#yet a villian had him under mind control and still didn’t tell

[vicontheinternet]

Just thinking back to the fact Tony the hero outed Clint’s family to the government and Loki the villain who tortured and under the control of thanos did not

[yeahimaloser]

Oooo I also got another good request how about a hawks x reader childhood friends they grow up together she took his punishments for him yk they have each other’s back and then in the future a villian attack and she ALMOST dies but no she gets save then hawks realizes he loves her and it’s all fluff at the end eek

Ok so, I literally love this request so much, I have no idea why it took me so long to write, but it's finally done!

Oh my god it took so long.

they/them pronouns used.

8k words! please enjoy!

16+ a bit suggestive at the end.

. . .

You sniffed, a hand wiping across your face as tears stung your eyes.

You had been training with the commission for a while now, almost a month to be exact. And it was so hard. In fact, it felt more like they were specifically targeting you.

You looked over at one of the other kids in the commissions program, Keigo, he seemed to have no problem with this exercise, in fact, you would have thought he was excelling at it.

But you could only sit and watch as his little wings flew past you.

You were only pulled from your family recently, but you knew that Keigo was here longer than you were. You rarely talked to him since your arrival, maybe it was because part of you didn’t want to become friends with anyone, maybe it was a small way of acting out, you didn’t know why, but you didn’t like him. He was just so much better than you.

Ever since you first came here, you’ve felt weak. You felt inferior to Keigo, you couldn’t help but compare yourself to him, watching exciede everyones expectations.

Compared to him, you were nothing but a dull blade.

You look down at your hands, cursing them as if that would do you any good. Your eyes stung again, the dust prickling against your eyelids.

The exercise was not supposed to be a difficult one, in terms of the gruelling training practices that they made you do, this one was pretty easy. All you had to do was get from one point in the commission's training facility, all the way to the other side of said facility. A simple running exercise. Although the floors were littered with traps, making it harder for you to get there, you knew it was supposed to be easy. And yet, for whatever reason, you had such immense difficulty.

Your quirk was mostly made for combat. It was the power they gave you the ability to control metal through your will. And although others might find it useful, you found it so difficult.

The problem was, your power was flashy, and yet not as easy to use as one might think. The metal had to touch you, which means that you have to get a hold of some metal object. And although technically you would be controlling it through your mind (Making it fly through the air at your own will) the object couldn’t be very heavy. Whatever metal object you wanted to use would weaken you. For example, controlling a knife was no problem, but controlling a 20 pound ball of metal was extremely difficult. which made your quirk almost completely useless here. Doing a running exercise, like you were doing now, there is little to nothing you could do with your quirk. The only times that your quirk would actually be useful, was during rescue missions or during an attack with multiple heroes in a big city with a lot of metal that you could touch. But that wasn't the case, and you hated it.

As you sat in the corner, trying desperately not to show your tears, you felt a gust of air as you looked up, only to be met with red wings.

“Are you…Ok?”

You never noticed how pretty his eyes were, the honey color’s made his features look so much softer.

After a few minutes, you realized he was still waiting for you to answer.

And for whatever reason, you felt your whole face becoming hot.

“I’m fine.” You said all too quickly.

He raises a bushy eyebrow at you, his face quizzical. “If you’re sure, but we are partners.”

You rolled your eyes.

You two were never truly partners. In this compound, there was only yourself to be concerned with.

“Stop pitying me, I can help myself.”

He smirked, “You say as if you’re not on the ground as we speak.”

You felt your face heating up again as you sprang to your feet, your eyes quickly narrowed, trying your best to seem composed.

“Why did you come back for me?”

But Keigo just shrugged, “Saw someone in need of help.”

That was the last straw.

You angrily stomped away. Who was he to judge you? Who was he to act like some hero? You knew he was the commission's golden boy, they loved him, he was their best weapon.

And you knew he was bright enough to know that as well. Although he never got any special treatment, you could tell by the way they trained him, how they paid more attention to his abilities and not so much the other’s.

Including you.

You felt something pull at you, something tugging you back.

You turned to see- a feather?

“Hey wait a sec,” Keigo said, “I wanna ask you something.”

Your face hardened, you two should be getting back to training soon, you knew the instructor would most likely yell at the two of you for falling too much behind.

“Ask your question and let's go,” you said, huffing.

“Do you want to be friends?”

The question caught you so off guard, causing you to stumble over a rock in front of you.

You whiped back to him, your eyes widen as you realized he was completely serious.

“Wha- friends? What the hell are you on about? There are no friends here, that's an idiot's dream.”

But Keigo only shrugged, “Well, then I guess I’m an idiot.”

You stared back at him, a look of pure disbelief written on your face.

Was he insane? Having friends here was almost imposible. The commission made sure of that, pitting you two against eachother, comparing you to one another, they made it so you would fight amongst yourselves.

“Why would you want to be friends with me?” You asked, your voice barely a whisper.

But he just shrugged, “Because I'm curious about you, and that crousity makes me want to befriend you.”

You stilled, thinking and thinking till your brain hurts.

“Look, you don’t have to say anything right now, I know I probably caught you off guard, and if you don’t want to, I understand… I think-I think I’m just lonely.”

You pursed your lips, still thinking it over in your mind before you grabbed his hand.

“Look, I’ll think about it, but first, let's get this race over with.”

Keigo smiled, blushing a bit as you two took off, hoping you two would becoming good friends.

. . .

And as time went on, you two did, in fact, become the best of friends.

By the time you were both teens, you and Keigo (or Hawks as his hero name) became the commissions pride and joy.

Although you were always so surprised that they didn’t want to through you out, Keigo was so much better than you, and you had fallen much behind him.

Keigo was faster, smarter and stronger, you knew that, you knew that all to well.

But, the commission never removed you, you continued to train to become a hero, right besides Keigo. A part of you wondered if maybe you were only kept on because of Keigo, maybe the commission saw how close you two were, watching how much you mattered to him, and maybe they thought they could use you to their advantage.

The thought made you shiver, mostly due to the fact that it wasn’t impossible, and more than likely.

One night, as you and Keigo lay under the stars on the roof of the commission's building, watching the night sky above.

Suddenly, Hawks turned to you, “Hey Y/N,” he said, “can I ask you something?”

You nodded your head, feeling your heart flutter.

“Do you....do you want to become a hero with me?��

You smiled, “Isn't that the whole reason we’re here? To become heroes?”

But Keigo just shook his head, “No I mean...what do you want to do? With your life?”

You took a pause, you’ve never really thought about it all that much. What did you want to do with your life? You’ve always just done what others have told you to do, always choosing to follow others rather than yourself.

You realized you had never thought about it before, never taking into consideration your feelings, you just worked to survive.

“...I don’t know.”

You hated saying it, it felt like such a childish thing to admit, especially with Keigo. Keigo, who’s figured out his life goal already. Keigo, who’s living out his dream. Keigo, who has most of his life planned out.

“I mean- I guess I’m not used to choosing for myself, you know? I’m not sure how to go about… figuring out my life without someone telling me how to live it first.”

But Keigo just nodded, “No, that makes sense, I mean, you’ve lived here most of your life, you’ve worked to become a hero, but that's really only because you were taught to be one. It’s ok to not know what you want out of life, and don’t worry, I’ll be here to support you, Y/N.”

Keigo turned to you, a smile plastered on his face.

That beautiful, amazing, breathtaking smile.

You felt your face become flushed, and you sat up quickly so as to not have Keigo notice.

“Yeah well- thanks,” you said softly.

But Keigo just laughed, “Don’t worry about it dove.”

. . .

Years later, and Hawks had become the number two pro hero. And you hadn’t done too badly yourself, coming in at the number eleventh spot.

You didn’t mind being behind Hawks, in fact, you found yourself becoming a bit proud of yourself because of how far you had made it.

Right now, you were busy on portal, watching citizens go about their day on a rooftop above.

You watched closely, wondering what kind of life you could have been living if you had never chosen to be a hero, wondering if you too, would have been walking on that very same street as some other hero observed you from afar.

Somedays you found yourself wondering if the hero commission hadn’t taken you away, had let you lived your life for yourself, what would you do? Who would you become?

You wondered if you would have met Keigo as well, or if that would only work if you had been with the hero commission.

Maybe in that universe, you two could finally be together.

It happened a while ago, when you figured out your true feelings for Hawks. Although, maybe you always had feelings for him, since you were little kids. But, you had feelings for him had began to bubble over, you found yourself wanting to spend more time with him, wanted to keep him to yourself. But you would never act on these feelings, you knew better.

Keigo Takami would never be yours, not in a million years.

You let out a sigh, just as you heard boots hit the ground behind you.

“Miss me,” a familiar voice asked.

Even though you had known Hawks since you two were kids, you were always caught off guard by those dazzling eyes, the honey gold color swirling around as he stared down at you, pinning you to your spot on the roof.

You smiled, “Hawks, I just saw you.”

He shrugged, “So? I still missed you in that time.”

You rolled your eyes, “Did you come here to bother me or do you actually have a reason to be here?”

His hands flew to his chest, dramatically saying, “Oh angel, how you wound my poor heart.”

You giggled, “Aw Hawks, always the flare for the dramatic.”

He smiled, but then his eyes got serious, “But I do need your help with something, a mission not too far from here.”

Watching Hawks in action was like watching an artist at work, he was careful, skillful, even downright majestic. He took care in his work, he worked quickly and efficiently, like a well-oiled machine.

And, not to sound too cocky, you two made a pretty good team. And considering you two were very close friends, you vehemently enjoyed working with him.

Although, maybe it was cuz you also had a little bit of a crush on him.

Your face felt flushed at the thought, but before you could think your mouth had already said yes.

“Oh? Are you just agreeing so you can spend time with me, little dove,” Hawks smiled teasingly.

He had a habit of doing this, it was a little game he would play on you. teasing was so fun for him, but he didn’t realize how it gave you such butterflies.

Luckily though, although you did have feelings for him, you learned how to push them away for situations like this.

You scoffed, “Hawks, would you just give me the rundown. Or do I have to call the commission myself?”

He put his hands up, “Wow there chicky, no need to get antsy, I’ll explain everything, ok?”

He told you about the mission, nothing to fancy, in fact, it was quite easy.

Some of his sidekicks had noticed some suspicious activity near a specific location near U.A that the commission wanted to be checked out. They had said that they didn’t want another attack to happen yet again to the school.

On the outside, it might have seemed like the commission gave a shit about the kids in U.A, but you knew better. They just wanted to look good, and right now, this was the best way to do that.

“So basically, if we do see any suspicious activity, we’re allowed to bring anyone in there for questioning, and if worst comes to worst, we have orders to use force.”

You nodded, sounded just like a normal mission for the two of you, should be no p.

“Alright,” you said, “Sounds easy enough. Should we head over now? How will I get there?”

But Hawks seemed to be one step ahead of you.

He held out his hand, a smirk plastered on his dazzling face, “Just hold on to me, sweetheart.”

. . .

You’ve flown with Hawks before, considering how close you two were it was understandable that he would have offered a number of times.

But still, it Always made you so giddy.

The way he held you, so secure in his arms, his face inches away from you. And that gleam in his eyes, it always felt like it was only you and him in that moment, only you two in the entire sky. And each time, it made your heart shudder.

“You ok there, dove,” Hawks asked in your ear.

You jumped a little, surprised by his words. You realized you had begun spacing out while looking directly at him.

You composed yourself, “Just keep flyin’ bird brain. I’m just thinking.”

You could almost feel his smirk, “Thinking? Thinking of what, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Drop it Hawks.”

“Oh,” he said, his tone mischievous, “just like I can drop you?”

Just then, you felt Hawks serve mid-air.

“KEIGO,” you shouted, not even thinking.

But Hawks had regained his hold on you, the prank only lasting for a second.

He laughed, his chest shaking, “You should have seen your face, Chicky! Ha! That was funny!”

But you would disagree, “I swear to God, Hawks, I’ll punch you when we land.”

But you thought for a second, “Sorry I called you your name...so loud.”

Keigo didn’t really like his name, opting to be called ‘Hawks’ instead.

But you knew why he preferred his new name instead. Because of his past.

Keigo was a kid left in the dirt, left and discarded, a remnant of a past that wasn’t so pleasant. You knew that thinking about it only brought pain to him, and saying his name out loud would only remind him of a past he would rather soon forget.

And the name ‘Hawks’ had marked the beginning of a new life for him. It was a way for him to move on past that old life, a way for him to become the best version of himself.

“Sorry,” you whispered.

“It’s ok… I don’t think anyone heard,” Hawks said.

His grip on you seemed to be tighter, more secure.

“And also, you know I would never drop you, right? I could never hurt you, ever.”

You rolled your eyes, “That’s so cheesy. Just don’t drop me and it’s fine.”

. . .

The place wasn’t too bad.

It was an old supply garage, there were about four people from what you could see.

It was definitely near U.A, you could see a clear view to the school, although it was far, it definitely had a vantage point. You could see why this could be a problem, and your brain hurt thinking about what villainous thing they could be planning.

You could hear the guy closest to you, it was a bit hard but you honed your ears.

“So, you all have everything,” a man asked in a scratchy rough voice.

“Yeah,” one of the others said, “everything's here, make sure to give it to Shigaraki with our gratitude.”

You looked over at Hawks, but his eyes were trained on the villains, his black pupils sharpening and watching their every move, before he nodded, signaling to move out.

And then, everything happened in a flash.

Hawks, as always, moved fast and quick, and you come up behind him.

Hawks grabbed one of the men, and held back the other two with his feathers, leaving only you and the two others.

You pulled out your handy metal staff, preparing yourself to bend it to your will.

But you never got the chance.

One of the men smirked a gun in his hand. The other behind him, activating what looked like an ice quirk.

And before you could think, you felt your feet being Frozen down to the hard metal floor of the garage.

“What the hell,” you mutter to yourself.

you tried your best to wiggle your way out of it, but you saw no way to free yourself from your icey binds.

Luckily, with your fast thinking, you grabbed the metal staff, shaping it to hit one of the men square in the jaw, making him drop his weapon.

the other one was taken aback, a perfect opening for your staff to hit him in the face.

But your feet were still frozen to the floor, and a few whacks to the felons was not going to be enough to take them down.

You racked your brain, Hawks was too far away, and there was no way you could get out of the ice on your own.

You brought your metal stuff back, using it to break the ice on your feet. Just as the men were getting back up.

You ran over, preparing to hit one of the men right in the face, a blow big enough to knock them out.

But you never got the chance.

The other man tackled you to the floor, your back hitting the ground.

“Not so tough now, are you, little hero.”

You looked over at Keigo, but there was no use. He was too busy fighting his own battle, and you knew it wasn't fair to rely on him.

So, with all your strength you pushed the man off. Using the metal floor to help you.

Just then, an idea occurred to you. It was risky, but it could work.

You knew that Keigo was far enough for it to work, it wouldn’t hurt him, but the only problem was it wouldn’t trap the two villains he was fighting.

But, considering he was the number two hero, you knew he would be just fine. You trusted him in that.

The ground beneath you is made of metal, you could feel it beneath your feet. You could also feel the two men running towards you.

You dodged their initial attacks, but you knew that they would soon overpower you. You also knew that you couldn't kill them, but you could hurt them.

So your best bet was to trap them, and yourself, before backup came.

You hit your palm against the floor, willing it to your mind. It was a long stretch, and you could feel the strain on your body. The toll that it was taking was immediate, your muscles felt tired, your brain even felt foggy for a few minutes, but you kept going.

You made sure that the ground collapsed, but it wouldn't hurt anybody.

You were not expecting, however, for the ceiling to collapse along with it.

There must have been a support beam on the ground as well that you had taken down with the floor, causing the ceiling to come down.

You looked up, seeing the last moment as the ceiling collapsed on you.

. . .

Hawks hated hospitals.

The smell, the people, the pain. He hated it all, but you were the one in the hospital, so of course, he needed to come.

The days after the accident had been hard, to say the least.

Keigo just remembered watching as the rooftop collapsed, watching your bruised body go along with it.

He remembered screaming your name too, yelling and willing all his feathers to help you, to get you out.

He remembered his heart racing and beating so hard in his chest, he remembered his eyes, tears swelling up as his breath ran ragged.

He didn’t even care about the villains, he had caught the two he had been fighting already, but he didn’t care. He needed to get you out, he needed to make sure you were ok.

After digging for what felt like an eternity, there you were, bruised and bloody. But you were breathing, and he held you close, his tears dripping over your cheeks.

He felt his heartbreak, he couldn't stand the sight of you being hurt, he couldn't stand the thought that he had something to do with it.

He wanted you to wake up, he wanted you to wake up so badly it hurt. For you to look up, and teased him about crying. He wanted nothing more than to apologize over and over, for making his friend suffer, even if it was unintentional.

He knew he could never forgive himself, and he knew he could never make it up to you.

Keigo knew you were in bad shape, so he called the ambulance to take you to the hospital. He was there with you the whole way, watching you, helping in any way he could.

He felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest, watching as your fragile body was rolled away to the special care unit of the hospital, as the doctors told him he couldn’t come in with you.

“Mr. Hawks,” a voice said in front of him.

He flinched.

Hawks wasn’t someone who was easily startled, seeing as he had years of training, but his mind was so all over the place. Worrying and wondering if you were ok, hoping and praying to god everything would be ok.

He couldn’t lose you, and he realized that only now.

If he lost you, how would he even be able to function? You were everything to him, his friend (if he was being truthful, his only true friend) , his rock, the person he could trust for support and help.

To be honest, if he lived in a world without you, he really wouldn’t know what to do…

“Sir?”

He snapped back to reality, his eyes looking up at the doctors.

“Sorry,” he sighed, “I think I’m just a bit off my game today, you’ll have to excuse my behavior. But what were you saying, sir?”

“Well, L/N Y/N has sustained some pretty severe injuries, such as bruising of the sides and hips, and a broken leg,” Hawks sucked in a breath, “We know how to treat it, of course, but Y/N will need much recovery time. That being said, Y/N seems to not have any family or emergency contacts but you. If it’s ok with you, would you be willing to visit as well as look over Y/N in the recovery period?”

Hawks quickly agreed, “Anything doctor, anything you need or Y/N needs...anything at all.”

The doctor smiled at him, “Thank you, Mr. Hawks, unfortunately though, Y/N needs a bit more time alone, but when we deem it ok, you can come back for a visit.”

Hawks felt his shoulders slump, he knew it was selfish, but he had hoped to see you again, to apologize for putting you in that piston, he felt horrible.

The mission wasn't supposed to go like that at all, it was supposed to be a swift and easy fight. It was really just supposed to be the four guys with easy quirks, and they were all supposed to be an easy fight.

Hawks had learned about the hideout in front of U.A a while ago, when he learned it was also a part of the ledge, he went right to Dabi.

“Are you insane,” he had said, “someone will catch you, and personally, I can’t stand by and let you attack those kids.”

“Oh?” Dabi smirked, “And how will you stop us? You’re a part of the league now, bird boy, and we need this lookout, so just shut up already.”

Keigo huffed, “I can’t let you do that, that’s right by my portal area, my bosses will get suspicious, and I look bad enough as it is. I haven’t brought anyone from the league in, soon someone will put two-in-two together.”

It was a lie of course, his bosses knew exactly why he couldn't bring in anyone from the league, they had assigned the mission after all.

But the problem didn't lie with his bosses, it lay with the other Heroes and the public eye. The other hero’s had started to whisper to each other, wondering why the Hawks hadn’t brought in anyone from the notorious League of villains yet. He heard their whispers, and it made him uneasy. He knew if he didn't act soon, they would just grow more and more suspicious. As for the public eye, he couldn't let his image slide, he had to figure out a solution, and this would be the perfect way to do so.

Dabi pondered the idea, toying with Hawks’ growing anticipation, like a cat pawing at a helpless bird.

“Alright, I suppose we can make that work.”

And so, a plan was formed.

Keigo was to swiftly take the four men in for questioning. Dabi had arranged for it so all vital information was to be learned from the lookouts, and then Hawks could swoop in and go in fighting. The other four men would have no idea what was going on, so it looked like the real deal.

They had set up specific times and dates to make sure they would take the men and the lookout down, that way the league wouldn’t lose any vital information.

“I’ll tell you when, don’t start till I tell you,” Dabi had said, “or else there will be problems.”

And Hawks had done as he was told, he waited for Dabi to give him the all-clear, and went in.

But you getting hurt was never a part of the plan.

Keigo felt guilt clawing at his chest. How did he get like this? He was supposed to be the one to protect you, to make sure that you were always okay.

But it seemed like he was the one who got you hurt.

His guilt was suddenly replaced by anger, it made him ball his fist.

Those men were supposed to be easy to take down, they were supposed to be simple to deal with, but even Keigo had difficulty defeating them all on his own.

This was an error on his part, he knew that, but he also couldn’t help but simultaneously blame Dabi as well.

It was his fault that he hadn’t warned Keigo about the strength of the men.

Keigo was going to make him pay….

. . .

Dabi’s head hit the wall with a loud thud, Keigo’s angry eyes boring into him.

“I should kill you right here, right now.”

Dabi laughed, “Look, it wasn’t my fault your little partner couldn’t handle a few guys, ain't they supposed to be a hero? Shouldn’t they be able to help themselves?”

Dabi’s twisted smile made Keigo see red.

“I swear Dabi-”

“The league will come after you, you know that.”

Keigo felt his hands shake with rage, his fingers wrinkling Dabis' shirt.

“What were they to you? You seem pretty upset there, birdy. Maybe….your lover?”

A feather sharpened at Dabi’s neck, Keigo’s fury never leaving his body.

“Say one more goddamn word and I swear to god I'll kill you.”

“Look,” Dabi said, “I didn't know how strong those guys were, I thought that you'd be able to take ‘em down pretty easily. But I guess we just gave ‘em more training than I thought. That's all. Nothing I could have done about it, and nothing you could have done about it. You should know that stuff like this is inevitable, shit is bound to go wrong.”

Keigo released him, his eyes still boring into Dabi’s.

“If I figure out you had some sort of part in this-”

“Yeah yeah, you’ll kill me. I get it.”

Keigo stormed off, walking away from Dabi.

Keigo wanted nothing more than to beat the crap out of someone, anyone, he just wanted someone to blame, someone to feel the way he felt.

The fact that you were in pain only made it worse.

What was he to do now? He couldn’t go home, he would only be able to think about you, only be able to think about your laugh, your eyes, your lips….

He shook his head. Why was he thinking of something like that? And at a time like this? You were...his friend.

But that thought made his heart sink. Like that thought had filled him with dread.

He sighed, shaking his head, this wasn’t about him, it was about you, it was about helping you. Not thinking about his feelings. Or lack thereof.

He felt his phone ring in his back pocket, just before he was leaving.

Looking at the number, he realized it was the doctor's office that was calling.

Without even thinking he picked up, “Hello?”

“Hello Mr. Hawks, we just wanted to ask if you would want to come in and see the patient L/N Y/N, they have woken up. So if you would like to see them-”

“Yes!” Keigo said, a bit too excitedly, “Sorry- about the interruption- but yes I would like to see them.”

“Alright Mr. Hawks, please come whenever you can, they’ve been asking for you.”

. . .

Hawks had never flown so fast, rushing so fast in order to see you, needed to see you.

When he finally got there, he rushed in, finding the receptionist to find your room.

“They’re in room 236 sir-”

But he cut her off, adrenaline pumping through his body.

“Ok, thank you so much.”

Finding your room was easy, and yet, he found himself outside your room, dreading to go in.

How could he face you? How could he apologize? How could he look you in the eye, see what happened to you, and be able to talk to you.

He ran a hand down his face, why was this so hard? He’s taken down many many villains before, and he had never felt as anxious as he did now?

“...Hawks?”

He jumped, he actually jumped.

There you were, standing, only a few inches away from his face, his eyes widened and he could feel his whole body becoming hot.

Why did he suddenly become like this around you? His heart felt like it was on fire, his whole body felt strange.

But your face, it looked so stunning, that for a moment he couldn’t feel his lungs.

“Are you...ok?” He was surprised that his voice finally managed to work.

You blinked, “Yeah, I’m ok. What about you, though? Your face is all red. Do have a fever or something? I can call a doctor.”

“No no,” he sighed, “just...feeling weird I suppose.”

He felt the redness travel from his cheeks all the way up to his ears, “I-I’m fine, really, don't worry about me, I'm actually here to see you.”

You smiled, gazing up at him, “Aww, you can see lil’ old me? How thoughtful.”

You both walked into your room, and Hawks watched as you lay down on the bed.

The hospital room was nothing special, a state-of-the-art hospital room, similar to one's that Hawks had been in many times. Being a hero always came with getting hurt, but seeing you in this condition, made his heart squeeze.

if he could, he would go back in time and figure out a way so that he could be in this situation, not you. You didn't deserve it, you have done nothing but help him, and this is how he repaid you? He felt sick with guilt.

“Hawks?” You said.

He snapped up, like coming back from a bad dream.

But you just laughed your sweet, kind laugh.

Hawks wanted to hear it again, one more time he wanted to hear you laugh like that, it made him feel like everything was drifting away from him like it was just you and him in this entire world.

“You’re totally out of it! What’s gotten into you,” You said, a smile still plastered on your face.

“Sorry, just thinkin’.”

“Yeah well you must be thinking a little too hard there, are you okay? Do you want to sit down? Something's obviously bothering you, you can tell me.”

but hawks just side, “I don’t know, I don’t want you to be upset with me.”

But you just smiled up at him, “Hawks, nothing in this world could make me upset with you.”

And so he told you, about the league, about the secrets he's been hiding from you. It felt good, it felt good to finally confide in someone, it felt like a weight being lifted off his shoulders. he felt at ease, talking to you like you were the only person who would ever understand. And you probably were.

You listened to him, you listened as he told you about what happened, about how sorry he felt, you didn't blame him for what happened, You just listened. You listened and listened and listened.

So when he finally finished, he was scared of what you would say.

“...I’m sorry,” he said.

“Why are you sorry, Hawks you didn’t do anything wrong.”

He looked up at you, “B-but I got you hurt-”

“That’s not your fault though, you had a mission to follow.”

“But I should have never involved you.”

“I'm glad you did, it could have been you that would have gotten hurt,” you said, smiling.

But he just tsked, “It would have been better if it was me, I can’t stand to see you like this, you know.”

Your hands went to his cheeks, bringing his face closer, “And I wouldn’t be able to see you like this either, I would have blamed myself. I’m glad I came with you, even if it meant I got hurt in the process. I care about you, Hawks.”

Keigo couldn’t breathe, you were so close, your lips an inch away.

“Keigo.”

Your eyes widened, “What?”

“I want you to call me Keigo when we’re alone from now on, I...I like when you say it.”

You paused for a moment, and then burst out laughing, “Where did this come from?”

His face went red, “I-I don’t know, just kinda been thinking about it I guess.”

You giggled a bit before saying, “Ok, I mean, if that’s what you want. Y’know, you’ve been acting strange Haw-Keigo,” you corrected, “are you sure everything's ok?”

There it was again, the pitter-batter in his heart, the nervousness in his stomach.

Something was wrong, but he didn’t know how to say it.

He didn’t know how he would even categorize the way he was feeling, he couldn't explain it to himself, much less to you.

“I’m fine, just...overwhelmed I guess.”

He shook his head, “But I should be asking how you are, you're the one in the hospital, not me. Stop worrying, how are you, how are you feeling? What do you need me to do? I'll be here to help you, no matter what.”

You rolled your eyes, “Eventually you’ll have to go home, and I’m totally fine, Keigo.”

By the mention of his name, he couldn’t help but feel his heart squeeze.

“R-right, well, can I just..stay here. With you? Till you get better?”

You smiled, “Of course.”

. . .

While you were in the hospital, Keigo stayed by your side. He never left you, he cared for you, watched over for you, and was so understanding.

It only made your feelings for him deeper, and you were loath to admit that you enjoyed it.

You enjoyed watching him fawn over you, knowing that he was close to you. You two would talk for hours, about anything, and you loved it. You loved feeling him near you, watching his eyes soften and the stupid silly quirk of his smile. You felt warm inside, you felt so at peace with him at your side.

You knew it was selfish, but you couldn't help loving how long you were spending with him.

But, it all came to an end, and you had to go home.

To your surprise, Keigo offered you to stay with him for a little bit.

Just till you get back on your feet,” he said.

Your heart leaped at the opportunity, sharing a house with the guy you had a crush on for years? It felt like you were a lovesick teenager again. Although, you would always be lovesick when it came to Keigo.

At Keigo’s house, he was nothing but polite to you. Although, a bit too polite.

For all his flirting, for all his suave charm, he was never really like that with you. He was just normal, keeping to himself in the house, but always being able to hang out with you or do anything with you if you wanted.

And yet, you could feel the nervousness oozing off of him, like he wanted to say something, but was holding himself back.

Like something was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t get it out.

It, intern, made you just as nervous.

Were you being a nuisance? Did you say something to upset him? A million thoughts running through your head, and you are worried about all of them.

The last thing that you would ever want to do would be to upset Keigo, but you couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

Maybe he felt bad about the accident?

You sucked in a breath, that had to be it. He felt bad, and therefore, was nervous around you.

You have to confront him, you thought, you had to clear the air so you would both feel better.

You decided to wait till tomorrow morning, not wanting to scare or embarrass him well you could tell he was so nervous.

. . .

“Keigo,” you said, a waver in your voice showing how nervous you were.

“Hm?” Keigo looked up from his phone, his honey-colored irises landing on you, only serving to make you more anxious.

You took a deep breath, “I wanna talk to you about something. and it's pretty important, so I'd appreciate it if you could listen till the end.”

Keigo sat up, “What, am I in trouble or something?” He said in a teasing, yet nervous way.

“No,” you sighed, “But I just really need to talk to you about something.”

You took one moment more to collect yourself before speaking, “We've known each other for a long time, we've known each other since we were little kids when we were both put into the commission's program and since we were both made heroes. So you should know, that I know when you're upset.”

You saw Keigo twitch in his chair, but you continued.

“You've been nervous ever since the hospital, maybe even nervous in the hospital. And I don't know what's going on with you. I... I don't know if it was something that I did, or if it was something that happened, but I'm here for you. And I don't like it that you keep this a secret from me. I consider you to be one of my best friends, and I want you to know that you can trust me. No matter what happens, I'll still always love you. Nothing will ever change that,” a smile pulled at your lips as you said your last sentence.

It was silent for a few moments, the air between you too felt heavy and suffocating.

Finally, Keigo spoke, “Y/N, I want to tell you something, but... I'm not sure how you’ll react.”

You tried to speak up again, but Keigo cut you off.

“I know that you're going to say that nothing can ever come between us, and I do believe you. But... something came up and I just don't know how to deal with it. You mean so much to me, and losing your friendship is my worst nightmare. And I guess…. I just got so scared of losing you that I just didn't think about anything else. I'm sorry.”

Your face contorted into one of confusion, “Keigo, I’m not sure what you mean? What are you talking about? What came up?”

But Keigo just sighed, “Y/n I...I think I’m in love with you.”

You felt your heart stop, your eyes widened as your brain was racing.

What did you say? No... that couldn't be right.

Keigo Takami could not be in love with you, he just wouldn't. You had accepted that a long time ago, you knew that he would never have the same feelings that you had for him. You knew that, so what was going on?

“I...I’m sorry?”

Keigo’s face turned a bright shade of pink, “I-I think I’m in love with you. I’m sorry to spring this on you so suddenly, I know it must be a lot to take in, if you’re uncomfortable being here with me feel free to leave. I completely understand-”

But your lips stopped his words, your body pressed firmly to his.

He was started by the kiss at first, but soon, his body and mind became muddled, hands wrapped around your waist as he tasted your lips. It felt intoxicating.

Before you knew it, your hips were straddling him, keeping him locked in his chair. But Keigo wasn’t complaining.

Your lips tangled with one another as moans escaped both of you, your hands unable to leave each other's bodies.

Your hands traveled down his chest, even ripping open the button-down he was wearing, showing his abs and rippling muscles.

“Y/N..” Keigo said, his voice hoarse.

When you looked back up at him, his eyes were narrowed, slanted, and staring you down. But they had a softness to them, one that made your heart flutter.

“Keigo… god you have no idea how much I love you,” you said.

If this was a dream, you never wanted to wake up.

Keigo smirked, “‘s that so babe? Well, I plan to show you just how much I love you tonight.”

His lips attached to the column of your throat, kissing and nipping lightly at the skin. His hands roaming up and down your body made you feel as though you were on fire. His calloused hands stroked your back, making you arch into him.

“K-Keigo,” you moaned.

But he just hummed into your skin, his brain turning to mush, only able to think about how much pleasure he could give you, how much love he wanted to show you.

“Keigo, I love you,” you whispered into the shell of his ear.

Keigo groaned, still occupied with your neck, but pulled his lips away in order to say; “I’m glad,” and smiled at you.

You returned his smile before your lips found his again.

It would be a very long night.

[the-delta-42]

The Demon and the Guardian

The Demon and the Guardian

Ra’s Al Ghul glared at the hidden box in the corner, he could tell just from sight that it was empty, meaning either all of the Miraculouses were in use or, more likely, the Guardian knew he was here.

“Doesn’t anyone in your family know to visit during the day?” Asked Marinette, as she entered the room.

Ra’s turned his glare onto the Guardian, as she frowned at him. Marinette took a step to the side, dodging Talia’s lunge.

“I see and hear everything that happens in this house, did you seriously hope to ambush me in my own home?!” Demanded Marinette, before snapping her fingers.

Talia gasped as she found herself in a plush armchair, while Ra’s kept glaring.

“I don’t see why two Guardians can’t have a civilized conversation without having to rely on violence.” Said Marinette, leaning back in her chair.

“I’m surprised you even recognised me as a Guardian, Mrs. Agreste.” Said Ra’s, his glare only deepening.

“Honesty, are all of you exactly like Su-Han?” Asked Marinette, her eyebrows raised, and tone exasperated.

“No, I just don’t like interlopers.” Said Ra’s, making Marinette grimace.

“I can see where Damien gets his attitude.” Said Marinette, leaning forwards and opening a book, “I know about you from the Temple’s archives, Ra’s Al Ghul, taken from his family around the same time and Wang Fu, believed that the Miraculous should be used to control the world, departed the order when you realised you weren’t going to get anywhere, founded the League of Assassins and then capitalised on the vacuum of power when the Temple fell, I assume that the Order’s been giving you some trouble?”

Ra’s glared at her, as Marinette smirked and closed the Tome.

“I’m going to give you the same answer as I gave the Justice League and all the other heroes and villians kicking around the globe,” Said Marinette, her face impassive, “Paris, is my turf. You stay out of it and I don’t invade your turf.”

“I was under the impression that ‘Hawkmoth’ had been neutralised.” Said Ra’s, making Marinette scowl.

“The Order’s informed me that the Butterfly has been stolen.” Said Marinette, frowning, “They don’t know who it was, but it was someone who knew the layout and general security of the Temple.”

Ra’s grunted, already seeing how little the order had changed, “And, yet you keep the miracle box in this room.”

Marinette snorted, “Don’t be ridiculous, Ra’s, that is a fake, a decoy to prevent anyone from looking any further.”

Ra’s didn’t react, only tilting his head when there was a loud thump.

“Expecting guests?” Asked Ra’s, as there was another thump.

“No.” Said Marinette, opening the door.

There was a man with a foot long beard with blood running from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Marinette flicked the man on the nose, and he vanished in a puff of orange smoke.

“The black cat miraculous is to be given to Damien.” Said Talia, getting a growl from Marinette, “It’s current wielder is unworthy-”

Talia gasped for air as she felt a lump form in her air ways.

“Let’s get something clear,” Snarled Marinette, thunder rolling, “you do not command me in who, or what, receives a Miraculous, especially since I’ve given all the Kwami permission to kill anyone who’s stolen or is using a Miraculous for their own ends, and I assure you, Damien Wayne will never wield a Miraculous as long as I still draw breath.”

Ra’s and Talia found themselves back in the head quarters of the League of Assassins.

“You stupid girl.” Said Ra’s, stalking away from his daughter.

TDaTG

Damien winced as Marinette grabbed Bart and threw him across the room.

“How do you do that?!” Demanded Bart, rushing back over to her.

Marinette smirked, before pulling her sleeve up, revealing the snake miraculous, “Luka’s having an operation today, and we’ve been bonded to our Miraculouses to the extent where we can use our powers outside of the suit.”

“Recognised; Batman: 02.”

Marinette folded her arms and looked at Batman, not reacting when he glared at her.

“Ooh, the famous ‘Bat Glare’,” Snarked Marinette, smirking, “What’s happened, the Batmobile lost a wheel and the Joker got away?”

“Talia Al Ghul sent me a letter.” Said Batman, holding the envelope up, “Something about you threatening her family?”

Marinette snorted, “No, what I did was illiterate that she didn’t decide who got what miraculous.”

“Meaning?” Asked Batman, his tone flat.

“Her son isn’t going to wield as Miraculous as long as I live.” Said Marinette, shrugging, “He doesn’t have a good enough control over his emotions.”

“Neither did you.” Said Batman, everyone tensing.

“All the more reason to not give him one,” Said Marinette, glaring, “When Hawkmoth first reared his head, I sent out requests for help to the Justice League. And you all laughed about it, it wasn’t until Hawkmoth went to New York did you deign to even investigate the claims and then what happened?”

“The Justice League and all foreign heroes and villains were denied access.” Said Wonder Girl, as Marinette nodded.

“But that didn’t stop the various assassins that Ra’s sent after my team, my family,” Growled Marinette, the room slowly growing colder, “if that child is anything like his mother or her father, I wouldn’t hesitate in relieving his shoulders of his head, just as I did to all the other assassins that thought they could take the gems.”

Batman was silent, as Marinette exhaled sharply through her nose. Marinette rolled her eyes and flicked her hand, opening a portal back to Paris, “If you don’t mind, I’ll be taking my leave.”

Marinette stepped through the portal, before it closed.

TDaTG

Marinette scowled and rubbed her eyes. She frowned, she knew Bruce was concerned about her safety, and she knew there were similarities between her and Damien, the only difference was that she wasn’t raised to be a weapon. Marinette heard a light ringing sound, she sighed heavily and hung her head.

“Let me guess, Cheshire?” Said Marinette, looking at the woman’s mask, “How many times do I have to send you to the rainforests before you stop turning up here?”

“I need the money.” Said Cheshire, as Marinette shook her head.

Cheshire jumped at her, Marinette opened a portal to Cheshire’s living room and closed it after the Assassin had gone through.

“This is getting beyond a joke.” Muttered Marinette, rubbing her face.

“Cheshire’s here.” Said Adrien, looking up at Marinette, as Emma played on the rocking horse.

“She was, she’s home now.” Said Marinette, going to sit down, only to gag and slap a hand over her mouth.

Adrien sighed and passed her a bucket, allowing Marinette to throw up.

“Does the baby have to be so disgusting?” Asked Emma, stopping the rocking horse and looking up at her parents, “I don’t like it when Maman feels yucky.”

“Emma, all babies make their mother throw up, it’s what makes us know they’re there.” Said Adrien, as Marinette shook her head.

“Really?” Asked Emma, as Adrien froze under his wife’s glare.

“Well, it’s one of the things that makes un know they’re there,” Corrected Adrien, quickly, “there’s ultrasounds, cravings, mood swings, the odd fainting spell or two and the way Maman’s belly swells up.”

“So, Maman’s going to get fat?” Questioned Emma, as Marinette buried her face in her hand.

“No, she’s growing a baby.” Said Adrien, sweating slightly.

“The embryo starts out at the size of a pea and, over the course of roughly 40-weeks, grows to the be size of a watermelon, once it starts to get too big, her water will break and she’ll go into labour and over a period of several hours, the baby will be born.” Said Damien, making everyone jump.

“How’d you get in?” Asked Adrien, as Damien had the decency to look ashamed.

“I picked the lock.” Said Damien, as Marinette threw up again.

“I really hope there’s a reason for your visit.” Said Marinette, as she reached for a bottle of water.

Damien shifted uncomfortably.

“Damien, if you’re here to demand a miraculous-”

“Can you help me control my emotions?” Interrupted Damien, “I heard father say you had trouble with your emotions when you were my age.”

Marinette sighed, before standing up, “I can direct you on certain courses of action, but emotional control is only something you can learn from yourself.”

Damien looked down.

“But” Damien looked up at Marinette’s voice, “I will help you wherever I can.”

[lifeofroos]

Part 48. I like Ariadne. 

In short: Nico gets therapy from Dionysus. In this chapter, Nico takes a minute to talk to Dionysus’ wife, Ariadne. The rest of the story can be found on AO3, FanFiction.net and in Tumblr tags like Dionysus, Nico di Angelo, Fanfic etc. 

This Might Be Crazy: Chapter 48: Rosemary Tea

I lit a small incense stick. The smell of pinewood filled my cabin. Just when I wanted to begin praying to get Ariadne’s attention, I already got it. One moment, I was in my cabin, the next I was on Olympus, looking out over a massive vineyard. 

‘Nico di Angelo.’

I turned around. ‘The lady of the house, I assume.’ 

‘Yes. You called on me?’

Barely. ‘Yes. I, well…’ I shrugged. I wasn’t entirely sure. I didn’t think I’d get this far. 

Ariadne put her chin up. ‘I can’t say I wasn’t expecting you one of these days. Why don’t we talk?’

I mean, that is what I had in mind. I nodded and she gestured that I could come into the palace. 

Dionysus’ palace was big. It took a good twenty minutes to walk to a sitting room on the other side. In the meantime, Ariadne chatted about the decor for a bit. It was clear she had been responsible for most of it (it was way too stylish to be done by Dionysus). 

We sat down in two comfy chairs, with a coffee table in between. Ariadne snapped her fingers. A pot of tea appeared. ‘Sorry for the long walk. The west flank of the palace is not under control by the headmaster, so I had to bring you there.’ 

Zeus. ‘Eh, I get it.’ So. Now that we sit and we’ve got tea, I was kind of curious about how you managed to live with Dionysus for thousands of years.

‘Lets get the obvious question of your mind: You are wondering how I managed to live with Dionysus for thousands of years.’ 

I nodded, a little perplexed, but mostly glad I did not have to open the conversation. 

She poured out two cups of tea and picked up her own. ‘I don’t read minds or anything, it’s just what they always ask. The short version is that he helped me when I was going through a hard time, the same way he is helping you now. The difference is that he somehow fell in love with me.’ She took a sip of her tea. ‘And, after some more time, which he gave me, I felt the same way. Got married, stayed together, end of story.’ She picked up her cup. ‘Yet, you probably already guessed that there was more.’ 

‘Well, Yes. I would say that the support he gives you goes further than with me. He once, kind of accidently, told me about the bond.’

She nodded. ‘Accidently? Oh well. Yet, yes, we have a bond. I’d say it connects us quite well.’

‘Quite, quite well, I’d say. For thousands of years.’ I picked up my own cup. ‘Hephaestus told me Dionysus treated him like a regular human… or god, whatever. Like he was more than a tool or a piece of garbage. That is basically how my therapy works. ’

Ariadne nodded. ‘We share that sentiment, you, me and Hephaestus, among others. We feel like we are worth something. Like someone does care about us. That is how it made me feel.’ She looked at the ceiling for a second. ‘Cared for, and like I was finally free to do and go where I wanted, gods! That means something after constantly being bound to something, either my chambers in the palace, or the island, or the men I was with. I still don’t know how I did confinment for twenty years.’ Her expression soured. ‘I do know why I went with Theseus. It meant... a change of scenary, at least.’ 

I sighed and slouched in the chair a little. ‘Ah, yes, sons of Poseidon.’ 

She raised an eyebrow. ‘Sons?’

I looked up. She didn’t know? ‘I thought Dionysus would have told you. Anyway, I was in love with one of those too, once. He just wasn’t a piece of garbage about it. Did not abandon me somewhere, at least, or bully me for it. He might have been a little confused, but, you know. I get that. He seems confused about most things, actually.’

She shifted. ‘It must have been Percy Jackson.’

I took a sip. ‘Yes. And, eh, sorry.’ Didn’t want to rub it in your face. I wanted to ask what she thought of Percy, but maybe that wasn’t…

‘I do not have anything against Perseus Jackson, if you were wondering about that.’ She raised her eyebrows. ‘I think Dio has more problems with that than I do.’

‘I think you might just be right.’

She sighed. ‘Oh well. Yet, I did hear you were accepted like you are in camp, son of Poseidon as your first crush or not.’

‘I was! Camp overall is pretty accepting, actually, that is nice. They even learned to trust Hades kids. And idiots who fall in love with sons of Poseidon. It took a while, but they accept Annabeth now.’

She chuckled and pushed her hair out of the way. ‘So many more things are getting accepted these days, even amongst the gods. There is a shift in their behaviour. I don’t know what the trigger was, after thousands of years, but I am glad it is this way.’ She twisted a curl around a finger. ‘Sorry, entirely different subject, but how did your talk with the elder gods go?’

‘It was weird, but it went good enough. Over the last few days, I have heard less and less of the voices from Tartarus, and more and more from the voices of where the Elder Gods are.’

She smiled and nodded. ‘Luckily. You know, admitting the elder gods is a central part of becoming immortal. Because of previous lives, something, something, even the lord of the heavens is not really sure, I had to talk to them.’ She sighed. ‘Basically, part of me is also an older god, which meant that I was supposed to fill this role as a goddess right now.’ She rolled her eyes. I snickered. ‘I hardly understand what it means.’

I adjusted my jacket. ‘Still, that must be strange, though, to know that part of you is just…’ I waved my hands around. ‘Somewhere in superheaven.’

‘You get used to it.’

‘Still, it seems weird.’ 

‘To me, it seems weird that you visit the Underworld so often.’ She shuddered. ‘For me, it wasn’t a very good place. After I was killed, I was sent to Elysium. My father, king Minos, kept trying to control me and I missed Dio terribly. I would have chosen rebirth if Dionysus hadn’t taken me out of there.’ 

‘Oh yes, bringing people back to live, the thing he tells me is unhealthy to do.’

She gave me a mellow smile. ‘The difference is that he is immortal and you are not.’ 

Maybe. ‘Not yet. And I met king Minos, too. He was a nasty piece of work, sorry not sorry to say it. He tried to control me into his evil villian plans.’

‘I am not offended. He was a bad king, a bad husband to my mother and a bad father to his children.’

‘And a bad partner to raise the dead with.’

‘I am going to pretend I did not hear that.’

‘Thanks. Although my therapist is already aware of it.’ I took a sip. ‘Then we can both agree that he was a huge dirtwad.’

‘We quite certainly can. I still do not forgive him for marrying off my youngest sister to some old king who died not even a year later. She was then forced out of the palace to make room for the new king and queen, just so Minos could get the bridewealth payments.’

‘Oh yes, that is a very dirtwad thing to do.’ We both sighed.

Her expression grew dark. ‘I used to think my mother was better. She tried to protect her children, even Asterion. Yet, that was before she tried to take my labyrinth and use it against who I am. What she did a few years ago, raising it without my permission…’ she clutched her fist. ‘She had no business doing that and getting me wound up in it again. Before that, the labyrinth was a memory, safely far away from the human world. Now...’ She looked at her teacup. 

I nodded. ‘Eh… my sister was the one who handled Pasiphae in that encounter. I think she is gone, now…’

‘She isn’t, Nico, and she never will. She harnesses too much power to just be gone.’ 

I fell silent for a second. ‘I think I believe that,’ I whispered. 

‘I hope you do, but I also hope you don’t have to deal with her in your lifetime anymore.’

I was fifteen. On average, there was a lot of lifetime left to meet Pasiphae a second time. But I did not want to think of that right now.

‘If there is anything you take away from this, let it be that women in mythology, and not uncommonly men too, often fled, because the situation at home was chocking them.’ She had a flicker in her eyes, which suddenly left. She shook her head. ‘You probably don’t want to think of that right now. Say, have you ever tried this tea before?’

Now she was just trying to change the subject. I played along. ‘I recognise it. Rosemary?’

‘Yes! We grow it in the garden, actually, or better said, my garden. His garden is more or less... taken.’ She smiled again and looked out the window, at the vineyard that spread all around the castle. 

‘Guess that makes sense.’

‘I wouldn’t mind more flowers. But hey, I knew what I was getting myslef in to, back when I moved here.’ We kept looking out the window. I noticed a few panthers lazily roaming about. Ariadne didn’t even blink at seeing them. Just a regular day in Dionysus’ palace, apparently. 

‘I don’t know if I will tell Dionysus about this encounter.’

‘I think he already had a hunch it was going to happen, because I did. Bond and stuff.’ I nodded. ‘If you already told him you were in love with Percy… well, that is an easy link to me, I’d say.’

Maybe. Ariadne studied me, before she stood up. ‘If your finished, maybe you should get back. They might begin to miss you. 

I looked up at the clock and jumped up when I saw it was already past eight. Ariadne telling me the clocks were mad and did what they wanted did not calm me down. 

While we walked back to the mystic Zeus-free west flank, she said: ‘I am glad I could finally meet you. You seem like a nice, smart young man.’

‘Thanks. Eh, also, thanks for the talk and thanks for the tea. It was good tea.’

‘I’ll give you some. I am kind of proud of it, actually. It is one of the only teas that isn’t brewed by Demeter.’ 

A/N: My first draft of this felt clunky, it is better now. Still, I find it strange that it turned out the way it did. That Ariadne of all people is the goddess who keeps her distance for a bit, aside from the things she has in common with Nico.

As I said before: I need more Ariadne fanfiction I am being denied my RIGHTS the first hit when I google it is my own fanfic of two years ago and one chapter in Weezl’s drabble doc. 

Legit, Ariadne is the ‘mistress of the labyrinth.’ Don’t know how RR missed that. Be prepared because this fact WILL come back in a later chapter. 

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales Final Four: The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck Review! or The Batman Trial Episode but with Ducks, Sharks, And the Fonz

Hello all you happy people and welcome to the penultimate Ducktales review... for season 3 anyway. I still have most of season 1, all of season 2 (I did cover one but I’ll probably redo it), the tie-in comics, the 87 series, and even then i’ll never really be done with ducks between all the scrooge comics and other duck related shows like Darkwing Duck and Quack Pack. But as far as covering the show as it comes out as i’ve done for the past year, that’s’ts almost done. It’s honestly just starting to hit as I type this: this is the second to last episode. After next week while there’s always fan fiction (And I certainly aim to contribute to that), a possible Darkwing Duck Reboot under frank (though that’s in doubt) where they could show up, and a movie down the road given what we saw with Phienas and Ferb and the show’s popularity it’s still not the same as getting these well animated, well crafted adventures every week with breaks or the ocasional entire week of them. The show won’t go on, and whatever happens with the property next is a mystery no amount of ducks can solve. 

So with all that in mind naturally this episode is a breather episode: It’s not unimportant: like the rest of the season it ties off a lot of loose ends, adds in some stuff we didn’t know we wanted, and in general feels necessary like every episode this season. It’s something I credit the season for immensley: They knew this would probably be it so while they had more stories to tell, they made sure if these were their last, to leave no loose ends. And outside of ones they just never wanted to address in the first place like “What happened to Donald’s parents”, “Why was every trace of Della missing despite Scrooge’s search for her having just ended”, and “What did Della thing of the decades long seperation”, they’ve tied up pretty much all of them except for FOWL and what Beakly was lying about, and I feel both are about to ducktail into one another int he finale. Could be wrong but  I applaud them for tying off almost every loose end and character arc by this episode that isn’t related to FOWL in some way. Not every show can do that: She Ra was a masterpiece but still had a few things like Scorpia and Catra’s broken relationship, Hordak’s reformation and Adora’s Parents just left up in the air due to time constraints, Steven Universe ONLY got to go back and answer a lot of questions because they were lucky enough to get an epilogue mini series, and Star Vs... was not as good as either show by the end and by the finale about 80% of things it’d brought up all had the following answer:

My point is it’s VERY hard, even when you know the end is coming to tie everything up in a neat bow. And I can’t know how good the finale be or how satsifying it will be but given how well this season’s wrapped everything up so far,  i’m betting on immensely. But we can talk about that when it finally comes around next week. For now we have a trial episode to talk about that’s mostly good.. mostly. See why the mostly under the cut as I discuss and recap the episode with full spoilers.  Count it down!

We open in the Mansion, where a bunch of tribble like Fuzzy creatures are running amok. Unsuprisingly, Scrooge bought one for Louie as a pet to teach him responsiblity.. again. And once again he instead turned into a get rich quick scheme, didn’t read the manual and now they have an infestation. 

ONCE AGAIN, Louie is written like he’s barely changed at all in the past three seasons. Anyone whose been following my reviews regularly knows this has been a pet peeve of mine for the entire season. Despite having an ENTIRE arc about Louie growing as a character and learning the human cost of his scheming and to use his angle seeing talent’s wisely, the writers keep writing him as if he learned nothing. I went back to track it and while not as often as it felt I noticed a few things. The first is that it WASN’T like this for the first half of the season. No really. He even learns brand new lessons in The Trickening and Louie’s Eleven. Granted he also exploits his uncle in Louie’s Eleven but that’s mostly played for laughs.. still not a great bit but not a major part of the episode. 

So he was fine for the first act of the season... but then for whatever reason from Let’s Get Dangerous onwards (Again I don’t count the Christmas episode as both of those are meant to slot in anywhere and chronologically take place before this season for the timeline to make any sense), he’s just...

He’s utterly insufferable in his small parts of the first half of Let’s Get Dangerous! as he berates Huey for daring to look a gifthorse int he mouse.. even though everytime he’s seemingly got something for nothing or minimal effort it’s backfired and it’s something that seeemd to stick with “The Richest Duck in the World!”. He’s fine in Impossibin and alright in split sword as while he clearly hadn’t learned lying isn’t the best policy we at least got a good story out of it. He then went right back to obnoxious with New Gods on the Block where he, EPISODES AFTER THE SOLEAGEO FISACO again thinks an easy way out is the right way, and has NO guilt over possibly killing a bunch of people with his gold powers and in fact is disapointed he dosen’t get to keep a living being turned to gold!. He spents all of Fight for Castle McDuck being a huge dick to Huey AGAIN iwth no lesson, and now has yet another family endagering get rich quick scheme he feels no remorse about. 

I will admit when I”m wrong and I DID think it was in way more of the season than I thought. And let’s face it in real life personal issues don’t just go away and you can sometimes slide back, i’ve done it way too many times and i’m not proud of it. We’re only human. But this isn’t real life, this is cartoon ducks. And cartoon duck wise most character development has stuck or if a bad trait’s come back it’s been in a new way. Webby is still trusting, but knows how the world works now and while idolizing scrooge dosen’t think he’s perfect anymore. Huey is no longer a skpetic towards the super natural and hasn’t forced a party on anyone. Dewey hasn’t craved other people’s love or thought he needed to earn his mom’s love again. And that’s just the other kids. They aren’t the same people theyw ere going in, neither is Louie. So it’s grating when an episode acts like h’es exactly the same, let alone almost a fifth of the season.

What makes it even worse though is that he had an ENTIRE STORY ARC dedicated to learning some of these lessons already. With the others if one episode were forgotten i’d let it slide as it happens with tv, i’m used to it. It’s not a great look but it happens. Mistakes happen again we’re all human. But you can’t act like an entire arc of a series didn’t exist. While they ignore Della’s history somehow being hidden for the rest of the show they don’t ignore that Dewey spent a whole season looking for her, as he never hides something like that from his brothers again nor do they, and he’s out of them the biggets mama’s boy. While they did take a while to adress Lena, partly because the episode got pushed back, they didn’t act like season 1 never happened and she was still working for her aunt. Della still isn’t on the moon and Owlson still isn’t working for glomgold. Actions. Have. Consequences. That’s the whole point of this episode, but they act like none of it got through to louie and it makes his arc feel like a giant waste in hindsight. This episode even feels like it was SUPPOSED to be in that arc: Louie is back to his season 2 characterization, Scrooge is actively trying to mentor him again.. it just feels really out of place as our second to last episode in that way and drags it down a bit.

Thankfully after Scrooge bars the door, and possibly leaves everyone to their deaths but he presumably has enough faith in the kids, the twins and Beakley to take care of it, he gets a summons to court.. and gets kidnapped. He and Louie are whisked away to a mystic court presided over by a giant statue of justice holding scales, that judges someone based on Karma. Scrooge’s foes have brought him to court, blaming him for being evil and if he looses he looses EVERYTHING. And their proscutor? 

Sadly not Droopy, maybe next continuity, but searing the same Hannibal-Esque Getup is Doofus Drake to Louie’s horror. As for why he’s like this.. he thought iht was fun. Great gag. 

After the credits we find out why he’s doing this: He’s still pissed about Louie taking half his inheritance and giving it to his family, so he’s going to take LOUIE’S inheritance. It’s.. honestly a great setup: Doofus was already a villian I liked, being a nice weird evil mirror dewey instead of a walking fat joke like last series. So I was glad to both see him pop up one last time to make it a full trilogy of apperances as an angonist and to see him take a step up from his passive roll in the past: in his first two apperances while he was evil and abusive, and still is, his evil was mostly due to his own warped logic, feeling he could put shock collars on and control people and that Louie lying to him was enough to warrant making him into a pinata. He’s still a bad person mind you: kid or not he ensdlaved his parents, tried to enslave louie and goldie and in general REALLY needs some help empathizing with people. But my point is that before he didn’t come after anyone.. so it’s a nice capper to have his final turn as antaognist be him going after our hero.. and at his most dangerous. Before someone would’ve come for Louie eventually in Doofus’ first apperance and Goldie would’ve found a way out or Scrooge, despite grumbling about it, would’ve helped.. if nothing else than to lord having to save her from a 12 year old over her. Here if he wins the family is out on the street and three of their greatest enemies are now infinitely more well funded. 

So while naturally unnerved by his rival Louie offers to defend Scrooge who denies it despite the fact that Louie is REALLY good with words, and Scrooge, while not bad with them, can’t stop shouting and keeps pissing off the baliff, played by my boy Henry Winkler whose done a lot of voice work and also played Fonzie on Happy Days, is currently on the HBO series barry and in general is just a fucking delight. The irony is also not lost on me that he’s not playing a lawyer here despite being one on arrested development. 

We get our first witness: FLINTHEART GLOMGOLD. Hell. Yes. It’s nice to see him in his full glory one last time, as I don’t know how much he’ll be in the finale. Scrooge blows of the Duke Baloney thing, which is fair given that while Scrooge screwed up there, Glomgold still stole money from him right after and then spent his whole life trying to one up him. But Glomgold has a different tale in mind as he stole something else from him: the limelight. 

It was 1980-something and Glomgold was a bonified celebrity in Duckberg for his hot dogging, grandstanding and treasure hunting loved by all and took Baba Wawa, a nice mix of Barbra Walters and the parody of her on SNL by the late Gilda Radner, to a shark shaped cave to get the gem of the shark god, a ruby tooth at the end of the cave. Naturally Scrooge popped up and easily made his way through and stole the spotlight. As it turns out he wasn’t always well loved and it makes sense: he dismises Baba asking him about how disliked he is, and dosen’t care and even in the current story, or rather season 1 of it, he dismiseed PR entirely in Jaw$. He was rich enough and enough of a job provider he just didn’t see the need for fame or glory, that just came second so it’s logical no one liked him. Fortunes naturally reverse as you’d expect though: Glomgold dashes forward and ends up putting Baba and her camerabird in danger and being Glomgold he irrationally assumes she’s working for Scrooge and leaves her to die. Scrooge however, after getting the rock, goes out of his way to save her because it’s the right thing to do. He can be selfish at times, and as we’ll see monstrously so, but at his core Scrogoe is a good man who will do right when the chips are down. So this leaves Glomgold trapped and Scrogoe getting his good press instead and realizes he likes the attention. 

As the flashback ends Glomgold fills in the gaps, pointing out he was stuck with the sharks for days, but slowly bonded with them learned from them and they became family, helping him with traps, joining him for thanksgiving and even getting a heart taatoo with a shark on it. Awww. Look I didn’t really need to know where Glomgold’s love of sharks came from, nor that he had some weird tarzan origin story with them.. but my life is 100% better knowing all of this so thank you Frank and Matt. Thank you. I’m also entirely convinced the two have had this whole part of his backstory ready to go for three seasons and were waiting to use it, along with the other two bits we’re about to get to. This episode as you can tell is also a vingette episode, but one where the wraparound is way more improtant than usual.. but it works given the setting and allows the stories to be as long as they actually need to be, and it addds some nice stakes instead of just having Scrooge’s villians gripe about him. 

Scrooge protests and the Bailiff puts a clamp on his beak, so he has no choice in the matter when Louie steps up for the defense. Louie also proves that irresponsible he may be.. he’d be a damn good lawyer, as he easily picks things apart, pointing out Glomgold was ALREADY bad by then, Scrooge had no intent to steal the spotlight and Glomgold is currently planting dynamite under his chair, with predictable and hilarious results. So he gets put on the “good” side of the scale. Next witness.

Next up is Ma, and I was delighted that as I’d hoped and theroized this episode wrapped up one little plot point that while not major, was something I was curious about: Ma’s claims Scrooge stole Duckburg from her family.  This was also likely the backbone of the episode at one point as Frank pitched a beagle trial episode at one time, but Disney nixed it. Likely the magic stuff was added both to justify it better and to distract Disney Channel’s higher ups because they constantly underestimate what a child will like. It was for the best though as the beagles are just a bit weaker here: While Character Actress Margo Martindale is a delight and was specifically cast for the role, overall it just feels like they ran out of ways to make the beagles a big threat and releigated them to muscle when needed, to the point they only appeared in one episode besides this one this season as with FOWL about, they didn’t really need villians of the week and what ones they did use like Glomgold and Mark were far more entertaining villains who needed a coda to their stories.They aren’t bad characters, but in a series where their breaking into the bin or mansion wasn’t a story the crew was interested in they served no real purpose. 

So we finally get answers about the whole Deed thing: It was sometime in Ma’s childhood, good look guessing when, and the Beagles owned Duckburg having clearly overwhelmed Fort Duckburg at some point in history between Clinton’s defense of it and now, with Grandpa “Pa” Beagle finally making an apperance. In the comics he was basically what Ma is to both series: the scheming brains behind the beagles who showed up on occasion and it was a good idea to use him as the past version of her. 

Scrooge naturally comes a calling and unsurprisingly Ma was lying: Scrooge offered to buy the place first from Pa, he refused outright, and then when Scrooge showed off the money he was offering, Pa bet the deed for it in an arm wrestling contest. Not only that but as Scrooge finds out as he almost looses, Pa was cheating having a smaller beagle boy operate pull a lever in a device attached to his arm to give pa extra force. Scroooge simply dropped a few coins to distract the guy and claimed victory and the deed. 

Little Ma is left dejected though and Doofus claims he ruined his life, but Louie steps up, at this poitn Scrooge has learned to reign himself ina nd accepted Louie as his defense without saying anything, a nice subtle bit. He probably realized that while irrepsonsible.. Louie has everything to loose her and no reason to slack off and dosen’t even relaly have to lie for his uncle to get him off: he’s simply using his ablitiy to see all the angles to poke holes in their story. 

Case in point, he orders the “tape” to continue and finds Little Ma berating her dad for his failure and forcefully taking control of the family. LIke Glomgold, Scrooge may of cost her something.. but it was something she and her family hadn’t earned and they were still on a bad road. Scrooge just made it worse. 

But suprisingly, its MAGICA, who we’ve established is an uncaring monster, who has a story Scrooge genuinely feels bad about. Like the rest she was not a good person: Long ago she and her brother Poe were extorting a villiage, and lording over it as gods, changing the population into goats, toads and other things. The only diffrence from what Magica would do to the blot and presumiibly others later, is that Poe reigned in her manical tend ices, trying to get her to think things through. The goat transformation was so they’d have milk and at least get something out of it and as to not waste all their slaves. Poe is voiced by Martin Freeman of The Hobbit and Black Panther fame. Great actor, does amazing work here.  So like the others Scrooge changed things, and fought someone with bad intentions for his own self. He talked Magica into fighting him with both amulets by playing into her ego and Poe trying to talk her down, and easily deflected her bolt with the dime to turn her into a crow with her own spell. So far it’s just like the other tales in a nice mirror.. it’s what comes next that makes Scrooge into a  bad guy too. Not as bad as Magica and Poe.. but sitll not good. Poe dives selflessly in front of the coin.. and shockingly while she cared nothing for Lena.. that wasn’t the case for Poe. Magica is truly devastated, desperatly trying to put the amulet back on and begging scrooge for help while he just ignores her and fills up his sack. And while they both deserved it... Scrooge and Louie both recognize he was wrong as the flashback ends with Poe escaping and Magica sitll haven’t having found him to this day. And props to Catharine Tate here a she takes a normally hammy terrible person who was wholly unsympathetic and manages to make her painfully human.  

What makes the act so terrible is not who it happened to, they both desrved it, but Scrooge’s attitude, utterly callous to magica’s pain with not a drop of sympathy. While she deserved it as did Poe.. he’s not doing this to her as some justice for her crimes, or because she did something horrible to him or any valid reason.. he’s doing it because he’d rather get more of her and poes gold than lift one finger to help someone who had , for all his evil, selflessly sacrificed himself for his sister. For all Poe’s evil and tyranny.. there MIGHT of been a good man in them, in both of them.. and Scrooge could’ve cared less. He shut the door on Magica ever becoming a good person, ever getting her brother back to line his own wallet and to satisfy his own ego. See that’s the true mark of a hero: how they treat others, even the worst of them. And in his lowest moment Scrooge could’ve cared less about anyone but himself. 

Scrooge feels bad and Louie does finally get the responsibility thing and this is where things start to go off the rails: he apologizes to Doofus and admits he dosen’t want an enteral rivalry and h’es sorry for any pain he caused. The off the rails part is because Doofus is genuinely not a good person, ahs done very bad things and is trying to bankrupt Louie for the crime of “taking half your fortune after you used it to torment and enslave your own parents’. It just.. dosen’t play as well as they’d like. That said I DO like both Louie deciding to bury the hatchet instead of just avoiding him and Doofus showing some nobiity in accepting it. Maybe he’ll change. 

He goes off into the night, and Scrooge genuinely apologizes and accepts repsonsiblity... and here’s where the plot finishing going off the rails and into someone’s living room: the bailiff AWARDS THEM SCROOGE’S FORTUNE BECAUSE HE ADMITTED SOME CUPLABLITY AND WAS HUMBLE. 

This just.. it makes no sense, it will never not baffle me and it hurts my brain> Yes he admitted some wrong doing and apologized for it.. but it was also THROUGHLY proven the other two weren’t his fault, and he was simply being a good man which should get him some good. Thankfully the conclusion is a bit better, as Louie points out while they made him, he made you so who made who, who made you... okay i’m getting into the AC/DC of things point is these incidents all shaped Scrooge into a better person.  His mistake with Magica. is clearly learned from. He’s stopping a group of bullies in Ma’s story and saving a life without a second thought in the second. He learned to value others, to value family all because THEY showed him what happens when you don’t. By seeing the worst person he could be.. he became the best. So the trial’s thrown out his assets are returned, and their teleported out before magica can hit them with lighting. Lesson learned.. well kinda Louie tells scrooge to do it because he got the pet. 

Final Thoughts for The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck:

Great title aside.. this one is a mess. It’s not a terrible episode: the flashbacks are genuinely engaging, each one helping flesh out the villians and in Ma’s case pulling one last dangling plot thread. Glomgold’s was just entertaining , clevelry using his 80′s origns for an 80′s style news special and giving us the origin to his love of sharks that we didn’t know we needed., Ma’s tied up a loose plot threat with a fun flashback and Magica’s was genuinely heart wrenching and did the tall task of making us feel for someone that terrible. The wraparound.. was a bit weaker. Doofus was the best part, playing an excellent manipulative bastard lawyer, and being a genuine threat and his walking away peacefully was a nice touch, and Louie having to defend scrooge was great and showed him off better than ever. And Louie did get some moments to shine.. it was just wierldy bookened with him acting terribly AGAIN, in a way he should know better than in an episode where he acts fine for most of it and even then he thinks lying to a judge is a good idea! I know he’s 12 but he’s not this stupid and while as I made very clear i’ve seen this shit before, I haven’t seen it flip flop in the same episode. Louie deserves better than this. 

But it’s also in service to a responsiblility aseop that just.. dosen’t work as presented. Yes you should take responsiblity for your past, yes you should learn from your mistakes and own up to them, I have, and yes it’s all too easy to slide back> That’s all fine.. but him apologizing to Ma, whose family was terorrizing a town, and Glomgold, who he did nothing to, and having Louie apologize to Doofus, who while he tried to exploit him still enslaved his own parents and deserved to loose half his fortune AND loosing half his fortune wasn’t even the main thing Louie wanted to do as his main goal was getting BOYD a loving family.. it’s bullshit. Just pure Grade-A bullshit. Why are you booing them their right. It’s a good idea for a moral but it’s executed so overwhelmingly poorly it bogs down what was otherwise an exceptional episode, into just passable.  It’s just mind numbing and saddening to know the next to last episode wasted so much good ideas on a clumsy moral. Thankfully I have hope the finale will be better, and again at least we got some good out of this one. 

Next Time: Endgame Baby! Clan McDuck and their Amazing Friends Vs F.O.W.L. for the fate of adventure itself! One last ride! I can hardly wait!

This week on the blog: Ducks Ducks and more ducks.. and a top 12 list of my faviorite superheroines later today’s for international women’s day. But after that we have more of the Della arc, the last step in the Lena arc before Shadow War next week, and the 87 ducktales pilot treasure of the golden suns!

If you liked this review, share it around, follow for more, and you can comission your own for 5 dolalrs an issue or episode, or kick in some money on my patroen, link on my blog. Even a dollar a month helps and my next stretch goal is 5 dollars away and if we reach it i’ll review both the super ducktales mini series introducing gizmoduck AND a darkwing duck episode a month. Until the next rainbow it’s been a pleasure. 

[violetnotez]

Rookie |3|

Dabi x UA Traitor! reader

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WOW I finally posted??? 😦😦 Now that my school has been cancelled (thanks Corona!) I’ll finally be able to write a little more! 😋 I’m going to end this little series so I start working on other requests and fics I have ideas for

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Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 3702

Warnings: cursing, Dabi being a WhOrE

Summary: Dabi has begun training you since your the newest rookie to enter the LOV, and things get a little heated.

|1| |2| |3|

(RULES | | MASTERLIST| REQUESTS CLOSED|

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Recap:

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“Oh he didnt tell you?” Dabi smiled evilly, making your heart race. “We’re going out training tonight- just you and me.”

You internally screamed. What the hell Shigaraki?! He knew how much of a pervert Dabi secretly was- he didnt try that hard to hide it. SO why was Shigaraki trying to screw you over by placing you with this man you were slowly gaining reluctant feelings for?

“ Shigaraki thinks it would be a good idea for me to train you,” Dabi continued, hardly noticing the terror erupting inside you from being alone with him, “ since our quirks are similar. Help you feel out how to work alongside me once we put our plan into place.”

You simply nodded your head, trying to pretend you were cool and collected about learning this new information.

“Smart-alright, I’m in. I just need a place to change into my costume.”

“Oh, thats alright princess- I don't mind if ya do it right here. Matter of fact- I’d really love it if you do.”

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You and Dabi were standing in the middle of an empty field, the air around you warm and full of flaming embers, reds and blues mixing into purple in the night sky.

“Fix your form-your not focusing your power right.”

“Well maybe if somebody would stop dodging,” you panted out, your chest filling with slight annoyance,”I’d maybe- be able- to aim properly!”

You and Dabi had been doing this for quite a while, at least 30 minutes.

After that fateful day you had come to the LOV offering information for the Villian group, (particularly about Izuku Midoriya), in exchange for a place on the League, Shigaraki had been hesitant to let you join. But he had begun to realize you could be a good asset to the League of Villians after seeing how powerful your quirk could be. You had the look for a Villian: when you activated your powers, your body would turn a bright red, your eyes turning a deadly black color. Your powers were equally as interesting, as you could control fire on one side of your body while your other side was able to read the mind of anybody you touched. You went by “Demon”, and even though it annoyed Shigaraki to no end that you used a “stupid nickname”, he couldn’t avoid the fact that you could be good addition to the team. You were now training with Dabi under Shigaraki’s orders for your mission to invade UA at their summer camp, information you had generously given to Shigaraki as you were a student at the prestigious hero school.

“Or is it because your still flustered from changing into your suit?”

Dabi has moments ago given you your new Villian outfit, the feeling of the tight outfit restricting your breathing slightly with how heavy you were panting.

He grinned devilishly, making your already red cheeks redder. His icy blue flames came dangerously close to your skin, the scorching heat singing the tips of your hair.

“Watch it doll, we don’t want to be burning that pretty face of yours, do we?”

You threw him a dirty look, your chest heaving against the black material of your new suit. You were tired and overexerted, while Dabi stood there calmly, almost amused as sweat began to trickle down your fiery red skin: your quirk couldn’t last for long, no more than an hour at a time, and you could feel the power you had over it slowly diminish already. It took a lot for you to hold on to your altered form, which was something you had been working on at UA.

You shifted your feet, grounding yourself into the soft dirt. Even though Dabi was extremely attractive and a huge flirt, you wouldn’t allow him to make a fool out of you. You would use every last ounce of your power to make sure that he knew you were strong enough to fair against him.

“Well-“ you huffed out, “if somebody wasn’t trying to keep sneaking peeks like a perv-I wouldn’t have been all flustered in the first place!”

You threw a large fireball, the flames licking dangerously close to Dabi’s stomach, his torso swiveling a few seconds before it made an explosive impact. The flames hit a nearby tree, engulfing it in a ball of gray smoke as Dabi looked at you in shock.

“Guess I’m not the only one who needs to watch themselves, huh?” You snickered proudly at his dumbfounded expression.

Dabi shook his head, a deep chuckle rumbling in his chest. You were too damn persistent on one upping him-it was pretty cute. And that damn fireball was pretty powerful-he wouldn’t ever expect that much force to come from you. He watched as your face continued to hold that triumphant smile, even as your legs began to shake and your shoulders slumped from exhaustion. You were overexerting yourself, and he felt a part of him feel respect for you for putting up so much of a fight against him. He had to admit, as much as he was trying to play it off that he was in control, you were giving him a slight workout. They were obviously doing something right at UA, because a little newbie like you shouldn’t being fairing so well against an experienced Villain like him.

“You were lucky that time-I was distracted.” Dabi smirked again, letting his eyes travel up and down your body, allowing it to be blankly obvious that he was eyeing your form.

He was overly pleased with how your new Villain suit turned out- it was elegant, mysterious, and absolutely gorgeous on your figure. Not to mention that it hugged your body from head to toe. Dabi’s mouth was practically watering every time you did any type of maneuver that showed off your chest or your ass. Dabi’s mind was deep in the gutter, imagining what it would feel like to grab you. He loved to imagine how it would feel to coax sweet little moans out of you, to let his hands travel your body like he had wanted to do for so long.

Something about you made you irresistible to Dabi, as if you were this rare gem that had fallen into his life that he wanted so badly to be his.

“Distracted?” You panted, straightening your back as you tilted your head. “Or just looking somewhere your weren’t supposed to?”

Dabi shrugged, that proud smirk still plastered in his face. “Maybe a little bit of both.”

Your eyes looked down, your mouth biting the tender skin on the inside. Every Time he flirted with you, you got overly flustered-it was like Dabi had a hold of your precious feelings and he toyed with them like a hobby. You huffed out your breath, your lips in a slight pout. You wouldn’t let him get into your head-not that easy.

Dabi’s hand twitched, the image of your lips plumped out like that making his body go into overdrive. You had the most gorgeous face he had ever seen- with your lips moving all so prettily like that, he couldn’t help but just want to eat you up right then and there.

You let your feet leave the traction of the dirt, running quickly to charge him. Your body engulfed in flames, your hand and suit on your right side lighting up in a flurry of red and orange. The sweet night wind brushed against your skin, making the fire crackle and spit dangerously as you tried to land yet another hit.

Dabi dodged each one with ease, as if he had been anticipating each one. You grunted, swiveling your legs around in a crouch. You wanted so badly to prove it to him, to yourself, that you were worthy of a place in this team.

“Why are you trying so hard, Demon?” Dabi asked calmly, as if reading your mind. “Have something to prove?”

“No-“ you lied, wiping a bead of sweat off your forehead, “just feeling like kicking your ass a little.”

Dabi smirked, licking his bottom lip. God, why was your determination so goddamn hot to him?

He looked down at your body, noticing that your skin wasn’t a fiery red anymore- a few patches of your skin were turning into your original pigment, like paint being smeared off of skin. Dabi smirked-you were tired. How precious.

He quickly threw a blue flame your way, making you shriek as you dodged it.

“Dabi, what the hell-“ you yelled in shock.

Dabi swiftly grabbed your arm, now dangerously close to you now. His figure was towering over your smaller frame, his eyes scanning your body.

“You sure it’s just about beating me?” He interrogated in a low voice. You gulped, those icy blue eyes glaring into your soul, the warmth of his hand dangerously close to burning your skin.

“Or is it because of something else?

You stayed quiet-you couldn’t possibly tell him why you were trying so hard. You couldn’t even figure it out yourself. You knew you were so happy to be doing exactly what you knew you were capable of-but the past kept surfacing in your mind. The name calling, the fear, the suppression you faced because of how scary your quirk is-hell, your own family were terrified of you applying to UA because they didn’t want the world knowing who you truly were. They argued you to stay home, to go to a normal high school, not one meant for hero training.

“It’s safer,” you remembered your mother saying, “nobody will bother you if you don’t use your quirk.”

You knew they were just worried for you-your quirk did have many giving you strange stares once you activated it, some cringing out of terror. You were called names all the time, many of them unpleasant-everyone who knew of your quirk seemed to think you were a monster. And even if you did get someone who seemed more interested than scared than you, you’d always get the same remark-

“You’d make a very good Villian.”

“How’s UA doing? Having fun at your little Hero school?” Dabi broke through your thoughts, his low, silky voice sending a shiver down your spine as his grip tightened slightly.

“UA is….doing,” you shrugged, not wanting to gaze into those blue eyes. Everytime you looked into them, you seemed to lose all control over yourself.

You tried to use Dabi’s little small talk to get out of his intense hold, yanking your arm away with sudden force. Dabi seemed to anticipate your movements, as he quickly yanked your arm again, a quiet gasp slipping out your lips as he pushed your back painfully into his chest, immobilizing you.

“Just doing? Seems to me you're hiding something,” he snickered huskily into your ear, loving how flustered you became. Your heart was pacing, your legs shaking-the hold you had on your quirk was slipping as Dabi overpowered you. You shimmied harshly, only getting Dabi’s hold on you to be stronger.

“I think I know what’s going on-you want to prove your not a hero,” Dabi grinned devilishly, loving the feeling of your body against his, “You want to show your different from them. Why is that Demon?”

His voice was so calm and silky: he knew he was in control, and he was drinking up every second of it.

You huffed, a single strand of hair falling in your face. Those few words were sending your body into a frenzy, a sudden heat flooding your chest at those simple words. But even though Dabi was turning you into a flustered mess, unwanted Memories began to flood in your head:

You remembered Getting into UA and being put into Class 1B, the excitement and slight disappointment filling your body-your classmates crying in shock when you transformed for the first time, some shouting why you were even in one of the Hero courses if you looked so scary.

You remembered the way the teachers tried to cover you up, your hero suit completely covering your skin as if it wasn’t right for you to show off your quirk, at least just a little bit.

That whole school reeked of superstition and prejudice.

How foolish you were to think being a hero would gain you acceptance in society.

You grunted again, trying to get out of Dabi’s tight hold.

“Let’s just say,” you chided,

“I was a little demon thrust out of hell.

Because the Devil couldn’t cope with me.”

Dabi let those words sink in, absorbing each syllable you spoke.

He smiled, a chuckle rumbling out his chest, the vibration causing your back to shiver. He knew exactly what you were going through-you hated this world, this world that shut you out for being different.

“I’ve never heard truer words, dollface.”

Dabi let go of you, surprise flooding your body. You turned around, rubbing your arm, the skin beginning to turn back to your normal pigment.

Dabi stared down at your annoyed face, a soft smile unlike his usually seductive, lazy one gracing his bicolored lips.

He had never related to someone more, and it somehow being you made a strange sensation fill him. He still found you unbelievably attractive, the imprint of your body forever ingrained in his mind, making him wish you could stay close to him forever-but he now just wanted you for more than that. Something about you made him go crazy inside, this electric attraction he just couldn’t ignore.

You looked back at him, confusion plastered on your face-his smile was so much more...tranquil, blissful. He was looking at you with such adoration it made your heart palpitate and flutter with each passing beat.

“Why are you looking at me like that Dabi?” You smiled weakly, a blush creeping on your cheeks.

His slender fingers found themselves to the crook of your chin, raising it so he could see more of your beautiful face in the moonlight.

“Just wanted to see my little Demon a little better,” he grinned, that ever creeping blush making his insides go wild.

“What do you mean your-“ you began, but couldn’t finish as Dabi’s lips rammed themselves onto yours.

The kiss was anything but soft-it was rough, full of raw, unfulfilled emotions Dabi had been feeling for so long. His lips were strong, the scarred skin and metal prickling into your tender skin. But he was holding back-his wasn’t trying to overly touch you, which would surprised the hell out of you if you weren’t completely in shock.

You were tense, your brain going a million miles a minutes. He was kissing you? You knew he had some strange thing for you, he had made it panifully obvious, but you assumed it was a joke, a little game he liked to play- nothing serious that warranted this kind of desperate kiss. You were also terrified-doing this with Dabi muddled your plans-it created an emotional attachment you didn’t want.

You were scared of being rejected again like so many other times for being yourself.

But Dabi had accepted you, right? He was never phased by your transformation-in fact he seemed in awe with it. He didn’t treat you differently, or make you feel strange in your own skin-but then again, he was a Villian. He could be doing that to somehow get something of value out of you.

You felt your left hand itch, the hand that allowed you to look in other peoples minds-to see their deepest desires in that moment. Fear bubbled in you-this whole time you had been fighting with just your fire dominant hand from a far range. Your left hand scared you, it being the side that was harder to control for you. Who knew what you would see in Dabi’s mind? Were you ready to see whatever desires he wanted?

“Fuck it,” you thought blindly-you wanted to know, to get these confused emotions sorted out.

You tentatively kissed back, liking the roughness against you as you slide your shaking digits through his soft black hair.

An instant rush came over you, a blinding white light taking your vision whole.

Everything became hazy, the outer linings of your vision turning suddenly dark, gold flecks dancing across your eyes.

Your voice hitched, watching the blissful dream-like scene in front of you.

You were meet with another version of yourself, but instead, you were dressed in intricate black lingerie as you lounged on top of Dabi’s bare chest you both were sitting on a plush bed, your hips grinding into Dabi’s own. You were feverishly kissing his scarred neck as his hands traced every curve of your body hungrily, breathing moans of his name escaping out of you like a mantra. Both of you were so intense in your make out session, it was as if you two had never touched another person in your lives.

Before you could even process the scene, your sight instantly turned brighter as began to witness another desire.

You looked as you were again in something revealing, but not as sexual. This time, you were wearing a white shirt, it’s fabric loose around your body, it’s length stopping around your mid thigh. Something about that shirt was very recognizable: you craned your head for a better look, the unmistakable v-neck having to be Dabi’s own white shirt on your body. Your legs were tangled with his as you laid on his chest, the look on his face so blissful and sweet you couldn’t help but feel your heart swell.

Another and final blinding white light took over you, this time seeing something strange-it was an actual memory. It was the first time you and Dabi were alone together, you singing to one of your favorite songs as you were putting away papers for Shigaraki. Dabi has walked in on your little solo song session, you being too wrapped up in the lyrics to be that embarrassed. You had laughed as he rolled his eyes, expecting him to walk away like he did in real life.

But instead, he walked up to you, grabbing your hand, and twirling you around, bringing you gently close to his chest. He held you like that, your face a wreck as he chuckled. He had whispered something in your ear, making your eyes wide as he pulled you into a sweet kiss, the hazy lights quickly turning into black.

Your eyes shot open, all the images swarming into your head so quickly it made you feel dizzy. You instantly pulled away, feeling your chest begin to tighten as you stared at Dabi’s slightly confused face, that lazy smirk still on his lips.

“The hell was that?” he asked, malice gone from his voice as he looked at your now completely human form: it seemed like using your quirk sucked out any energy you had left.

“I-I,” yiu gulped, pushing a piece of hair away from your face, “I used my left side on you-I looked into your mind-“

“Huh.”

He looked towards the side, a thoughtful expression on his face. He didn’t really mind you looking in there-at least you knew how he felt towards you now. But the one thing that was concerning him was the last scene-he remembered that day, how he had found you so adorable, he just wanted to pick you up and never let you go. He wanted to tell you everything then and there-how attractive he found you, how you were so incredibly hot he couldn’t stand it, how he loved your personality and the way you got flustered-he loved every part of you, and wanted you to be his. But he didn’t-his emotions were too guarded. He didn’t want to be seen as weak, so he let that perfect moment go and he had been kicking himself in the ass for it ever since.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized, swallowing thickly. He was too silent-you were terrified that he was angry with you for doing so intimate without his permission.

To your surprise, he smiled that mischievous grin that made your heart go crazy.

“No worries dollface,” he grinned, “I’m just happy we’re on the same page.”

“Now what I’m wondering,” he continued as he snaked a hand around your waist, pushing your body back into him, “is if you think the same about me?”

To your surprise, his voice wasn’t confident-he sounded almost nervous about your answer.

. “Maybe…,” You grinned, your voice shaking as you placed your hand again behind his head, “does this help?”

You then leaned your face, connecting your lips once again, feeling a delicious warmth fill your body. Dabi was this intense rush, with the harshness of his lips while his hands being so gentle, as if you were so delicate he could break you. His warmth was intoxicating, making you melt into his chest. You couldn’t breathe, the sensation and the smell of him turning your head into a fuzzy haze.

Finally, you were forced to part, both of your breaths a soft pant.

Dabi was in love with this-he desperately wanted to touch you more, to feel every part of you, but he knew he needed to take it slightly slow for you. Dabi knew he had to be a least a little patient-you were new to this lifestyle, this change in morales no matter how stubborn you were to say it. He didn’t want to overwhelm you- you had to walk before you ran. And right now, Dabi was surprised he was okay with this-you were intoxicating to be around, and just having a little intimacy was good enough for him.

“What were you telling me,” you asked in a daze, your feathery light voice making Dabi’s heart skip.

He cocked his head slightly in confusion, letting a hand rest on your hip.

“In the last scene,” you asked, “when you whispered-what did you say?”

He chuckled, that rumble in his chest making your chest tighten.

“I just wanted to know if you wanted to be mine,” he asked nonchalantly, as if it weren’t such a big deal.

“And what did I say?” You asked, your finger beginning to trace the outline of his collarbone.

His grip tightened on your hip, knowing full well you two were headed in dangerous territory if you kept up with touching him like that-you were making too damn hard to control himself.

“Yes,” he said through slightly gritted teeth, everything in him keeping from grabbing a handful of your ass.

“Huh-guess that little fantasy was right,” you smiled, bopping his nose delicately.

“What the hell?” His face instantly turned confused, a sweet laugh exploding out of your chest.

“Your so cute when you're startled,” you said between giggles, not noticing the way Dabi was looking at you with hunger in his eyes, his tongue licking his bottom lip.

“Ya know what would be even cuter?” He asked, his voice low and rough.

You hummed a response, your pretty eyes boring into his, making his stomach do a flip.

He grinned devilishly, knowing full well that what he was about to say would throw you for an unnecessary loop of emotions he had no remorse for doing.

“If we re-enacted that first little scene-think you’re up for some lingerie, dollface? Cause I know I am.”

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

Tag List for this little Dabi Multi=Parter:

@cin-midnight​ @justaweaboonugget​ @missalicebaskerville​ @velvet-kissesss​ @nekee-lilac02​ @rubyninja1​ @placeoftime​ @lilushx @itskindofafairything​ @dinastilinski​ @cloudylove0601 

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I hope you guys enjoyed this!!!! :)

[bluegarners]

If you're taking asks I would love to hear your thoughs about the Ric arc and the current state of Nightwing comics!!!!!!!!!! :))

Oh goodness, where to begin...

To start, I share a lot of the same opinions as @nightwingmyboi and @hood-ex ~~ they have very extensive and well thought out takes on the Ric Arc and the general direction DC has decided to take Dick Grayson with, along with his legacy of Nightwing. I highly suggest you read some of their posts about it, as they are very informative and probably more well versed in explaining opinions, haha!

So, my thoughts on the Ric Arc? Like most fans of Nightwing, I believe it kinda sucked ass. Like, sucked ass in the way where DC kinda just forgot characterizations (again), made it all about Batman (again), and ignored good side characters (Bea). The only thing positive I can really say about that whole arc was the art- I really enjoyed the take on Dick's features in Nightwing #74. I was happy they gave him more ethnic looking features with the fuller lips and the more angular nose. (However, they kinda screwed up with the heights??? Jason was tiny!! Barely 5' 4" it looked like LOL) The colors were pretty as well, Ryan Benjamin is a favorite artist of mine, and most of the scenes were fluid.

Another positive I can say about the Ric Arc is one of the very beginning scenes, where Damian goes to see Dick in the hospital while he's still recovering. It was moving that they let Damian be an impatient child when "demanding" for Dick to wake up, and then follow it up with him essentially fleeing and crying when he's not answered. Of course, Damian isn't really mentioned again after this, but it was still really nice to see this side of his character.

The plot.... where do I start? I don't think I'll get too much into it because it'll only frusturate me more sdfslhf but I'll say this. While I am a fan of Dick Grayson angst, DC made it very... unenjoyable, for lack of a better word. It felt like they just threw in as many villains as possible, what with the introduction of the new "sidekick" for Joker, aka Punchline, the Court of Owls appearing for a very brief time just to screw with Dick's memory more, KGBeast and Bane conspiring to get to Batman through Nightwing BY SHOOTING HIM IN THE HEAD (okay, mini rant here: DC, if you're going to make this comic about Nightwing, please please please actually make it about Nightwing. Make the problem about him, not Batman. I get that Bane is kind of the main motivator here, what with him trying to break Batman by killing his oldest allie and destroying his marriage with Seleina, but surely there are writers at the DC headquarters that can come up with a separate problem that doesn't always involve Batman. Surely that's possible right? Nightwing's whole persona was made so he could be recognized separately from Batman; stepping away from Robin was supposed to free Dick of his restrictive ties to the Bat symbol. By always tying Dick's problems immediately back to Batman or one of his enemies, it defeats the purpose of Nightwing being his own hero with his own villians and his own freakin city with its own dozens of problems!!)

Continuing on with villains, here's what I can remember off the top of my head: KGBeast, Bane, Punchline, Joker, Harely (not really, but I'm going to add her anyway), Talon, and the Court of Owls. Now, this is going to controversial, but I'm also going to add the Batfam as part of that list, and here's why. They didn't care. Plain and simple, they didn't care about Ric, they only cared about Dick and what he could do for them. There were a grand total of maybe three times where the Batfam reached out to Ric to try and reason with him, but before all of that, they re-traumatized an already amnesiac and confused person by showing him get assassinated. Like, Bruce. Wth?? I know a lot of this was mostly character assassination, especially with Barbara, but come on. Barbara was really weird throughout this entire arc, and even after he goes back to "normal", she blames Dick for being mean to her, completely ignoring the fact that he didn't know who she was half the time. And that he was, ya know,

mind controlled by multiple villains for a majority of the comic.

Moving past all of that, since I feel like I could rant for ages about it, I didn't like how abruptly they ended that arc. The crystal being my main problem. DC has many scapegoats, the lazerous pit being their biggest imo, but a crystal? All they had to do was show it to him and BOOM cured??? There was no character development. The build up to it could hardly be called build up, as it was done and over with in the span of a few panels. Nothing felt high stakes anymore, and then after he got his memories back, everyone cheered and was like "yay, he's back to normal! you were a real ass to us, and we're not going to apologize for leaving you homeless and left to fend for yourself against all these villains even though you had no memories! oh, but don't worry! we were watching this whole time, so we just let all that stuff happen to you! wow, so glad you're back- we really need Nightwing, but I guess having Dick back is okay too."

That's a very crass interpretation of what went down, but that's what happened. Bruce's half assed excuse of "I was always watching" was awful because then it just leads to more problems of, oh well, if you were always there, why didn't you rent him an apartment so he didn't have to live out of his taxi? Or get him out of trouble and bar fights? Or stop the Joker from getting him and taking control of his mind? Or any numerous terrible things that happened to Ric? It's just annoying that no one seems to actually try and emphathize with what Dick went through, and it's all getting brushed to the side in favour of, "oh, well, back to work!"

They could've gone down so many pathways with Dick getting shot in the head, but instead they gave him amnesia, trauma, bad reception from the fam, and being passed around from villian to villain just to be used over and over again. It felt like this weird dump fest where the writers just woke up one morning and was like, "how many characters can we fit into this arc to get the most amount of readers as possible? How can we become more controversial?"

I know that in the arc after Ric, we're getting some of the aftermath. I'm so so happy they let Dick cry over Alfred's death (he really needed that release of emotions, poor boy has been bottling them up for the sake of others [again, DC, I know he's supposed to be the emotionally controlled one, but please let him be healthy with his emotions and not a shut in with them]) but they still haven't addressed Damian? Like, Dick and Damian were arguably the closest before shit hit the fan, and Dick isn't wondering where the kid is? Or exactly what happened with Alfred and how Damian witnessed it?? A large part of it is the Batfam not telling Dick any of it and kind of just leaving him to his own devices now that the "issue" has been resolved (sound familiar? history repeats itself yet again....). Something else that bugs me a bit is that everyone is telling Dick what he should be feeling/thinking/doing/etc. No one's letting him... grieve. Like, Dick just got his memories back and he's probably grappling with old trauma that's now fresh in his face. Additionally, everyone is assuming he's just going to go back to normal, as if none of what just happened, well, happened. They're erasing this brand spanking new trauma, along with the news that Alfred was murdered, and the fact that Dick is still trying to do his best for his family because it's whats expected of him. I mentioned earlier that Barbara was being really weird, @nightwingmyboi actually already made a post about it, but when Dick tries to apologize and talk to her about what happened when he was Ric, she just kind of... runs away? Dramatically? Didn't even attempt to hear what dick had to say- she was just so consumed with her own hurt that talking wasn't an option for whatever reason. WHICH IS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF HER CHARACTER. It's frusturating because Dick is doing his best to apologize to people when he should have nothing to apologize for- he wasn't under any of his own control and the things he did while Ric or "Dickie-boy" weren't under his own will. If anything, Dick is the one that should get an apology and a hug; he's been through so much and no one seems to be acknowledging that.

All of that to say: I liked the idea of what the Ric arc could've offered, but the plot fell through and just disappointed a lot of people. I'm hoping a lot of the issues presented in the Ric arc that went unaddressed do end up being properly resolved in the newer arcs coming out, but I'm not going to be surprised if it doesn't. Sorry for the long answer LOL

[chocymilkandchill]

Ephemeral

𝙀𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡- (𝙖𝙙𝙟.) 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: 𝟯.𝟮𝗸 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: 𝗙𝗹𝘂𝗳𝗳 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿: 𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻 𝗢𝗖 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱.

(it’s unedited I’m sorry-)

Kira wouldn’t say patrol with Bakugou was fun. He was irritable and she couldn’t help but laugh at the hairstyle Best Jeanist had forced onto the blonde. Every time she went to open her mouth and say something Bakugou would tell her to shut up, or speed up his pace so she would have to run to catch up. He was clearly in an awful mood. 

“Look, it’s Best Jeanist.” A squeal from a random civilian caught Kira’s attention and she promptly stopped walking, as their mentor had as well, to sign some papers and take some pictures. 

“Bakugou. Wait! We can’t just walk without Best Jeanist.” Kira called after her partner. 

“I don’t need some babysitter. We can just get a head start back to the agency.” Bakugou rolled his eyes and turned to continue walking. The sun was setting and the sky was streaked with bold orange and pinks. The clouds reflected the sun’s rays and Kira thought it looked like the softest cotton candy.

“Why did I even choose Best Jeanist? I knew this would be tiring.” Kira thought back to her reasoning.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

“What hero agency are you going to for the internships?” Katsumi was sitting on her desk across from Kira, who was doing the same. Uraraka and Mina were sitting on neighboring desks in front of Kira and Katsumi’s desks. Behind Katusmi’s desk Todoroki sat reading a book, not minding the conversation going on between the girls in front of him. Tsu sat behind Kira and Momo was standing in the isle between Tsu and Todoroki’s desks. The girls had all gotten their offers from various agencies and were excited for the upcoming internships.

“Well, I got an offer from Best Jeanist.” Kira said excitedly. He was the number four hero and Kira couldn’t help but feel proud of herself. She had only gotten a little over 250 offers and when she saw Best Jeanist’s name she had immediately chosen them. 

“I heard Bakugou also got that offer and was going there too.” Mina informed her friend.

“Oh no Kira! You could always apply for Hawks’ hero agency with me and Tokoyami.” Katsumi smiled. 

“No, that wouldn’t even make sense. You’re going there for aerial combat, and I can’t really get in the air, so that’s a bad idea.” Kira pointed out and Katsumi pouted lightly.

“I’m just sad I couldn’t intern with Sho.” Kasumi swung her legs lightly and Todoroki looked up at the mention of his nickname. 

“My old man wouldn’t accept your application, no matter how much I begged him.” Todoroki responded, his words laced with distaste.

“It’s okay, Sho. It’s only a month. I’ll see you soon.” Kastumi continued talking but Kira tuned her friend out. What would Bakugou think? In all honesty, this wasn’t even about him. This was about improving Kira’s abilities. She decided then and there she wouldn’t let herself get distracted by Bakugou.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

She wouldn’t get distracted by Bakugou. That is what she said, so how come she found herself following him back to base. Was she worried about him going off on his own? He was strong on his own, Kira knew that, but she quietly followed behind the boy at a distance of maybe 6 feet. It seemed that he didn’t notice that she came along as he seemed to me muttering to himself angrily. Kira couldn’t pick up what he was saying but froze when he abruptly stopped. She looked down and noticed what caused him to halt. 

“Get off me.” Bakugou growled angrily at the small ball of fur that was clinging to his leg. 

“Meow~” It replied softly.

“GET OFF ME DAMMIT.” Bakugou yelled helplessly as the kitten clung tighter to Bakugou’s leg. He bent down to tug the cat off himself and it’s tail flicked dangerously. A movement in the alley’s thick shadows caught Kira’s attention.

“Bakugou! WAIT!” Kira screamed. It was too late. The kitten sunk its teeth into the flesh on Bakugou’s hand. Bakugou yelped in pain as the cat retreated into the alleyway. From the same alley, a tall woman with a thick build and blood red lips emerged. Up and down her arms, around her neck, and basically all around her, cats clung to the woman affectionately. 

“Talk about a crazy cat lady.” Kira snorted as she hurried over to make sure Bakugou was okay.

“I’m fine.” Bakugou slapped Kira’s hand away as she reached out to help him. “Let me take care of this cat hag.”

“I’m sorry but if my cat bit you right now I’m not sure you’re gonna get the chance to fight me.” The woman smiled mockingly. 

“What do you mean?” Kira crossed her arms. The woman didn’t get to say anything, though. Kira turned just as Bakugou dropped to the ground. His face was a hint of green and he looked ready to vomit. 

“Bakugou? Are you okay?” Kira dropped to his side and sat him up. He didn’t push her away as he rubbed his freshly-bleeding head. 

“‘M fine. Lemme blow her up.” Bakugou made a weak attempt at pushing himself to his feet. He quickly got on his knees and threw up whatever he had for lunch. Kira scrunched her nose at the sight while rubbing his back. 

“Tsk.” The Cat Woman clicked her tongue impatiently. “Did you forget about me or something?”

“Er, sorry.” Kira replied, embarrassed. “Would you like to...fight?” 

“Well, you’re a hero...right?” The woman adjusted her cats. 

“Mhmm. Bakugou back up. I’ll take care of her. It’ll be okay.” Bakugou tried to make a sound of protest, but his stomach made a funny noise as he winced and decided to drag himself over to lean against the front of a building. 

“Let’s get this party started.” The cats on the woman’s shoulders bared their fangs, effectively looking less cute and much more menacing. Kira gulped as her brain ran through her options. She could try to back up and bring the villain to Best Jeanist, but that might endanger the civilians. She couldn’t leave Bakugou out in the open either. Okay, she had a plan and was ready to begin. 

“Let’s go.” Kira smirked as she felt her teeth shift to points. She didn’t want to give away her quirk yet. From what she knew about the Cat Woman’s quirk, she couldn’t let the cats get near her. The cats were inching to surround her.

Three...two...one, go! Kira stepped swiftly to the left and cut back right diving into the alleyway behind the Cat Woman. 

“You dumb hero!” The Cat Woman cried as she backed Kira into the wall on the other end of the alley. “You’ve cornered yourself.” Kira remained calm, holding a comeback from slipping out of her lips.

That’s right, bring all your stupid cats in the alleyway. Kira kept a neutral look on her face. The last of the cats angled around Kira who had her back pressed against the brick wall that ended the alley.

“Before you decide to kill me, I was wondering if you could care to explain what your adorable cats do when they bite a victim.” Kira needed just a tiny bit of time.

“Hmmm. No. I think we’ll just show you.” The Cat Woman advanced forward ever so slightly, and Kira noticed the cats tense, ready to pounce.

It’s now or never. Kira had them close enough. 

 “𝙉𝙖𝙣𝙞 𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙞 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙙𝙝𝙞 

𝙊𝙨𝙤 𝙣𝙖 ’𝙥𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞 

𝙊𝙨𝙤 𝙣𝙖 ’𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙞 𝙞 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝙩𝙤𝙪 

𝙉𝙖 𝙩𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞 𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙𝙝𝙖

𝙊𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙖 𝙩𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞 𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙𝙝𝙖 

𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙠𝙝𝙤𝙨 𝙠𝙚 𝙜𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙖”

 Kira drew a breath after finishing her song. It was an old one, and probably her strongest one. It was a lullaby and easily made humans and animals alike fall asleep. Kira knew it wouldn’t last long. She hadn’t focused hard enough for it to be strongly effective. She was pulled from her thoughts at a furious cry and several cats launched at her. She narrowly avoided their barred fangs and quickly let her nails sharpen. She used them to stab and climb up the brick. Reaching the top of the building, she launched her body at another roof and rolled on impact. She quickly popped up and did the first thing that came to mind. She dropped herself down the front of the alley before using her adrenaline fueled strength to pull the dumpsters in front of the entrance. 

“There’s a villian.” Kira yelled to Best Jeanist who was just finishing signing the last of their fan’s cards.

“I’m sorry but I must attend to this.” Best Jeanist apologized to his fans before turning to Kira expectantly.

“They should still be there but we have to hurry.” Kira ran in the direction of the ‘captured’ villain. 

Best Jeanist surveyed the sleeping woman and the lethargic kittens. “I’ll wrap them up.” The pro hero motioned for Kira to step back and at that moment she remembered Bakugou.

“Bakugou?” She called looking for him. She gasped as she noticed a pile of his soiled clothes. They were soaked with throw-up and sweat. Kira felt her face slowly grow redder as she realized Bakugou must be naked around here somewhere. 

“Meow. Meow.” Kira looked down in surprise at his clothes. There was a tiny cat with spiky ash blonde fur. It had piercing red eyes and an unamused expression.

“B-Bakugou?!” Kira cried when her eyes landed on the cat. The cat hissed. Kira held out her hand to the kitten and begrudgingly, the cat climbed onto Kira’s hand and clung to her arm. Kira brought him to her chest and he squirmed to get comfortable in her grip. Kira bundled Bakugou’s clothes and tucked them under her arm. After reassuring that Best Jeanist had the situation under control, Kira took Bakugou back to the agency. Kira went to Bakugou’s room that was next to hers. 

“Hey, Bakugou? Do you think it’s a good idea to leave you in your room all alone?” Kira was still holding Bakugou and he squirmed to get out of Kira’s arms. He promptly crawled into his own room before meowing until Kira followed. He jumped into his hamper before getting tangled in the clothes. Kira tried her best to hold back laughter as she reached in to pull him out. When her hand got close enough, Bakugou hissed and scratched her. 

“Hey.” Kira’s tone was stern as she examined the blood now running down her arm. Bakugou froze as he had realized he just injured her. Kira sighed and reached back to pick him up. She placed his dirty clothes in the hamper before taking him to the bathroom with her. She sat him next to the sink while she rinsed the wound in the sink. 

“Listen here,” Kira took a deep breath and waited until Bakugou’s red eyes landed on her green ones. “I am making the choice to look after you. I’m trying to figure out how I’ll do that and train, but I want you to know that I’m your best bet.” Kira proceeded to wrap her injury with a bandaid. “You can’t take care of yourself as a small kitten. It’s just facts. You don’t have yo sleep in my bed or anything. I’ll set you up a bed and I’ll feed you and let you out to go to the bathroom. Does that sound good?” Kira finished taking care of her injury and now bent down so she was eye level with Bakugou.

In response, Bakugou just swatted Kira’s forehead and meowed. Kira picked him up and plopped him on her bed, once back in her room. While she searched for something Bakugou could sleep on, Bakugou decided to make himself at home by curling up on Kira’s pillow. Kira noticed this and scrunched her nose. 

“Don’t fall asleep on my pillow! I need to sleep there too.” She walked over to the cat and poked him. Bakugou just opened one eye to shoot Kira a glare that seemed to say, Can’t you see that I’m trying to sleep? Kira exhaled through her nose before telling Bakugou that was going to change and not to look. 

Kira curled up in her bed. She was kinda chilly and she desperately wanted to cuddle the ball of fur in front of her. Maybe the sleep was clouding her brain, but Kira subconsciously grabbed Bakugou and pulled him closer to her body.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

It was too hot. Bakugou tried to stretch out his limbs, but he felt something restricting him from doing so. What the hell? Bakugou opened his eyes, only to find himself enveloped in someone’s arms. K-kira? Why the hell am I in bed with that damn nerd? The previous night flooded his memories. Oh yeah. He was a cat. 

“Meow.” Bakugou tried to tell Kira to wake up.

“Ughhhh. Oh? Good morning Bakugou.” Kira smiled sleepily and Bakugou almost found it cute. Almost. 

The first full day Bakugou was a cat consisted of Bakugou falling asleep on the window sill five times. He also fell into one of Kira’s clothes draws she accidentally left open. He was waiting eagerly for Kira to return from training so he could show off how far he could jump between objects. When Kira finally came back, Bakugou meowed up a storm, catching her attention and showing off his new trick. Kira giggled and applauded and Bakugou couldn’t help but feel something else along with pride. Something new.

The second full day was pretty similar, napping wise, but Kira had decided to leave her window open and put a box on the ground outside her window for easy access in and out of her room. Bakugou chased two squirrels and a bird before deciding he wanted to climb a tree and see why all those other dumb cats got ‘stuck.’ 

Sadly, Bakugou got ahead of himself and climbed too high. Kira had come back at dusk and frowned at the kitten’s absence. 

“Bakugou?” She called out the window. She was met with hissing from a tree and Kira laughed for a minute before slipping out her window and climbing the tree. 

“Did you get stuck?” Kira asked once she got to the branch under Bakugou’s.

“MEOW.” Bakugou desperately wished he was human so he could yell at her for laughing. 

That night, out of spite, Bakugou slept in Kira’s shirt drawer. Bakugou ended up waking up around midnight and missed the warmth of Kira’s body. Reluctantly, Bakugou crawled over to Kira’s sleeping figure. He lightly inserted himself in between her arms.

The third day Kira offered to take Bakugou on patrol with her. He instantly perked up at the idea. With his tail pointed and eyes wide, Kira knew he was excited. After changing, Kira nudged Bakugou into her pocket and, to his horror, fit perfectly. He angrily peeped his head out at his surroundings that looked so large and unfamiliar. 

She’s so nice to everyone. That was such a dumb question that person asked but she managed to answer nicely. Bakugou analized Kira’s work from the pocket. He never noticed how patient and sweet she was. Come to think of it, the only time she spoke to him sternly was when he scratched him. Surely it wouldn’t be so bad to have her take care of him even when he wasn’t a cat? Bakugou froze in distaste at his thoughts. That would mean they’d have to be more than just friends. Bakugou shivered at the thought of the sympathetic smile Kira’s face would adorn when she rejected him. Best not to even think about dumb ass thoughts like that.

The fourth day Bakugou felt funny. His head was spinning and he was feeling sick, like the day he had turned to a cat. At 12:00 am on the dot, he felt like he had to throw up. Squirming away from Kira he tried to get to the bathroom. As he was hopping to the dresser, he felt like he couldn’t hold it back and threw up. He felt better, but the relief was short lived. His eyes widened in horror. He had puked all over Kira’s gorgeous hero costume. Bakugou’s stomach twisted with guilt, but his head started pounding, so he made his way to Kira’s arms hoping that he didn’t totally ruin his trust with her. He shivered to think about how angry she would be. She’d surely kick him out. He didn’t think he could stand being sick and without Kira’s care. Somehow he fell asleep and his thoughts faded into static.

“Bakugou.” A soft voice woke the cat up from his sleep. He stretched out his back before looking up, only to see Kira standing there with a stained hero outfit.

“Meow.” I didn’t mean to do it, I was trying to get to the bathroom. Of course he couldn’t tell her that.

To Bakugou’s surprise, Kira giggled. She wasn’t mad?

“I'll put this in the wash. You don’t seem to be feeling well, so I asked Best Jeanist and he gave me the okay to skip training today to attend to you.” Kira seemed to be anything but mad.

Bakugou blinked in awe. Was this really happening? Everything about his current reality seemed unreal. I mean, he was a fucking cat.

“Here you can nap and I’ll put on Netflix.” Kira returned from the laundry room and Bakugou made himself comfortable on Kira’s lap once she was situated.

The day consisted of a lot of napping and movies. Kira silently wished Bakugou had been human because, come on. Cuddling with Bakugou and watching movies all day? That was like a dream come true. 

Some time in the middle of the night, Kira felt a heavy weight crush her body. As she blinked, she felt bare skin under her finger tips. Peering down, she saw a sleeping human Bakugou snuggling her, using her chest as a pillow. Kira immediately blushed noticing he, in fact, was not wearing anything. 

“B-bakugou.” Kira whispered after she covered him with her blanket. 

“Hmm? Kira?” Bakugou coughed. His eyes snapped open when he realized he had said something other than ‘Meow’. 

“Bakugou, here p-put this on.” Kira handed Bakugou some clothes she had in her room that were his. She had some on hand in anticipation that this would happen.

“Oh, yeah.” Bakugou seemed to just realize he was naked. He blushed deeply before motioning for Kira to turn around so he could change. Once he was changed, Bakugou climbed under the sheets again, motioning for Kira to join him.

“Sh-shouldn’t you go back to your room?” Kira stuttered.

“But I’m already here.” Bakugou awkwardly cleared his throat. Kira just shrugged lightly before climbing into bed. She moved to pull him to her chest, like every other night, but he pulled away from her reach while whispering something.

“Hmm?” Kira hummed.

“L-let me hold you this time.” Bakugou’s words were no louder than a whisper, but Kira heard them and allowed herself to be hugged close to Bakugou’s strong chest. His pounding heart filled her ears as the rhythmic beats lulled her into the most comfortable sleep she had in a lon time.

[l0rd-0f-the-lies]

*paps* It's all good M'Thude! Now.. Prompts.. Hhmm. Virgils reaction to Janus now being accepted into the "Light Sides"? Or.. Remus and Roman dealing with the fallout of the events that just transpired? Oh.. How about everyone's internal monologue upon hearing Deceit say his name? 🤗

(Disclaimer: I haven't written fic in, several years. Apologies in advance. I also can't figure out how to add a read more, unfortunately.)

Chosen Prompt: Roman and Remus deal with the fallout after SVSR

Pairings: None

Warnings: Angst, but with a happy ending. Some very minor actions that could be considered harmful to the self (digging fingers into arms/shoulders).

Roman didn't want to be in his room any more. His knees had been digging into the pacing worn carpet for far too long already, his fingertips were forming indents on his elbows, and he was tired of staring at the monuments to projects past that glared down at him, menacing reminders of when he was Thomas's ... when the others valued his ideas. Yeah, that. He also just, wanted to be somewhere the others wouldn't go looking, if they bothered to. Patton had already come by to 'check' on him, and had been forced to tell his peace to Roman's door as the prince had refused to get up to answer it. Apparently the parental side felt that Janus hadn't really meant what he'd said, and that there'd been a misunderstanding. He'd apologized for not speaking up during their... disagreement, something about not trying to take sides, and had declared that "You boys will make up in no time, I just know it," before sighing and walking off again, seeming to accept that he wouldn't be invited inside. Yeah, Roman had mentally scoffed, he's so sure. They'll just be buddy buddy in no time... It shouldn't even matter. It shouldn't.

It did.

Wiping yet again at his face, the fanciful side closed his eyes in order to avoid the judgemental gaze of his own decor, consumed by the whirl of thoughts clogging his head. Where could he go? The imagination was far too obvious, if he went to the subconscious it's likely a Function would rat him out, the only other place would be someone else's... But no. None of them would want to see him right now, nor would he want them to see him like this. The only person who might not judge his disheveled state, who wouldn't care how good or bad he might actually be... Is the only one who he really had no right to ask that of, with all the distance he'd placed between them. And yet... the thought wouldn't leave him. Maybe... maybe he would understand, whether Roman felt he deserved it or not. And so, with a deep exhale, the prince sunk down, eyes closing as he Travelled.

He rose up slowly, still settled on his knees as he reappeared, the press of hardwood harsh against them. It made sense, he supposed. Wood was easier to clean up, should... unsavory things spill on it. Eyes taking in his new surroundings, quickly flicking away from things better left unacknowledged, he almost missed the dark lump settled on his brother's bed. It was quiet, so quiet, and that terrified Roman more then if he'd triggered some sort of trumpet launched fireworks booby trap. Remus was -never- quiet, or at least, he'd never been when Roman was around.

"R-remus?" He winced as his voice cracked, vocal cords worn out from crying for so long. "What are you-" His words cut short as the lump sniffled, a loud, snotty sounding snort came from the lump, causing Roman to grimace. Tissues were invented for a reason, not that that'd matter to Remus. "Are you cr- Are you ok?" He amends, it hadn't even occured to him that Remus may be dealing with something himself.

"Just peachy. Like that giant one those kids gobble-gobbled up. Not that you care, of course." It wasn't as if Roman had ever made much effort to seek out his company in recent years, much less made any move to comfort him. No, usually he'd be the first to insult him, remind him of his 'dark side' status. So quick to remind everyone how much better he was then his 'twisted' sibling. Not that he was the cause of this particular cry session. Not directly. No, that honor didn't belong to him today.

The Duke's response caused Roman to wince, glancing down and at least having the decency to look sorry, not that Remus could see it, steadfastly facing the far wall rather then turning over. "I, I do actually." He voiced without stopping to consider why. His heart pounded harshly as the reality that his brother probably wouldn't believe him suddenly hit him, driving him to forget his own reason for coming here for the moment. Instead the crushing need to apologize was swarming, cloying his eyes once more. "I know I haven't, sometimes, and I'm sorry. I, I haven't been very fair to you, recently, and I'm so, so sorry Remus. Please, talk to me? What happened?" He forced himself to stand, knees pulsing painfully in protest after being kept in the same position for so long. Shuffling forward slowly, reminiscent of someone trying to avoid spooking a semi feral cat, he settles on the edge of Remus's bed, hands fidgeting in his lap as he debates reaching towards his sibling.

Remus scrunches his face, forcibly stuffing another wave of tears down as the seemingly genuine words meet his ears, as the bed dips, telling him his brother had taken a seat. "What happened," he grits out, quite literally grinding his teeth together, "is you and Jan decided to drag -me- into your little cat fight." The sound of a shaky inhale can be heard from him, before he slowly turns over, red, watery eyes locking onto Roman's with an unreadable expression. "Well, he did the dragging. But you just rolled right with it, let it cut you real good, didn't ya? God forbid you get compared to the horror that is -me-, right?" He bit out, anger flaring, propping himself on an elbow and a knee to sit up. "You're just here because you got compared to your 'evil twin', and obviously that means Tommy thinks you're just as bad as me, right?" His eyes watered dangerously, threatening to spill over once more. "Doesn't feel so good, does it? Being called the evil one?"

Roman sat frozen, eyes growing wide the more Remus spoke, the more hurt and anger filled the air between them. "I-" He clenched his fingers together tightly, squeezing. "I-" He stuttered out, so much for royal eloquincy. He throws his hands up, frustrated with his inability to form a response to the unexpected, raw pain in his brother's words. What did one even say to that? It had never crossed his mind that his opinion, all of their opinions really, of his brother would actually hurt him. Remus, of all people, seemed the type to -enjoy- being referred to as sinister, wicked, and yes, evil. Or, Roman supposed, that's what he'd always assumed. "I thought you liked being called that?"

Remus seemed to deflate, sighing more to himself then anything and collapsing back against his pillows again. "That's what you choose to focus on?" He asks, again more to himself then anything, before sighing a second time, eyes losing some of their heat. "It can be fun, sometimes. Winding people up until they say it. But only because they think it anyway. Even, even if -you- had said it, I probably wouldn't care. I may have even laughed. But... but Jan, Dee knows. He knows I don't really like it. Especially in comparison to you. He, he's told me before, that I'm not. Not the evil twin. Not a mistake. Not bad, just different. And then... Then he says that. Because he knows it will hurt you, knows it's one of those things you're so fucking insecure about, and don't think I haven't noticed. You have more of those then a dragon's lair does skulls. And I know, I -know- he was hurt, near devastated really, and was just reaching for the lowest, easiest one of those to dig into, to stab at -you- with, but..." He exhales slowly, salty tracks making their way down his face. "But that doesn't mean it didn't -hurt-. Doesn't mean there isn't a chance he really thinks it, no matter -what- he says otherwise. He's Deceit, right?" He huffs bitterly, wrapping his arms around himself and digging his fingers into his shoulders, anger and hurt shimmering in his gaze. Under that though, is something Roman is so, so familiar with. He sees it in the mirror far too often, when his thoughts get the better of him. Deep seated insecurity, shining and broken. It doesn't belong on his twin's face, he finds himself thinking, leaning forward and hovering a hand over Remus, ensure if the other wants to be touched right now.

"I... I didn't know." He says quietly, rushing to finish his thought as he realizes he's said that out loud. "But- but that doesn't make it okay." Roman swallows, trying to quickly comes to terms with his rapidly shifting opinion of his brother after the deeply personal admittance from him, the word 'mistake' ringing uncomfortably in his head. Suddenly, he's no longer seeing a villian, just a hurting, lonely kid, same as him. Just someone who doesn't deserve to feel this way about things they have no control over, never had a choice about. "He's right, and I wish, I wish I had thought of it that way sooner. You -aren't- evil Remus, maybe, maybe you never were. You're just, so different from me, and we were so young when I first started calling you that, but I shouldn't have judged you so harshly. You can be a bit much, but you didn't choose what pieces you got, what role you filled. It doesn't make you a villian. It never should have." He's near about to cry again himself, seeing the hurt he'd helped to cause suffocating his sibling like this. He rests his palm on Remus's arm, squeezing reassuringly. "And I'm sure that De-" He cuts himself off, "that Janice, agrees. He may be a liar, but what does he get out of telling you that you aren't really the bad guy? He knows you aren't evil, Re. It's like you said, he just went for the easiest jab, something he knew I'm afraid of. That I -was- afraid of."

And yeah, Roman hadn't known what response to that he'd expected, but it certainly wasn't the long pause followed by a string of steadily growing giggled. "What did I say? Remus? Are you al-" His question is interrupted by a rough wheeze from the side in question, punctuated by even more giggles before he manages to answer.

"Did- did you say -Janice-? You still think it's -Janice-?" Remus wheezes out, managing a giddy smile as he cackles.

"Y-yes?" His brother hesitantly responds, both looking & sounding unsure. "I, that -is- his name, isn't it? ...You even called him Jan!" Roman suddenly recalls, looking bewildered and nearly offended.

Remus's laughter only grows stronger at that, before he dramatically wipes a tear from his eye, clutching his stomach as he manages to wind down the cackles enough to speak. "Ro, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you are dumb as a box of rocks."

"Hey!"

"It's Janus. Or as I like to call him, Jaynus." This sets off another round of chuckling from the more chaotic twin. "Ya know, as in the -Roman- god, Janus? With a u and an s? Has two fudgin' faces just like dear double Dee's logo?" If ever a grin could be described as shit eating, that was Remus's expression right now.

Roman, at this point, was bright red, embarrassment tinting his skin. "I- I knew that!" He cries, puffing up his chest and placing his fists on his hips. All it took was a skeptical, unimpressed look from his brother and he was deflating, admitting defeat with the lowering of his arms. "Ok, so maybe I didn't! But how was I supposed to know? Mythology is the nerd's thing, not mine!"

"Clearly." Remus teased, sitting up properly and moving to settle beside his brother. His grin slowly faded, replaced by a serious expression that absolutely didn't belong on his face. He clears his throat, but doesn't go on, trying to decide on what he wanted to say as his brother's gaze settled on him questioningly.

"Remus?" He asks, his own expression fading as he takes note of this. "Everything ok?"

"With me? I feel... a lot better. Probably too much. I may have to set something on fire just to get the jitters out later. But what about -you-?" He asks, inquisitive gaze locking with his twins.

"Me? What about me?" Roman scrunches his face in confusion, the quick shifts of their conversation leaving him a bit disoriented as to what his brother meant.

"What about you, what? Don't give me that, I saw how you looked when you first rose up. You came here because you were upset too, and not just about Jan's jab."

Roman unconsciously flinches at the reminder, the ghosts of the looks the other's had given him, at Thomas's lie, because Janus had confirmed it was a lie, hadn't he, clawing at his chest. "I, I'm fine." His voice sounds weak even to his own ears. The look from his brother leaves him grasping at straws. "We literally just established you aren't evil, so what he said doesn't matter, ok? I'm fine."

"You're avoiding what I really mean, Ro." Remus raises his eyebrows, slowly settling a hand on Roman's shoulder, arm tensed as if convinced his brother would pull away. "I'm talking about what -you- said. About not being-"

"What about it?" Roman chokes out, forcing himself not to throw Remus's hand off as he cuts him off. "I know I'm not evil, since you aren't, but... But I'm not the hero either. I'm not -his- hero. I get it, really, I do." He glares down at his boots, expression closing off again.

"Yes, you are."

"W-what?" He's sure he's heard wrong.

"I said, you are. Of course you're his hero Roman, making a few mistakes doesn't change that. Don't be an idiot."

He feels a treacherous bead of hope bubble in his chest, but no, he can't- "But Janus-"

Remus's brow furrowed, his fingers squeezing the other's shoulder to get him to look at him again. "Janus nodded. You assumed he meant Thomas was lying, but you know what they say about -ass-umptions, bro. Thomas was telling the truth."

"What?"

Remus just rolls his eyes, sighing. "He was telling the truth. Janus was agreeing with Thomathy when he nodded. You are that dork's hero, like it or not, and I don't see that changing anytime soon."

Roman doesn't respond, stilling as he processes this. And then-

"Oh damnit. Come here Count Cry-ula." Remus gripes, no real heat to it as he pulls his brother to him, hugging him tight in a way he hasn't since childhood.

Roman manages to laugh wetly through what was probably the second dozen round of tears that night, hugging back like it's the only chance he'll get. "R-really? You aren't, just saying that to make me feel better?"

"Do I -seem- like the feel better side to you?" His brother snorts, a few tears of his own making another run for it. "Yes, really. He loves you Roman, and even if we're all so emotionally backed up it's about to come out the other end, the others do too."

And for the first time that night, he believes it. The hope is so big now, bubbling brightly in his chest, overflowing and spilling freely down his face as he buries it into his twin's shoulder, a bright laugh managing to escape him as his heart swells. They don't hate him. -Thomas- doesn't hate him. Maybe... Maybe things will be okay after all, both twins think, and they laugh together as they cry, the sound a perfect harmony.

[pastelbatfandoms]

The Vampire Princess (An Evan Rose Novel)

Chapter 6

The following day after resting in the house,Levathia hears footsteps inside and gets up to investigate. She finds a tall male figure with long thick black hair,dressed in a dark blue uniform type outfit,sitting in a chair in the barren living room,smirking.  

"Well you finally made it up." He props one foot onto a knee. Levathia narrows her eyes, "Valenn what are you doing here?" "Now is that anyway to greet your sire? Besides Echo misses you." One of her sires anyway,the other being Shirowen. It's a long story. Levathia's eyes widen at the mention of their daughters name. "How is she?" "Just fine. Out hunting rogue vampyres as we speak." "And rogue Were Wolves as well knowing your influence." Levathia replies darkly. "Ah so Lex told you." Valenn's green eyes widen slightly. "What he didn't tell you was that I saved you,they would have reverted back to what they were born to be eventually and then came after you,without me you wouldn't have made it. Card and I prevented that."Valenn finished a superior tone making it's way  into his voice once more. Then his expression darkened. "We would have prevented more if that meddling Mathius hadn't stopped us." {Oh so that's his name.} Thinks Levathia. Out loud she snapped, "So that meant you had to kill My coven!" She glared at Valenn. Valenn leans back  in his chair,seemingly un bothered,much like a prince. "There's always causality's in war." "You should have been one of them." Levathia snaps back. Valenn stands up and takes Levathia's hand. "But then you would never be what you are today. Besides underneath that hostility I know you miss me." Levathia snatches her hand back in disgust. "So that's what your after. What's the matter? run out of sex slaves and people to ride your coattails,kiss your feet. That definitely won't be me." Valenn was her sire that was true amd that bond was hard to break,but her resolve was strong and just like with Shirowen,she wouldn't give in. "Oh come on you're lonely admit it." He smirks. "Besides that Mathius guy has nothing on me." Levathia grabs Valenn by the collar of his shirt and snarls. "He's better than you!" Startled by her reaction over someone she had never met,she lets Valenn go. Valenn straightens,heading for the door. "Well you've made up your mind then." He opens the door then stops looking over his shoulder at her. "Oh have fun with Nicodemus," He tosses her a crystal snow globe. "We will see one another again." "Is that a promise?" Valenn nods in reply. "Then I won't hold you to it." Levathia shoots back as he walks out the door and disappears. A few hours after the encounter with the warlord prince,Levathia put it behind her and went outside hidden from daylight in her long dark red hooded velvet cloak. Vampires would not burn in the sun but they were affected or irritated by it (mostly the eyes) though some vamps had built up an immunity to it. After feeding on a small rabbit,Levathia deiceds to survey her surroundings some more. She is still clothed in her long velvet black dress,carrying her staff,sword strapped to her back,she heads 5 kilometers east. besides old war artifacts littering the ground there is only pure darkness.

Levathia puts down her hood as there was no sun in this place. She spots among the dead wood trees and crumbling buildings a black fortress hiding among the pitch blackness. Levathia frowns curious,not sure what it was. It was certainly not the castle she had grew up in. Just then she senses a shadow among the leaves and a painted up man with bright red hair appears. She's heard of him a crazy villian from the future named Kreegan who now works for Nicodemus as his right hand. As quickly as he appeared though he disappeared. "Damn." Levathia curses under her breath, "I wanted to talk to him." It starts to rain and she puts her hood up. Levathia cocks her head then,her nose wrinkling slightly. "Why do I smell wet dog?" She wonders. Then hears a rustling in the trees. She backs away slightly smelling a mixture of wet wolf and human. {A Lycanthrope! maybe-} But before she can finish the thought,Levathia hears a growl and a dark figure leaps from the trees,jumping down on top of her and pinning her to the ground. Eyes closed,Levathia tries to struggle from its grip on her wrists. "Let me go!" She hisses. "Lady Levathia it is I!" The voice speaks up urgently,clearly a males,young and yet still rough sounding,she recognized the habit of old English from it's mouth. Still not opening her eyes Levathia inhales deeply and at the tangy stench of dirt and wolf, coughs almost choking. Vampires do breath,they're not completely dead. She knows who it is. "Alucard?" Levathia opens her eyes and looks up at the large smiling gruff man,she almost grins back then remembering, her eyes darken. "Get off me." Levathia orders in a low tone. "Sorry." taken aback the lycan lets her up. Levathia brushes herself off and looks at him. "Why are you here?" Alucard bows slightly. "Forgive me for surprising you Princess,but I am in a hurry and need your help. I understand you are with Shirowen now but-" She interrupts him. "I am no longer with him." Alucard glances at her. "No?" Levathia shakes her head but says no more,trying to forget that at one time Alucard a true wolf shifter,able to control his transformation except on a blue moon,had been her closest confidante as well as loads of fun,she had respected him knowing that he would protect her & anyone he deemed an innocent, a Viking at heart he also had a brutal streak. One she thought he only used to protect his land,his family and his friends. Apparently she was wrong but Levathia also knew how influenced he was by his blood brother and Prince,Valenn Tepes. Levathia crosses her arms around herself and does not look at him,saying "So why do you think I should help a dog like you and a lowly prince like him. The ones that murdered My family." She locks eyes with his dark ones then,her own seeming to turn into true ice,fangs glisten. "I should kill you where you stand." She growls, her sharp nails extending.

Chapter 7

[blue-honeycomb]

Quiet Devotion 4 [Hawks x Reader]

I'll edit this at a later date...

Summary: Part 4 of the 'Quiet Devotion' series… Somehow this story's managed to wring yet another part out of me. What am I doing with my life?

Reader Details: Emotional, humble, loyal, introspective, independent.

Quirk: Life Fiber (A.K.A Soul Silk).

Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

---

---

Six Years Ago

---

Fast doesn't even begin to cover the sheer speed the winged hero is capable of, and coupled with his reaction time and environmental awareness he seems down right inhuman at times. As far as you can tell there are few skills he's incapable of executing mid-combat and you find it all the more admiral that a considerable amount of that talent is focused on support and rescue work. It says much for his character that life takes precedence over the promise of glory

Memories of darkness and pain nip harshly at the back of your mind, the fear that'd overcome you when the car fire had finally died out was printed red on the backs of your eyelids. You can still smell the stench of burning gasoline and the heavy tinge of sweet iron, the feel of sand in your hair.

You dream of it sometimes, even a year later. You don't usually get back to sleep afterwards either, despite the tear inducing exhaustion riping painfully though your body. Instead you pull up the 24/7 Hero News website and hope that you'll catch a glimpse of red feathers flashing across the screen, hear that smooth, masculine voice quipping at his comrades, snarking at his opponents.

Anything to make you feel safe again. Anything to remind yourself that the dark of your room is only temporary, that the blankets tucked tightly (too tightly, always too tightly) around you are soft and pliant under your hands.

The news plays in the background as you finish washing the night's dishes, reporters droning on about Hawk's exploits in a seemingly endless stream of praise and condescension. Rapidly cooling water drips down the front of the kitchen sink and soaks the front of your shirt despite your best efforts, and you take a moment to unstick the cloth from your skin with water-wrinkled fingers.

The fabric is sopping in some places still, heavy and discolored with dish water despite the wringing you give it. The rain outside seems to somehow add to that feeling of dampness despite you having not been outside all day, the pitter-patter of icy droplets battering your window like icecubes caressing your spine.

It's as you lament the condition of your clothes and the weather that the beginnings of a though begins to take root in your mind.

'If only my clothes were made from my quirk.' You thought exasperatedly, not for the first time, while entering the livingroom to watch the rest of the report before you had to do laundry. 'Then I'd never have to worry about wet clothes again.'

On the news Hawks stands before the cameras with his trademark devil-may-care smile on his lips, eyes half-lidded and entire hero persona picture perfect but for the way his clothes seem to sag and darken unevenly from the rain. A more aggressive reporter manages to sneak in a baiting question about the teenager's glaring inexperience in the field and the winged hero quips back in response, water dripping from the tips of his long deflated hair.

He looks miserable standing in the rain, the bright colors so characteristic of him dulled and darkened by the gray overcast, by the rain soaking him to the bone. Even as he's smiling you can tell it doesn't reach his eyes, barely even manages to fully form on his lips as question after intrusive question is hurled at him from the hoard of intent faces. You don't miss the way he glanced to the side occasionally, towards a rail thin man standing quietly beside him, meeting the teen's gaze every time with a narrow-eyed stare.

You don't think you've ever seen Hawks so unhappy before. Not on the battle field with hellfire raining down around him, nor any of his interviews with a panel of venomous snakes breathing down his back. Not even when he'd misstepped during his first solo multi-villian battle and had more than half of his left wing exploded right off his back.

No. You'd never seen him looking so miserable before and more than anything that quiet discontent in his eyes racked your soul with a sad, profound longing. Without conscious thought the tips of your fingers begun to warm and turn black, dark roots creeping up the veins in your fingers and fading at the knuckles. Moments later the beginnings of your silk spilling forth onto your lap and latching onto your pant legs catches your attention.

It did that from time to time when you got overly emotional. Frankly, the lack of control was embarrassing and never failed to remind you of why you were never able to train it past its current potential. Your doctor had said it was nothing to worry about though, and that you could maintain a normal life even with the occasional accident.

You'd thought about going to a quirk specialist shortly after you'd hit your current limit, but ultimately decided against it when you caught sight of the price tag attached to each visit. You reasoned that even if you managed to start producing more silk there'd be little use for it besides having readily available materials on hand if you ever felt the need to sew. So you dropped the matter entirely and carried on with your life.

Until a year ago, that is, when your whole world came crashing down around you.

You quickly shake those thoughts away, instead focusing on detaching the silk from your clothes before they can weave into the fabric they're touching. Yet another oddity you've had to learn the hard way. For the first twenty or so seconds before it cools and solidifies, the silk will try to latch onto any available surface and meld to it. Honestly, it was more annoying than anything and sometimes you regretted not being able to get it checked out by a specialist.

It took a few moments but you eventually managed to get the silk separated into their individual strains. They're each around ten inches long, though some had managed to stick together at the ends to more than double their length.

Exasperated, you pluck up the longest of the bunch with the tips of your darkened fingers, holding it before you with a frown. The black strands remain stuck together and you knew from experience they'd now be impossible to disconnect.

The flash of red on the television catches your attention for a moment and your sight blurs as it attempts to refocus. In that brief second, however, the black of your silk melded seamlessly into the darkened cloth of Hawk's soaked jacket and undershirt. In that exact moment, the quiet thought came to your mind.

'My quirk has never been useful to me. But maybe, with enough patience and effort, it can be of use to someone who deserves it more than anyone.'

And so begun the trials of your labor. The physical manifestation of your unspoken devotion.

---

Present Day

--

Hawks wasn't sure what expression had managed to slip past his usually perfect control, but whatever it was must have been fearsome indeed because the young researcher before him was sweating bullets beside his mentor. Said mentor was glancing disappointedly at his assistant and had yet to step in, instead opting to shake his head and cross his arms with quiet exasperation.

"So." Hawks begun in a slow drawl, still smiling but for the way his eyes narrowed. "We're just throwing civilian names into hero politics now are we?" The assistant lowered his head, but remained silent. "Making sure to break all those confidential clauses, huh? I've got to admire your spirit though. Go big or go home is the name of the game in this industry, after all." The winged hero clapped a hand over the other's shoulder, making sure to look him right in the eye as he finished. "How's it feel to be the uncontested winner?"

The assistant took a deep, fortifying breath before finally speaking. "I got carried away. My actions were a direct violation of Proper Hero Agency Conduct and I understand there will be repercussions. I-" The young man pauses again, almost breaking eye contact but the hand tightening on his shoulder quickly made him reconsider. "I let my pride get in the way of proper procedure and it's potentially put a civilian in danger." The assistant grit his teeth and closed his eyes. "I didn't win anything. I fucked up. Knew it the moment their name came out of my mouth."

There was a tense silence before Hawks himself broke it with a loud, exaggerated sigh. "It can't be helped I guess. Chicks gotta break a few eggs before they can grow after all." Everyone pointedly ignore the fact the Hawks was only a few years older than the assistant. Most of all the assistant.

The winged hero threw his head back, letting his entire posture slump and his face crumple into an irritated frown. "They're probably having a heart attack right now."

--

You were panicking. Inwardly, for the time being, but you weren't too far from having a total breakdown. For three hours your phone has been blowing up with an unknown number of texts and calls, half of them demanding your compliance and the other your service, all of them wanting your attention. None of them were making much sense.

The bit about various hero agencies wanting you to work for them was clear, what wasn't though was the why in this situation? The only thing you could think of was the uniform you'd given Hawks (you were well aware you'd probably been on camera the entire time you'd been near Hawk's agency), but such things were dime a dozen in the hero industry and you didn't believe for a moment Endeavor's agency was hurting for costume designers.

The next thing you could think would prompt this response was that there was something about your quirk you were unaware of. Something, apparently, heros deemed valuable enough to look for. What it was you weren't sure, but you knew enough about yourself to know your quirk, while fairly simplistic, was still an unknown to you in many regards.

Still, the sudden influx of unexpected messages was stressful enough. Add that to the fact most of them were from distinguished hero agencies with members that could literally demolish mountains and you were feeling more than a little pressured. Even a little frightened by some of the more demanding messages you'd managed to glimpse before retreating to the other side of the workshop.

You could barely move your furniture across the room most days, what could you do if the likes of Best Jeanist or Gang Orca decided to pay you an unexpected visit?

Okay, that was the panic talking. Not only was that scenario completely illogical, the jab at Gang Orca for having a stereotypical villian aesthetic was uncalled for. Time to recenter yourself and get some much needed fresh air into your lungs before you start accusing All Might of fraud or some such nonsense.

It takes a few minutes to get the muscles in your back to loosen and your mind to stop spitting out half-coherent worst case scenarios, but you manage with a few intense rounds of breathing exercises. By the end of the ordeal you're exhausted, even a little sore from the lack of air before hand. You're functioning again though, and that's what matters.

Now in better control of your thoughts the most obvious solution to your current predicament comes to you with little prompting. You don't even hesitate. There is not a single doubt in your mind as to what you must do.

This is your chance to finally pay back the man you owe your life too. This may very well be the only chance you'll ever get and you've learned that life is far too short to squander the moments that matter.

Your slip on your coat and gloves, making a few last minute adjustments around the shop before stepping out the door and locking up behind you. With your purse on your shoulder and your eyes lit with hopeful determination you walk out into the world with renewed purpose.

You leave the phone.

Nothing they have to offer matters. It never has and you doubt it ever will. They could offer you jewels and they'd collect dust, the world and it'd keep on spinning. They could grant you eternal life and you'd have given it up in a heartbeat for this one chance.

He's the only one that matters. The only one whose attention means something.

He is your priority. He is your only priority.

[bbq-hawks-wings]

Series Review Pt. 1/3

So, this isn’t even a YouTube video where you have the advantage of hearing a voice over a recording with snappy editing to lighten the mood or convey feeling; but believe me that there was a lot of earnest sincerity put into the review this time around.

But before I put the rest of it under the cut, there are some corrections/clarifications I want to put down about my last review that I believe we're significant shortcomings on my part. 

My first, and probably most MAJOR goof was my choice of words in trying to describe the scene with Hawks and Twice at the end of 263 - “ he clearly hasn’t killed Twice yet, and we don’t know why, but if he has to he’s prepared to do so without hesitation or remorse.”

BIG OOF. I hadn’t even been looking much at others’ opinions and the common-enough impression that Hawks doesn’t care about Twice at all/is incapable of empathy/ONLY concerned with his mission from the Commission. When I looked back at my own review, though I didn’t have any indication anyone believed I was one of those people (“without remorse” being the problematic phrase in question), I could easily see how others could get the impression and decided to wait until the next review to do a better job instead of just saying I would. My views on that particular scene will be clear later on, but at least that’s out of the way in case that was keeping people from reading this in the first place.

Second, I failed to arrange my observation points in a more ideal order. If anything, the fact that we were seeing that last page from Twice’s perspective should have been the first point. This mistake made it sound like a neutral assessment of the situation instead of an observation through the context of Jin's feelings. This ended up confusing even myself, as someone who usually writes these reviews solo, into forgetting to factor in that Twice's perspective may be warping the perception of Hawks guarding him into one of intent to kill while forgetting that the Hero Code forbids killing others unless it's truly a necessary last resort. For some reason, Sad Man's Parade and Twice's two-double limit also slipped my mind which brings me to the last point.

Third, I rushed things. When I rush, I make mistakes, sometimes pretty sloppy ones. It has been a ROUGH couple of weeks to be a Hawks or villain stan, even more so if you’re both, so for some reason I felt like I needed to get my thoughts out there quickly. I don’t have any kind of real incentive to do so other than a faster response - I don’t make any money off this, don’t have any relevance algorithm to feed as if I was on YouTube or Twitter, and I’m not the only half-decently known blog to hold these opinions so I don’t know what I was thinking. That’s my problem, but that doesn’t mean I have to make it anyone else’s.

For complete transparency, I’ve been reading and re-reading through the entire series canon again, starting with Hawks’ manga debut, and reviewing the entire series’ events and in-universe history, and have been taking literal whole pages of notes and drafts since Thursday the 12th. I’m glad I did because it brought to mind things that often get left out of pockets of fandom discussion who hyper-focus on their circles of interest while forgetting that each individual section is meant to work with the whole.

That’s what we’ll be working with today, and additional thanks goes to  @baezetsu and @dorito9708 for volunteering as proofreaders and editors to make this more focused and concise. If you’re interested please keep reading. A fair warning, this is what we in the professional field call a “long-ass post, no seriously guys grab a drink and a snack we’re gonna be here a while.” It's actually so long I have to split it up into parts because Tumblr Mobile is stupid and doesn't like making the "read more" function available to the mobile version.

So here we go, people, let’s try this again one last time…

Where we’re at in Chapter 264 (or at least, you know, ignoring literally everyone in the series that isn’t these two) is Twice and Hawks’ confrontation in the study room; but let’s put a pin in that for now and come back.

The biggest piece of information to keep in mind is that even though both these characters are currently front-and-center and have major plot and symbolic value in the series, they are still not the main characters. Their conflict is also not the central conflict. Let’s zoom out to the big picture and see what happens when we put everything together at the end.

The whole inciting incident of the series is when humanity began to display superhuman abilities in a few random individuals. These abilities are neither inherently good or bad - they are constantly intended as neutral with the potential being dependent on the user. Eventually these abilities began to be collectively termed as “quirks” - literally just a single facet of each person’s unique identity. From a social commentary standpoint, quirks have been used as a narrative stand-in for the unique situational circumstances or combinations of circumstances individuals may find themselves with that are either mostly or completely outside of their control like aptitude, physical ability, race/appearance, mental state, and inherited societal station. While more of these examples have been explicitly stated and inserted into the story later on, quirks still serve as the main catalyst and lens by which these topics are discussed.

Because of the initially new and unfamiliar nature of these abilities, people who possessed them faced descrimination and persecution despite having no say in whether or not they had them; and some who did possess these abilities began abusing their power. Taking advantage of this, a man calling himself One-for-All took unwanted quirks from people and redistributed them claiming to want to help others and bring about peace but merely wished to amass power and a following for his own gain. Morally upright individuals eventually rose to the occasion and placed themselves between innocent bystanders and evildoers, earning no official reward or compensation for their work, though eventually they became so effective that they became recognized and endorsed if they went through proper governmental training and channels. These endorsed specialty crime fighters came to be dubbed “heroes.”

All-For-One had risen to prominence by this point and his loyal following actively supported him in his now blatant criminal empire despite the morally reprehensible actions he committed which incessantly terrorized innocent bystanders - earning him the title Symbol of Evil or Symbol of Fear. Eventually a hero named All Might rose up to specifically deal with All-For-One’s reign of terror, having worked his way up from obscurity taking down criminals and saving civilians in unprecedented numbers, determined to create a world where everyone could feel safe in the face of danger. Though only succeeding in beating AFO into hiding All Might ushered in a new era of safety and prosperity earning him the title Symbol of Peace.

Therein lies the central message - “It’s not the situation you’re given that determines your worth or potential but what you choose to do with it” - and the main conflict is - “I want to use what I’ve been given for my own benefit" vs "I want to use what I’ve been given for others.” Deku and Shiguraki are merely the next generation iteration of this conflict distilled down to their simplest essence. Deku's desire is to save anyone who needs help the moment he realizes they need it. Shiguraki wants to remove people's sense of security regardless of their character or situation. 

This conflict is initially framed as simple - a clear black and white/good and bad dynamic that’s easy to see from a distance; but as characters and groups developed over time it’s become more and more difficult to tell the two sides apart. It was not a coincidence that immediately after introducing the clear-as-day bad guys to the series we were presented with the idea that who we perceived to be “good guys” could be bad people doing good things or that people could do good things for the wrong reasons when we were presented with the personal conflicts that Bakugo, Shinsou, and Todoroki all faced at the Sports Festival that were either their internal struggles with the way the were perceived by others or were their personal struggles with the way they perceived themselves. Immediately after that, we were introduced to Stain's criticism of modern heroes and shown who would come to be the core members of the League of Villains.

At the current events in the series we’ve waded through so many shades of grey we’re expected to determine who’s a “hero” and “villain” not by what they say but what they do, how they do it, and why they do it. The individual members of the League of Villains touch on various ways a person might be driven to a life dedicated either to the pursuit of personal satisfaction with no concern to others or to the active pursuit of destroying others, and generally the villains are some of the most morally gray characters we have in the series, though not all of them - the two most notable morally gray “good guys” are Hawks and Endeavor.

There’s one last thing to note about how the series chooses to distinguish morally gray characters as “good” and “bad,” and that ultimately boils down to the choices they make with the hand they are dealt - that being to help or to harm others. This is not quite the same thing as a “hero” and a “villian” (I know, as if it wasn’t confusing enough), but the series has now gone to great lengths to make a clear distinction between the ideals of heroism and the institution of heroism.

Looking at the difference in institutions and ideals as the series presents them we get a better picture of the actual core issues the series seeks to address. The institution of heroism is a utilitarian approach to maintaining a sense of order and safety, and it does so by incentivising people to resolve as many public altercations as possible in exchange for wealth and fame. Criminals are those who break the law regardless of the motivation for the crime or its degree of impact. The institution does not take into account factors that may drive someone to commit a crime nor is it concerned with the core motivations of those enforcing the sense of order.

On the opposite hand, the ideal of heroism offers no reward, no recognition, may require some amount of suffering on the part of the hero, and never guarantees that the victim in question will be saved. Conversely, villainy/evil is any action taken for one's own gain with zero regard to the impact on others and/or is any action committed with malicious intent. These definitions are about moral obligation and human to human connection.

While having a strong correlation (helping others because it's right usually helps the majority in the long run, and doing harm is often ultimately bad for the majority) these two schools of thought are able to function independently of each other. In other words, a criminal can be a good person fallen on hard times (like stealing food to feed their family, but only as much as they need from someone who won’t notice it missing) while a “professional hero” can be an evil person doing good things for the wrong reasons (like obsessing over gaining wealth and popularity with no mind to collateral damage they may cause). Most characters are categorized and even described in-universe as morally aligning with the institution they associate with; but several have been explicitly noted as exceptions to the rule such as Gentle Criminal and La Brava, Endeavor, and Twice. 

Are we properly confused yet? Great, because there’s one more layer to consider! What do we make of someone who is trying to do a good thing (like saving as many people as possible from a known threat) but to do so has to make a choice that might leave a few people in the fire? Which outcome do we use to decide if this is a good person or a bad one? Do we judge based on intent or on the outcome?

Now we zoom back in to Hawks and Twice, but we’ll pick that up in Part Two.

Part Three

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Musings #77: The Puppet Who Wanted to be a Real Girl. Is Penny Polendina really back?

jade-rosepine asked “ While I didn't mind penny and all, I can't help asking; what was the point of bringing her back? I mean yeah wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. Only thing I could think of was to make ruby be forced to make a difficult choice - kill a friend to keep her from being used by the villians (she is still a robot and could, theoretically, be hacked by a way more advanced virus. Basically the cyber-version of brainwashing or possession!) OR let her live and be a slave to the baddies?”

Squiggles Answers: 

@jade-rosepine​ Whelp I was going to save this bit for my musing on the first episode of RWBY V7, but since you brought it up, I might as well voice my thoughts here. I’m going to be honest with you, fam. This squiggle meister has mixed feelings about Penny’s return.

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

Heart of Machine

In the past, I was a big fan of the idea of Penny being rebuilt and returning for the Atlas Arc. However back then, I liked it under the pretence that she wouldn’t exactly be the same Penny Polendina that we all met back in V1. I figured she’d be an entirely different character and the justification for her being this way was so that the plot could’ve allowed for Ruby Rose to finally have some semblance of closure since it’s been shown throughout previous seasons how much Penny’s death has affected her emotionally.

As a matter of fact, as evidenced by her ‘Indomitable’ moment in V6, Penny’s death (along with Pyrhha’s and the events of the Fall of Beacon) are still a visible mental block to Ruby being able to fully utilize her Silver Eyes. Since Ruby was shown to still have much growing with mastering her unique power, I was hoping that part of her arc for this season would be coming to terms over her loss over Penny as I was certain being within her old friend’s home kingdom was bound to bring back memories of their time together.

Now I’m not so sure whether or not closure with Penny will still be in the cards for Ruby. It’s not he fact that Penny returned that troubles me. It’s the fact that she returned and is presumably supposed to still be her old self but fixed now. I’m sorry but I’m just not actively buying that at all. I mean, like you, I get that this feat wasn’t entirely impossible to do given that Penny was a robot and technology can be easily repaired; especially in a kingdom as technologically advanced as Atlas and especially by the hands of Pietro Polendina---the man who was literally described as the Greatest Mind in the kingdom. So yeah, Penny returning--- totally could have seen that coming. But that don’t mean I’m not heavily suspicious about it knowing these writers.  I still feel like there’s something’s awfully fishy about this whole plot twist.

This brings me to my hunch about Penny 2.0. I don’t believe that that’s Penny. I mean, she is her. She looks like her (albeit with a more updated design that is reminding me a lot of Bach Do’s design of her from her RWBY 3.0 art series). Talks like her and of course, acts like her. But I feel like this version of Penny is merely a shadow of the soul she once was. I still feel like the old Penny that Ruby befriended perished at the Fall of Beacon and what we’re seeing now before us is just a copy mimicking the behaviour of its original predecessor.

When Penny 2.0 first appeared, after getting over my initial shock and excitement of seeing the character again, I couldn’t help but shake this icky feeling in my gut that something was off about the new Penny. I know the series is trying to get me to think that Penny is back here but…I don’t know. I’m not entirely buying it. I feel like something is awry about this and not even her bright and shining smile in the opening is enough to quell my lingering suspicion. I can’t help but feel like something is going to happen to Penny…again.

Perhaps your theory will be correct here Jade. Perhaps it will be a case where Arthur Watts creates and implants his strongest computer virus yet into Atlas’ system which not only corrupts all the Atlesian Battle Droids in Atlas but all technology within the whole kingdom; Mantle included. This is inclusive of Penny 2.0 and possibly even Pietro Polendina’s mechanical wheelchair which goes haywire and knocks the poor old soul man off of his seat leading to Maria Calavera having to defend him and help him to safety.

Perhaps it will come down to Ruby having to fight an infected Virus Penny 2.0. However I don’t think Ruby will be forced to kill Penny. I think a moment like this will boil down to what’s stronger---hardware and programming or the soul.

It was stated back in V2 that Penny is the first (and possibly only one) of her kind. The first artificial lifeform to produce an aura. As we know, aura is described as the manifestation of one’s soul. Penny is supposed to be a soul within the body of a machine. While her body may be synthetic, at her core, she is supposedly human or the closest thing to it.

And since the V7 opening hinted at love being a major theme for this volume, it makes me wonder if we’re going to get a potential moment where a mind-controlled Virus Penny tries to harm Ruby but in the end, it’s the strength of the profound friendship shared between both girls that ultimately allows for Penny to combat the virus corrupting her machine software with the love she feels in her soul for her dear friend. Y’know love conquers all.

I wouldn’t even be too surprised if it’s a case where Penny ends up sacrificing herself to put a stop to Watts’ tyranny. Like Penny uses her core to cause a chain reaction that obliterates Watts’ powerful virus.

Dr. Polendina mentioned in the first episode that the only reason he was able to fix Penny in the first place is because Atlas was able to salvage her core from Amity Arena. Penny’s core is obviously an important part to her. I’m assuming it’s the part of her that contains the soul that’s keeps her alive. So no matter how many times Penny’s body is destroyed, so long as her core is still intact, she can be brought back. Why mention that little detail at all if it wasn’t going to be relevant later, ey?

What if … Penny’s core does eventually get destroyed. If that gets obliterated, then Penny---or at least the version of her that Ruby knew and loved--- will be gone for good this time.

I feel like the V7 finale could set up for a Terminator II type of conclusion where the machine our protagonist has grown to know and love over the course of their story is forced to sacrifice itself for the greater good of saving our hero from a dark fate. I feel like should your headcanon be made reality in the canon, we’re likely to see Penny sacrifice herself on the grounds that this time, there’s no coming back.

I can imagine Penny’s core being used as the key to stopping Watts reign over Atlas and this time, Ruby is allowed to do what she couldn’t do back in Vale. Not only would she get to save Penny but she would also get to officially say goodbye to her friend and tell her how much she loved her before tearfully watching her give herself up for the purpose she was built to do---save the world.

That’s how I’m more seeing things going down for Ruby and this newly rebuilt of Penny for their shared storylines this season. As per usual, these are only my headcanons here and I can very well be very much wrong in my prediction. But nevertheless, for now, I’m leaving this thought and theory on the table.

Then again, I’ve also gotten ahead of myself here.

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More Machine Than Man

Now that I’ve discussed how I figured Ruby and Penny’s story may conclude for V7, allow to me to voice my views on the build up to it.

As I’ve said, I feel very off about Penny being back. While I’m relishing in seeing her again, I also can’t feel a sense of this is too good to be true; y’know what I mean?

I feel like this is all a set-up. Like right now, both the audience and our main gaggle of heroes are left to believe that Penny had returned and she’s all good as new---almost like she never died at all, right?

But I feel like there’s a catch to that. I feel like at some point, in a later chapter of V7, Ruby is going to have her chance to spend some quality time catching up with Penny. At first, things seem pretty normal between them. They’re both laughing. Swapping stories…having a grand ole time with their heart to heart girl talk…only for Ruby to notice something quite off about Penny.

Like I have this scene imagined in my head. A scenario in which Ruby is supposed to head back down to Mantle to hang out with Penny P who’s finally have some free time to catch up with her old friend and desires to take Ruby on an official fun tour of Mantle---the nicer parts that is.

As a matter of fact, let’s say Penny invites the whole squad---JNPR_RWBY down for a night of fun and dancing down in Mantle with her and father. Pietro did mention in the first episode that he’s been working on shows that dance. Given his enthusiasm, dancing must’ve been one of Pietro’s favourite pastimes prior to losing function in his legs. So maybe, at some point, since the kids have all been working hard with their huntsmen duties and training, Pietro decides to treat them all to a nice of entertainment.

 Imagine if …Pietro and Penny take the group to an old fashioned Mantlese Carnival which is basically RWBY’s version of Mardi Gras with a big parade of bands with nonstop musical entertainment.

I was kind of hoping that our heroes would have reunited with Team FNKI while they’re in Atlas. But it doesn’t seem like they’ll be present at all for this season. Unless, it’s a case where our heroes run into them while out with the Polendinas.

Resuming my Mantlese Carnival idea, let’s say after the group finished watching the parade, the Polendinas lead them to an old-fashioned snazzy little joint whose taste in jazz music is as sweet as its food.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of jazz music and the blues by Pietro Polendina’s design and the way he talked. His sense of fashion is giving me mega New Orleans type of vibes. Like he walked straight out of the set for the Princess and the Frog.

Anyways, like I said, our heroes are treated to a night of music and dancing by the Polendinas but while out and about in Mantle, they also happen to run into none other than Neon Katt and Flynt Cole.

Like imagine the group enjoying a nice performance by a local jazz band in Mantle only to find out that one of the musicians is Flynt.

Neon is also there to either show Flynt support (as my headcanon is that the two are dating) or perhaps she’s part of the performance with him as a singer as she and Flynt deliver a sort of Jazz/Blues rendition of Neon’s classic theme. Why not, ey?

After briefly exchanging pleasantries and catching up with their ole pals from Vale, Flynt and Neon invite everyone to an underground Mantlese rave. So unfortunately for Pietro and Maria (who was his date/company for the night), the younglings end up ditching the old folk for a night of partying. Not that they minded. Even Penny was allowed to join the group at the rave.

So as promised since V2, Neon and Flynt take JNR_RWBY plus Oscar and Penny out partying. As a side note, I’m not sure if Oscar would even be allowed to set foot inside a club given his age as a minor. Like I can just imagine Oscar, innocent as ever like the country munchkin that he is, walking up to the club bouncer only to be immediately barred from entering for being both underage and looking the part. Like would you believe Oscar is actually his age given his short stature and baby face?  

As a matter of fact, the only way I can see Oscar being allowed inside of a rave is if a) he faked his age by having one of Flynt and Neon’s friends hack into Atlas’ s system and alter his birth date by two years (since I’m imagining Atlas using electronic ID scans that instantly verifies a person’s personal records by just scanning them on the spot) or b) Flynt and Neon pulls some strings to have Oscar allowed in as they’re known regulars of the club. Why not?

So the group are out having a grand ole time, and while enjoying themselves Ruby and Penny sort of skedaddle for a bit up to a private place where they can just talk to one another. Since y’know…it’s been so long since they shared a chat since one of them was presumed to be dead and all. Anyways, it’s during their talk that Ruby noticed something peculiar about Penny’s behaviour.

She keeps recalling memories of times she and Ruby shared in excruciating detail. But that’s not the part that threw Ruby off. No matter how many times the Silver Eyed huntress attempted to deviate the conversation and get Penny to talk her more about how she’s been doing since what happened at the Vytal Festival, Penny kept reverting back to recanting the same stories.

The hunch I had in mind here is: What if…Penny 2.0 is actually a copy of original Penny. Rather than being a soul mimicking human nature from within a mechanical body, it’s more a machine operating purely from memories that were transferred to it from its old former self.

When we first met Penny, while the implications of her being an humanoid were clear as day from the instant she first bumped into RWBY (I mean I certainly called that she was a robot from day one), you could also still tell that there was something remotely human in nature about Penny. I got that sense the first time Penny revealed to Ruby that she wasn't a real girl. You heard the strong tinge of genuine sadness in her voice as she said it which was what made her friendship with Ruby all the more pure. Their bond was wholesome and important to each other inspire of only knowing one another for a short space of time.

And when Penny died in V3, you didn't feel as if it was a machine being destroyed. You actively felt like a character---a real person died. We, as the audience, got to feel the same sense of sadness that Ruby Rose felt watching her dear friend die before her very eyes after failing to save her in time.

Ruby failed to protect Penny (and eventually Pyrhha too) which was what made her answer to Maria’s question in V6 all the more meaningful.

She wishes to master control of her Silver Eyes, not just for the sake of being able to vanquish the Grimm but for the sake of protecting the people who matter most to her---her friends and family. The people who love her as much as she loves them.

This also kind of presents another reason why I’m conflicted on Penny’s return. Penny being back all fixed and good as new as if the Fall of Beacon didn’t happen kind of puts a bit of a damper on Ruby’s trauma as a result of what happened. It’s one of those things that made me question why show Ruby suffering from flashbacks of her friends’ deaths just to have said friend return good as new.

As we saw during her ‘Indomitable’ moment in V6, thinking about Penny and her death caused Ruby to lose focus. Yes Ruby managed to summon her light to petrify the Leviathan. But not before using Jinn to buy her some time so she can concentrate and let’s also not forget that Ruby’s power didn’t work.

While she succeeded in petrifying the Leviathan, she failed to kill it. This to me was a clear indicator that Ruby hasn’t full mastered her unique power and still has much to grow. A detail that I was relieved the CRWBY kept since I never felt like Ruby’s indomitable moment was rightfully earned so it almost felt like a waste of a good moment, in my opinion

I’m probably in the minority here when I say this but I actually disliked Ruby’s Indomitable scene from V6. As I said, it wasn’t properly earned and that took me out of the whole moment.

Instead of watching Ruby go through an arc of learning to fully master control of her newfound abilities, struggling at first but also learning more about herself and her heritage in the process building up to this grandiose moment where she finally perfects her power.

Instead we spent two whole seasons with our little red rose being written to be rather neglectful of her eyes, never once further questioning its mysterious origins; not even when in the face of the very person who told the last person who first told Ruby about her eyes.

Ruby learnt about the Silver Eyes from Qrow during the finale of V3. Qrow, on the other hand, said he learnt about the Silver Eyed Warriors from Ozpin. Ruby had her chance to ask Oz for more on the Silver Eyes at any point during V5 or even V6. Instead the Writers have her question everything but her Silver Eyes…despite showing her using it again later in the season during the Battle of Haven.

It is such a darn shame that Maria Calavera was only brought in for V6. I honestly feel like her character and role as Silver Eyed mentor to Ruby should’ve been better utilized as early as V4. 

Instead I was left feeling that Maria’s presence in Ruby’s development was made irrelevant especially by the end of V6 when Ruby had her big brain idea to use her Silver Eyes on the Leviathan…despite having zero prior training. I don’t think that’s how progress is supposed to work? 

And let’s not forget the fact that Ruby has only known Maria for only four days since the entirety of V6 (and the start of V7) only took place over the course of four days in RWBY’s timeline.

So yeah, Ruby’s Mastery of her Silver Eyes has much more groundwork to do and I have a feeling the Writers brought Penny back to aid with that

Did they necessarily have to though? No not really. As a matter of fact, Penny 2.0 unfortunately falls into the ball park of how the Writers brought back Neopolitan in V6 for me. While it’s nice to see Penny again, I didn’t honestly need her back especially since her death was framed in such a symbolic way to the plot in terms of how it affected Ruby’s character these past few seasons. Now I’m left questioning what the whole point of all of that was.

Listen, I’m not trying to imply that bringing Penny back was a terrible idea on the Writers’ part. I’m more saying, I don’t 100% buy into it. Not exactly.

I honestly feel there is going to be a catch with this. The Writers can’t have Penny’s death still affecting Ruby only to just magically have that trauma and mental block magically disappear now that she’s back in the picture. They’re not gonna do that, right? 

They’re not gonna undo that big detail established in previous seasons, right?  I mean…it’s not like they’ve done things like this before, right?

Nuh uh. Not buying it. Hence my theory on Ruby having a moment with Penny 2.0 only to realize that she’s not exactly all good as new as she was proclaimed to be.

Either that or it’s a case where even though Penny is back, Ruby herself can’t seem to look past the past.

She can’t seem to shake the haunting fact that she once saw her friend die before her very eyes because she failed to help her. Like I’d figure that that memory would still remain as a nightmarish lingering thought in Ruby’s psyche. Right?

Like imagine this scene. A scenario where Ruby and Penny are out exploring Mantle together, catching up only for Penny to be called back to the line of duty when another alert of Grimm attacking the city blares it ugly head. As Penny flies off to do her thing, Ruby follows her below on foot determined to help her out. When Ruby finds Penny, she arrives just in time to see her down a couple of Saybers from attacking a couple of fleeing civilians.

Ruby calls out to Penny. Penny, in turn, spins around to wave to Ruby. But while Penny is distracted greeting her friend, she is neglectful of one stray Sayber that suddenly comes in from behind and slashes Penny straight through the chest.

Ruby looks on in complete horror as Penny 2.0 is once again cut down in front of her; the nightmares of her decapitation at the Vytal Festival resurfacing. And for a moment, Ruby freezes on the spot. She doesn’t even react as the same Sayber charges at her.

But before the Sayber could get to Ruby, it’s killed before it could lay a bloody talon on her. As Ruby looks up  slowly from her daze at her saviour , she sees that it was Penny. In spite of her damage, Penny was still functioning enough to protect Ruby.

Let’s say, for the sake of the scene, the rest of the heroes---JNR_WBY plus Oscar were down in Mantle too and overheard all the commotion from the emergency alarms; all seven huntsmen and huntresses arriving at the scene to aid with the rescue. 

Let’s say the others had seen what happened to Penny and immediately came to her side to quickly gather up her severed parts to take her immediately to Dr. Polendina so he could repair his daughter. 

As the others handled Penny, let’s say…Oscar approaches Ruby as he noticed the disturbed expression on her face. Oscar urges Ruby on the matter of them taking Penny to her father as quickly as possible. At first, Ruby reacts like she didn’t hear Oscar; apparently too lost in her own wild thoughts. It wasn’t until Oscar gently touched Ruby’s shoulder did she finally stir out of her stupor. Long story short, the heroes manage to get Penny 2.0 to Pietro in time. 

After studying her injuries, Pietro reports to everyone that Penny was going to be fine. She may be off duty for a couple of days given that he’ll need time to repair her. 

But beyond that, Pietro assured the group that Penny was going to make a speedy recovery; much to the relief of the heroes. But in spite of hearing the good news, this doesn’t serve to uplift Ruby’s mood and her bothered expression of deep concern is still apparent on her face. Even as JNPR_RWBY depart from the Polendina residence to return up to Atlas. 

As the group look to head back home, Oscar is the one to take notice of Ruby’s awkward silence. 

 I say Oscar of all people rather than her teammates or Yang since it’s been highlighted before that when Ruby is feeling pressured or looks distressed in some shape or form, Oscar is quick to pick up on that.

He’s also been shown to act out on trying to help Ruby in this type of emotional scenario. This is why should we ever get a moment like this in the canon, I can picture it being another prime chance for the Writers to show Oscar being an emotional crutch for Ruby.

If a scene like this ever comes to pass in the series, the way I see it going down is Oscar confronting Ruby again about Penny and the two sharing another heart to heart moment where he gets her to open up about her true feelings. I’ve been itching for another V5 Dojo-esque scene between the Rosebuds.

I’d love to see another example of Oscar helping Ruby through another emotional rut; particularly if it involves Penny.

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

So to conclude…

I guess the main point I’m really trying to get at here with this musing post is that I don’t believe Ruby’s arc revolving around her grievances about Penny’s death is over. Even with her being back in her life.

It can’t be. Just because Penny was repaired and has returned doesn’t instantly erase the fact that she did die nor does it erase Ruby’s memory and clear trauma over it.  At least, I hope that’s not how the Writers are going to portray it. Ruby’s thing is that she sees Penny as a real girl. She sees her as a person. But Penny isn’t entirely a real person.

She possesses a soul of her own, yes (and I’m curious to learn the origins of said soul) but she’s also a machine. Her body is fake but at her core, she is a living being. Sort of---really need an origin episode on how Penny was created and where Atlas and Ironwood got the soul that’s a part of her.

Did it come from the Relic of Creation? Was Penny an unexpected by-product of the Relic’s power; brought to life by an experiment tested by Ironwood using the Relic of Creation? 

Is the Relic of Creation the RWBY equivalent of the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio? Is the being of the Relic of Creation inspired by the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio? 

Who knows? These are all questions I’m looking forward to this season answering for me.

But in the meantime, in regards to Ruby’s bond with Penny, We got to see Ruby grow to care for Penny as a person and what’s interesting to note is that Ruby has always valued Penny as more human than machine.

Keeping that in mind, picture if part of Ruby’s story with Penny for V7 is her leaning to accept that Penny isn’t a real person. This is why I like my theorized scene of having Ruby witness Penny 2.0 being cut down again; highlighting she’s still not over what happened at Beacon. Imagine if that creates an issue for Ruby where she actively feels uncomfortable at the thought of losing Penny time and time again since she can’t handle watching her friend getting destroyed in spite of the fact that she’s a machine that’s built to protect humanity.

I know this concept probably sounds rather farfetched based on how I’m describing it. However, that’s how I’m choosing to look at it; for now. Perhaps the story for this season might change my mind on that. We’ll see.

Anyways, that’s all I have to say on this subject matter for today. For the most part, I hope I managed to answer your question, Jade. As usual, please let me know if I did. I’m always open to hearing other FNDM fam members thoughts on my thoughts on my thoughts.

Similar to you, this squiggle meister is also left pondering why the Writers’ brought back Penny. It’s actually kind of sad that I have to question it. If I wasn’t so skeptical over the CRWBY Writers’ writing decisions given their recent track record then I wouldn’t be questioning this decision so much.

Right now my theories are my best bet at understanding why this decision was made for the plot but that don’t mean that that will be the case in the canon. I’m praying there is a good narrative reason for Penny’s return and that it wasn’t done as a gimmick to hype up the fans for the new season---y’know bringing back another fan favourite character just because they thought it would be quote, unquote, ‘cool to do’.

I didn’t like that that was the rationale for Neo’s return, as mentioned in the V6 DVD Commentary, and I’d be equally peeved if that was the rationale for Penny’s. Then again, maybe I’m getting too ahead of myself here. We’re only one episode into V7 so let’s not jump the gun. Let’s just be patient and wait and see what the rest of the season brings, ya?

Until then, hope you at least enjoyed my new musing post.

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

 ~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[trying-write-fanfics]

OverhaulXreader part 12

In the morning breakfast was prepared. News was read. The city calmed down since the chaos from the night before. There was still a storm stirring in his head, but at least his environment was calm, almost sterile.

“Good morning.” Y/n yawned coming out of the bedroom. “You don’t sleep ever do you?”

“I’m not one for unproductive activities.”

“If you don’t rest your worst fears will happen.” She pretended to get spooky. “You’ll fall asleep in front of potential investors!”

“You think that’s my worst fear?”

“Well you’re Mr. Serious man all the time. I just figured.”

“Come, eat.”

“Can’t believe I haven’t been here yet.” She said. “I was lucky you were at Pops place when I came.”

“Yeah, you scared some of my men.” He told her.

“Oh please they could have killed me ten times over.” She was rather calm about the statement.

“Are you going to work in that?”

“Sorry, but I like to keep my legs a little more private in the cold.” She said standing up doing a quick pose. “Only you get the privilege right now.”

Was she laying down a ground rule? He didn’t plan on flirting with anyone else, was she? There was no way she would. She wouldn’t do that.

“About last night, what is the…” he didn’t really know what to phrase any question he had.

“I told you let’s take things slow. I do promise I won’t be playing the field.”

“What does that mean?” He asked.

“It’s the expression having multiple people at once to see which one fits best.” She told him.

“I didn’t think you were the type to do that.”

“It’s a common practice today that I haven't tried yet.” She explained. “I know this, I love you, you’re worth it, don’t worry. The beginning is supposed to be butterflies and fun.”

“I don’t know how fun I’ll be.”

“Any time spent with you Kai, is a good time already.” Not too many people would ever say that line. “Oh, I wanted to ask you something.” She pulled a bright colored paper out of her purse. It was an ad for a choir concert “I’ll be in it, if you wanna come that'd be cool, if you can’t you can’t.”

“You’re religious?”

“It was just something to do after work. I gotta have hobbies. It’s a good place to meet friends too.” She explained.

“If you’re bored I could find work for you to do.” He told her.

“You can’t be my only friend Kai. Will you come?” She asked.

“I’ll do my best.” He told her.

Singing?

The league of villains were at it again attacking students. There had to be a reason why they would target twerps. It was utterly aggravating to see these directionless villians be the main characters of the bad side while Kai was working feverishly in the shadows. Drugs were the only thing getting them by, and they were doing it behind Pops’ back. His only saving grace was there were no current unresolved charges he had which allowed him to wander in public, yet he still had to be careful. He had more enemies than friends.

The laboratory was filled with scientists doing their best to complete their own niche drugs to sell to the underground market. He needed to sell drugs that didn’t fit in with his goals to financially support the operation. That day he joined in. He didn’t ask for anyone’s help, he just messed with the chemicals to see what they would make. Once they were put into capsules, he sold them, not caring about the consequences. Some people may die, but they’ll further his research. Besides what date are they expecting by buying underground drugs?

“Chrono, come with me.” Kai called. “I’m presenting to pops tonight.” He told him.

After telling him his plan very loosely there was a silence. They have the facility to erase quirks, but not the main ingredient, but they’re close.

“I don’t want you involved in anymore drugs.” Pops told him. “You’re too smart . Just let me handle everything else.”

Kai shut the door behind him. Chrono stood beside him as he inhaled through the mask. He knew he didn’t have enough to make it work, but if Pops saw the results it would have to change his mind. Those heroes are suffocating everyone around. If it was just the police there would be no problem, but those damn heroes…

“Chisaki…” Chrono said.

At the sound of hearing his failure of a name, he punched the wall. Shit. He checked under his glove and saw the hand swelling.

“I’m going to finish this.” Kai told him.

He went back to his office and found the flyer Y/n gave him. The concert was tonight in a church across town. Shit. He was going to be late. It wasn’t important, but he knew he had to make these little things.

“I need a driver.”

Traffic became hell. Villains were fighting in the streets and the police were helpless. Chisaki and the driver were just sitting in a running car unable to go forward. If they just passed the blockade they could maybe only be five minutes late. What was he supposed to do, wait for a hero?

“I’m leaving.”

“Sir-“ the driver called.

“I’m not sitting in traffic.”

He shit the door and saw the police were still blocking the road. He tried taking a detour around the blockade but every street was blocked.

“I have something important to attend to, I need to pass.” He said walking up to a police officer .

Today he wasn’t worried about the law because it was dark out and he doesn’t have any current charges out on him. They’ve been paid or bribed.

“Yeah, no, it’s too dangerous”. The police officer said.

“I’m going to kill you!” One of the villains yelled blasting off a beam.

“Stand back!” The officer said pushing Chisaki.

Debris scattered around distracting the police. Kai jumped the pathetic little fence of a blockade. He ran. It had been awhile since he had to. Immediately he took his jacket off and held on to it. A body was flown at him. It was assumed to be a villain.

“A civilian!” He yelled. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Get off of me.” He pushed the man off of him.

“I oughta use you as a shield!” The man took Chisaki off the ground.

Quickly he lifted his glove off his free hand. He slapped the man’s hand for touching him. The arm exploded on impact squirting blood everywhere. He couldn’t kill him here. Not with the police close by. The hives broke out on his arm and face. Chisaki went to an alley to hide from anyone else who could see him. The law and the heros were poorly handling the situation, so it was easier to pass by.

There he found the church between office buildings. It looked crammed where it was. The windows were colored with art from the Bible. Entering the chapel there were many empty pews, marble floor, candle lights, and the sound of singing. At the altar stood a dozen people in white robes singing. The church was dark with a couple spot lights on the choir. Y/n was on the ends, and there he could hear only her voice. The moment seemed to overwhelm and calm him at the same time. He was drawn to take a step closer as he had no control. The front few pews were filled, but 60% of them were empty. He stood in the back, not wanting to be noticed by the other people. He was seen though. The (color) eyes looked at him directly and a smile grew and met with her eyes. It felt like a blessing that was happening.

Y/n was an angle that’s what she was.

Pure, so pure that’s why he didn’t mind her touching him. That’s why he showed her his face. That’s why they kissed. But with his hands, he ended up not taininring her. Was she his and he hers? He dismembered a man’s arm today, and she sang about love. She was his angel and he was her devil. There was no doubt about her now.

It all made sense, she came back to him after so many years, and kept trying to get back into his life, drunk visits, parties, power outages. They were all signs to bring them together. Where does she fit into the plan though? It could be figured out later. Maybe his closest partner?

Next https://tryingfe-imaginesblog.tumblr.com/post/613800412034760704/overhaulxreader-part-13-the-singing-stopped-some

[white-spirit-of-darkness]

Fate’s Design, Chapter 3

Chapter 2| Chapter 3| Chapter 4 

Summary:  A long time ago, a single drop of sunlight fell from the sky. For several centuries the magic of the sun went undiscovered, until the kingdom of Corona needed a miracle to save their most precious treasure.

When the only son of the King and his Consort is stolen from them, it seems like the magic of the sun is lost to the world once again, until that very same magic brings together two completely different people, changing the course of destiny forever.

AO3: This chapter| From the beggining

General warnings:  Child abduction, manipulative Deceit, villian Deceit, mentions of homophobia and light angst. Each chapter will have individual warnings if necessary.

Chapter warnings: Mentions of death and torture (very mild but fair warning). Let me know if anything esle needs to be tagged. 

@imtherealjose this is dedicated to you

Roman had often imagined the day in which he’d finally meet another person. Needless to say, not even his wildest dream had been quite so wild. He hadn’t been expecting a stranger to crawl through his window; nor he had expected his reaction to be hitting said stranger on the head with a broom immediately upon recovering from the shock. He hadn’t expected the sudden burst of adrenaline that shot through his veins as the broom came down and the unconscious body hit the floor right at his feet.   

To be fair to himself, he had never seen anyone pass out before, even if he had read about the possible effects of whacking a person over the head with a blunt object. The book was quite unclear on how loud would the actual hit be, and for a second the idea that he might have killed the first stranger he’d ever encountered crossed his mind, followed by a rapid succession of terror, hysteria and weird pride, before realizing that no, the man was breathing and his head seemed to be in one piece still.

There was a man unconscious on his floor. A man covered in a black cape had crawled through his window, and Roman had reacted like a scared cat, grabbing the first thing he could find and hitting almost blindly.

DC was definitely wrong about him. He wasn’t weak or too young or too naive; clearly he could defend himself against threats, and he’d used a broom of all things. Maybe if his father taught him how to properly use a sword…

He looked down when he felt Thomas pressing a claw against his leg, his eyes falling upon the figure sprawled at his feet. He sighed; it wasn’t the right time to wonder what his life could be like if his father wasn’t so overprotective, especially not when a crazy idea was starting to form in his mind. DC had told him that after a short visit later that day, he wouldn’t be back until a day before Roman’s birthday, claiming he had to take care of some business, and also to get him a gift. It was the same as every year since Roman was thirteen. When he was little, his father stayed with him almost all the time, but once DC was sure that Roman wouldn’t burn down the tower, he started to leave him alone for increasingly long periods of time. The longest he’d gone without seeing his father had been an entire month, during which a sixteen years old Roman painted the entire ceiling with the summer constellations. DC hadn’t been terribly impressed.

He guessed DC would have to be impressed now. Not daring to turn his back to the stranger, Roman walked backwards to the supply closet, where he searched for rope. Thomas stayed next to the man on the floor, looking ready to both jump away and attack if the stranger did so much as moving. The reality and absurdity of the situation almost made Roman laugh hysterically. The afternoon was slowly turning into night; DC would be back one last time in a matter of minutes. He had to act fast if he wanted to put his plan into motion.

Grabbing the rope, he walked carefully back to the stranger. Thomas jumped out of his way as Roman kneeled and took a deep breath, getting ready to hit the man again if necessary. He shared one determined look with Thomas before reaching to touch the man’s arm with a hesitant hand.

Nothing happened, except that his fingers wrapped around soft flesh. Roman relaxed a bit, and with a firm push he flipped the man on his back. The hood fell back, revealing a head covered by longish dark brown hair that kept the man’s face out of view. The stranger was wearing  a white shirt and black pants covered in dirt, with a pair of leather boots that looked worn out but resistant, or at least they seemed that way to Roman, who had never worn a pair of shoes in his life. The black cape was pooled underneath the man, revealing a satchel next to his hip. The more Roman looked at him, the more the stranger looked like a regular traveler, young but harmless.

“No innocent man hides in an apparently abandoned tower” he mused out loud, reaching for the satchel. The leather strap caught around the man’s shoulders, but Roman wasn’t concerned about that. Inside the bag were only a box of matches, a loaf of bread wrapped in paper, a hunting knife and something inside a smaller velvet bag. The soft, delicate fabric clashed with the other items in the satchel, which peaked Roman’s curiosity. He was about to open the bag when Thomas hit him in the arm with his tail.

“What?” he asked, turning his head to look at his friend. Thomas was patting the paper sheet he’d thrown away after figuring the bread wasn’t really important. He picked it up, unrolling it, only to find a WANTED poster, with the face of a vaguely familiar man on it. Roman looked back at his friend, who in return moved his little head towards the stranger.

A strand of hair obscured the top half of the man’s face, and Roman’s hands trembled a little as he reached and pushed it back carefully. The light coming from the window revealed a face much younger than Roman had been expecting. Curled eyelashes and nose slightly crooked to the left, with freckles pooling around his cheeks, his pale lips were slightly parted. The boy couldn’t be more than a couple years older than Roman, and the drawing on the poster didn’t make him any justice. The crudely inked lines were not enough to show the softness around his eyes, or the way his upper lip was a bit smaller than the other, or how his hair fell right above his eyebrows. Roman had not retreated his hand yet, and he let his fingers wander down the man’s face, tracing his profile. He was mesmerized by the contrast of flesh against flesh, his fingertips sliding along the warm cheekbone of the stranger.

What the hell was he doing? The force of his realization made him jump back, dragging his body away from the unconscious boy. It didn’t matter that he was so beautiful, because he was a criminal, and Roman was suddenly aware of how crazily fast his heart was beating. His fingers ached where he had touched the boy’s face, and his breathing was out of control.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid” he muttered as he got back to his knees and grabbed the man’s wrists, tying them together as best as he could with his own shaking hands. Roman could feel Thomas’ concerned look, but he was too busy trying to get himself to stop freaking out. He got up on his feet and dragged the tied up boy towards his room, where he lifted him as gently as he could and laid him on top of his bed. He grabbed a silk ribbon and tied it around the boy’s head, securing his mouth, and stepped back to admire his work. Despite having his hands and feet tied together, the boy looked peacefully asleep, and Roman felt his ears go red at the thought. Scowling, he left the room, making sure that the curtain was fully closed. Just as he picked up the satchel he heard, once again, the magical seal opening. DC was coming back  and Roman was still all rattled. Unless he got himself back under control, his father was gonna notice.

“Thomas, please keep an eye on the boy” he whispered to his friend, who nodded (that was still a bit weird to see) and ran underneath the curtain. Roman threw the satchel hastily into the supplies closet and shut the door. He scanned the room, looking for anything that might give him away, but only found the broom on the floor and the open window. He picked up the broom at the same time he heard the key turning in the lock. He pretended to be very busy sweeping the floor when the door opened and DC pushed the red curtain aside.

“Hi, Father” he greeted, trying his best to look normal. DC raised an eyebrow, but if he thought that Roman was doing anything strange, he didn’t comment on it.

“Hello, my flower”, he said, not bothering to take off his gloves before taking a seat on his ornate chair and gesturing for Roman to sit next to him.

“Dad?” he dared to ask as he was putting the broom against one of the walls. DC just sighed and gestured again, with barely concealed annoyance. His father’s face was tense, his lips forming a thin line, but he didn’t seem cross at Roman.

“We need to have a little talk, me dear”, he explained as Roman sat down on the stool. “I know I was too harsh on you earlier. Sometimes I forget how much you’ve grown, but also how much you think you’ve grown”.

Roman said nothing, and DC looked at him for a moment, studying his face. Both the brown eye and the yellow eye were digging a hole through his soul, and the hair at the back of his neck raised up. No matter how many years he had stared into those unsettling eyes, the cold in the back of those dual pools let him shaking a bit every time.

“You are still young”, continued DC as if nothing had happened. “I suppose you can’t be blamed for wanting to go out, but I will not tolerate you discussing this matter any further. When you are ready, I’ll tell you myself”.

He didn’t wait for Roman to reply, simply choosing to stand and collect his hat from the table. It was Roman’s last chance to say something, to tell him how wrong he was, that he was strong and clever and-  What if DC never thought he was ready?

“There’s something I’d like for my birthday”

DC paused next to the door, the key already in one of his gloved hands. Roman was surprised at his own boldness, but it was too late to back down now. His father’s lips curled into a polite smile, one that clearly said that he better thread carefully. Roman breathed deeply and continued, proud of himself when his voice didn’t waver.

“That quill you brought me when I was fifteen” he said, thinking fast. “I’d love to have one again”

For a moment, Roman thought he’d refuse. The quill was expensive and getting one meant a long trip down South, at least three full days. His father had planned to be back the day before his birthday; if he took the detour to get him the gift, he’d be returning two days after Roman’s birthday… which gave him the right amount of time for him to leave and come back.  

“You have such fine tastes, my flowerbud”, finally answered his father. “It would mean that I’d miss your special day. Surely you don’t want that?”

“I… I don’t, but…” Roman looked down, doing his best to look unsure and timid. “I thought it would be better than the other thing I mentioned”.

He heard his father sigh and walk towards him. DC’s hands wrapped around his own, and only then Roman raised his eyes.

“I think it’s a great idea, me dear”. His father let go of his hands and pressed a kiss to his head. The gesture always made Roman feel small and defenseless, and a sudden wave of guilt overcame him. He remembered how furious his father had been once, after finding out Roman had lied to him about something mundane, unimportant. He wondered what would happen if he ever found out what Roman was planning on doing. Roman tried not to cower as his mind conjured the memory of DC hissing at him that “Lying, me dear, is the only thing I will never tolerate from you, you hear me? Never lie to me again”.

“Are you alright, flower?” Asked his father, grabbing his shoulders with a worried look on his face. Roman nodded, and reached up to take on his father’s hands into his own.

“I’m thinking that I’ll miss you”, he lied. DC pulled him into a hug, and Roman felt like his fate had been sealed.

*

There was a small, green, and very pissed off reptilian on his chest.

His first instinct would have been screaming, but there was a makeshift gag around his mouth. His hands were tied with some sort of smooth but strong rope, and an attempt to kick revealed the same about his feet. He was laying down on… a bed? The light he could see was coming from a skylight, and it wasn’t much. If he had to guess, he’d say the last rays of sunlight were the only thing keeping the room from being in total darkness. His brain felt like cotton candy, fuzzy. The edges of his vision were blurry, and the left side of his head throbbed with pain.

He tried to move, which caused the small animal on his chest to give him a hiss. Alright, the angry lizard was guarding him. The details of just why an angry lizard was  keeping him prisoner avoided him, there was something he was missing…

Running through the forest, trying to get away from the guards; he could remember his tired lungs and frantic heart as he managed to lose them by hiding behind a waterfall, and then falling deeper into a cavern. He vaguely remembered following the distant light at the other side of the tunnel (and for a moment he did wonder if he was dead and this was his own personal hell where a little rabid lizard tortured him for eternity), and then… the tower.

He’d assumed it was abandoned by the looks of it, covered in strong vines all the way to the top. There seemed to be no entrance, but he’d been climbing walls and trees alike long enough to see a perfect path to the open window. Despite the forty feet climb, he thought it would be the perfect hiding place to rest and plan his next move. He hadn’t expected… what, exactly? His last memory was pushing the window, and then he felt the pain. He hadn’t expected a tiny lizard to attack him, much less to tie him up and-

Well, obviously the lizard (which kept staring menancily at him) couldn’t have done any of those things. Or at least, he hoped so. That meant there was at least one person living or staying at the tower, and now he was about to be tortured, and then they would throw his body out of the same window he’d come in, or maybe they’d throw him while he was still alive, and whoever had found him would keep the stupid crown and be rich while laughing at him, the so famous Angel Thief. All because he’d climbed the wrong tower. Fuc-

The little animal (he was starting to suspect it wasn’t a lizard, but the angle made in difficult to see anything other than its beady little eyes) seemed to have heard something, as it jumped off of him and ran across the floor. He didn’t dare to turn his head, preferring to close his eyes. If the animal had gone to fetch whoever was about to murder him, he’d rather not know until it was too late.

“-awake?”

There was a voice, and it was coming closer. He’d barely had any time to register that the voice seemed to be male and kinda young when he heard the unmistakable sound of a curtain being pulled and steps coming into the room. There was a moment of silence, and then..

“You said he’d opened his eyes”

The voice again. Was the person talking to the lizard? But how? Had he accidentally invaded a witch’s lair? If so, there was no way that he’d ever left the tower alive. He’d probably pissed off a powerful forest witch and now they were going to turn him into a toad, and he’d have to live the rest of his life with only the lizard as company. If the witch didn’t throw him out of the window first, of course.

“I know you are awake” said whoever was standing in front of him. There was a hint of amusement in the voice, and maybe it was the outrage he felt when he realized that this person was having fun by torturing him, but he turned towards the direction of the voice and opened his eyes, trying to look as defiant as he could.

There was a young man with strikingly golden hair  staring down at him. He was carrying a candle, and the light flickered over his skin, making it go from brown to golden, revealing sharp cheekbones and a thin nose. Beautiful. His confused brain supplied the word as his eyes wandered to the man’s lips, pressed together in an almost smirk. The green animal was sitting on his shoulders, its eyes still fixed on him like he was threatening them with a knife, which seemed a little unfair considering that he was tied and gagged, unable to move or talk.

“Who are you, and how did you find this tower?” asked the boy, in what clearly tried to be a commanding voice. Some of his worries about being tortured to death were starting to ease up; whoever this boy was, he didn’t look like he was ready to murder him. If anything, he looked nervous and slightly scared.

After a moment the boy seemed to realize the issue with asking him questions, and gave the little lizard a nod, before setting the candle on a dresser next to the bed and approaching him slowly, like he was a dangerous animal that could attack them at any moment. In the candlelight, the boy’s eyes looked amber in color, deep and magical, and when he leaned and reached around his head to untie the gag, he looked almost ethereal.

Stop it, he told himself. There were more important things to focus on. The pain on his head flared again as he finally dared to sit upright. The boy returned to his position near the dresser, not once taking his eyes off his prisoner.

“I stumbled upon it. The tower” he said at last, breaking the silence. One of the boy’s eyebrows twitched a bit. He continued. “I won’t give you my name, but you can call me Angel”

“Angel, huh?” the boy tilted his head and gave him an unimpressed look. “You certainly don’t look like one”.

“Sorry to disappoint” he muttered. “Listen, I didn’t mean to invade any private property, I swear. So, If you could be so kind as to untie me, give me back my stuff and show me the exit, I’ll be happy to never bother you again”.

The green lizard jumped onto the bed and hit him with its tail, clearly unconvinced. Angel bent his legs to get them away from the reptile, resisting the urge to hiss at it. The boy let out a chuckle, and the lizard turned to look at him.

“No, I think he’s telling the truth, Thomas” said the boy with a smirk. Thomas? Odd name for a pet.

“Its name is Thomas?” he asked, making them return their attention to him.

“Yes” said the boy, picking up the reptile and putting him back on his shoulder. “He’s my friend. And you, Angel, are not going anywhere until you listen to me.”

“Why would I listen to you?” he snapped. “I’m tied up here. I know I sort of invaded your home, but I already told you that I didn’t mean to. Just let me go”.

The boy sighed and extended his hands. As an impulse, Angel threw himself backwards, hitting his shoulder against the bed frame. The boy stopped.

“My name is Roman”, he said, reaching once again for Angel’s tied hands. This time, he let Roman undo the knots. As he worked, the boy kept talking. “I’m sorry I had to tie you up, but I didn’t know if you were dangerous or what your intentions were. After all, it’s not every day that a thief falls through my window”, he explained, retreating his hands once the knots fell.

“So you know about that”

“The Angel Thief”, he nodded. There was no point denying it anyway. Roman gave him a look before standing up and turning to look for something on a desk. Angel used the time to untie his feet, breathing out in relief when he felt the rope falling. His heart rate finally seemed to normalize.

“I have the bag with what you stole” said Roman as he turned to look at him. “I’ll give it back to you, but only after you’ve done something for me”

Roman handed him a little notebook, and Angel took it with a shaky hand. What if the boy was crazy and wanted him to murder someone? To his surprise, there was a drawing of the night sky on the open page, depicting something that Angel had seen ever since he was a child.

“The floating lights?”

“Do you know what they are?” asked Roman. There was an edge of desperation in his voice and Angel shrugged.

“Those are paper lamps”, he said, studying the drawing in front of him. It was incredibly well done. “Every year the King and his Consort let them out into the sky in honor of the lost prince”.

“It happens on my birthday”. Roman took the notebook back from him, and laid it gently on the dresser. The candle flickered.

“So?” he asked after after a few seconds of silence.

“I need you to take me there so I can see them” said Roman, looking more fierce than ever before. Everything started to make sense in Angel’s mind.

“You can’t leave the tower”. It wasn’t a question.

“Indeed I cannot”, answered Roman. “My father doesn’t want me to leave the tower yet. Because of that, you” he paused, pointing at him with his index finger, “will be my guide. Take me there, bring me back, and I’ll give you what you want. If not, well, have fun looking for it”.

Angel sighed, covering his face with his hands. What options did he have? He needed to take the crown to the dealer in week; otherwise he wouldn’t need to worry about the guards anymore, the dealer’s gang was far more dangerous. On the other hand, the boy was asking him to him take him right into the heart of the kingdom, where every single guard would be looking for him. Both options were downright suicidal, and he didn’t fancy dying before even turning twenty-two.

But.. Roman had said he wasn’t allowed to even leave the tower. He looked so young, so defiant… he felt his resolve crumble under the amber eyes.

“If I do, will you promise to give it to me in a week?” he pleaded. The boy shared a look with the lizard- Thomas, he reminded himself, and he saw them have some sort of silent conversation. Maybe the boy was a witch after all.

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Angel”, announced Roman. We leave tomorrow morning. You’re welcome to sleep here, I’ll be outside. Good night”.

For a second, he was stunned. He was going to trust him, just like that? And what was up with his change of attitude?

“Wait!”

Roman stopped, one hand on the curtain. “Yes?”

“Are you going to trust me, just like that?” he asked, still surprised. The boy laughed, which only served to make him even more confused.

“No, of course not”. Roman smiled, and then pointed to the dresser. Angel followed his hand and saw Thomas appearing out of nowhere.

“What the fuc-”

“Thomas is a chameleon” was all Roman said before turning around and disappearing behind the curtain, leaving alone a very confused and now slightly scared Angel.

Well, he thought as he laid down once again, trying to ignore the chameleon’s eyes, it’s gonna an interesting week.

Taglist

@magicarin

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@dead4sevenyears

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[joiesomer]

Who: Somer, Jeff ( @xjefferxx ), Topher ( @topherxhummel )

Where: Somer’s room

When: Oct 2

Notes/Triggers: Topher has a confession. Somer gets put back together. tw depression

If there was one word that was even close to describing what Topher was feeling, it was nervousness. He knew there wasn't much reason to worry or any reason at all, yet the idea of coming out to his loved ones still felt rather daunting. But they deserved to know the truth which was why he'd texted and arranged this little hang out. Besides, Jeff already knew so technically Somer was the only one he had yet to come out to when it came to them.

Once he arrived, he raised his hand to tentatively knock on the door. "It's your friendly neighborhood dork," Topher called. And with that, he started to wait and removed his phone in order to fiddle around with it for a few moments.

Somer lifted his head from the back of the papasan. "Jeff, what did you do? I can't people ... " He sighed unhappily, still feeling very depressed from Mercedes' remarks.

Jeff kissed his boyfriend's cheek. "Topher needs friends right now, this is about him and I know you're a good friend to him, plus you do people. You went to class and I've been here..." Opening the door, he smiled to Topher. "Come on in, panic pants." he stated once the door was shut.

Topher lightly poked his tongue out at Jeff as he entered the room "Panic pants?" he chuckled. "Lemme just light up the blinking neon sign real quick," he continued with another light laugh as he mimed turning something on. "But hey there. How are you guys doing?"

"You don't count as people," Somer muttered, but Jeff was already opening the door. Topher wasn't so bad. Somer just didn't want to have to deal with anybody who might have any expectations of him. He wanted complain about how he needed friends right now, and where were they? but he couldn't. If Topher needed him ... he would just have to be there. What he was feeling didn't matter.

Jeff chuckled at Topher. He came back to sit by his love. "We're doing. How you doing? " He asked offering him a spot to sit on the bed with them.

"Just trying to chillax for once. Also been trying to resist the urge to fight a few fellow students," Topher responded as he moved to join them on the bed. "But that's not why I'm here. Just wanted to tell you guys about a recent development then can we make this a normal hang out? Or if you want me to leave, just tell me, alright?"

Somer crumpled up smaller in his chair, trying to pretend to be invisible. He knew why Topher was fighting other students. It was his fault. It was all, always his fault. He was a bad person ...

Only, when Topher said 'a recent development', the red head came up again. "You've admitted it to yourself, haven't you?" Somer said softly.

Jeff picked up Punkinpi as she came out and up to him. Holding the kitten curled up in his arms, he nodded. Doing his best impression of a Bond villian. "You've come here to tell us you're in love with Benji, didn't you? Punkinpi and I knew you'd come to us with this. Hmmm."

Topher playfully flipped both of them off before his serious demeanor returned once he'd scrubbed a hand over his face. "Jeff, you already know this, but I feel like it's only fair that you know too Somer," he replied before he took a deep breath. The courage almost abandoned him completely yet just a little shred remained behind long enough and he added in a low tone, "I'm gay."

Somer rolled his eyes at Jeff. "Punkinpi knew nothing of the sort." His gaze flicked over to Topher. "I know," he said as gently as he could.

Jeff smirked and stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend. "She so did, why do you question her?" he chuckled again. "Yeah, we all kind of knew Topher but glad to hear you say it yourself out loud."

That earned a tiny eyebrow raise from Topher and his curiosity got the better of him. "Well, I told you straight up. Somer, are you secretly Sherlock Holmes or something?" he questioned.

Somer shook his head. "I'm just really good at reading people," he said, then made a face and hung his head. "Most of the time, anyway." After all, he'd been spectacularly terrible at reading Mercedes. He had thought she was his friend, that she cared about him, (that he was worth caring about) -- and all of that had been wrong.

Jeff grinned to him and nodded. "he's good like that. So how do you feel not that you told someone in person?" Still petting the kitten that was now trying to play with jeff's fingers.

"Better, that's for sure," Topher responded. "But now I kinda just want to play video games with you guys and just generally hang out, get to know the adorable little kitten that seems to have magically appeared."

Punkinpi growled squeakily and bit Jeff's fingertip. Somer just sighed quietly, squirming his shoulders down into his chair again. "This ... isn't a good time for me, Topher," he said softly. He looked at Jeff. "You two can do whatever you want."

Jeff smiled a bit then shook his head. "Somer, baby, you know I'm not as good as you and I'll just get creamed at the game. Come on, it will help you feel better." Looking to Topher, he smiled once more. "This is Punkinpi, she is our child and she looks just like her daddy Somer."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Punkinpi," Topher gently stated with a light smile before his attention flicked to Somer. "I mean, if you guys want to kick me out then I got no problem with that. No problem with staying either, but don't let me put you in a tough spot, alright?"

That made Somer feel guilty all over again. He pulled the blanket over his head, hiding in it. "I can't," he whispered. "I don't want to decide things. I don't want to think."

Jeff sighed and set Punkin in Somer's lap before picking him up and moving to have him sit on the bed with them. He smiled to Topher. "Mind helping me hang this?" Holding up a couple blankets.

Topher nodded then arched an eyebrow as he moved to help out. "Are we on the same wavelength here? Or am I a complete idiot for thinking we're making a blanket fort?"

Somer thought about fighting Jeff, but then Punkinpi might fall and anyway it was too much effort. Instead he flopped out on the bed, then rolled over and curled into a ball around the fluff of orange fur.

"Yeah we are..." jeff whispered. "And I need you to stay, he's still down from all the stuff and just needs to see that she is wrong." Getting the blankets up, Jeff crawled in and picked his boyfriend up to have him in his lap as he kissed his hair. "I love you." he whispered to him.

Topher nodded in agreement then took a seat once they got the blankets up and made sure they were secure. "Well, long as we're taking things easy, maybe we could watch something? Or I could look up some random, hilarious fun facts to share with you both?"

Without speaking Somer shifted around until half of him was in Jeff's lap and the other half of him was curled around Topher. He did need them. Both of them, in different ways, but he couldn't say it right now. It felt too selfish, and that sensation only made him feel worse since Topher had come here to be comforted himself. But he could touch. He could feel them there, with him, and press himself against Jeff and against Topher and be reminded that they were there, and real.

"Princess Bride?" he whispered.

Jeff smiled, kissing Somer's cheek. "As you wish." Pointing to the laptop, "Wanna put it on for me dear Buttercup?" he chuckled as he teased Topher a bit. His grip on Somer a bit tighter but not too much, just wanting to reassure him.

Topher lightly poked his tongue out at Jeff in a joking manner when the nickname hit his ears, yet complied all the same. He got the movie set up then played it right before he moved back to his original space. A gentle smile appeared on his face, equal parts grateful for their support and one that hopefully displayed the fact that he cared about them too.

The redhead couldn't really see the movie, curled up the way he was, but that didn't matter. He knew the whole thing by heart practically, and he could hear it. That was all he needed. Part of him wished desperately for the rest of the usual gaming group, but he fought to control and suppress that. Selfish. He had no right to expect people to pay attention to him because he was feeling a little sad.

Jeff watched the movie, whispering Wesley's lines to Somer every chance he got. When it came to Ingino's lines, Jeff smiled and changed them a bit. "My name is Jeffery Sterling, you hurt my Somer, prepare to die." Hoping to earn even an eye roll then he spoke to Topher. "So since you came out and all, any boys you looking at?"

"My name is Christopher Hummel. You hurt my friends, prepare to die," Topher stated with a light smile of his own. But he gave a tiny shake of his head that ended almost as quickly as it started. "I honestly don't know if anything will come of this and would be surprised to hell and back if anything did, but does the name Sebastian Smythe ring any bells with you guys? But other than that, just gonna keep flying under the radar like I have been."

Somer lifted his head from Jeff's lap, his face working. "What even," he said, with a watery, half-strangled chuckle. "Really? No. No hurting people. No killing." Feebly he whacked Topher in the back with a shin.  "Stop that."

Jeff made a face to him. "We're being honest, gingerbread....thats all." With the name drop, Jeff turned his head slowly to look at Topher. "You could say I've heard of him, yeah. So you're into Sebastian?" Trying to hold back a bit as he didn't know Topher didn't know yet.  "You really should try getting out there more some and I mean, still offering to help you with the dancing."

Topher held his hands up in surrender then let them flop back onto his lap a few moments later. "I mean, kind of?" It was phrased like a question because he didn't really know how he felt. "He's handsome as hell and I get along with him pretty well. Then I'll take you up on the dancing offer sometime in the future if that's cool? Like I said though, I'd be intensely surprised if anything came of that. Or any other crush that pops up and I'd rather focus on my friends anyway."

Once again Somer whacked Topher in the back with his shin. "Stop that," he mumbled. "'s my turn to be self-deprecating. You can have yours next Nevermas."

Jeff chuckled some, "Sebastian is an ass too so if he's being nice to you, you're good... I should mention I've know him since I was born.. He's like my big brother. And somer is right, no being down on yourself "

Topher's hands went back up in the surrender gesture before he answered, "I'll do the best I can with toning it down. Then fingers crossed with that trend continuing. Got a feeling it will though since like with you guys, you've been treating me well so I'll return the favor."

Somer's head dropped back down; he didn't have enough spoons to hold it up after the last two days. "I thought you were into Benji," he muttered. "Did you give up on that?"

Jeff's brow raised. "Yeah what about that? What about your love of your roommate and best friend?"

That earned an arched eyebrow from Topher himself before he questioned, "Can we please not talk about that? I just want to hang out with you guys."

The redhead yawned, snuggling closer to Jeff. "I thought that was why you were comin out, so you could confess to him."

Jeff's brow was raised in a question. He had thought the same if he was honest about it. "Well, inquiring minds are wondering..."

"No, it's not. Just wanted to tell you straight up," Topher chuckled a hint at the unintentional joke. "But that's the story in all seriousness. Just wanted to let you guys know."

"There's way more story there and you know it," Somer said, distracted from his own thoughts by irritation. "Come on, Topher."

Jeff kissed Somer's hair and stayed quiet. He just gave Topher a look as he knew that Somer was right about all this and it was time he just fessed up.

Topher bit his tongue as he shook his head ever so slightly then turned his attention back to the laptop while the movie started to wind down. "You guys want to watch something else?"

Somer pushed himself up, whacking Topher in the back accidentally this time. "No, I want you to tell the whole story. You know better than to tease me with just the summary, come on." He folded his arms, bits of his hair sticking up from where he'd been lying in Jeff's lap, and glared.

Jeff wiggled his brow. "We know you're in love with him, why do think I made you work together with Daffodil?"

"What can I say other than he's my best friend? We met as eleven years old at a gaming tournament where he admittedly kicked my ass in DDR. But he was a worthy opponent as well as the first person outside of my family that I felt like I could trust, even if our friendship was only three days old by the time we separated," Topher replied. "We lost contact then by some fucking miracle of epic proportions, we reunited here at Joie. As roommates nonetheless. He's my right hand man and I'm his, simple as that, you know?"

"Uh-huh. Sure, and you thought about him for ... almost a decade. Before meeting him again. Here." Somer leaned closer to Topher. "Where he promptly hooked up with a guy almost twice his age. Tell me that didn't sting."

"And you're in love with him." Jeff nodded to Topher. "You can't say you're not because you look at him the way I look at Somer, hes got a part of you that you're not sure you want back."

It took every ounce of self control Topher had to not facepalm on the spot. "Guys, can we please just watch another movie? I legit only came here to say hello, come out to you guys, and hang out for a little bit. Don't want to talk about my love life or lack of one or anything along the lines of that. Just want to hang out with two of my best friends."

Somer looked at Jeff, trying to keep his expression still, but a twinkle that had been missing for several days lurked in his eyes. "He didn't answer. I think that means yes. It means yes, right Jeff?"

"I think he does protest a lot, yes." Jeff purred, his forehead to his boyfriend's, then looking to Topher. "Topher, we wouldn't be your good friends if we didn't push you to be honest about your feelings and about how much it sucks to find the one you want with someone else...I mean, does Benji even know you're gay?"

Topher shook his head as he tapped his fingers against his leg for a few moments. "No, he doesn't. I've tried finding the best time or whatever, but we're just busy with our own things. Or it's been a long day and I don't want to drop a coming out speech on top of that. So, that process is an indefinite work in progress."

The redhead leaned back against Jeff. "Excuses," he said succinctly. "Valid ones, but you're still just making excuses because you're scared of how it might come out. You're scared he doesn't feel the same way."

"Nothing in life that is worth having, doesn't come without a risk. Some times you gotta take the leap and hope you can fly.' Jeff shrugged. 'We love you Topher, you know that right?"

"I do know that you guys love me. I hope you know that I love you guys too," Topher answered before he gave a shrug of his own. "Cool if we fire up another movie now?"

Somer tipped his head back to look at the blond. "Have we tortured him enough?"

Jeff kissed Somer's nose. "I think so, yes. So its time we let him choose a movie and just relax." Pressing a kiss to his lips now.

"Alright, what kind of movies do you have on here?" Topher questioned as he shifted in order to inspect the selection on the laptop. "You guys in the mood for either Deadpool or Hellboy?"

"I have John Wick," Somer offered diffidently. He honestly wanted to watch something that was a bit violent, so he could pretend the bad guys were the people he didn't like for a little bit.

Jeff shrugged. "I don't mind, whatever you  two choose is fine with me. I got my friend and my boyfriend, I'm good."

"John Wick it shall be," Topher agreed as he got the movie started then shifted back to his original space. "I can never get enough of movies like this."

"I'm looking forward to four," Somer said. "Maybe it will make more of Parabellum make sense."