#sorry I hijacked this post but you are absolutely right

[miqojak]

Not me eyeing Jak cutting a swath through the remains of Garlemald's people for this exact reason; she calls it anger, vengeance, justice... but it's pain. It's a scream of agony that rebounds off the icy plains of Garlemald right back at her - no amount of fear instilled, no amount of blood, no amount of fury can bring back the dead. What's lost is lost. The relief of vengeance is brief, a bitter pill; an eye for an eye, but you'll never get that vision back... no matter how many more you remove. She knows she has become like those who destroyed all those she loved - she does enjoy the control - the control they took from her for so long. They claimed that 'might made right,' and so she clutches this phrase to her chest as tightly as the memories of her family. Now she has the might, and so doesn't that grant her the right to exact a price for her pain? For the pain of the lives Garlemald stole?

The gunfire wracks her dreams, the artillery startles her awake - years after she has escaped the genocide of her people. The pain strikes when she least expects it... so she does, too. She strikes back, an animal blind with fury in its pain and fear - it's the only thing she knows to do: flash her fangs, and lash out.

I watched an excellent synopsis of The Babadook (by Horror History, on Youtube) recently, and it made me think of Jak - how she, like the mother in the movie, won't face her grief - so it continues to consume her. It manifests for Jak, however, in her Dark Knight powers as her Fray... as a twisted version of a thing meant to bring justice... but what does justice look like to someone stuck in the grief loop, never making it to acceptance? There is only pain, bargaining, denial, anger - all folding in on themselves time and again, festering as any untreated wound does.

She is alone, rooted so deep in her pain that the world around her has become a twisted, warped reflection of her own pain. What else can she be, when she can't see an end to the pain/grief?

there's this specific kind of "bad"/unsympathetic victim narrative that i'm obsessed with when it's executed well, where someone's trauma response is to become increasingly destructive and selfish, at first in the hope that there will be consequences - that someone will follow the broken, bloody trail they're leaving behind them and try to stop them - because that will mean that they've been seen. that someone has finally noticed them, acknowledged their pain, and done something about it. but then, when those consequences never arrive, or are too easily brushed aside, they realise that they're enjoying being in control (or the illusion of control) for once far too much to stop, and start to buy into this delusion they've begun to construct for themselves, where what they're doing is Justified, Actually, because of what they've endured to reach this point. they've long since crossed sunk cost fallacy event horizon. to look back now would be unbearable. which is, of course, when the consequences they cannot so easily ignore arrive, and they're forced to reckon with the fact that they've mistaken the grave they've been digging for a great and gleaming tower, the crumbling walls of which are now starting to collapse inwards on them. it's such an inevitable but compelling tragic route to go down.

[random-dragon-exe]

Okay, MAJOR SALT COMING! Also a long post!

So I have the Disney Villains tarot deck but before I go into the salt part of the post, let's go into the positives.

The cards have stunning art and each card is appropriately themed to the villain generally speaking about 98% of the time. (IMO).

Another positive is the roster of villains included. Seeing even a few minor/underrated villains is pretty cool and impressive.

Some examples of these villains include Bowler Hat Guy, Madame Mim, Madame Medusa, and possibly Yzma.

Now onto the salt.

As impressive as the span of villains is, two villains are absent who (IMO) deserved a card.

King Candy

Frollo

First, there are other villains absent, but I'm sticking to these two since I've seen these movies. Now going in order, it is an absolute SHAME (IMO) that King Candy doesn't have a card, but I have an idea of which card suits him best.

The King of Swords. Although this card is given to Scar, and I do love how it looks, I believe that King Candy deserved it.

Plus, Scar appears on like three other cards, so I think it's okay for him to appear three times (sorry Scar, I do love you too).

Anyway, I'm going to go into some detail as to why I believe King Candy/Turbo deserves the card by going into the meaning of it and how it relates to him.

I'll admit, I have a lot of points and can talk about this for days, but I'm going to condense them to 3-ish. I'll do the same for Frollo too in a part 2 post.

Going for a two in one here: The card is about being an authority who uses reason and their intelligence for good. while the reverse of this is being cunning to deceive people.

After Turbo hijacked Sugar Rush, he was very methodical about his approach to make it sound like he's their rightful ruler. He locked up their memories, then he fabricated the lie that she was a danger to their game. Turbo did his best to make sure nothing went unchecked and made sure to make the lie sound convincing to protect them (but mostly him). He's very strategic, and was able to come up with a plan to manipulate Ralph with 16 manipulation tactics in one go. He was even able to feign being concerned to play on Ralph's attachment to Vanellope.

I think the best line that best captures this aspect of the card is "Doing what's right, no matter what." AKA: He recognizes that it may sound harsh, but he makes his lies sound reasonable to protect his subjects and game.

The card also represents enjoying structure when upright. But it's controlling and oppressive in a need for order when reversed.

Turbo needs everything to be to be going his way, as he's a control freak.

Inserting the test animation here, he even says "You are a threat to my game, to the order I have maintained. And if there's one thing I can't abide, it's anything out of order!"

Also, the split-second something isn't in his control, he starts to fumble and break into either rage or nervously laughing. He's capable of coming off as cool and composed, but he's scared of being caught and it can cause him to lash out in anger (another aspect of the card).

Just as mentioned in the previous point, he made sure nothing went unchecked and made an entire world literally revolve around him. He can and WILL happily use all of his resources of excessive force he has like the cops, the Sugar Rush equivalent of S.W.A.T., and the fungeon to detain someone who stands in his way.

As a minor note, there's a line in the tarot guidebook that states the reverse of the card can represent "someone who needs to win at any cost." Which describes Turbo to a T. He not only wants attention but he's also extremely competitive. It's part of his programming, and it ties to his love for racing. To always come out on top and be #1. No matter who or what stands in his way.

That core drive (pun intended) was the cause of his villainy in the first place and earned him his infamous status in the arcade.

Okay, I don't want to sound too salty, but you can imagine my disappointment when King Candy didn't get a card.

Oh well, Its fine, I still love and use this deck.

So I guess we can call this the thrilling conclusion to the 3 part saga of including King Candy in Disney Villain merchandise.

Also as a sidenote: hypothetically if he did get this card, what would the imagery be?

I feel the card has the potential to get creative with the glitch effects. For example make it so that he's glitching between the Turbo appearance and the King Candy appearance. If we want to be a little cheeky, we could have it set in his castle, and out the window, we see a the cybug Ralph initially sent to SR flying outside a castle window. (similar to Hook's card as the crocodile is seen outside)

So basically, my interpretation would be a mix of these images and Captain Hook's card:

But, if anyone else has really cool ideas, I'd love to hear them! If you want, you could also draw it out to illustrate your point (pun intended) Honestly please do, I'd love to see other people's interpretations of this card for him. The possibilities are endless!

Join me in my antics next time when I analyze Frollo and and the card I think he should've gotten.

[heretherebedork]

Hi!

I think I upset you with my reblog and commentary, and I want to apologize. 

My commentary wasn't meant to be "you are WRONG and I am RIGHT". I just wanted to play in the same sandbox with the idea you presented, and I think the way I wrote came across as more absolute declarations instead of wanting to talk more about how Ming still has a long way to go to show that he's changed inside vs his actions and how we the audience interpret it so radically different based on our own ideas/experiences. I don't want to silence opinions or takes. The opinions are the fun part! It really was meant for fun fandom discussion! 

I sincerely apologize. I will not hijack another of your posts. 

"And then Tong gets kicked off a cliff." - Please let me say how much this is the most unifying statement we all agree on. 

I understand that and I do strongly believe that the fandom has conversations to be had and I know it wasn't meant to be how I read it but... yeah.

Thank you.

I'm not... I mean, man, how does a person phrase 'I'm not seriously upset but it bothered me in a way that I know it shouldn't have".

Ming does have a long way to go.

But, and I say this because I don't know how else to say it, your phrasing left no space for that growth. And that was what bothered me. Because you tags definitely implied something very different than the rest of the writing did. The post itself, to me, implied that Ming was entirely wrong and needed to leave Joe alone and that there was no growth or chance of growth. That Ming couldn't bring Joe joy or warmth.

I think the problem is that it's not that I want to shut down the idea of hijacking, that can be fun! But when the hijacking is entirely the opposite point of the post... it's a struggle for me.

And that's why I almost didn't respond. Like... I don't want to say 'don't ever do this!' I just want to say 'don't shut down what you're hijacking'.

Sorry.

But also thank you. Like, I get it. When you put it like you did here, I obviously have no arguments! Like, dear lord, Ming has so much growth to do and he's just started! But he has started. And taking all of his started growth and turning it into a negative is just... making his growth impossible and I've seen enough takes like that.

So anyway.

I'm not saying never hijack or don't talk or don't interact with me. I'm saying... if your entire point disagrees with my point entirely... that's time to make a new post! Because your point is better on it's own without mine.

(Honestly, it feels weird to say this, but your tags talking about your excitement about everyone's response and your post just being a declarative shut down of my happy post really did push me to respond. Because your tags and this both feel so positive and enjoyable and the post itself felt like it was just a refutation to my post.)

[hirkyy]

hi!! so I saw your post, but I promise I'm not here to be a dick. while I get where you're coming from and I 100% agree women should be allowed to complain and speak out against their oppressors, most of the discussions (at leas the ones I've seen and engaged with) regarding the "hatred of men" and some of its roots in terf garbage aren't talking about that kind of stuff! they're specifically referring to actual discrimination and abuse that happens towards men specifically because they're men- how they're "naturally aggressive/abusive" and how its in their nature to want to rape and violate women.

where the TERF stuff comes in involves how these ppl don't see trans women as women, and only think they're out to prey on them by easily gaining access to their spaces- rarely are trans men painted so passionately as predators in the same way trans women are. butch lesbians (such as myself) at times are also attacked because we're also seen as predators and creeps for being more masculine.

now is the unkindness and discrimination towards men on the same par of what women have faced? absolutely not, but it's also not about that. it's never been about how men have it worse than women and that women shouldn't be allowed to speak up. that's not to say there's never some moronic fuckbag out there that says otherwise, but i promise they're not relevant to our viewpoints and ragging on them is 100% justified lmao.

but!! i apologize if i misread what your post was about, i just. wasn't completely sure bc of how some things were worded. sorry also for the massive text wall and if i sounded rude at any point aaa. i hope what i've said's been helpful if need be!!

anon, with respect to your commitment towards being courteous and civil, i stopped reading after "actual discrimination and abuse that happens towards men because they're men", which is not a real thing.

i made a post talking about how infuriating it is that women are expected to cower and grovel to their oppressors because any expression of anger is immediately punished and twisted to make You the evil one and then the conversation is immediately hijacked to be about "misandry akshually" and you're all doing the same thing right under it, honestly the commitment is impressive.

being a misandry truther won't loop right back around to supporting trans women, you know

[stolitzsings]

@tealvenetianmask oh absolutely! There's just so much going on in his head right here: "I need this for the job, I'm fucking things up for everyone, he really is getting bored of me," etc. Then confusion- "why is he giving me this crystal? How did I fuck up here? I thought he really liked this arrangement. Is he finding an excuse to kick me out?"

And then even when Stolas explains it, the crystal is his now, he doesn't have any obligation to do anything for Stolas anymore, he's still so confused and hurt. He knows Stolas isn't taking away his business now, IMP will be okay, but he was FINE with the book, it was easy and safe and gave them a reason to see each other. Why did he need to give Blitz something else, and tell him they didn't have to sleep together anymore? Clearly, Blitz did something wrong, or why would Stolas want things to change?

I think Stolas expected this to be a relief- "I'm taking my book back, because that's the thing forcing you to stay with me, but don't worry! I got you something better! Now you can do what YOU want! I'm showing you that I want you to be free, to choose me or to walk away." And he wasn't prepared for the way Blitz’s insecurities got in the way, because he thought he'd fucked up their relationship with the arrangement, and didn't expect Blitz to be so focused on HIS end of their deal. He thought he was the one preventing them from sharing their feelings, and that if Blitz did care about him, removing the book would take down the wall between them- unless, like he was afraid of in "Just Look My Way," he really was inadequate and wasn't strong enough or loving enough or good enough to break through Blitz’s walls

They are both so convinced that they are the fuckup here, and interpreting and reacting to the situation as though the other person obviously thinks so too

Blitz is going to be the death of me.

Right before the crystal, when he thinks that Stolas is really breaking up with him, he straight up begs.

"Stolas, please, I need this book. Please."

Uh huh the book . . .

"I need this book, Stolas. I will do anything.

Looking down (maybe telling himself, "I knew this was coming eventually") and then looking up, trying not to cry.

Despite . . . his everything here, I'm pretty scared that half the audience will think this is really about the book, and I'm not ready for the bad takes yet.

[hypnoneghoul]

im always so nervous and paranoid everytime you vent about people using tumblr wrong lol!

im new here and im trying to learn and doing everything well but im still so afraid that im doing it wrong

do you have maybe some tips what to do and what not to do (like reblogs, comments etc), please? i don’t want to make anyone mad or something:(

tysm!🖤

first of all I'm very sorry I make people worried that's absolutely not my intention. unless I'm rambling about a very serious issue I'm just throwing it out and also this particular thing is not something I'd, I dunno, block someone over

I went through my notifications and got some examples, so I hope it's understandable. censored ofc, I wouldn't put someone on blast for this

also please don't make it a drama, it's just my opinion and if yours is different we can agree to disagree. I know a lot of people will agree with me, tho, because it's not something I just came up with and decided is right but it's the tumblr culture and it's just what is considered polite and what is considered rude at this point

under the cut

the point is that when you're reblogging something just to share it and express your opinion on it, and not adding any real content to the post, it should be in the tags

when you add something meritorical to the post that's supposed to stay with it through further reblogs by people (but make sure the op is okay with that, don't just go out there hijacking a post because you need attention), you use the comment reblog

and you do not reblog personal posts. not only personal, some posts just don't need reblogging. if you read someones vent and you want to op you're there for them use messages or replies. don't share their personal rambles

[ohanny]

pit babe/tldhlb zombie au pls? 👀

(also your pit babe posts are always ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ok) (this for you <3333333)

@cryingatships, sorry this took a while and the formating probably makes no sense and none of them are siblings for plot reasons but here is season 1 of the walking pit babe:

1. babe is lowkey rick grimes like he wakes up from a coma in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. but i will stop there because i think this would make charlie lori and way shane and oh no. but he will totally shamble his way through the deserted city, be totally bamboozled but badass about encountering zombies and then he stumbles upon a camp full of people including his old friend way but most importantly charlie, the absolute puppy eyed sweetheart who actually engineered their entire defense system.

i think it would actually make sense that babe and way were both cops and partners. charlie was like the classic engineering student together with his little brother jeff. alan is still a mechanic and basically hijacked a bus to rescue people and drive them out of the city to safety. north and sonic would be there as well and sonic is lowkey the entire camp’s adopted little brother. he has a mild form of asthma but is very stubborn to be included in everything. north hovers around him 24/7 and no one knows their exact relationship status.

2. one day as way and babe are out looting, they run into kim. kim is in a pretty bad shape - more bruise than man and dragging his right leg that is busted to the degree it might be broken - and they mistake him for a zombie. then he almost head shots babe, calls them idiots for trying to sneak up on him and actual zombies show up so they form a tentative alliance and - despite way’s scepticism - take kim with them to the camp. he gets some basic medical attention after proving he hasn't been bitten or scratched and then delivers a grand warning to the group about a big horde of zombies heading their way.

now, charlie immediately believes kim and brings up a radio message he has been picking up, a call to survivors to gather in a former hospital only a couple of hours drive away. he thinks they should move and way? way disagrees big time. he hates that babe has gotten so close to charlie. hates how effortlessly that happened and how usually ever so distrustful babe seems to trusts charlie blindly. so he goes off on charlie. he isn't nice about it. he drags charlie and he drags kim and basically convinces everyone to stay put and babe is furious with him.

3. so obviously it so happens that the zombie horde kim mentioned does attack the camp and bunch of people die and they escape in a mad scramble. babe thinks it’s all way’s fault. (way also thinks it's all his fault.) together in their van babe, charlie, alan, jeff, north, sonic and kim decide to follow charlie’s mystery radio transmission (yes, way is also there but no one is asking for his opinion anymore at this point) which of course leads them to a hospital and… pete!

yes, pete is a doctor. he's been trying to research stuff about zombies but he's just one man with limited resources. at least he has a splint and crutches for kim, food and plenty of rooms with actual beds. (and you know… lube and stuff. charlie and babe take shameless advantage of this.) pete and alan get along amazingly well. they are like two jedis coming together to lead the circus. (jeff does not want to think about why this makes him so annoyed.) way skulks around like a cursed doll with sad eyes. (pete finds him bewitching and engages him in late night rooftop discussions.)

4. obviously there is trouble on the horizon. see, pete loves his base of operations but he's increasingly worried about a much larger compound some hours away and the fact the looters are nearing their location. all pete has heard are nasty rumours from stragglers heading to the opposite direction and when he mentions the name “tony,” the oddest thing happens. kim drops his crutches and his voice is strangled when he asks pete for their exact location on a map.

because YES, plot twist, kim came from tony’s compound. and he didn't leave voluntarily. he was out hunting with kenta when a horde of zombies separated them and he got hurt and and lost and fell into a river or whatever and ended up in the woods where way and babe found him. he's horrified because he knows what kind of a monster tony is (hint: cannibalism) but full of anxious, desperate yearning (if given a choice he'd never have left that hell hole without the love of his life). he knows he can't let none of these people near tony and very clearly communicates it. he also knows that busted leg or not, he can't leave kenta behind. not again.

5. in the season finale, kim goes to way. they don't like each other but kim knows way is protective and has nothing to lose. and honestly? they only mean to leave the hospital to do some snooping, maybe lay down a false trail. kim is still pretty helpless with his leg and well aware two men can't do shit against tony’s fanatic paramilitary operation. of course it goes to shit pretty much immediately, season finale style. babe, paranoid about way’s intentions follows them. instead of running into traces of tony’s men, they run into actual men who clock kim pretty damn fast. and yes, there are zombies because i did not forget this entire thing was supposed to be about zombies.

the final scene is of kim, babe and way being escorted into an arena of sorts, hands tied behind their backs, bags over their heads. they are forced to kneel on the sand, smelling rot and hearing the jeering of people and the moaning of the undead. when the bags get ripped off their heads the first thing they see is a bunch of zombies shackled into stakes on the other side of the pit. then their eyes travel up to the best seats in the house where tony is holding court, glaring down at them. and right behind tony’s shoulder? kenta, his eyes widening in horror as he realizes who his father has imprisoned.

[critter-catcher]

You got it! It's absolutely a small tortoiseshell butterfly! A very pretty one at that too, and these are some lovely pictures!

Also, while researching it yourself is very important I highly recommend iNaturalist if you find a critter you're unsure of. It's sort of like the 'what is X' reddits, which can be very helpful, but iNaturalist has a lot of professionals and well auto recommend what it thinks your critter might be!

@critter-catcher Found this little guy when I was on a walk in 2013...

Did some research and it could be a small tortoiseshell butterfly...

Here are some other pics from the same walk I found this little guy on... https://flic.kr/s/aHsjHfNz98 - Bear in mind this is UK contryside here... :) I'd love to go back again once it gets to being Summer again!

[crystalninjaphoenix]

One Last Puppet Show

A JSE Fanfic

SepticHeroes AU: Part 22

First Part | Previous Part

Heyyyy besties :) Are you ready for a nearly 8000 word chapter of this AU? I know I am! I'm actually so excited for this that I'm posting it a whole day early. Think of this chapter as the end of the first arc. Jackie has a confrontation with the Puppeteer. Schneep and Marvin come, too. Things go well, until they don't. And, somehow, we finally see who's behind the Puppeteer's mask =) There are payoffs and twists and a whole bunch of superhero action, so stay tuned! And enjoy :D :D :D

===============

Jackie spent the train ride back to their apartment glued to his phone as he obsessively checked local news and social media. He had no idea what the Puppeteer could possibly be planning, but it wouldn’t stay silent for long. The rest of the city must be panicking. They’d all seen the Puppeteer hijack the airwaves. 

He wanted so badly to get off at the next station and fly the rest of the way, but he wasn’t about to leave Chase alone when there was a threat on the loose. So he had to just stand there, one hand holding the train handle, one hand continuously refreshing the feeds on his phone. Chase sat on the seat nearest to him. He was quiet. So were a lot of the other train passengers.

Until—

Vrrr. Vrrr. Vrr. The train car was so silent that the vibrating sound could easily be heard. Chase took his phone out of his pocket, glanced at the screen, then picked it up. “Hey, Schneep,” he said. “No, we’re still on the train. Yeah. Are you with, uhhh, our other friend? Great. What’s—oh. Oh.” Chase’s eyes widened. “All of the buildings, or just central SepTech?”

Jackie’s head snapped over. Chase held up a hand, asking him to wait. Nodding, Jackie looked back at his own phone. He silently cursed that it was so hard to get recent posts on most social medias. It was really helpful to have a live update from the people, but only if he could actually see those updates!

“Oh shit,” Chase cursed. “Yeah no that sounds bad.” He glanced around. A fair number of passengers were staring at him, being the loudest thing on the train at the moment. “Windstorm should get on that. Maybe if he knew where the guy doing this was he could, uh, go after that.” Jackie raised his eyebrows. “Does anyone have any idea about that?... Oh. Well, uh, it’s bound to be at one of the buildings, right? Yeah. Yeah, that’s a great idea. Hey, it’s crazy out there, so be careful, alright? Okay. You can call again later. Or you can call Jackie. Yeah. Promise. Bye.” And then he hung up.

“Is there something going on?” Jackie asked, trying to sound like a curious bystander and not like he absolutely needed whatever information Schneep found.

“Yeah, there’s some crazy stuff happening at one of the SepTech locations,” Chase said. “Maybe all of them.”

“SepTech, huh?” Of course. Jackie adjusted his search, looking for posts that were specifically tagged around the SepTech buildings in Daindover. There were all the live updates. The SepTech buildings had gone dark. Pedestrians on the sidewalk reported people running out of them and screaming. Someone posted a picture of a window with a man inside one of the buildings. A man carrying... was that a baseball bat?

The train announcer came on, reporting that they were nearing the station closest to Chase and Jackie’s apartment. Jackie kept checking and re-checking until the train came to a full stop and the doors opened. At which point he put the phone away and grabbed Chase, pulling him out of the train with Frosty hurrying behind.

“Whoa, hey careful!” Chase protested.

“Sorry,” Jackie muttered, then leaned closer to him and whispered, “What did Schneep say?”

Chase looked around; luckily no other passengers were getting off and the station was fairly empty. He whispered back, “He’s with Marvin, who apparently, uh, mentioned SepTech somehow, and the two of them decided to check it out. There’s like—people storming the buildings. Or at least the center one, they haven’t checked the rest yet. They think the Puppeteer has to be there or at another building, so they’re checking things out. Stealthily. You know, how Schneep does it.”

Jackie nodded. His heart was racing, adrenaline pumping through his veins. “We have to get you home fast. Can you run?”

“Yeah, but if I fall, you have to catch me.”

“I���m fine with that. Let’s go.”

The two of them broke into a sprint.

===============

When they reached their building, Chase encouraged Jackie to fly up to their apartment and get in through the window. “I’ll be there in... a few minutes,” he said, panting. “Your stuff inside... is more important. I’ll... be fine.” Jackie reluctantly agreed; the sooner he was in his supersuit and out there, the better.

He tumbled in through the window, rolling back to his feet and immediately lunging for the box where he’d left his supersuit. It only took him a minute or so to completely change. A new record. If only it happened under different circumstances.

As he was pulling on his gloves, he remembered what Jameson had said before they’d left his shop. Maybe when you go out, you can wear the gift I gave you? The bracelets. He wanted to leave them behind, but then after a second’s hesitation, he grabbed them both and slid them onto one wrist, pulling the glove over them. They were small and under the thick fabric of the suit; they wouldn’t get in the way. And maybe JJ would freak out if he heard Jackie wasn’t wearing his ‘good luck charms.’ Jackie had known some people who put real stock in stuff like that, and JJ had been stressed enough without worrying about little things like that.

His phone rang. Jackie searched through the pockets of his discarded jeans until he found it. “Hello?”

“Jackie? It is me.” Schneep was on the other end.

“Yeah I figured. Chase told me some of what you called him about. You could have called me directly, y’know.”

“Well I was not sure if you had changed yet. Superheroes do not carry their phones with them. I thought Chase was safer.”

In the background of the call, Jackie heard a far-away “Just get on with it!” Spitfire Cat was not known for patience and a cool temper.

“Yes, yes,” Schneep dismissed. “In any case. My friend. We are at the East SepTech location, and we think the Puppeteer is here too.”

Jackie’s stomach dropped. “Did you see him?”

“Distantly. He is on the roof. I saw him peer over the edge.”

“That building is fucking ten stories tall how the fuck did you see—?!”

“I made some modifications to my goggles a while ago,” Schneep said vaguely.

“How?!”

“Is this really the time for that?! The point is I saw a man in black with a green glowing face!”

Jackie took a deep breath. “No, you’re right, it’s not the time for this. What else is there? You told Chase people were storming SepTech?”

“We only saw the Central and East locations, but the same story for both of them. There are people with weapons attacking. No guns, but there are knives and crowbars and axes—”

“How do you get a fucking axe in central Daindover?!”

“It’s actually remarkably easy, but that is not the point. Chances are this is happening at all of the SepTech buildings. The attackers are all breaking things and grabbing people, but I don’t think they are trying to hurt them. We think they are converting them. Putting strings around their wrists.”

“Fuuuuck.” The Puppeteer’s numbers were growing. A breeze swept around the room, matching Jackie’s growing worry. “Okay. Okay. He’s on the roof of the East location. That’s good, actually. I can fly right up there and take him out. Fuck, where’s my neutrinalin?! Oh right.” He’d put the syringes and injection gun at the bottom of his supersuit box. He hurriedly picked up the gun, checking that it was loaded, and then secured it to his belt. And put a couple syringes in his pouch, just in case.

“We are going to help,” Schneep said.

“Are you sure? If they’re stringing people up—I mean, the building is probably full of—of puppets—”

“They will need to touch me first,” Schneep said, a bit smugly.

“What about Spitfire?”

Marvin must have heard that, because Jackie heard the sound of a short scuffle, and then Marvin’s voice. “I said I wasn’t going to let this fucker get away with this! And trust me, I’m more angry at him than scared of them.”

“Let go of my hand, thanks!” Schneep’s voice said, getting louder as he returned the phone to his ear. “We can find a way in without getting puppetted. I am good at this, I can make sure of that. You just get here soon! Hopefully you will be here before we even get to the roof.” And then he ended the call.

“See you th—oh you hung up.” Jackie didn’t have time to be offended at that. He put his phone down on the dresser and instead picked up the Red Line. There was a special app on this gadget. All he had to do was press it, and it would immediately send out a signal for other Heroes to come to its location. If there was ever a time for Heroic reinforcements, this was it. He activated the signal without hesitation.

The apartment door opened. “Jackie?” Chase called.

Jackie ran out of his room and down the hall, stopping at the living room entrance. Chase was there, looking winded, with Frosty, looking excited. “The Puppeteer is at the East SepTech location, and so are Schneep and Spitfire,” he hurriedly said.

“That one?” Chase blinked, surprised, then shook his head. “Well why are you talking to me?! Go go go!”

“Stay safe,” Jackie said, and turned around, running back to his room, shoving the Red Line into his pocket as he went. He opened the window again and jumped out, flying off to the scene of the crime.

===============

The East SepTech building was the newest of the SepTech locations. Not because of age, but because it had collapsed two and a half years ago during a fight between Timekeeper and Earth Shaker. It had been rebuilt in remarkably fast time—something that couldn’t be said for the other buildings around it, many of which were still visibly under construction. The new East building was ten stories of glass and white concrete. It was a triangular shape, with one side that curved outward. Normally there was a green neon sign along the top with SepTech’s logo, but that had gone dark.

Jackie circled above the building, far higher than the roof, hoping that he couldn’t be seen from this distance. He wished his mask had whatever ‘zoom and enhance’ features Schneep’s goggles apparently had. From up here, he could only vaguely make out dots of people on the ground. He dropped lower and lower with every circle, assessing the situation.

There were some people on the sidewalks and streets, but no cars. At least, none moving. He couldn’t tell what they were doing from so high up. But he could clearly see the crowd of people on the roof. How many were there? Thirty? The Puppeteer must have them gathered up there to protect himself. Smart move. But when you could fly, you could just drop right on top of the Puppeteer and inject him with neutrinalin before any of the puppetted crowd could react.

He kept slowly descending until he was able to pick out the Puppeteer. He was the only one wearing all black, standing out against the pale concrete roof. Jackie zeroed in on him and dove.

He was only ten feet away when something slammed into his side. Taken by surprise, Jackie was thrown through the air until he hit a concrete wall. He was only just able to slow himself before impact, barely avoiding what surely would have been broken ribs. Even so, he fell to the roof gasping for air.

“That was an excellent shot,” said a familiar, computerized voice.

Jackie looked up, taking stock of his surroundings. He hit the concrete wall right next to a door—clearly the roof access entrance. It was blocked by about five people holding various weapons. Twenty-five others were scattered around the roof, slowly walking closer to him. They all held weapons. Mostly knives or blunt objects like crowbars. But one man was holding what looked like a giant compound crossbow. And over all of their heads, Jackie could see the Puppeteer’s glowing LED grin.

He gritted his teeth and stood up, trying not to stagger or wince as his body screamed at him. As he moved, he noticed something wrapped around his waist. A metallic rope with two heavy-looking balls on either end. That must be what knocked him out of the air. He glanced back at the man with the strange crossbow and noticed two more ropes coiled at his feet. “Clever,” Jackie grunted, untangling the rope from his waist.

“Isn’t it?” The Puppeteer said, managing to sound delighted despite the robotic tone of his voice. “They just had that in storage here, you know. A prototype built just for this purpose: knocking flying supers out of the sky. It never made it to completion. They branded it ‘too dangerous.’”

“Oh shut up,” Jackie said.

“I don’t think you are in a position to tell me what to do.” The Puppeteer folded his arms, and every single person pointed their weapons at Jackie.

His eyes darted around. Sure enough, he could see strings around many of their wrists. Varying in color, but all there. None of these people wanted to be here. He could see it in their eyes. “Alright,” Jackie said slowly. “So... now what?”

The Puppeteer tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“Are you going to tell them to kill me? And then are you going to take over the world? Put everyone under your control? Or just Daindover?” He was stalling for time and he knew it. He had to figure a way out of this.

The Puppeteer laughed, a strange sound. “Do you want me to explain my whole scheme to you? That seems very unwise for me.”

“What if I said please?” His back was literally to a wall. Sure there was a door only a few feet away, but he’d have to push past the five knife-wielding puppets guarding it. The Puppeteer was prominently displayed, standing on top of some sort of rooftop industrial unit. He might be able to fly for him, but he no longer had distance and surprise on his side; the poor puppets could attack him before he made it. “I gotta be honest, I don’t understand anything you’ve done so far. So, I’d appreciate some sort of closure in, uh, my last moments.”

“Last moments are never guaranteed,” the Puppeteer said. “But I suppose I could tell you what I had been intending to do. Before your discovery of my plan—and the failure of certain key parts—” His body twitched “—forced me to abandon it all. That would not take too long.”

“Great. Thanks. Much appreciated.” Some of the puppets walked closer, forcing Jackie to move forward to get away from their outstretched weapons. Farther from the door, closer to the Puppeteer. His options were becoming more limited.

“I suppose you know I was the one behind that crime wave in August,” the Puppeteer said. “That was only a test of abilities. That was only me seeing how far I could push. I focused on those with criminal pasts for two reasons. Because I knew the police would not take their claims of mind control seriously, and because of SepTech’s Reformation Program. Do you know about that, Windstorm?”

“It... it’s a program to give ex-convicts jobs at SepTech,” Jackie said slowly.

“Very good.” Again, the Puppeteer managed to give the computerized voice emotion. Now he sounded very condescending. “If I kept control of criminals, I could get them into SepTech through that program. And once I did that, I could get them to spread my control to other employees.”

“But why?” Jackie asked.

The Puppeteer laughed again. “Are you asking me why I would want to gain even more control over one of the biggest technology companies in the British Isles? I think that would be obvious.”

“So... it’s about power, then,” Jackie summarized. “That’s what it always is with you types. Power or money. I’m almost disappointed.”

“I’m glad I don’t exist for your approval then.” The Puppeteer leaned forward slightly. “My plan was going well. Progress was progressing smoothly until—”

“Did you just say ‘progress was progressing’?” Jackie interrupted incredulously.

“Shut up,” the Puppeteer said, now audibly annoyed. “As I was saying. Progress was going smoothly until you discovered my plan—far quicker than I expected. As well as other factors not working.” Again, he twitched. “So, I decided to shift direction. Now I would be more... straightforward.”

“By staging a hostile takeover of the company,” Jackie said. “And killing the city’s only Hero?” 

The Puppeteer tensed. “What makes you think—”

Slam!

The roof access door flew open and a bolt of orange energy shot straight for the Puppeteer, barely missing. Jackie spun around and saw Marvin—in full Spitfire Cat costume, standing in the doorway. Then Jackie spun back around and launched himself towards the Puppeteer. The puppets grabbed at him, some throwing their weapons, but his momentum was too great. He tackled the Puppeteer, knocking him right off the industrial unit he was standing on. They rolled across the ground.

For a moment, the puppets regained control of their bodies. Most of them dropped the weapons. Many ran for the door. One woman shrieked in surprise. “Something’s got me!” she shouted.

A figure flickered into view next to her. Schneep, wearing the Specter suit. “Something has got the strings off your wrist,” he said. “Now run! All of you who don’t have them!”

After a few seconds, eight people ran for the roof access door, passing by Marvin as he ran the other direction towards Jackie and the Puppeteer. He jumped onto the unit and peered down at the two of them. “Did we come in time?”

“I would’ve got it,” Jackie said, struggling to pin the Puppeteer to the ground. He kept wriggling and flailing. Jackie tried to take the injection gun off his belt, but he must have secured it a little too well.

Marvin rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Sure.”

“How were things?” Jackie asked through clenched teeth.

“Fine. The Specter knows what he’s doing.”

“Thank you!” Schneep shouted. “But it helps that most of the building was empty. It let me run ahead and find you up here.”

“So, while I was talking, you were invisibly taking the strings off. That’s pretty—hey!” Jackie ducked to the side, barely managing to dodge the wild punch the Puppeteer threw. “Spitfire stop fucking watching and help me the fuck out!”

Marvin chuckled, then climbed to the ground. “I thought you had it.”

“Shut up.” Jackie paused. “And thanks. Both of you.”

Was it over already?

===============

The apartment was deadly quiet after Jackie left. Chase stood at the window and watched him fly off into the distance. He watched until Jackie disappeared from sight, then shook his head. He couldn’t believe that was his roommate.

What does he do now?

He knew he should probably turn on the TV and watch the news to keep up with what was happening. But... quite frankly, he didn’t want to. If things went bad, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. If he wanted to sit there in worry. But he would be sitting in worry anyway... ugh.

Chase wandered into his bedroom. Maybe if he had something physical to do while he watched the news, he wouldn’t feel sick with anxiety. What was there to do? He kept his hacky-sack in here. Maybe that. Where was it? On the dresser?

As he moved things around on the dresser by his bed, Chase’s hand brushed against something. It fell to the floor and immediately burst into lots of tiny bits. “Fuck.” He wasn’t going to be able to clean that up, and neither was Frosty. Too small. But... what was it that could have broken like that?

He squinted at the floor. Beads?

Beads. Like from a bracelet.

He looked back at the dresser. This was where he’d left the bracelets JJ had sent him and Jackie. Now only one was left. He picked it up to examine it closely. And as he lifted it up... the beads slowly fell to the ground. Until he was left holding only the string. A string that was still tied in a circle, but which looked less... solid somehow. As Chase stared, the string turned wispy, like a strand of fog, and then faded away.

Fear jolted through his stomach. Strings. Strings. Strings.

Chase fumbled for his phone. He unlocked it and navigated to the photos. The most recent thing on his camera roll was a video he’d made for himself, recounting everything Jackie had told him and the others about the Puppeteer. Just so he would remember. He pressed play, skipping forward every few seconds until he found what he was looking for. “—Jackie says that these strings don’t last forever. He said that when he got them off that uhhh ice lady they became sort of transparent and then fell apart, like... like the way steam fades away, y’know? And then they disappeared. So—”

He paused the video.

The world was tilting beneath his feet. He started listing to the side.

Frosty pressed his head against his side, gently righting Chase before he lost his balance and fell. “Thanks, Frost,” Chase said absentmindedly.

He’d been feeling guilty for constantly forgetting to wear JJ’s gift, but now he was relieved. These were not bracelets. These were the Puppeteer’s strings. How did JJ get them?! Why did he give them to Chase and Jackie?! Unless—he was—

Chase ran into Jackie’s room. He searched every surface for the bracelets—or at least the beads, if the string had faded. But he couldn’t see anything. JJ had asked Jackie to wear the bracelets for this. Jackie must have put them on. He must be wearing them now!

“Shit!” Chase opened up his phone contacts and called Jackie. If he could warn him, maybe—

A gentle ringtone came from the bed.

Dreading what he’d see, Chase glanced towards it. Jackie’s phone. Right there. Left behind.

He couldn’t reach him. He couldn’t tell him.

Unless—the East SepTech location—He knew how to get there, the Yellow train line had a station right in front of it. He might not be much use if there was a fight, but—but he had to tell Jackie!

“Come on, Frosty,” Chase said, running out of the room and towards the door. He wished he could leave him behind, but if there was ever a time he needed to avoid a fall, this was it.

===============

“Just hold him long enough for me to get this thing, okay?” Jackie said.

“Easier said than done,” Marvin grunted. “God damn, this guy’s a wriggly bitch. Hey!” He shot a pencil-thin beam of red energy at the ground right by the Puppeteer’s head. The Puppeteer immediately stopped moving. “That’s what I thought.”

Jackie leaned away from the struggle and glanced around. None of the puppetted victims were being controlled. In fact, Schneep had managed to free even more of them, leaving only half left. They were trying to help each other with the strings, but even with this lack of active control, they were unable to remove them on their own. He looked back at Marvin and the Puppeteer. Marvin had him incapacitated for the moment, twisting one of his arms behind his back. But Jackie knew this wouldn’t last forever. He had to—yes! Finally! He managed to take the injection gun off his belt. “Should’ve just put it in the bag,” he muttered.

Marvin glanced over at him. “That’s neutrinalin.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yep.”

“Well I don’t know if the needle will get through this outfit. That’s what the armor’s for.”

“I think there’s a spot near his neck. Can you hold his head still?”

The Puppeteer spoke up for the first time in a while. “Do you really think this is the end?”

“That’s what they all say,” Jackie muttered. “Spitfire?”

“Got it.” Marvin pushed the Puppeteer’s head to the roof. “I wasn’t kidding about the wriggliness, by the way. Do it fast!”

Jackie nodded. He made sure the gun was ready, then reached forward, and...

Stopped.

Marvin looked at him. “I said fast! This isn’t the time to hesitate!”

“I’m not, I’m—” His arm was trembling slightly. He tried to move it forward, but it simply would not respond to his commands.

The Puppeteer laughed.

Suddenly, Jackie’s arm darted forward, aiming not for the Puppeteer, but for Marvin. He gasped and ducked. The injection gun barely missed him, but the sudden movement gave the Puppeteer enough momentum to throw him off. Marvin went rolling as the Puppeteer climbed to his feet. Jackie stood as well and tried to grab him, but again, he suddenly stopped. “Wha...?”

“Windstorm, what the fuck?!” Marvin recovered and got up.

“I’m not—this i-isn’t—!” Jackie tried again to grab the Puppeteer, but he wasn’t able to get within arm’s reach. He strained, trying to take a step forward. He only managed to stumble for a second.

“I said it wasn’t the end.” The Puppeteer calmly walked away, going around the industrial unit he’d been standing on.

Marvin’s eyes widened. His head darted towards Jackie. “When did he get you?!”

“He didn’t!” Jackie protested. “I-I don’t know what—”

“Maybe you should double-check your gifts next time,” the Puppeteer said calmly.

Jackie’s heart dropped. “You mean—Jameson, the—the bracelets—?”

“Bracelets?!” Marvin gasped. “Jackie, you fucking idiot! Your friend gave you bracelets and you put them on even though I told you not to?!”

“When did you tell me not to put on bracelets?!”

“In the email! When I told you SepTech was compromised!”

“You didn’t say shit about bracelets!”

“You have to be careful sending messages online,” the Puppeteer said. “Sometimes parts of the message gets lost in transition.” He tilted his head. “Email isn’t that secure, anyway. I thought you would have learned that, Spitfire, after the fake mail I sent you from your Kanchana friend.”

Marvin snapped back towards the Puppeteer. His eyes narrowed and a growl escaped his throat. He clenched his fists and spheres of orange energy appeared around them. “You motherfucker. I’m going to kill y—”

“No you’re not.”

Against his will, Jackie stepped forward, right in front of Marvin, blocking the Puppeteer from his sight. Feeling it happen made his skin crawl. Marvin backed up. He looked around Jackie towards the Puppeteer. “You’re forgetting something.”

“Like what?” The Puppeteer asked.

“There were three of us.”

Suddenly, the Puppeteer was knocked to the side by something unseen. He fell to the ground, but then lashed out. A red string came from his hand and wrapped around something invisible. Schneep briefly flickered into view again. Then the string fell to the ground, limp as it passed right through the arm it had been wrapped around. “Everyone run!” Schneep’s voice shouted. The remaining puppets tried to flee, but they all froze in place before they could get too far.

“Let them go, you bastard!” Marvin lunged forward, hands burning bright. But then Jackie grabpped his arms around him, stopping him in his tracks. The energy spheres around his hands disappeared as he tried to pry Jackie’s arms away. “Damn it! Fight it, Windstorm!”

“I’m trying!” Jackie gasped. His muscles shook, but didn’t let go.

The Puppeteer was on his feet again. Red, green, and black strings trailed from his fingers as his head darted around. Then it snapped to the side, hit by something unseen. He staggered and whipped the strings around. They briefly caught on invisible Schneep before falling through. “Don’t think I cannot see you,” the Puppeteer taunted. His head turned to the side, tracking something. “This mask has many features!” He lurched forward. Schneep cried out and briefly appeared again as the Puppeteer knocked him down. 

Marvin managed to get Jackie to let go of him. He ran forward, shooting a beam of yellow energy that barely missed the Puppeteer’s legs. “Fight it! All of you!” he shouted at the puppets. None of them moved. They could only watch.

Jackie jumped into the air and dove down. The air whipped around him, pushing Marvin to the side. He landed right next to the Puppeteer.

“I never wanted to kill you, Windstorm,” the Puppeteer said. “You are of much more use this way.”

“Sh-shut up,” Jackie said weakly. His fist flung to the side, connecting with something. Schneep shouted, reappearing as he staggered back from Jackie. “I’m sorry!”

“Not your fault,” Schneep said. “I thought you could not see me!”

“I-I can’t.”

“But I can,” the Puppeteer said. Green strings curled around his fingers. “And that’s all that matters.”

All the puppets rushed forward, swarming. Marvin threw his hands up into the air and a grid of red energy surrounded the four supers, separating them. A few of the puppets ran into the grid, burning themselves, but none attempted to make it through. “Keep this between us,” Marvin said, glaring at the Puppeteer. “Leave them out of it.”

“...Alright.” The Puppeteer’s posture relaxed. “Perhaps that will be interesting.” And Jackie rose into the air and attacked.

It wasn’t too different from all the times he’d fought Spitfire Cat before. He stayed in the air, dodging beams and balls of energy, occasionally getting close enough to land a blow before another burst of energy pushed him back. But the devil was in the details. He was not an active participant in this fight. It was just his body, ducking and jumping and punching on its own as he struggled to stop. Like being in the passenger seat of a car with an out-of-control driver. But at least in a car he could have reached over and grabbed the wheel.

Marvin was trying not to hurt him. With powers like his, he could have easily caused permanent damage, maybe even killed Jackie if he wanted to. But he didn’t. And that was far different from any fight they had before. Jackie grabbed his arm to hold him back, but Marvin used Jackie’s own flying momentum to fling him into the distance, making the surrounding grid disappear just before he hit it. Jackie recovered mid-air and came charging back in. Marvin conjured a shield on his arm to block Jackie’s attack. Jackie’s fist managed to change trajectory at the last minute, but even a glancing blow against the shield burned the knuckles of Jackie’s gloves off.

Schneep was trying to fight the Puppeteer, but it wasn’t going well. He was able to phase right through the strings the Puppeteer kept flinging his way, but he couldn’t attack the Puppeteer while he was intangible. And since the Puppeteer couldn’t hurt him either, the two of them ended up in a stalemate. Schneep let out a cry of frustration, then turned and ran into the fight between Jackie and Marvin. He jumped up and grabbed Jackie’s ankle while he was hovering in the air, pulling him down to earth. Jackie’s leg reacted without input, kicking Schneep in the face before he had time to phase through the blow. Schneep’s head snapped backwards as something cracked.

“I’m sorry!” Jackie shouted again as his body flew up again and threw itself at Marvin.

Marvin jumped to the side, barely avoiding the tackle. “It’s not your fault, it’s his!” He pointed at the Puppeteer. A curved blade of orange energy flew out with the motion, but the Puppeteer dodged it easily. Then Jackie grabbed that hand and twisted it to the side. Marvin punched his chest with his other hand, knocking him back.

“I could make this worse, if you want,” the Puppeteer said. “Windstorm is dodging your attacks now, but only because I am making him. I could stop. Let your blows hit him.”

“No!” Jackie gasped. He saw Marvin pale with horror behind his mask.

A pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. Schneep was up again, trying to restrain him. Jackie stomped on his foot, and Schneep went intangible. Jackie passed right through him and went for Marvin again. He dodged the clumsy attack, but then Jackie flung out a hand, and a gust of wind blew him backwards. He spun around and did the exact same motion, knocking back Schneep as he tried to sneak up behind him.

“You’re right, it is more amusing this way,” the Puppeteer said.

“Fuck your amusement!” Marvin flung a red energy ball at him. The Puppeteer jumped, surprised, but still managed to duck. In retaliation, the wind knocked Marvin over again.

Slam!

Everyone looked towards the sound at once. The roof access door had burst open, and standing there was—

“Chase!” Jackie gasped. “No! Get back!”

Chase was too stunned to move, taking in the sight before him. “Ja—Windstorm?” he said. By his side, Frosty began growling.

The puppets moved again, closing in on Chase. Schneep ran towards him, pulling him to the side before they could get to him. “Why the fucking hell are you here?!”

“I—There were—Strings—” Chase’s eyes were locked on the Puppeteer as Schneep guided him past everyone. “I—He wasn’t answering, so—I knew the way here—”

“Chase Brody,” said the Puppeteer.

Chase stumbled. He slowly stepped back. “H-how do you know my name?”

“I know all your names,” the Puppeteer said. He looked around at the puppets. “Do you all want to know our Hero’s true name? He is—”

“No!” Marvin ran forward, flinging out another blade of energy. The Puppeteer barely dodged this one, and it cut through the armor on his upper arm. Jackie flew up into the air, landing in front of Marvin and throwing him backwards with the strongest push of air yet.

“Leave him alone!” Schneep shouted, sprinting straight for the Puppeteer as well.

Jackie spun around and sent another gust of wind towards him. Schneep had already gone intangible, so not even the air could touch him—

But beside him, Chase was as solid as ever.

The wind sent him flying backwards. He hit the edge of the short wall surrounding the rooftop. For a moment, he stayed there, arms flailing, trying to regain his balance. But he couldn’t. And he went over the side screaming.

Jackie felt something snap.

He was moving before anyone knew it, before he knew it. A low BOOM! echoed through the air as a shockwave of wind burst from the spot where he’d been standing, knocking everyone to the floor. By the time the sound ended he was already over the side. The air whistled past his face as he dove down, down, down, towards Chase’s limp, falling form. He wasn’t going to make it—No.He wouldn’t let himself not make it. 

He flew faster, faster, faster, outpacing the pull of gravity, the concrete ground growing closer by the second. Chase was a few feet away—a foot away—his arm brushed Jackie’s fingertips. Jackie closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Chase, but now the two of them were falling together. No. No. No.

Wind kicked up dust on the ground, sending clouds of it flying. It pushed against the two of them, slowing them down. They were still going too fast. The only way out was to use the momentum. Jackie grabbed the back of Chase’s neck, keeping his head still to prevent whiplash. He shifted trajectory, coming at the ground from a diagonal. The slope evened out, a curve. Litter on the ground flew into the air as Jackie—gritting his teeth, commanding the wind like he never had—pulled out of the dive, now flying up as fast as the two of them were falling down.

In just seconds, they were back at the East building’s rooftop. Then above it. With infinite space to work with, Jackie slowed down, down, down... until they came to a stop fifty feet above the roof. Jackie finally let himself breathe again. He could feel Chase clutching his suit, clinging to it, squeezing him in a tight hug. He was alive. He would be fine.

Jackie slowly descended back to the roof, landing gently, making sure Chase got his footing. The whole rescue had only taken one minute. Everyone up here was still recovering from the shockwave. “Chase?” Jackie whispered. “Are you alright?”

Chase let out a shaking breath. “I... I’ve n-never liked heights...”

“Are you hurt?”

“N-no, I don’t... think so.” He was clearly reluctant to let go of Jackie, but he did. Slowly. Frosty, who had also been knocked over by the shockwave, got to his feet and hurried towards Chase, whining slightly. Chase got down to the ground and wrapped his dog in his arms.

“That’s good. That’s...” The words got caught in Jackie’s throat. His vision blurred as hot tears filled his eyes.

But it wasn’t over yet.

He scanned the roof. The puppets were recovering. Schneep was running towards him and Chase. Marvin was standing up. But his eyes locked onto the cause of all this. The Puppeteer, barely on his feet again. Jackie stalked towards him.

The Puppeteer noticed him instantly. He tensed. His head darted from side to side. Some of the standing puppets started walking towards Jackie but he knocked them down again without even glancing their way. The Puppeteer began backing up. He threw a black string towards Jackie, but it was blown away.

Wind circled Jackie’s body, picking up in speed. “You,” he growled.

The Puppeteer said nothing. Then he turned and ran.

Jackie was on him instantly. He latched onto the Puppeteer’s shoulder and spun him around, delivering a punch to his face with such force that the mask cracked, a spiderweb breaking apart the green face. The Puppeteer staggered back but Jackie didn’t give him time to recover. He hit him again in the stomach, making him fold. Then knocked him to his knees with a jab to his shoulder. Jackie’s knee hit him in the face again, almost dislodging the mask and sending him sprawling on his back. He got down, kneeling on his chest, and raised his fist—

“Windstorm, no!” A hand grabbed his wrist. “Holy shit!” Jackie looked up and saw Marvin, staring at him, completely stunned. “It’s fine! You don’t need to do this!”

“You’re one to talk,” Jackie muttered darkly.

Marvin winced slightly. His voice softened. “Chase is alive. He’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

Anger burned and bubbled in Jackie’s chest. It coiled in his stomach. His whole body shook with the heat of it. But he took a deep breath. Chase is alive. He’s okay. It’s going to be okay. “I dropped the injection gun, but...” He reached into his pouch and pulled out one of the syringes. The Puppeteer was too dazed to stop him from pulling the cloth of his suit away from his neck and plunging the syringe into the thin line of exposed skin there. Jackie leaned backwards. He let out a breath, imagining that anger leaving him through it. “It’ll take a couple minutes to take effect.”

“Did you bring pow-sup cuffs?” Marvin asked.

“What? Oh, power suppression. Damn it, I knew I was forgetting something.”

Marvin smiled wryly. “It’s fine. As wriggly as this bastard is, I don’t think he can get away now. Not with you sitting on him.”

Jackie looked down. “Oh, uh...” He was right on the Puppeteer’s chest. Maybe he hadn’t fought back because he couldn’t breathe. “Oops.” He adjusted his position, now kneeling next to him.

“Gotta take care of the hands, that’s where the strings come from.” Marvin took off his belt and wrapped it around the Puppeteer’s wrists and hands, preventing them from moving. “I’ll be wanting that back.”

Jackie burst into laughter. And he kept laughing. He couldn’t stop the stress-fueled, manic-sounding shrieks. A good minute passed before he was able to get a hold of himself.

Schneep walked over to join the two of them. Chase trailed behind, standing a few feet away from the others, one hand on Frosty’s head and the other holding his leash. “The strings have already faded from the victims,” Schneep said. “I told them to all go home. They are gone now.”

“I see.” Jackie looked around at the roof, empty except for their small group. “I wonder if the same is happening at the other SepTech locations.” He then looked back down at the Puppeteer. The right eye was flickering on the screen. “You hear that, bitch? We beat you.”

“Dii~iid yo-you-youuu...?” The computerized voice stuttered and glitched. Jackie couldn’t help but shiver, finding it creepy.

“Uh, yeah, who’s knocked out on the floor?” Marvin commented.

Chase cleared his throat. “Are, uh... the police coming?”

“They should be,” Jackie said. “If they haven’t been responding to a group of people storming buildings with weapons, I’ll lose all faith in them. We can hand this piece of shit over to them then.”

“Okay.” Chase nodded. “Are... you going to... take his mask off?” He gestured at the Puppeteer, lying on the ground.

“Well apparently I’m not supposed to,” Jackie muttered, glancing at Marvin.

Marvin chuckled. “You’re not. But honestly, I think that mask is a health risk now that it’s broken. Shattered glass. Might be exposed wires. Overheating and shocking and all that. You’re justified... if you want.”

“Well, do you guys?” Jackie asked.

“It is your call,” Schneep said.

Jackie glanced at everyone. Then he turned his attention back to the Puppeteer. The Puppeteer stared back at him, that eye flickering. Like a wink. “Okay,” Jackie said quietly. “Okay.” He wanted to see the face of the man responsible for everything. Slowly, he reached out with trembling hands and grabbed the top edge of the mask. He pulled it off the Puppeteer’s face. And beneath it—

In a single moment, everything shattered.

Jackie stared at the face. The face of the Puppeteer, the face of a man who had been tormenting the city for months, controlling people against their will, the face... of someone he knew. “Jameson?” he breathed.

Bright blue eyes stared back at him. Jameson blinked. A bruise was forming over his right eye, and a thin stream of blood trickled from his nose down his mustache. He didn’t say anything. Because of course he didn’t. He couldn’t.

“What?!” Schneep shoved Marvin aside to get closer. He pushed his goggles back as if that would change what he was seeing. “No. No no no, this is—this is a trick, this is—He is not the Puppeteer!” He laughed.

“Uh... I’m not... familiar with him as much as you are,” Marvin said slowly. “But... that’s him.”

“Nein! I-I mean no! It is not, it—a trick, I said, a trick.” Schneep fell to his knees. He grabbed Jameson by the shoulders—the costume, he was wearing the costume—and pulled him up to a sitting position. The hood—the Puppeteer’s hood—fell back, revealing Jameson’s hair. It was definitely his. “This is—the Puppeteer is pretending.”

Chase stepped forward slowly. “I didn’t know the Puppeteer was a shapeshifter,” he whispered.

“He’s not...” Marvin said quietly. “That’s impossible. The powers are completely unrelat—”

“Okay, okay, fine fine fine!” Schneep interrupted. “Then he is—Jameson was being controlled! Yes, Jameson? Right?”

Jameson just stared at Schneep. His expression was sad. ...No. Regretful.

“It was a fake-out, yes?” Schneep insisted. He looked at Jameson’s bound hands. “The—the strings must be in these gloves! Yes, if we take them off and look at them—” He fumbled with the belt, untying it enough so he could feel the gloves. He held Jameson’s hands tightly in his own. “There is—is something here!”

“...Schneep,” Chase whispered.

“Don’t ‘Schneep’ me!” Schneep cried. Tears were gathering in his eyes. “This is a trick, I know it! Right, Jamie?! Right?! You are not the Puppeteer, right?! You are just—being controlled!”

“The strings on the other puppets wouldn’t have disappeared at the same time the neutrinalin took effect,” Marvin whispered.

“It is mind control!” Schneep looked up at him. “You said—the bracelets, there were—Jamie was wearing bracelets a lot recently—”

Marvin frowned. “But... he wasn’t wearing bracelets earlier today.”

Schneep stared at him. His eyes darted to Chase and Jackie, as if expecting either of them to contradict Marvin. But they didn’t. He looked back down at Jameson. “Jamie, this is... th-this is ridiculous, right? You... you are not this type of person, you... You are not the Puppeteer!”

Jameson closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and pulled his hands away from Schneep’s. Then he opened his eyes again and mouthed two words: I’m sorry.

“What are you sorry for?!” Schneep pulled his mask away from his face; it was getting wet with tears. “This is not—This cannot be! Jamie, you—this is not—Jamie, please. Please, just—say something! Explain! Please! Jamie, please!”

Schneep continued to cry and beg, but Jackie stopped hearing the specifics. It felt like... like he was dreaming. This... was a dream, wasn’t it? A nightmare. Any moment, he would wake up.

Thnka-thnka-thnka-thnka-thnka...

That was the sound of a helicopter. Jackie looked up and saw a blue copter in the sky, slowly getting closer to the roof. The League of Heroes’ golden emblem blazed on its tail. Oh. Right. He activated the signal for reinforcements, didn’t he? He forgot.

Marvin was pulling Schneep away. He fought against him, trying to cling to Jameson, tears streaming down his face, but Marvin was stronger. He dragged him back towards the roof access. Schneep was too distraught to even think of phasing through him. Chase stayed where he was. Standing. Watching everything happen. Frosty stepped up to Jameson and sniffed his face, then pressed his head against his chest. Jameson looked away from the sight but didn’t push the dog away.

And Jackie just sat there. Once again, a passenger of his own body. Now controlled only by instinct.

He vaguely remembered the helicopter landing and Lorelai and Josh rushing over. He sort of recalled giving a distant, fragmented explanation of what happened on the roof. Lorelai and Josh said something like “we’ll take it from here, go rest” and that the League would be in contact tomorrow.

Getting home was a blank. The next thing he knew, he was in their apartment. Lying on the sofa. Staring up at the ceiling. Frosty was on top of him, a heavy, solid weight. Easy to latch onto. Chase was sitting in a chair nearby. Maybe he was saying something. He couldn’t remember. He couldn’t remember if they had dinner, or if he changed out of his supersuit before climbing into bed. He couldn’t remember what time it was when he finally fell asleep.

But he would never forget the sight of two Heroes pulling Jameson into that League helicopter. Of Jameson, still in that black, menacing costume, looking back over his shoulder at Jackie with sorrow in his eyes.

[your-pal-nebula]

Hi. So I just realized... Silver's like... gaining a fanbase on here. People are making FANART of her. My god, I'm honored. So, um.... some random ahh Silver Boxleitner factiods (Also yeah sorry her blog is inactive. I've genuinely just kinda... run out of ideas for funny posts if that makes sense)

She's pansexual and a demigirl. Idk if you saw, but on her profile, her pronouns are actually listed she/her/they/them.

I'm sorry but I can't stop picturing the Henchmen calling her Boss Junior. I'm sorry but that's just hilarious to me.

Either Lady Redundant Woman or Leslie once let Silver have a small sip of their alcohol, at which point Silver spent the rest of the villain meeting pretending to be drunk.

She's really into vocaloid music. Every now and then she sings one of them at villain karaoke and leaves everybody very very concerned about her current mental state

Yall so like... I ship provoclone, right? That um... that makes Silver and Royal Dandy siblings. So uh, I'm just over here imagining what that would be like for the both of them. It'd probably be like Silver teaching Dandy how to swear and informing him the middle finger means "I love you." And probably convincing him to cosplay as Sans and Papyrus from Undertale with her.

Silver once hijacked a TV station because she wanted to talk about Deltarune/Undertale lore. Also yeah, she's... she's cannonically a very big fan of those games. It's literally all over her blog, she regularly talks about it there. Her favorite Undertale character is a tie between Mettaton and Muppet, and her favorite Deltarune character is a tie between Jevil and Spamton.

Now, due to the fact that WG follows the "pretty much all adults are fucking idiots" rule, I like to think they are always unable to remember Silver's actual first name and always refer to her as "Twobrains Child." Like.... THE FUCKING MENTAL IMAGE OF THAT IS HYSTERICAL-

So, I dunno if you've seen the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT (TM) over on her blog, but Silver totally started out absolutely fucking hating Glen Furlblam. But she started kinda giving him a chance, then once accidentally called him Uncle Glen, and from then onward, there was no turning back. Now Glen's basically the Aunt Gayle (from Bob's Burgers) of her and her family

[sardonic-sprite]

I'm Back!

Wow, so Lent is over now, so my tumblr fast is also over and I'm still a little in shock, lol. I had hoped the past six weeks? I don't know, Time is weird, would be more productive but at least I got SOME stuff written/posted. Anyway, I have one more month of school and then fucking FINALS so expect sporadic updates at idiot-o-clock hours of the night, and maybe yell at me to sleep, eat, study, or drink water whenever i do post 😅

I am up to SO EFFING MANY wips rn on so many different fronts you guys have no freaking idea 😭 so here's a status report for EVERYTHING on or going on sardonic_sprite. (Its gonna be a monster post, y'all, bear with me)

in absolutely no particular order:

Wayne4Ham: We have a LONG way to go with this one, so just be patient and I'll slowly but steadily plug on through. Aaron Burr, Sir, should theoretically take me no longer than end of april

Wayne-Crazy: there's like 4 specific requests on it, plus a few 'series' i started, but after those, say 6-7, i'll probably mark as complete and only re-open if someone offers me an idea

Batman Beginners: i'll tell y'all up front, this one will take me forever. i don't even know what all I intend to cover, but know that i'm halfway done with the DITF arc, and it'll probably come out in the next two months

Just A Kid: this was my shits-and-giggles fic that got like 3000 notes in a weekend lmao. it's something i do intend to continue bc its so fun and i enjoy the concepts in it, but i don't have plans to actively write more of it in the immediate future.

Rev Wayne: just gave y'all Jason's fic, so the next probably won't come until late in summer, extrapolating from my few data points. if anyone has ideas for timmy's intro, let me know, i'd love some inspiration

Celeb Batwaynes: reported separate from wayne-crazy for reasons. i think theres like 12 specific requests plus 2 ideas of my own. i may put out a poll for the next one to write, but not until after school's out, because these fics are HUGE time-eaters for me. speaking of, are non-tumblr-users able to vote on polls?

Welcome to Gotham U: this was again, me doing shit bc why not. will probably add more in the style that i first posted, but i doubt i will write any prose for it. if you would like to give it a try, please reach out, i'd love to see what you write!

One Diamond: every time i touch this i make the cliffhanger worse lmao. i finally do have a direction, but execution is gonna have to wait a while.

The Young, Innocent, and Righteous: this is mostly just for me anyway, but i'm just gonna say that i'm waiting until i finish watching miraculous season 5 before i go any further

AS you wish: i have 5 more requests to do and i am so sorry to everyone waiting you do not deserve this lmao. i promise im trying, i love your ideas, it just takes me a really long time to fill in the rest and then actually write it. the next one on my list is particularly hard to pin down and so it's halting the ones behind it to. if not before, then after finals i will sit and bang my head on the keyboard until something good comes out

Light Isn't Fadin': soooooo many people have asked me about this one oof. SOMEDAY, i swear. right now its a huge, nebulous, hulking monster and im sorry it's just not happening yet.

A christmas carol: wait until december. please

Father's Day: june.

A Little Problem: over the summer, i will watch marvel movies until they once again hijack my brain and fuel this to completion. maybe.

easter eggs: how the fuck did i forget this lmao. i'm doing as much as i can in april, but when the month is done, i'm sorry, we'll all be waiting until next lenten season. hopefully it won't come to that.

aaaaand i THINK that's finally it. there's also a bunch of random paragraphs in word and google docs that may appear, not to mention ideas that kidnap me in dark alleys. but i also have like a good half dozen other wips for other places that im trying to attend to, so please be forgiving if it seems like its taking a while to post something as sprite.

as always, i love questions, comments, concerns, even some complaints, so feel free to interact.

See ya when I see ya!

sprite

[wazzuppy]

I saw your post about how people treat the phrase "white feminist" and yeah, I totally agree. There is this really weird trend to fully ignore misogyny even in leftist circles and belittle women who try to talk about how they're oppressed. Even if a woman is white she's still gonna be systemically oppressed because that's just how misogyny works. I find it pretty disgusting on this website where most discussions about misogyny are hijacked by people literally going "man hating is so bad and you shouldn't point this out". It's cool people defend trans people but 1. criticizing men as a social class isn't "bioessentialism" or whatever, it's genuinely just talking about the oppressor class and 2. why do you see trans women as men??????? like why is this argument always brought up anyway? i get TERFs would say it that way but when the target is so obviously not a TERF it's so odd. I've lost mutuals on here for just saying the words patriarchy and that MRAs are bad. It's baffling. I hate this progressive language coded misogyny in leftist spaces with all my heart. Women should be allowed to be afraid and angry when they're so obviously oppressed in every part of their lives. Sorry for the big rant

no need to apologize, i pretty much completely agree.

i think there is a very weird attitude around men's rights in general. like, it often feels as if they're trying the take the fact that they're men and have an inherent advantage to GAIN their rights out of the equation.

not to say i don't think men should have rights or that every single man is more privileged than the average cishet white woman. that's not true. but privilege exists even in marginalized groups because hierarchy still exists, and advantage and disadvantage often affect the same person. like, even a gay man has a leg up over a het woman because they are a man. and likewise, a het woman has an advantage over a gay man because theyre het. things arent as simple as "this group is always more oppressed than this one no matter what." its more fluid than that.

not to mention... a lot of the issues that do affect men (as in the hyper masculine, "feelings are gay" bullshit) are ones that were started and continue to be perpetuated by other men. like yeah, it fucking sucks and it should be fixed, but you get why the victims aren't the ones who should be doing the work, right? we can help and we can offer sympathy, but ultimately that's something THEY need to get over for any real progress to be made.

i also think there's something kind of gross about how a lot of feminist discussions are taken as "you just hate trans men!" automatically, without even knowing the genders of the people having the discussion. trans people should ABSOLUTELY be taken into account and defended, and its completely true that many, many feminists are transphobic. but the assumption that radical feminism (and i mean actual feminism, not "radfems" because thats just a different flavor of wanting patriarchy) = hating trans people feels very icky to me. you can be feminist without being transphobic, and you can be transphobic without being feminist.

leftist language, in general, needs some kind of adjustment or just for people to better understand what certain terms are actually supposed to mean. because lots of people just slap the word "terf" onto someone who is either not feminist or not transphobic.

for example: j.k rowling is undeniably transphobic. she regurgitates lots of terf rhetoric, but the problem with calling her a terf is that... she's not a feminist. like at all. she has an obvious hatred of women and has an extremely conservative mindset of what women should be. that's why all of the mothers in harry potters are good, and all of the unmarried/women without kids are bad. that's why hermione's personality is just a list of misogynist stereotypes.

this issue is especially gross when you remember how dogshit trans feminists are treated, masc or fem. trans people will talk about how men have personally hurt them and how that affected their views, and then a dozen cis queer people will come in like "noooo hating men is bad!!" and assume theyre cis.

i have more to say, but honestly, im tired and a lil sick so i'll leave it there for now. but theres a lot i think that needs to be discussed with how leftist language has evolved, and how feminism is sometimes treated like a scapegoat when it comes to who should be blamed for transphobia. i dont know of any of this made sense but yeah.

[princemick]

I'm sorry you got attacked by some fans some of them are normal people I swear. I have no problem with people throwing hate at Max and yes I also like Lewis because I focus on what I feel and do as a fan. I think everyone should know what to do to make the community less toxic and I see rude fans on both sides.

You are an amazing content creator and seem a nice person. The only criticism I have is that sometimes you put yourself in the position of "owner of the fanbase"? Sometimes it sounds like you speak for us all when it's not the case.

I'm sure a lot of people on social media act in certain ways to feel welcomed and make friends but in the end we are different individuals that shouldn't be judged as one. This can go for the situation with the Max fans on your post too.

Again I'm sorry you got attacked no one deserves this.

hiya, I'm gonna, try and be nice but this genuinely confused me. but first absolutely now worries i wasn't really attacked or if I was I haven't cared, the post is muted so I'm not seeing anything yk.

but okay, everyone reads posts differently and mb a joke was misread idk but I've always tried to make it very clear that I can only speak for myself? I have in the last few asks made that clear and I try to explicitly state that every time. the only thing I'm like 'lol ur all wrong im right' about is like omegaverse alignment as a joke so I genuinely dont know where that comes from.

I am pretty sure ive never seriously spoken for more people then myself and maybe fran and niamh and I never will bc I obviously clearly cant. and if I ever have spoken for the whole community (outside of that one welcome to tumblr from twitter post) then?? that was dumb of me sorry abt that.

n yea for the last part I have let half the max fans just reblog it like I said before most just hijacked it as max positive n were normal abt it in the tags n then I dont mind I mind the people that start saying dumb shit abt me in the tags bc that urks me for obvious reasons. everyones free to read my posts however they want just dont be a dick n a good few people were dicks. so those I blocked.

[harley-sunday]

First of all… I can’t believe you ATTACK ME ON MAIN before I even READ part 2.

Second of all… you know me quite well because you absolutely know I’m not going to drop this and yes, I— NAY— WE would like a part 3. It’s what the people deserve. Trilogies are in. Right readers?!

Third of all… you drop this gorgeous story to tidy up the loose ends and give us a morsel, nay, a crumb into their togetherness and finish with the steamiest of moments?! And think we won’t want more?! You underestimate your talents, babe. Congrats on part 2. I’m in love with it and I don’t care who knows.

Fourth of all… next time you want me to un-justify the smut?! I’m not doing it. Nope, not me. “But they just met, eL.” Don’t care babe, write the smut. Sorry y’all that one was on me, I didn’t think she’d do us dirty like this.

So yeah, write part 3 and make it just as amazing as parts 1 & 2. KThanksByeeeee 😘

To use your new favourite word: Nay, I don't think I will.

(I'm about to explain my reasonings/vent here for a hot sec, so feel free to ignore me!)

Sometimes you have to know when to stop. Not only for the sake of the story but also for the sake of my mental state as a writer. Because part 1 was super fun and easy to write, I mean, I wrote that in 3hrs ffs. Like, that's the dream, that's what makes writing fun, you know? And even the lack of comments and reblogs where like, whatever, I liked it so in the end that doesn't really matter. Part 2, on the other hand, not so much. It took way longer, was more of a struggle (I started over like 3 times) and in the end I still don't feel all too happy with it but I felt like I had to post it. Looking back at it now, I shouldn't have done it. I should have just left it at part 1. So I know if I even attempt a third part it will just be shit, both for me as a writer (because there will be pressure) and for you as readers (because it's going to feel forced).

If there's anything I've figured out over the best few months it's that I write best (and have the most fun writing) when I write for me. I mean, I still have 2 drabble requests in my inbox from way back when, which I'm still determined to finish, but oof... it ain't easy. An idea like Champagne Supernova, which just popped into my head and thus had to get written that same night? Idk but those are the best!

So yeah..

And eL, babe, I am sorry to hijack your ask like this but it was the perfect catalyst for explaining my side of things a bit more. I probably should have made a separate post but please know it's nothing personal (we have our voice memos for that 😆) because I love you and I can't wait to take you to sketchy museums soon 😘

🧡

[taylortruther]

This is for the virginity anon. you can not post if you want - not trying to hijack your blog! I just have some personal experience I thought might be helpful in making them feel less alone/stressed

My current partner was a virgin when we met. We met in early 2022, and had sex within the first week of us dating and have continued to have pretty regular sex. And I literally had no idea they had been a virgin until several months into our relationship. I literally didn’t know, couldn’t tell, and honestly didn’t really think about it at all until they randomly brought it up one day. It changed absolutely nothing about our relationship or our sex lives. We had a fun convo about it and moved on.

So basically, if you don’t want to tell them, they won’t be able to tell. And if you do tell them, whether it’s before, after, or much later, they shouldn’t be bothered by it. As long as everybody involved is comfortable and fully (enthusiastically) consenting then that’s all that matters. If you feel that telling them is important to you being able to be comfortable having sex, then you should definitely tell them. But if you’d rather keep it yourself, then do so. It’s about whatever is going to make you the most comfortable in this experience! I would just relax and do what feels right in your gut in the moment.

you're not hijacking, i appreciate this perspective! (i am a sharer, so i feel most comfortable when people know what i'm feeling/thinking/whatever... but it's definitely not the ONLY option and definitely not the right option for everyone.)

thank you for sending this in :) virginity anon (i'm sorry for giving you this nickname fjaskdl), i hope you see this. also, have fun!!!

[prismkidd]

yes hi hello i'm so sorry for hijacking this post, but i saw someone i follow had reblogged it or something and i am actually insane about this very topic so if anyone who might be reading this would be so kind as to humor me i will elaborate. i lose my mind, i get annoying, it's cringe.

so these are the blorbos from my shows: my ocs Bitless (rainbow hair) and Shockatee (red hat, 3d glasses) and i am so :) normal :) about them :)

they're best friends and i go absolutely FERAL over their dynamic. the thing is, i know that if/when i start sharing more about them and their story, people are probably gonna start to ship them romantically. and that's perfectly fine. HOWEVER. i will continue to forever be nothing less than absolutely captivated and enamored by their friendship more than any romantic or sexual take on their relationship. because it's just. that. good. to me, at least. and not only will i die on this hill, but you will have to have to perform an exorcism on the land the hill stands on to pry it from my cold, dead hands.

look at them.

look!! at!! them!!!

these two are singlehandedly fueling the cymbal monkey that is my brain. i am a dog and they are the chew toy and i am ripping that son of a bitch to pieces with my bare teeth. i am afflicted with the status condition Poison (them) and i take 2 damage every time they cross my mind, which is every other minute of every single day.

they have been best friends in my mind since their creation in the summer of 2013 and NOT ONCE have i thought about them in a romantic or sexual way and preferred that over the platonic love of their friendship. and trust me, i've explored the idea and thought deeply about it on more than one occasion.

and MAN, the pain i feel knowing full well that the nanosecond i open my mouth and start yapping about them people are gonna ship them as a couple and--like i said before--that's fine. i can see where they're coming from. i'll admit, it does work. i'm gay, i write gay shit. but i'm not gonna lie, i'm just hoping that someone out there will be just as hype about their friendship as i am. i just want someone to know and understand. they're best friends, dammit!

MAN

the way that they look at each other like "that's my best friend right there!"

the way that they banter like "he gets me like no one else gets me!"

the way that they trust each other and feel comfortable in each others' company! (bonus: the way the borrow each others' clothes)

the way they care about each other!

they're each others' partner in crime. they know the other person better than they know themselves. they spend more time together than they spend apart. if someone was trying to impersonate one of them the other would instantly know. i say this without an OUNCE of exaggeration they would DIE for each other.

*grips you* the fucking POWER their friendship has over me. it's got me in it's unyielding grasp. i am in fact so staggeringly Not Normal over these two best friends. gRAAAGH i am downright OBSESSED. i would not have it any other way.

the history books will call them close friends because That Is What They Are.

Y'all have gotta get more insane about platonic relationships like you are about romantic relationships. We need to get more annoying about them NOW. I need to see more meta and losing our minds over them. Get more annoying NOW. More than that. More than that also.