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#either that or Generic Superhero Boy.
spider-man-2o99 · 1 year
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actually decided im letting the irrational rage Win btw. “brrhrr spider-man 2099’s a fucking beast on demon time LOL can’t wait to FINALLY see an evil spider-man being the villain of across the spider-verse--”
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coreius · 9 months
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Tag drop 1.
#[ ooc. ] you can call me anytime. i'll put you on hold. i like to watch the line blink.#[ ic. ] you experience things. then they're over and you still can't explain 'em? gods. aliens. dimensions. i'm just a man in a can.#[ answered: ooc. ] you have reached the life model decoy of tony stark. leave a message. / it's urgent. / so leave it urgently.#[ answered: ic. ] sir. agent coulson of s.h.i.e.l.d. is on the line. / i'm not in. i'm actually out.#[ psa. ] obviously you can quote me on that. 'cause i just said it.#[ saved. ] what am i even tripping for? everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to. i love you 3000.#[ memes / prompts. ] if there's one thing I've proven it's that you can count on me to pleasure myself.#[ crack. ] i don't want to harp on this but did you like the custom rabbit? / ... did i like it? / nailed it. right?#[ et cetera. ] actually he's the boss. i just pay for everything and design everything. and make everyone look cooler.#[ self promotion. ] you know; it's moments like these when i realize what a superhero i am.#[ other promotions. ] i told you: i don’t want to join your super-secret boy band.#[ visage. ] 'mr. stark displays compulsive behavior.' in my defense. that was last week.#[ robert downey jr. ] i take some pride in representing myself exactly how i would like to have my son remember me to his kids.#[ meta. ] i should put it in a lockbox and drop it to the bottom of the lake and go to bed. / but would you be able to rest?#[ mini study. ] you start with something pure. exciting. then come the mistakes. the compromises. we create our own demons.#[ essence. ] it's not about me. it's not about you either. it's about legacy. the legacy left behind for future generations.
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Dp x Dc Crossover
Danny and Ellie somehow get tangled with Cadmus and frozen for study later. Obviously it comes to the JL’s attention and they all go ‘oh no another clone’. Anyone’s choice of who they think it is or if it’s a collection of people they took DNA from and meshed together to make these two sassy children.
Would be funnier if they came to DC universe by accident and didn’t have time to really learn about it before capture. The result being they have no idea superheroes are a thing and the heroes just thinking ‘these kids were traumatized and held captive, they don’t even know who Superman is!’ and cue another layer of hilarious misunderstanding.
When confronted about the whole clone thing, Danny immediately defends and protects Ellie. Obviously. Then they notice he was not defending himself, to which Danny goes ‘I’m not a clone!’ The heroes look at each other in clear doubt. ‘Oh he was in denial or seriously didn’t know who he was made from. That will make this harder.’
I may have started something though…
They found a discrete laboratory hidden in plan sight, underneath an office building. When researched, they found connections to Cabmus.
Considering the last encounter they had with the organization, they wanted to be prepared. Hence why when the small team noticed Batman walking down the stairs, Superman followed behind with a tight expression.
“Report.”
Red Robin stepped forward.
“Two cryo-stasis containers holding two nearly identical people. The first a male, approximately 13-14 years of age. Stable. The second a female, younger, approximately 10-11 years of age. Also stable, but her stats are lower than the boy’s.”
“What do you know?”
“Virtually nothing,” Connor says casually. “There are no documents left behind, digital or physical, and there are zero labels on these things.”
They arrive toward the back of the basement where the two frozen containers were sitting upright. One unit obviously smaller than the other most likely holding the girl. Batman has to peer down into the larger unit to see the boy’s face. Frost collected on his eyelashes and black hair like a forgotten doll. No movement from either forms, not even breathing.
“So we don’t know who they are made from,” Superman pushes, clearly displeased.
Batman keeps looking at their faces. The curve of their noses, the shape of their jaws, the positioning of their cheekbones. They didn’t look like Connor. No, they reminded him of someone else.
“We suspect hybrids of some sort,” M’gann contributes. “A mixture of different heroes if I had to guess, but there is no way of knowing with our lack of information without waking them up.”
“Can’t you look into their minds?” Clark questions.
M’gann squirms at the directness and Connor steps forward to defend her. Tensions rise.
“No, sir. They are frozen so there is hardly any brain function except to keep them alive. They aren’t even dreaming.”
She looks them over sadly, obviously distraught with not being able to connect to their minds in anyway.
Batman turns to Red Robin, the younger already watching him.
“You see it too, right?”
Batman grunts. Yes, he saw it.
“Is there a way to move them?” Batman brings back the focus.
“The containers are connected to the buildings power and then a back-up generator in case of emergencies. We’d have to switch the power to something mobile and there’s no telling what kind of effect that would have on the kids,” Connor explains, against the idea of moving them.
“It’s six in the evening. Most everyone in the building above as gone home for the day,” Red Robin helpfully adds.
“Evacuate the rest. Then call a medical team.”
“Wait,” Superman interrupts as the three younger heroes jump to do as instructed. “You’re not thinking about waking them up now, are you?”
“You have a better idea?”
Batman doesn’t even look at him as he studies the stats on the old screen connected to the nearest pod. This one holding the boy. He’ll be the first one out seeing as he’s the more stable one.
“They could be dangerous. They could try to attack us.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Batman deadpans. He didn’t state the obvious that they were children who had been frozen for who knows how long. If anything they’ll need reassurance that they were safe, not weapons in their faces as soon as they wake up.
Clark was not happy with his decision, but as long as he didn’t antagonize them Bruce left him alone.
It wasn’t long before they were ready to begin. Three medical personnel stood several yards back behind the heroes. Red Robin begins the defrosting procedure and they have to wait maybe an hour before the door slides open. There is a breath among them as they wait for his eyes to open. Instead they hear a cracking of thin ice and the boy falls forward without the door holding him in place. Connor is the one to catch him before he hits the floor face first.
Superboy turns him to lay him flat on the floor, the boy’s body still stiff with cold. Frost makes his hair and eyelashes brittle. His lips are a faint shade of blue.
“He isn’t breathing,” Connor informs quickly.
One of the medics push forward first, oxygen mask in hand.
“Bring the thermal blankets. We need to get his core temperature up,” the woman urgently instructs.
They get to work quickly in warming up the boy who is too small and fragile. After several minutes of the medics squeezing air into his mouth and rubbing his limbs and chest to get the blood flowing, the boy takes a breath. Then another. He coughs roughly, his throat scratchy, and starts to shiver.
“There we go.”
He whimpers and tries to move his hand, but the action is jerky and unpracticed.
“His eyes,” M’gann informs them, finally able to get some brain activity. “He can’t open his eyes. The ice-“
Connor takes a water bottle the medics brought and poured the room temperature water over his eyes to melt the ice holding them together. The boy jumps in surprise and tries to turn his head away but Connor continues until he can manually wipe away the ice and water from his eyelids.
Blue eyes. The boy has bright sky blue eyes. They aren’t the Krytonian blue, but they were still familiar.
He blinks and squints and looks around, breathing picking up at the people surrounding him and the unfamiliar environment. M’gann, sensing his distress, kneels down and sets a warm hand on his leg.
“It’s okay. No one here will hurt you. You’re safe now.”
He doesn’t relax, but he seems to at least understand her. He studies their uniforms and then her face before his eyes flick to something behind her and they widen. His breath stutters in his chest, making him wheeze out on the exhale.
They look behind the green skinned girl to see the smaller pod still holding the little girl, no change in her status.
The boy reaches out a shaky hand toward it, scraping against the cold concrete in his lack of energy to lift it.
“She’s okay too.”
He opens his mouth to speak, licks his lips, tries again.
“-ou-,” he rasps. His breath hitches and he’s coughing again. They help him onto his side.
“You want us to get her out?” Red Robin interprets.
The boy squints through the tears from the lack of oxygen at the hero. His expression is scrunched in discomfort and worry. As enthusiastic as he can manage, the boy nods.
“Okay, we can do that. You just have to wait, she needs to thaw out, just like what we did with you,” Red Robin explains to the boy.
He nods again in understanding, his eyes glued back to the girl in the pod. He still shivers harshly and his breathing isn’t regular but he’s not panicking and in no shape to attack them, so it seems like they were in the clear with that one.
While the girl is thawing, they get him more comfortable with warm blankets and get him to drink some water for his throat. He still wasn’t moving much except to curl up on his side and breathe on his colorless fingers. Every time he swallowed he cringed like he was drinking acid, so talking was off the table for now.
The boy was fighting sleep by the time the container door slide open. Connor was there and holding her before she could fall like the boy had.
Superboy lays the girl down close to the boy, seeing the pale hand reaching for her. As soon as he backed away the medics were on her to get air in her lungs and warm her body same as they did for the boy.
The boy watches, quietly holding her hand. Siblings it looks like it. Seeing them side by side was startling. They seemed to be clones of each other, one just younger and the opposite gender, but they were the same.
It was concerning as the number of minutes increased and there was no change. She didn’t breathe or move. She looked dead.
“Get the defibrillator,” the medic ordered, urgent.
The boy surprisingly wasn’t panicking, instead he held a hard determination that made some of the heroes curious.
Pushing himself up onto his elbow, he leaned over the girl and started weakly pushing the blankets out of the way. Thinking he was just helping to make the medic’s job easier, M’gann helped until her torso was exposed.
“You need to back away so they-“
She stops when she sees him tug at the girl’s white shirt to get into direct contact with her skin, hand pressed to her chest.
“What are you-?”
He narrows his eyes in concentration.
Red Robin unconsciously takes a step back when the boy’s blue eyes change into a glowing toxic green, illuminating the girl’s face, frost shining in the light. The hand pressed to her chest also starts to glow the same green until it seeps into her skin like she’s absorbing this weird energy. It reminded them of Starfire actually.
The green in his eyes fades as soon as the unknown green energy is lighting up her entire torso just under the skin. He pulls away and looks expectantly at the medic holding the defibrillator. She flinches into moving, setting the machine down and charging it. She’s hesitant to touch the green energy but the boy nods in encouragement, not looking concerned for anything but the girl’s health.
“Clear!”
It takes one shock for the green energy to disperse through her body and cause her to gasp. The girl starts coughing harshly and the boy pulls her to lay on her side facing him. Connor quickly helps the boy to cover her in blankets. The boy goes as far as tucking them around her and taking one of his own blankets to pile on top. He was moving more easily now even if it was sluggish.
M’gann gasps quietly just as the girl starts sobbing, whining when the act of crying hurt her throat. The boy pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her and tucking her under his chin so they could barely see her. They watch as he calmly comforts her until they are both eased into unconsciousness.
Batman give Superman a pointed look as he passes him. Clark doesn’t respond.
“Get them to the Watchtower med bay,” he orders.
It’s Superman who picks up the pile of two children tangled together and wrapped in layers of fabric, nearly throwing them at how light they both weighted. The three younger heroes follow behind, Tim mumbling about “Lazarus pits” and “Jason”, M’gann twisting her fingers in anxiety, and Connor keeping a close eye on the two kids being carried by his original.
It’s unsurprising that it’s Connor who volunteers to say with them when they are settled down in the med bay, still clinging to each other in sleep.
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stuckwthem · 2 months
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in the world of boys, he's a gentleman. | enzo v. (eng version)
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summary: after watching you waste your time with other dudes, your best friend has some things to confess to you. pure fluff. a bit of angst.
you never thought riding in a dress on a bike would be such an exciting experience, but there you were, clinging to enzo's body and trying to keep your balance on the back of his bike while laughing like crazy. 
to contextualize it, enzo had been your best friend for some time, ever since enzo had rented a room in your apartment two years, so living together inevitably turned into a genuine friendship. from time to time, your best friend and roommate was also your superhero. whether it was reading your mind when you were starving and didn't want to cook, or always coming home with your favorite sweets, or saving you from ambushes.
when your messages came on enzo's cell phone earlier, complaining about a date that was going from bad to worse with a slightly arrogant guy, he didn't hesitate to get up and hop on his bike to pick you up. the very idea of imagining you on a date with a horrible guy, and worse, a guy who wasn't him, made him nervous, so now you were in this highly unlikely but completely comical situation. he hadn't given you a choice.
"i can't believe i did that," you said, bursting out laughing, which enzo reciprocated by shaking his head. "imagine his face when he comes back to the table!".
"i'm so sorry for him", replies enzo with irony and a smile that indicates that no, he doesn't regret that he stole you from that douchebag.
"i bet you do" leaning your head on the brunet's back, you replied in the same tone. his body is warm and a little sweaty, but his scent is good and familiar.
enzo was riding the bike down the street, while you held on by wrapping your arms around his waist, the night breeze enveloping you. silence fell for a moment before you decided to break it.
"enzo, seriously, you didn't have to do that. it was going to be fine. it was going to last a few more minutes."
he chuckled, shooting you a corner glance. "well, judging by your desperation in the messages, i'd say 'fine' is a pretty generous word."
you snorted, feigning indignation. "i was dramatizing it a bit, you see."
"i know, i know. but honestly, i couldn't let my friend spend a horrible night with some idiot guy. after all, who else is going to put up with my stupid jokes?"
"oh, is that what i'm here for, a mate who'll put up with your jokes?"
enzo smiled, amused. "among other things, sure. but seriously, i wasn't going to let a guy get away with it one more time."
she rolled her eyes as if offended, but couldn't hold back a smile.
"where do you want to go?" she asked suddenly, leaving you a little confused.
"i thought we were going home," you shrugged.
"i can't let you go home so dressed up without having had a decent date!" enzo exclaims, turning his head slightly, allowing you to see his indignant expression.
you process what he just said and feel your heart skip a beat. he was either guessing things or....
"so we're going on a date?" is your automatic retort, and then, trying to disguise, you clear your throat, worried that you're reading the wrong lines.
maybe, in addition to roommate, best friend and occasional superhero, enzo was also a little crush of yours. one that you had tried to forget through terrible dates that always sent you back to square one: enzo. enzo, who bought you your favorite ice cream when you got your ass kicked when you first met, even though you never talked to him directly about your favorite flavor. enzo, who always waited for you at home with a movie session and a warm blanket. enzo, who always listened to everything you said. enzo, who was your weak point.
"if you want to call it that, we'll have a date, yes," he says, and involuntarily your hands tighten around his waist. 
after a few minutes pedaling through the quiet streets, you realize the familiar, everyday route. maybe enzo has changed his mind. you really were on your way home and all your expectations had fallen apart. until, slowly, he stops, and the next thing you know, you're in front of a corner pizzeria. the same new pizzeria that had opened a few days ago near your house and the one you kept telling enzo about.
"pizza?" he asks as if waiting for your approval."
enzo holds out his hand for you to get off the bike and he follows you right away. it's funny how you contrast, while the older guy is wearing casual and simple clothes, you're dressed up in that stupid dress. inside your head, you curse the moment you agreed to go out with that idiot from before. he really didn't deserve all your prep, but enzo, wow. he really seemed to study every part of you and admire every aspect of you. from the most innocent way that some loose strands of your messy bun framed your face to the most indecent way he noticed how beautiful your legs looked in that tight dress. 
the two of you had to sit outside, as it was crowded inside, and when you sat down at the small sidewalk table across from enzo, your best friend let out a long sigh as he stared at you. a sigh that said: finally. 
"but to be honest with you now, you don't know what a relief it was to see you out of that restaurant," you confessed, with a light, hearty laugh.
"was the mood that bad?" the boy asked with an incredulous expression.
"there was just no mood! the guy went on and on about the life lessons he learned when his dad stopped giving him money for a month, or how i shouldn't feel special if he took me to his apartment after dinner. and we had just arrived!" you exclaimed in amazement at enzo, who suddenly looked serious. too serious. "he hasn't asked me a single question in 45 minutes!".
"what an asshole!" the brunet muttered, rolling his eyes. enzo's gaze turned away from you for a moment, following his own hand as he fiddled with the sauces and plucked pieces of napkin off the table. "why do you keep hanging out with guys like that?"
he asked, still not looking at you, and suddenly your blood boiled, rushing to your head. you took a deep breath, feeling a pang of disappointment hit your chest, not believing what enzo had just said. 
"are you implying that it's my fault? i'm responsible for men being totally selfish and..." you close your eyes, involuntarily placing your hand against your own chest. indignantly.
"no! that's not what i meant, my love." enzo lifted his head quickly, meeting your gaze, hurt and betrayed. 
he felt like a complete idiot, desperate at the way you were looking at him, not quite sure how to back down. he stood up straight in his chair, leaning over the table to reach for your hand, ready to defend himself when a waiter stopped right next to him.
"good evening, lovebirds! what can i get you?" the man asked, his tone friendly and cheerful, in contrast to the flaring tempers at the table.
you laughed wryly at the waiter's confusion, a regular occurrence whenever you went out together, and folded your arms, turning away from enzo.
"ahm, hello," he scratched the back of his head in bewilderment, and then realized he hadn't even looked at the menu. he fumbled over the pages, didn't know what to order, and suddenly looked lost.
"two pieces of marguerita, vegan option, please," you said, straightening up. "and a coke, with lemon, for him."
enzo looks at you anxiously as the man takes your order, his leg dangling under the table, brushing against yours unaware. the contact makes your whole body shudder, but you still don't look at him. the waiter leaves the table and announces that he'll serve you shortly.
"look, i'm not saying it's your fault. not at all, chiquita," he says, his voice low and his tone worried. you look at your nails, pretending to be indifferent. a little dramatic. 
enzo sighs and brings his knee to yours. you squint, indifferent, while he moistens his lips as if trying to find the words on the tip of his tongue. 
"i'm trying to tell you that you deserve better than these guys. you know it, i know it." the way he conducts what he says is slow and careful, he continues. "you deserve someone who really appreciates you, who sees all the amazing things i see in you. these dudes you go out with clearly don't see the amazing person in front of them and completely miss the opportunity to meet the best person they could ever have in life."
your eyes automatically rise as you hear what he says, and your lungs don't seem to perform their routine action. your lip trembles nervously. tears gather at the corners of your eyes, because you have to tell yourself that you're only saying that because you want his good, because that's what a best friend would say. and you have to wrestle with all those words before you go to sleep, swallowing all your feelings.
"you know, you're kind, incredibly smart, even if you still think you can beat me playing mortal kombat by pushing all the buttons at once." enzo continues, softening his lecture, making her laugh under her breath. "you're funny, talented, real. cute."
unable to resist any longer, you meet the brunette's gaze again, who gives you a small smile as he notices you slowly give in.
"not to mention your patience, especially when i decide to cook and leave the kitchen as a battlefield." 
this time you can't contain the smile that spreads across your face, remembering the last time enzo had tried to prepare food. really, a denial for cooking. 
"as a cook, you're a great actor," you mutter, which makes enzo chuckle and take advantage of the space you're leaving him.
"and when you have those creative bursts, writing or creating your own recipes. it's fascinating to see your mind in action, and i always wonder how someone can be so.... unique. how you light up wherever you go, how you make things seem so much easier when you're around and...".  
enzo seems to be in the middle of a great discovery. he laughs to himself, shaking his head, as if he regrets having said all that and his eyebrows rise, almost in a gesture of desperation.
"got it," you say, a little sheepishly. your cheeks heat up and you suddenly feel like a teenager.
"anyway, i guess what i'm trying to say is that you're an extremely lovely person." enzo seems to relent, and his body softens in the chair. "and anyone who doesn't see that doesn't deserve to be with you."
his breath comes out as if someone has just punched him in the stomach. your hands run across the table, seeking his, which grasp your fingers gently. you say nothing for a long moment, during which the waiter returns and serves you in complete silence. 
his confession gives the atmosphere another kind of tension. before you could respond, enzo averted his gaze, as if trying to escape the intensity of the situation.
"you know what? forget what i said. let's enjoy dinner and forget i said all that. what am i? shakespeare? don juan?" he joked, trying to lighten the situation by gesticulating exaggeratedly. he takes a sip of his coke, disguising his desperation.
"enzo," his name on your lips comes out as a plea. everything hits you at once. the awareness of his feelings, the awareness of yours. he shakes his head negatively and lets go of your hand.
"it's okay, you don't have to try to comfort me and tell me we're friends, i know. i've accepted it." enzo rushes over, running his hands through his hair, nervous.
"enzo," you tell him, firmer now. "why didn't you tell me before? why didn't you take me on a date before?".
he seems to be choking on his own breath, his nostrils flaring and his chest rising and falling rapidly. enzo looks at you with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. his eyes search yours, as if trying to read your expression and understand if those words were real. how can someone know you so well and not have a fucking clue?
"because i... i didn't know how. it was always easier to be your friend. to stay in the comfort of not risking too much. not to feel the rejection. taking you on a date seemed to cross some invisible line, and i was afraid of messing it all up". 
he hid his face in his hands, laughing to himself. enzo looked on the verge of collapse, frightened. you had never seen him like this. you quickly got up, sitting down in the chair next to him, quietly touching his wrists.
"how stupid you are," you state, laughing. he looks at you with an offended and confused expression. "you really haven't noticed all this time?".
your best friend's face fills with something akin to expectation and dread. expecting the fatal blow at any moment.
"wait, you mean... that you..." he starts to stammer, but you interrupt him with a smile.
"yes, enzo. me too" your confession makes his face light up and then he blushes. was he really 30 years old? because you were making him feel like a kid.
"i never thought..." he murmurs, and you complete the sentence.
"that i could feel the same way? well, now you know. it was obvious." you laugh, moving a little closer to him. "how could i not fall in love with you?".
enzo feels your whisper on his lips, sending shivers down his spine. your warm breath mingles with his, uncertainty hovering between the two of you, unfamiliar territory to traverse. enzo's gaze examines your face, searching for any trace of indecision, but he doesn't find it, and then his eyes drop to your mouth.
"if only you'd let me show you all this sooner," he whispers too, as one of his hands, large and warm, rests on her thigh, under the thin fabric of her dress, and the other rests behind the back of her chair.
"you still have time" 
and with your confession, it's as if he loses control. his pupils, darker and dilated now, are the last thing you see before you feel soft lips against yours. your breath is suddenly cut off and a shock runs through your body, shutting down your entire nervous system for milliseconds. he kisses you eagerly, as if making up for all the other opportunities he'd missed. the hand behind your shoulder moves quickly to the back of your neck and a gasp escapes you. his mouth tastes sweet, like cola and lemon mixed with his own flavor.
enzo can barely contain himself, the rest of the world ceases to exist when your tongue passes over his lips, as if asking for permission, and he almost rolls his eyes at the sensation. god, how he had dreamed of that. he had replayed it in his mind a million times and then blamed himself for it. he shook off the thoughts when he felt your fingers run over his scalp, while your other hand gently stroked his cheek. as if a tornado of emotions wasn't going on inside him at that moment. everything that had happened so far made this moment worth it. 
after almost five minutes, the real world seems to return, as does the need for oxygen, useless, in enzo's perception. the sounds of the street echo in his ears again, everything slowly makes sense again. the world stops spinning as you look at each other with wide, goofy smiles on your faces. you bring your finger to the corner of enzo's lips, carefully wiping away the traces of lipstick. it makes him want to ruin the rest that remains on your beautifully delineated lips.
"so, what do we do now?" you ask, still a little limp, trying not to laugh. the feeling of kissing your best friend, something that had crossed your mind a million times before, seemed far away. in fact, it was something much better than you could have dreamed of.
"i suppose we could start with a first date," enzo suggests, feigning some nonchalance, shaking his shoulders. his fingers wander over your face, brushing aside a few strands of hair over your eyes. it's so sweet and peaceful that you want to treasure just that moment among all the others.
for the rest of the night, you eat that cold pizza like it's the best you've ever eaten. the rest of the dinner goes naturally, lightly, with kisses and sighs, conversations and confessions, like everything you needed. like everything was finally in place. a millennial alignment. it was so easy to be there, next to him, no need for masks or disguises, to be in front of him was to be able to see yourself from the inside out. without hiding anything, without any desire to run away. completely immersed in each other. it was like dreaming half awake. it was just perfect.
there were uncertainties, saved for the distant future, it was terrifying to lose that connection you had. but maybe it wasn't the right way, maybe it was unforeseen and completely chaotic, but it was the best and last first date of your life.
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for my girlies who asked me to translate it, i hope you enjoyed <3
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pinkeoni · 11 months
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WillEl Narrative Mirroring: Presenting Themes of Sexuality
If we consider powers as a means to present themes of sexuality, then looking at Will & El and how they mirror each other in narrative can reveal different angles on this topic and how the two sides of the coin come together to create a balanced whole.
Very very lengthy discussion of sex, sexuality, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse below the cut.
Will and El being different genders is important to their narrative mirroring, because they are displaying the difference between expectations in regards to male and female sexuality. Let's start with El and what her story says about female sexuality.
Layering the subtext behind supernatural elements is both practical and ethical, and I honestly applaud the Duffs for choosing to go this route rather than making it more explicit from the start, and instead sewing in details along the way. It helps keep the story digestible, allowing for a story like this to be shared to a wider audience while also not forcing their incredibly young actors to portray potentially very traumatizing circumstances.
I'm not the first nor will I be the last person to talk about all of the csa coding regarding El, Brenner, and the lab, especially here on tumblr. I was actually sent an anon awhile back linking a blog post back from 2016 that analyzed this exact thing.
"Eleven's interactions with 'Papa' are laden with coercive, coded language, intentionally leading viewers to make sexual abuse connections beneath the surface of the experiments we are shown. Eleven, vulnerable in a thin hospital gown, is told to "go deeper" and to ignore the men watching her perform. She is told the monster wants her, to go farther, "not to turn away from it." This language is intentionally loaded."
Girls are often forced into their sexuality at a young age, usually for the gratification of men
Young El, in hardly a hospital gown, is being forced to utilize her powers for the sake of Papa Brenner and other men in the lab. The sexuality/power connection is being established very early on.
And even once El has escaped the clutches of the lab and seems to find safety—
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And before I have fingers pointed at me, no I am not trying to vilify Mike for this moment nor any of the boys for wanting to use El's powers to find Will. It's more complicated than that. The boys were young, their friend was missing and in danger, and they were excited by the prospect of a real life superhero being able to save their friend. I'll also get into how Mike is a victim of this forced heteronormative relationship much later in the post.
But still, even without meaning to, the boys are reinforcing the role that El is expected to fulfill, which is to use her powers and sexuality in service to the men in her life
Something impressive about that blogpost I linked earlier is the rightful calling out of how gross miIeven is way back in 2016, when the two were considered America's cutest couple by the general public.
"Crucially, in the climax, after Eleven's body is once again used for others, Mike promises her a home, and Eleven shows a glimpse of light, is almost comforted. She'll have a family, she'll have safety. Promise? No, Mike says. She'll have their mother, but while she's wearing his sister's dress he explains she won't be a sister, that he wants Eleven to meet his desire for a girlfriend. How could he possibly understand that more boundaries and a boyfriend is the opposite of what she needs?"
Girls oftentimes do not see many options outside of their sexuality
Starting in season 2 El has two modes of thinking: girlfriend or superhero. Her line of thinking isn't helped much by Hopper, who keeps her isolated from outside world. And like the boys, this is a complicated situation. Hopper is keeping El inside for the sake of her safety, lest the government catch her and lock her up again, and either use her or kill her. Still, this isn't good for her personal development.
Whereas Brenner was the sexually abusive dad who forced his daughter into adult roles at a young age, Hopper is playing the role of the overprotective dad who doesn't want to see his little girl grow up, something that continues in season 3. In his eyes, he is keeping El protected from the men of the outside world who are likely to want to take advantage of her, and keeping her locked in is his way of preventing that. But doing so is damaging to El's psyche in ways he may not realize.
So El is kept locked inside with some of her few windows to the outside world being spying on the boy who wanted her to be his girlfriend, and spending the entire day on the couch watching romantic soaps. Her options regarding freedom are skewed.
When El gets her first taste of freedom and leaves the cabin, she's in girlfriend mode. We know this when we see her go to Mike and she misreads and becomes jealous of his interaction with Max. Now I won't deny that El and Mike do have genuine care for each other, but here she ditches a boy that she hasn't seen in almost a year because he seems to have found another girl to fill that girlfriend role.
Having been hung up on in the void and replaced, El changes trajectory: superhero.
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I do want to point out and emphasize the importance of El going to see Terry before this moment. El is not a robot that is programmed for sex and powers. She is very much human, and we see her desires for family and the life she could have lived, which is her motivation to seek both Mama and Kali.
Kali, another woman with powers who had been mistreated like her, offers El an alternative— use her powers against the men that have hurt her. When El sees that Kali is seeking her power as a means to use them, El leaves to save her friends and family.
I once again want to reiterate again El's humanity and her heart. El isn't returning to Hawkins simply as a means to become Mike's girlfriend and to become a superhero. She is doing so because she wants to save the people that she loves. Still, El's resolve for the season isn't super ideal given her overall arc. She is effectively fulfilling the roles that have been charted for her since the beginning. She learns that she can be a superhero and a girlfriend! Yay!
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With danger out of sight, El seems to be spending her time doing the only other thing she thinks she can do, kissing Mike in her room. An activity which is described by Hopper and the rest of the party as being "unhealthy" and "bullshit."
So what is the solution? Completely remove her sexuality as Hopper aims to do?
We now come to my favorite friendship in the whole show, as well as the most important character in El's arc—
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Max doesn't suppress El's sexuality or enforce it onto her, but rather is the first person who allows El to explore what she wants, offering her assistance but allowing El to lead the way. Brenner, Kali, Hopper, and Mike have all wanted to shape El into what they wanted her to be. For Brenner, a weapon. Kali, an avenger. Hopper, the perfect daughter. Mike, the perfect girlfriend. Max wants El to be whatever El wants to be. (God I love the elmax friendship so much)
Like I said before, Max does not aim to strip away El's sexuality like Hopper does. Hell, I wouldn't even say that she wanted to keep El from Mike. Hell, Max was even asking El if Mike was a good kisser after El had dumped him. Max is the one who offers to give El her moms Cosmo magazines. She isn't keeping El in the dark about sex and sexuality, but offering her a road map and actual information in order for El to come to her own conclusion about what she wants from it. El can look at pictures of Ralph Macchio and use her powers to spy but also enjoy shopping, listening to Madonna and reading comics.
When El is pushing her powers to find Billy, something that El choses to do of her own volition, it's the girls in her life (Nancy and Max) who advocate for her to lead the way while Mike is the one who wants to control her. And yes, once again the situation is complicated, Mike isn't doing this to be an asshole but out of concern for her safety, but needless to say he isn't beating the controlling boyfriend allegations. And this displays another facet of female sexuality—
Men often feel insecure when women exhibit ownership over their sexuality
Mike, who previously advocated for El to use her powers if it meant helping someone, is now actively pushing against it when it's El in the driver's seat and not him. And maybe Mike was right and El was pushing herself too far. And maybe he was concerned out of guilt for pushing her the first time, but would it also be too out of left field to say that Mike equates his part of his self worth on how much El needs him?
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So maybe now I’ll talk about Mike
Mike really isn’t trying to be this malicious, manipulative guy who is using El for sex. Really, he’s not. Mike instead is a young boy who is going through some rather tough internal struggles of his own, and unfortunately brings El into it with him.
Mike is enforcing the heteronormative relationship onto himself just as much as he is doing it to El
I personally read Mike as gay and that plays into this analysis. Mike found a girl that he cared a lot for and everyone around him assumed that he must have feelings for her, so he played the role of the straight boyfriend. When I see Mike making out with El in her bedroom, I see a gay boy constantly trying to become attracted to his own girlfriend. Maybe if he keeps kissing her, maybe it’ll do something for him.
Keep in mind that Mike believes that that’s what El wants him to be, he’s not forcing onto her something that he doesn’t think she doesn’t want. He may have kissed her first, but then El was the one who tried to kissed him at the Byers house. Mike is mistaking El’s own confused feelings for genuine ones.
Being El’s boyfriend was Mike’s way of giving El what she needed, a way to be useful while simultaneously giving him a way to be normal. But what happens when his true feelings are starting to become harder to ignore?
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Remember that Mike wasn’t writing “Love, Mike” when he believed that El was doing okay on her own in Lenora and making new friends. It almost makes me wonder if Mike would have said “I love you” to El if she had told Mike she was in distress.
But then again, we do see El in distress in front of Mike and yet Mike still can’t bring himself to say it. It isn’t until El is quite literally on her deathbed that Mike finally works up the courage.
In season four we have El regressing into her superhero or girlfriend mindset, with a third option added— monster.
A pinkeoni analysis that mentions El’s superhero/monster dichotomy???? SHOCKER!!
When girls are not seen as sexually desirable, they oftentimes feel monstrous as a result
El doesn’t have her powers anymore, and Mike no longer sees her as worthy of being a girlfriend, which means that she must a monster. This is a thought that is reaffirmed through El’s treatment from her classmates, and later El’s intrusive memories regarding the massacre. The only way El knows to escape this monster label is to regain her powers using NINA. This is what El knows, how to become a superhero. This is how she becomes desirable again.
I think that Max’s distance from El is a good contributing factor. Not the only one, but a main one for sure. El no longer has that guiding force, and there isn’t a girl in Lenora that understands her disposition and seems willing to take her under her wing. Sure she has her new mom Joyce, who is usually on the phone. Or her new brother Jonathan, who is usually stoned. And her new brother Will, whom we see try an give El support only for her to shut him down with “friends don’t lie.”
So El goes through NINA, gets her powers back, learns she isn’t the monster after all, oh and her boyfriend can say “I love you” now. And yet, as El realizes at the end, it’s not enough.
I promise this post is also about Will too
Now is the part of the post where we shift gears and finally talk about Will. El has more screen time than him, so there’s more to cover. I also felt like discussing her first laid some important groundwork in regards to how Will mirrors her narrative.
El showcased a lot of facets regarding female sexuality. Will covers aspects of male sexuality, but specifically gay male sexuality, which is an important distinction.
What does Hawkins feel about gay men?
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Yeah, it’s not looking good.
Gay men are oftentimes perceived as predatory and dangerous
Will’s sexuality is practically an open secret. Will goes missing, and the town’s first thought is that he was taken by another gay man. Troy doesn’t say it directly, but the implication behind his words is that Will was raped and then killed, thus feeling the need to clarify that the man behind it was “another queer.” Gay men rape little boys and throw them into quarries, or so the town thinks.
The eighties is also such an important set piece for this narrative because the entire show takes place right in the midst of the Reagan Administration and the AIDS epidemic. A young gay boy dies and its suspected that another gay man killed him. The government is eager to sweep under the rug what actually did it. The anniversary of Will's kidnapping is Reagan's 1984 reelection date to the day.
Heterosexual men are treated differently on the basis of their sexuality
Well, duh. But I did want to highlight the differences between gay Will and his evil-straight-name-twin, Billy.
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Billy wears his sexuality proud and openly. Based on Max's dialogue in season 3 we know that he has sex with girls often. In his introduction we are immediately shown girls ogling him. He arrives in town and is instantly liked and regarded. He catches the eyes of the hot moms in town and he's liked by the other guys.
Oh, and he's racist, violent, abusive, and overall a total sack of shit.
We see Billy's sudden rise to popularity in the same season that we see Will's incessant bullying and him being branded "Zombie Boy" by what seems to be the entire town. Even Billy who's been in town for like a day is already calling him "the freak." Will is sweet, kind, friendly, wouldn't hurt a fly, but he's the weird homo whereas Billy is the cool straight guy with the nice butt.
Gay men's sexualities are often suppressed
So now we get to the part that exhibits the WillEl mirroring, as well as some “Will has powers” theoretics. I guess your willingness as a reader to continue forward may depend on your feelings toward Will with powers. I may lose some of you, or maybe I may even swing some skeptics with my explanation. As I say in most of my posts: bare with me.
If El's sexuality and powers are being forced upon her, then Will's sexuality and powers are being forcefully snuffed out.
Let's take a look at Lonnie Byers, in many ways similar to Papa Brenner and in many ways his antithesis. Both abusive fathers with silver hair, Brenner is the obsessive parent who wants his fingers all over his daughter while Lonnie is the distant parent who wants nothing to do with his gay son. Joyce's dialogue "Lonnie said he was queer. Called him a fag." indicates that his homophobia probably has something to do with his distancing. Lonnie's verbal abuse of Will was likely a method of trying to snuff out his queerness. And when that didn't work, he left.
(and if you wanna get theoretical you could say that he had connections to the lab, knew about Will's powers and was trying to get rid of them, but that's just speculative)
A big part of season one is the fact that the entire time, Will was in his own house. He was spending his time running and hiding from the monster that was in his own home, the one that wanted to kill him. And the only time he ever expressed himself, the only time he ever used his powers—
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—was when his loving and supportive mother encouraged him.
But also keep in mind that almost every time Will tries to speak with his mother through the lights, express more of himself and use more of his powers, it usually attracts the presence of the monster. Will continues his cycle of running and hiding until it doesn't work anymore, and we get what is perhaps the most overt sexual assault imagery in the show that even little fifteen year old Robin Pinkeoni picked up on in 2016.
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Season one ends with Will experiencing sexual violence, and in season two we see how this trauma is encroaching on his everyday life, as well as being stalked by the same man that took him and shoved a vine down his throat for the sake of reproduction. He follows Will to the arcade. He follows him while he's trick-or-treating with friends. He finds Will at home. Eventually, he finds Will after hours at school where he's able to reenter his body in the second most overt sexual assault imagery in the show.
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Where El's sexuality was suppressed in season 2, Will's sexuality was being forced upon
Will is feeling the effects of this assault for the rest of the season. He's finding it hard to sleep, and constantly feels the presence of the man who attacked him, everywhere.
Vecna is possessing Will because he wants to use him as a vessel to control help control his army, and for whatever other powers Will may have. If El never closed the gate, if Vecna had completely taken over Will's body as he originally planned, what would he have done from that point on? Would he have just discarded Will's body, or was there something special about him that he needed?
Will begins to believe that everything people say about gay men is true about him
Keep in mind that at this point Will's only experience and exposure to gay sex is being assaulted twice, all while his father and the whole town is bullying him and telling him that gay men are predators. Will isn't a predator. He isn't dangerous and we know this about him. And yet Will uses the freak label in a negative way.
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So it's no surprise given the internal and external that Will is suppressing his sexuality even further.
In season 3 El begins her journey of self-discovery and likes what she finds. Will knows exactly who he is
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and he hates it.
Will fucking hates himself bro. He knows he gay. And he accepts it. But he also accepts all of the labels and restrictions that it comes with. I am gay. My sexual desires are dangerous. I can never express and experience love and sex the way I want to.
And maybe there is a glimmer inside of him that sees that what he is is a wonderful thing, that maybe he does deserve better than all the abuse he's endured just for being who was.
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And maybe these feelings were easier to pack away when he was younger. Maybe it was easier to say "I'm not gonna fall in love" when you're fourteen, but as you get older and grow into your teenage years...
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...maybe your desires are getting harder to ignore.
What happens when you don't die innocent, and you grow up instead?
So we bring it around to season 5
El is a superhero and a girlfriend again. But it's not enough. Something is missing and she isn't fulfilled. Max is missing, and El is going to have to face and overcome her biggest challenge yet, which is completing her journey of self-discovery that started in season 3. She's going to have to put aside the expectations that many have for her and decide what she wants.
Will Byers is back in town. How has the climate surrounding gay men changed since then?
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Oh! It's worse now!
Remember, the town believes that the same sodomizing Satanists are the ones behind the recent murders and earthquake. It's gonna be really bad for Will when he gets back.
So now Will is tasked with a challenge that is harder here in Hawkins than it might have been in Southern California. Maybe Will can't change the minds of these religious townsfolk but maybe he can somehow find a way to shift his own way of thinking. Embrace who he is, embrace his powers, and realize that he deserves more than the hand he's been dealt.
So that was... a lot
Analysis mostly over. Here are some of my concluding thoughts.
I know that this is probably one of my longest posts ever. I know that a lot of it feels like reiterating plot points, but that really felt like the best way for me to articulate all of my thoughts on this. A lot of it needs to be backed up with evidence from the show.
Also, sometimes when I sit down to make a new analysis, sometimes I don't make it because I think I have all of the answers, but I make it as a way to try and find answers. To talk through some of my long and complicated thoughts and open the floor to discussion. Even with the length of this post, there is waaaaaaaaay more that can be discussed regarding this topic (some that has already been discussed).
To wrap everything up, I wanna share this screenshot from Reddit, which low-key inspired this entire thing. For context, this was in response to a question asking if people expected to see a Will coming-out scene in season 5.
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So, hopefully with this long ass post, I've proven that maybe the show is about the complex effects of one's sexuality in the 80's, actually.
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badchoicesworld · 8 months
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hello hello hi ! i hope you're doing well ! may i request a miles!42 and hobie with like a butterfly mutated reader (masc) ? ironically he's more bug than beauty and has alot of features that he tries to hide (antennae, long ears and :3 mouth that opens up to a long tongue to suck up food ? he has teeth too but theyre sharp with fangs in the splatoon inkling way. skin is like a bug's sort of hard and exoskeletonly and bro is just really fluffy. like his wrists and neck have fluff)
reader is a result of like a weird science experiment gone wrong so he sort of feels like an alien trying to fit in whenever his features pop out. he just wants to live an ordinary life but somehow keeps on gettinh pulled in the middle of every superhero fight there is :'). also ! ARTKIDDD
im sorry if the req got really specific to work w aha :') hope you have a good one !
hobie brown and miles42 with butterfly mutated boyfriends !
huge fan of these mutated readers, i am however a tmnt man so (i fuckin see you btw, my most active friend and that tmnt blog)
separate, established relationships
warnings: nah
pairing: hobie brown x masc!reader, miles morales!42 x masc!reader
requests: check out my guide/masterlist
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★⋆ ⋆☆⋆ ☠︎︎ ⋆☆⋆⋆★✧
we all know hobie’s a massive fan of making a statement, so he thinks that you look absolutely incredible with your mutation
will likely go through a phase of insisting you should embrace it and flaunt it, he’s gotta be told a few times that you just wanna live an ordinary life
sounds a little boring to him, but whatever suits you, y’know?
he’s not the guy to go to however for tips on how to blend in, do not ask
you’ve got a butterfly mutation, he’s got a spider mutation- he calls you the bug boys sometimes when he’s feeling hyped up and you can feel how you wanna feel about that
if you ever tell him about your mutation, about the experiments and such, it just fuels hobie’s habit of antagonising authority n all that
you’re like walking proof of the government taking advantage of the people through the systems they put in place to protect them but in reality are just some form of propaganda to give the public false hope and sense of security
yeah, hobie wasn’t surprised when you told him
not too pressed over it either since it’s been and done, no point in getting worked up over something thats irreversible and apart of you now
feels disrespectful to even feel bad to a degree
of course he feels bad that you were experimented on, but he’s not gonna say anything about your actual mutation
does however have something inappropriate to say about ur tongue im sorry
yknow what hard skins good for ? drawing on, let him please
yknow what fluff around you ur neck and wrists is great for ? hobie and his desperation for contact, ur mad comfy dawg
he likes to wear his studded collars and wrist bands in the same places as your fur sometimes, matching innit
hobie absolutely recognised how badly you want to have an ordinary life, so can honestly empathise and sympathise when you somehow manage to find yourself sucked into every super scrap in the city
he can try diverge the fights, but can’t promise a thing since they tend to be unpredictable
hobie’s plenty happy to diverge from large crowds with you if it helps you stick out less, he’ll navigate for the two of you and somehow come up with insane routes to get to where you need to be
will diy you clothes tailored to your mutation, shirts with holes in the back for your wings just so they don’t have to be uncomfortably folded under clothes n stuff
miles42
i feel like with society going up in flames, standing out is something you generally wanna avoid in earth42, just doesn’t seem so safe
so miles definitely goes the extra mile (ha) to make sure you’re not gonna stick out too much
if you’re smaller than him he’ll for sure lend you certain things to wear if they cover you up well enough, he knows just about every nook and cranny in the city to hide in whenever your features decide to make a guest appearance
like if you’re ever just walking down a street then your antenna poke out, he’s very fast to act and doesn’t make a big deal out of it
now you either just chill in an alley together or start making your way home through the intricate backstreets miles can effortlessly navigate
he appreciates your mutation though, it’s one of them things that he can silently admire and daydream about instead of worrying about the future
realistically ? you could be a result of a really shitty human experiment gone wrong at oscorp, god knows they can take advantage of the people without a spider-man to protect them
if you ever reveal this to miles, he’s obviously upset, but it’s probably predicted at this point
i imagine in his universe that they’re a force to be reckoned with
asks his mum to make things for you sometimes, to help you feel better about your appearance and to help hide certain features that you wanna
can completely understand your desire to want an ordinary life, he does too
he’ll help you achieve it, it’s one of his dreams and he can only hope to share it
your mutation takes time to get used to but it gets to the point where miles simply won’t bat an eye at your mutation, he treats you like any other person in the world except he loves you- wants so badly for you to feel normal if that’s what you want
in the least condescending way he will insist from time to time for you to stay home, just for your own safety if he starts to notice a particular rise in stats
he completely understands your desire to just blend in, but it’s not worth it if you’re genuinely at risk
he gets into the habit of doodling butterfly features on scraps of paper, on the back of his hand during classes- you’re on his mind a lot
says that he’s indifferent towards ur fluff but then he’ll fix it up for you after putting a shirt on and it’s a lil outta sorts
★⋆ ⋆☆⋆ ☠︎︎ ⋆☆⋆⋆★✧
sorry this is kinda brief and not great, i’ve been out of it for the longest time but i’m tryna provide 💪💪
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btsmosphere · 25 days
Text
Supercharged | JJK (Teaser)
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Get hyped!!!!!! Posting date chapter 1: 14th April
Chapter 1 is now here!
🗲summary:
It starts with a blow to the chest that changes your life. When your city’s most celebrated hero pays a visit, it turns out the noble Bolt has no trouble tossing lives aside. Lives that won't be missed. Lives like yours. Seven mysterious and powerful men give you another chance – one that starts to feel more like a curse the moment you meet golden boy Jungkook. The boy who wants you as far from his brothers as he can get you. Is it you he hates, or the blue lightning that now runs through your veins? And could it be his golden light that illuminates your heart when darkness threatens?
🗲pairing: jungkook x f!reader 🗲teaser word count: 365 🗲full fic wc: you do nOt want to know (79k...) 🗲genre: angst, action, eventual fluff, slow burn, enemies to lovers, superheroes/villains au, found family (imagine a mafia au with superpowers) 🗲rating: pg15 🗲warnings: in the teaser: none, just some tension. general fic warnings: violence with superpowers, weapons, swearing, arguing, injury, past trauma, mentions of death
>Updates every week!!
Supercharged Masterlist
a/n: guys. it's TIIIIIME!!! how many years have you heard me talk about how I was working on a superpowered jungkook story?? I started this thing four years ago so I can't believe the moment's finally come! it's been a long ride, and most of those four years was spent not writing this, but I just couldn't stay away either! I really wanted to tell this story, and now here it is and I am so happy to be able to share it💜 Let me know in a reblog, comment or ask if you want to join my taglist for this series! Over the next week before chapter 1 is released, check back as I introduce our characters👀I'm so excited for you to meet them!
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As a smile was just blooming on your face, it was halted by Namjoon's next words.
“But. You aren’t ready just yet. I want you out there with us, so I’m willing to send you out sooner than I have with others before. These are unusual times, and you have to understand this will be more dangerous than I normally send rookies to. There’s work to do, with your powers, but also…
“As much as I appreciate your trust in us, I know it doesn’t extend fully. I need my team to be able to trust each other. Every single one.”
Fixing you with a hard stare to accompany his last words, he was effective in making you shrink in your seat. You knew exactly who he was talking about.
And that person was waiting for you right outside.
On leaving the office, you found Jungkook leaning up against the wall. Jin and Namjoon had hung back, leaving you alone as you emerged, and you instantly rolled your eyes. Determined not to be deterred, you kept walking down the corridor, trying to fix your eyes ahead – firmly away from the infuriating man that watched your approach.
“Scared yet?” his smirk bled through his words. You were almost upon him at this point, and he pushed away from the wall, blocking the way with his black-clad body.
Eyes flicking up to him, unimpressed, you tapped your foot.
“Why would I be scared?”
One corner of his mouth curved up, looking you in the eye as he leaned a little closer.
“We aren’t heroes, honey.”
“Thanks for spelling that out, Jungkook,” you drawled, making to step past him.
His laughter followed you while you started walking away.
“Need help packing?” he called.
“Hey, Jungkook,” Jin’s stern voice joined him, “no need. She’s not going anywhere.”
Jungkook’s silence spoke volumes.
Glancing back as you reached the end of the corridor, you were met with the livid expression that seemed so familiar. Jungkook’s eyes bulged with shock. You were sure that Jin’s hand on his shoulder was all that was holding him back.
Making the most of his eyes on you, you flashed a serene smile and walked away.
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Thank you for reading!! Part 1 is coming on April 14th, and I will update every week (that's a promise, since it's already written in full!)💜
Contact me to get yourself on the tag list!
Taglist: @aianloveseven @preciouschimine @written-in-flowers @taegularities
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reinieseason · 6 months
Text
here are my live reactions from episode 6
gen v notes frm e6
- it seems like cate's powers are not just getting people to do things, from the way that she, when pushed too hard, could hear jordan and marie's thoughts in their head without touching them. it seems like it extends to a general like mind control? cause she wasnt touching them either
- "didn't you learn cpr?!" "WHERE?!" "AT SUPERHERO SCHOOL????"
- cate learning that she can control blood inside of people's bodies. this will change everything i swear
- so they are preparing a virus to like control supes, can they control is she doesn't get sick or like a cure
- oh my god cate is more powerful then we thought, it can zap people into her memories. the blood dropping down her eyes but it looking like a tear gen v...
- ..... SOLDIER BOY BEING CATE'S IMAGINARY BOYFRIEND HELP???? WHAT THE FUCK
- I CAN'T TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHH
- why is soldier boy in cate imagination so weird HHAHAHA
- sam and emma are so cute stop this "i missed you" "for real?" "for real-real" THEYRE SO SILLYYYYYY
- OH MYGOD THEYRE KISSING????? LETS GO BABIES MY BEBES BEBES SAM...
- "Show me how" CRAZY CRAZY I TELL YOU THIS SHOW IS SO CRAZY
- THEYRE SO CRAZY FOR THIS
- THE SONG IS CRAZY
- i love you cate i love you
- dean shetty getting closer to cate is crazy, manipulative bitch
- i love you cate, i get you, i understand you.
- oh okay the voices and the like hearing people are part of cate's powers the reason they exploded now is because she hasn't been able to take her meds
- the way andre looks at luke... bruh this show and grief, i can't do this.
- i'm so sorry like the way . the way . the scene with cate and luke this is so so so so sweet i cannot . i'm gonna cry in the middle of class
- "i miss you man" WHAT THE FUCK "i miss you too man, so fucking much" i can't fucking do this . whats with this "but you know what i don't believe you" WHAT THE FUCK
- WAIT DO THE PEOPLE IN CATE'S HEAD HAVE CONCIOUSNESS???? IS THAT WHY LUKE IS PISSED THAT HE AND CATE HAD SEX
- THEY CHEATED ON LUKE TOGETHER WHAT THE FUCK ..................
- MAN..... THIS SHOW IS SO COMPLICATED
- STOP THIS
- WAIT HOW COME THEIR POWERS DON'T WORK IN CATE'S MIND
- "This isn't Cate's memory... It's mine" JORDAN KNEW???? JORDAN KNEW???
- the relationship between brink and jordan i can't do this, i can't do this this show and grief
- "We could've stopped everything right here. Saved someone. Like we always wanted, but instead we're a fucking TA, saving our own ass." "I loved Brink. He was good. Or not. But he was good to us" "He was nice it us! He was nice to us! Is nice all it takes for us to let someone get royally fucked? You're a coward. And you always will be." I CAN'T DO THIS THIS SCENE IS SO CRAZY
- the way sam and emma are having sex while jordan, andre, marie, and cate are going through like the worstish experience of their life
- if like last episode was the time of marie and jordan then this episode is sam and emma's
- annabeth and marie stop "no matter how hard you try to be a hero, you'll always be a murderer to me"
- this is trauma dumping premium, today they're experiencing others traumas
- the way they're college kids at heart "you have sex hair" "... no we don't"
- "Now can you make it contagious" I KNOW THE END EPISODE IS GONNA BE ABOUT THEM FIGHTING OVER THE VIAL I JUST KNOW IT
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Hello, if you have time, I submit Roy Harper from DC. Specifically before New 52.(pre roboot) Because I love him.
-he would take the crucifix, and be really nice about it and probably charm everyone he meet. Pre-boot Roy is a total extrovert that make a lot of friend and mentor a lot of teenager.
- he is generally polite, but also a man of the people and against nobility as a general rule. He would throw hand at some point, honestly, if not because Dracula is an entitled prick, because of the baby.
-the man may be human but he is a superhero, so I don't think a lock door would stop him.
- he definitely brought weapon and also a grappling hook or two. And without that his two speciality are being the best marksman in the world and a specialist at improvised weapon.
-honestly boils down to his ability to beat Dracula, and I can see it going either way.
-there is a distinct possibility, if it's before the whole eating a baby thing, that he would try to save the Girlies. That's the kind of thing he pulls.
-he does have a lot of abandonment issue Dracula can play on. But while a good boy generally, he won't be interest in playing mind game
-then again it's DC, if he dies, he will just comes back
Hope this makes sens, there are better specialists on the character than me!
Let's throw this open to a poll!
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kbkirtley · 4 months
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Nightwing has always been a favorite character of mine, but I mainly steered away from the Batfamily generally because Batman/Bruce isn’t a character I gravitate towards. Over the last year, though, I’ve watched/read a lot of the rest of the fam through different shows, Nightwing comics, Batgirls comics, and Wayne Family Adventures. Here is my definitive ranking of the Batfamily*:
Tier Seven: A Literal Murderer
10. Red Hood - Jason Todd
Y’all know he kills people right? Every other post I see about him on here is talking about him being a cinnamon roll or a perfect gentleman and it seems to get lost that he walks around shooting people with regularity. Doesn’t even seem particularly remorseful about it. I get that you died, man, but like half the heroes in DC have died at some point and they’re not filling people with lead. You’d think with all his money, Bruce could send his kids to see a therapist but I guess that’s a lot to ask of a man who processed his own grief and trauma by dressing up like a bat to fight thieves and muggers.
Tier Six: You Couldn’t Pay Me All of Bruce Wayne’s Money to Stay in a Room with Them for Five Minutes
9. Batman - Bruce Wayne
8. Red Robin - Tim Drake
I find both Bruce and Tim to be pretty insufferable. They’re smart but not smart enough to realize how to be smart without being a dick about it. Too clever for their own good and while they’re ranked higher here than Jason, I’d still much rather be in a room with Jason than either of them. Death would be welcomed if my alternative was having to listen to Bruce or Tim talk for more than fifteen seconds.
Tier Five: Need More Data Points
7. Signal - Duke Thomas
I basically only know Duke from WFA which is a fun series but doesn’t give me a ton to go off of big picture. Jury’s still out but I like his odds of not slipping.
Tier Four: Children Get Benefit of Doubt
6. Robin - Damian Wayne
Damian annoys me but in his defense, he is a literal child that was raised by assassins. He gets this spot because of extenuating circumstances and his relationships with Dick and Jon Kent.
Tier Three: The Batgirls
5. Spoiler - Steph Brown
4. Orphan - Cass Caín
3. Oracle - Barbara Gordon
I would be willing to die for any of these characters but they would never let that happen. Probably the most fluid tier. Have more connection to Babs because of my intro to the Batfamily primarily coming from Dick. Cass is second here largely because of her and Dick being perfect together in WFA. Steph lost the straw poll but could easily be third the next time I do this with little effort.
Tier Two: The Billionaire Butler
2. Alfred Pennyworth
The actual father figure of the Batfamily. Every ounce of every one of the Batfamily members success as actual humans is because of Alfred. Batman may have made them all good crime fighters, but Alfred made them good people. Alfred made them heroes.
Tier One: Boy Wonder
1. Nightwing - Dick Grayson
This was always going to be number one. It was never a question. Dick is my favorite superhero and quite possibly my favorite fictional character in general. He was never not winning this ranking.
*Only doing characters I’m mostly familiar with so if someone is missing I just don’t have enough connection to them yet - feel free to send recs to know them better!
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suzukiblu · 5 months
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who is match?
That . . . is a slightly complicated question, friend, because he keeps getting either retconned or getting given VERY alternate origins, hah. When I'M talking about him, I'm usually talking about specifically this version:
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THAT Match is the OG version from the nineties, who was created by the Agenda as a clone of Superboy and meant to be the first draft/test run of a line of metahuman clone soldiers they wanted to produce to, like, sell to the highest bidder. He's an asshole who insists that he has no free will and therefore can't be enslaved while VERY CLEARLY BEING A PERSON WITH FREE WILL WHO IS BEING ENSLAVED, and the Agenda mostly trots him out to pretend to be Superboy and fuck with Project Cadmus or the superhero community in general or just try to murder Superboy/Young Justice/whoever they're annoyed with this week, I guess. His whole thing is he's better-educated than Superboy and knows more about literally everything but especially how their powers work, because he got the full education uploads (AND THE FULL INDOCTRINATION UPLOADS, JUST SAYIN') while Superboy got yanked out of his own cloning tube early and saved from . . . well, at least SOME of the mind control that Cadmus was gonna stuff in his head. SOME of it.
( goddammit, Lex )
This Match considers Superboy obsolete and himself as a better, updated version of their design, and again, is way better-educated and better with their powers. He is also way less creative and self-motivated, however, which tends to bite him in the ass when Superboy decides to get batshit in their fights. Like, that's generally how Superboy beats him, when he does: he just does something absolutely fucking STUPID and it works because Match is thinking "no one would actually be that stupid--oh my GOD how are you THIS STUPID?!?!"
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Later on for no apparent reason they decided to have him genetically degrade and go Bizarro in Teen Titans, which annoyed the fuck out of me because it's actually the literal worst possible thing you could do to a character who prides themselves on being an improved design and more intelligent than their rival/enemy/foil, but like . . . the narrative was not really examining that, from what I know of it, the narrative was just "oh Bizarro Superboy is here to upset/freak out everybody while Kon is dead and also now he's being mind-controlled by an asshole and the good guys are . . . fine with that? for some reason??" and just . . . sigh. SIGH. And then he gets fucking murdered and used for scrap parts to make MORE Superboy clones, which oh my god, fucking horrifying TOO and YET . . .
Though apparently in Rebirth, he's alive again and they've semi-redone his origin and made him a clone of Superboy that Amanda Waller has inexplicably managed to produce and even more inexplicably somehow uploaded all of Kon's memories into? Somehow?? And is forcing to work on the Suicide Squad for her, because fuck Amanda Waller, jfc. And for a while in there he thought he WAS Kon, because like, how the fuck would he have known different. So that was fun for him to find out about, I guess! Especially because he ALSO started to Bizarro-degenerate about five seconds into that particular realization.
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FYI KON HAS TRIED TO SAVE THIS BOY SO MANY TIMES AND IT HAS NEVER WORKED. NEVER. IT KILLS ME.
Also he seems to have inherited Kon's thing for older women along with his presumable memories, cough cough cough.
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And ALSO there's a version of Match in Young Justice Animated who is actually OLDER than Conner, because he was directly cloned from purely Kryptonian DNA and then failed as a weapon because he wasn't controllable, and Project Kr was created as a hybridized clone after he became too unmanageable to use. He's apparently just full-stop psychotically violent due to shitty mental conditioning and instability in his Kryptonian DNA, and very much unbalanced, which is waaaaay different than the more calculating and educated version we first got in the comics.
It actually low-key makes me insane that they apparently just decided to make a character who was all uncontrollable violence and rage and just, like . . . never revisit him or actually HELP him despite the fact that he is EXPLICITLY both mentally AND physically compromised and therefore can't really be considered to be, you know, an informed asshole making informed asshole decisions any more than Conner was when his pod first got cracked. Project Match is a fucking baby who's had a very shit excuse for a "life" and has been CONDITIONED to respond violently AND is effectively suffering from a genetic disorder, but we're just gonna . . . ignore that, I guess . . . and punish him for it? I guess?? For being how he was made and not having the mental capacity to figure out how to be anything else in the, like, thirty fucking seconds of actual consciousness the series allows him??
And I am just not gonna talk about what they did to him in the tie-in comic, hahaha. FUCK that tie-in comic.
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( one day I will write fix-it fic for you, YJ Animated Match. one day. I AM COMING FOR YOU. BE STRONG. )
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shzmluvrs · 11 months
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HII there are so little shazam writers out there and i was wondering if you could write some general physical touch/lovey dovey stuff or headcannons with freddy from the first movie? I rarely see people writing for the first movie anymore!
No rush and feel free not to do this one!
Ikr? I feel so totally honored to be one of them, though😌. Anyhow, yes, I can definitely do that and tbh, I think this will be easy for me to do bc physical touch is my love language😼. #funfactaboutStaryoudidntaskfor🫶🏽. Anyways, tysm for requesting this!
~ Star✨️
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Physical Touch (Love Language) Headcannons
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Prompt: You're a touch-junkie. That much is true. It's just that...what other and better way is there to show your love other than through a gentle caress or an eager hold? Besides, Freddy doesn't seem to mind :).
Timeline: Post Shazam!, Pre S!:FOTG
TW/Content: Just a whole lotta love fr⚡️Corny, passionate, lovey dovey writing lmao⚡️You really have nothing to worry about reading this
Reader: Non-specified! Any Pronouns!
Requested By: Anon
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Was physcial touch Freddy's main love language before? No. Did it become his main love language after he met you? Absolutely. Bro has never been in a relationship before, and outside of family hugs and kisses, he's never really experienced anything relating to physical love.
And then you came in, flipped, and reversed all of that💅🏽. Before you two began dating, you were already pretty "clingy" was the word Freddy would use (in a good way, ofc). Always hanging onto one of his arms or playing with his hand/fingers, even playfully transferring kisses onto your index and middle finger and placing them onto his cheek or forehead.
So don't even get me started on how all of that increased tenfold when the two of you officially became a couple.
Oh wait, that's right, you want me to get started bc you reque-...rightrightright, anyways...
Idk how, but you literally managed to indoctrinate this boy into expecting your touch. Whenever he's near you, sees you, his arms just open instinctively so he can catch you in that hug he knows you're about to give him. Even if it knocks him over, he doesn't care because he always returns your hug with a million kisses peppered all over your face.
And hand-holding is a must. You don't care if his hand is sweaty because he's nervous, dry because he hasn't put on lotion yet, dirty because he's a superhero on the low, you👏🏽don't👏🏽care👏🏽. And if you do, you have him wash his hands. But either way, Freddy's hand? Held. Your happiness levels? Through the roof.
Hotel? Trivago.
But something that he really enjoys you doing is a specific type of hug. He can't exactly recall when you started doing it or why. Not that he minds, of course. But every day, he hopes you'll do it and hopes you'll never stop.
You'll come up behind him and wrap your arms and hands around his middle, pressing yourself up against him. For you, it was simply just another way to be closer to him. To love him, to hold him, take in that woodsy-pine secnt he always seemed to have...
But for him, it's when/how he feels the most loved by you. He gets almost emotional each time, without fail, overwhelmed with just the feeling and presence of you. He holds your hands against him, and he's practically breaking his neck, trying to turn and look at/kiss you. It's like you're a warm blanket, engulfing him with all that you have, treasuring him in ways not even his family could.
It reminded him of how much you loved him, how insane it was to him that he could be loved this way, in spite of whatever he considered to be flaws. Because there you were, to kiss and cherish them all, reassuring him you adored all parts and sides of him.
And natrually, he was very eager to return all of these feelings, never one to shy away from new experiences. He was constantly buzzed with the feeling of your touch, and he wondered if...
No, wanted you to feel the same. So, there were times when he clinged to you more than usual, and you were elated to soak up every moment. You can't get enough of the way he'll squish your cheeks together to form a pout on your lips, just to peck them over and over.
Or when he'd hold and tickle you, leaving you to cover your mouth to shield away giggles that Freddy just adored hearing.
And oh👏🏽my👏🏽gosh👏🏽 bestie... Superhero Freddy?? Should you know of his secret super alter ego, you can bet your Tumblr account that he's taking HELLA advantage of that. He loves, not only feeling like he can, but actually being able to protect you. Whether that be shielding you away behind him, holding you against him, or actually being able to carry you (while flying/hovering, might I add, how romantic💅🏽🥴~).
Also hello, bighandsbighands loOKATHISHANDS OMFG-
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I- *aHem* I mean... y e w... you can never be normal about them, ever (idk how anyone could, I mean, look at them). Headpats and waist holds go crazy when he's in his superhero form, not to mention, you're always eager to just hold them and litter them in kisses the second you have the chance. Although the both of you do admit how odd it must look to any passing bystanders who don't understand that this superheo guy who looks insanely like Adam Brody is actually just your teenage boyfriend...
Either way, though, you love Freddy, and Freddy loves you. And neither of you will ever hesitate to show it through actions and words. Because to be honest, if I were you, I'd be cupping his face in my hands and playing with his hair so often, so you should get on that like... asap, no rocky😙.
Ight, peace y'all✌🏽.
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I hope this was good enough to satiate the touch starved and needy out there, I can only do so much🥲. But feel free to extort me for more of my talents, I genuinely do really enjoy this and I just- *emotional*.
Okay bye.
~ Star✨️
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Text
Phic Phight - Acatalepsy
@atropos_aeneas @lwh-writing
Jazz had always been very firm on her opinions on her parent’s beliefs and behaviour, but she was far more firm on her love and care for her little brother.
Chap. 1:
Peremptory
Jazz has had it about up to here, with these so called ghosts, with her parents dangerous obsession and neglect that bordered on abuse, with the town even vaguely entertaining all this foolishness, with a skin tight costume wearing wannabe vigilante. She couldn’t do much of anything about the seeming mass hallucinations. She couldn’t do anything about her parents, she’s spent years trying after all. She couldn’t do anything about the town as a whole, even if she’s still trying to figure out why everyone’s decided that now is the time to go along with her parents insanity. However she can at least try to do something about the vigilante, she can talk to him and try to get it through his head that feeding into this was bad and if someone real took him seriously he could get really hurt.
It wasn’t like it would be all that difficult to chase the boy down, he got spotted multiple times a day so all she had to do was wait for a ‘ghost sighting’ and track him down. She, once again, was proven to be firmly correct. She’s easily able to spot him at the next ‘ghost’ sighting; she’d really like to figure out what was causing so many people to either have hallucinations or to just be going along with certain people’s delusions.
The thing that gets her though… is he is actually glowing from head to toe. How? Some sort of spray perhaps? That seemed like a lot of effort just to play into all this foolishness. Was this a teen who genuinely desperately wished to be ‘a superhero’ and thus took the first chance he could get? That was incredibly unhealthy and spoke of a very unbalanced and unkind childhood. Neglect perhaps? Or parentification maybe? Trying to make up for childhood feelings of helplessness?
Now how to best get his attention? pretending to be injured or under attack posed the risk of attracting her parents or genuinely worrying the teen. She couldn’t simply wait around to talk to him, as he was known to not stick around after catching ‘the ghost’. Perhaps she can flex her big sister muscles and point aggressively at the ground in his direction? he looked young enough that that very well might work.
Well that’s the best she’s got so that’s what she does. Waving in the air at the teen and then pointing at the ground very firmly with a ‘you better come here, mister’ eyebrow. The teen looking cautious and unsure as he lowers himself to the ground, her absently wondering how he’s managing this floating ability; cords? a wire system? magnets?
The teen giving an awkward, “yes, random citizen?”. Oh he’s trying to pretend he doesn’t know exactly who she is, with her parents it’s no surprise that a so called ‘ghost’ would know them and thusly her. Her parents have talked about shooting at him, she’s been on the receiving end of their inventions enough to know how unpleasant that could be.
Jazz crossing her arms at the ghost, “I think it’s about time we talked”. The teen seems more fidgety at that, and she doesn’t want him running off. Gesturing at a bench and making a point to smile softly, comfortingly, “how about we sit down? It’s nothing bad, I promise. I just want to understand why you’re doing this?”.
Somehow she gets the feeling that actually annoys him but he sighs, ‘lands’ on the ground, and walks with her to a more out of eye sight picknick table than the bench she’d pointed out. Was he paranoid of being seen in general? Or of being seen talking to her specifically? The later she could understand due to her parents reputation, but the former? If it’s the former then she’s even more confused and concerned over why he’s doing this… unless he’s suffering from genuine delusions himself and truly believes his ‘heroics’ are necessary.
What she gets from him is snark, defensive snark. He’s absolutely paranoid and nervous. “So what does the daughter of the ghost hunters constantly shouting about shooting me and how I’m evil, want with me?”, him gesturing at her body, “you aren’t armed so doubt they sent you to try and shoot me”.
Even though he’s being defensive, he’s not wrong either. Her parents did shoot at him and did tell everyone they could that all ‘ghosts’ including ‘the ghost boy’ were evil ‘ectoplasmic’ manifestations of ‘post human consciousness’. If ghosts were somehow real, which they were not, it would make sense to behave defensively regarding her parents and anyone closely associated with them. She puts her hands up in a surrendering motion for a few seconds, “no ‘weapons’ or ‘inventions’ I promise. I meant what I said, all I want is to know why you’re doing everything. I’d simply like to ask you some questions and hope to get honest answers in return”.
He seems… more annoyed but less fidgety, less paranoid. He believes her but finds what she’s doing annoying. Perhaps he’s been taken to therapists before? And has had less than positive interactions with them for one reason or another? She’s fully aware that the wrong therapist to patient relationship can do more harm than good, and that there are bad actors out there and those who are simply looking for the paycheck. Unfortunate, but true. “I’m going to be annoyed if this winds up on the news but alright”, making ‘go ahead’ gestures at her, “ask your questions”.
Jazz’s response is near automatic, “I believe in absolute confidentiality, it will not”. He eyes her with those green eyes, expensive contacts she imagines, and seems to take her word for it. So she asked her first question, “throughout your childhood, have you always had an inclination towards vigilantism? A desire to monitor your environment for signs of deviance or punish those who do wrong onto others, perhaps?”.
The teen scoffs, actually scoffs, at her, “my home is and was always ‘deviant’, looking for that would be dumb. And I don’t like bullies sure, but no, I’ve never wanted to ‘punish’ people’”, he shakes his head softly, like he’s trying to be gentle with her, “I’m not a vigilante, I’m not fighting crime or evil doers or whatever. I’m not Batman or robin and I’m not trying to be. I’m just protecting people and ghosts, and a little bit of socialising”.
She’s not one hundred percent sure if he’s simply really good at going along with the ‘ghost’ bit or if he actually believes in them. “So you would describe what you’re doing as ‘protecting the masses from harm’ then, yes? Would you say that’s for people’s general physical safety or for protecting societal integrity and status quo?”. There was a very big difference between the two after all. “And why would you seek to go about protecting in this manner? Rather than working towards a career in a protective field, such as a police officer or fireman?”.
Now this, he actually looks like he’s genuinely considering her question before responding, “physical safety, of everyone including myself. Your parents are menaces.-”. She can’t argue that last statement. “-I never wanted those kinds of jobs, I didn’t really even want this one at first”, shrugging, “no one else was or could, no offence but also full offence, deal with all the ghosts causing problems”.
… He might actually genuinely believe this ghost thing. She can acquiesce that if ghosts were somehow real that her parents would not actually be all that great at dealing with them. Her dad was far too forgetful and easy going, while her mom would be held back by her dad. The fact that everyone justly thought them insane wouldn’t help either. “Physical safety, of others and ourselves is important, however aren’t you putting yourself in danger by doing this? From ‘ghost hunters’, yes like my parents, and the ‘ghosts’?”; it’s incredibly hard to keep the disbelief out of her voice but she needs to tackle the ‘superhero’ identity first. Maybe getting him to see how illogical and backwards it ultimately was would help break the delusion.
“Obviously I’m putting myself in danger, but I am either way-”. That makes her furrow her eyebrows at him. “-nearly every fight I get into I did not start, they’re picking fights with me. Some super directly by literally hunting me down to try and beat me up for one reason or another. Others are more invading my territory I guess, and harming those people and objects inside it”; it looks like that genuinely really bothers him on a deep level.
Now if he is actually just being attacked by these mass hallucinations or projections perhaps then self defence did make sense. But if these were mass hallucinations why would they be specifically targeting one person like this? That wouldn’t make sense. Now if they’re projections that someone, who is definitely insane, is creating then why are they going after this one teen so much? “Do you believe you know why you’re being targeted so much? Outside of my parents being crazy”. As for him being apparently territorial… “and why do you view Amity as your territory?”. Yes people did often claim their city or town as part of them and then part of it, but to be explicitly territorial and possessive was abnormal.
He actually chuckles a little, “outside of your parents being crazy, it varies. They usually tell me why, though Boxy seems to just be looking to get beat up? Or he is insanely nuts about how strong and scary he is. The Lunchlady threw stoves at me because her food got messed with. Skulker wants to skin me, which is very gross and something I want nothing to do with. Plasmius is angry I won’t ’let him adopt me’, and wants to constantly try to prove he’s better and stronger than me in every way. I could go on”, sighing, “as for the town? It’s just is my town? That’s really all there is to it. It’s mine and other ghosts aren’t welcome to harm anything inside it”. He says that like it’s a given, like it’s obvious and simple, like it’s not supremely abnormal and unhealthy.
If someone is indeed creating and controlling projections then they are a very cruel person, as it seems that this teen genuinely believes these reasonings; meaning it is unlikely this is some sort of game or set up that the teen is in the know on. “What if the ‘other ghosts’ aren’t doing any harm? Would they be welcome then?”.
He blinks, looking a bit confused and surprised by that question, before humming to himself, it vibrates oddly. “I suppose so. If Cujo was less accidentally destructive I’d be fine with him running around, he’s pretty much just a dog after all. A green dog but still just a dog. And Piondexter I would leave alone since I know he doesn’t actually mean harm, he just really hates bullies and unties their shoes and shit”.
Right, that Valerie girl claimed a ‘large green dog’ had gotten her dad fired and destroyed practically all of their belongs and that said dog belonged to ‘the ghost boy’. This ‘Poindexter’ though, “I’ve heard the ‘stories’ about the ‘green dog’, but I can’t say I’m familiar with Piondexter”.
The teen shrugs, “he lives in a mirror in that ‘haunted locker’ in Casperhigh, he can kinda use it like a personal portal”.
Oh not that stupid rumour. Of course who or what ever is causing all of this included that into everything. “Is there any others that seem tied to local myth and legend?”.
The teen shakes his head immediately actually, “no. Piondexter seems more like a coincidence than the trend.-”. Why would only one local legend be utlisied and not all of them? Strange. “-Just like how most of the ghosts want to fight and cause some chaos, so him being mostly chill isn’t the trend either”.
Honestly, that sounded a bit like her parent’s view of ghosts, just far less inhumane and illogical. This teen believed the ‘ghosts’ wanted to fight and cause chaos out of fun, it seems. Whereas her parents just thought they were inherently evil, living hating, monsters. She can admit this teens view point is far more logical. “So you believe these ‘ghosts’ are doing this out of enjoyment? Rather than being villains, or evil for that matter”.
“Some are just assholes, like people who pickpocket people in wheelchairs. Fighting is just, kinda part of how ghosts socialise, most aren’t actually trying to seriously hurt me or the citizens, they just forget how fragile the living can be; and that I’m not a freaking mind reader. Also more than a few of the ghosts who’ve shown up here have been to jail multiple times”.
So there’s some sort of judiciary system in his mind? Or is this something conjured up by the projection controller? A way to make it seem more believable perhaps? But in that case wouldn’t it make more sense to simply go along with what her parents say fully and have them be simply evil monsters? She will give this some credit on being a bit more complex than she had initially thought though. “Do you know how this jailing system works?”.
He blushes… green? How? At that, “not really, no. I do know that each prison is basically ran like a freaking dictatorship by the warden though, and that the prison that’s super close to your parents portal, you know on the ghost side, is ran by a hardass with a serious sadistic streak”.
She blinks, he says that like he’s been ‘on the other side’ of her parents contraption -because she is not calling it a freaking portal, that’s absurd- and like there actually is something on the other side of it. “You’ve been to this ghost side?”; that question is pure curiosity, no diagnosis involved.
He quirks an eyebrow at her, “of course? Every ghost has? That’s kinda where we’ve all come from?”, running a hand through his impossibly pure white hair, that she honestly thought was a wig but up close she can tell that’s not the case. “Honestly? The ghost problem is that portals fault”, gesturing with his hands, “your parents made a permanent, frequently opening, pass into the living world. Of course ghosts were going to take advantage of that, they know exactly where and when they’ll come out and they have a guaranteed ticket home. Which fine, I do speed along, since I just send every ghost I catch back, but that’s not the cause for them being here in the first place”. He eyes her for a beat before sighing and giving her an amused smirk, “you don’t believe in ghosts, do you? You think this is all a big conspiracy, or mass hallucinations, or projections, or just a bunch cock and bull people are making up for some reason. Am I right?”.
The way he says that tells her that she was right that he wasn’t ready to have to face that reality yet. Sighing at him and trying to be gentle about shaking her head, “no. No I do not. The idea of souls alone is unproven and highly unlikely. The idea of those souls creating their own forms out of energy and existing in a connected realm seems too far fetched. This isn’t a belief in the afterlife as a form of coping with death, which would be perfectly healthy and often religiously significant”.
“So if you don’t believe in ghosts, why are you even talking to me?”. He obviously thinks she believes that he’s one of these ‘ghosts’.
She shakes her head at him, “you’re not fantastical like all the images and reported sightings of ghosts are. You’re physical, you always read as more solid and human. A teen who’s dressed up and seen a chance to be the hero they’ve always wanted to be perhaps. Your behaviours vary according to situation, you have clear fight or flight. Your behaviour shows far more than simple: show up, cause chaos, and leave”. She’s not going to tell him that she hasn’t quite decided if he’s simply experiencing the same hallucinations or projections as everyone else, or is actually suffering delusional issues.
For whatever reason that makes him more nervous. He makes an aborted attempt to rub his neck before seemingly releasing that wasn’t very ‘professional hero’ of him, clearing his throat, “you pay way too much attention, geez”, shaking his head and frowning at her in a way that feels like pity, “spend any amount of time around any ghost and you’ll find the same stuff. Skulker makes awesome lemon creme pies and has a girlfriend. Technus keeps changing up his style to seem ‘cool’. Half the time Johnny and Kitty show up it’s because they’re having a lovers spat again. They’re people. Your parents aren’t crazy ‘cause they believe in ghosts, they’re crazy because they think ghosts are emotionless evil monsters.-”. So he’s delusional, not good… but outright dismissing him would do no good. He puts a hand to his chest, “-I’m not dressed up in some costume, or wearing contacts, or using some glow spray. I died in this, and no you don’t get to ask about the how of that”, he stares a bit before continuing, “I don’t breath, Jazz Fenton, does that sound alive to you? I certainly pretend to around humans, because they get freaked out otherwise. If you hook me up to an ekg you’ll get a whole lotta nothin’. If you were as cold as I am you would be severely hypothermic and dying”, and for the first time a so called ‘ghost’ touches her.
He’s solid yet feels like static, and he’s right, his skin feels ice cold. How? He’s solid, clearly a person. A bit unintentionally she watches his chest, it doesn’t move. No rise and fall. Nothing. Her furrowing her brows at him, still holding his arm, “this doesn’t make sense”.
The teen shrugs at her, “since when does everything ever make sense? I’m dead, that’s really all there is to it. Ghosts are cool with being dead so it doesn’t bother us, but at least I’m aware that the living aren’t super cool with death. You believe I’m real and all the others aren’t because I act more like what you know, aka, living humans”.
She frowns, could that really be the case? Her parents be both right and wrong? and her be wrong entirely? But that never happened, she was always in the right when she set her mind on something. When she was wrong it was over simple things she had no real opinion on. Matters of taste or what the weather would be like, perhaps what in all was going to be on a test. When it came to matters of the mind, behaviours, human nature, states of being; she was always right. Always. There was no real proof for souls, and thusly ghosts, none. Even studies claiming to be able to determine the weight of a soul were ludicrously biased and far too open for interpretation.
And yet…
Here was someone who was clearly not a hallucination nor a projection. He was solid, there was thought behind those green eyes, he could hold a conversation. Yet he did not seem to breathe, and cold radiated off of him like his insides were packed with dry ice.
He was a person, a being, and yet wasn’t behaving as one, a living one. She eyes him as he pulls his arm away, “so you don’t ‘float’ by a string system or magnets perhaps?”.
He attempts to cover up a laugh, she doesn’t even feel insulted because this is just all too strange, her being wrong. He shakes his head, “no, I don’t”, gesturing at the glow over his suit, “my energy, my ectoplasm, simply grabs onto the air particles and pulls me along as I want to”.
Ectoplasm shouldn’t be real. It shouldn’t be possible. “Ectoplasm doesn’t exist”.
“I am quite literally made of it so yeah it definitely does”, him then humming and tilting his head, then he… spits into his hand. Ew. Boys. EuGH. She absolutely recoils when he ‘offers’ said hand to her, but… all that’s in his hand is a glowing green goo-like substance. He… sticks his finger in it and pushes it around before pulling his finger up, the green substance sticking to his finger and stretching in strands of goo. It looks to be getting slowly absorbed into him until it’s all gone.
That should be impossible, shouldn’t it? She just witnessed an impossibility. But if she’s witnessing it then it isn’t impossible, improbable perhaps but not impossible. And it was impossible for any living mammal to survive without oxygen, meaning that no matter how improbable, what he’s saying must be true. What came out of his mouth he absorbed through his finger… as if it was a part of any area of his body rather than specialised by area as it would be for a living mammal. She stares at his hands, which are now simply resting on the table while he waits for her to think. “So, you’re a ghost and ghosts are real?”.
“Yup”.
“And the afterlife is real”.
“Bit more complicated than that but yup”, he snorts, “Zone I barely understand a quarter of it”.
Was that unusual? She doesn’t know. She feels like everything’s out of balance now. Like she doesn’t really know anything anymore. Like she’s fallen into the god complex trap. Where she’s convinced herself she’s infallible and perfect. Perfectly logical. Perfectly rational. Perfectly understanding. Perfectly right. “And the towns plagued by the dead”.
“Eh, it’s more like a hot spot, a vacation with fist-a-cuffs being the main dish on the menu”.
“And… it’s my crazy parent’s fault”.
“I accidentally made the connection actually work, so only partly”.
“You… did?”.
“Yup”.
Was… that part of why he was doing this? A sense of responsibility perhaps? “So you feel responsible? Like if you don’t, someone getting hurt will be, in a way, your own fault?”.
He shrugs, “I have the ability to help, so I help, and Amity is mine”.
This still didn’t make sense though, why… this ‘ghost’? Why was he acting as a protector and claiming this town to be his? “Why you?”.
The smile he gives her is a bit rueful, “I was here first. This town was my home long before these other ghosts made some kind of game out of stirring shit in it”.
“So you haunt this town? Why?”.
“Because it’s mine, there really ain’t anything more to it”.
That still seems illogical to her, “wouldn’t it be easier to go ‘haunt’ somewhere else?”.
“Easier, but wrong”, he shrugs, “no ghost in their right mind would abandon what’s theirs just because some other ghost is being an asshole”.
So then were these ‘ghosts’ territorial to a fault by nature? Intentionally putting themselves in harms way for ‘their possessions’? That seems so foolish, to risk throwing away one’s life over objects and places… but then again, this boy… wasn’t alive, was he? She, logically, can’t ascribe living values on someone non-living. A strange thought in and of itself. “So you have no issue being involved in fights and risking injury, while also taking great issue with loss or harm to what you claim as yours?”.
He chuckles, genuinely, “oh I also just enjoy a good fight, you know? Stretching my ectoplasmic hide and whatnot. Like you guys and stretching those muscle things”, pursing his lips, “but if I get my arm lopt off I can just slap that shit right back on or reform a new one. Yeah I get hurt, yeah it’s painful, but it ain’t that serious. I mean I’m probably totally gonna pick a fight I can’t win someday and that’ll be that. The way the cookie crumbles and all that”.
“So you don’t care that you might die- stop existing?”.
“I care about my own end, simply less than you care about yours. I’d rather risk being ended than not protect”. The way he says that had such a firm definiteness to it that it sounded like an unmovable unalterable fact. No different from the colour of the sky or the name of their planet. Unchangeable and absolute.
So for him, this was need. It was a drilled in fact of who and apparently what he was. Something every person in Amity could bend steel around. That was sort of… a comfort actually. With this new reality that ghosts are real, that her parents are right, that this town is truly plagued by death, that it even needed a ‘protector’ at all. It made sense to feel comforted, after all weaker prey animals always felt safer with a larger more dangerous animal protecting them. The sheep relied on the dogs, and the dogs fought the wolves even if it died doing so. “Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of the portal?”.
He’s response is immediate and almost aggressive, “no”; his eyes even have a brightness to them they normally did not. His eyes could change brightness… that was bizarre to witness. Perhaps, in his apparent accidental aid in its connection, that he hasn’t expanded upon, he became aggressively fond of the device. He shakes his head and the light dims, “anymore questions about my whole existence thing? Or attempts to ‘analyze’ me?”.
She shakes her head slowly, she needed to digest all of this, think on it all. “No. I suppose, if you truly are not human, there’s no rationalising you to me, and no rationalise myself to you”.
“You say that as if I don’t remember being human. You’ve never been a ghost, I’ve been human”.
Jazz smiles a little at that, “so something else my parents are wrong about”; it was comforting to know they were still wrong about a lot of things, just not everything.
He waves her off, “eh, I’m kinda a weirdo. Don’t think too much about it or you’ll hurt yourself, you over analyzer”. He sounds honest and she didn’t realize then how glad she’d be for that.
Chap. 2:
Reticency
These days Jazz had a lot of opinions about ghosts, some were complicated some were simple. Ghosts were real was simple. Ghosts were her towns pride and joy even if they also hated them was simple. Ghosts were mostly annoying was simple. Ghosts were possible to call friends was complicated. Ghosts were complex intelligent sentient beings was complicated. Ghost hunting was a real profession was complicated.
The Box Ghost being weak and not the least bit frightening was simple.
Danny Phantom being her brother was complicated.
Her parents being so wrong on ghosts that they’re best ignored was simple.
Her finding out about her brother’s ‘alive’ status without him knowing and thus her having to ignore that she knows was complicated.
If she had it her way, Danny would have told her on his own, himself. She wouldn’t have just stumbled on it, on him. She wouldn’t have had to realise in a random back alley that her brother was dead. Had died. She never noticed. Their parents never noticed. Yet somehow he was happy like this, stronger as a person like this. She knew that for a fact, she knew that more strongly than she’d ever believed ghosts weren’t real.
Sometimes she’d worry that he was suffering, that he needed help and a diagnosis, then she’d always remember how stupidly honest and genuine he’d been about enjoying fighting and being alright dead. But still, it was impossible for her to like her brother being dead, which was a dilemma all of its own. Especially when his friends seemed to feel no different about him, seemed to see him no different; as his big sister she had to give him the same. She knows she’s right that it would hurt him if she wasn’t completely okay and supportive of him being as he is, and she’s sure she’ll get there she just didn’t have enough of the facts, enough of the knowledge, to feel comfortable and assured just yet. It was a work in progress.
So she didn’t tell him she knew. She gave lies and ignorance to his face just like he did to hers. Because she wanted to be as okay with it as he was. Because she wanted him to tell her himself, to confide in his big sister. Even if he was confiding about being dead. Because she wanted to understand ghosts before hand. At least now she knew what he had meant by weird, being able to still look human. And at least she knew why he didn’t want the portal destroyed so badly, it didn’t take a genius to realise his accident with it had been what resulted in his demise. In a lot of ways that made her hate the machine, but he cleaned that thing almost obsessively; it was the one part of the lab he was genuinely thorough with. It was as if it was sacred to him, near and dear. And really? It was. It was his grave after all, as disturbing to her as that was. Perhaps it was something of a coping mechanism to him, part of grieving that he could only complete in part because he hadn’t ever moved on. It was one of his possessions, like everything in his room, she used to worry about how oddly possessive her brother had become over his things.
Now she knew.
One thing she doesn’t know is what happened to his body, his living body that died, and she honestly doesn’t want to. That’s one unknown she’s fine leaving as an unknown.
But she’s very glad he was honest with her, when she sat him down as Phantom. Honest about how he felt about everything. Honest about being dead. Honest about remembering himself. Honest about trying and wanting to come off less inhuman. She’s proud of him for that honesty alone, even if she’s also proud of him for many many other reasons. From how he chose to be a wannabe vigilante that was more a genuine hero these days, to how he interacted with fellow ghosts.
He really was trying for coexistence, regardless of their parent’s bigotry.
And now a lot of the town agreed with him even, he was doing it, was achieving something full grown adults seldom could. He was being a protector both in the physical sense and in the societal sense. Honestly? He somewhat was like Batman. So yeah, she was incredibly proud of him. That pride didn’t stop their interactions from being a bit awkward for her though. Especially when he was Phantom.
Why?
Because she had to pretend she was just ‘another random citizen who also just so happened to be the towns primary ghost hunters and ghost experts daughter’ instead of being his big sister. Had to pretend she didn’t know exactly who he was and all that he was juggling. That Amity’s hero was also a struggling teen. Had to pretend like she was doing right now.
Zone, did she ever hate getting caught up in a ghost attack, even if actually physically seeing the reminder that her brother was having fun and could actually hold his own was a needed reassurance for her.
It was that science technology ghost that somehow managed to be incredibly outdated. TechMaster? CompWiz? She could never quite get all of their names right, especially since they were so different from human ones; something else she’d like to understand, even Danny had gone with an altered non-human name. The ghost has taken over the mall again, and right when she’d been in the bookstore looking for new published ghost-related studies to read and maybe figure things out better with. She was lacking clarity on how, exactly, ghosts fuelled themselves; she knew they needed ectoplasm, or energy in general, but that didn’t explain Danny being in Amity constantly. He’d always been fine going without food for extended periods of time and she doesn’t want him carrying on that trend with ectoplasm.
“TREMBLE BEFORE MY TECHNOLOGICAL WRATH! AND! MY RAZER BACKLIT MOUSEPADS!”
Like she’s said, ghosts being annoying was a simple fact. She’s fairly certain he doesn’t know what ‘backlit’ actually meant, not that she’s ever heard of a backlit mousepad herself though she imagines Tucker had one.
“Oh come on Technus!”.
Ah right that’s his name. Her poking her head out from around a coffee table for the little local coffee shop inside the bookstore, wincing to herself when Danny gets stabbed by a hard plastic square thing with a cord attached to it. He rips it out and whips it back like a frisbee as if the injury means nothing to him. Which she guesses is the case, he got hurt a lot which was hard to see on tv, but he was also more durable with improved healing; that didn’t make it much better, she knows he can feel the pain of it. And she’s painfully reminded of the statement he’d said like fact about one day picking a fight beyond his capabilities.
Danny kicking the other ghost into a wall, ecto-blasting him right off the bat after; he even blows off his finger with a goofy smirk making her roll her eyes and laugh a little to herself. He’d always been such a silly kid, it’s nice that death didn’t kill that.
Then ‘Techous’? phases through the wall and sends her table flying, leaving her stuck crouched on the ground behind a ghost hoping he doesn’t notice her. This one was oblivious enough to actually not notice, thankfully. Her brother notices her crouching stock still immediately though, of course he does, she’d have to bite her tongue to avoid chastising him about situation awareness otherwise.
His eyes don’t linger on her, his eyes don’t even widden, the only sign he saw her was how he wasn’t shooting at the ghost and instead crossing his arms judgmentally, “dude, did you really have to wreck a local coffee shops wall? This place actually lets me buy the good stuff and now it’s gonna take forever for them to reopen. You suck”. His caffeine addiction worries her sometimes, but from what she’s read and learned on her own terms he should be fine, being an energy based being had its perks after all.
“I! CARE NOT FOR YOUR ‘COFFEE’!”. The ghost actually uses air quotes. “I CARE ONLY FOR MY TRUE DOMINATION!”.
Danny smirks, “you know there’s some pretty advanced tech in those espresso machines”. At least she knows if he isn’t sure he could win with pure might, he’ll use his mouth and try to quip his way into victory.
The ghost looks completely delighted, “THERE IS!?!”, and turns away to look at said espresso machines, Danny smacking him over the head with his thermos immediately and ‘sucking’ him in it. How that thermos worked still confused her a little, it was far too small to fit all that it could and did inside it, rationally.
Danny looks down at her, still floating a few feet up in the air while she’s still crouching, protective desire practically bleeding out of him, “you good, random citizen?”. She also doesn’t understand why he still bothered with that ‘random citizen’ phrase.
She stands up and puts her hands on her hips, “it’s Jazz, you know this. No one actually believes you don’t know their names by now and a concerningly high amount of deeply personal information about them. Do you keep using that phrase as an attempt to lie to yourself about knowing the townsfolk overly well? And that was very manipulative of you with Electrus”. She’s positive she got the ghosts name wrong again.
He blinks disbelievingly at her, “his name’s Technus, he screams his name every time he shows up?”, shaking his head, “and so what if I do? Let me have my lies”.
“Said lies are hardly healthy, mister. If you’re going to continue with being this towns hero, you should aim for quality mental health”.
“I am a model of mental health!”.
Oh he did not just quote a Batman meme at her?!? Zone he was such an utter goof. “You most certainly are not”, shaking her head, Danny and his quips that riled pretty much anyone and everyone up. Yes it could be effective in a fight, and for distracting people from traumatic and dangerous situations, but she’s had a lower tolerance for that pretty much all her little brother’s life. “Now that you’re done ‘socialising’, is there anything I need to-”, sighing, “-‘report’ to my parents?”.
He shakes his head without hesitation, as if going from quips to business so immediately wasn’t remotely jarring; which to him she imagines it mustn’t be, his mind functioned in a more combat and chaos setting after all. “No, Technus didn’t cause too much of a mess beyond this and having them looking everything over would just get in the way”, smirking, “they definitely wont find any new samples from little ol’ me”.
At least he’d gotten better at that. At not leaving behind his ectoplasm beyond the burnt off air born particles he left everywhere he went, just like any other ghost. She’s not sure if he’s realised that she’s been destroying any samples of liquid ectoplasm of his their parents find… if he did, he never let on. He absolutely did know that she knew that he didn’t want them having samples of him, she’d caught him in the lab twice now wrecking either samples or inventions. He also ‘stole’ their inventions for his own use a lot, she truly doesn’t get how their parents haven’t realised that. All they ever really caught on to was him stealing a Fenton thermos and somehow getting it to work, they were always trying to see if they could get it back from him too, looking if he dropped it because ghosts ‘were too singled-minded to keep attention on both a fight and holding a thermos’. At this point her parents being wrong was becoming less ‘ha! I knew they were wrong’ and more genuinely frustrating in a ‘can’t you see the harm you’re doing’ way.
The biggest help she could be to her little brother had always been dealing with their parents. Before he died and after. They never cared enough for either of them and Danny had always been too much of a trouble magnet, to have survived that house a child without her. Now the house tried to shoot him if he let too much of his energy seep out of his skin; which was thankfully something he was good at avoiding most of the time. Nodding with a reassuring smile at him, “good. Now, you’re getting enough ectoplasm right?”.
He groans, with his entire body, “why did you have to go from denial to mothering, ugh”, nodding his head, “yes, mom. I can handle being outside of the Zone a lot”. He doesn’t know she knows he’s effectively never in ‘the Ghost Zone’, which is entirely why she’s worries. She understands that it’s part of him being ‘weird’, even if her understanding of just how ‘weird’ he was was far too limited for her liking, but regardless worrying is what she does. And remembering the first time he ever called her ‘mom’ as a kid and meant it was always a little depressing.
Her quirking an eyebrow at him, “caffeine probably is not the healthiest replacement, you know”.
“Energy’s energy”.
She sighs at that, she didn’t know exactly how true that was. If he was that different from most ghosts. Then he does something that really throws her off, unclipping his thermos and offering it to her? “Will you give it a rest if I let you empty this for me?”. He says that lightheartedly, like it’s a joke, but she knows instantly this is some kind of test in his mind.
He wants to know what she’ll do, what she’ll do with something so useful and important to him; a genuine possession. She knows he has a test to study for, so it will save him time in the long run. But will she come off as ‘like her parents’ if she agrees? How would she go about returning the thermos to him? She obviously can’t simply leave it in his bedroom, that would be announcing that she knew so loudly that she might as well just tell him now instead. Sure doing that would give him the knowledge that she knew about him, without effectively forcing him to talk to her about it, to confront her about it. She stands by that she’d rather him tell her on his own volition entirely, however. That he’d eventually no longer feel the need to protect her from him, or himself from her. “And you’ll get it back from me how? Breaking into my room isn’t very heroic of you, not to mention would hardly save you time”.
He shrugs like it’s nothing, it’s distinctly not nothing though, “I’m literally around Amity multiple times a day, I can catch up to you before school easy enough”.
“This still seems less like a matter of convince, Phantom”.
“It’s a matter of not dealing with the Fenton house hold”.
That’s a lie and she knows it, she simply can’t tell him that. A ghost wanting to avoid a ghost hunters house was logical after all, if it wasn’t for the fact that he slept in it. Shaking her head and holding out her hand for the thermos, the idea of getting caught by her parents with this was a bit nerve-wracking but if it would get him to trust her more then it’s worth it. Plus… perhaps getting to talk to this ghost instead of simply releasing it immediately would be a good idea. “Fine, but if you make me late to class I won’t be impressed”.
And then suddenly she’s got Phantom’s thermos in her hand, something so many wanted to get their hands on for one reason or another. It was a little startling, a little heavy in both the physical and emotional sense, she grips it like it’s as important as it actually was. She can feel the cold of him radiating off of it, the cold that gave away so explicitly what, exactly, he was and wasn’t. Danny eyeing her, caution in his eyes, did she do the right thing? Would he wonder over what she’ll do with it so much that he won’t actually be able to study? Will he send his friends to ‘keep an eye on her’? So many possibilities and uncertainties, she hated uncertainty but she’d tolerate them for her brother. She tolerantes a lot of them for him, even if it was frustrating knowing so little about how he worked now in every sense of the word. He nods strongly, even if it doesn’t reflect in his eyes, “I will”.
“Good”. She stands there watching him float away a little before flying off properly. He does that silly one fist forward flight style, the one he does when he knows people are watching and he’s not completely focused in on whatever he’s doing; another part of the ‘hero’ act he’d adopted to be more appealing and comforting to the town and to himself.
She stands there for a while before lifting up the thermos and staring at it. It was so unassuming, like always, yet it contained not only an entire sentient being but also, metaphorically, her brothers trust in humans. His trust to use something made by humans, his trust to believe humans will accept him protecting them, his trust that if he ever was caught his very human parents would still love him, his trust in her trustability. Shaking her head at the device, she had no true way to know if her brother was keeping an eye on her but… this presented too good an opportunity to ignore. While he was still learning to trust and confide in her, she couldn’t wait on him to learn about him, to protect and look after him. That was her job as his big sister, and like always she couldn’t rely on her parents help with that.
Instead she’d turn to a ghost, it would seem, not Danny himself because she knows he’ll underplay his needs and well being. He may not even understand himself and his own needs fully. Fishing in her pocket to keep the only two devices she actually carried on her out, a scanner to know whether or not Danny was around and a ‘souped up’ lipstick blaster. Passable as normal items that were perfectly reasonable for a teen girl in Amity to have, one was effective to ‘avoid’ ghosts (or to find a little brother who liked to sleep in trees) and the other one was strong enough to do some serious damage. Putting the scanner on a table and holding the blaster up at the thermos, trying to copy Danny and be intimidating without feeling silly, “I’m going to open this and you will stay put, or I’m going to blast you with this till you’re full of holes”.
She gets no response. She doesn’t truly know if the ghost inside can actually hear her. She can only hope. So with a glance at the scanner, Danny’s not here, she lets the ghost out.
“I! AM FREE! MWAHAHAHA!”. She shoots him one in his ghostly tail immediately. “HEY!”.
The ghost actually wilting when she points at him aggressively, “stay put you, I will reiterate, I will fill you full of holes if you don’t play nice”, putting her hand on her hip, “now sit. We’re having a chat about Phantom”. It always felt a bit strange to call her brother that, but it’s the name he’s chosen.
The tech ghost stares at her for a beat, searching for something in her expression it seems. It was almost as if the ghost was being leery of anyone wanting to know about Danny… like he was being protective. He either sees what he wanted to or what he never expected, the ghost going a little wide-eyed, or wide-sunglasses she supposes, “you know”.
So he wasn’t dressed like a scientist for nothing, good, he was out of touch but he was intelligent. She points threatening at him, “and don’t you be telling him that, or else”.
“Or else what? As if a puny human could threaten someone as great as I! Technus! Master of all the electronic devices in the world!”.
… He was also incredibly idiotic. Sometimes she wonders how her brother tolerates the personalities on most of these ghosts. Always having to remind herself that Danny was hard to tolerate sometimes too, he was ‘like them’ as it were. She puts her hands on her hips, “who would you rather be caught by? Danny, or our parents”. The ghost cringes noticeably so she nods firmly and continues, “now, sit. You’re going to tell me what you can about ghosts”. This ghost was an adult, and his tech interests were outdated enough to tell her he’s been dead for some time. Surely, as a scientist, he’d have an interest in learning about his own being?
The ghost seems completely flabbergasted by that question, he does float down to hover over a previously knocked over chair at least, “why?”. He’s not shouting, he’s not posturing and puffing out his chest, he’s taking her seriously.
“Because my parents are biased and I want to know how to look after my little brother like I have since the day he was born”. She hopes that response comes across as firmly as she wants it to.
The ghost, actually seems pleased about that. Taking her word almost immediately and gesturing wildly, “for starters! He’s a very weird ghost. Endangered even! So he’s actually way safer here than the rest of us! Annoying but it makes it so much more fun to fight him! Who would want to fight someone low on energy? Boring! I definitely don’t think his core’s developed at all yet though. Can’t wait to see how tough he’ll be then! Maybe he’ll have an electricity core even! Oh I would love that! It would be supreme to test that against mine! Ha! He probably hurt himself when that comes in though so watch out for that…”; he manages to monologue about ghosts for a very long time, it was almost as if he genuinely wanted someone caring for her brother, something about him being ‘a baby’. As well as wanting him to be strong and capable, genuinely looking forward to him growing as a ghost.
Ghosts must care about younger ones. Her parents couldn’t be more wrong and she, now, couldn’t be happier for that.
End.
Prompts: What if Jazz had a conversation with Phantom before learning he was Danny? What does their next conversation look like when Jazz knows but Danny doesn’t know she knows? If Jazz wanted to help her little brother, she had to learn more about ghosts. But she couldn't ask her parents, for obvious reasons, nor would she go to Danny with her ghost problems until he came to her about his. After searching everywhere online and in the library for any scrap of information, Jazz determined the only way to figure this out was to ask a ghost herself.
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burr-ell · 3 days
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🤍, 🖤?
🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?
So this is gonna seem contradictory to my reblog of blorb's post; this is not intended to be read as a counter to it, but as a complement: Percy.
If I'm being honest, one of the things that kinda bothers me about C1 group fanart is when I see everyone else in the party at their fully developed state, like with their Vestiges and powerups and everything, and then Percy's out here...with Orthax. Whom he expelled from himself with a natural 20 wisdom save, for the record, in episode 35. He spent more time without Orthax than with him!
It is objectively true that Percy invented the gun knowing what harm it could do but did it anyway. He once permanently maimed an innocent boy because he wasn't giving the answers he wanted. He gave Grog a cursed sword and didn't tell anyone because he didn't want it to be his responsibility and he thought Grog could handle it. It is also objectively true that he expressed doubts about what he was doing even during the Briarwood arc and admitted he was scared of who he was becoming and outright asked the group to stop him if they thought they should. He publicly apologized to Desmond and admitted his wrong and assured him recompense in both money and job security. He participated in a resurrection ritual for a child he didn't know who got caught in the crossfire of a battle. He fought to provide the people of Westruun a safe haven in their city, while still encouraging people to leave if they wished, because he wanted to honor the fact that what they had built there was important to them.
I think Percy is one of those characters that people view as either a silly little Human Disaster™ or as Vox Machina's Token Evil Teammate (the audience who projected onto him as the Facts and Logic guy seems to have dissipated after it became clear that he was. very much not doing that), and neither of those things are true. When Laura remarked that she looked at Percy and said "I can fix him", it was very clearly a joke, but I think people take that seriously and think Vex is the only reason he's not Lawful Evil or something. (Taliesin once said that without Vex's influence Percy could potentially have turned out Lawful Good—Laura's reaction was "eugh".) Percy didn't believe he could EVER be worthy of Vex and never once intended to act on his feelings; the change in him between episodes 35 and 68 was because he personally chose to be better, over and over again—even through several instances of him having Fucked Up Big Time—for its own sake. His forgiveness of Ripley is what inspired Vex, and I don't think people acknowledge that enough.
🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?
I kind of alluded to this in the ship question but to be clear at the outset, I think Vax is a good person*, but I also think his flaws tend to be overlooked. He gets Soft Boy'd a lot, and while I don't think characters who operate on emotion are bad or stupid by default (my favorite superhero is Starfire), I think fandom tends to assume people who operate on emotion are good by default. Vax does a lot of reckless things that he's repeatedly called out for by everyone in the group, and he generally lets it roll off him because his metric for success is "but did you die". He saw a kid that he thought needed some tough love, and his first response was "bludgeon him over the back of the head and instantly knock him unconscious". He ran into a trap that nearly got Cassandra killed and never once apologized to her. He ran after Raishan and attacked, an action that actually did get Vex and Scanlan killed, and not only did he never apologize to them, he openly said in front of them that he didn't regret doing it (after being rightfully angry with Percy for getting Vex killed and having seen some proof that Scanlan might not be doing great!).
Like, to be clear, again, none of those things make him a bad person; I think overall he's a good person, and I think they're good character choices!* What I'm saying is that he has some genuine rough edges to him, and I think a lot of that gets ignored or sanded down in fanon to make him "the nice twin" or a perfect YA Hero love interest for a Keyleth who is being projected onto, and that simply isn't the character Liam played.
*I wouldn't normally put in that kind of good-person caveat—I don't think the end-all be-all is whether or not a fictional character is a good person—but a) this is a question about morality and b) some folks are weird about Liam.
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mercutio-the-velaryon · 6 months
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Hello stranger, I saw you asking about gen v supe names so I come bearing offerings:
For Marie, the best I've heard so far is Heartstring (which I think would work especially well if we're imagining vought's influence, and trying to push Marie as the new Starlight) I also like Heartstopper and Queen of Hearts, but I think those lean more towards villain names
For Emma, she could keep Cricket, but I like the idea of her picking something to do with her giant form, so: Giantess, or Colossa, or Titania
For Jordan, (now realistically vought would chew them up and give them the most cliche, cringy name possible, but ignoring that) my personal favorite is Pulse or Pulsar.
For Cate, I've seen Push as a good option, but I also like Siren, Whisper, or Piper (as in like the pied piper)
For Andre, I hate to say it but I think he'd just take up Polaris. Though I also think Magneta, (I know it sounds like magneto but TB universe doesn't know that) or Steel would work, I could also see Vulcan (the Roman god of metal) being cool but that might be too niche. (Metallo would be my first choice but it's been used sadly)
For Sam, tbh Sam's powers are pretty stock, so he could probably pick anything he wants. I could see him taking up something that follows the same format as his brother, so: _____ boy (ironically the first choice that I think would come to Sam's mind is superboy, but that is of course off limits, though personally, I'd find it hilarious) maybe Ultra Boy or Power Boy, or the Strong Man (who am I kidding these are all terrible, I've got nothing for Sam... Super Sam?)
Really though when you look at naming conventions (both in the boys and in superhero tradition overall) a lot of heroes' names don't have a ton to do with their powers and are either: highly generic (Superman, Mr. Fantastic, Captain Marvel, Wondee Woman etc) or have to do with a gimic that isn't necessarily related to their powers, so there's actually quite a bit of wiggle room, to just pick whatever sounds good.
Omggg these are great, I wanted to write an au set in the near future, where the cast had their superhero names so thank you for this if you would kindly allow me to steal these names for that purpose 👀👀
Heartstring is so good, it fits Marie so perfectly I gasped because yes exactly. I was thinking Emma should have a name change to kind of symbolise her regaining her autonomy from her mother with how she was forced to portray herself, I'm feeling Titania tbh. I really really like Pulse for Jordan simple effective love love love. Siren for Cate is insane cause not only does it encompass the nature of her powers but it also speaks to how she's used them, how she's lulled her friends into a false sense of security then caused them harm (wiped their memories) like yesssssssss. Ugh this is such a good listttt. Andre I think would change his name from the one he'd inherit from his dad, I was workshopping something like Silver Bandit, Heavy Metal or Ironclad (already in marvel lmao fml) or Steel Knight to pay homage to his rebel without a cause energy. I wanted just Steele but that's already a version of superman I think, John Irons I believe holds that mantle. I think even just Ultra would work as a name for Sam. Or maybe just The Boy like how Kimiko's The Female idk.
Thank you this is so helpful!!!!!
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hirofall · 10 months
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Little Peter Parker hc’s!!
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General:
•He either regresses to 0-3 or 4-6
•His caregivers are Tony,Ned and aunt May
•But he also has other people that take care of him a lot when he’s small,like Mj,Happy,Steve & Wanda
•Pretty much all of the avengers will not hesitate to take care of him tho
•His favorite stuffie is a monkey and he carries it with him absolutely everywhere
•The only people that know about him being a regressor are in his closer inner circle.It’s something he likes to keep private
•Before he told anyone about him being little,he used to absolutely neglect his sleep for it.At night he’d already be outside spidey-ing,and instead of napping in the afternoon he’d use it as his little time and watch cartoons and play
•But he told people and they helped him get a healthy schedule for it
When he’s 0-3:
•Absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs.
•The Land Before Time is his absolute favorite movie
•He’s fussy with food a lot.He drinks up bottles and eats food he’s familiar with without making much of a mess and behaving really good,but the second someone tries to feed him something he doesn’t know,he will be a mess.He closes his mouth shut,cries,and if he keeps being pressured he’ll throw a whole tantrum.It could even be food he already knows just in a different shape,nope,nuh-uh,he’s not eating that (in the end he’ll think it’s yummy and eat even more off his cg’s plate)
•Sometimes sleeping is very difficult for him.He needs lots of reassurance,kisses,cuddles,a warm bottle,a nightlight,a bedtime story or lullaby and his stuffie
•He also gets lots of bad dreams,so often less than half the night is spent in his own bed and the most of it in his cg’s
•He’s a curious baby,whenever something happens he’s gotta be there and see
•Sometimes walking can be a little hard for him,but he crawls absolutely everywhere (luckily he doesn’t know how to use his spidey powers when he’s that young…)
•He loves the ocean sooo much,so aquarium trips are a must!!
•Playground trips are always great too,that boy could play in the sand for hours in pouring rain and he’d still be all smiles
•Wherever he goes,his stuffie Monkey has to come with.It’s not a want,it’s a need.If it doesn’t come,he doesn’t either
•Loves Bluey!!His favorite episodes are “Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound” and “Sleepytime” (Seriously tho,Sleepytime is the best episode)
When he’s 4-6:
•He’s a very creative kid,give him some legos and he’ll build an entire castle
•He likes to color!!Especially with crayons
•Still obsessed with dinosaurs.Although with this age range,he prefers to watch the jurassic park/world movies over the land before time
•Loves loves loves superheroes so much!He has an iron man Halloween costume that he wears like every day
•He’s a good kid,he doesn’t break rules…but he does like to push them a bit (a lot)
•Will randomly drop fun facts all the time,like “Did you know that Australia is wider than the moon?”
• And how could I forget,he is OBSESSED with Star Wars (Me too,Petey,me too)
•Has multiple lightsabers (thanks to Tony,these things are so expensive),his room is full of Star Wars posters,he has a massive R2-D2 pillow,and on Halloween he likes to dress up as Chewbacca
•Will also reference Star Wars at any chance he gets.Does anyone (but Ned) get it?No.Will he still continue?Absolutely
•Also,MOVIE NIGHTS.Like,every movie night it’s a decision between dinosaur movies and Star Wars,and believe me when I say that is a very hard decision.Sometimes he’ll just sit in front of two dvds for half an hour just to decide which one to watch
•Discovered that he can stick to things.Luckily he doesn’t know about the webs,but every now and then his cg will just hear giggling above them and when they look up he’ll just be chilling on the ceiling
I have so many more oh my god
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