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rogueshadeaux · 3 months

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Chapter Thirty — Infamous

“Well, sometimes if you have someone listen to something they haven’t heard before, they might notice something you didn’t.” Zeke patted the top of a sealed ammo case. “Gain a new perspective. I have a buncha dead drops I’m gonna have to listen to, and I need a conduit’s opinion.”

5k words | 20 min read time | TRIGGER WARNINGS: more goddamn lore and links (i love you guys but it's messy work /s), references to death, disease, catastrophe.

Zeke eventually came back as we finished organizing the papers, taking a moment to crack his neck before looking down at us. “Y’all look about done,” he commented.

Brent nodded. “Nearly, but I don’t think there’s anything here that’ll help.”

I couldn’t help but agree. There was a ton on Celia taking out less-than-desirable people, and while I wasn’t sure yet how to feel about the death of those guys, I knew it wasn’t enough to lead us anywhere.

“Yeah, that’s how it goes sometimes,” Zeke sighed, moving back into the kitchen. “But keep an eye out and an open mind — sometimes things connect in ways you weren’t expecting. Now, your pops is making a call, trying to connect with someone that might have some old info we passed to her years ago. I’m sure when he comes back he’ll go over everything y’all found and see if something stands out.”

I stood, grabbing the little empty mug of coffee and moving to the kitchen with the intention of getting some water, letting the stream run over my hand for a few seconds to take in that peaceful feeling that always came with draining. I screwed my eyes shut and tried to let the calm wash over the anxiety in my chest — and nearly screamed as it jump started my heart and sent it soaring when I opened my eyes to see Zeke standing inches away on my side, arms crossed.

“You good?” He asked me.

Other than nearly having a heart attack because he snuck up on me? “I’m…okay.” I answered. “Just worried. What if all of this is useless, you know?”

“We’re just covering our bases, kid.” He said heartedly. Cheerfully. Way too happily for it still being nine in the morning. “We find nothing here, we’ll just go lookin’ somewhere else. Now,” he raised his voice a bit so it would flow over to Brent, turning so he could regard us both in his sight. “If y’all are done with those files, I could use some fresh ears on some things I have.”

Brent cocked his head a bit, glancing between Zeke and I. “What do you mean?”

“You want…our help?” I asked.

“Why not?” Zeke shrugged. “Figured it’s the best crash course for y’all — you’ve gotta learn what really happened with the Beast and First Sons and all that, anyways. Figure it’d be better to have sources.”

So we started helping set up Zeke’s desk, moving piles of papers and magazines Zeke threw his hand over and insisted were nothing to make room for this weird little device he seemed to pull out of thin air. “What’s that for?” Brent asked, somehow managing to hold a printer like it was a weightless purse.

“This? Just a little doohickey I made to listen to the dead drops. It’s either this, or I hunt down equipment that’s older than y’all two — and I’m not usually lucky in bidding wars on eBay.”

“You made this?” Brent balked. Excitement quickly overtook his eyes, and I knew he was about to demand to know everything about the gadget as he soaked in the ingenuity. He’d be an inventor if he had the patience to fail.

I let the two ramble on about technical words that escaped me as I finished cleaning off Zeke’s desk, grabbing the ammo case he had brought over and opening it. There was a dank smell that wasn’t at all pleasant, the dozens of little chips in it settling with the same sound LEGOs in a bin did. When there was a lull in conversation, I looked to Zeke, asking, “Why haven’t you uploaded these to a cloud or something? It would make storing them easier.” And it would smell less like swamp, too.

Zeke, though, scoffed. “What, put them online where anyone could claim them? Where the government probably has a backdoor and could delete ‘em for good? Absolutely not.”

He turned to hook the device up to the computer, giving Brent the chance to look at me and shrug.

Dad came into the room just as Zeke finished hooking up the device, and looked between the three of us. “I’m gonna go talk to Eugene, and then I’ll be back down here to help.” He glanced at the papers on the ground. “You guys organize everything?”

We both nodded. “There’s one pile of random stuff I couldn’t really link together, but yeah,” Brent added.

Dad hummed. His eyes breezed over the room but didn’t really seem to settle on any one thing. “Alright, I’ll be right back,”

He disappeared from the room as quickly as he came.

“He seems distracted,” Brent muttered to me.

“Hopefully in a good way,” I added.

“Hopefully in a way that gets us more food. I’m starving.”

“You just ate!”

“Yeah — eggs.” Brent complained in a whisper. “You think that’s enough?"

I shot him a glare just before Zeke turned back around. “Alright, I think the thing’s set up. Pass me a chip, Jean?”

I nodded, grabbing one randomly and laying it in Zeke’s outstretched hand. “You’re sure this will work?”

“Well,” he popped his mouth as he inserted the chip and opened something on his computer. “It either works or explodes.”

“Explodes?”

“Yeah. So you two might wanna step back for a moment till we know which is which,”

Brent and I listened without another word, moving into the living room. I couldn’t help but notice how Brent stood in front of me, arm twitching like it was ready to grow a shield as Zeke finished pressing some buttons and breathed deeply before switching the machine on, flinching as he did so.

No big boom came, though; there was a shrill trill of static, a sort of vibrating tone like it was calibrating, and then the most shocking noise — a British voice.

“Audio report. Final.” The British voice says on the recording in between bursts of loud bangs. “The door won't hold them. I've done what I could to reverse the damage I've unleashed on the world. After Bertrand took control of the First Sons, I chose to stay on and I committed further acts of horror up under his twisted leadership. His resources allowed me to finish the RFI. That is all that matters. My God, I hope it works.” There’s another loud bang, loud enough to make me jump in place. “I hope it exceeds my wildest expectations and put an end to the Plague—”

There was this huge screeching sound as metal itself was broken, clinking against the floor.

“Forgive me Kuo,” the voice rushes to say, “I wish I could've warned you—”

It cut off as the sound of a chair scraping against the floor raked through the static, and then there were punches. That same British voice huffed out in pain until the recording became muffled and then forcefully turned off.

We both stayed silent as Zeke seemed triumphant with the success of the device. “Who was that?” Brent eventually asked, the first to shake off the stupor of what we just heard.

“Sebastian Wolfe,” Zeke explains, turning his chair slightly so we were in his eyesight. “He was one of the head First Sons scientists.”

“He was trying to end the plague?” I asked.

Zeke leaned back in his chair, biting on his tongue for a moment. “He…he was. Or, did,” He began. “That’s what the RFI was for,”

“What’s an RFI?” Brent asked.

Zeke didn’t get to answer; Dad was coming back down the stairs, standing at the foot of them and leaning against the frame of the stairwell. “It’s what stopped the Beast.”

I cocked my head to the side, looking between Dad and Zeke. “I thought…I thought Cole defeated the Beast?”

“He did,” Zeke rushed to say. “He did. But it wasn’t like in the stories where David knocks down Goliath and wins. He had to make a hard choice.”

“The RFI purged ray field energy.” Dad took over. “Cleared it, and that included what was in the magnetic field at the time. Taking it away killed the Beast, but it’s also why almost every conduit died. None of us can survive without it.”

“So that’s….that’s what the mass death was?” I asked. “People said it was because of the Beast dying—”

Dad scoffed, sounding rather annoyed at the idea. “We aren’t minions to something bigger,” He said. “It’s not like we can’t survive without the Beast. Obviously we can — he’s gone. But think about it for a second; if the truth was told, and everyone knew there was a device to kill Conduits — you think there wouldn’t be certain people trying to use it?”

Brent and I glanced at each other; no, it was very likely there would be someone trying to remake the device. And I didn’t like that idea at all.

“I’ve been hiding the notes on the RFI for years so that no one would have that sorta power,” Zeke said. “It didn’t work the first time — it just caused pain. I don’t want it to cause any more.”

My brow knit, and I realized something; the Beast happened in 2011. But Dad…Dad was older than that. “Dad?” I asked. He looked at me, raising an eyebrow in a silent prod to continue. “How did…how did you survive?”

Dad rubs the scruff on his chin. “Don’t know. None of us do.”

“Everyone’s been wondering since they started comin’ back,” Zeke said. “Or, when some didn’t die. It was supposed to work.”

“It was supposed to kill Conduits.” Brent said flatly beside me. “That sounds more like genocide than saving.”

Zeke looked over at Brent with a surprising fire in his eyes. “It would have killed either way. You know how many people would have died if Cole didn’t use the RFI? The plague wasn’t just killing regular humans, kid—anyone with the plague was dying. Conduits included.”

“Inactivated Conduits,” Dad corrected. “Which means I would have died, too, if I caught it.”

Brent had the foresight to at least look remorseful at the fact. “So if you weren’t activated or had the gene, you were just fucked?”

“Brent—”

“C’mon, Dad—”

Zeke interrupted. “Yep. No powers…no survival.”

That silenced the room. No powers, no survival. Cole was literally stuck having to choose between the needs of the many, or the needs of the few—there were even less Conduits then than there were now. Imagine killing off the entire population just to save, like, 7% of it.

I couldn’t imagine how he felt making that choice, no matter how right it was.

Zeke eventually sighed, saying, “Hand me another chip, please.”

I nodded, looking down at the case in my hand and picking one at random. Zeke took it from my outstretched hand and wiped down its surface with the hem of his shirt. He takes a deliberate amount of time hooking it up to the device, long enough that Dad leaves to look at the files Brent and I organized and Brent moves to sit back on the couch.

There was another harsh burst of static before the audio of the next file came through. “Audio surveillance file X76,” that same British guy, Wolfe, said. “Meeting with John White and Lucy Kuo.”

“I wanted to, eh,” a really deep and really grainy voice came on the speaker, “Advise you of a recent incident. Kessler’s plan is unclear to me, so I’ll just stick to the facts: Kessler kidnapped MacGrath’s girlfriend, Trish, and dangled her off of a rooftop.”

“Holy shit,” Brent murmured as my hand came over my mouth.

“He said MacGrath had time to save her. But there was another rooftop with six doctors about to die. MacGrath had to choose.”

Dad shook his head from his place on the floor. Cole had to choose between six innocent people and his girlfriend? That had to be horrible!

A feminine voice, clean and disgusted, simply said, “Sick!” while Wolfe responded with “Madness!” in his best impression of an aghast 1800s European settler.

That grainy deep voice came back on. “He…tried to save his girlfriend. I dunno, maybe he was selfish, but…” he inhaled deep enough for the recording to catch it, “I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same.” Then he scoffed. “Kessler killed them all anyway.”

“Of course,” the feminine voice muttered.

“Evidently he wanted to toughen up MacGrath before the Beast arrives.” The deep voice said. “And who knows — maybe he succeeded. MacGrath definitely seems tougher than I’ve ever seen him.”

The dead drop beeped, signaling its end and leaving us all with so many questions.

“Who was Kessler?” I asked first before anyone else could speak.

Zeke sighed, rubbing a hand over his eye like it was too early for a conversation like this. Maybe it was. “He was the leader of the First Sons.” Zeke started. “Took over the position from some guy he overthrew, I forget his name. Robert? I dunno. I know his son’s name was Alden Tate,” Zeke paused, turning his chair to face all of us. “Kessler wanted Cole to be the one to fight the Beast.”

“So he killed his girlfriend to get him to do it?” Brent asked, incredulous.

“It was about the choice,” Dad realized from the side. “Be selfish, or worry about the greater good.”

Zeke nodded. “And he picked the wrong answer. They all died.”

“How is saving your girlfriend the wrong answer?” Brent demanded.

I ran a finger along the texture of my cast. “It isn’t exactly caring about the greater good…” I murmured. “The doctors probably…they would have been a lot more helpful in Empire City, if it was as bad as Zeke says.”

Brent glared at me. “So you’d sacrifice someone for that? If it was me or Dad or—”

“I didn’t say I would!” I shot back, rolling my eyes. Brent could be so short-sighted, it was annoying.

“Guys,” Dad said off on the side, glaring at us both pointedly. His eyes flicked over to Zeke, who looked like he was going through the five stages of grief as fast as he possibly could.

“He was going to propose to Trish, later that year,” Zeke said, more to himself than anyone. “He wasn’t…he didn’t want to lose that. It had broken him.”

I think it would have broken anyone.

“Was that the idea?” Dad asked Zeke. “Make him get used to making those hard choices?”

Zeke nodded. “Yeah. That’s what Kessler told him, anyway. He needed someone that would be able to make the decision, in the end. That could fight the Beast and have nothing to lose.”

“That’s messed up,” Brent uttered. “He basically groomed MacGrath.”

“Messed up ain’t even the half of it, kid.” Zeke said. He sighed hard, and then motioned silently for me to give him another dead drop.

Wolfe’s voice crackled on. “Audio surveillance of Agent John White, file D102.”

That same deep voice was back, but crystal clear this time. That must be the guy, John White. “I was carrying the Ray Sphere out of the lab when Kessler stopped me. It was...it was strange. He said that I had an important destiny, that I'd accomplish great things.”

Wolfe hummed. “I used to be a skeptic, but many of his predictions actually do come true.”

The guy, John, hesitated to answer. “I don’t know…the way he looked at me? Made me want him to be wrong.”

The dead drop ended there, the most useless one so far.

At least, I thought so. Dad, however, felt otherwise. “Who was John White?” He asked Zeke.

Zeke hesitated. “He, uh…he was an NSA agent. Him and Kuo, they were both supposed to infiltrate the First Sons and get more information on them.”

Dad’s brow furrowed. “I thought…I thought that the government funded the First Sons?”

Zeke threw his head side to side as he tried to figure out how to explain this to Dad. “Well, yes, but they didn’t know they were. The woman in charge of DARPA at the time had a deal with Kessler on the side. You know, under the table, ‘you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours’ sorta stuff. She knew of the First Sons because of their investigations, and then she found out about the Ray Sphere.”

Dad scoffed. “Hear about some magic eight ball that can give you powers, and of course you’ll be interested.”

“Exactly.”

“But why would Kessler think that this White guy was important?” Brent asked from the side. “What, could he see into the future or something?”

Zeke didn't answer that immediately. His eyes sorta traveled off like Dad’s always did when talking about his past, when he was reliving memories that left bad tastes in his mouth, and he inhaled deeply. “John helped us in Empire City, during the quarantine. He tracked down the Ray Sphere and him and Cole destroyed it.”

After a breath, Zeke added. “It also killed him. At least, we thought it did.”

A shadow seemed to come over Zeke’s face, and from where I was, I could see the grip he had on the arm of his chair tighten. “What happened?” I asked softly.

Zeke’s next breath was a bit shuddered. “It activated him. John was the Beast.”

“Oh, shit.” Dad murmured. Brent was too shocked to throw in his own curse words. "So Kessler made the Beast,” Dad scoffed. “Glad to know the First Sons have been the root of every problem.”

“None of this makes sense,” Brent murmured, head in his hands.

I couldn’t help but agree with Brent; my mind was reeling. Not only was there some group with science advanced enough to activate Conduits, but they managed to make the Beast. They created the creature that killed millions and practically turned the east coast into a wasteland.

Zeke had us listen to more dead drops, explaining things along the way; Kuo was another agent tasked with collecting intel at the New Marais First Sons’ base, and Dr. Wolfe was recording these dead drops behind both her and John White’s backs to send to the NSA so they could make sure there was no backstabbing going on. Other recordings featured Joseph Bertrand III, the guy I knew from our history books as the Alt. Right businessman-turned-politician that people contributed with starting the ‘small government’ movement that led to his easy fascist takeover in New Marais. Apparently racist rhetoric and anti…well, anything he deemed sinful wasn’t enough, because he was the head of the First Sons’ New Marais base as well, in search of power. He took the First Sons’ assets the moment Kessler died and used everything to fund his fascist army, the Militia, passing Dr. Wolfe human test subjects to play with along the way.

Those test subjects are what caught Dad’s attention, especially as Dr. Wolfe recorded himself speaking to one.

“I paid a visit to the First Sons' dorms where the Vermaak men were housed.” Dr. Wolfe said into the mic. “Subject 881 approached me and we took a walk. The recording follows.”

“You seem…” the accented voice hesitated. “Agitated, Doctor.”

“I figured out what Bertrand has in store for you. He's going to use the Transfer Device, isn't he?” Dr. Wolfe demanded.

881 sighed. “Sorry, you know I can't say.”

Wolfe wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Do you know who the Conduit is?” he demanded.

“I just... can't comment on this.” 881 talked over him, and I could only imagine the head shake that came with it.

Dr. Wolfe switched to pleading, saying, “You need to know something. The transfer procedure was never designed to split abilities among multiple recipients. I don't know what it will do.”

“You…” 881 drew off, “Just got my attention.”

Dr. Wolfe continued, “Theoretically you'll all be ‘over-clocked,’ so to speak. You'll receive a portion of the true Conduit's power but your body will wear itself out trying to sustain it! You may go insane.”

There was a pause, and then the Vermaak soldier asked, “Why are you telling me this, Doctor? Bertrand, he wouldn't like it.”

Dr. Wolfe sighs hard. “I'm not a brave man, but if I'm right and you and your men lose control, then I'll have far more to fear from you than Bertrand.”

“Did he…” Dad asked the moment the dead drop beeped, signaling its end. “Did he say the Vermaak?”

“Yep.” Zeke swiveled in his chair to face Dad. “Bertrand took out a contract with this private military group and used those guys to make Conduit soldiers. He planned to sell ‘em overseas.”

“I know that name.” Dad hums. “Vermaak 88. They were like some version of green berets from Africa, I think. Reggie worked with them on his tour in Iraq. They were…pretty ruthless, from what he told me when he came back.”

“Yeah, that’s why Bertrand hired them originally — for protection,” Zeke hummed, already digging in the ammo crate for another chip he deemed worthy enough to listen to. “At least, that’s what everyone thought. Turns out, he was being paid under the table to make superhuman soldiers for a buncha war lords.”

“So he was hired, not the other way around?” I asked, Zeke nodding in response.

“Yep. Only guy in the world that had a power transfer device before Brookie and her government funding walked into the picture.” Zeke held up a chip, examining it close. “One on one, the transfer worked damn near flawlessly. Cole only was out for about four minutes when he did it—”

“Woah, wait,” Brent hummed, holding out a hand to pause Zeke’s tangent. “Cole was a forced Conduit?”

Zeke let the hand holding up the chip fall, chuckling a bit. “No, no — well, if you don’t count the Ray Sphere as forced. Jury’s still out on that one. But Cole had gotten another power from someone. Kuo, actually.”

Dad’s head tilted slightly. “You mean…he had more than one power?” he asked, eyes betraying how much the statement confused him. I couldn’t blame him; there wasn’t any other Conduit I knew that had more than one power. Anyone but him.

Zeke seemed to realize this as well, saying, “Yeah — he wasn’t as strong in the other power as his electricity, but he could use both on a whim. Sometimes even combined the two, that was always cool to see.”

Dad’s confusion grew, and something else played in his eyes: betrayal, maybe? “He could use both at the same time?” Dad asked, almost disbelieving.

Zeke nodded. “Yep. Sorta together, more than anything. Like he needed some of his electricity to work the power.”

Brent’s brow furrowed. “That’s nothing like how you do it,” he muttered, looking at the floor before glancing up at Dad.

Dad’s eyes were now off of Zeke and facing the wall, boring a hole into the wood as he chewed on his cheek. “It’s not.” He agreed, seeming to hate the fact that he did. He glared at the grain a bit longer, like the patterns would shift and give him the answers to his unasked questions, before slightly shaking his head, refocusing on Zeke. “He used a power transfer device for that? Like the one Augustine had?”

Zeke nodded. “Well, similar. Couldn’t tell you what the old one was like, considering it blew up before anyone else got a chance to play with it. I wasn’t even there when Cole hooked himself up to it.”

“So he was the only one to use it?” I asked before Dad could.

“Well, him and the Vermaak.” Zeke replied, bringing up the corner of his shirt to try and polish the dead drop chip in his hand. “You heard Dr. Wolfe — Bertrand had him use the device on multiple people at once. Dunno how, and they all escaped before we could find out more. So we were stuck not only fighting the Militia, but a bunch of half-sane ice soldiers while trying to prepare for the Beast—”

Everyone’s heads snapped around to look at Zeke so fast that he nearly dropped the ammo crate in surprise. “Ice soldiers?” we managed to chorus, only half a beat off from each other.

“Y–yeah?” Zeke stuttered, looking between the three of us. “They were transferred ice powers from Kuo, after she was activated. Cole too.”

Brent and I both glanced at each other before looking at Dad, who was staring at Zeke with a blank face before it cracked. His hands came up to press into his eyes. “Fuck,” he said, beginning to pace, “Fuck!”

Zeke was absolutely bewildered. “What, uh…why does that matter?”

I sighed hard on the side. “I was frozen by ice soldiers, in the fight with Augustine.”

“Oh, shit,”

“You know,” Brent deadpanned, leaning back on the loveseat. “Seems like everything comes back to the First Sons,”

“Always does,” Zeke huffs.

Dad was still pacing, arms crossed now. “Bertrand was in charge here,” he muttered, a hand coming up to rub his face. He lifted his head, raising his voice slightly. “The ice soldiers were here. We’ve got to find their old base, maybe there’s something we could find that connects them to Archangel—”

“Delsin, this was some twenty-odd years ago,” Zeke said. “There’s a very small chance there’ll be anything left, between the military and any sorta urban explorers.”

“And they didn’t know what we do now,” Dad snipped. “There’s got to be something that can help us” He stopped, spinning in place to face Zeke. “Do you know where it is?”

Zeke hesitated. “I…I don’t. At least, I don’t remember. But one of these dead drops gotta have something that’ll help us,”

So we were stuck listening to more: of John White, telling the others how six blocks in Empire City were blown to bits when it was activated; of Bertrand, convinced he was doing something to honor God by gathering prisoners to test his own Ray Sphere on.

There was a crackle, and then that same British voice again, far less panicked this time. “Audio surveillance of Agent Kuo, file G27,” he said.

“I got my hands on an Echelon phone transcript the day Kessler detonated the Ray Sphere. He requested a very specific bike courier for the job.” She began.

“Do you mean Cole MacGrath?” Dr. Wolfe asked. Brent’s head snapped around to look towards Zeke and his speakers now.

“There’s more,” The woman, Kuo, says. “I–I may have found some important new insight on Kessler, but I can't make it out. Kessler knew Cole MacGrath had the conduit gene, that's pretty clear, but I can't find his name in the First Sons database.”

“So…” Wolfe hesitated, “How did Kessler know Cole MacGrath had the gene?”

“Exactly.”

“Do you think they’re related?” Wolfe almost immediately asks after.

Kuo hesitates on the tape. “Huh…you know, I can try to find that out.”

The tape immediately goes dead, as if it was edited to the end of that exact statement. Dad was looking up from a file in his hand to where Zeke was, asking. “So who exactly was Kuo in all of this?”

“NSA Agent Lucy Kuo,” Zeke said, spinning his chair to face Dad. “She found us in Empire City and told Cole she had a way to make him powerful enough to fight the Beast.”

“And she was the ice conduit?”

“Yep.”

Brent was up himself now, having too much pent up energy. He was matching Dad’s steps earlier, pacing around the room. “How did he get more powerful to fight the Beast?”

“Blast cores,” Zeke says simply.

“Did the NSA know she was a conduit?” Dad interrupted before Brent could ask what the hell a Blast core was.

Zeke shakes his head. “Just that she had the gene. Bertrand’s the one that activated her, actually.”

I raised a hand like I was in class; this conversation was cool and all, but none of it was related to the very big piece of information in the dead drop we just heard. “Wait,” I started. “So — Kessler; he was in charge of the First Sons, right?” Zeke nods. “Okay, but then…how did he know Cole was a Conduit?”

Zeke had put on his glasses at some point, trying to mark each chip with a little code to signify what was on it. Now, though, he took them off, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “If I told ya, you wouldn’t believe me.” He said.

What kind of an answer was that?

Dad seemed just as perplexed. “What do you mean? We need to know everything we can if we’re going to figure this out—”

The stairs creaked, and Dr. Sims came down into the room, sighing hard. “Decoding that journal is gonna be harder than I thought,” he started, looking at Dad. “But I did get the emails,”

He said that last bit with that tone of voice Dad would use when he told us he got a message from our teacher when we were bad at school: We need to talk about it.

“Kessler was a piece of shit, who knew too much for his own good,” Zeke responded, completely ignoring Dr. Sims’ intrusion. “It would be easier if we just left it at that.”

“But why choose Cole?” Brent asked, bewildered. “I mean — no offense to, you know, your old friend — but he was just an electricity Conduit. Why not pick someone stronger to fight against the Beast? Like Dad?”

Dad ignored Brent’s praise to glare disapprovingly at Zeke. “You can’t hide something valuable like this,” he protested. “It could be exactly what we need to figure out what the hell is going on.”

Zeke opened his mouth to respond when Dr. Sims interrupted. “Zeke,” he called gently. “They need to know.”

The argument in Zeke’s chest died on the tip of his tongue, and he made a weird noise as he deflated. He leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair as he chewed on his tongue, seemingly debating how to start this. Whatever he was going to say looked like it stressed him out to even think of.

And I definitely wasn’t prepared for what came out of his mouth next.

“Kessler was Cole. He traveled back in time after the Beast destroyed the world to try and stop it from happening.”

#infamous second son #infamous #infamous 2 #infamous erosion #delsin rowe #cole macgrath #fanfic #Zeke Dunbar #fucking. shit do I put everyone?#Kessler?#John White #Lucy Kuo #Sucker Punch Productions #'suck my titties' came up when i was typing that and i'd love to know why #heyo inF2 overview my beloved #this chapter was originally 12k words I just have to wait to add the others in two weeks #god i hate it here (lying. she will do this again)

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dual-cetacean · 25 days

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"The Shatterverse is saved, the prism shards are back where they belong, and Green Hill Zone is restored. However, Nine cannot let go. Afraid the Roses and Shadow won’t be fast enough to save Sonic, they chase after them — accidentally flying into the gateway, too. Now locked out of their universe, and more importantly, the Grim, what is a lonely number 9 supposed to do?"

*Edit*

Chapter log

Season 1

Situation 1: So much (for) Prism dust (↑) Situation 2: I’m your best friend, I’m your family. Situation 3: Tea and Toast. Situation 4: Lonely Heart's Club (unavailable) Situation 5: Stranger in a Strange Land (unavailable) Situation 6: I hope, pray you bite your tongue (unavailable). Situation 7: Capital T, but Trouble looks for me (unavailable). Situation 8: Star-Crossed Brothers. (unavailable)

Heyo! I know that this series ended months ago, but this cartoon has me in a head grip. This has been cooking since February, and I'm finally ready to post it after two full months of working on it. I enjoyed season 3 and the rest of the series but was unsatisfied with the ending. So, for everyone like me who wants more out of the story, I hope you enjoy this, especially for the ones whose favourite character is Nine, like me. Plenty of other characters will also appear in it, but for now, it Nine centric.

I am incredibly proud of the cover art I made and put a lot of effort into it. Making all those renders for the characters was a serious undertaking, but it looks great, and I had a lot of fun figuring out how to paint foam and water.

I also made a playlist for this fic so if you're looking for fitting music, here it is! (Current and future chapter titles are also inspired by these songs)

The cover ver without the other characters in the water is under keep reading

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cochineal-leviat · 3 months

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"Drayton and Kieran battle. However, Drayton being Drayton - stokes the fires more than he should. Can the dragon tamer handle a Dragon's wrath?"

Heyo! I'm continuing this one shot because of the amazing comments I received and, of course, because it is fun to write and make art for. Thank you all so much for the support, and please enjoy!

I drew the battle poses in its entirety to get the anatomy right. If you want to see the full-body poses, please tell me. I think they're neat.

More of an art explanation under keep reading

The VS splash screen is based on Black and White 2's champion match against Iris. Originally, I was going more for the VS screen from gen 5 from the Gym leaders, but since Iris and Drayton are related - this fits more. (that and I couldn't find a good reference of the VS screens)

Also, my absolute favouritism of Unova and Black and White is shining through. To be fair, Blueberry Academy is set in Unova, and the Toaist dragons work perfectly well here symbolically. (I used Black and White 2's colour palette, which technically references Zekrom in Black 2 instead of the other Black, but let's pretend the blue on Drayton's side is from Reshiram's eye and vice versa on Kieran's side. I just wanted the cold colours to be on Drayton's side, whereas Kieran is supposed to be so flushed with anger)

Also, Rotom

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oonajaeadira · 5 months

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For the Love of Fic: November 20

Heyo! I've been just parking read fic here for a while and didn't realize how long it was getting! And then I used my wait times in Disney to read a bunch more.... anyway. I've got a long list of fun for you!

Also, I'm really sorry, this is the dumbest header I've ever made but it made me laugh so here we are.

🪐 = Year of Themed Creation Fics!

DIETER BRAVO

Dieter, Dieter, Pumpkin Eater by @coulsons-fullmetal-cellist I can't decide what I love more: Dieter getting frisky in a bouncy castle or his gleeful exclamations when the goats take to him. I want this. I want all of it. Sign me up. Crocs and all.

Tip Your Server by @nothoughtsjustmeds I love love love this fic. I love Dieter needing to get reader all hot and bothered while wearing fancy clothes, I love the banter, I love the obvious love these two have, the cavalier throw-away of a precious object, every gesture of affection and its tie to absolute, loving sass. And the prose is so great. This is a masterclass fic.

JOEL MILLER

Strong Enough To Stand by @the-blind-assassin-12 Oof. This both hurt and was satisfying. Joel has a habit of holding onto love and hurt. It's definitely detrimental at times. But damn if it doesn't illustrate how fiercely he loves. Alyssa's lead up story to this--It Pours From Your Eyes--nearly destroyed me, but this one thankfully helped to soothe.

Surrender Chapter 13 and Chapter 14 by @ezrasbirdie Birdie gave us a beautiful reunion and ending for Daisy and Joel and I'm just so proud of her for putting her heart into a wonderful OC. There's so much in this series about learning to love and--even more interesting--learning to BE loved, and both Joel and Daisy are wonderful for that. I know there's an epilogue coming and I will patiently wait for my desert while this meal of a fic settles in my heart.

Saying I love you through an accidental kiss by @songsformonkeys Listen. Joel Miller's got a lot going on today and it's chaotic and you made him food and took care of Sarah and you...you reached for him first. SOFT! CUTENESS!

Spend All Your Love Making Time by @haylzcyon Sub!Joel is my new favorite obsession. He's just so in LOVE with reader, so in thrall and this is hot hot hot.... Those baby browns are certainly made for puppydog wants....

Something Soft by @keldabe-kriff 🪐 Everyone knows what you do with dandelions, right? Until an apocalypse wipes off even the tiniest things from human culture. Then kids like Ellie may not understand the simple joy of making a wish on one. Good thing there's folks like Joel who remember and help her out.

Joel, Interrupted by @iamskyereads This is both melancholy and warm, and that is such a welcome taste. It is quiet and lovely and the last line gave me so many feelings. If Joel was a ghost in his own house, this is exactly how he'd be. <3

MARCUS MORENO

Not All Heroes Wear Capes by @all-the-things-2020 🪐 I love "fandom crossovers" as a year of tropes offering. ST:TNG was one of my big fandom obsessions, so it's nice to return to some of those characters. Putting a Pedro boy in there is inspired, and this was handled so well!!!

If It Wasn't For The Nights by @simpingcowboy 🪐 Marcus is just made for angst, isn't he. It's obvious how much he loved his wife and how much he loves their daughter. Going inside to examine that is just asking for a heart twist....

JAVI GUTIERREZ

The Last Blockbuster: Bump in the Night by @blueeyesatnight I love these two slacker filmophiles and am always happy to see them return to my dash. This time it's a test of readers' spine, to see if she can handle the scary movies like she says she can. I appreciate the appearance of another movie memorabilia piece...🦇🦇🦇

IRL part 1 @ nickcage_numerouno and part 2: of festivals and food by @grogusmum I love that both these dopes are so insecure about meeting one another. Javi is sweet and wonderful like always, and it's nice to get his POV here and there as our plus-size reader deals with her own assumptions. But oh my gosh he's smitten and if there's gonna be a part 3 I'll lose my mind.

COMANDANTE VERACRUZ

When it Comes to You... by @flightlessangelwings 🪐 I mean, if anyone's gonna get violently protective over his girl, it just might be Veracruz. I mean, to make you his priority during an ambush? To come back victorious and rail the crap out of you afterward? That's the dream....

DAVE YORK

First Kill by @hopeamarsu 🪐 Holy balls, this is a beautiful little character study on Dave. Hope goes inside his head during a therapists' session where he's asked about his first kill, and it is menacing AF. Take a look at this piece, because it is bomb.

EZRA

Gravity by @insomniamamma 🪐 J has a way with Ezra that I'm just addicted to. I know she loves him deeply, always takes so much care with him, gets his soft side just right. She makes me yearn so very hard for this man...his physical gracelessness a grand contrast to the gracefulness of his devotion. My goodness, I love this fic.

PERO TOVAR

untitled by @writeforfandoms Listen. It's a little mixed trope drabble about Pero as your bodyguard that might not mind being mistaken for your boyfriend and I could take 10K of this thanks.

Bangathon fics Cowgirl and Missionary by @prolix-yuy I may be a broken record, but I just cannot get enough of a solem and sour protector who only shows his vulnerability behind closed doors. I knew better than to read LJ's take on him and expect to remain unmelted.

Grumpy Pumpkin by @sirowsky This is just the very cutest. Of course Pero knows his way around knives, but pumpkin carving doesn't go exactly as you planned. In fact, it goes much sweeter.

Seed by @perotovar I love a Pero that is hot for his wife whether or not she can concieve. And that the want for a baby that hasn't come yet doesn't make them sad...it just makes them want to try harder! Soft and sweet and spicy all at once. Just like I like him.

FRANKIE MORALES

Ring Toss by @morallyinept Look. It's a simple concept. Frankie brings you donuts because Frankie loves you. You're resisting because you're on some silly diet. Donuts have holes. Frankie's got something that will fit in that hole. One temptation is bad enough, but two sticky treats together? Resistance is futile.

Questions and Stories part 1 and part 2 by @never--doubt 🪐 I love this concept of Frankie and reader's daughter asking them how they met and functioned as soulmates, how love takes work, and the mechanic of not being able to see one particular color until your aoulmate finds you....

EDDIE THE VAMPIRE (WITH MAX PHILLIPS)

An Act of Kindness by @missredherring This is a very sweet intro to a really lovely dynamic between a vampire reader and a fledgling. Oh my balls, Eddie needs help and she's such a good teacher. And he's so smitten with her in the cutest way... And of course, Max being Max, which is to say, Max being a douche.

JAVIER PEÑA

Summer Kiss Prompt - Apology Kiss by @something-tofightfor I cannot deal when strong men recognize thier trauma and try to do better. It's clear here that Javi hasn't learned how to let someone else take the lead with him yet, but the growth that's comes is beautiful.

Summer Kiss Prompt - Lazy Kiss by @something-tofightfor Rachael does slice of life so well. There's something very wonderful about Javi's focus on his work to the point where he forgets to take care of himself, and maybe even lovlier about the woman who makes sure he eats something and has himself a break now and then...

TIM ROCKFORD

Rockford and Roan 4 by @littlemisspascal I am so in love with Rae's soft soulmate stories, she always knows how to warm my heart. This one has some darker elements what with Tim investigating crimes....BUT THERE'S ALSO A DOG THIS TIME.

DIN DJARIN

Ambrosial by @spacecowboyhotch A soft and lovely story staring a black reader, wherein Din learns about the ritual and culture of her hair, how it links her to her family, how much a part of her it is...and therefore how much a part of himself. I just wanna curl up in this, it's so cozy.

SPECIAL GUEST CORNER

FENNEC SHAND

A Different Way of Life by @ghostofskywalker 🪐 Yes. Yes this is what I want. To run away for adventure only to find I really ran away with the love of my life...who just happens to be a bounty hunter and a ton of fun.

DICK GRAYSON

Seasons of Love by @captainsophiestark 🪐 I don't know much about this character, but he seems very sweet and loving. A jump through time in a relationship involving ties to the Wayne family.

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lilium-nepalense · 8 months

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YOOOOOOOO IS THAT A FANFIC :OOOOOOO THAT I WROTE *SHOCK EMOJI*

Heyo pokies I post on ao3 now aperently:). I've actually posted this 2 days ago and forgot to mention it here but people actually read it and it's blowing my mind. holy crap thank yall genuinely <3.

This is a Fix fic where I slowly bring (almost ) every charecter back to life and get a happy ending for everyone :D its going to be very Leonardo and Casey Jr centric.

I've been looking for one of these whe Casey Jr gets to be a little shit somtimes and then I rembered "oh yeah I can just write it" so here we are.

If you like it be sure to comment or leave kudos or anything really. I am always open to criticism if tou have it. Lol have fun yall.

#rottmnt #rottmnt fanfiction #casey jones #rottmnt leo #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt raph #Also trans #Very trans #It's important to Casesy's charecter but that's not the only thing he is #I just wanted to explore trans in an apocalypse #Hehehehe #I am very very happy :]

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inkdragonworks · 3 months

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Heyo. Last month was focused on Chapter 3 enemies. I was able to complete 4 that belong to the Bronze Belle company, which not only include mining as you've seen in chapter 2, but also construction sites throughout the city. Here they are:

First up is Jerkhammer, He's meant to break up rocks at construction sites. But he'll charge as soon as Poppin and Jupa get close, during which he'll continue to chip up rock projectiles, making it trickier to jump over.

He also acts as a blockade, generating a torrent of rocks wherever he's drilling. Jupa can use the propeller blade to blow them away, creating a safer path underneath.

Next are Scaresnows, they shovel snow that pours into different sites, also using it to ward off intruders.

Then there are Bins. They hide in trashcans and barrels, peeking out to blast away anything scurrying by. They're meant to deal with the city's rat problem from infesting the company's sites, but don't exclude adventurers from it either.

They have a heavier defense when closed down, so you'll have to wait for them to pop-up to do real damage.

Last is Draconcrete, a mobile concrete mixer shaped like an imposing dragon. He more bluntly blocks the path forward, and isn't afraid to wreck the place trying to deal with PnJ.

He has a stomp and a swipe, which he'll use based on how close you are. He can even roar to push you away suddenly. Eventually he'll unleash a torrent of wet concrete, and getting hit will immobilize Poppin or Jupa, until they can be broken out.

His animations took a while to complete...

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Chapter 3 has a large assortment of baddies, and I still have about half to do. Thankfully they aren't as involved as Draconcrete. I probably could have completed one more but have been trying out Palworld, it's pretty fun... It'll probably cut into my output this month lol.

I also notice a spike of interest in my animations on Youtube. I'm thinking of taking a break this month to finish up one of my older, incomplete animations. We'll see though.

Have a nice February!

#my art #my stuff #monthly updates #poppin and jupa pocket adventure #game dev #dev blog #sprite art #game blog #pixel art #pixel animation #metroidvania

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rinzydings · 4 months

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Astral Orbit is going on a brief hiatus!

Heyo fam just a heads up, due to burnout and trying to take care of myself (re: getting bullied (/lh) by 3 close friends to take a break) i'm gonna be putting AO on hiatus for the rest of January. Posting will return in February with 2 one shots and once those are up, mainline will resume!

Because of LifeTM and my deep need to have a story complete before posting, i've accidentally backed myself into a corner as my buffer is quickly catching up with where I am. I realize many won't care if you have to start waiting for chapters to be complete before I post them, but my brain ain't wired that way (despite offering the same grace to other writers) so!! Here's hoping this break will allow me some time to breathe and potentially catch up.

Thanks for understanding!! 💖

#cheechirps #astral orbit #itao fic #anxiety go brbrbrbrbr

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marztheincredible · 2 months

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Good afternoon, I greatly enjoyed your maps of the Boiling Isles. I have two questions, do you have a master post that links all the maps you made?

Secondly, I was looking for the island featured in season 2 episode 1, however, I was unable, to find it. Would you know where that island was located? Tis the one where Luz joins a sailing crew to hunt a local creature. Thank you and have a good day.

Heyo Nuclearmex! Sorry for the late reply, you can find all the maps in one on my Ao3, I'll link it here:

As for islands and far off titans featured in Season 2, I have my own theories and placements of where its positioned! Its not far off as it seems to be only a half a day away from The Boiling Isles. It's probably off the coast of the Pelvis or since we've seen a cannon shot of Papa T's skeleton, on one of the vertebras of his tail!

#the owl house #toh #ask #toh fanart

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orchid-mantis-petals · 5 months

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WHEN HOME BECOMES YOU CHAPTER 2

/ Hi!! Heyo!! Here is chapter two. I forewarn it is kind of long.

/ Genre: Fluff, comfort slight (if you squint) angst.

/ Warnings: Talks of depression, mental health and trauma, Slight injury, Anxiety, Food, body talk (reader ponders over their reflection), swearing

/ Word Count: 2653 (uhh..I could do more lol)

/ Summary: “Anytime,” with a wave you turned, your body slipped down the hall without ever looking back. It never dawned on you to catch his name, why would it. Not when you’d never see him again. Forever the man with the dreamer eyes. So lost in them you missed the notification that lit up your phone, the soft buzz in your hand never registering.

When your day started you vowed to spend it on the crap-shoot for a couch you currently occupied, scrolling various media content with a spoon of Nutella in your mouth. There was no intent to leave the shabby little apartment you “lived” in. The three boxes you owned stacked neatly in a corner somewhere out of sight. But those dreamer plans of couch potato life were vindicated when your roommate leaned over the back of the couch taking your phone from your hands.

“Come on, I’m taking you to work,” he said, as he ushered you to get up off the couch.

“Wha-??” Your mouthful of Nutella gave an answer to him. Swallowing down the chocolatey goodness you looked up at the 6” man leaning on the couch. “I’m good, thanks. The couch claimed my attention today,” with a freehand you reached up to pat his cheek.

“You’ve been my couch hog for nearly a month. Come on, I have a gig you can do. It’s just some security work. I know you still have your uniform from when..”

“Don’t. Just don’t Axel. I’ll go,” you stood tossing your spoon into the sink jumping at the sound it made. “Fuck,” your shoulders hunched as you leaned over the sink gathering your thoughts. Behind you Axel approached his steps purposely loud before he wrapped his hands around you.

“I’m sorry Y/N. I should have known better,” with a sigh you hugged him back, your smaller frame nearly swallowed whole in his as he rocked you slowly.

“It’s fine,” you mumbled into his uniform shirt. After a moment longer you slipped from his arms. The stack of boxes you brought with you a month ago had sat untouched the moment Axel stacked them in the corner of the room. None of them had been properly taped in your attempt to pack what little you owned. Down at the bottom of the first box said uniform sat the same uniform he wore, in your size. “Give me ten,” wordlessly he nodded leaning over the granite counter as you disappeared into his bedroom. Beside Axel’s bed was a standing mirror, as you passed by it you paused. With the clothes in hand you turned slowly to face the reflective glass. The thing staring back at you was something you didn’t recognize. Deep bags settled under your eyes in the space of your sleepless nights. Your hair, usually pristine, well maintained, has been reduced to a lifeless weight over your shoulders and back. A constant drag to your emotions, the person before you was unrecognizable. A person you no longer knew. And ironically as you looked yourself over you began to hate what you had become. Your entire life boiled away, in this moment you could see what grief, shame, depression, and trauma did to a person. You saw it in yourself, the idle reflection boring into your broken soul. Ten minutes wouldn’t fix this. Nor would fifteen. But it was a start. “Make it fifteen!!” You screamed at the door behind you before you waltzed into Axel’s bathroom to shower. A space you again didn’t occupy in the month you had been here.

“Okay, thirty is fine too!!” You heard distantly as you rotated the knob to the shower. “Use anything you need!!” A mental reminder settled into what little brain space you had. You’d have to repay Axel for all his kindness since he had taken you in. Your shower was wonderful, a routine had come back to you in slow motions. The comfort of the warm water washing away the tired sweat that was stuck to your skin. You took time to clean yourself up in a way your body had begged for in the last few weeks. The hot steam settled over the room giving it a fog. Once done you cracked the bathroom door to aerate the space around you. This time when you looked into the mirror you found your reflection more desirable. The shadows under your eyes still retained their space but your skin looked pinkish from the hot water. There was more color to your paler tone. To see yourself like this, you felt remotely human once more. Even if only for a short time. While you dried your hair you regarded the warnings your stylist had given you the last time you saw her. The thick weight of your hair often struggled to maintain the gentle curve of your natural waves. With soft care, minimal hairdryer time you rebuilt the texture. After a short while your hair was still damp enough to give it some style. Then you realized you were working security of some sort. An up do was probably best for the night. Braiding back your top sections you let it fall down into a low ponytail that met your mid back. Unsurprisingly your uniform felt the same it did the last time you had worn it. The thick black pants didn’t leave much for airflow but the material gave some protection against rowdy people who wanted to grab at you. The shirt was lighter and more breathable against your skin; the company logo stretched across the back with your last name in thick red print. It felt cheeky but it was good for people to identify you without having a name tag you could lose. Most of the regular equipment was provided by the event but just in case you slipped your spare radio and batteries into the small travel pack you had. When you exited the room Axel didn’t move from his spot on the counter.

“Why are you pushing me so hard for a shift?? Is rent due??”

“Nah I told you that you didn’t have to worry about that while you were here,” it was true the company you both worked for paid well. Extremely so, it was nice to be a part of a company like that. A worldwide organization that offered many incentives to not only progress your skills but move freely within the organization for any opportunity. With both your travel bags in hand you knelt to slip into the thick boots you kept solely for this job the heavy footwear with steel toes were not only to protect you from being stepped on. They made a good impact on people if you needed to give them a kick. Something you had to do once or twice. Most people try to take advantage of your shorter size. But your training kept you from getting injured and protecting yourself from others with minimal injury to them.

“I’m not taking the bike,” you commented looking at your helmet leaned gently against the shoe rack. Something you hadn’t even considered since coming into Axel’s home.

“It’ll be too busy for it. We can take the forerunner together. And no you don’t get to drive,” Axel commented halfway out the door already, his keys in hand as he slipped out. You followed taking the stairs down to the garage as he locked the door. Traffic was minimal, but Axel was a planner in that way. He was always ahead of the game. You figured it had to do with his family. All military brats. Traditional motto of “if you’re early, you're on time. If you’re on time you’re late,” or some crazy idea like that. But with Axel you weren’t ever late to jobs or anything really. Truly you didn’t care much for whatever event you were working that evening. Just that you could settle back into a routine. After days of being begged to work you had a feeling Axel was pushing for something but right now your focus was settled on the briefing the head guard has given. A concert, high energy, lots of people. You’d have to be on your guard all night that was for sure. After you had been given your position you made your way to your spot getting an idea of who was around you if you needed help in the night. Axel was a couple yards down to your left. Perfect, he was easy to ask for help. He’d always come. The ebb and flow of the room was nice. Well organized, well planned. Something you expected from this company. When the concert began you almost wished you’d researched who the hell you were there to protect. High energy didn’t even begin to explain the event. It had gone perfectly without fail. A few fans to the right had gotten to wound up but the guard over there had gotten them calmed down. It was about halfway through the headliners set that things began to go awry. One of the band members had leaned over the left side of the stage, his goal to cut below the lights and see the fans in front of him. But you could see it before it even happened. A dancer fell from their line. The fast pace of his feet were doomed to collide with the band member. Before you could even think you pressed the button to your ear device.

“Dright,” you called Axel’s last name to gain his attention. “Stage, my left you’re right. Team rotate,” as you called you watched the scene unfold. As predicted the band member tumbled over the stage the momentum of his body propelled him forward into the guard rail into the waiting hands of the fans that adored him. It took only seconds before you could see the member struggling to keep his feet on the floor as fans tried to pull them to their side. “Dright. Grab. Him.” You ordered dipping below the body of the band member between the hands of the fans. With your back pressed to the rail you moved your feet to the ribs of the guy giving a necessary shove to get Axel leverage to pull the poor guy free of the people that had grabbed him. Once he was up on his feet you stood arms outstretched to the fans blocking further access to the man they had in their grasp. You looked back to find him stepping back as instructed by you. In a moment he was back on the stage like nothing happened. Having never missed his cue. Impressive was entirely the right work for the situation. To have been able to return to that sage as if nothing had happened was down right impressive. “Rotate back,” you called into your ear piece as the security team rotated back to original positions. Moments after you settled back into your original stop you felt a shiver run up your spine. Eyes were on you, a feeling you knew well. With a pivot you turned to find the band members’ eyes set in your direction. Odd, you wondered if maybe you had kicked too hard. With your head tilted, the motion made your ponytail sway against your back a bit. “Are you okay??” when he looked at you with an eyebrow raised having missed what you asked you mouthed it again. This time he offered you a thumbs up as he stepped back onto stage for the next song. An hour after the final song you and the pit security team were allowed to step back stage for a break. Truly you had only one goal. You wanted to find the dressing rooms of the headliners. Part of you was worried you had hurt the band member as you freed him from the crowd. But finding said room was more difficult than you had initially hoped it would be.

“Y/N,” you turned to the call of your name, Axel caught you as you began to wander the backstage area. “Are you looking for the dressing room??”

“Well, I did kinda kick him..” the hearty chuckle that left the tall man eased some of the anxiety that settled in a weight over your chest.

“Tally Ho then,” with a silly little salute, Axel led the way. It took him only a few minutes to find the room. “Good luck, meet you at the car,” he waved before he disappeared down the hall. Now you stood before the door, the nerves settled over you once more. Shit you didn’t even know the name of the damn band..Thankfully the metal plaque over the door gave you at least that small tidbit.

“Stray Kids,” you mumbled, it brought no recollection to you if you had ever heard them before tonight you weren’t sure. After a deep breath you managed to knock on the door, it was soft. Part of you worried it had gone unheard amongst the noise level behind the door. Just as you reached to knock louder the door swung open. There he stood, shirt half untucked. Hem in his hands as he cast his gaze down to you. A chuckle bubbled then died in your throat, there was no way you hurt this guy. Not with a half assed kick you managed down in the pit. He wasn’t necessarily tall, but he was built. Well built, you could tell that he took care in the way his body was sculpted. Years of dedicated training left him wide framed. Shoulders set straight as he eyed you. That's where your chuckle came, he was so obvious it was almost painful. But his gaze wasn’t creepy, more inquisitive. It felt as though his dreamer eyes had begun to take you apart bit by bit. It was funny how at ease you immediately felt in front of him. His stage hair messed up, the black strands sticking up and out in odd places. You wondered if one of the other rowdy boys in the room had roughed him up a little. He looked cute like that, you watched as he realized something. It saddened you a touch as his gaze turned to look into the room. Oh, he was looking for someone to translate, duh. This guy is Korean, and he was in freaking America. So out of pocket it wasn’t even funny. Your knowledge of Korean was rather good. Maybe not the best but you could get by. The language was beautiful from the moment you found it as a child. Never once did you stop your study of it. Now, in this present moment it was all worth it.

“How’re your ribs??” Oh that look, you wanted it tattooed behind your eyelids. It was comical to watch his eyes widen like that, you almost wondered if they’d fall out of his head from the shock. You managed to stifle your giggle as he collected his jaw from the floor.

“They are fine. Thank you for your concern,” ah the formal type with strangers. Cute.

“Good I am glad. I was worried I kicked you too hard,”

“You kicked me??” this time you did laugh, though you didn’t blame his confusion. The event in the pit was more than just chaotic. After your laughter died down you straightened up to face him again.

“Kick is a strong word. I used my legs to push you from the crowd. My feet were literally pressing your ribs,” those eyes of his, they drew you in. Every expression he showed was unique, riveting. Honestly, you could stand here and watch him react all day.

“Oh, that makes sense. I am fine. Thank you for saving me,”

“Anytime,” with a wave you turned, your body slipped down the hall without ever looking back. It never dawned on you to catch his name, why would it. Not when you’d never see him again. Forever the man with the dreamer eyes. So lost in them you missed the notification that lit up your phone, the soft buzz in your hand never registering.

“Congragulations Y/N.

You have now completed the training program for international security!! It’s time to pick the place you’ll go!! Thank you for your dedication to this team,”

TAG LIST:

@taeminsung @maximumkillshot @feybin @alex--awesome--22 @liknws @palindrome969 @newbbystay @highlydestiny

#skz fic #skz x reader #stray kids comfort #stray kids scenarios #stray kids x reader #stray kids #seo changbin #bang chan #hwang hyunjin #han jisung #lee know #lee felix #kim seungmin #yang jeongin #skz #skz ot8

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definitelynotshouting · 7 months

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Hello again! My ADHD has decided that the Hunger AU is to be my newest hyperfixation, and as such I have some more questions/interpretations I'd like to push forward, if that's alright. As always, no pressure in responding, and I hope this ask is fun to read :)

First off, I was going through some of your Listener posts for Reasons and I noticed a little tidbit in one of them: Watchers cannot feed off of the emotions of Listeners. If this is still the case, why were Martyn and BigB in the Life Games, if Grian can't feed on them, and were their mindsets still adversely affected? Could Grian (or theoretically, any Watcher) tell something was Off about them this way?

Another thing I noticed was that all Watchers are essentially clones of each other. Passing by the question of ecological diversity (I might think on that a different time), this implies that Grian, or at least, the Watcher-larvae that got implanted in him prior to all the code-copying, is a copy of another Watcher. Am I reading this right? Because if so that has implications and I love it.

And finally the biggest thing that's been on my mind: the Void (or the in-between, I've seen both). The space between servers. This thing has vexed and fascinated me since I read chapter one of your fic months ago. I think I've come to my own interpretations on the space, but I'd love to hear what you have plotted as well. For example, you mentioned that Developer Crystals are sort of hubs for servers - considering how you talked about it, the number of servers they can support must be pretty high. I've come to think of it kind of like a galaxy - and elliptical galaxy to be specific. Is this a correct way to think about it?

You've mentioned that being out in the in-between is dangerous for those not prepared - how much training does it take to be a Voidwalker? How does inter-server travel for regular players work? Are there extra steps that need to be taken when traveling from one Crystal's hub to another?

And on a personal interpretation note, I interpret the Void as looking kind of like space (as you often refer to in your work), but also... not. Specifically, when you talked about Developer Crystrals, I imagined them looking kind of like the Paths from Attack on Titan, just minus the ground (and being a lot bigger).

One final question, since it's been bothering me for ages: how does the ground work in the Void? It's been killing me since chapter 1.

Sorry for the massive ask, but it takes a particular sort of worldbuilding for me to come up with so many questions. I'm really having a fun time working with these rules - so thank you for making them!

Heyo!! I finally got a chance to answer this, which ive been trying to do since you sent it but unfortunately real life had other plans 😂😂😂 but i have the time and brain now, so here are hopefully some satisfying answers to your questions!!! :D

1.) BigB becoming a Listener was relatively recent; he was still a Player when he got pulled into the life games. As for Martyn, i think that because Listeners are so new, he was probably the first one Grian had ever encountered (at the time of 3rd Life at least). So he didn't realize he couldn't feed off of Martyn's emotions-- all he saw, in that half-frantic frenzy of "i need to eat right fucking now," was hey, i know that guy, and he's also in close proximity to BigB, so Grian sorta automatically pulled him in.

Afterwards, I'd say once Grian figured out he couldn't feed from him, he still ended up pulled in the next two times because of the familiarity (and because for as much as Grian can't feed off of him, Martyn still causes a lot of edible emotions in other people). But yeah, any Watcher would be able to tell if someone was a Listener!! And Listeners are able to tell if somebody is a Watcher, although their Player usually won't understand what that means beyond "hey theres something Weird going on with that guy."

2.) Yep!! All watchers are structural-code and utility-code copies of each other; their memory codes and surface codes are the only things that differentiate them from one another. This does indeed have some very fun implications to ruminate on fjsbdkdnd

3.) I'm not sure if i would describe dev crystals as a "hub," if only because that sorta implies that they're habitable-- but they are indeed the center of each server cluster, and i would honestly say the description of an elliptical galaxy is totally spot on :] they can indeed maintain a high amount of servers, but if the count grows too high then they can overload and stop processing the flow of unraveled code as efficiently, which can then cause backups, which then make them blow up, which is. obviously, pretty not good akdnwkdjek

Think of the void between servers as the bottom of the ocean. Absolutely crushing depths, the kind that will kill you in an instant if you don't have the right protective gear. Voidwalkers are basically people who are so good at coding that they can keep their code from getting pulverized and walk right through it like they're taking a casual morning stroll. It takes a ton of effort and energy to do, and is very dangerous-- i would say you have to be EXCEPTIONALLY quick-thinking, an efficient multitasker, and have a lot of practical foresight to achieve it without dissolving. Hence why there aren't many of them, and I'd honestly say Xisuma is probably one of, if not the, best. The fact that he was able to take five people including himself into the in-between, and keep them all alive, is INSANE. Brother outdid himself truly

As for interserver travel, thats something im currently working on lore-wise (and will hopefully be able to post about soon)!!! But the basic gist im working off of right now is that there are servers that act as server hubs, or waystations-- basically servers whose only purpose is to act as an in between point to access other servers. I'm toying with the idea of special portals called launchers, and the concept of zip files/share folders + creating folds in the fabric of the Greater Code to cross vast distances within a short distance. If you've read A Wrinkle In Time, thats the sorta thing im thinking of. But unfortunately right now its all spaghetti in my brain, so im still working on straightening that out until i can explain my thoughts coherently 💀💀💀💀

I can say rn that travel between dev crystals and their server clusters is not possible just yet. The universe is fucking HUGE, and there are countless devs and server clusters within it; the ability to travel between them isnt quite feasible right now, but it'll get there eventually :] not within the scope of the main story, though-- all of that fully takes place in this single corner of the universe

For dev crystals themselves, i picture them looking a lot like giant end crystals!!! the thought is that end crystals are basically like. a mini version of a dev, and that the beams you see healing the ender dragon are bursts of raw code pulled in from the rest of the server. so yeah, end crystals except massive on a scale we can barely comprehend and also ten million times more explosive (and more capable of handling the stability of an entire server cluster so it doesnt collapse in on itself)

4.) LAST BUT NOT LEAST. I. will fully admit when i wrote the walking on the void it was, at the time, a purely aesthetic choice. But i am legitimately thinking now about the implications of that, and toying with a few concepts that i wanna noodle on more before i fully commit to them. Sorry for leaving it a mystery for now!!!! 😂😂😂😂 it'll probably get answered in the post i'll eventually make about launchers and interserver travel

hope these were helpful and continue fueling your brainrot!!! thanks for being patient while i wrangled my brain enough to answer them :]❤️❤️❤️❤️

#shouting speaks #asks #hunger au #VERY FLATTERED THIS IS YOUR HYPERFIXATION :DDD #hope this provides some good answers!!!#long post #txt

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etincelleart · 1 year

Text

Penny Polendina’s theme in V8 and V9 (RWBY)

Heyo !! I wrote this long analysis about Penny on Twitter and thought I could share it here as well o/

So this is a little silly analysis of mine about my feeling about how Penny was depicted in V8 and V9 :]

NOTE : 1) Don't take all of that really seriously, this is simply a "fun" little analysis and my OWN view on the subject. This is just how I feel considering the infos we got on Penny during V9 !

2) This is also probably delusional AND I know it

3) So there's not need to come and tell me "shE Ain'T ComInG bAck >:[[[[[[", we can disagree but please give me your opinion and arguments if you'd like to discuss about it ♥

Anyway, for 2 years after V8 finale I felt probably like most people : "Penny is gone for good, she ain't coming back, this is gonna be a big deal for Ruby in V9 but I guess that's it". I knew that Penny's 2nd death was going to be a big thing for Ruby and I expected it like everyone.

I rewatched Penny's death at the end of V8 and it truly felt like a farewell, a goodbye forever, I mean she got stabby stab from Cinder and chose to ask Jaune to kill her to give the powers to Winter. To me there wasn't any going back after that :[

And even when I'm writing it rn I feel like this thread is probably useless as I can feel how much of a goodbye it felt, and even more with the song "Friend" adding more pain :]] Especially with these lines :

And with Penny's soul linked to the Winter Maiden powers, now linked to Winter's soul, I guess it felt like a point of no return. It *still* feels like it tbh.

But Volume 9 changed my view on all of that and that's not because I'm an Nuts and Dolts shipper aha. I'm truly trying to speak objectively and to take out my ship glasses-

I expected Penny's theme to be huge for Ruby, but I didn't expect it to be THAT huge and present throughout the entiere volume. Almost every chapter we got a reference, an allusion, an element linked to Penny, a vision, and finally an illusion made by Neo.

I'll try to list all of them :

Chapter 1 - It was pretty much expected, but Ruby learned Penny's 2nd death a this moment. The start of her true breakdown I guess-

Chapter 2 - Basically the 1st Nuts and Dolts chapter of this volume lmao One of the main key of this episode was Ruby finding Penny's sword, which added to her pain even if she tried to move on pretty fast after.

Chapter 3 - The guards tell about the swords, the Red Prince ditch the sword and Ruby's not okay with that-

No mention of her during Chapter 4, so Chapter 5 - Ruby finds Penny's sword at the Blacksmith, and there's this weird line and moment I'll talk about later

Chapter 6 - Penny's reflection in the water, related to Jaune's guilt and trauma over her fate

Chapter 7 - Ruby's PTSD striking while the Jabberwalker attacks her, and she sees a vision of Penny hacked at the Schnee manor, right before they helped her and executed their plan for her and Atlas (also, Jaune talked about his feelings about what happened with her)

Chapter 8 - Penny illusion made by Neo, attacking and talking to Ruby And no mention of her in Chapters 9 and 10. So except for Chapters 4, 9 and 10, Penny was mentioned EVERY chapter.

Now I know what some of you might think, this was mostly to set up Ruby's breakdown and make her spiralling because it's such a big deal for her, and you're totally right. Penny was used mostly to accentuate Ruby's pain.

And I know that I said (in another Twitter thread) that I wasn't fully satisfied with the finale because of that theme not being addressed after having her presence throughout the whole volume, I think I needed a reminder about production and budget. I think I'll feel satisfied with V9 finale if Penny's theme have some closure in V10 or V11 with Ruby, Pietro, Jaune and Winter in Vacuo. I imagine that with V9 finale this isn't just “everyone is so happy”, this is just the beginning of healing.

Anyway, if we don't have any closure in the next volumes THEN I'll say that I'm disappointed, but I doubt this wouldn't be addressed at all after such a volume and how much V8 finale was. But yeah, V9 finale had to focus on Ruby.

So, even if Penny's presence throughout V9 is mostly to add some layers on Ruby and Jaune's pain and trauma/breakown, I truly feel like the message from this volume is still in complete opposition with stuff we knew so far.

Tbh until V9 I really thought one of the main message of RWBY was that life AND death were important, and that death was inevitable and couldn't be avoided, like in our world. That death can be cruel and happen anytime to even the most precious souls. And it is in fact, keep moving forward aren't just some cute words, it's a true motto of the show. But the thing is that for Pyrrha, I never felt we had any hope or confirmation that she could come back, and we had a closure for her in Volume 6 with the scene at the statue. And by learning about the Gods in V6 as well, I thought that no one in this show was probably going to be back (except fo Ozma who reincarnates).

The thing with V9 is that we discover that the “Gods”, who set up their rules of life and death without any reincarnation and no dead can come back, aren't actually Gods but made by the REAL RWBY God, in a world where reincarnation is THE thing. 🫠

And again, I know that the theme of rebirth was focused on Ruby this volume, that she had to go through that journey to understand that she's human, she's not perfect, she's enough just as she is and can do her best.

But Penny's theme this volume still kinda unsettled me as I didn't expect it to be so present. Truly when you rewatch the Volume idk if it's because I'm biased or something but I see it everywhere. The thing again is that we didn't get any closure for her. We got so much references and scenes for her, and no closure (idk if it's because of budget or intentional tho).

There are a few moments that also seem pretty weird/confusing to me :

1) It was confirmed by the script that when Ruby wakes up on the Ever After, it was Penny's voices calling her 3 times. But those screams are different from the one when Penny and Blake see Ruby falling in V8 finale. I listened again and while one of them seems similar, the others are different. So are those screams we didn't hear as a viewer ? But it still feels weird to add them as if she remembered them when we never heard them. Maybe those screams were just Ruby waking up and her mind mixing everything, but it's still kinda odd to me.

2) Another weird scene and probably the one that interests me the most, is when Ruby meets the Blacksmith in Chapter 5. I still don't really know how to fully analyse or understand this scene tbh-

We know the Blacksmith is a "representation of the Tree", so why does she have Penny's sword ? How does she even have Summer's weapon ? Why does Penny's blade turn into Alyx' dagger ? Why does Penny's reflection seem real and Ruby actually sees it, meaning it's not just an effect to tell us that this sword reminds Ruby or her ? And most importantly, when Ruby asks her how she got Penny's blade, the Blacksmith answers :

Why does Penny's reflection seem real and Ruby actually sees it, meaning it's not just an effect to tell us that this sword reminds Ruby or her ? And most importantly, when Ruby asks her how she got Penny's blade, the Blacksmith answers : "nothing, no one, is ever truly lost". Truly as a viewer and even when trying not to be a Penny or NND stan, I can't help but think that this opens a lot of doors for interpretation. What does that mean exactly ?

Knowing the nature of the Ever After, does she mean that literally ? That Penny's not lost as we all thought in V8 finale ? Or is that metaphorical ? She then says "And you, are you lost ?" so it feels like the first answer wasn't supposed to be about Ruby but about Penny's sword. Before the Blacksmith asks Ruby if she's lost, Ruby looks at the sword in a pensive expression and she sees Penny's reflection. Almost as if she was thinking about what the Blacksmith just said.

But what is the use of these reflections ? If it's not just an effect for the viewer but also something Ruby can see, what does that mean ? There is obviously a link between weapons and identity/characters here

Another thing that confuses me too is the fact that Penny's sword is changed into Alyx' dagger. So were these weapons only illusions ? Does the Blacksmith really have Penny's sword, of even Summer's axe ?

3) Another thing more subtle that apparently not everyone catched, is the leitmotiv from Ruby's talk about Penny in Chapter 2 that comes back during the finale when Ruby choses herself. I edited the 2 scenes so people can hear it and compare, here’s the link to the video on Twitter :

https://twitter.com/EtincelleArt/status/1652360420462587905?s=20

Why this OST in particular ? We know that Penny is linked to the themes of hope but also choice/freedom. Maybe this is how it is supposed to be a parallel for Ruby choosing to keep her hope and to do her best. But I can't help but think that it is still a bit sus to hear this leitmotiv again in such a big moment during the finale. Especially when we got no mention or vision of her for the last two chapters.

We also had themes that are related to her a lot such a friendship and kindness with Little, souls moving on to their next life (Penny has a soul, "her soul is who she is").

I just have this feeling that so much is related to Penny this volume, it feels like it's on purpose so the viewer is grieving her as much as Ruby does :')) But nothing really felt "conclusive" in the end. Again maybe this conclusion will be for later, once Ruby is able to talk with Pietro, since we know he most likely got to Vacuo with Maria as Amity appeared to be fixed and floating in the sky at the end of V9.

But again it links with other thread I've done about Pietro (I’ll probably post it here too on Tumblr) : what about him ? Would he be able to grieve Penny a second time ? How would he handle the 2nd time losing Penny ?

I'm not necessarily saying that Penny will come back blablabla ‘(still praying and high on hope and copium tho), but it's STILL a feeling and I hope that I get after watching Volume 9 when I basically accepted the fact that she was dead in V8 :'))

After V8 I was (and I'm still in someway) part of those who thought that she shouldn't come back a 3rd time, her arc was completed, her death made sense, she made a choice. Truly I couldn't see how her being back would be a good thing. Most importantly, I was scared that her being back again would invalidate everything that happened during V8 and the fact that she chose for herself. It's still one of the reasons for why I'm conflicted about this whole thing :'))

Depending on how it's done with the writing, NOW that we know what we know about the RWBY lore, the origins, the Tree, the Ever After, the Blacksmith, Ascension, I *could* see it happen. Of course my fan side is like omg yes I'd like her back please please. My writer side before V9 was like "no I love her but it's a bad move". Now I'm more like depending on how it's executed, I might accept it.

I mean, her being back in V7 didn't erase all the pain, suffering and mourning we (as viewers) had to go through with Ruby and other characters. It worked and kept intact all the time we spent asking if she was going to be back or not.

Knowing how much the theme or reincarnation/rebirth is everywhere in the Ever After, it changes my view on the RWBY universe because life and death aren't just the only options there. There are different rules

She might come back, she might not come back, I just wanted to express how this volume made me feel about this specific theme. It gives us such a different message compared to Penny's death in V8 :']]

I mean of course this volume is brighter than V8 but after a volume where a character just can't escape death even after fighting for SO LONG, we finally have some light and hope about a possibility of MAYBE her being alive could happen.

(Just my own feelings again) From the start during her Atlas arc, Penny :

- got framed

- was forced to take the Winter Maiden powers she didn't want

- was attacked by Cinder

- was forced to leave her friends to do things she didn't want to

- was hacked by Watts

- was killed again

Her ENTIERE ARC was tragic and even if Penny's character is optimistic, joyful, friendly, she's a fighter and she has hope, she sees beauty in a lot of things, she *still* never got the chance to truly live the life she wanted to live. So with what we got from V9, I see only two options :

- she's revived SOMEHOW and finally get the chance to live as it was kinda implied in V9

- she stays dead and her character stays so tragic and painful aaaah-

As for *how* she could come back at some point, I have my few ideas but I don't really want to get into that rn, it was mostly about how everything about her felt odd in V9 compared to V8 truly.

To finish on a hopeful and delusional word : "things always come in threes" :p

#rwby #rwby theory #rwby analysis #analysis #penny #penny polendina #ruby #ruby rose #rwby volume 8 #rwby v8 #rwby volume 7 #rwby v7 #rwby volume 9 #rwby v9 #spoilers rwby volume 9 #nuts and dolts #thread

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