'm glad Kwan is back tbh because -- let's be clear, the show's bad and I felt like Kwan's subplot went fucking nowhere and didn't contribute much, which seems to have been a pretty common opinion. But if the show ejected the asian woman character just because that subplot was received poorly, it would've been much worse than having a weak subplot in the first place.

Kwan, as a survivor of Madrigal, is supposed to be in indentured servitude on the Rubble but she's gone on the run and is being tracked down by a guy with a scanner reacting to this fucking spike they put in her ear.

There's a chase scene, and she manages to rip out her ear tag and ditch her tail for a bit down in this trash compactor type zone, then she manages to space one of them and kills the other by stabbing him in the fucking head with her tag???

I think the implication we're supposed to pick up from the dialogue is that Kwan was accepted onto the station by Soren, but now that Soren's gone her indenture belongs to other (worse) pirates.

Meanwhile, this man (Louis) is suggesting that Riz take it easy and Riz, who has been beating a table with a sledge hammer, is taking that super well.

And there's physiotherapy.

Louis is a Spartan washout. He talks to Riz about how there can be more to life than being a Spartan, but Riz struggles with that and is clearly worried about being perceived as weak from the injury she got at the end of S1. She says some hard shit that she immediately walks back because Louis is an old friend and you can tell they care about each other. It's a million times better than the shit they did with Chief and Soren back in S1 and thank god.

Meanwhile, back at the hall of justice...

Chief is having a conflict with Ackerson about not clearing Silver team to go do missions because he thinks Chief's account of events at Sanctuary (the Covenant were already there before the glassing began, and they retreated from the fight with him) is suspect.

Ackerson tells him that the marine (Perez) doesn't corroborate his story and TV Chief shows character growth from last season by not manscreaming about it. Very proud of him.

I am kind of starting to enjoy Ackerson's nefarious shitweasel bit, it's more entertaining than a lot of what Halo TV makes me watch.

Laera (Soren's wife, I should use her name) confronts the crew of the ship that left when Soren got bagged. (I just don't care about Soren's subplot so I didn't bother to cap it, sorry.)

Meanwhile Kwan has an argument with Kessler (Soren's son) in the hidey hole they've been using as a hangout spot about the reality of the situation.

Did I mention Kwan has better hair this season? She does.

Anyway, then Silver Team is doing a training exercise. Riz is struggling. Also, they have her running SO FAST so you know that she's supposed to be the show's version of Kelly.

Also, we actually get some endearing Spartan interactions which are the only thing on this show that I truly like. (Vannak teases Riz about losing and brags about how he never loses, Kai and Riz are like ugh at him.)

Anyway, I'm out of images again. See you soon.

[knightotoc]

ranking all the scary movies/shorts/TV I saw and the scary books/stories I read this spooky season (August - October)

Mr. Vampire (hilarious 80s kung fu-jiangshi-ghost bride movie from Hong Kong)

The Innocents (rewatched this beloved 60s British ghost movie about abandonment vs smothering, grief vs insanity)

Carrie (iconic 70s tragi-goofy sexploitation-turned-bloodbath movie)

The Beast in the Jungle (Henry James short story about the horror of missed opportunity, a la I Saw The TV Glow) (which would have been #1 but I saw it before my arbitrary cut off date)

Dracula + Spanish Dracula 1931 (rewatched beloved Dwight Frye vehicle + finally watched its filmed-by-night Spanish counterpart, and learned you gotta see them together)

The Curse of Frankenstein (finally watched some 50s Hammer horror with Peter Cushing as the nastiest Frankenstein ever and Christopher Lee as a pathetic wet cat)

Dracula (más Hammer with da boys)

The Way It Came (another Henry James that I especially liked for being strangely funny)

The Haunting of Bly Manor (rewatched beloved TV show and found more flaws in it this time, oops🙃 but it got me to read these Henry Jameses so 👏 and it still got me to cry 👏)

Boogeyman (free YouTube movie from 2005 that everyone thinks is terrible except for me, I thought it was absolutely fantastic, though that might have to do with all the parallels I was seeing to Attack of the Clones)

Personal Shopper (heartbreaking and beautiful Kristen Stewart vehicle)

American Psycho (the most disturbing book I've ever read, by far the most fucked thing here)

The Exorcist III (I never saw the first one but I skipped to part 3 for my man Brad Dourif and Blatty's always relatable spiritual torment)

Viy (super fun 60s Soviet man vs ghost lady movie)

Weeping Woman Way (I found a new Junji Ito at the library and this was my favorite story, as someone who used to cry all the fucking time)

The Romance of Certain Old Clothes (Henry James story about envy and repression, if you can believe it)

The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa (brilliant Canadian animation short from the 70s made by pushing sand around to give a swirling, wiggly feeling)

The Last Man on Earth (bleak and quite accurate Vincent Price adaptation of the Matheson novella)

Nightbreed (really fun Clive Barker "mean humans vs nice monsters" movie)

Dead Ringers (beautifully sad Cronenberg about the tragedy of utter codependence)

Scanners (an earlier Cronenberg about psychic connections, which is one of my favorite themes)

Society (fun rich people body horror cult movie with a fabulous finale; I thought the rest of it was quite touching too)

Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker (👏camp👏)

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? (terrifying short story from the 60s about a demon kidnapper by Joyce Carol Oates from Twitter)

The Spirit Flow of Aokigahara (another great one from the Junji Ito book which has an evil mlm makeout and a totally fucked Logan Paul reference)

Minnie the Moocher (very very good Betty Boop, featuring rotoscoped Cab Calloway)

The Lord of the Rings (speaking of rotoscoped, Bakshi's wacky 70s animation which PJ kind of ripped off, kind of improved, but has its own fabulous character that had me weeping the nerdiest tears I've shed since like 2017)

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (weird and beautiful Thai movie from 2010 that definitely counts as existential horror)

We Have Always Lived in the Castle (people seem very critical of this 2018 adaptation of the Shirley Jackson novella, but I loved it, especially the way it so often keeps the camera on the fiercely protected ground)

Possession (weird European-y movie that is really good but I had a bit of a hard time getting into)

Isle of the Dead (slow 40s Boris Karloff movie with some fantastic agnostic angst)

The Curse of Dracular (very cute new claymation short a guy made for his dad)

Slumber (another Junji Ito, another on the theme of a psychic connection)

The Jolly Corner (really cool Henry James story, also about missed opportunity, specifically a dissolute ex-pat fighting his mean and greedy remained-in-America-sona)

Audition (nasty Japanese time-bendy anti-romance)

The Uninvited (40s movie with a very similar ghost effect to Personal Shopper; I watched it twice and enjoyed the second time more since there's a big twist that reframes everything; saddest ghost crying I've ever heard)

Rope (the gay Hitchcock one; makes me want to see a stage production where the Jimmy Stewart character is actually fruity)

Train to Busan (fun and emotional Korean zombie movie with a kinda stupid ending)

Blade (90s comic book vampire movie with the Volturi if they were Protestant)

Hellboy (romantic and transgender-ish comic book movie from 2004)

Perfect Blue (90s anime movie that predicted internet parasocial relationships; very good but I have some beef with it)

Never Open That Door (50s Argentine anthology movie that goes great with Black Sabbath and Shadow of a Doubt)

Dead of Night (40s British anthology movie with a brilliant framing device)

The Phantom of the Monastery (30s Mexican movie that really understands how horrifyingly effective Catholicism is at preserving stuff)

Eyes of Laura Mars (faboo 70s fashion slasher with another psychic connection)

Nosferatu (rewatched with the Radiohead soundtrack being shown at indie theaters, I thought it was awesome)

Madonna (Junji Ito vs Catholicism feat. pillars of salt)

An American Werewolf in London (very funny Landis movie with a really annoying romance)

The Alter of the Dead (Henry James anti-romance with a kinda weak ending)

The Ruins (silly plant horror movie that feels like the Hunger Games extended universe)

The Ruins (I preferred the movie because the plants just get too smart in the book)

Darth Plagueis (Star Wars at its coldest and meanest!)

Let the Right One In (creative Swedish vampire movie with some great ideas and some really stupid ones)

Hell Followed With Us (ig I'm too old for YA, but I appreciated the representation)

Don't Look Under the Bed (the scariest DCOM; pretty fun lore)

The Legend of Hell House (horny 70s movie that keeps turning me off then winning me back, feat. Peter Cushing's Van Helsing's boyfriend Michael Gough)

The Happening (the Shyamalan that's bad ... on purpose?)

Friday the 13th (fun to watch but man it is not good)

Practical Magic (frustrating cozy 90s witch movie)

Creature from the Haunted Sea (Corman parody with one or two good jokes: "Little did they know that I, Sparks Moran, was an American agent... My real name was XK150")

Carrie (the boring remake with Ansel Elgort, boo!)

Son of Dracula (dreadful 70s Ringo Starr thing with potentially interesting lore and a kinda iconic blood transfusion scene)

Hearts and Flowers (creepy 1930 stop motion that is pretty cool and imaginative but also racist af)

[quinncupine]

Obscured Chapter 17: A Little Help From A Wingman

Relationship: Izuku Midoriya X Reader

Word Count: ~4,000

Previous Chapter: Sixteen

Next Chapter: Eighteen

Taken Masterlist

MAIN MASTERLIST

Summary: Another installment, slowly but surely. Trapped at the gala, Izuku is in mortal danger, and no one is having a good time... except the villain.

Each step echoed in the narrow corridor, and you couldn't help the shiver that crawled up your spine as you passed through a cobweb. No one had been down here for a long time, and your mind was screaming that something sinister was lurking in the shadows.

The area under the stage wasn't enormous, so it didn't take you long to find the door leading to the basement hall. As soon as the door creaked open, bright florescent lights invaded your senses, blinding you for a hot second. When your eyes adjusted, you glanced around. He said to go right once you reached the hall. There were only a few doors, mostly operations rooms or janitorial closets. You passed a few before you finally managed to locate it.

The door was already opened, and a foreboding feeling filled your gut. Whatever was in that room, you didn't think you'd like it. But now was not the time to back down. You already involved yourself in this, and if it meant saving Izuku, then you'd do it. Creeping up to the threshold, you peered inside and stifled a gasp.

Slumped in the two chairs were the security officers who were supposed to be in charge of alerting the police if anything bad happened. They were taped stiffly to their chairs with tape slapped across their mouths. The pair looked pretty beaten, and you forgot your panic in favor of making sure they were alive.

A quick check assured you they were still kicking, and with a hard flick, you ripped the tape off their mouths. The taunt written on them was just too cruel, and you thought they should be able to breathe properly, even if they were unconscious.

"Someone will be here to help you soon," you muttered to them as you scanned the room. "Okay, okay, override controls." You scanned the wall until you found a large rectangle. "Bingo."

You pried open the metal case and looked over the controls. There was a pin pad and a finger scanner. You knew the code, but you certainly didn't have fingerprint access…but the guards did.

"Sorry about this," you whispered to the closest one, dragging his chair over. "I just need to borrow this.” Ripping the tape enough to free his arm, you pressed his thumb against the scanner.

The machine beeped and prompted the access code. You input the numbers Phantom had given you. How he knew the code, you weren't quite sure. There was probably a story there you were missing. It couldn't be a coincidence that he managed to stay standing.

And what about the others? You were so focused on making sure Izuku didn't die, you barely had time to consider what happened to the others. A grim possibility flashed through your mind - no, they were probably just out of commission.

You were pulled out of your depressing thoughts as the machine lit up with a few digital buttons. The screen prompted you to swipe the lockdown bar to deactivate the protocol.

"Finally, something goes right," you muttered, swiping down.

A resounding echo as what sounded like heavy metal moved above you. That must've been the security barrier lifting. Help was finally on the way. Now, all you had to do was deal with the villain, and Izuku could get the help he needed.

Two heroes were standing when you left. You had enough confidence in Bakugo to at least not die. That man was in the running for the most stubborn man in the world, right alongside Izuku. If anyone could beat the villain now, you would put your money on him.

"I'll come back for you both, I promise!" you said to the two guards.

Sprinting from the room, you made your way back towards the stage. The basement seemed almost like a labyrinth with a bunch of small hallways branching off in different directions. So your best bet was to come back the way you came.

Once you made it back into the crossover under the stage, you slowed down, breathing hard. You still hadn't recovered from your own ordeal, and those quirk vials seemed to really strain your body. You wouldn't last much longer, either. This was going to end soon, one way or another.

It was probably best to come up behind the stage, in case any villains were waiting for unsuspecting people near the hole. There was a small hatch behind the stage with a ladder. Hauling yourself up the rungs, you had to fight with the rusted door before you managed to force it open. Climbing through, you found yourself backstage in darkness. Multiple curtains blocked most of the light from seeping through, so you had to blindly stumble around until you found the slit to poke your head through.

When you did, your stomach dropped. Bakugo and Phantom were on the stage, nearly facing you. They seemed to be watching something on the big projector screen that had come down in your absence. From your angle, you couldn't quite tell what was playing on the screen, and there was no sound to clue you in. But whatever it was, it was horrifying enough that even Bakugo was cringing, looking more pissed off than you'd seen him in a long time.

Izuku's pained yelp shocked you back into reality. You looked in the direction you'd left him and froze. A cold wave of terror washed over you as you saw him pinned in Ikari's arms as they watched the screen. Ikari seemed to be enjoying whatever it was, but Izuku had fat tears in his eyes, looking shell shocked.

"Stop," he muttered in the silence," please."

Seeing him so vulnerable broke your heart and burned it with a seething fury at whoever would dare hurt him at the same time.

"No," Ikari pulled his hair to make sure he was paying attention. "You are going to watch what you did."

What was on that screen that could affect him so terribly?

"I want everyone to see just what kind of man you are," she leaned in close to him, squeezing his chin in her hand. "I want them to hate you just as much as I do. Smile Deku, the world's watching."

The world? Was she broadcasting this? As you leaned out further to try to see what it was, Bakugo must have caught your movement. His eyes darted in your direction, bright red eyes full of rage and…concern.

"Ah, there you are!" Ikari's voice rang out, startling you.

Your body was suddenly thrust into the air, and you were dragged out from behind the curtains with a shriek. Some invisible force had grabbed you, and judging by Ikari's outstretched hand, it was her doing. You'd felt this quirk before; at Inko's house.

"Y/N!" Both Izuku and Bakugo cried out as you were whipped through the air only to smash into the floor a few feet from Ikari and Izuku.

"Glad you could finally join us. Didn't want you to miss the movie." She lifted her hand, and you rose into the air, arms clamped on your side. "The camera work is a little shotty, but I think it gets the point across, don’t you think?"

She held a tight invisible grip on you as you twisted in the air, in full view of the screen. Any defiant words were lost in your throat as you saw what was playing.

It was the American subway station.

The one that still gave you nightmares. Izuku had you pinned on the railway, squeezing the life out of you. That memory was still too fresh, too raw in your mind. The scene flashed over and over again in your mind and your breathing picked up until it felt like you were reliving it, throat closing in your panicked mindset.

"Stop!" Izuku wriggled his head desperately, though the rest of his body stayed frozen. "I said hurt me, just me! Please, stop!"

"You know, Deku," Ikari slapped a hand over his mouth, muffling his cries, "I had years to think of the perfect plan. I had thought of so many ways to hurt you. But you know what I realized? The best way to hurt you was to hurt the things you loved the most and have you live with the consequences. After all, that's what you did to me."

She squeezed her empty hand and that invisible force tightened, constricting your already hysterical breathing. You groaned, struggling to do something to alleviate the pressure.

Izuku's muffled screams filled the air, eyes flashing dangerously up at Ikari.

"But before I did that, I wanted to ruin your reputation." She dropped you the ground with a heavy thump.

You rolled onto your side, curling in on yourself as you fought for breath that didn't come in fast enough.

"Stop!" you growled, still greedily sucking down air. "That's enough."

Ikari gave you an amused smirk. "Is it? And what can a quirkless nobody do to stop me?"

"I may be quirkless, but that won't ever stop me from helping the people I love."

"I think you spent too much time with this failure. You're starting to sound like him." She yanked his curls back and he flinched.

Steadying your hands beneath you, you slowly pushed yourself to your feet. "Get your damn hands off my husband!"

"Okay, I've had enough of-"

You thrust out your hands with an indignant scream, putting all your emotion into whatever was left of that temporary quirk. The air wavered and her words slowed until they were barely recognizable.

Blinking to yourself, you looked down at your hands, surprised you managed to do it.

"Hell yeah! Take that bitch down!" Bakugo yelled at you from across the room.

Right, you had the chance to actually do something. You rushed over and ripped her hands off him. She started to fall backward in slow motion. Izuku had gotten caught up in the quirk to, but when you tried to move him, he stayed locked in place. Whatever quirk she used, must have been similar to Rock Lock. Until she deactivated it or until the quirk wore off, he was stuck.

You stepped over to Ikari who was halfway done falling backward and kicked her squarely in the chest. It was only a taste of what she deserved, but you needed to focus on restraining her somehow.

"In my pocket!" Bakugo hollered. "I have a quirk blocker. Use it on that dumbass!"

"Right!"

You were really overworking your legs as you ran back to the stage, tossing yourself up and rolling onto your knees. Black stars danced in your eyes as you moved too quickly for your taxed body. Stumbling over to Bakugo, you searched his jacket pocket and found the injection.

"Just get it in a vein. It should work instantly." He said. "Hurry."

"Hey, she's moving faster now!" Phantom spoke up beside him, eyes darting over to the scene.

He was right. Your quirk was fading. She was starting to fall a little quicker.

"Go!" Bakugo ordered.

Leaping off the stage, you weaved through the debris and unconscious bodies and readied the needle. Just one jab and the threat would be mostly taken care of. After that, Bakugo would be freed and you had faith he could take her down. Nearing her, you lifted the needle with a war cry.

Ikari's back hit the ground and time resumed it's normal pace. She grunted and whipped her head up as you jabbed down. Her reflexes were quicker than yours. With one hit to your sternum, she grabbed your arm and twisted until the needle went flying from your hands. She used your own momentum and leaned back to flip you over, using her power to send you flying across the room.

With a cry, you smashed into one of the drink tables, splashing water over you in a wet burst. Drenched, you groaned and laid face down, curling in on yourself, reeling from the hit.

"Well played!" Ikari clapped, walking towards you. "I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to steal and drink one of Shizue's concoctions again. That was pretty brave. Stupid, but brave."

A small tink sounded from under you, and you glanced down to see the second vial. You gripped it in your hand, taking a deep breath. It may be stupid, but at this point, you didn't have much else to lose. She'd kill you either way.

You curled away from Ikari and began to crawl. You didn't want her to see what you were doing. As you crawled, you uncorked the vial and, in one quick gulp, down the entire thing.

The taste was putrid, and you nearly gagged it out before you managed to swallow the thick substance. It tasted like burnt metal - or that was your taste buds corroding. Either way, you had to stop and press your head into the ground as you hacked it down your throat, feeling a new wave of nausea enter your system.

The world swam, light and dark, bending together to form vivid shapes prancing through your vision. After a few minutes, you managed to get a hold of your senses and looked up. You felt sick and not at all empowered. Maybe this one didn't work. Maybe this really was a stupid idea.

"Crawling away now?" Ikari sneered as she neared you. "Is this what you resort to? Have some dignity."

"No, I'm just buying time." You turned to her, a defiant grin on your face.

She didn't like that. Holding her hand out, she grabbed you in that invisible force and threw you against the wall. Your body slammed into it with such force, the plaster cracked. A blow like that would've done some pretty severe damage, but you seemed relatively fine.

"You really are an idiot." Ikari laughed bitterly. "But you're still going to die."

Glancing down at your body, you saw the sharpened edge to your skin. It was Kirishima's quirk. It was something to protect yourself with at least.

"No I'm not." you growled. "I won't let you hurt anyone else!"

She narrowed her eyes and came within a foot of you. "Just because you have a new quirk for a few minutes, doesn't mean you can beat me."

"A few minutes? How long have you had this quirk?" you nodded towards her hand. "Must be a time limit on that."

"You really think I need a synthetic quirk to kill you?" The metal plates on her suit vibrated and melted off, hovering just above her. "I still have more power than you'd ever be able to handle."

"Good point." You took a deep breath and headbutted her as hard as you could.

She stumbled back, crumpling to the ground in a heap. The metal splattered onto the floor and hardened as she lost her grip on her quirk. This new quirk of yours had it's…well quirks. You'd have to compliment Kiri later.

But for the moment, you couldn't waste another second. As soon as she released you, you landed on your feet and sprinted back towards where you thought you lost the needle. As you ran, you spotted the white needle gleaming amongst the charred remains of a table.

Behind you, Ikari roared and you picked up speed. Your entire body ached, but you had to ignore it. You were almost there.

"Look out!" Phantom yelled and you glanced behind you.

Ikari was on her knees, sharp pointed spears of metal were hovering around her. A line of blood ran down her forehead and leaked into her eye, but she didn't even seem to notice, consumed with rage.

In one leap, you dove for the needle as she released the volley of metal spikes at you. You scooped up the needle with one hand and grabbed what remained of the wooden table as a shield. The spikes rained down around you and impaled the table. The sharpened point of metal poked through, stopping just inches from your nose.

In one breath, everything was still, then the metal started twisting, wriggling itself through the wood, trying to reach your face. You threw the table away and stumbled to your feet. All around you, the metal was reshaping, lifting back into the air.

You needed a distraction. Desperately looking around, you spotted the remains of an ice sculpture. The poor decapitated swan never stood a chance, but it might help you.

You raced towards it and scooped up the frigid head and dove behind a column.

“you think a piece of ice can save you?” Ikari’s laughter echoed around the hall.

With a deep breath you steeled yourself. You had one shot at this. Silently, you prayed that all those times helping Izuku practice his swings would finally pay off. Gripping the head you stepped out.

The spikes were waiting for the opportunity and they spiraled towards you the same moment you volleyed the swan head.

Your aim was true. The sculpture’s head soared toward Ikari, but a metallic barrier materialized in front of her, intercepting it at the same moment the spikes pierced your body.

“Y/N!” Bakugo cried out behind you.

From his perspective, you probably looked like a brimming pincushion. Yet it was Kirishima’s quirk that shielded you, though not for long. The spikes morphed and melted across your body, forming bonds to trap you in place.

Ikari approached, a smirk playing on her lips as you fought against her metallic clutch.

“You didn't honestly believe you stood a chance, did you?” she mused, still clutching the swan’s head. “You're just a sweet little nurse, ignorant of the world beyond those hospital walls. You don't have what it takes to be a hero.”

A frown creased your brow as she halted mere inches away. “I never claimed to be a hero.” Then you grinned. “But he is. Now, Bakugo!”

As she glanced over her shoulder, you grit your teeth. Ikari tensed, spinning around to counter the feigned attack. Taking advantage of the distraction, you reeled back and delivered a powerful headbutt. She staggered back and released you from her hold. You dropped to the ground and tackled her. The swan head tumbled beside her and you grabbed it, ramming against her throat.

She gagged and tried to claw it off but you held strong. A dark satisfaction crept into your thoughts. This was the woman who had inflicted so much pain on you. You wanted her to feel it. You wanted her to feel the crushing weight; that fear of death she'd subjected you to for weeks. She choked, struggling to breathe as you pressed down harder. Wide-eyed, it was the first time she'd shown any sign of shock. That small dose of fear in her eyes snapped you out of whatever dark state you’d found yourself in and reached into your pocket, pulling out the needle.

Her eyes bulged as you plunged it into her neck. She gagged and ripped the needle out, but the damage had been done.

There was a thud behind you. Onstage, Bakugo and Phantom had been released from their hold.

“No!” Ikari screamed and used all her force to kick you off. “You’ve ruined everything!” She growled as she staggered to her feet, her hair a mess, her eyes twitching, as she towered over you. “I should've killed you from the start!”

Gasping for air, you clutched your stomach after that brutal kick and twisted onto your butt to face her.

She snatched a splintered table leg from the debris and snapped it into two wicked stakes.

Eyes wide, you struggled to stand, your body teetering on the brink of collapse. Exhaustion and fatigue were setting in. You were nearing your limit. Fending her off in your current state, with or without a quirk seemed impossible. Despite that, you knew if you stayed down, you’d lose this battle.

With every ounce of strength you had left, you pushed to your feet, nearly blacking out with the effort. Those sharp, splintered stakes flashed in your vision. Kirishimia’s quirk had faded. Your body simply couldn’t handle the power anymore. If she struck you this time-

“Down!” Bakugo’s voice bellowed behind you.

That was something you could do. You let yourself drop just as an enormous blast roared above you, the heat of his quirk singeing your hair. The stakes clattered to the ground as Ikari was hit full force.

“I got this!” Bakugo said as he flew past you, slamming into Ikari.

It took you a moment to register that hed used his quirk. The drug must've worn off. Which meant-

“Y/N!” Phantom called out.

He was kneeling beside Izuku, hands pressed hard on the gaping wound in his chest. Izuku’s eyes were closed. Was he even breathing?

“No,” you crawled towards him until you built enough strength to stumble to your feet.

Bakugo could handle Ikari, especially now that she’d lost her quirk. The real problem was saving Izuku. It was a horrifying deja vu moment that you desperately wished was just a trick of the mind. But unfortunately, reality had a firm grasp on you tonight.

“Izuku!” You cried as you fell beside Phantom. “Hey, wake up.” Patting his cheeks didn’t rouse him this time. He’d gone cold and lifeless.

“He’s still alive,” Phantom whispered, pressing harder against the bleeding wound. “But not if he keeps losing blood.”

“He needs a hospital,” you searched your pockets for your phone only to come up empty. “We need to get help.”

“Come on, you and I both know he won’t make it to the hospital like this.” Phantom scowled. “Dammit Midoriya, you always need to make things so complicated don’t you. This is why I hate you.”

“He’ll make it!” You grabbed his head, rubbing his chest, trying to rouse him again. “He always makes it. That’s what makes him Izuku.” You shook harder. “You promised me Izuku! You promised me you would win this fight. The battle’s not over yet, so wake up!”

His eyes stayed frustratingly closed. You were in so much pain already, but your heart was starting to shred to bits the longer you stared at his deathly peaceful face. Your medical knowledge was fighting against your hope and prayers that somehow everything would magically fix itself.

“Step back.”

Phantom pried you off Izuku. You struggled against him, not willing to leave his side.

“I can stop the bleeding,” he held your fists tight and locked eyes with you. “It’s a temporary fix, but if we can get him the help he needs in time, then it might save his life.” He pulled you close, searching your face. “I don’t want to give you false hope. This is more likely to go wrong than it is right.”

You blinked back the tears and glanced down at Izuku. His lips were turning blue. He wasn’t breathing. That darkness that had grown around your heart was spreading. If what Phantom said was true, then there was still a sliver of hope left. You’d take it, no matter how small it was.

“Do it!” you pleaded. “Please, save him!”

Phantom nodded and released you. He took a deep breath and placed his hands on Izuku’s chest, just above his heart. Phantom closed his eyes and faded into a warm white haze before he vanished completely. There was a moment of stillness before Izuku gasped and opened his eyes.

“Izuku!” you grabbed his face and leaned over him.

His eyes were glowing an eerie white. The same white eyed glow as Phantom.

He blinked a few more times before focusing on you. “..he’s still unconscious.” It was Izuku’s voice that spoke but layered with Phantoms.

He was possessing him, You thought. A thought So wild you had to move right past it so you could focus on the matter at hand.

He sat up, clutching his stomach “I can control the blood flow but it takes a lot of energy. This won’t last long. We need to hurry.”

[half-truths-and-hyperbole-louk]

Louk's Bad Batch rewatch part 12 !!!

buckle up batchers we're in for it 😬

The Bad Batch 1x08

CROSSHAIR BACK FINALLY !!! I missed you grumpy toothpick man 💕

idk why but Rampart gives me the vibe that he can't swim and I just wanna gently shove him off a platform on kamino and just see what happens

Wrecker teaching Omega about bombs 🥺 then he just goes 'lmao now you try' 💀

"OBVIOUSLY NOT THAT ONE" brooo 🤣

his laughhhh I love you Wrecker

"I failed my first disarming test too" ~ Wrecker bby... is that how he got his scars? 🥲

Omega: "Wrecker says he's got it under control" Tech: "that's not comforting" PLS- 💀

ECHO HOW DID YOU GET UP THERE ??

oop well his chip has been removed but I'll keep counting I guess, just for funsies, Wrecker hits his head count: 9?

mom and dad are arguing again

Hunter 🤔 face

wait why did I never notice that they all still have their lil bandages on 🥺

Tech: "the power's back on" Wrecker: "yeah we can see that" lmao me yesterday @anonymous-galager 😅

"Come here beautiful" ~ Wrecker kissing bombs

mom and dad are arguing again

Omega is Tech's little helper 💕 it's giving handing your dad tools and holding the torch as a kid

idk why but I like that you can see Tech's chin under his helmet when he looks up

I wanna sit in a glowy kamino chair

Tech: "Crosshair won't be able to detect us, I'm blocking their scanners" Hunter: "that won't stop him" Crosshair: 'we won't be able to detect them they're blocking our scanners' 💀

REGS 💕

Tech and Echo scheming in plain sight hehe

Omega trying to be Crosshairs voice of reason too 😭

Crosshair steps forward the slightest bit and Hunter steps fully in front of her asjfoapaldue

"aim for the kid" CROSSHAIR NO 😡 *squirts with water bottle*

I find it interesting that when Crosshair says that, Hunter pushes Omega behind him, but he also turns around, almost as if he's not expecting Crosshair to shoot Omega first, he turns back to look at the regs first before moving again to face Crosshair

and still none of them fire...

Hunter picking Omega up again and diving on her 🥲

lol I love that Wreckers first instinct to being shot at with fire is to throw an explosive at the dude

Tech helping Omega into the engine chamber 🥺

Omega: "I've never been inside an ion engine before" Wrecker: "it'd be weirder if you had" 💀

Wrecker shoving Tech BRO

I think it's interesting that when Crosshair shoots at them, he only shoots AT them. we all know he doesn't miss and he is nowhere close to actually getting Tech or Hunter with that shot 👀 just thinking out loud

"try again Hunter" he is just taunting them

Wrecker: "what about plan 7?" Echo: "plan 7 has nothing to do with this situation whatsoever!" he is so done 💀💀

absolutely adore the shot of all their hands grabbing explosives 💕

Hunter bent down to give Omega a boost up and Tech caught her and held her up !!! = Hunter just threw Omega to Tech 😂

Hunter covers Omega with his body again 😭

Crosshair's scream when he realised what was happening I- 🙃🔫

Wrecker catches Echo 🥺

Hunter bodily catches Omega 😭 "I've got you" ~ Hunter 😭😭😭😭

HUNTER WAS HOLDING ONTO HER THE WHOLE TIME THEY WERE FALLING

Crosshair immediately collapsing 😫😭

rip CT-8508 ily

oh look it's my favourite blue bounty hunter toothpick cowboy twink

lmao Cad Bane calling Hunter "son"

Omega reading Hunters hand signals 🥺

"That's unfortunate ... for you" ~ Cad Bane (s2 Tawni Ames 👀)

I can feel the hatred in Hunters eyes through his visor ooooo he mad

I can't deal with Omega's scared scream sobs 😫

Todo you're fine hush

"Little lady" hehehe

CROSSHAIR BROKE HIS LEG AND HIS ARM AND BURNED HIS FACE (and probably his lungs) I hate it here 😭

are we gonna talk about the Hunter POV groggy wake up visor cam scene??? *sigh* no, next time

Wrecker grabbing Omega's bow 🥲

Wrecker getting defensive immediately thinking Crosshair took Omega 😭

NO TBB OUTRO MUSIC

welp I am getting increasingly more stressed for s3 creeping up on us and me running out of time for my rewatch lol

I'm gonna do a few episodes a day now so these posts might start getting boring if they're not already lmao

thanks for joining friendsss 💕💕💕

[florafounda]

WHAT’S IN A NAME? | Pt. 1

Warnings for Medical atmosphere, Psychological Torture, Child Abuse and Gaslighting

“The Tower? Kit, what was the Tower?”

She barely remembered it, a nightmare long past, but the word brought the taste of copper to her tongue, and she cowered before it like a frightened child. 

She woke up freezing, wearing nothing but a hospital robe that barely covered her knees. She was lying on the familiar post-operative gurney feeling as sluggish as she usually did after her surgeries. The scanner against her skin was just as cold, clutching to her temple and forehead like a head-sized wrench.

Every thirty-seven – she’d counted – seconds it beeped, a noise that gratingly echoed in her ears like a knife being stabbed into them. Too tight and too loud, the girl wanted nothing more than to rip the contraption from her head, but the operation had made her tired. She literally didn’t have the energy to move. Moving her hand – which she hadn’t noticed she’d been doing – took everything out of her.

The girl heard the sounds of pen scribbling on paper, the movement of a rolling chair across the floor. This wasn’t the first post-operative recovery she’d had. She knew right now they were watching her vitals, watching her brain waves, making sure everything in her brain hadn’t turned to complete mush.

It felt like it. Her brain felt like cotton and her vision blurred as she stared at her splayed fingers.

“Subject Zero? Is something wrong?”

Subject Zero…No that wasn’t right. No. Her name. Her name was something else. She had a name. A real name. Not just a title, not just what Oliver liked to call her. A real, true name.

The nightmares lately had been getting worse. Another name on her lips when she wakes. She was starting to get confused about a lot of things.

“My name…” she murmured.

“Subject Zero, look at me.”

A light flashed in her eyes checking her pupils. She assumed they worked properly by the way the doctor ‘hmmed’ above her.

“My name is Sophie,” she finally managed, “Sophie Poole.”

The doctor froze, lips pursed tight. “No, it’s not,” he said, in a way one chastises a child. “Subject Zero, can you sit up?”

“I…don’t think I can.”

She tried anyway, because the doctor would force her into the position whether she liked it or not. It was like moving through water or perhaps more like mud, sloshing around and struggling to move forward. But she made it into an upright position, though she swayed in place, nevertheless.

The girl looked around the room but everything was too blurry to make out.

“I don’t feel so good.”

“Post-op fuzziness – it will pass.”

She stared again at her fingers, counting them as if expecting one to be missing. Her name…Why did she keep coming back to that? The beeping behind her ear seemed to drown out any other thoughts, bringing her back around to the same thing. Who was she? Subject Zero? No? No!

“My name is Sophie,” she said again, firmer and this time she made eye contact with the doctor as she said it.

“You are not Sophie,” the doctor chided, peering over his glasses as if she was doing something wrong.

“I was….,” she trailed off, staring at her fingers again, mulling over the cotton that was her brain, “I am. I am Sophie.” She let the words fall from her lips softly as if it could call her old self back to her body, as if she’s been lost to the stars and nothing more.

“Subject Zero—”

“No—I don’t want to do this anymore.”

She knew she’d said something wrong the minute the doctor paused in his movements. “I’m tired,” she added, in some attempt to lighten the words coming next.

“Just a little more Subject—”

“I’m Sophie!” she protested loudly.

The beeping behind her ear was growing more incessant and Kit felt the need to raise her voice to be heard over it. “I’m Sophie!” she repeated, “Sophie. Sophie. Sophi—”

That was the last straw. The doctor slammed his clipboard down onto the counter making the young girl jump. She stumbled to the floor fueled by pure adrenaline and childish rage, but her muscles could barely hold her upright. Her eyes were wide with fear, breath coming quickly – wild like a cornered mouse as the doctor approached her.

The scanner was so loud now it was practically one singular stream of static.

“Sophie Poole was a disobedient little nuisance whose parents didn’t want her!” the doctor snapped, grabbing her by the arm, “Do you want to be disobedient? Do you want Dr. Kendrick to send you away where no one will ever want you again. He can you know.”

The girl snatched the scanner forcefully from her head with her free hand feeling it scrape some skin as it went. She ignored the pain, in simple euphoria from the relief of the lack of static. “You’re a liar! Dr. Kendrick would never—”

“He will if you don’t stop this nonsense, SUBJECT ZERO!”

Kit screamed at him as he clung to her by the arm, slamming her fists against his chest. The movements were too slow and sluggish to do any real harm, her body too exhausted. “Liar, liar, liar!”

She could not say when she actually collapsed to the floor or when she started convulsing and which one happened first. She probably fainted long before either started, the last of her energy seeping out of her with her short-lived spat at the doctor.

By the time the convulsions ended, she was trying to move again, babbling incoherently. The doctor had hit the red emergency button and a new wailing sound had begun. If she’d been more coherent, the girl would have covered her ears in annoyance. As it was, she curled her legs towards her stomach, moaning. Everything in her body felt wrong, it didn’t feel like it belonged to her, too far away.

The convulsions started again, conscious lost in a tirade of darkness.

As several agents flooded in the doctor directed them to get the girl off the floor and back onto the gurney as he readied what he needed for an IV. “After I get her stabilized, she needs to be put through conditioning again.”

One of the agents – newer to the crew and possibly on his last day – had his eyes glued on the seizing child, frozen, horror evident on his features. The Commander pretended he did not see, pretended everything was fine, pretend, all he had to do was pretend he was apathetic and all would be okay. For everyone.

“Conditioning? Sir, in her state?”

“This, Commander?” The doctor quirked his head towards the girl as her second set of seizures came to an end. “Is simply a child throwing a tantrum.”

The doctor gestured at the commander to hold her arm up for him. Preston hesitated before moving forward and doing as he was directed. Stay quiet, keep your mouth shut. That was the way things were done here. No one asked questions about the tiny girl seizing on the table. No one protested what they were doing. No one—

“Sir, please…Conditioning? After an operation?”

“Commander, need I remind you what happened the last time someone started asking too many questions?”

“No…sir.”

“Good. Anyway, she will be more moldable in this state anyway. Perhaps it will finally take. Perhaps she will finally learn what she is now.”

Kit was still now, breath coming in shallow gasps, face white as a sheet. She did not move as the doctor had placed the IV or when he hung the fluids above her. Her eyes were opening, blearily trying to take in everything around her. But it was far too bright and she shut them again. Shut it all out.

The last thing she heard were the doctor’s words, “Give her an hour for the fluids to get into her system then escort her to the Tower.”

She didn’t have the strength to panic or run. Only slip away yet again into darkness.

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Solar Opposites: Unleashed Scene: Phoebe Unleashes her Beast

As the gang back away from the mad scientist, Phoebe gets ready to fight them until they hit the wall.

Terry: Oh shit!

Korvo: Don’t panic! We just to get the last ingredients to Barnaby before-

Suddenly, Phoebe gets shot by a needle as she grunts in pain.

Yumyulack: Phoebe!

Jesse: No!

Korvo: Phoebe, are you okay?

Suddenly, Phoebe’s eyes starts glowing green as she starts growing bigger.

Phoebe: Oh yeah… I! FEEL! GOOD!

Phoebe’s body grows sexy muscles as it rips apart her clothes, she grows a scorpion tail, her teeth grows sharper with scorpion fangs and her feet turns into scorpion feet and her voice gets distorted and deeper.

Aqrabuamelu Phoebe: ROAR!

Miss Frankie: Aaaah! faints as Principal Cooke catches her

Terry: Damn Phoebes, you look sexy!

Yumyulack: Wow, you look so cool!

Jesse: Whoa! What did Phoebe turn into?

Korvo: uses the DNA scanner on Phoebe It appears Phoebe has become an Aqrabuamelu, which is a Scorpion person from Ancient Times. These creatures have amazing abilities, especially strength!

Phoebe: Amazing! flexes her muscles Let’s use this form for good use! cracks her knuckles

Phoebe MacCarthy belongs to @themagicwolf6677