#yeah. I’m aware. it’s not something I can super control.

[lightblueminecraftorchid]

*rattling the bars of my cage and screaming*

I WANT TO TAKE CARE OF MY HEALTH I JUST DONT KNOW HOW TO ASK FOR HELP IN A WAY THAT WILL LET ME BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

[solxamber]

Hi hi solxamber!! (Is that spelled right?) I hope you’re having a lovely day/night! if you would allow me too I’d like to make a request/ask, ignore this if you wish!

But freshwater stingray yuu! She’s so sweet with everyone (even though she may be such a quiet person) and super calming too! But she’s so misunderstood (◞ ‸ ◟ㆀ). Kinda like how a lot of humans now treat wild stingrays, they think she’s dangerous and always aggressive! But really she just wants a friend (；へ：). Oh! And she’s also very tall too! Like Floyd tall, since freshwater stingrays are some of the biggest known rays in the world! She also has a long, whip-like, stinger (tail) that she can’t control even in the water! Maybe this in a small one-shot form (if you do that!) with Octavinelle and Diasomnia? I feel as if specifically Malleus and her would relate to each other very well with them both feeling isolated and feared because of something that they really can’t control!

Please feel free to ignore this if you wish! You are under absolutely no obligation to respond to my request! Sorry if it was really long (I’m severely hyperfixated on any form of marine life) 人(_ _*)

And do you do anon names? If so could I be a 🪼anon?

Octavinelle, Diasomnia with Freshwater Stingray! Reader

hi! yeah you can be 🪼 anon! and don't worry about the length at all, the more detailed, the more fun i have writing it! thank you for waiting and i hope you like it <3 and it's spelled right! you can just call me sol tho!

Azul Ashengrotto:

You sit in the quiet corner of the Mostro Lounge, sipping tea and trying to keep your long tail from accidentally knocking anything over. It’s always the same—people giving you wary glances, as if you’re a threat just waiting to explode. Your tail, with its unpredictable movements, has always been a point of misunderstanding, and despite your calmness and sweet demeanor, most people steer clear of you.

Azul has been watching you for a while now, his sharp eyes glinting behind his glasses. He finally makes his way over, that ever-confident smile in place as he sets a fresh cup of tea in front of you.

"Everything to your liking?" he asks, voice smooth as ever, but there’s a hint of something more—genuine curiosity, perhaps?

You look up, startled. "It’s fine," you mumble, trying not to let your tail twitch in nervousness. But of course, it does, brushing lightly against the floor. You freeze, pulling it in tightly to your side.

Azul’s eyes follow the movement, and instead of the discomfort you usually see in people, there’s only understanding in his gaze. He leans in a bit, resting his elbow on the table. "It must be difficult," he says softly, "having to be so aware of your tail all the time, when people can’t see beyond it."

You blink, surprised at how easily he’s put it into words. "Yeah," you admit, glancing down at your cup. "People think I’m dangerous. But I just… I don’t want to hurt anyone." Your voice trails off, soft and sincere.

Azul chuckles, though not unkindly. "I understand more than you think. People often mistake strength for malice. They forget that control takes time." He gestures vaguely toward his own carefully controlled smile, his smooth façade of confidence. "And patience."

You tilt your head, meeting his eyes for the first time properly. "You... you don’t think I’m dangerous?"

"On the contrary," he says with a smirk, "I think you’re someone worth knowing. Dangerously misunderstood, perhaps, but aren’t we all?"

You can’t help but smile a little at that. For the first time in a long while, you feel like someone is seeing you, not your tail or your height, but you.

Floyd Leech:

You’re wandering through the courtyard when Floyd spots you, and of course, he makes a beeline in your direction, grinning like a shark who’s just spotted prey.

"Heyyy, Shrimpy!" he calls out, stretching his arms over his head lazily. You brace yourself, knowing that Floyd isn’t exactly one to respect personal space.

"Hi, Floyd," you say softly, still trying to keep your voice friendly despite the knot of nerves forming in your stomach.

As expected, he immediately slings an arm around your shoulders, oblivious to the way your tail twitches nervously behind you. "Whatcha doin'? Lookin' all serious. You plannin' to sting someone with that big tail of yours?"

You blink, startled by how casually he brings it up, but you know Floyd doesn’t mean any harm by it—he’s just Floyd. "No," you say quickly, "I don’t sting people. It’s not like that. I don’t want to hurt anyone."

He gives you a curious look, then laughs. "Aw, I know, I know! I’m just messing with ya!" His grip tightens slightly as he leans closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "But y'know, if anyone’s ever giving ya trouble, just say the word, and I’ll help ya take 'em down. Sting 'em, punch 'em, doesn’t matter!"

You blink again, unsure how to respond to Floyd’s unique brand of... support. But something about his carefree attitude puts you at ease, and you find yourself smiling despite everything. "Thanks, Floyd," you say quietly.

He grins, clearly pleased with himself. "No problem, Shrimpy! Let’s go find someone to mess with, yeah?"

Jade Leech:

It’s in the depths of the Coral Sea when you first meet Jade properly. He’s calm and composed, as always, but there’s a calculating gleam in his eyes that makes you nervous. You’ve always been wary of people who observe more than they say—those are the ones who usually misunderstand you the most.

"Ah, you must be the freshwater stingray everyone’s been talking about," Jade says with a polite smile, his eyes scanning your tall form, lingering on your tail for just a second longer than usual.

You nod slowly, unsure of what to say. "Yes. And you must be Jade."

"Indeed," he replies smoothly. "It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard quite a few interesting things about you."

You wince internally, imagining all the rumors about how "dangerous" and "unpredictable" you are. But Jade doesn’t seem fazed. Instead, he tilts his head slightly, his curiosity piqued. "It must be difficult," he muses, "being constantly misunderstood because of something you cannot control."

You blink, caught off guard by his words. "Y-yes," you stammer, "it is. But I try not to let it bother me."

Jade’s smile widens, and for the first time, you see a genuine warmth behind his usual calculating demeanor. "That is a wise approach. I believe there is much more to you than others realize. Perhaps we can... learn more about each other."

You feel a flicker of warmth in your chest. Maybe this encounter isn’t so bad after all.

Malleus Draconia:

You’re floating near the edge of the lake when you sense someone watching you. You turn slowly, and there, standing by the water’s edge, is Malleus, his dark eyes focused on you with an intensity that makes your heart skip a beat.

You’ve always felt a strange connection to Malleus. Both of you are feared for reasons beyond your control, and both of you know what it’s like to be isolated because of it.

"Good evening," he says softly, his voice deep and soothing.

"Good evening, Malleus," you reply quietly, moving closer to the shore. "What brings you here?"

He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he gazes out at the water, his expression thoughtful. "I often find solace near the water," he admits. "It’s... calming."

You nod in agreement, understanding exactly what he means. "It’s the same for me. People seem to think we’re dangerous just because of how we look. But the water... it doesn’t judge."

Malleus turns to look at you then, his eyes softening. "Yes," he murmurs. "We are not so different, are we?"

For a moment, the two of you stand in comfortable silence, sharing an unspoken understanding that words could never fully capture.

Lilia Vanrouge:

Lilia’s eyes twinkle with mischief as he glides through the air, catching sight of you as you swim quietly near the edge of the lake. He lands gracefully on a nearby rock, grinning widely. "Ah, my dear stingray! How does the evening treat you?" he calls out, his voice filled with playful energy.

You blink in surprise, unused to such cheerfulness, but you offer a small smile in return. "It’s... peaceful," you reply softly. "I like the quiet."

Lilia chuckles, sitting cross-legged on the rock as he watches you, his eyes glimmering with curiosity. "You always seem so quiet and calm. Yet I hear rumors—some people say you're dangerous!" He laughs at the absurdity of it, as if the idea is nothing but a joke to him.

You sigh, glancing down at the water, your long tail swaying gently beneath the surface. "They think I’m dangerous because of my tail. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but… it’s hard to control sometimes."

Lilia hums thoughtfully, leaning forward a bit. "Ah, but isn’t that the way with most things in life? The most wonderful, powerful things are often the ones most misunderstood." He winks at you, as if sharing a secret.

You can’t help but smile at his words. There’s something so comforting about Lilia’s playful wisdom, and you feel your usual anxiety melting away. "Maybe you’re right," you say quietly. "It’s just… hard."

Lilia nods sagely. "Hard, yes. But don’t let that stop you from being who you are. Strength and kindness aren’t mutually exclusive, you know. You remind me of myself in my younger days!" He laughs again, the sound bright and infectious.

You chuckle softly, feeling a bit lighter. "Thank you, Lilia."

He winks again, standing up with a flourish. "Anytime, my dear! Now, shall we play a game? I bet you can’t catch me!" Before you can protest, he takes off into the air, leaving you laughing quietly at his endless energy.

Silver:

Silver is resting under the shade of a large tree when you spot him, his eyes closed as he naps peacefully. You hover nearby, not wanting to disturb him, but your tail accidentally swishes too close to a branch, causing it to rustle loudly.

Silver’s eyes blink open slowly, his gaze finding you immediately. He sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Oh… it’s you," he murmurs, his voice still soft with drowsiness.

"Sorry," you mumble, embarrassed that you woke him up. "I didn’t mean to… my tail…" You trail off, trying to tuck your tail away behind you, but it flicks out again despite your best efforts.

Silver shakes his head, giving you a gentle smile. "It’s okay. You didn’t wake me on purpose."

You feel a warmth spread in your chest at his understanding. Silver is always so calm and kind, never judging you the way others do. "Still, I’m sorry," you say, moving closer to sit beside him.

He watches you for a moment before speaking. "You don’t need to apologize for something you can’t control," he says quietly. "I know what it’s like to be misunderstood. People think I’m lazy because I fall asleep a lot, but it’s just… how I am."

You look at him in surprise. "I didn’t know that. I thought you just liked to nap."

He chuckles softly, leaning back against the tree. "Maybe a little. But it’s more than that." He pauses, then turns to you with a soft smile. "I don’t think you’re dangerous. You’re just… you."

His words are so simple, but they mean more to you than he knows. You smile back at him, feeling a little lighter. "Thank you, Silver."

Silver nods, his eyes closing again as he drifts off into another peaceful nap, leaving you to quietly enjoy the moment beside him.

Sebek Zigvolt:

You’re swimming near the edge of the lake when Sebek marches over, his loud voice cutting through the peaceful air. "Ah, there you are! I’ve been searching for you!" he declares, arms crossed and chin held high.

You blink, startled by his abrupt arrival. "O-oh, hello, Sebek."

He stares down at you, his expression serious as usual. "You must stop hiding yourself away like this! It is unbecoming of someone with such... size and stature!" His tone is as sharp as ever, but you know he means well—he’s just... Sebek.

You glance down at the water, feeling a bit self-conscious. "I’m not hiding. I just like the quiet."

Sebek huffs, clearly not satisfied with your answer. "Nonsense! You should be standing tall and proud! You are far too... graceful to be skulking about like some common creature of the sea!"

You blink in surprise at his words, unsure how to respond. "Um... thank you?"

Sebek’s eyes narrow, as if he’s not quite sure you understand his point. "Do not mistake me! I am simply saying that you are far too formidable to let others fear you so easily!" He pauses, his voice lowering slightly. "It is... their loss if they cannot see that."

Your heart warms at his unexpected compliment. Sebek might be loud and brash, but his words hold a certain sincerity that you can’t ignore. You smile up at him. "That’s... really nice of you to say, Sebek."

He stiffens, his cheeks flushing slightly as he clears his throat. "W-well, I am merely stating the facts! Now, come! We must train! A creature as powerful as you should not waste your time in solitude!"

With a proud nod, Sebek leads the way, his loud voice echoing through the air as you follow, feeling just a little bit more understood.

Despite his usual intensity, you can’t help but smile. "Alright, Sebek. Let’s train."

Masterlist

[princessbrunette]

i feel like jj would be the type to talk biiig in front of his friends. like he’d be like “yeah, i wear the pants man, nobody can boss me around.” or “i make my own rules, live my own life. ain’t no girl gonna change that.” or just makes comments about how big and bad he is, only for reader to show up and make it known that it’s the complete opposite. like maybe they’re at a party or something, and he’s talking to john b and pope. and reader shows up and is like “jayj, let’s go, i’m tired.” and he’s like “okay, baby. bye guys.” without hesitation, quick to follow her out 😭

⋆ ˚🍥 ⁀➴

he’d finally become self aware of this one day, and he’d kind of freak out — in every other aspect of his life, he has to have some kind of control. control makes him feel safe, but with you — he’ll do anything you ask him and he knows that. to him, he wonders if that makes him weak, more susceptible to being hurt.

he’s scared, so now he’s pacing the chateau, john b watching him with a concerned yet amused expression and folded arms, watching his best friend pace as he leans against the table.

“and — and i dunno man! i haven’t been in this situation before like, i don’t know what this feeling is. she says jump, i say how high? she says swim i say how far? she says stop i say hammertime, dude this is bad!” he rips his hat off, running a hand through his messy blonde tresses as john b chuckles, pushing himself off the table he leant against to take the blonde by the shoulders.

“dude, you’re in love. it’s okay, it’s — it’s a great thing!”

“i know it’s a great thing, genius— i’m just scared, because — i mean i’m happy, for once like super happy like disgustingly happy, and now she has the power to just… rip that away from me.” he settles, wringing his hat in his hands as he drops down onto the armchair, heaving out a sigh.

“jj, look at me.” john b commands, and the blonde reluctantly flickers his eyes towards him. “thats the point. the risk is… everything. just… let it happen brother.” he presses his lips together in a smug smile, seeing his best friend fall to the loverboy antics that john b himself usually falls victim to. jj nods, shoving the hat back on his head.

“pro’lly right. dude you should have warned me about this shit! m’going in blind here!”

“oh yeah, okay. so it’s my fault you’re pussywhipped. got it.”

⋆ ˚🍥 ⁀➴

[ronearoundblindly]

I have an idea for “how would…” !

It comes from a prank I’m seeing on tiktok lately of couples staying in a hotel room with 2 beds.

How would the guys react to reader saying they can sleep in separate beds tonight? 😆

Inspo: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP81dBS8k/

That's freaking hilarious, the link, but we've got lots of babes to cover! (Also...guess who realized Jake was missing from the banner? 😳👈 This doof.)

Warnings for, well, discussing couples and bed/bedtime activities but it's not real bad. MINORS DNI to be safe!

James Mace

You know what's tiny? A space bunk. He will starfish like a mothaf**ker on that queen size, and you gotta just give him that from time to time. If the stay in the hotel is just one night (and there's been no other time away from you recently), absolutely he will stretch out, pillows everywhere, each limb under a separate layer,--seriously though why are there nine layers of blankets and sheets? that's nuts--and no alarm if at all possible. However, if the stay is longer or the hotel is for a specific couple's vacation thing, then no, he would never spend a whole night outside of your bed. Maybe a nap after too much sun, or likely some space if he (or you) is feeling ill, but otherwise, Mace is very good at sharing resources with people he likes.

Curtis Everett

Oof. I really had to think about this guy. Some of Mace applies here, too, but Curtis likes the idea of having extra room far more than he likes using the room. I think he would try to fall asleep in the other bed for whatever reason, and then inevitably just crawl back in with you. He has never made it a whole night away, even if he falls asleep on the couch at home. He always has to be within arm's reach by the time you wake up.

Jimmy Dobyne

No. Nope. Not in the slightest.

He doesn't particularly like waste, so he might call down to see if there is a room with just one bed available, in case some other guests could use the two. Jimmy also hates the fuss of cleaning. He's acutely aware of how much effort would go into remaking the second bed (washing, etc) and won't even put things on top of the unused bed for the whole stay. Not your bag. Not your butt. Not a towel. Nada.

Johnny Storm

Few quick questions: this hotel is fireproof, right? The bedding, okay, but what about the carpet? The curtains? Are the headboards made of wood? Is the varnish flammable? You don't know? Shit, well, he needs to know.

I feel like Johnny has to have like a special tarp thing to lay over normal bed linens, but honestly, I can't really see how he's ever safe to sleep outside of his own customized bedroom. People do not have complete control while they are unconscious. That's super dangerous for folks like Johnny. Reed's fine because what's the worst that could happen, his foot actually hangs off the edge of the mattress? If we were talking about Ben, the weight-capacity would be a concern, too, so even if you are fine to sleep in the same bed as Johnny and sometimes get burned a bit...I...I'm just not convinced a hotel would want extraneous furniture in there.

That's not a sexy answer, but it's the one you're getting.

Jake Jensen

Dude can fall asleep any. where. any. time. However, if he is lucid enough to pick where he'll fall asleep, it will always be with you...

...after hysterically jumping around like a kid on the extra bed.

I'll just, yeah, leave you with that image. Have fun. Stay weird, Jake.

Lloyd Hansen

If you two are actively doing something--yes, of course, I mean sex or sexual acts or whatever nasty word Lloyd wants to call it--then you are in the same...general area. That's not limited to a bed.

For sleeping, real sleeping, separate beds are 99% of the time a must. There is one exception to this: if Lloyd has been worn out or injured badly on a job--which is so rare--and if it's not quite bad enough to be in a hospital hooked to machines to keep him alive, then he becomes a sort of energy leech and keeps you very close all the time. This is Lloyd's vampire phase. As you can probably deduce, it is not about you, but he will take whatever he can from you.

Ari Levinson

50/50. Ari is moody. He changes with the wind (not in a bad way but for all the small, subtle stuff), and he sometimes just fancies a bit of something different. Take that as you will--and by that I mean run with it because I am totally talking about all sorts of different things to do in bed. He's the type of man who does better with a bit of alone time, too. Never means any offense by it. Just has spells of needing socializing and needing quiet.

Ransom Drysdale

Literally, I feel like I always have the same answer for Ran: it depends on when this is in your relationship and what the hotel stay is for.

Early on in dating, he aires on the side of caution and goes by his mood and yours. If there's been frustration in the day--due to his family or work or anything--then maybe you need some space. When Ransom is in a relationship, for real, he's actually very attuned to the tone of sex--which, of course, will happen no matter the mood of the day--so a lot of connection and intimacy will tell him it's good to stay close while a simpler, transactional need to get off tells him the other bed might be best.

Ran, however, would not get--or enjoy--the 'prank' of this challenge, and stop goddamn filming him for tiktok!

Steve Rogers

Pardon my language, but are you fucking kidding? The look on Steve's face if you so much as hinted... His head would immediately be spinning with 'what did I do wrong?' and 'what romantic gesture can I make right here right now to fix it?'

He's a simple man, and that is a simple no.

Bucky Barnes

Trickier. Much trickier.

Hmm. How to explain...

This feels like a whole season of 'What If...?' but I'll try to simplify.

Are you an Avenger or agent? Are you two on a mission together? I think Bucky is hardcore about keeping sharp and professional during those times. Sleep shifts. Minimal touching. The whole nine yards because safety is paramount. Is there some reason there could be surveillance of you two and you're supposed to be a couple? Bucky can put on one hell of a show like that. Just saying. I doubt, however, that he would mix business and pleasure unless absolutely necessary.

Are you a civilian? Is he a civilian now? Then no, he's in that one bed holding you until the second (maybe third) snooze cycle rings on his alarm. He's notorious for giving himself cushions of time, so it's never him needing to rush out on the average day. It took a while to adjust, but Buck can now also vacation with the best of them. Takes advantage of all the bells and whistles: minibar, room service, and the 'do not disturb' sign. Champion vacationer, he is, of this I have no doubt.

Thank you for asking!

A/N: Mace is a sleeper fave of mine, and I would do anything for that man, I swear... Also, would someone like to tell me why Bucky gets soooo 🥵 in all of these. My god, what am I feeding that boi?

[Main Masterlist; Who Would...Asks; Ko-Fi]

[tazzertopia]

phantom troupe negative traits/habits hcs

*i’m aware that being thieves and murderers are already pretty negative traits but this is more related to their personality 😊😊😊

-

chrollo

-unintentionally can sound super sarcastic and condescending

-like if he’s explaining something the cadence of his voice might sound like he’s mocking you, when in reality he just sounds like that

-if you’re in a pissy mood and he’ll ask what’s wrong it kinda sounds sarcastic ?????

-he’ll see you crying and be like:

“are you okay? what’s up?”

and you’ll kinda just be like 🤨🤨🤨 i’m literally crying ???????? what do you MEAN “what’s up?”

-he’ll apologise for sounding sarcastic but he was genuinely asking

-the troupe knows that’s just how he sounds but anyone who doesn’t know him that well just thinks he’s being a prick

shalnark

-literally has zero social awareness

-considering he sees other people as toys, he doesn’t give a single fuck about randos in public

-he’s the type to have a loud conversation on speakerphone on a busy, crowded train filled to the brim with tired people who just got off their 9-5 and want to go home 💔

“hello? yeah, of course i can talk! so today i was-“

“SHUT THE FUCK UP”

“…..anyways so-“

-is always confused as to why people are glaring at him but like i said, he really couldn’t give one

-he also probably sees someone who’s about to doze off or looks visibly irritated and will make it his mission to piss them off as much as possible and strike up a conversation with them

phinks

-extremely sore loser

-if you’re playing a game with him (like mario kart) and he’s about to lose, he will walk away right then and there and quit

-will claim the game is rigged and that’s why he was about to lose (if he wins, he will rub it in and tell you to just improve at the game)

-the troupe audibly groans whenever he asks to join in when they play video games

-one time he unplugged the tv when he lost a game against feitan and shalnark (if he doesn’t win, NOBODY gets to win)

-will claim the other person cheated if he loses

“COME ON!! SHALNARK PROBABLY HACKED THE GAME OR SOMETHING, MAKING ME LOSE!”

“…have you ever considered that maybe you just suck at the game?”

*throws remote at tv*

-just let him win if you want to have a easy breezy life

uvogin

-absolutely zero volume control

-he’s loud in public, but he’s completely unaware how loud he’s being

-this also makes him the worst person to tell secrets to

*pspspspswhisperwhisperwhisper*

“YOU THINK HIS HAIRLINE LOOKS LIKE THE MCDONALDS SYMBOL?”

everyone is staring. the man with the weird hairline you tried to whisper to uvo about is staring. you are extremely embarrassed. you want the ground to swallow you whole.

-to add insult to injury, he also points.

-because of this, it’s super easy to tell when he’s talking about you because he will yell AND point

-he doesn’t gaf who hears

shizuku

-the most brutally honest person you’ll ever meet

-doesn’t sugarcoat anything

-it’s not like she wants to hurt your feelings, but she just doesn’t see the point in beating around the bush or lying

-if she thinks you look fat in something, she’ll tell you. if she thinks you don’t suit a certain colour, she’ll tell you. if she thinks your cooking tastes like actual dookie left out to cook in the desert sun, she will not hesitate to tell you.

-she also will not apologise if she hurts your feelings

-“why do i need to apologise for being honest?”

-she is winning the idgaf war 100%

-will probably forget what she said as well, which makes it worse

feitan

-rather than ask to borrow something of yours like a normal person, he will steal it and then proceed to gaslight you when you confront him about it

-makes sense for him due to his ‘thieves take what they want’ mentality

-will have you convinced that your memory is patchy

“feitan where the fuck are are my scissors?”

“beats me.”

“i know you took them.”

“did not.”

“they were on the counter like five minutes ago and you’re the only one in here”

“no they weren’t.”

-this will carry on until you admit you were wrong for accusing him, or you just drop it

-occasionally he will start drama with the other troupe members by stealing their shit (usually phinks) and making it seem like someone else did it

nobunaga

-quite possibly the most indecisive man you’ll ever meet

-you’d much rather prefer to get sentenced to eternal torture at guantanamo bay than have to ask nobunaga what restaurant he wants to go to later tonight

-“my mind will be made up by tonight, i swear!”

-it wasn’t.

-he’s one of those annoying indecisive people who will insist that you choose, but will get mad if you don’t choose the option he secretly sorta preferred

“i can’t decide between place a or b, you choose!”

“place b”

“really? place a looks much more classy”

“THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU PICK PLACE A?!”

-you’re convinced he’s only acting like this to piss you off, but he’s just like that

-in the end, you have to force him to flip a coin or else he wouldn’t get anywhere decision-wise

pakunoda

-she often gets lost in thought and zones out, which results in her unintentionally staring at people for a little too long

-because of her stern resting face (or rbf), it usually comes across as her glaring at you, which feels a lil uneasy, especially if you’re not close with her

-she will apologise profusely when she comes to, but before she does she will just be looking at you like

👁️_👁️

-as well as this, she will sometimes try and touch you to purposefully see your memories if she’s a bit suspicious of you for whatever reason

-if she thinks you’re lying about something for example, she will intrude your thoughts

-she’s not a particularly touchy-feely person so it’s quite amusing to see her try and touch you for seemingly no reason out of the blue

-a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do 🤷‍♀️

machi

-despite being one of the more upfront and mature members of the troupe, she’s also the worst one for holding grudges

-like she will hold a grudge for literal ages

-there are many she’s had for so long that she can’t even remember why she was mad in the first place

-at this point it’s more about keeping a streak than actually being mad

-best case scenario is that she forgets about it altogether or else best believe she will NOT be forgiving you. ever.

-she’s still pissed at the old guy who stepped on her toes by accident two years ago. and the waiter who tripped and dropped the tray on her eight months ago. or the questionable comment hisoka made last week.

-talks about getting vengeance on those she holds grudges against but can’t even remember who they are or what they did

“i swear i will find them, wherever they are, so they will get what’s coming to them.”

“that’s nice and all, but WHO are they and what did they do?”

“….. it’ll come to me soon hold on..”

-feels incomplete without holding a grudge against someone

franklin

-his big ass does NOT look where he’s walking and will bump into anything and anyone

-don’t expect him to apologise tho

-“apologise? maybe you should watch where you’re going.”

-don’t even try to fight him on this

-doesn’t see it as his duty to move out the way, but the duty of those around him

-the absolute NERVE

-the only reason why no one confronts him about it is because he’s tall and big as hell

-don’t die for getting bumped into

bonolenov

-one thing about him is that when he’s mad, he’ll give people the SILENT treatment

-heavy on silent

-could go for centuries if he wanted to

-and trust he’s a pro at keeping it up

-he doesn’t gaf if you’re in danger, he’ll keep on giving you the cold shoulder

-he won’t stop because he feels bad, but because he just can’t be bothered to keep ignoring you

-he will randomly just start talking to you again one day and will act confused if you question why he’s taking to you again after so long

-he won’t apologise for it tho 💯

kortopi

-his minuscule ass is always stepping on everyone’s trotters

-honestly sometimes he does it out of spite and will give look at you like 👁️ if you confront him

-there’s not much to say about him except he will sometimes accidentally sometimes not step on your feet

i fear i’m missing more members but irdgaf rn so enjoy !!!!! also these are fun to write to pls pls pls give me suggestions xoxoxo

[vodika-vibes]

Hi! I was rereading some of your follower event things and thought one of Wrecker ones (I Can Fix That) was super cute! At least the vibes of it with it being mostly really sweet and caring.

I was hoping you could write something with vibes kind of like that one. Not exactly like the Wrecker one obviously because what I'm asking for is different.

Anyways, I am requesting the gem emerald with Gregor during sunset/dusk please! Preferably with Gender Neutral reader where the reader and Gregor are going on their first date. Both of them are nervous, but are really sweet with each other. Maybe it's the first date either of them have had in a long time or something, so they both agree to take it slow.

Great work with your writing! Can't wait to read/see this when it gets written!

First Time In Forever

Summary: You’ve not been on a date in ages, so you’re hopeful that this date with Gregor goes well.

Pairing: Captain Gregor x GN!Reader

Word Count: 627

Prompt: Emerald - Patient Love

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: Hi there! Thank you for your request! I hope this is close to what you wanted. I didn't actually write the date, because that would have definitely put me over my self imposed word limit, but I hope you like it anyway.

You haven’t been on a date in what feels like ages.

It’s not your fault, not really. You’ve been so busy, what with the war and everything, that it kind of fell to the wayside, but things are different now.

The war is over.

And you’re able to get back to your normal life.

Of course, normal is subjective, and people just haven’t been interested in dating you.

You were starting to worry that you were never going to make a connection with anyone…and that’s when you met Gregor. Kind Gregor. Handsome Gregor.

Gregor who smiles at you like you’re a little confusing but keeps coming around anyway.

Gregor, who asked you to get ice cream with him today. Who sheepishly, and bashfully, admitted that it was a date but he was a little nervous using that word since you don’t date.

You weren’t sure how to tell him that you didn’t date because people weren’t interested in you, so you didn’t. You just accepted his offer. You like him, after all. He’s wonderful.

But now that today is here, you’re kind of…panicking.

You’ve been dumped by every person you’ve ever been on a date with. Clearly this is a ‘you’ problem since you're the only common denominator, and the idea of Gregor breaking up with you because of some personal failing that you aren’t aware of is…terrifying.

But, at the same time, you can’t not go. Because that might upset Gregor and you can’t do that.

So, after fretting over your appearance for a few more minutes, because it’s something you can control, you finally leave your apartment to head to the meeting point you and Gregor agreed on.

The both of you arrive at the same time, and the moment you see Gregor all of the nerves fly away, as though they were never there to begin with. How could you be nervous with him grinning at you like that? Like an excited schoolboy.

“You’re here!” He even sounds excited, and your heart does a little flip, though not from nerves this time.

“So are you.” You tease with a small grin.

“Well, yeah…” He pushes his hand through his hair, “I…ah, was kind of worried that you weren’t going to come.” Gregor admits, “My brothers had to reassure me that you would.”

“Well, honestly, I was a bit worried that you would change your mind when you saw me.” You admit as you lean closer to him, “I haven’t exactly had good luck with dating in the past.”

Gregor stares at you, “Never. I would never. You’re amazing. I’m a lucky man that you agreed to come on a date with me.” His smile is slightly lopsided, “But, uh…it’s been a bit since the last time I dated-”

“Oh, same. I haven’t been on a date since…Force…before the war started.”

Gregor releases a giggle, before he shakes his head, “Well, since it’s been a while, for us both, do you mind if we…go a bit slow?”

A smile blooms across your face, and you reach out to take his hands in yours. “I like you, Gregor. I think you’re funny and smart and kind and good…and I’d like to see where this goes. We can go as slow, or as fast, as you’d like.”

He squeezes your hands, “Well, I’m hoping for a possible forever with you, so there’s no need to rush, right?”

You beam at him, “Well, as it happens, I’m a very patient person.” You squeeze his hands back, “Because your hope sounds perfect to me.”

Gregor flashes a small, shy smile and then threads his fingers with yours, “Well then, shall we get this date started?”

“I can’t wait,” You reply with a small grin as you squeeze his hand.

[the-heart-of-a-monster]

PUTTING THE NEW PAGE INTO THIS ASK AS WELL FOR GHE FIRST TIME BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT TO TALK ABOUT WITH THIS PAGE SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME HERE

Ima start with the first panel because there’s already so much in that one single panel and it is gonna drive me nuts!

So first up, we have “Secret” Chaotix meeting room. Yes, this place is apparently being kept a secret from the public eye. This could be due to the Chaotix having to handle a bunch of super deep and disturbing cases that, if allowed to spill out into the public, would be catastrophic! Not in the sense that it would destroy the world or anything like that, but it’d certainly ruin their reputation as detectives! Don’t detectives irl have these kinds of cases too…? Or maybe I’m thinking too hard on this and it’s just the place they meet with their friends whenever Eggman does something stupid? Who knows.

I do know though that it looks beautiful and it looks like they’re actually in a room which, as an amateur artist myself, can only dream of achieving!! It looks so cool! I just… I adore your backgrounds and I can tell you put a lot of love and effort into making them, so please give yourself a pat on the back!

And maybe I’m reading too much into a single panel.

But that’s not all that we get to see!!! (No I’m not talking about the Chaotix even though I REALLY wanna talk about the Chaotix cuz they deserve more love and I’m so glad they’re here THANK YOUUUUUUUU) YEAH THAT’S RIGHT, SONIC IS FULLY CONVERTED TO DARK GAIA SONIC LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Well not fully converted, but we can clearly see that it’s taking a huge toll on his body! Not only are the markings now visible on him during the day, but it also seems to be siphoning his energy…? Kind of…? I mean, Sonic has been out cold since “Killing” Omega, and usually he wouldn’t be so out of it otherwise. And I can see a little tiny X over his Gaia eye, so… I’m not too sure, but what I am sure of is that this is BAD for Sonic. The poor guy is gonna have to deal with not only being corrupted during the day, but also at night, and that cannot be good for his psyche. It was bad enough when he had to be in a completely new body for just the nighttime, but now it’s for both day and night in its own way, and… Gosh, this is gonna be torture for Sonic once he wakes up.

Okay now onto the actually lore panels because there is so much to uncover but BEFORE WE GET INTO THE LORE PARTS OF ALL THAT LEMME JUST POINT OUT HOW PISSED SHADOW LOOKS IN THE SECOND PANEL BRO LOOKS LIKE HE WANTS TO PUNT CHIP INTO THE SUN FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER AND HE IS JUST SO OVERPROTECTIVE OF SONIC IT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY I LOVE THIS ANGSTY EDGY BOY SO MUCH BUT I WANNA KNOW WHAT IS GOING THROUGH HIS HEAD RIGHT NOW WHY IS HE GLARING DAGGERS AT CHIP WHAT DID THIS LITTLE CREECHUR EVEN DO TO YOU SHADZ

Okay back to the lore-

So, im still gonna call Light Gaia as Chip because I still see a cute adorable fluffy fairy in those big brown eyes and I think he deserves a real name. Anyhow, Chip now is aware of him being a literal god. He says he regulates the day and Dark Gaia regulates the night. This kind of makes sense. Chip handles the sun and DG handles the moon. Think Luna and Celestia from MLP. And similar to those two as well, Dark Gaia got out of control like Luna did and created an eternal night. But this doesn’t really explain the planet splitting into a million giant pieces. (Not literally a million) Nor does it explain Chip losing his memory. Chip claims that whenever one of them falls out of line, the other will be there to pull them back together. Does this mean Chip or Dark Gaia have lost their memory before? Have the events of Unleashed happened before? How do they reign the other in?

These questions are probably gonna get answered in the next page lmao what am I doing-

Everything else is kinda sorta spelled out to us which I think is a good thing, since Chip is, in the story, explaining all of this to a group of people who had no idea about any of this for their entire lives. The poor Chaotix just got roped into this, they just want their pay. So with that in mind I don’t know what else to really cover…? Maybe I’ll notice something later on and just start spamming you with questions, who knows. For now I’m SUPER DUPER EXCITED FOR THE NEXT PAGE LET’S GO THIS IS GONNA BE SO FUN CANNOT WAIT FOR NEXT WEEK

hell yeah do look out for the new page on monday :3 i love ur little big analysis its always the highlight of my week to see one

btw this goes out to evecryone but the whole scene has a lot of moments for everyone else than sonic and shadow so we are winning

[ratwife77]

Headcanons for Dallas because he’s interesting

I didn’t mean for this to get so dark I swear

Warnings: drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, arson, violence, intrusive thoughts, suicide, self harm

(Yikes I didn’t realize there were so many.. please lmk if there are more)

Also give me thoughts- idk if this is in character or if I’m projecting too much lol

He hates the smell of flowers, prefers a.. deeper(?) smell, not so light (or feminine but yeah)

He stays away from drugs (minus alcohol and cigarettes technically) because they remind him of people he doesn’t want to be- he also doesn’t like the idea of losing so much control

Related to this, he usually never gets super drunk because it makes him nervous, but if he feels bad enough, he will

He doesn’t actively self harm but sometimes when he sees a lighter or switchblade he thinks about it

Just generally lots of intrusive thoughts and passive suicidal ideation

When he’s not on a low he doesn’t let himself get too happy because he knows it’ll come back

Sometimes he gives little hints or acts out, kind of a cry for help, but most of the time nobody notices except the gang and if they do they don’t know how to help, but they try

He gets sick twice a year, same time every year. One is the stomach bug, the other is the flu.

Oppositional Defiance Disorder- (I have it myself so this is my research+experience, not everyone’s) He feels like other people are against him and trying to hurt him- as a result he lashes out

Often, he feels out of control of this, hence the fear of losing control, he regrets things he says but doesn’t apologize much because it’s too hard

He goes from so angry to being calm and he hates that he’s so volatile

But sometimes he’s very aware that what he’s doing is wrong (other times he’s so emotional it’s hard to tell in the moment) and he just lets go because what’s the worst that could happen? Jail?

In jail he regrets it and gets out on good behavior if he can

Sometimes he smells smoke when there isn’t any, and he’s sort of nervous about fires starting and checks that nothing could start a fire before he goes to sleep

This is because one of the houses he was in as a kid was burnt down

His mom was already pretty sick so even then he knew she’d die eventually, but it was a gruesome way to go out

He knows it wasn’t an accident and suspects that someone did it

His nose is crooked because it’s been broken so many times

He knows how to set something that’s dislocated

In addition to being proud of his rap sheet, he’s proud of his scars

He runs his hands through his hair when nervous

He feeds this one stray dog

Hates hates hates any animal other than a dog or snake

Speaking of he just found a snake and kept it as a kid

But his dad didn’t know, he was usually not sober

He wears the same boots everyday

He doesn’t eat all day but eats a big enough dinner to cover it

Has the weirdest cravings

Likes KETCHUP!!!???!!!??!

Gross

Anyway his hair doesn’t grow fast so he doesn’t have to cut it as much, it’s been down to his shoulders for like three years

He can’t sit still ever

He never thought he’d make it to seventeen and thus has no plans for the future

[renjunniex]

Thank You, For Being You

Isaac Lahey x Fem!Reader Series

Shape Shifted

Omega Part 1 | Omega Part 2 | Ice Pick | Abomination | Venomous | Frenemy | Restraint | Raving | Party Guessed | Fury

Prompt: Lydia has been found but just when things were starting to look up, of course, new information appears to suggest other wise.

a/n: Hey guys! This is the next chapter and i think i found a name for this series, let me know what you think! Also how do you guys feel about this new chapter set up? If you guys like it, I’ll probably go back to the other two chapters and change it to this as well!

*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧

“So wait, what happened?” Scott was trying to explain to you what exactly happened after he ran off to find Lydia the night before. “I’ve already explained to you twice now,” Scott sighed packing his bag for school. You were leaning against his bedroom door, “Yes, I know, I know. I’m just- I’m just trying to process this whole thing.” You two made your way through the hallway, you weren’t concerned about Melissa hearing you two since she was already on her shift for the day.

“Okay, let me get this straight,” You began, “Allison’s grandfather, took a sword and sliced through a lone wolf, an omega, then proceeded to make some speech about killing all werewolves even though they’re supposed to go by a code?”

“Yes.”

“AND THEN to top everything off, Derek was with you?”

Scott sighed once more, “Yeah.” Opening the front door, you stopped on the porch, “What was Derek doing there?” His eyebrows scrunched together and he raised his hands, “How am I supposed to know?”

You rocked your head to the side, “Okay, okay, fair enough. I’m done, I promise I won’t bring it up anymore.” Just as the topic was dropped, Stiles pulled in front of the house. ‘What a weekend we had,’ you thought getting into the back seat. The whole ride consisted of Scott trying to convince Stiles that he would be okay during the full moon. You zoned out for most of the argument, up until you three made it to the boy’s locker room and it was still the current topic.

“Okay, we get it, you think you’ll be able to make it through the full moon. Can we please just drop it?” You grumbled since the whole debate was taking place with you in the middle, literally. “I’m serious,” Scott began which earned a huff from you and shake of Stiles’ head, “It’s not like the last full moon. I don’t feel the same.”

“Oh, does that include the urge to maim and kill people like us,” rebutted Stiles.

“I swear I don’t have the urge to maim and kill you.”

You scoffed, “Oh yeah, that’s super reassuring, thanks buddy.” Stiles pointed to you in agreement, “You know, you say that now but then the full moon goes up and the claws and fangs come out and there’s a lot of howling and screaming and running everywhere, okay?” The anxious boy didn’t even give himself time to take a full breath before his ramble continued, “And it’s very stressful on us and so yes, we’re still locking you up.”

Scott looked at you for support but only got a shrug from you, “Don’t look at me, I’m with him.”

“Okay, fine. But I do think I’m in more control now.” Scott conceited, “Especially since things are good with Allison.”

You and Stiles shared an unimpressed look, “Okay, we’re aware of how good things are with Allison.”

“They’re really good.”

“I- thank you, I know,” Stiles commented

“I mean, like, really good.”

“Alright I get it!” Stiles cut him off, “Please shut the hell up before I have the urge to maim and kill myself.”

“Why did my two best friends have to be boys,” you whined in complaint as Stiles wrapped his arm around you with a small laugh. Scott nudged your side before asking, “All right, did you get something better than handcuffs this time?”

“Yeah, much better,” Stiles took his arm off your shoulder to set his bag down and opened his locker but nothing could have prepared you for what came crashing out. Chains. Chains immediately came slithering out, getting the attention of not only the rest of the team but Coach as well.

“Kinky,” you muttered before Coach reached you. Both boys lightly smacked your shoulder as they stood silently and awkwardly, staring at the chains in panic while getting a judgmental look from Coach. “Part of me wants to ask, the other part says knowing will be more disturbing than anything I could ever imagine, so I’m gonna walk away. Y/N meet me on the field in a few minutes.” You chuckled, “yes sir, I’ll be right there.”

“That’s good. That’s a wise choice, Coach,” called Stiles.

Both boys lent down to start collecting the chains, Stiles pulling you down as well. Not a moment later, Scott’s head raised and his eyes glowed catching your attention. “What- what is it,” you placed your hand on his shoulder, your concern catching the sarcastic boy’s attention as well. Scott didn’t answer you right away, instead his head moved in every direction looking at everyone in the locker room.

“You okay?” questioned Stiles, “Scott.”

His focus was finally broken, “There’s another. In here, right now.” Your eyebrows furrowed, “Another what,” Stiles and you asked. “Another werewolf.” That sure perked your attention, your eyes quickly scanned the room with no success of finding what you were looking for. You reached for your bag and stood up, “We’ll worry about that when we’re on the field, I’ll meet you guys out there.” Both of them nodded and continued to pick up the chains as you made your way outside.

You were discussing line up for the next game with Coach when the team, including Scott and Stiles, came jogging out. “So what if we set Jackson up here for the first half so-.”

“Hey Coach! Scott wants to be in goal today!” Stiles jogged up next to you, you looked at the boy in confusion. Scott hated playing goal, since when would he ever volunteer to be in goal? Coach said nothing but waved it off and nodded his head as he took your clipboard and walked off to review your placement suggestions. You turned to Stiles when you knew Coach was out of hearing range, “What are you two up to?”

“Scott needs to be close to someone to catch their scent, so if he switches with Danny-.”

“It’ll allow him to be one on one.” You nodded and Stiles gave you that goofy proud smile he has. You reached over the bleachers and gave him the goalie gear, “I’ll let Danny know.” Stiles gave you a thumbs up, “Great, awesome, you’re the best,” he gave you a surprise kiss on the cheek before dashing off with the gear. You laughed in disbelief before turning to find Danny in the crowd, instead you ended up making eye contact with the tall boy that never failed to make you smile. Raising your hand up, you gave him a wave and he returned the favor with what looked to be a nervous grin. Before you could question it to yourself, the whistle blew signaling practice was starting.

“Let’s go! Line it up! Faster!”

Everyone took their positions and Coach blew the whistle one more time, throwing the ball in the air. What occurred next, physically hurt you to have to see. Scott sprinted past defense and slammed the runner down. You felt your whole body wince as you watch him visibly sniff the kid before pulling him up. Unsurprisingly, Coach said something about the situation. Of course it did nothing to stop the supernatural boy, he slammed the next kid down, and the next. Each time Coach commented on it, but it never stopped Scott.

Coach grabbed Stiles’ helmet and gestured for you to come over, “Stilinski, Y/N, what the hell is wrong with your friend?”

“He’s failing two classes,” you started.

“He’s a little socially awkward,” Stiles listed, “and if you look close enough-.”

“His jaw line is kind of uneven,” you both finished. Coach glanced at you before pushing the boy away and turning back to the field, “That’s interesting,” he mumbled, walking away. Danny was the next one on the chopping block and you turned your head away because this time around it was just a little too rough for you to bare. Stiles placed his hand on your back to give you some slight comfort, “That’s gonna hurt in the morning.” You nodded in agreement.

“McCall! You come out of that goal one more time and you’ll be doing suicide runs till you die! It’ll be the first ever suicide run that actually ends in a suicide. Got it?”

“Yes, Coach.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose, “This is so embarrassing.” Stiles hummed in agreement.

“Uh, Coach, my shoulders hurting. I’m gonna- I’m gonna sit this one out,” Jackson said making his way to the bench. When he walked away you had finally realized who was in front of you and Stiles. Isaac. He was breathing really hard but not out of exhaustion, it almost sounded animalistic. Stiles tried to see in front of him before looking at you in concern. The whistle blew once more and Isaac began running.

“I don’t like the look of this,” you whispered to Stiles.

“Me neither.”

You couldn’t believe it, Scott dashed once more and when the two collided they both went so far in the air before both landed on their hands and knees. When they landed you felt like something in you was different, you realized your were correct when Stiles broke you out of your trance. “Hey, look down hurry,” he pushed your head down before you could even respond.

“What the hell, Stiles!”

“Y/N, stop. Your eyes.”

“My eyes? What about my eyes?”

“Y/N. Your eyes are glowing purple.”

~

“His father’s dead.”

The three of you stood watching Stiles’ dad, two other policemen, Coach and Isaac talk as Scott listened in, “They think he was murdered.” You had barely come to terms that Isaac was a werewolf and now you have to process the fact that his dad was murdered? You guys can seriously never catch a break.

Stiles leaned in closer to you two, “Are they saying he’s a suspect?”

“I’m not sure, why?”

“Because they can lock him in a holding cell for 24 hours,” you answered.

“Like, over night?” Stiles nodded, “During the full moon.” Scott looked at you two, “How good are these holding cells at holding people?” You sighed and closed your eyes, you couldn’t bare the stress anymore.

“People, good. Werewolves, probably not that good.” Stiles concluded while looking at you, his hand was back to its position on your back but this time it was to get your attention. You glanced up to meet his eyes and you saw exactly what he was thinking, what he was asking. ‘Are you gonna tell Scott about what happened?’ You shook your head lightly and gripped his arm, slightly squeezing so he would understand to let it go. He sighed before looking back at Scott.

“Guys, remember when I said I don’t have the urge to maim and kill?”

“Yeah,” you both replied.

“He does.”

The group of policemen, Sheriff and Isaac began to walk away, but not without Isaac turning his head back to look at you three. While you know he was just looking at you guys in general, you couldn’t help but feel like his gaze was for you. Rubbing your hand down your face, you gave Isaac one last look before grabbing Scott and Stiles’ hands, “Come on, we better go if we want to make it to Harris' in time. You guys can’t afford to be late, he hates your guts.” They both nodded before letting you lead them back towards to school. For the first time since maybe you three were born, you guys walked together to class silent. There’s was not a sound created between you three until you made it to chemistry, the only class where you sat in front of them rather than between them or next to at least one of them.

“Why would Derek choose Isaac?” You heard Scott ask.

“Peter told me that if the bite doesn’t turn you it could kill you.” You were grateful that your desk partner was Isaac right now, because if it wasn’t, you were positive who ever would’ve been placed next to you would hear everything, instead the seat is currently empty. “And maybe teenagers have a better chance of surviving.”

“Does being a teenager mean your dad can’t hold him?”

“Well, not unless they have solid evidence or a witness. Wait.” You could hear Stiles turn in his chair, “Danny, where’s Jackson?”

“Principal’s office, talking to your dad.”

“What? Why?”

“Maybe because he lives across the street from Isaac.” You felt yourself freeze. God damn it. Jackson is the last person you would want to be talking to Sheriff right now. You quickly put your pencil down and raised your hand, “Um, Mr. Harris, do you mind if I run to my locker quickly? I forgot my notes in there after practice.”

“Hurry.”

You heard the chairs of your best friends squeak as they turned towards you quickly, “Y/N what are you doing?” Scott whisper yelled but you ignored them, you had to get to the office, you couldn’t let that weasel make it seem like Isaac could have done this, especially when there’s the issue of the full moon tonight as well.

“Thank you, sir, sorry about that,” you said rushing out the door quickly and making your way to the office as fast as possible. Just before you made it too far you heard Mr. Harris, “Who in the hell did that?” You laughed and shook your head, you could always count on those bone heads to never let you do anything alone. You made it to the office and could see Jackson already talking to Stiles’ dad, you huffed and sat down in the chair outside, your leg bouncing as soon as you hit the cushion of the chair. Not even a minute later, the boys joined you, sitting on either side of you like usual.

“You guys are such dumbasses, you know that? I could’ve handled this.”

“Absolutely not,” they synced.

You kept quiet deciding it was better to just listen to the conversation going on inside the room rather than argue. “Wait, so are you telling me that you knew Isaac’s father was hitting him?”

“Hitting him? He was kicking the crap out of him.”

“Did you ever say anything to anyone? A teacher, parents, anyone?”

“Nope, it’s not my problem.”

You felt every ounce of rage boil up inside you. Jackson knew? Jackson fucking knew everything and never told ANYONE. You closed your eyes and clenched your fists so hard you swear you could draw blood at any moment.

“Y/N? Hey Y/N, calm down. Scott.” You felt what you assumed to be Stiles’ hands then felt another pair, which had to be Scott’s on your shoulders.

“Hey, I know you’re angry but you have to find a way to calm down, you’re making the papers on the board almost fly off,” Scott tried to rationalize. You tried to take deep breaths but nothing was working, you finally felt your hands being grabbed and intertwined with theirs. You took a moment to focus on them and it started to work, squeezing their hands you dropped your head, a few silent tears escaping your closed eyes.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered.

“You don’t have to be sorry,” Scott reassured.

The office door opened, and you three parted, you took the opportunity to wipe your tears away as fast as you could. Scott looked in another direction and Stiles grabbed a magazine to try (and unsuccessfully) hide from his dad. When you were sure that all moisture was wiped away you met Sheriff’s eyes.

“Hi, Scott, Y/N.” You both waved before he cocked an eyebrow at his son and started to walk away. You touched both of their shoulders, “I’ll meet you guys later.”

They both looked at you, “What are you gonna do?”

“What I probably should’ve done a while ago,” you sighed earning you confused nods before you walked away.

“Sheriff.”

He turned around surprised to see you walking towards him, he waved to his deputy to let him know to keep walking before he gave you his full attention. “I need to talk to you.”

“I’m sorry kiddo but it might have to wait.”

“It’s about Isaac.” That got his attention, he kept your gaze for a moment before directing you to the side, “Okay what’s going on?” You opened your mouth to say something but no sound came out, you couldn’t bring yourself to say it. You took a deep breath before speaking once more.

“I knew.”

He didn’t say anything, almost as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard. “Well, to be more accurate, I was pretty sure. Pretty sure that Isaac’s dad was hurting him.”

“Well, that’s a lot to process. Did you ever say something, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t, Isaac wouldn’t let me. He kept denying it, saying ‘it was an accident’ or ‘I fell off my bike’ stuff like that. And I never had any solid proof so I didn’t say anything because if I couldn’t prove anything I would be saying, I didn’t want to chance Isaac getting seriously injured.”

You finally let yourself meet his eyes when you finished talking, he took a breath before nodded and placing a hand on your upper arm, “I understand but why are you telling me this now?”

“Because I may not know him like I do Scott and Stiles but I know he wouldn’t do something like this. I know you have to follow the path you're given but you have to look at other options, please, Sheriff. He would never do this.”

Sheriff gave you a slight smile, “Okay kiddo, I believe you, I still have to do my job but just know I believe you.” You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding, “Thank you, I’ve gotta get back to class.”

“Okay I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, bye.”

You parted ways, making your way back to the office, to see the boys come out. Scott grabbed your arm and began rushing you towards the doors, “Come on.” You try to look back at Stiles to question what was going on but Scott had pulled you down the stairs and around the corner before you even had the chance.

“What the hell is going on?”

“I’ll tell you later but for right now just forget about it and come on!”

You matched his pace as best as you could, reaching the heavy blue doors and when you pushed them open you saw a cop car. Inside was Isaac, you guys must have caught his attention because he turned back when you had slammed the doors open. Scott went forward more while you just stood and looked at Isaac, you didn’t know what to do. You couldn’t help him from here anyways since the car had already taken off and left the parking lot. You grunted out of frustration, “Great, what are we gonna do now?”

Scott never gave you an answer because Derek pulled up to the curb, “Get in.”

You scoffed, “Are you serious?”

“You did that, that’s your fault,” Scott finished for you.

“I know that. Now get in the car and help me.”

“Why should we,” you challenged, “You know, I’m starting to get real sick and tired of your demanding ass tone.”

Scott put his arm in front of you, stopping your advancing figure before you could make it to the car. “I’ve got a better idea. I’m gonna call a lawyer because a lawyer might actually have a chance at getting him out before the moon goes up.”

“Not when they do a real search of the house.”

“What do you mean?” Scott had now made it to the window of the car. “Whatever Jackson said to the cops, what’s in the house is worse. A lot worse,” Derek popped his passenger door open, Scott looked at you and you huffed gesturing towards the door, you got in.

~

“If Isaac didn’t kill his father, then who did?”

“I don’t know yet,” Derek replied.

“Then how do you know he’s telling the truth?”

“Because I trust my senses. And it’s a combination of them, not just your sense of smell.” You smiled ever so slightly at the sentence.

“You saw the lacrosse thing today,” Scott stated embarrassed.

“Yeah.”

“Did it look that bad?”

“Yeah,” you spoke up, catching their attention.

You continued your way through the house, until Derek had directed you two to the basement, “You wanna learn,” he pointed down the stairs, “then start now.”

Scott made his way down the stairs and you just stared, you were scared if you were being honest. Scared to find something that would tell you that Isaac really did kill his father. Because if that was true, there wasn’t anyway you could help him even with the pleading you had done to Sheriff. Derek gave you a pointed look, “You need to come down here as well,” you raised your eyebrows, “Why?” you questioned him.

“He wouldn’t want you to see what’s down here but I think it’s important that you do.”

You nodded slightly at his statement, if Derek thought that then it had to be a big deal, the only person he really trusted was Scott and now probably Isaac. It only took you a moment to decide as you started your way down the stairs as well with even more caution than Scott had possessed. “What am I looking for?” Scott had interrupted your train of thought, “Follow your senses,” answered Derek. You guys made it down the stairs, you looked around until you came face to face with a mirror propped up on the ground. You couldn’t stop staring at your eyes, you knew you needed to tell Scott as soon as possible but it had to wait. Until Isaac was safe, until you could provide some answers to keep Scott from worrying about you. Derek had just finished talking to Scott, when he had stayed behind and just in front of you.

“Derek.”

He turned, giving you the go ahead to talk. You made sure that Scott was occupied with looking around before going on, “I know trust between us is below zero but can I ask you something?” The dark haired man hesitated before nodding slightly, “On the field today, when Scott was, well you know...my eyes.. Stiles said they glowed purple.” The man gave you a confused look before his eyes relaxed slightly, “Are you asking if I know what you are?” You shrugged, “I guess, I don’t know, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that, I’ve made my locker slam shut on its own and almost made papers go flying across the room.”

He thought for a moment, looking at you up and down almost as if he was doing some kind of analysis of you in his brain, “I’m sorry but I don’t know what you are.” You sighed and shrugged once more, “It was a long shot I guess.” Derek took another moment to pondered and turned his head to you once more, “Did those things happen when your emotions were at a peak?” You slowly nodded, a little bit embarrassed to admit that the things occurring were due to you not keeping your emotions in check.

“Well while I can’t tell you what you are, it sounds like whatever you possess is carried out mostly by emotions so using them to your advantage is going to be what helps you keep it under control.”

You took some time to process what he said, it seemed so simple and yet you had a feeling that it was gonna be far from that. Instead of pushing your luck you just nodded along to show that you understood, “Thanks.”

“One more thing, Derek.”

“What is it?”

“Is Isaac gonna be okay?”

“I’m going to get him out of there, however, even if he gets out of this situation, he’s gonna forever have to deal with what he went through in this room,” Derek pointed to across the room. You turned to see an ice box with chains next to it, you looked back at Derek and he nodded for you to go over to it. You met Scott over there, both of you grazing your hands over it, a light flashed in your eyes.

“Open it.”

Scott and you turned to each other, nodding you both grabbed the lid and opened it. You gasped when you saw it, scratches, scratches all through out the sides of the freezer. “He was locked in here,” you said, your hand covering your mouth. You backed away from the box shaking your head, “I need some fresh air.” Scott didn’t get a chance to say anything as you sprinted up the stairs, placing your back against the wall you heaved to catch your breath. Tears slipped down your face, you couldn’t believe the sweet boy you knew was going through something so horrific. You had to get him out of there. You took your phone out of your pocket and made your way to your contacts, it was pointless though because the person you were planning to call had beaten you to it.

“Hey, I was just about to call you.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna need your help, Allison said that- hey are you okay, have you been crying?”

You sniffled slightly before clearing your throat, “It’s fine, doesn’t matter, what about Allison?”

“She said that one of her dad’s guys went out, Y/N, he had wolfsbane with him.”

“They’re gonna kill him.”

“Yeah, I’m on my way to come pick you up, just hang tight.” You nodded even though you knew he couldn’t see it, “Yeah, okay, see you soon,” with that he hung up. After you had told Scott and Derek what was going on, Stiles had arrived to pick you up. Scott decided to stay since it wouldn’t be safe with the full moon out tonight. Stiles phone rang while he was speeding down the road as fast as he could, you took it from his cup holder and answered it, putting it on speaker, “Hey, did you slow him down?”

“You could say that.”

“Alright well, we’re heading to the station right now.”

“Where’s Scott?”

“Isaac’s,” you answered, “you should probably get over there as well.”

“Does he have a plan?”

Stiles side glanced you, “Yeah, but not a very good one. And unfortunately we don’t have time to come up with anything better.”

“Hence the ‘you should get over there too’,” you tried to joke. You ended the call as both of you looked through his dash board window at the moon. You were running out of time. “He’s gonna be okay,” Stiles tried to convince you.

“I really hope so.”

You finally made it to the station, when you felt the nerves getting to you, “Hey.” You looked at Stiles, he placed his hand on your head, “We’re gonna save him.”

“Let’s just go before I have a panic attack,” your attempt to be funny was interrupted by Derek showing up at the window. Stiles rolled down the window to explain the plan, “Okay, now the keys to every cell are in a password protected lockbox in my father’s office.”

“The problem is getting past the front desk,” you continued.

“I’ll distract her,” Derek concluded

You raised your eyebrows in disbelief as Stiles kept him from walking away, “Woah, woah, woah, you- you’re not going in there.” Derek said nothing but glanced at the hand currently on his shoulder, “I’m taking my hand off,” Stiles released his grip.

“I was exonerated.”

You scoffed, “I was exonerated,” you mocked the werewolf, “Like that matters at all you dumbass.”

“You’re still a person of interest,” the boy next to you explained.

“An innocent person.”

You both let out a sarcastic laugh, “You?” You synced, “Yeah, right!” He continued to stare at you both before Stiles sighed, “Okay, fine. What’s your plan?”

“To distract her,” Derek dragged.

“Uh-huh,” you mocked once more.

“How,” Stiles expressed, “by punching her in the face?”

“By talking to her.”

“Okay, alright, give me a sample. What are you gonna open with?”

Silence.

“Dead silence,” the boy concluded, “that should work beautifully, got any other ideas?”

“I’m thinking about punching you in the face.”

You groaned, “Oh my god, can we just go, please,” the attention was now on you, “You both can argue later.”

There was a silent agreement before Derek made his way inside, allowing you and Stiles to both slip past the lady and into the Sheriff’s office. While you acted as look out, he punched in the code to get the key, “It’s gone.” Your head snapped towards him, “It’s gone? What do you mean it’s gone,” his hands slapped to his side, “I mean the key is not in the box, the guy must have beaten us to it.”

“Well, then let’s go, there may still be time.” Both of you rushed down the hallway, bumping into what appeared to be an officer, only for you to both realize there was blood. “Ah, sh-,” the man grabbed Stiles before you both could get away, “Hey! Let him go, you bastard!” You tried to pry the guy’s hand that was holding the syringe away from Stiles’ neck but it was no use you didn’t have the strength to overpower him. You could at least keep him from getting any closer though. Stiles had pulled the fire alarm and you made it to the holding cells, still struggling against the man when you all realized that one of the doors had been ripped off, Isaac’s door.

The guy had been pried off of you two as you both dropped to the floor. It was Isaac, fully transformed, you both scrambled behind the desk as he fought off the man. He left him unconscious and his attention was now on you, he began his advance but was very quickly interrupted by Derek’s roar. You shook off the shock, got back on your feet and rushed over to the now cowering Isaac.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay you’re safe.” He glanced at you, “You came,” you nodded with a soft smile, “Yeah, yeah I did.” His head landed on your shoulder lightly, clearly exhausted you let him be, raking your hand through his hair lightly.

“How did you do that,” questioned Stiles.

“I’m the alpha.”

*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧

a/n: GUYS I WROTE THIS WHOLE THING IN A DAY! Am i gonna proof read it?? Probably not lol. Anyways let me know what you think, do you prefer the whole episode in one chapter or them broken up into two parts?? Also if you want to be added to the taglist, let me know!

Taglist: @somiaw

[kings-highway]

Hi King!!! I absolutely adore your fics my dude, I found your trapped in the wilderness fic like a year or two back, forgot about it, and then found your Daichi time travel fic. So you can imagine my delighted surprise when I looked at your ao3 account and found out this was the same author! I was like “0o0, I KNOW YOU!! :D” Suffice to say I love your Haikyuu fics they are an absolute gem to read (Time Enough to Risk it All and Paranormality are my personal faves)

I had a question for you, similar to a previous ask you got about tips on writing? Not general tips mind you, I’m trying to write a Haikyuu fanfic myself starring Oikawa, and I wanted to know if you had any writing tips regarding character writing specifically? Like, in regards to getting into a character’s head and how that influences the POV? I’m probably going to have multiple POVs in different chapters, but I don’t want to run into the old trap of, “These are two separate characters but they sound like the same person” y’know? Also want to make sure I’m avoiding OOC territory, while taking any potential plot developments and how that would change a character into account. And I know you’re good at that, all your interpretations of the Haikyuu cast feel distinct yet true to the characters at their core!

aaaaaaaaaa oh my god thank you so much 😭 I'm very glad you've liked my silly stories so much. I will do my best to provide advice for your question here...

**Keeping Characters In Character - this is VERY fanfic specific!!**

[obv. writing original work requires strong character voice but the question and this response is super focused on characters that you have source material to work with]

1. my immediate first thought, and the thing I default to the most, is **Pay Attention To How Other Characters Talk About Them** yes, its all fine and dandy to go off and say "oh theyve got these secret other side-" because yeah!! they probably do!! everyone is multiple people depending on the circumstance!! but the way other characters talk about them or act around them really will define how your character is behaving, because it shows how they are *choosing* to behave (and what can be seen from the outside) Paying attention to the relative relationships of these characters describing them matter too. Here are examples (all from Haikyuu) of how I do this:

1. Daichi

[in early season 1, when Daichi gets mad at the duo, Suga and Tanaka both start trying to fuck off out of scene in preparation; similarly, both Suga and Tanaka try to hide their secret practice from him.] = People are generally afraid of him, or aware that getting yelled at is on the table, but he's predictable. They both start acting afraid BEFORE he gets angry because they are familiar with his patterns. [Suga and Asahi comment on it feeling weird when he's nice to them, and he snaps at them to say he could be mean instead.] = His casual conversational tone isn't very complimentary. Since we dont see him being overtly mean, I asssume this means he is on the quieter side, probably very reserved, and typically speaks up to correct someone or direct and take control of a conversation. Being overtly nice is seen as a deviation is his conversational habits. [Noya acts very distinctly interested and pleased when he learns Daichi has given him a cool nickname] = People hold a lot of respect for him. Given the previous details, we can assume this is at least in part due to him often withholding such praise, but also we can use it to temper the previous notes. His "meanness" is not coming across as malice, but rather something worth respecting or justified in some way.

Application in Writing: Dialogue should be direct and consistent, use shorter sentences and have him think before he speaks. He finds annoyance and anger easier to express and will likely withhold affectionate conversations from everyone regardless of closeness of friendship level. While he comes across mean, he is not insulting, belittling or cruel, and since people have significant respect for him, he likely avoids situations that would make him look foolish, and will probably be the last to join in on the fun.

QUICKER EXAMPLES:

2. Suga [Every character describes Suga as nice and kind, there is no "bad review" of him.] = No matter his opinion of someone, Suga will use kind, gentle language with them and avoid giving them a reason to dislike him.

3. Oikawa [Iwaizumi, in voice over, says something to the effect of: "despite how he might seem, Oikawa is actually a pretty goofy guy."] = While not given the opportunity often, Oikawa is playful, unserious and silly - the word "goofy" is important to note. Its not funny. Comedians are funny. Dogs with long floopy ears are "goofy" - However he either intentionally or unintentionally chooses not to behave this way often. Either way, he has distinct "sides" to him that can be identified. However, his natural state is far more goofy than we give him credit for, so he will likely be the first to crack jokes, laugh at dumb things, or general want to lighten the mood. He doesnt like things to be gloomy and may actively resist that kind of conversation or situation.

4. Leon calling Ushijima a "super volleyball idiot" says way more about his behaviour off the court than anything Ushijima ever did. Oikawa and Kageyama and Hinata and Atsumu get to be monsters but no, Leon says its the term "we" are most "satisfied with". Did they pitch other names? They do not take Ushijima seriously at all. So his terrifying persona is probably very superficial. None of the team has ever had an actually bad experience with him, and he is very consistent in his likes and desires: probably doesnt have a (conversationally) confrontational bone in his body. "We could call him a monster but nah, he's too fucking weird for that." Like what more of a character study do you need!! Leon STOP.

This is dragging on longer than I want it to. I apologize. I could have more to say on the matter but to sum it up quick:

People, humans, are multifaceted, but ultimately are most defined by how they are remembered, and how they choose to present themselves to the world. This is will affect that "voice" that you're worried about sounding the same. Ultimately, all your characters will be the same. Everyone is insecure, everyone wants to be seen as attractive, everyone things theyre not good enough, everyone worries their lover will grow tired of them, everyone thinks they are the only person to have ever felt that way. The change, that voice, is how they want everyone else to look at them.

Using the previous notes, we can answer the question: "Oh my god, You look really good today!!" 4 ways. Internally, they're all very happy to receive a compliment because they wore a new shirt and they weren't sure it looked good. Externally...

Daichi: "Oh. Thank you."

Suga: "Ohh, Thank you! That's so sweet of you to say."

Oikawa: "I look really good today? Did I not yesterday? Ah, just messing with you - I know I looked good yesterday."

Ushijima: "I do? Good."

LAST TANGENT:

if you are NATIVE ENGLISH and youre writing fanfiction for NON-ENGLISH SHOW. IDC if youre a subtitles purist, WATCH IT IN ENGLISH. being able to (in your native language) use the characters voice in your head to read dialogue makes a world of difference. I DONT CARE if you can head Sugas Japanese VA perfectly - UNLESS YOU SPEAK JAPANESE IT WONT HELP.

Whenever I'm struggling with writing Sugawara, or a l think he's OOC, I just mentally replay the soundbite from the dub of him going "Good Grief!" like a goddamn oeanuts character and then its like "oh yeah. he's back. i know how to write him now."

I have a few of these little soundbite grounding things for some of them. Its REALLY helpful to be able hear the characters voices saying the lines (sorry if youre deaf..) and if you CANT (and you normally can) then maybe the dialogue is ooc.

WAIT ONE MORE TANGENT:

"King, you've only talked about dialogue??? what about-" Dialogue controls actions!!! if you can get a characters conversational tone and linguistic habits down, you'll have NO ISSUES keeping their physical habits in check.

thus concludes another advice corner. i am working on the other questions atm but i have limited time and cannot do more than 1 after work without my brain melting so :)

thanks for reading :) happy writing

xx

[metallicaislife]

Long Day

A/N: Other than the 80's I am not as familiar with the eras, so I hope this the correct era in the gif 🥲 hope this turned out good!

Requested by: Anon

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Word Count: 834

Warnings: none, the hurt comes from your own feelings and Kirk comforts you :')

It was one of those days. I counted down the time until I could clock out and go home. But of course the time dragged on as if I was running through molasses. If anything could go wrong, it went wrong. Between phone calls, emails and coworkers interrupting me anytime I got into a grove of my usual work load, I definitely wasn't going to finish everything meaning this shitty day would bleed into tomorrow making it not only a current problem, but it would be future Y/N’s problem too. 

All that to say I was overwhelmed and in tears by the time I clocked out. As always I called my boyfriend from the car on my drive home. 

“Hey baby.” He answered. 

“Hi, Kirk.” I said, attempting to keep my voice even, but I could hear the shakiness as I spoke the two words.

“Hey, is everything okay?” He asked, worry was evident in his voice. 

“Um… yeah everything is fine.” I replied. 

“I don’t believe you… Just get home safe and you can tell me all about it.” His voice was so comforting. I knew a warm hug awaited me and it made more tears fall. 

“Okay.” I croaked, then hung up. 

I safely pulled into the driveway of the house Kirk and I had been living in for about a year now. I grabbed my bag and made my way inside. I slipped off my shoes, and hung my bag. Kirk came around the corner and fresh tears fell as he pulled me into a warm embrace. He cradled my head and rubbed my back. After I composed myself I pulled away. He used his thumbs to wipe at the tear stains on my cheeks. 

“So everything is fine, huh?” He teased with a small smile. 

“No… I mean, I’m just overwhelmed. It was one of those days ya know.” I said. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked. Kirk was always so kind, and respected my boundaries,  he would give me space when I needed to mull over things before confiding in him. 

“Yeah, can we just snuggle and order some take out?” I asked. 

“Of course, baby. Whatever you want.” He smiled at me, I smiled softly for the first time that day since leaving for work in the morning. 

I changed into something more comfortable and crawled into bed with Kirk. We faced each other, legs intertwined as he drew soft shapes on my face. 

“What happened today?” He asked softly. 

“We were super busy, so I got behind on my normal workload, which will affect tomorrow since I’ll need to catch up and hope we don’t get lots of calls or emails to the front desk. I just hate getting behind on things. I know my bosses are aware of how hard I work but with days like these I feel inadequate, like I could’ve done more to accomplish everything.” I relayed my day as a fresh set of tears formed, “I feel like I have imposter syndrome, that they’ll realize I’m not an asset to the company and they’ll just get rid of me.” 

“Hey, hey. No, none of that. I mean your feelings are valid, and you’re allowed to feel those things, but please don’t dwell on them.” He started as he traced up and down my spine, “you work so hard, and you couldn’t have known that you would get an influx of the other things outside your usual workload. If your bosses don’t see all the hard work you do, that’s on them. You can’t control that, even though we all wish we could control how others view us. You gave it your all today and accomplished what you could given the circumstances. You’re not a robot and nobody should expect you to be able to control all these outside forces just so you can finish your whole work load in the allotted 9 to 5 hours. For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you, you did a great job.” He finished his little speech with sweet praise. I moved closer burying my face in his chest. 

“Thank you.” I said, though it was muffled. He nuzzled his head into mine. 

“Any time, baby. Whenever you feel that way, I’ll be here to remind you that you’re doing your best and absolutely killing it.” He replied. We stayed in the embrace until my tummy gurgled indicating I was hungry. 

“Let’s get you fed, then we can snuggle some more, maybe put a movie on. How does that sound?” He asked, pulling back enough so he could look down at me. 

“That sounds perfect.” I replied with a genuine smile. 

He kissed my forehead and left me in bed as he went to call in our regular take out order. 

I’ll always be grateful for my sweet Kirk who is always willing to help bring me back down to reality when my head gets away from me with the negative thoughts.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to request or chat :)

-Isa

[dappledpaintbrush]

What do you think of the SPM villains as a whole? I'm going to make a wild guess and assume your favourite is Dimentio based off only my obvious mind reading intellect-

Please go into as much detail as your heart desires. I love this game a lot and hearing about it makes me very happy. It's my special interest, and I am deprived of obsessive rants over this game that aren't my own.

I hate dimentio fym. Let’s kill him.

LMAOAOAOAOAO but real talk: ANOTHER PERSON WITH AN SPM SPECIAL INTEREST?;?? WOOHOO!!!!! HIP! HIP! HOORAY!! we are now Blood Brothers

I apologize if I’m misinterpreting and you have already seen the post, but I have answered an ask before that is what you’re looking for- here it is! :3 I went into hefty detail on each member of Team Bleck. Trust me, it’s very long LMAOAO

HOWEVER… if you are not talking about just Team Bleck and are referring to the other villains as well- then…

Fracktail/Wracktail:

Fracktail has always. Stuck with me. First of all, his theme goes HARD????? Good lord, go ACTUALLY listen to it if you haven’t. It’s the equivalent of this

Anyways, Fracktail has always made me feel sad. And when I was younger, he scared me. It scared me that he died for something that wasn’t even his fault. Like dude usually when characters get brainwashed and they eventually regain control, they get a happy ending and stuff. Fracktail BLEW UP??? I personally just can’t stand it when characters reap something they never sowed- and this applies to characters as minuscule as Fracktail.

Now. Wracktail. He is. Interesting.

Both Fracktail and Wracktail are incredible examples of how INSANELY POWERFUL Ancient magic is, but Wracktail is a bit different. Wracktail refers to himself as a god multiple times. Is this actually true, or is he “making it up” or exaggerating? Were the Ancients capable of CREATING DEITIES? Were Grambi and Jaydes former Ancients who turned themselves into gods? Are the Pixls classified as gods? After all, both the Pixls and Wracktail are immortal unless harmed, and they were both created by the ancients. But if you can die from an injury, are you really a god? Or, like I stated before, is Wracktail not actually a god?Something else interesting is that Wracktail seems to be aware of Shadoo’s existence. HOW? Does Wracktail posses some kind of omnipotence? Did Shadoo reveal herself to Wracktail out of pity because they were both created and ruined by the Ancients? HOW. WHAT. WHY. Ugh I could go on FOREVER. It’s not that deep, sure, but it’s fun to ponder.

Bonechill:

Bonechill. Was. Wasted.

One of the MOST intriguing parts about Super Paper Mario is- and I’ve talked about this a lot- the extremely bold references to Christianity. Bonechill is a carbon fucking copy of Satan, and he was BOOOOOOOORRRINGG

WHY . WHY DID THEY WASTE THIS CHARACTER. WHY CAN YOU BEAT HIM SO FAST IT CAN BE TURNED INTO A GIF. HOW DOES HE KNOW ABOUT LUVBI BEING A PURE HEART?? Oh yeah, I know, BECAUSE HE WAS A FALLEN ANGEL, AND CLEARLY HE HAD TO HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY CLOSE WITH AND TRUSTED BY GRAMBI TO BE AWARE OF LUVBI’S ORIGINS. HELL, EVEN IF BONECHILL SPIED ON A CONVERSATION OR SOMETHING, HE STILL HAD TO HAVE BEEN VERY CLOSE WITH GRAMBI TO BE CAPABLE OF DOING THAT. IS THAT WHY HE WAS CASTED OUT OF HEAVEN? BECAUSE HE BETRAYED GRAMBI? YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SHOULDVE DONE? THEY SHOULDVE HAD A SCENE BETWEEN GRAMBI AND BONECHILL ABOUT THIS. BUT NOOOOOOOOOO MY NAME IS BONECHILL IM EVIL MWHAHAHAAH OHH IM DEAD DAMN NVM! FUCK.

But on a funnier note this part in KoopaKungFu’s let’s play always made me laugh as a kid

But What do you mean Bonechill was just. Standing there. I know nobody commented on it because this is a video game (it’s funny regardless LMAO). BUT WERE GRAMBI AND BONECHILL TALKING (I say talking, but this doesn’t mean they were calm about it) ABOUT THEIR PAST? OR DID THEY FIGHT BECAUSE GRAMBI IS INJURED. DID THEY DO BOTH? WHY. WAS . THE FACT. BONECHILL. KNOWS. ABOUT. LUVBI. AND. THAT. HE. WAS. A . FALLEN. ANGEL. NEVER. TALKED. ABOUT. MY BLOOD. PRESSURE. IS. RISING.

Blumiere’s Father:

I wish I could say a lot more about him, but surprisingly I’ve never gotten around to making headcanons for him/Blumiere. It’s crazy because you know that in his head he believes he is doing the right thing for his son and for the Tribe of Darkness as a whole. What kind of indoctrination did he have to go through to believe that KILLING somebody simply because she and his son loved one another was a rational and reasonable course of action. God I wish we knew at least a LITTLE more about him- but the minuscule amount of scenes he has makes his impact on the story that much more harrowing.

King Croacus:

I fw King Croacus heavy. My favorite drag queen of all time. God he’s so cool.

As somebody who is lore obsessed, I ADORE the fact we got so many details on the rulers of the Floro Sapiens. It’s something the developers did not have to do yet they did it anyways. Every time I walk through that hall in the game I read every single plaque.

It’s also? Really disturbing how we KILLED this guy? I know he comes back post-game but like regardless we did kill a guy who’s mind was deteriorating because of polluted water. Like that shit wasn’t his fault. He died for the faults of the Cragnons, who basically got off scot-free (unless you killed some of the brainwashed individuals). It’s an interesting metaphor for a variety of things that occur in reality.

Also, his theme is REALLY underrated. I know it’s simple, but I love it so much. King Croacus fans ASSEMBLE!

Francis:

When you’re trying to save all worlds but this fuckass Redditor downvotes you

Francis was one of the most genius parts of this game. Holy shit. I don’t even know what to say. He was so ahead of his time it’s actually scary. That whole chapter is one of the funnest parts of the game. All the niche references, the poking fun at Francis-like people, god it’s PEAK.

Something that’s interesting is that his Castle is implied to be where the Tribe of Darkness lived. Which is fucking hilarious. I personally prefer the idea that Castle Bleck was the old TOD home but that’s literally wrong. Carson said the TOD lives in a castle in the woods. Where do we see a castle in the woods. Uh huh. (I can get even more insane- the podium where Tippi’s cage was held. The podium that for some reason has a mechanism to hide it deep in the ground. Hmmm. A book can fit there. Can’t it. HMMMM) (I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel man somebody save me).

Also. Wokackness aside. Francis is terrifyingly smart. He created a PIXL. That’s something that I feel like is incredibly overlooked. How did he do that. How. ? HUH. ????????

Pixl Queen/Shadoo:

well you see uh

(no but seriously. I don’t even know where to begin. She’s one of my favorite characters in the game and we never ever get to see her. She’s heartbreaking. She’s devastating. She’s terrifying. She has nobody looking out for her. She is alone. But she fights so hard to be seen. She starts a war. She tries to kill every walking Ancient and the heroes of the Light Prognosticus. She screams and she cries and she begs and she pleas but nobody can hear her nor is listening. She is punished for being loved. She is punished for her wrath. She is still here in the form of shadows in the cracks on the Trial walls but is that even her anymore? She did not deserve to die so young, but that death was infinitely more merciful than all that occurred after. She was born to die. It’s why she is still alive.)

Big Blooper:

blooooop lmao

[nomsfaultau]

Daily ask №26!

The lambs wolves fear edition!

1. I would very much like to HUG. EVERY. SINGLE. DOPPELGANGER. (Aka the Not! Tommy, Wilbur and Techno) Are doppelgangers supposed to be somewhat evil entities who literally kill people? Yes. Do I want to hug them regardless? Absolutely. Will I die or get attacked? Possibly. Will I not think about the moral repercussions of being affectionate towards the personifications of chaos and evil? Nope. Your post made me too sad.

2. How did you get the idea for TLWF? Or ideas for certain things in the plot if there were andy prominent inspirations and you wanna talk about it.

3. How would the meet-up between the Fault crew and TLWF go? I assume that TLWF!Phil would be quite freaked out by everyone. Perhaps the dopplegang (actually I really like that name it's so silly) could yk get an example of the fact that supernatural beings can indeed live and love. Also am I wrong or are both Wilburs somewhat.. similar? Kinda? No idea I only know them through shitposts anyways.

4. What is TLWF!Techno doing? Like, the actual Techno I mean. He's possessed right? So is he like trapped in his own mind watching the whole thing play out? Is he dead? Is he idk, just temporarily not conscious?

5. If the dopplegang and the people they're replacing net up, not as enemies and without any context as to who the other is, do you think they'd get along? Like, if they met in different circumstances, could they have been friends?

1.Their evilness really depends on the imposter, and if they know you’re aware they’re a monster. “Wilbur” is mostly depressed and desperately trying to be Wilbur, and isn’t inclined to violence. He’s also the weakest of the bunch, dealing only in illusions and forcing the truth out of people. Dangerous socially, not physically. Becomes simulatenously more wary and more desperate for a hug if he knows you know. “Technoblade” is very deadly both as a physical fighter and with their legion of undead ghosts. But they’re unlikely to attack unless threatened or they can see some glory in it. If you know, they will kill you to prevent the knowledge being spread. Likely painful, but a very quick death. Now “Tommy” is the biggest threat, both because he’s extremely powerful and also bloodthirsty. He’s the closest to evil, though it’s also sorta a mask in a way since he’s from hell and it’s the only way you stay safe. Bit of a nurture situation. “Tommy” will very much enjoy slaughtering you though, so it’s not really a consolation and more background info. Slightly less likely to murder you if he doesn’t know you know. 

2.It came from 2 areas. A. I realized the dark sbi AUs I see always have Phil as the most powerful in control one. So I wanted one where he’s human and scared and panicking. Unfortunately Phil is gonna Phil and so the character almost immediately began scheming for a way to survive, save his children, and get revenge, but I TRIED. I can’t recall if the egg imposters had happened yet or if I knew about them, but, come on Phil would deffo sense his kids were replaced and do something about it. It’s weird becos he’s very much vulnerable, but also is manipulating the imposters. It’s for the survival of him and his kids, but also the imposters are increasingly obviously hella traumatized/abused and are willing to change for love so like. Mm. More interesting than initial plans but I’m still searching for weak and scared Philza. 

B. I have this DND character who is a changeling called Not Soren. He’s super duper messed up but is so bubbly and whimsy about it. Is obsessed with the human child they were sent to replace because obviously he’s perfect if both the kid’s parents and the archfae want them (unlike Not Soren). Anyway that was floating around in my head, plus working on the Lord, what fools these mortals be! Fae au and was like yeah sure this can be a fantasy setting too. “Wilbur’s” thing was down, and so I then came up with different types of children replacements from folklore. It was also originally just a random AU idea to toss out so I didn’t put in that much elbow grease, just went with a classic demon Tommy and ghost possession to fit Techno’s voices. 

3.First and foremost if this is after a certain arc Filbur is killing any double on SIGHT. But putting that monkey wrench away… PhiLambs is uncomfortable with the powerful guys, but they haven’t actively stolen his children and pretended to be them, just share some similarities, so he isn’t necessarily scared and angry against them, but is extremely guarded and cautious. And his fawn instinct is through the roof at this point so he’d act very friendly. Fhilza and The Blade would hear his heart rate and try to put him at ease. “Tommy” probably immediately tries to pick a fight with Fhilza when he discovers he can shape-shift and breathe fire too. Fhilza thinks of him like feral brat teen Filbur 2.0, and tolerates “Tommy” biting him. The Blade is just staring at the tiny scrawny child and is like….nahh that ain’t me. Thinks the ghost stuff is sick as hell. 

As for character growth, The Blade and Fhilza introduce “Tommy” that violence CAN actually be used to show love, just directed outwards not at your Dad. Which means Philambs is way safer and 100x more stressed. Oops. If we ignore Filbur’s testimonials, the anomalies can teach “Technoblade” that actually not all humans will betray you if given the chance. Now, getting them to trust Philambs more is debatably a good idea, but still. 

Hm. Not sure Fhilza would notice that Philambs is lying through his teeth when showing affection, since Fhilza usually needs to be pointed in the direction of a problem before he can help. But maybe Filbur notices and mentions it to him since well it’s not its problem but maybe someone should say something. And normally Fhil wouldn’t bother being nice beyond what’s polite, but well he doesn’t like when children are treated poorly so I think he’d poke about it. Like hell is Philambs opening up about th problem, but I think Fhilza’s advice is to just clap him on the shoulder and say ‘You had 3 kids. Now you have 6 good luck mate’ and walk off. Which might do a lot of good, especially since Philambs has now seen that monsters can be normal and unthreatening. 

The Wilburs have some overlapping characteristics, like desperately wanting to be human, neglected childhoods, charisma, trust issues. Main differences is “Wilbur’s” idol worship of Wilbur + insane self loathing. And when they first meet Filbur hisses and claws and Fhil, meanwhile “Wilbur” adores Philambs.

4.He’s part of the legion of ghosts now. Conscious, but not in control in the slightest, drowned out. Debatably dead? His body is wasting away at the very least. “Technoblade” cares deeply about Technoblade, but isn’t good at the having a body thing. 

5.Already “Tommy” and Tommy get along like a house on fire even despite the replacement. Absolute harbingers of chaos, though they butt heads on who’s leader. But also it’s fully likely that if “Tommy” met Tommy without the intention of replacing him, he’d just kill the kid for the lols. 

“Wilbur” could possibly encounter Wilbur if he escaped the Fae Wilds before being sent to impersonate. In which case he’s desperate for shelter, and probably doesn’t think he can earn it as himself. “Wilbur” would be impersonating some random guy when seeking help from Wilbur. Wilbur is kind enough to let him stay, and curious and clever enough to poke holes in whatever story “Wilbur” comes up with to explain why he needs help. With a little testing he figures out “Wilbur” is fae, but isn’t put off. The acceptance helps “Wilbur” start unpacking trauma and actually tell the truth. Wilbur probably isn’t the best person to help with that, but can go ‘that’s rough buddy, why don’t you go trauma dump on my Dad instead-’ 

“Technoblade” likes Technoblade, hence choosing him as a vessel. I think Technoblade would find “Technoblade” kinda boring tho tbh. They’re the type to get quietly intent upon a mission, and Technoblade can hyperfocus too obviously, but he’s a lot more conversational about it. And he’s not big on their thing with honor, and soldiers, since anarchy broooo. Alas, this TBH and IDK creature duo just don’t click. Which I think tracks since “Technoblade” and Technoblade have the starkest contrast between impersonator and original. I’ve distinctly tried to make the personalities between the dopplegangers and actual personas different, to various degrees. I want to capitalize on reader’s familiarity with SBI to get into the uncanny horror of this well and truly only pretending to be them. Similar, sure, and sympathetic, but ultimately only illusions of SBI.

[mariharem-trash-heap]

Talk Her Down

The inevitable seems to have finally happened: Marinette gets akumatized after a friend gets hurt in the crossfire between her and Lila - and it’s up to her friends and classmates to do what they can to calm her down before Ladybug can purify her akuma.

Notes:

I really, really love the trope of “this isn’t you, I know you’re in there, let me talk you down”. ESPECIALLY when it’s between friends. It’s just so (chef’s kiss)

Also yes, I’m well aware eastern and western dragons are largely different - I’m keeping mostly elements from eastern dragons because they’re super cool and underrated over here in the west.

(This will have hints at a Mariharem (but I couldn’t resist adding a lot more Lukanette because that ship still has my heart, sue me)

What began as a bright, sunny day had suddenly grown dark, sinister clouds rising to shun the sun and bathing the city of Paris in a thick gray curtain of dread.

Civilians looked on in horror from the relative safety of their homes at the giant red and black dragon weaving her way through the air, steam hissing from her nostrils, gleaming golden eyes narrowed in rage.

“LILA!” A thundering roar reverberated through the streets. Whoever remained outside had to clap their hands over their ears lest the painful ringing the sound caused actually did them damage as raindrops began to fall from the skies.

The softest tinkling of bells in the akuma’s wake was offset by another earsplitting roar, masking the panting of the two heroes trying to follow her.

“Man, who gave her control over the weather?” Chat Noir complained, eyes narrowed against the growing sprinkling of rain.

“I think it’s-- a culture thing?” Chanceux answered hesitantly, eyes darting back and forth as they vaulted another rooftop. His fingers were beginning to slip. “We need to change her back before all of Paris floods!”

Chat winced, troubling memories resurfacing. “Yeah,” he quietly murmured.

“Marinette!” Alya shouted from the roof of Le Grand Paris, squinting against the pounding rain.

The dragon whipped her head around, and glinting eyes settled squarely on the reporter, just a tiny, tiny figure on the roof below her.

“Mari, hey,” she continued, her tone dropping into a more soothing one. “Look, I know you’re upset - but you can’t let Hawkmoth get to you! You’re hurting people!”

“Hurting people?!” She exclaimed. “Lila has been the one hurting people for far too long! She needs to face the consequences of hurting my friends!”

Alya tried her best not to heave a frustrated sigh. “I know! I know, believe me, Marinette, I know. But what you’re doing - this isn’t you! The Marinette I know would never hurt so many innocent people like this!”

For a moment, she thought she saw something flicker by the akuma’s eyes - something troubled.

“Please,” she pleaded, reaching out to her friend. “Fight him, Marinette. You’re better than him.”

It seemed to have worked. And then that irritating glowing purple outline appeared before her face and she let loose another earth-shaking roar; and with a rush of wind so strong it nearly blew her off of the building, the akuma - Marinette - had gone.

Alya huffed, raising her phone to speak clearly into it, “Sorry guys, I tried. She’s beyond even listening to me.”

“Got it, babe,” Nino answered, before hanging up and slipping his phone back into his pocket. Turning around, he surveyed the members of Kitty Section... minus their guitarist.

“Where’s Luka?” Mylene wondered aloud, worry knitting her brow.

“He...” Juleka hesitated, but Rose’s comforting arm around her shoulders helped her finish, “...he wanted to try and talk her down. I told him it was a stupid idea, but he insisted.”

“If he can’t do it, we won’t be able to either,” Ivan admitted glumly.

Rose looked around the group in desperation. “But we’ve got to try something! That’s Marinette!” She cried, turning her pleading gaze on her girlfriend. “None of us liked to be akumatized, did we?”

An awkward air hung around as the rest of them either shook their heads or mumbled various “no”s and “not really”s.

“It’s not our faults we were akumatized,” the blonde reasoned. “I know I would’ve loved someone to help me fight off Hawkmoth’s butterfly.”

Juleka turned to her, a soft, solemnness to her eyes. “But would you have listened?”

Here, Rose opened her mouth to reply... then a few seconds later, shut it and slowly shook her head.

“We’ve still got to try something,” Ivan repeated, raising his drumstick. “For Marinette.”

“For Marinette,” Mylene echoed.

“For-”

“Marinette!” Nino exclaimed, finally spotting the serpentine akuma slither its way through the clouds.

It almost appeared she didn’t hear them, but finally she slowly turned to fix a hard stare on the group. Steam hissed again from her nose, as if in an annoyed snort. Something akin to frills - or spikes? - flared back and forth down her back, jet-black fading to white tips.

“Marinette!” Nino repeated, relief flooding his voice as he adjusted his glasses. “Oh, dude! We’ve been worried sick-- hey, where are you going?!”

She didn’t dignify him with an answer, turning back and returning to her course.

Nino watched her go, agape in shock.

“We tried,” Juleka heaved a sigh and patted his shoulder. “It’s up to the rest, now.”

“Luka...” she quietly wondered to herself, “... where are you? Please be safe...”

“Ugh, why am I here again?” Chloe huffed, turning her back on the group in the courtyard.

“Maybe if we use you as bait, we can keep her in one place for long enough that Chat Noir and Ladybug--” Alix hesitated, “--Chanceux can purify her.”

“That’s ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Do you want all of us to become fish food?” The blonde demanded. “Sabrina, we’re leaving.”

For once, the redheaded girl hesitated, watching Chloe begin to walk off.

Once she registered that no footsteps were echoing behind her, the rich girl paused, turning back with a raised brow. “Well? We don’t have all day, Sabrina - I’m already soaked enough as it is from all this stupid rain.”

All eyes fell to the girl, who shrank a little from the scrutiny. Alix and Kim looked to her in disdain, Chloe, expectant, and Max was still searching the clouds.

“I... no,” she murmured.

“What?” Chloe squinted, leaning in with a hand cupped to her ear. “I didn’t hear you. Speak up, will you?”

“I said no,” Sabrina stated forcefully, more forcefully than she meant to, judging by the surprise in her face. “I’m staying here. I...” she glanced to Max before looking her friend in the face, “I want to help Marinette too.”

It was silent for a second, save for the pounding rainstorm. Chloe was utterly aghast.

Then the blonde scoffed, whirling around and walking away. “Whatever, your loss. I’m going home where it’s warm and safe.”

“Wait, there she is!” Max suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the skies. The other students crowded around, watching a bright red line rushing through the clouds, cutting clean through the gray like a bullet.

“Marinette!” Kim bellowed as loud as he could. “We need you to stop!”

Unsurprisingly, she didn’t give a single indication that she’d heard.

Max paused, pondering something quietly to himself for several long seconds. When Chloe gave another dismissive scoff, he looked up, a newfound determination in his eyes. “I’ve got an idea; but first, who has Lila’s number?”

“Luka, where in the hell are you?” Juleka questioned.

“Nowhere you should go to in this weather,” he answered, balancing the phone between his cheek and shoulder as he got off the bike. Pulling off his helmet, he returned his phone to his hand and looked around. “Wait for me at the Liberty. I’ll be back as soon as I talk to her.”

“You’re crazy, you know that? She didn’t even listen to us.”

“She’s... so angry, right now,” he murmured, and a chord of pain struck his chest as he heard another angry roar ripple through the sky. “I’m hoping I can at least keep her for a minute - but if I’m lucky...”

“If you’re lucky, she’ll decide to spare you,” his sister huffed. After a second of silence on her end, she added, “The band is worrying about you. Hurry up and come home.”

Luka managed a chuckle at the warmth belied in her voice. “Will do.”

As he hung up the phone, he walked through the park until he finally came to the spot - and pulled out his guitar.

“Marinette!” He called, seeing her soaring above.

At the sound of his voice, the thunderous rain seemed to lessen in intensity for a moment - and so did the heat in her eyes as she turned to hover above the park.

Smiling up at her, he ran a hand through his drenched hair and pulled out a pick. “I know you’re angry right now... horribly angry... but I want you to hear something.”

Tilting her head slightly, she gave no indication she would take off.

Strumming a few chords, he began to play a song - one that he knew almost as well as his own, or his sister’s, or his mother’s. As he looked up at her, he could see her golden eyes closing, an echo of the day they met.

“Is it working?” He questioned, sparing a glance up at her hovering form. “Can I finally... be the one to calm her anger, just as she tried to bring me back all that time ago?”

The next time he looked up at her, his hopeful smile fell into a despairing gape as a familiar purple mask faded before her eyes, and they reopened - full of pain and anger.

“Marinette--!” he began, but his guitar slipped from his hands as giant, gleaming talons wrapped about him, tight enough so that he couldn’t wiggle free.

“Marinette!” Another voice yelled, and the akuma turned with a growl at the people leaping into the park.

Chat Noir and Chanceux led the charge, a group of teenagers following close behind. With them was a familiar person wrapped up like a package, angry and glaring - until she saw the akuma.

Lila squeaked, struggling against the rope. “When you said you were going to get help, this is NOT what I--”

“LILA!” The akuma’s roar dizzied them for a few moments, and the rain began to pelt them like hail.

“Marinette, stop!” Chanceux exclaimed, darting in front of the girl as the dragon dropped Luka only a foot to the ground in anticipation of grabbing her instead. “This is what you wanted, right? You wanted Lila? Why?”

“Because she hurt Marc!” The dragon snarled, eyes flashing in fury at the memory. “She ruined his comic because he stood up for me!”

“Mari, Marc is okay,” the red-and-black-spotted hero tried to soothe, raising his hands placatingly. “So what if Lila ruined ou-- his comic? He’s already planning on making a better one!”

Marc chose that moment to hobble over from the crowd, trying to smile up at the serpent with tearstained cheeks.

“Marc...” The akuma murmured, all heat gone from her voice. “Your eyeliner is running.”

“Oh, is it?” His smile dropped, and he swiped at his eye with his thumb. Sure enough, a smudge of black stained it. “Well, that’s no big deal, is it? I’m more worried about you.”

“We all need you to shake off Hawkmoth,” Alya pleaded next. “We’re here to help. You would’ve done the same for us. It’s only fair we do the same thing for you.”

“We love you, Marinette,” Rose implored. “Please.”

The akumatized girl looked back and forth between her friends, brow knit in indecision.

Suddenly Hawkmoth’s voice snarled in her ears. “What are you doing, Huangdi?! You need to take the Miraculous!”

Clenching her eyes shut in pain, she screamed as a wave of agony flooded over her through the mindlink.

“He’s hurting her!” Ivan exclaimed.

“Quick, Chanceux,” Chat said, catching the hero’s attention, “where is the akumatized item? Do you see it?”

Scanning the creature, the hero’s brow knit together in confusion - until he saw it.

“The tail,” he stated. “The object is wrapped around the tail.”

Chat looked, and indeed, it was a beaded object tightly strung around it. His throat constricted, and his heart began to race - he recognized it.

“Do we have to break it to get the butterfly?” He questioned aloud.

“I hope we don’t,” the ladybug hero answered softly. “How can we talk her down with Hawkmoth abusing the mindlink?”

A cry from the dragon interrupted their little talk, and the two looked back to see the dragon land with a thud on the ground, her magnificent length spreading across the entirety of the park as she tried to cover her ears with her talons.

“Marinette!” Alya cried in alarm, rushing over to her.

“Please, please make it stop,” Huangdi begged, tears filling her eyes.

The group froze in fear.

Then, Rose spoke up. “Group hug!”

Determinedly marching over, she reached out and wrapped her arms around one of the dragon’s, holding it to her chest as tight as she could.

“Rose...?!” Juleka questioned.

“Go away, Hawkmoth!” Rose yelled as if she hadn’t heard her. “You big meanie! Leave Marinette alone!”

Bewildered, a few of the group exchanged glances.

Shrugging, Alix and Kim walked over with confident faces and joined Rose in hugging Huangdi’s arm and shouting at the villain.

“You stink, Hawkmoth,” Kim scoffed. “Hurting our friend like this? If you were here I’d punch you right in the face!”

“Not before me you wouldn’t!” Alix retorted, squeezing the scaled appendage as tight as she could.

“What... are they doing...?” Chat breathed as more and more made their way towards the dragon.

“I... I think they’re bullying Hawkmoth,” Chanceux let out a tiny little hysterical laugh. With an incredulous smile, he shrugged and made his way over to their hostage.

“You suck, Hawkmoth!” Nino joined in, pressing himself against their friend’s side. “C’mon, Marinette, you can totally kick him out!”

“Do it for me!” Alya added, trying her best to hug her as she planted herself firmly at her throat. “Come on, Marinette, you can do it. I know you can show this bully who’s boss.”

“Go away, Hawkmoth!” Sabrina yelled in unison with Rose.

Huangdi’s eyes continued to water, and large tears spilled over the sides of her cheeks and splattered to the ground with the rain.

Luka had long since picked himself up and pressed a hand against her scaled jaw. When she looked down at him, he gave her a reassuring smile.

“You can do this, Marinette,” he encouraged. “Where’s the amazing girl that stood up to XY for us?”

“I...” The dragon sniffled a little.

Slowly, her voice began to change from its guttural timbre to something softer.

“Hey, it’s working!” Mylene exclaimed in relief. “Come on, Marinette...!”

Slowly, the dragon began to flicker - and with a bright light and a sharp scream, she disappeared, leaving a shivering, sobbing Marinette in her wake. Her classmates fell to the ground abruptly, letting out exclamations of surprise, and Chanceux was quick to dart away from Lila and towards the dark-purple butterfly trying to flutter away.

“Gotcha!” He exclaimed with pride as it disappeared into the yo-yo. “Your evil comes to an end, akuma!”

Throwing the yo-yo into the air, he followed it with “Miraculous Ladybug!”

Almost immediately a bright light pierced the sky, and a swarm of ladybugs chased it as it shooed away the dreary blanket. Slowly, the bright blue sky came back into view as the rain came to an end. Rainbows danced about as the last of the rain shimmered in the sun’s cheerful rays.

Alya was the first to get to her. “Marinette, are you okay?”

Nodding wordlessly, she collapsed into her best friend’s arms, still crying - and one by one, the rest of them joined the group hug. Luka glanced towards Chat and Chanceux, gesturing towards the pile with expectant eyes.

The ladybug hero sighed, smiling in relief as he joined in. Chat hesitated, but Nino caught his eye and pointed at Marinette. He gave in and hugged around Alya and Luka.

“I’m... I’m so sorry,” Marinette whimpered, trying to wipe away her tears. “I was just... so upset and hurt that I lost it.”

“It’s not your fault,” Marc spoke up firmly, brushing away his own tears and squeezing her arm. “Like Chanceux said, I can always make an even better one.”

“Um, hello?” Lila groused. “Right here...”

“Oh, right,” Chat remembered with a glower, turning to the Italian girl. “As for little miss troublemaker, I want you out of the class effective immediately.”

“Wh- what?” It wasn’t just Lila, but Marinette who answered. The group stared at her even as she spluttered, “Chat, are you sure--?”

“She has caused too much harm in the classroom, Mari,” he stated, his usual banter traded for a serious tone that demanded she listen. “Not just to you - now she’s involved someone from another class, and it’s not just Bustier’s problem to deal with anymore.”

“He’s right,” Juleka added. “Nathanael and Marc are my friends. I can’t just sit and watch her start bullying Marc.”

“Th- that wasn’t-- I was just--” The brunette stammered.

“You tore up something precious to him,” Chanceux suddenly spoke up, voice flickering with anger as he stared her down. “That’s something Chloe would do, sure - but you? After everything we did to try and be nice to you?”

“It’s bullying,” Chat emphasized, folding his arms across his chest. “Marinette, I know you don’t want to make things harder, but I don’t feel comfortable having another bully in the classroom after everything else that’s happened this year.”

There was a heavy few seconds of silence from the group.

Finally, Marinette swallowed. She nodded her head and admitted, “... I’m not going to argue with you. In fact, I agree. I don’t want to have to deal with that anymore. It was enough being the only one having to keep quiet - but I am not going to stand around and watch my friends get the same treatment.”

Alya pulled away with a concerned frown. “So it was true, then? She lied?”

“She lied about the connection with Dargaud,” Marc confirmed. “I assume she’s lied about other things as well, but that one affects Nath and I.”

“I can’t believe this.” The reporter shot her a disappointed stare. “I was so set to publish that interview with you, too. That would’ve gotten me so much hate if people actually contacted them and asked about you, you know? I can’t believe I didn’t even see it earlier; you don’t even like comics.”

“I- I do,” Lila defended. “I read a ton of webcomics all the time!”

“You didn’t even know the name of the studio you were promising a gig with,” Chanceux pointed out with narrowed eyes.

“Do I have to know the names of every single last place I work with, now?” She questioned, exasperated and upset. “I mean come on, not even Gabriel Agreste himself would know like half the models and agencies he collaborates with. Excuse me for having a bad memory.”

Rose shifted from foot to foot. “This one was a lie, but... surely she can’t have lied about everything, right? Who just does that?”

Marinette turned to give Chat a flat look over Alya’s head. He nodded in response.

“Chanceux, why don’t we let her loose,” he said to the hero standing near her.

Pursing his lips, the redheaded boy thought for a moment. Finally, he sighed. “Fine. Might as well; the only thing she did was serve as bait for the akuma.”

Pulling at the end of the bow, the rest of the rope sagged free, and so did Lila. She got up, rubbing her sore arms, and glared at the group.

“Now I’m wet, muddy, and have ropeburn,” she complained with a heavy sigh. “Mama is going to have a fit when she sees how dirty my clothes got...”

As she ran off, the heroes returned their attention to the pile.

“Thanks, guys, I’m feeling a lot better now.” With another sniffle, Marinette smiled weakly at her friends. “I feel so ashamed for giving in...”

“Believe me, I was really close,” Marc commented with a light laugh. “If you hadn’t jumped in front of me and took the butterfly when you did...”

“You continue to be an Everyday Ladybug,” Chat praised with a soft smile. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Marinette. I’m just glad we were able to snap you out of it.”

Extending his hand, he added, “Why don’t I take you home? I’m sure your parents are worried sick.”

“Better idea, why don’t we have a sleepover tonight?” Alya asked, glancing around at the girls. “That way, we can keep an eye out for any more nasty butterflies.”

“I’m down.” Alix nodded. “I’ll ask my dad.”

“Sounds like fun!” Rose cheered, Juleka nodding in agreement.

“I’ll ask my dad,” Mylene said, folding her hands together.

“It’s settled.” Alya smiled triumphantly, squeezing Marinette’s shoulder. “We’re all here for you, Marinette. Just say the word and we’ll help you beat away Hawkmoth’s akumas with a superpowered stick if we have to!”

“You don’t have to,” laughed the girl as she wiped her last tear away and took Chat’s hand. “But thank you. Really, thank you. I’m glad to have you all as my friends.”

“No,” said the ladybug hero, his eyes growing soft at the pigtailed girl, “thank you for being ours.”

[vodika-vibes]

Hello!

I've been reading your Star Wars The Clone Wars stories for a long time and you're really great at what you do! I would like to ask you a little question, would you write something with Commander Colt? His love interest is close to another clone and Colt is jealous because of it. It could be fluff, slight angst, suggestive or smut. Your choice of course. I'm your fan, best regards! ❤❤❤

Pick Me

Summary: Basically what the request says, lol

Pairing: Commander Colt x Reader

Word Count: 958

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: Hihi! Thanks for the request! Sorry that it took so long to get to, but I was, like, super sick the last two days. Food poisoning is no fun. I'm glad that you enjoy my writing, and I hope you enjoy this!

“You look like you’re having a good day,” You turn and grin at Colt as he walks over to you.

You take a moment to admire him, he really is absolutely gorgeous in his armor, but you very quickly push the thought to the side. “I am having a good day,” You say gleefully, “Spanner has been practicing his cooking and he’s making my favorite dinner tonight.”

Colt doesn’t say anything for a moment, and when you look at him, you note his smile seems pained, “You don’t say. I didn’t realize that you and Spanner were dating.”

“What? Oh, no. Not at all.” You say with a laugh, “I’m well aware that I’m going as a taste tester and nothing more.”

“Does he know that?” Colt asks wryly.

“Not my problem.” You answer with a shrug, “Anyway, was there something you needed, Colt?”

He gazes at you silently for a moment, his dark eyes scanning your face, and then his smile becomes slightly wry, “No. There was something, but it’s not important.”

“You sure? If it’s important I can give you all the time you need.”

His smile becomes a little more real, “Yeah. I’m sure. It’ll hold.”

“Well then, if you’re sure,” You grin at him and take a step back, “I have to go and change into something less covered in grease before I meet up with Spanner-”

“You look great.”

“Yeah, the grease brings out my eyes,” You joke, and Colt laughs softly, “If you change your mind, or if you just want to talk, Colt, you know where to find me.”

“I do know where you sleep,” He says with an easy smile.

You laugh, “Pick a hallway, it’ll lead you to me eventually.” You back away a little more, “I’ll see you later, Colt.”

“Yeah. Have a good night.”

Your smile is blinding, “You too, try to get some rest. The cadets won’t burn down Tipoca City if you’re not looking for one night.”

“You have more faith in the cadets than I do.” Colt says dryly.

You laugh, and wave, “Night Colt,” and then you turn and hurry down the hall. 

*******

You hurry into your suite, and shower quickly, and by the time you’re out of the shower and have clean clothes pulled on, there’s a knock on your door.

You press the door control pad, and blink at the surprise at the man on the other side of the door, “Colt?”

“Yeah, hi.”

“Hi.” You grin at him, “You’re not Spanner.”

“Ah…no. No, I’m not. Spanner can’t make it.”

You tilt your head to the side, “Is that right?”

“There’s a problem with the food…some cadets got into it, and he’s not going to make it.” Colt explains easily. You move to the side to allow him into your home.

“And he couldn’t even comm to let me know?” You ask, offended.

“He’s probably embarrassed.” Colt replies with a shrug.

You fold your arms and sigh, “I guess this means I have to cook my own dinner. Would you like to join me?”

Colt lifts his gaze from where they were trailing over your bare arms, and a small smile crosses his face, “I’d love to.” And then his gaze drops again, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you not totally covered.”

“Yeah, well, the last thing I want is to get grease on my bare skin.” You reply as you lead him into the kitchen, “I tend to wear more clothes when I’m working, and this is casual for me.”

“You should wear casual clothes more often,” Colt notes, “You look good.”

“You would say that even if I was wearing a burlap sack, Colt.” You say with a laugh.

“And it would be true.” Colt replies.

You shake your head, “You’re impossible.” And then you focus your attention on your fridge, “Let’s see, what do I have-”

“I have a confession,” Colt says after a moment, “Spanner didn’t cancel willingly.”

You turn to look at him, surprised, “He didn’t?”

“I mean, the cadets did get to the food, but that’s because I let them.” Colt admits, “And he would have still come, but I assigned him to cadet duty-”

“Colt,” You step closer to him, “Why would you do that?”

“I couldn’t stand the idea of him here with you.” Colt says as he nervously rubs the back of his neck, “The jealousy got the better of me…I should work on that.”

“Jealous…Colt, why would you be jealous? Spanner is just a friend.”

“He doesn’t see it that way.” Colt says quietly, “And…I just…I want you to pick me. The idea of you picking anyone else, especially one of my brothers-”

“Colt.”

“-and I know I shouldn’t have. I know this.” Colt continues.

“Colt!” You step closer to him.

“And I should probably apologize to him-”

You sigh and stand on your toes, pressing your lips against his to stop the slew of words. And then you take a step back, and you look up at him.

Colt is staring at you, his jaw slightly slack. He almost looks like he’s rebooting, you think with an amused little smile. 

“Are you back with me now?” You ask with a growing smile.

“I…yes?”

“Good.” You reach up and lightly press your hands against his cheeks, “This, Colt, is me picking you. As if there was any other option.”

He exhales slowly, and Colt doesn’t say anything as he takes a moment to process your words, and then he huffs out a quiet laugh. “Can I kiss you?”

“I’d like that very much,” You reply.

And then his lips are on yours and it’s a much, much better kiss than the one that you used to make him stop talking.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Hollow Leads

A JSE Fanfic

SepticHeroes AU: Part 30

First Part | Previous Part | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Thirty chapters done! Whoo! With every chapter we get closer to a part of this AU that I'm really excited about but that is probably a long, long ways away. But enough about the future, back to the present with this. Jackie continues trying to find Dahlia, to help her and get JJ out of jail. But it's not that easy, as his leads aren't following through. Afterwards, he lets the others know about the little progress he's made, and Schneep has something to tell him, as well. Hope you enjoy this chapter ^-^

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

“Well, at least you remembered to call the non-emergency line this time, kid.” Ace’s voice said from the other side of the phone line.

“I did say sorry,” Jackie said defensively. It was shortly after dinner, and he was pacing around his room. Loose clothes and paper fluttered as a nervous breeze played around the room. “And you did say to call you back in the evening.”

“I did, I did, that’s fair enough,” Ace said. “So. You want to know about that tape, then.”

“Of course I do!” Jackie barely managed to keep from shouting. “This is crucial information! There could be another villain running around! Someone who, for whatever reason, wanted to spread chaos in the city and control people. We don’t know what they want or when they’ll next attack. We’ll need to investigate!” He held himself back from mentioning getting JJ out of jail again. Anti-Virus could be listening in; he needed to think that Jackie had given up on that particular goal. This was already pushing it enough.

“That’s true enough,” Ace said. “Well. We’ve run it through some tests, and we do think it’s authentic. Other than the fact that it’s a copy you made, I mean. Now, if worse comes to worst, would you be willing to share the original?”

Jackie hesitated. “Y-yeah.” It wouldn’t be his first choice. He wouldn’t want to share Dahlia’s secret while she was still missing, but if it was absolutely necessary, he would do what was needed. Maybe he could just start the tape at Jameson’s section.

“Good. That lends some credibility to this,” Ace said. “I’m sure you’re aware of the contents. Of this Jameson Jackson claiming that someone was blackmailing him for the safety of his sister.”

“Yes.” Jackie nodded, despite knowing Ace couldn’t see him. “Anti-Virus. You saw him call himself that in the texts Jameson filmed.”

Ace snorted. “Super names get stranger and stranger. I guess a ‘virus’ sounds intimidating, but all I can think of are those annoying pop-ups the department computers sometimes get.”

“So the police are going to go look for him, right?” Jackie continued. “This guy is still on the loose.”

“Of course we are. Michaelson and I are already putting together a plan. This guy is a technopath, so we don’t have a paper trail to go off, but he can’t have gotten far. He probably has some interest in this city.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” Jackie muttered.

“Windstorm.” Ace’s voice shifted. It was all business before, but now there was a heavier serious tone in his words. “About the Puppeteer. This Jackson guy.”

Jackie’s heart jumped. “Yes?” he asked, trying to sound disinterested.

“They’re probably not going to let him out of the Vault.”

His heart immediately dropped afterwards. “Wh-what do you mean?” he asked. “Clearly, th-this is—if he was being blackmailed, that warrants a trial. To sort out all the legal, uh... a-all the legal stuff. Like, what exactly his crimes would be called.”

“They’ll get to it,” Ace said grimly. “But think about it. Even if the Puppeteer was forced to do this, even if that lessened his charges officially, even if the trial manages to reduce his sentence... he’s still very powerful. And his abilities are the sort that can only be used to hurt people.” Jackie bristled at that, but he had to admit, there was some truth to it. Creating strings that controlled people’s bodies... He couldn’t think of a way to use those that didn’t harm someone. “The Vault is the only place in this country that’s equipped to deal with someone who could control so many people at once.”

“Well, I guess that’s true, but—” Jackie stopped himself from protesting.

“You really think he doesn’t belong there?” Ace asked.

“Y-yeah...” Jackie said slowly. “If a man was being blackmailed, shouldn’t that... absolve him of some of the blame? Enough to get him pulled out of a prison that houses the worst supervillains in this area? Sure, he might be capable of doing terrible things, but... but... that doesn’t mean he will.”

Ace sighed. “I get where you’re coming from, kid, I really do. I’m going to work on getting the Puppeteer a proper trial for this whole mess. I just need you to understand this realistically. I doubt there’s a panel of judges who’d be okay with letting him out of the Vault, even if it’s just to another prison. Not to mention the League runs Byrthon Vault.They have the final say on the villains kept there. Even if the courts proved the Puppeteer was being blackmailed, they’d have to appeal to the League to get him transferred.”

“Right. The League runs it.” Jackie sighed.He wasn’t sure what to say. There was a part of him that was simmering with rage—JJ is his friend, he doesn’t deserve this!—and there was a part of him that was just so, so disappointed.“Well... thank you for telling me all this, Ace. You’re... really sure about this?”

“I am,” Ace confirmed. “What about you, Windstorm? Now that we’ve got your evidence verified, you gonna be charging after this Anti-Virus?”

He really wanted to. He really, really wanted to. But he couldn’t go at it from this angle. “Honestly, Ace, I’m not sure I’m capable of tracking him down,” Jackie said slowly. “That’s not really my skill set, you know? I’m sure you guys can handle it.”

“...huh.” Ace paused. “You, uh... you sure, kid? Don’t want to help at all?”

“I mean, this guy’s powers are to spy on people through tech,” Jackie said “Not exactly something my wind powers can fight against. And besides, he’s probably not that tough to take down. Just tough to find. The police can probably handle it.”

Ace was quiet for a moment. “This isn’t like you,” he finally said after a long silence. “And you were just getting all up in arms about getting the Puppeteer some justice and tracking down this guy. Everything okay, kid?”

“Y-yeah,” Jackie said. “I just really think I won’t be much help here.”

“Hmm.” Jackie could hear the suspicion in that single hum. Honestly, he sort of hoped Ace would figure out something was up. The more allies he had with this, the better. “If you’re sure, Windstorm,” Ace finally said. “Call the department back whenever you want for progress. Or stop by. It’s not like we’re going to kick you out.”

Jackie laughed nervously. “Yeah. Not like you’d do that. I’ll stop by the station if I want to. See you later.”

“See you, kid.”

The call ended and Jackie put the phone down on his desk. He wandered over to the window and stared out at the evening sky, its dusky blue lit up by the light from skyscraper windows. His room really did have a good view of the city. He leaned his head against the glass and looked down at the cars moving on the distant street below, thinking.

Was Ace right? Would the League just... leave Jameson in the Vault? A few months ago, he wouldn’t believe it. But now... his whole world had been shaken. His first thought was that they would. After all, wasn’t someone who could mind control a hundred people very dangerous? Weren’t they... still a villain?

...maybe he should go out for a quick fly around the city. Maybe that would clear his head.

He ended up flying around the city for a long time before heading back home to crash. He probably should’ve gone to bed earlier. After all, he’d have to go to the hospital again to talk to Dr. Simmons about Dahlia. To maybe find a lead that way. But... it took a while for his thoughts to settle. Or at least, to be overrun by exhaustion. He barely had time to take off his suit and put on pajamas before tiredness caught up and he fell into bed.

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

The next morning, Jackie was awoken by the bring bring! of the Red Line. Groaning, he rolled over to check the time and grab it—1:00 pm?! Holy shit, he better wake up and start the day soon! He quickly answered the call without looking at the ID. “Hello?”

“Hello Windstorm.” It was Magnify, his handler. “I have some big news.”

“Huh? Big news?” Jackie forced himself to blink the sleep out of his eyes.

“Kinetics would like to have a word with you.”

...

...

...Jackie didn’t answer for a solid ten seconds, just processing what Magnify just said.

“Windstorm? Are you still there?”

“When you say Kinetics,” Jackie said slowly, “you don’t mean... one of the Council members... do you?”

“I do indeed,” Magnify said, sounding completely serious.

“...what the fuck?” Jackie whispered.

“Windstorm? Please don’t swear while on the Red Line.”

“I just—Sorry, I—I just don’t—wh-why would—why would a Council member want to see me?” Jackie asked. “I haven’t even been in the League a year yet!”

“It has to do with the Puppeteer,” Magnify said.

“Huh?!”

“Well, the Puppeteer and this possible mastermind villain behind him,” Magnify clarified. “The Daindover police let the League know about the tape you’d found.”

“A-and it traveled all the way up to the Council?” Jackie repeated. He laughed nervously. “Tha-that was fast.”

“The Council takes mind control villains very seriously,” Magnify said.

“Well, uh, Anti-Virus isn’t a mind controller—”

“But they were able to control someone who is,” Magnify interrupted. “And their powers are concerning. The Council is afraid they were behind the data leak.”

Jackie’s stomach dropped. “So... Kinetics herself is coming here... to ask me about this whole case?”

“Precisely.”

“I... didn’t know the Council had... the time for that... I-I thought they were busy,” Jackie stammered.

“The timing must have lined up. Kinetics will come to Daindover early tomorrow morning. She requests that you meet on the rooftop of the East SepTech building at 7:30.”

“I-I’ll be there.” The East SepTech building, huh? The place he’d confronted the Puppeteer. The place his worldview had been shaken for the third time and finally shattered. Seemed... fitting.

“Great. Contact me if you have any further questions.” And with that, Magnify hung up.

Jackie just stared at the Red Line for a solid minute. There was no way this was real. He had to be dreaming. He pinched himself just in case. “Ow!” Nope, it was real. 

Kinetics was THE telekinesis Hero. So much so that her name was taken from ‘telekinetic.’ And she wanted to see him? What was next? Him getting called before the whole Council?

Quickly, he ran through the members in his head—partially to make sure he was awake enough to remember details like that. Other than Kinetics, the most powerful and well-known telekinesis Hero in the world, there was Red Huntress, the Shadow, Shockwave, Bolt Runner, and Eagle-Eye. All of them with equally great reputations. All of them well-known anywhere the League of Heroes operated, and even beyond. Were they really so concerned with Daindover? It may have been a big city, but it wasn’t the capital of the country or anything. Surely there were more important cases happening elsewhere in the world.

Well, it didn’t change the fact that the Council was interested, and interested enough for one of them to stop by to talk to him. If someone had told him last year that he’d be meeting one of the Council of Heroes in the next twelve months, he would have laughed in their face.

Jackie shook his head. He has to get up and get ready for the day. He still had that meeting to prepare for. But before that—he grabbed his phone from the dresser and opened up the group chat he had with Chase and Henrik—and Jameson, too, but... well, he didn’t exactly have access to his phone in prison. Jackie typed out a quick message. Hey dyou guys want to meet up at Neun Park later today?

Then he got up and headed into the bathroom. He would get ready and immediately head to the hospital. He had more business to take care of.

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

St. Ellen’s Hospital was the same as it was yesterday. The waiting room was slightly more empty, but that was it. Ryan was even at the reception desk. “O-oh! Um, hello again, Windstorm!” Ryan said.

“Hello.” Jackie smiled at him reassuringly. Even though they’d spent a lot of time together yesterday in the archives, it seemed the young nurse was still nervous around him. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just here to follow up on some stuff from yesterday. The doctor’s offices are on the fifth floor, right?”

“Y-yeah.” Ryan nodded. “You can go right up.”

“Thank you.” Jackie headed towards the elevators... then thought about riding in one with strangers who would probably stare at him, and changed his mind, shifting his path towards the stairwell. He flew right up the spiral staircases and landed on the fifth floor landing.

He pushed open the door and found himself in a much more comfortable area than the clinical feeling of the lower floors. It had carpet (dark brown with a curling, lighter brown pattern) and wooden doors that were visibly nicer than the ones downstairs. Now, he was looking for a Dr. Eric Simmons, a neurologist. The doors had plaques next to each door with names on them—wooden ones with gold lettering, not the simple plastic ones in Greengate General where Schneep worked. Benefits of being an older hospital, maybe.

There. A plaque with the name he was looking for. Jackie stopped outside Dr. Simmons’ door and knocked. A moment passed. Jackie knocked again. Another moment passed. He knocked again, and finally heard footsteps inside. The door opened, revealing an older man with slicked-back black hair and a pointed goatee lined with gray. “Do you have an ap—Windstorm?!”

“Dr. Eric Simmons, right?” Jackie said. “I need to ask you some questions.”

Dr. Simmons had previously looked strict and slightly annoyed, but the moment he took in who he was talking to, his expression shifted to bewilderment. What was that word Jackie’s mom used sometimes? Oh yeah, gobsmacked. It was actually kind of funny, but Jackie managed to maintain his more serious expression. “O-of course. Come inside.”

“Thank you.” Jackie stepped into the office. It was a bit nicer than Schneep’s with some shelves that had some plants and small statuettes and a red tasseled rug underfoot. Well... Schneep probably didn’t spend as much time in his office, since he moonlighted as a master thief.

“Would you like to take a seat?” Simmons asked.

“No, this shouldn’t take that long,” Jackie said. “I’m going to have to ask you to do something a bit strange, though.” He nodded towards the desk, where there was a computer and monitor. “I need you to shut that down, and also shut off your phone.”

Simmons looked like he wanted to protest, but nodded. “Alright. Give me one moment.” He walked around the desk. Jackie stepped up to the other side of it, leaning over to make sure that Simmons turned the computer off. He did, and his phone as well. “Now... to what do I owe the... honor?”

Jackie laughed a little. “Honor? Um, you don’t need to do that. I’m just... someone trying to do the right thing. You don’t need to be so formal.”

“I... see.” Simmons nodded. “Well... how can I help you, then?”

“I need to know more about a patient you had,” Jackie said. “Over two years ago, there was a super fight that knocked down one of the Septech buildings.”

“Yes, the east location, I remember it clearly,” Simmons said, nodding some more.

“You had a patient who was injured in the collapse,” Jackie said. “Do you remember Dahlia Jackson?”

Simmons’s head tilted back, concentrating. “Dahlia Jackson... Dahlia Jackson... oh yes, that one. The one in the coma.”

“Yes, her.” Jackie narrowed his eyes slightly. He wasn’t sure he liked the tone in Simmons’s voice. It was a bit dismissive. “She was supposedly transferred to a hospital in Evoritch.”

“Ah, yes, that.” Simmons’s face scrunched up. “The transfer was done at the request of the patient’s relative. A brother, I believe.”

Jameson? Well that definitely didn't make sense. JJ didn’t know anything about the transfer. More evidence towards it being a trick. “You don’t seem happy about that.”

“Of course not. The transfer order came in without me having any say in it.” Simmons folded his arms. “I tried to protest it—the patient was under my care. But I was directed to go along with it by the head of the department.”

“Why didn’t you want to go through with the transfer?” Jackie asked.

“Because the patient was under my care,” Simmons repeated with more emphasis. “You can’t just take a patient from a doctor.” He sounded strangely... possessive.

Jackie’s eyes narrowed further. Simmons probably couldn’t see that through the white lenses on his mask, but he must have caught onto some sort of vibe Jackie was giving off, because he subtly leaned away from him. “Right,” Jackie said in a dull monotone. “So. Tell me more about this transfer. Was Dahl—Was Miss Jackson picked up by someone for the transfer? Did she leave in an ambulance or some other form of transport?”

“Well, this was a long time ago—”

“It was less than six months ago. Surely a doctor would have a memory capable of remembering something so recent.”

Simmons blinked, taken aback. “That’s a... that’s a fair point. Give me a moment to recall.” He paused. “I believe the patient was transported in a special van from the Overridge Hospital. Not an ambulance, but something more advanced. Able to keep the occupants perfectly steady and stable.”

Jackie nodded. “What did it look like?”

Another pause. “It was white, with the hospital’s name on the side. The interior was padded for comfort. That’s all I can think of.”

“I see...” A van. Jackie knew how easy it was for villains to disguise a regular fan as a commercial van for some business. He’d pursued enough criminals’ getaway vehicles. All you had to do was slap a decal on the side. Hearing that the interior was padded and somehow more advanced did make it a bit more complicated... but it was possible that Anti-Virus had access to resources to make this van look a bit more legitimate. “Was there someone there who helped with the transfer? Maybe multiple people?”

“I insisted on handling it by myself, but... I believe... I believe there was a man,” Simmons said slowly. “From Overridge, he said. He loaded the patient and drove the van.”

Jackie felt his adrenaline spike. “Do you remember what the man looked like?” He asked urgently.

“Hmm... he had brown hair. Maybe lighter-colored eyes. A beard, but not a thick one.”

Jackie blinked. With such a vague description, Simmons could be describing him. Or any of his friends. “Were there any defining characteristics at all?”

“He was a... thinner man, I suppose?” Simmons said. “Average height.”

Great. Very helpful. “Well, thank you for your time, Dr. Simmons,” Jackie said slowly. “One more question. Do you know which direction the van went? Did it look like it was truly going to Evoritch?”

“My sense of direction is not the best,” Simmons admitted, “but I believe so.”

That didn’t mean anything, to be honest. The man could’ve turned around as soon as he was out of sight. Or it could mean that Dahlia really was taken out of the city. There was no way to know for sure just yet. Jackie nodded slowly. “I see. Again, thank you for your time. I’ll be leaving, then.”

“W-well, if you ever have any other questions, I’d be happy to help,” Simmons said. “May I ask why you wanted to know all this?”

Jackie shook his head. “Sorry, but it’s better if you don’t know. This is important Hero business. I can’t share the details.”

“Of course. Of course.” Simmons backed away. “Goodbye, then.”

“Yeah. Goodbye.” Jackie spun around and left the office, closing the door behind him.

That whole conversation had left a vague sour taste in his mouth. Simmons hadn’t made a good first impression. There was this arrogance to him that got on Jackie’s nerves. But he pushed that away, focusing on what he’d learned. So... Anti-Virus must have arranged the transfer through emails or something, pretending that Jameson requested it and that Overridge was going to send someone to get Dahlia. He didn’t know if Anti-Virus would have done that himself or sent a henchman of some kind. Either way, all he had to go off now was this van and a vague description of a man. That... wasn’t a lot. But he would figure something out.

For now, though, he had to go home. He’d left his phone back in the bedroom and was waiting for a reply from Henrik.

It didn’t take long to fly back and check the group chat. Yes, there it was. I can meet around four, Henrik texted. And I will contact Marvin.

Howre you gonna do that? Chase had asked.

I will check his workplace. Not the safest, but I just need to tell him about the meeting.

Sounds good, Jackie replied, his message thirty minutes late to the conversation. We’ll meet up then.

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

I didn’t see you yesterday. JJ stared across the table at Soren, who was looking down at the tray of food in front of him. He coughed, and Soren looked up. I didn’t see you yesterday, JJ repeated.

“Oh? Were you expecting me?” A hint of a smile traced Soren’s mouth.

I suppose I was, JJ said. Maybe he shouldn’t have expected him. After all, he and Soren hadn’t known each other for that long.

“Hah.” The smile faded. “I’m... sorry. I shouldn’t have...” Soren shook his head. “I just... was tired.”

JJ nodded slowly. I understand. His head had been hurting for the last two days straight. The constant pain was really wearing on him. He was even starting to get a bit nauseous. Instead of eating the mashed potatoes on his tray he just played with them with his spoon, unable to bring himself to eat it. These damn neutrinalin side effects. He was beginning to understand why most of the prisoners here were practically zombies. Is there anything I can do to help?

Soren blinked in surprise. “Ah... Um... Well, I’m not... sure.”

JJ raised an eyebrow. I must have really taken you off guard. You sound so awkward.

Soren laughed. “I suppose I’m just not used to people offering something so earnestly. And I suppose that I wasn’t expecting it from you.”

Why not? Did I give you the impression I didn’t care? 

“No, it’s not that.” Soren shook his head. “You just... you’re still adjusting to all this. I didn’t expect you to think about it while you’re in such a fucked situation.”

JJ laughed silently, then became serious again. Everyone in here is in the same situation, though. Shouldn’t that make it easier for me to feel for you all? Shouldn’t I want to help someone through something I’m also suffering in?

“...yeah, I think so,” Soren said quietly. He glanced down at his own tray of food. “Well. Any plans for what you want to do today?”

Go in the courtyard, I suppose, JJ said. If you’re feeling up to it... maybe introduce me to some others?

Soren smiled. “I can do that.”

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

This time, they met up in front of the concrete sculpture in the middle of the park. Jackie and Chase arrived first. Chase looked up at the sculpture and all its strange angles and curves. “What d’you think it’s supposed to be?” he asked.

“No clue.” Jackie shrugged.

“Didn’t you guys notice the plaque?”

It turned out that Marvin and Schneep were right behind, now approaching the two of them. Jackie turned to Marvin. “No, I didn’t notice the plaque, smartass.”

“Really? You’ve definitely lived here longer than I have, though.” Marvin raised an eyebrow. “And you never looked at it?”

“Maybe I just got used to it!”

While the two of them argued, Schneep and Chase leaned over to look at the plaque in question. “It says that the statue is titled ‘Tenacity,’” Schneep reported. “And it is a monument to how the city of Daindover always bounces back from any obstacles.”

“Huh. Neat,” Chase commented.

Jackie sighed. “Okay, okay, it’s a statue about ‘tenacity,’ I guess. Doesn’t really look like that... but I don’t know what tenacity would look like. Anyway. Are we ready to go?”

“Phones?” Marvin asked.

“Yeah, we left them at home,” Chase said. “Crazy to go out without one in this day and age. I feel... weirdly isolated, I guess. Cause like, what if I need it, y’know?”

Schneep shrugged. “I suppose that could be valid. If you suddenly need to call someone in an emergency.”

“Oh god—what if there’s an emergency?!” Chase gasped.

“Um—d-don’t worry about that, we can—we can... take care of it,” Marvin said slowly. “If something bad happens.”

Jackie stared at him. He would’ve thought it was a brag about how powerful he was, if he hadn’t been so painfully awkward about it. “Did you... just try to reassure Chase?”

Marvin folded his arms defensively. “I can reassure people.”

Chase laughed. “You know what? Thanks, Marvin. That means a lot. I guess I do have three superheroes here. Or uh—a hero and two other people with powers. Villains? Nah, that doesn’t feel right. And I also have Frosty.” He patted Frosty’s head, who was sitting by his side as always, and Frosty’s tail wagged as he smiled. “He’s trained for some emergencies.”

Schneep smiled. “Yes, he is a good boy.” He turned to Jackie, smile fading to a more serious expression. “Now. What did you want to talk to us about?”

“I thought I’d tell you all about everything that happened so far,” Jackie said slowly. “And, um... get your opinion on... some stuff.”

The other three all looked at him seriously.

Jackie quickly explained everything that happened yesterday and today. The visits to the hospital for information about Dahlia, the police verifying the evidence and slowly starting the trial process, and the League scheduling a meeting with Kinetics. The others all reacted to different things in different ways.

“What do you mean they probably won’t let him out of the Vault?!” Schneep repeated, aghast.

Marvin laughed darkly. “Of course they wouldn’t! He’s a villain. It’s totally forbidden for them to show him mercy. Unless, you know, he has something to offer them.” He sighed. “Kinetics, huh? In all my time there, I only saw the Council members once, at a group meeting. Weird that one of them is going to talk to you personally.”

“Kinda cool though,” Chase mulled. “Was that doctor guy as big a jerk as you’re making him sound?”

“I dunno, he was definitely an ass but it maybe wasn’t as big a deal as it felt like at the time,” Jackie said. “That bit about JJ potentially staying in the Vault, though—” He shook his head.

“I cannot believe this,” Schneep said angrily. “Those—those motherfuckers! Jamie isn’t going to harm anyone! Even if he is capable, that does not mean he will!”

“Well, uh... I guess the League wants to be safe?” Chase guessed. “I don’t, uh, think that justifies it, but it explains it.”

Schneep growled and looked to the side.

“The League is always cautious until they’re not,” Marvin said drily.

Jackie sighed. “I never thought about the Super Laws before, really, but uh... If the Laws allow the League to have a prison, and maintain a prison, with complete control over it regardless of a court decision... that’s a bit fucked up.”

“No, really?” Marvin drawled.

Jackie normally would’ve made a snappy comment in response to Marvin’s sarcasm... but... maybe it was justified this time. More than maybe. “Uh, look, I was also wondering,” he said, changing the subject. “Marvin, Schneep, you guys have underworld contacts and stuff. D’you guys think you can find any information on the van that took Dahlia in the fake transfer?”

Schneep raised an eyebrow. “I would love to help, but what do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. Marvin, Gwen’s related to some tech dealers, right? Maybe they know something about someone who got a bunch of tech for a fake van?”

“Maybe?” Marvin shrugged. “Her father mostly deals in weapons. Especially since Pathos got arrested.”

Jackie blinked. “Uh... I don’t see the connection.”

Marvin hesitated. “Pathos is... Gwen’s uncle, remember? Her mom’s a Moizone. They got support from a lot of Pathos’s crime family. Without it, now that Pathos is gone, they have to move some more expensive items to make up for the lack of funds—and that’s usually weapons.”

“...ah.”

“My point being, Gwen might not be able to help as much,” Marvin continued.

Schneep sighed. “I know some people I can ask about. I was planning to talk to them about... some other things anyway.”

Jackie blinked at him, then narrowed his eyes. “I know you’re my friend and all, but if you’re selling tech on the black market I think I’m obligated as a hero to give you a, uh... at least a stern talking-to about that.”

“Ah, no, I have nothing to sell at the moment,” Schneep said casually. “This is about... other things.” Was it just Jackie’s imagination, or did Schneep’s eyes flick towards Marvin?

Jackie narrowed his eyes further. “What other things?”

Schneep hesitated, then sighed. “Yes, I suppose I should tell you. But do not get mad, okay?”

“That’s not a good sign.”

Schneep stared at him silently.

“Fine, I’ll try not to get mad,” Jackie said. “What is it?”

“I snuck into SepTech last night.”

“You wha—?!” Jackie cut himself off mid-angry-shout. He cleared his throat. “Why... would you do that?”

“I can explain that later, this is more important,” Schneep dismissed. “In the North location, there is an underground lab belonging to Dr. McLoughlin. I believe you have been there before? Did you know that in one of the side rooms off the main laboratory there are a bunch of SAMs equipped with weaponized attachments?”

“...huh?” Jackie stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that they had guns and other such objects that would pop out from the sides,” Schneep explained. “Many of which I did recognize as being from the black market.”

“What?! Why the hell would something like that be in McLoughlin’s lab?!”

“That’s a good question, isn’t it?” Marvin muttered.

Jackie turned to glare at him. “I know what you’re going to say. This is not proof that McLoughlin purposefully messed up the scan of the Puppeteer mask.”

“Oh come on!” Marvin threw his hands up in the air. “The guy has fucking flying machines with guns! You can’t deny that that’s a bad fucking sign! What possible reason could he have for making those?!”

“You don’t know he’s making them,” Jackie insisted. “Maybe he confiscated them from criminals? And is taking off the attachments?”

“For fuck’s sake, Jackie!” Marvin looked at him intently. “I know you want to think the best of him, but this is just getting ridiculous! You can’t blindly deny proof that something fishy is going on!”

“I—” Jackie hesitated. He took a deep breath. “I’m not blindly denying it. I just want to have a chance to check it out for myself. McLoughlin said I could stop by whenever I wanted. I could just head in and check out the room. Give him a chance to explain himself.”

“Give him a chance to lie,” Marvin grumbled. “And manipulate you.”

“Uh...” Chase cleared his throat, drawing attention back to him for the first time in a while. “Marvin, you’re making some good points. And, uh, I do agree that having weapon SAMs in his lab is pretty fucking suspicious. But... don’t you think you’re being a little... Are you projecting a little?”

Marvin blinked. “H-huh?”

“I mean... you’ve clearly been lied to in the past,” Chase said. “I don’t remember the details of it, but I know it’s why you don’t trust the League. And I remember you said you’ve never gotten proper, uh... help with that. With... how much that hurt. So... you’ve never looked too deeply at that. But... you might be so insistent that McLoughlin is up to something because you don’t trust that anyone is genuine.”

Marvin stared at him, completely shocked. Jackie and Schneep also stared at Chase, only slightly less shocked. “That is... very insightful, Chase,” Schneep said slowly.

Chase shrugged. “Just something I thought about.”

“W-well—” Marvin stammered for a moment, then straightened. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about it. What matters is being safe. This McLoughlin guy might not be involved with the Puppeteer shit, whatever. He still has weapons in his lab that seemingly no one knows about. And if I had weapons in my lab that nobody knows about, and a Hero asked about them, I would say anything to make sure they didn’t investigate further.”

Jackie hesitated. “That’s true... but... I-I can’t do that. I can’t do that. I refuse to judge this man before I even know what the full story is.”

Marvin stared at him with a slightly softer expression than usual. “I just... don’t want... you to...” He shook his head. “Be careful, Windstorm.”

“I will be, I promise,” Jackie said. He took a deep breath. “Now. Any other advice? Or sudden revelations?”

The other three were silent.

“Great.” Jackie nodded. “Well... if we need to meet up again, we’ll just... do the same thing we did today?”

“Sounds good,” Chase said, making an OK sign with his hand. Schneep and Marvin nodded silently.

“So... let’s just... go, then,” Jackie said slowly.

The four of them unceremoniously parted ways—though, of course, Chase and Jackie headed in the same direction. As soon as they left Neun Park and were on the way to the train station, Chase nudged Jackie. “You okay?”

“Hmm? Yeah, I guess.” Jackie shrugged. “I just... I dunno. It really shook me to hear that Jameson might not have a chance to get out of there.”

“Well you can’t give up on him now!” Chase said.

“I’m not going to!” Jackie formed a fist and punched his open palm. “It’s not right. And I-I wanted to become a Hero to do the right thing. Hell, before I even joined the League, that’s why I started out on all this.” He paused. “Though... you know, sometimes I wonder. Did I really think that joining the League would help me help people? Or... did I just think it was cool?”

“It could be both,” Chase said quietly. “You’re a good person, Jackie. You really want to help people.”

Jackie was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. “You’re right. R-regardless of, uh, what the League is like, it’s not gonna stop me from... from trying to help.”

Chase smiled. “There we are! That’s the Jackie I know.” He patted his shoulder. “Now—can we talk about dinner?”

Jackie burst into laughter. “That’s still at least two hours away, man.”

“I like to be prepared when it comes to food.”

Down the street, Schneep and Marvin were walking together. They hadn’t meant to, they were simply just also walking that way. Schneep didn’t even seem to notice that Marvin was next to him. He was staring down at the sidewalk, glaring with fists clenched. After a while, Marvin cleared his throat. “You seem angry.”

“Oh, do I? Upon hearing that my cousin is probably going to rot in maximum security prison for something he was forced to do?” Schneep drawled. “And that my other cousin is still missing and the only lead is a flimsy fucking description?”

Marvin blinked. “That description, by the way—do you think it sounds familiar?”

“What? Are you saying it was McLoughlin who took Dahlia?” Schneep rolled his eyes. “With the broad characteristics that doctor described, you could have taken Dahlia.” He paused. “Wait, do you know—”

“Fuck, man. I know you’re upset—and for good reason, your fucking family got kidnapped—but you can’t seriously believe I know anything.”

Schneep sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. But you see the problem of going off something that vague.”

“I guess.” Marvin nodded.

They walked in silence for a while. Schneep was heading to the farther train station—the one where the yellow line stopped, which was the train line that ran to the edge of the city where Schneep lived. He wasn’t sure where Marvin was going, though. And he didn’t ask. His thoughts were spinning in circles around one subject: Jameson. He really didn’t deserve to be stuck in the Vault. Schneep knew he was already doing something to try and get him out. Finding out if McLoughlin was linked to Anti-Virus, and from there, stopping Anti-Virus altogether. But—none of that would matter if the courts or the League or whoever just didn’t let Jameson out. What if this was for nothing?

“Marvin,” Schneep said slowly. “You know how I am helping you with this McLoughlin thing? What if I wanted your help with something in return?”

“Hmm?” Marvin blinked. “Like what?”

“What if—and I know how impossible this sounds—what if we broke JJ out of Byrthon Vault?”

Marvin stopped walking. “What.”

“I know, I know, it sounds insane,” Schneep said. “But—I—” He shook his head. “N-nevermind. It is stupid. I was just thinking, there are so many different types of superhumans out there. Surely, surely some combination of powers—Forget it.”

Marvin stared at him. “It’s not... a bad idea,” he said slowly. “Just... very, very dangerous. And something you’d need to thoroughly plan. Very, very thoroughly.”

Schneep nodded. “Yes... i-it is not something I... need to do. Not something I need to plan for. But... if the trail goes cold...”

Marvin leaned closer. “If the trail goes cold, we’ll do what we have to.” He grinned wickedly.

After a moment, Schneep grinned back, with a similar sharp edge. “We’ll do what we have to.”