#signal got new sidekick and he starts to accept it

[wandixx]

Ghost of fries and Hero of cookies part 3

All work words count: 14 643

Words in this part: 3 056

Summary of whole work: Duke wasn't expecting to wake up from his quick rooftop nap to some meta kid with fries. He also wasn't expecting kid to stay

Or

Danny asked Dani to stay safe while she was in Gotham. Where would she be safer than under the wing of local hero? And he looked like he needed bad day combo anyway

This part summary: Joker goons are in for an orange surprise and Duke does not like it in the slightest

Beta read by @audhumla-sailor though English is second language for both of us, so proceed with this in mind. I also know all of the charaters through fics alone, so probably ooc. Stay catious if it's something you don't like

First part, Previous part

trigger warnings: gun violence, panic attacks, dissociation, mentions of Joker gas and what it doeas to people (tell me if i missed something, I'll add it)

Duke was having quite a good day. His schoolwork finally got lighter and up until now nothing notable happen on his patrol. Obviously, couldn’t have Gotham without at least one mugging and bank and corner shop robbery. About the last thing, if it was chain store he would conveniently arrive too late to stop it and just follow up to make sure cashier didn’t get fired. He used to be intimately close with hardships of getting necessary supplies like food or gas masks while corporate assholes were trying to suck people dry. But it was family business so he actually had to step in. He did mention secure way of getting resources to would be robbers though. All in all, not so bad, pretty good day. As for now, he was swinging on grapple to meet with Dani, armed with healthy snack Alfred demanded he took for her when he got texted on his Signal-work-phoneTM. It meant important business 90% of the time, so he stopped to check it out. Other 10% were memes from Dani that usually were worth it anyway.

Got it in one, Hoopoe texted. He opened chat expecting funny video or something instead to be greeted by:

Dani: Hey Signal

Dani: Peple aint spossedf t get out f Arkham

Dani: Amirite?

His stomach dropped. He wished it was hypothetical question but he knew better than to believe such fantasies. Things didn’t go so well in Gotham, especially not with Hoopoe.

You: Yeah, your right. What’s up?

You: You’re*

Dani: Nerd

Dani: Whatre you’re thots on clowns

Dani: ?

His stomach officially landed at his feet and decided it wasn’t enough dropping and ended up on a street below. Even if Joker was still locked up, his goons being active were bad news.

You: Where are you?

You: Hoopoe, where are you?

Dani: Clm dow I ned to chek

Dani: I have ni ieda

Dani: The box building rod

Dani: roof*

Dani: Warehouse?

Dani: That the wors

Dani: I think

You: There are over 1000 warehouses in Gotham

Dani: Idk wht yu want me totll yu

Dani: Therere other warehous arond?

You: Okay

You: Check corners for symbol and number

Back in the day everyone other than Bruce decided to take part in a challenge to count all of the warehouses in Gotham manually. They each got their sector and graffiti spray to mark counted buildings. Later it kinda turned into a way of identifying them. 

Dani: Red blb with too wite dots

Dani: #83

Okay, he wasn’t too far. He risked roof hopping and checking texts to make sure she didn’t try anything stu-

Dani: Im goin in

You: No!

You: Stay where you are!

You: Hoopoe!

You: Hoopoe!

Dani: Calm down worrywart

Dani: Jus wante ti get ab look

Dani: Invisible

Dani: M not dump

I doubt it

You entered building with Joker’s goons with no back-up or plan. It’s extremely dangerous

Dani: Yeah, yeah don care

Dani: 5 goons in clown masks

Dani: Maks idk wat of

Dani: Not northern hemisphere of sky for sure

Dani: Weird containter s

Dani: Ari smells funny

Dani: Giggly i guess

Dani: U prbl know better

You: Get out of there

You: NOW!

You: Try not breathing it in

Dani: K

Dani: Ill stop brething then

You: GET OUT!

Dani: K

Dani: Why so agressive

Because Duke knew what Joker gas could do to person. He knew how it took wonderful people (like his parents) and left shells wand shadows of who they used to be. Because every gas release left him with panic attack. Because he knew it was more dangerous than even some vigilantes thought it was.

You: Wait until I get there

Dani: K

He almost tripped with how much he tried to speed up.

Dani was actually vibrating when he arrived but stayed quiet. Good. If she breathed in some Joker gas it wasn’t working dose yet. Duke had deep feeling not even Alfred’s cookies would be enough to deter her from entering. Offering her a granola bar he sat at the edge of the roof with bone deep sigh. Girl took snack eagerly, bouncing around like puppy high on caffeine.

“How about we take a note of this happening and get going? Other Bats are better equipped to deal with this,” They weren’t but he didn’t want Dani anywhere near this mess. He himself didn’t want to be anywhere near it either.

Kid got deadly still, staring at him as if she could read his deepest secrets if she looked hard enough.

“They’re scaring you” she whispered with strong feeling but Duke had trouble reading what feeling was it. He put his face in his hands for a moment. How was he even supposed to answer that?

“Joker is one of the most dangerous people in Gotham and these guys are working for him. They have guns. Of course I’m a little scared”

Judging by the face Dani made, she wanted to call him out on his bullshit but thought better of it. She floated to sit next to him, swallowing granola in few bites.

“My friend Johnny mentioned him,” she started between chewing ”he said ‘bastard murdered my baby bro Jay and Jay knew his way in fight, stay away from him Dani’. Normally Johnny isn’t so careful”

“All more reasons to leave it for others!” Duke almost shouted, hope growing in his chest. Maybe he could steer her away from it!

“He also told me to hit him if I happen to meet him. He would owe me ‘big one’ then. Do you think I could get ‘small one’ for couple of goons?!”

“Hoopoe no!”

Girl looked thoughtful and after over two weeks of working together he learned to fear this expression.

“Whatever you’re thinking, no. I’ll buy you biggest fries, just leave this–” he waved vaguely at the warehouse hoping it would get message across “–whole mess alone” There was lump in his throat.

Dani haven’t abandon whatever thought got her like that and nodded to herself few time. She drifted around a bit, shifted under her way too long cloak and finally settled with a soft smile.

“You’re scared… Terrified. You’re terrified of them,” she started calmly, like she would talk to a victim if she actually knew how to do it ”It’s okay. It’s great. Fear is what keeps humans alive,” she nodded as if she recounted something from textbook properly in front of the class “But I’m not scared and I fought people much stronger than them and I’m even better now thanks to you. If you’re so terrified, it means they need to be dealt with and it needs to be done fast. It’s okay,” her grin from soft turned devilish “I was itching for some fun fight anyway”

“Dani-”

“It’ll be quick, I promise,” she said, serious again “Don’t worry,” she stood up, saluted and fell through the roof, all too fast to react or not miss it with a blink. Frankly, it caught Duke so off guard he couldn’t even move for a few seconds after the whole ordeal anyway. He threw himself down to the nearest window as soon as he regained control over his body. His heart was stuck in his throat.

Dani tackled first goon with delighted giggle right when he crashed inside. He checked if his mask was secure on reflexes he plummeted towards the ground, moving his body to land safely on top of the shelf. Warehouses were weird place to fight. Easy to get vantage point like Duke just did but was also hard in a way. Little space made it hard to use wider streaks, easy get backed into corner. Annoying more than anything.

Dani’s wrestling match was so attention grabbing that nobody even looked at Duke, despite his far from subtle arrival. He threw himself forward when he caught telltale shine of the gun in one of goons hands. It was dumb move when Dani was so close to his ally, but who he was to criticize Joker goon’s live choices. It didn’t take Signal long to understand he wouldn’t make it on time. He had to but there was no-

Two gunshots rang in rapid succession split second before Duke got to the goon and, with swiftness granted only by adrenaline and fury people got when someone their got hurt, knocked man out cold. Before body could hit the ground he spun around to see the damage because Dani still refused to wear any armor and from this close goon would have to be Storm Trooper to miss her. Because she was most likely bleeding heavily. What if they hit something instantly lethal?

He faced a fight right in time to see Dani jumping at another goon also openly wielding a gun. He wanted to yell at her but bullets were fired before he got a chance. He looked for blood dripping from her torso while dodging another man  barely taking his eyes off Dani.

“That wasn’t nice,” she sounded like she pouted! At being shot! “If I was anyone else I would be seriously hurt right now, you know?” her voice was somewhat off. Like it wasn’t quite made by her vocal cords but some awkward voice generator.

Before the appalled man could react, he got technically not too good right hook to the jaw. It was strong enough to make him unconscious and get quite loud creak out of his neck. Duke hoped Dani didn’t mess up the guy's spine. He was criminal but he didn’t deserve this type of treatment.

Duke focused back on his own fight when he made sure that girl wasn’t in immediate danger of dying. He dodged running goon again, who literally ran himself into the shelf because of that. Signal used his short confusion to hit him in the side of his neck, rendering the opponent unconscious. Okay, they made it, this was the last-

Another gunshot made his sped-up heart skip a beat. Lump in his throat suffocated him.

No, no, no, no, no-

“I shot you in the face!”

 He looked her way ready to see unmoving body and red decorating concrete floor.

“There was a good quip for- oh right” she started cheerfully, entirely unharmed, before her face twisted into something actually demonic.

“Y̶o̸u̵r̵ ̶p̵e̶s̴k̶y̵ ̴l̷i̷t̶t̸l̶e̸ ̵b̷u̸l̴l̴e̶t̷s̵ ̴w̸o̴n̵'̸t̵ ̵h̶u̵r̶t̸ ̸m̷e̶, ₥ØⱤ₮₳Ⱡ₴”

She laughed in distinctly Dani way, all bright and joyful while also so not like herself, distorted and echoey it mage hairs at the back of his neck stand.

Duke froze when goon fired again and there was no way she dodged it. There was not enough space. She had to get shot. She got shot and he did nothing to stop it. A child got hurt because of him-

He looked at but hadn’t quite seen how Dani knocked out last goon and flew up to him. He heard her voice but words were impossible to understand over rush of blood in his ears. He could tell she was laughing. They should get out. Dani mentioned giggly smell in the air. It had to mean Joker gas. They needed to be out yesterday.

He stumbled a bit, forcing his leg to cooperate, half caring, half dragging girl to the nearest exit point. Fact that he could touch her and didn’t feel any blood was grounding a bit.

“-gnal, Signal are you okay? Your heart is beating weird,” Dani asked, sounding a bit scared for the first time today. Duke’s brain felt too fuzzy to care “Signal, you’re freaking out, calm down, please”

Light assaulted their eyes the moment they were out. Before he got fully used to it, he set girl in front of him and detached her cape. She may have squawked at this action but he didn’t care. She was shot, he needed to check her for injuries.

She got shot, she got shot, she got shot-

“Signal what-” he was clearly freaking her out “Oh. You think I’m hurt. I told you I could handle it. I’m fine. Signal I’m really fine. I have intangibility, bullets can’t hurt me. I’m fine Signal”

Duke wanted to make sure. Adrenaline or simple wish to not worry him could make her ignore something. He couldn’t let her. He made her turn maybe a little to roughly.

He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if she bled out.

She was actually fine.

Relief hit him so strong he crumbled against the wall, his mind finally succumbing to the haze. It was fine. It was all actually fine.

He may have heard some yelling.

Next thing he registered was something tad too warm, almost burning his palms. His gloves did their job of protection well though. There was a herbal smell. Melissa, he registered after a moment. It took him some more time to realize that the source of the smell was in his hands. He had scathingly hot cup of melissa in his hands. He stared at a little bit squashed paper again trying to get used to the light. He didn’t even realize he closed his eyes. Sound of the paper bag made him look up where Dani, still without her cape, crouched few feet away from him.

“You back?” she asked cautiously. Duke wasn’t sure how to answer. He was and he wasn’t. His mouth didn’t work anyway. He shrugged, mindful of the cup in his hands. Blanket, he didn’t even know he was wrapped in, fell from one of his shoulders.

“I don’t know what happened but Jazz likes this tea when she needs to calm down. Though she usually needs to drink it to make it work,” Dani rambled, gesturing widely “You’re still breathing kinda funny, can you slow down? It’s not good for humans to breathe so fast. It doesn’t let good stuff from air get in your blood and travel around your body and it’s not healthy. I know, Jazz told me and she is really smart. She wants to be this doctor who stabs brain back into working. She had this smart word for it… Neurosurgeon, I think it’s this one. She said breathing like that is not good for brain so slow down? In for four, out for four? I don’t know, Signal, just calm down?”

Right, he still was hyperventilating. Duke focused on his lungs, forcing them to expand, trying to match up Dani’s slightly gasping breaths.

He really was freaking her out, wasn’t he?

Melissa was almost lukewarm by the time he was back in his body enough to drink it. It was sweet, a bit too much for his taste.

“You good now?” Dani asked and Duke nodded. He was as good as he could at the moment “Great, I didn’t want to leave you for too long so I don’t have BatBurger. I got cookies though. And I can go get it now”

“Don’t,” he caught her arm and squeezed, not sure why he did it himself.

“Huh?”

“Don’t go anywhere”

“Sure. Wanna cookie? I have chocolate chips and healthy, wheat ones”

“Chocolate”

“Okay” she nodded and fixed blanket on his arms. It was comfy. If Duke was firing on all cylinders, he would wonder where she got it.

“Don’t ever do it again”

“What is it though?”

“Jumping into danger like that”

“Oh, really? It wasn’t that dangerous, they were normal humans”

“They had Joker gas and guns”

“Intangibility means I can ignore bullets Signal, don’t be such worrywart. It’s bad for your health. What’s Joker gas?”

Question and the whole statement felt so surreal that Duke couldn’t help but laugh, choked and hysterical as it was. She didn’t know what Joker gas was. Worrying about her getting shot was bad for his health. He just had a panic attack and was comforted by a ten years old girl with cookies and melissa. What the fuck?

“Hey!” Dani pouted “Don’t laugh like that! Jazz always says that you shouldn’t laugh when someone doesn’t know something, just explain it to them! Signal!” she whined but the damn broke he couldn’t rear his hysteria back in “Alright, I’m Googling it”

She did as Duke’s laughter winded down. He was almost calm when she deemed her research enough.

“Alright, this is some nasty shit”

This sentence startled him into full silence. Dani was ten, swearing wasn’t something she did, like, ever. He must’ve scared her a lot.

“I’m fine though. I didn’t breathe it in. Did you? This laughter sounded a bit worrying to be honest”

“I’m okay, I had gas mask. People sometime laugh to release tension”

“Oh”

“Yeah. But you were in the building with it and didn’t have gas mask”

“I wasn’t breathing”

“You were talking”

“Our fucked up biology, as Danny likes to put it, means that one doesn’t mean another. I just don’t use it often because humans find it uncanny and my throat gets itchy after some time”

Something in Duke wanted to argue more but it was squashed but utter exhaustion that crashed him.

“Alright”

They sat for a long moment.

“Are you ready to patrol now?”

Duke would laugh again if he had any energy left.

“I think we should end for today. I would be useless like that”

“Okay, valid. You go home I’ll fly around a bit”

“No. You’re going home too. I don’t have enough emotional energy to worry about you getting into some mess like this again”

They stared at each other for a long moment before Dani looked away with angry huff.

“Okay. You’re worse than Danny, you know?”

“I don’t care. Go home and stay safe”

“You sure you will be alright if I go now? I can walk or fly you somewhere, not home if you don't want me to but maybe somewhere closer?”

“I’ll be fine. I can call my brother. Just go please”

“Sure. See you tomorrow, Signal. You were really brave today”

“Thank you, Hoopoe” If she answered, he didn’t hear her. He fumbled with his comm to turn it on with still shaky hands. Finally he managed and called a pick up in the form of Jason. It was great to have older brother who always had time like that. Even if it meant a lot of unnecessary questions about what happened Duke wasn’t up to answering it yet and threats of serious violence on his enemies.

Duke couldn't force himself to let go of the orange blanket. It was grounding.

Though Alfred made him hot chocolate with marshmallows. He wouldn’t repeat today for that, but it certainly was nice accent.

*********

"Humouristic" summary of this part

Dani: Yo, there are goons here. Gonna investigate.

Duke: *quietly freaks out*

Random Joker's goons: *do normal goon things*

Dani: *attacks them* HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Duke: Is this what minor heart attack feels like?

Goons: *start shooting*

Duke: Is this what major heart attack feels like?

Dani: Dude, you good? Here, get some tea, cookies and blanket

*

Dani, few hours later, texting: Hey Signal, remeber to bring back my cape tmrw

Duke, internally: Wait, this is her cape?

Duke, also texting: Wanna better one? Like Spoiler has?

Dani, somehow conveing Ghost Speak via text: Don't you dare

Thank you for reading this <3

Next part

#dpxdc #dc x dp #dcxdp #dp x dc #dani hangs out with duke #signal got new sidekick and he doesn't even know it yet #well that's not true anymore #signal got new sidekick and he starts to accept it #i don't have anything “funny” to put in the tags for this part #sorry guys #vibes aren't right #heads up #next part won't be fun prone too #more hurt/comfort territory #but then were back to fluff and fun #hoopoe's cape-shock blanket #wandixx writes #ghost of fries and hero of cookies #have a nice day dear stranger who got to this part

[capricorn-stark]

Protégé

pairing: red hood!jason todd x robin!reader, slow burn 

warning: swearing

a/n: for context, this is somewhat loosely based off of Battle for the Cowl (2009) which I definitely recommend as a read! 

There was something about falling that you would never, ever get tired of. 

Ever. 

Probably.

With the wind whistling in your ears, your hair floating up in a million directions, and your limbs seemingly weightless as the buildings and lights blurred into one endless streak of color, the rush of adrenaline that ran through your body right before your grappling hook shot out and you landed quietly on the concrete was about a million times better than any sparring session back at the cave. 

You grinned as you straightened, rather proud of the fact that you had actually managed to land so smoothly without nearly paralyzing yourself. Again.The landing was something you had been working on for a while now.

You could practically hear Bruce’s voice ringing through your head after your little stunt, lamenting on and on about how you had more important things to focus on during patrols, and you let out a sigh as you ran down the backway of the nearly empty streets. 

The heavy man who had been bound up with a decently made gag and one of Bruce’s fancy tech pieces (Batcuffs, maybe? Something else with Bat smacked in front of it?) grunted beside you. 

“What? Not like you had someplace to be.” You grabbed the back of his rather tacky-looking spandex suit to drag him along back to where your mentor was supposed to be.

Despite your (many) disagreements and his (many) criticisms of your hand-to-hand combat skills, attitude issues, and pretty much everything else relating to you, Bruce had actually still allowed you to go off on your own tonight. It might’ve been because he wanted a few hours of nothing but beating up petty criminals by himself for stress-relief, it might’ve been because he had started trying out that whole independence thing with you a little more (even though you were still only permitted to be about five blocks or so away), it might’ve been plot-convenience - but either way, you appreciated the gesture.

It didn’t take long for you to pull your new friend over to what should’ve been your rendezvous point with Batman, letting the man drop with a dull thud and a grunt of protest against the concrete as you glanced around for the other man. You weren’t particularly concerned by the fact that the Bat himself wasn’t there yet - after all, he was the goddamn Batman. He’d show up eventually. In the meanwhile, you decided to go over the information you had gotten on the criminal with you. 

Just for the sake of it. Bruce would make you go over it anyways.

“Drury Walker, thirty-two years old, found him trying to mug someone in a back alley and make an escape. Called himself…” you paused, looking down at his sorry-looking outfit for a few moments while he looked up at you with murder and vengence in his eyes. “...Killer Moth.”  

“Killer Moth?” A completely new voice repeated in disbelief, causing you to immediately whirl around to face them in a fight stance, heart racing at a million miles per hour. The guy in front of you had his hands up in the air, his face concealed with some sort of red knock-off Iron Man helmet. He was gonna get copyrighted by Marvel Studios. “Shit, sorry,” he started at the sight of you, still leaning up against one of the walls. “I was supposed to make a wholeass dramatic entrance, but you said his name was Killer Moth and that-” The man made a noise that was either a sharp cough or a laugh of some kind. “-sounded so fucking lame I couldn’t help myself.” 

Despite the fact that you were definitely in some sort of major trouble with this new guy, he really did have a point. Even Killer Moth himself would’ve been embarrassed by how trash his name was, if not for the fact that he looked like he was on the verge of an aneurysm - understandably so, since the new guy had produced not one, but two guns out of apparently nowhere. 

“And let me guess,” he continued, pointing one of them at your head, his tone still all-too light and easy. “You must be the Bat’s brand-new Robin.” 

Now this is where most people would've shut up and proceeded to be complicit with the dude holding two guns. But Batman hadn’t seen reason and made you his (sort of) partner because you were like other people. Hell no.

“Do I look like a traffic signal to you?” It had been the very first of your amendments with Bruce. You would not be fighting crime looking like a literal traffic signal or, at best, a clown from Haly’s Circus. And the tiny green shorts had to go. “Or Robin Hood?” The guy had a rather awkward pause where his gun sort of dipped. Killer Moth was looking between you with wide eyes. “Do I?” 

“I guess you kinda got a point.” You huffed and he raised his gun again, getting more in-your-face as his already angry-looking helmet somehow managed to look angrier. You weren’t exactly sure how a helmet could convey so much emotion. “But you work with Batman. And I heard you went by Robin.” 

Okay, so you couldn’t make him change the name, but you had agreed it would be more of an honorary thing.

“It’s complicated.” 

Using such a phrase as an excuse to escape from situations you didn’t want to go into was one of the many things you had learned from Bruce in your five months of training. Somehow, that seemed to trigger the guy further.

“So you do work with Batman.” 

Before he could do something actually insane, you had managed to push the gun pointed at your head away from you, using his brief second of surprise to take it out of his hands, kick him in the chest, and round back on him with it in hand. 

“And what about it?” 

As cool as you thought you might’ve sounded didn’t cover for the fact that you were still nerve-wracked about what was happening right then. Especially after the guy started to dramatically slow-clap like some sort of evil thespian in a high school drama. 

“Not bad, Robin. Not bad.” He looked at the gun in your hands and grinned. “If you weren’t Batman’s new replacement sidekick, I might’ve believed you had the balls to use that thing.” 

Now, you were an excellent fighter. You had to be, after your excessive training with the guy who had literally mastered about every martial art in existence during his (give or take) five year-long mission to find himself. Plus, some personal experience. But fighting someone like this guy? Built like a tank and padded up in a whole lot of armor and packing an assortment of knives, guns, and even a damn taser you got a first-hand taste of?

You fought hard, but about five minutes and another round of the taser later, you saw the knock-off Iron Man helmet staring down at you before the world went black.

~*~

You woke up in what you assumed was the self-dubbed Red Hood’s safehouse of sorts. 

“How the hell did he rope you into this shit?” he demanded with what you could only assume was him glaring at you through the helmet. Probably some expression that made someone look all angsty and annoyed - which was fair, since he had been trying to drill you for information you straight up refused to give while bound (way too tightly) to a chair for quite some time now. Rather rude. “Let me guess. You watched your parents die.” You stared at him before shrugging.

“Nope.”

“Oh, so they just went ahead and died somehow. Untimely accident caused by some psycho bitch in a Spirit Halloween costume.”

“…nope.” 

“They abandoned you as a child.”

“No, they didn’t - does divorce count?” 

Red Hoodlum’s hands kept clenching and unclenching while he stood there, staring at the wall behind you in silence. From the way his chest kept rising and falling, you were tempted to believe he was practicing breathing exercises amidst his rather violent twitching. 

“Divorce - what the hell is your trauma supposed to be? Why did he pick you?!”

“Hey, just because my trauma doesn’t include people dying doesn’t make it any less traumatic,” you scoffed in response, knowing you were absolutely right about that. Your middle school guidance counselor had said so (and it’s true, ladies and gentlemen, trauma comes in many forms!). “Kinda rude to assume it didn’t affect me somehow.”

He seemed rather abashed at that and you heard him clear his throat a little. 

“...right, yeah. Sorry.”

“Apology accepted - can you loosen these ropes a little? It’s starting to kinda hurt.” 

“Do I look ten? That’s the oldest trick in the book, I’m not gonna-”

“I’m not going to run, just loosen the ropes a little.” He still looked like he didn’t believe you. “Come on, I don’t think I can outrun your guns.” As in his literal array of guns tacked up to the wall behind him, not his gigantic biceps. 

And you weren’t too worried about being held hostage by him, either. You figured you had ten minutes tops before Batman burst in through the doorway, ready to give you a lecture on why straying from the specifically designated parts of Gotham he had let you traipse around was a terribly stupid idea. 

“No.” He was already walking towards the door, because apparently, he had enough of trying to interrogate you. 

“Hold on, I feel like my wrists are actually about to start bleeding or something - where are you going?”

“Keep talking and I’m gonna get the duct tape.” 

“Is that a threat?” Sounding more confident than you actually felt should eventually make you more confident. Eventually. 

The Red Hood sucked in a breath, stopping by the doorway and turning to face you, reaching into his pockets to get what you assumed was either a gun or duct tape when you both startled from a sudden crash. The man in front of you was already whirling around with two guns positioned to shoot when you heard the familiar voice of someone else.

“Hold your fire, soldier. I’m not here for you.” A pause. “Or I wasn’t, but now I kind of am.”

Apparently, Batman was too busy to save you. Now, you got Nightwing. 

And as much as you liked Nightwing, that still kinda stung. 

#damn i posted twice #pandemonium scrawl #jason todd #red hood #jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #jason todd x y/n #red hood x reader #red hood x you #red hood x y/n #jason todd imagines #batboys #batfam #batfamily #dc #dc comics #dc comics imagines #slow burn #protege #protege part 1 #robin!reader

[marblesphere]

Dream or Reality (Noctis x Reader)

I wrote this fic years ago. So, I fixed up a little and decided to post it here. I have also posted it in devianart under LastMoogleHunter. Happy reading!

“Aaaaahhh….what a boring day, always the same. There’s nothing new, nothing makes me excited.” I sighed for the umpteenth times. I see, I haven’t introduced myself, my name is [Name] [Last Name], I am 12th grade in Destiny High. This is my last year, thus was recommended in making good memories. Though…there is nothing fun, I wish Final Fantasy characters are real people. That’ll so much fun, especially if there is Noctis.....

Kyaaaa!!! I am so embarassed... ahem, let’s put that aside and let’s get onto the story.

This morning also has the same routine, wake up, bath, breakfast, school, home, dinner, sleep and so on. And coincidentally my literature teacher decides it’s fun to see her students suffer, and thus given us a homework about composition. I groan, this is going to kill my brain cells. “God, please let my life get interesting such as Final Fantasy character come to life..... Just kidding, it’s not like it can be granted anyway.” I exhaled. I put my homework and stationery on my desk and start thinking about the theme I am going to write. Not long after I start doze off.

My internal clock woke me up from my slumber. Groggily, I glance my clock and it shows 6.30 a.m. I blink once, twice and rub my eyes to make sure I am not mistaking it. In instant, all sleepiness fades away. ”Aaaahh!! I am late!!” I freaked out and with lightning speed I took a bath. While I was stripping though, something fell from my shorts’ pocket. I pick it up and examine it, it was a golden watch. Curious, I open it and something was craved on the lid ‘aeternam vinculo’ ‘what’s this mean? More importantly when I got this thing?’ I was thinking and completely forgotten the time.

“[Name]! breakfast is ready!” Kaa-san called.

“No way!” I yelped and resumed my activity.

I run down the stairs and eat breakfast quickly, “[Name], there’s still some time.” Kaa-san said.

I gulp down my orange juice, “Gotta go. Bye Kaa-san, Tou-san.” I said as I ran to school. Fortunately, the distance to school from my house is not that far. Upon arriving there, I still see a lot of students leisurely walking to the school. Looks like I am safe. I sigh in relief as I pat my chest. suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder and I turn around, but the sight of that ‘someone’ tapping my shoulder made my eyes widenend.

“Morning.” He said, while I blinked once, twice, titled my head and stare at him as he is an alien landing on earth. The person who greeted me is no other than the famous Chocobo head, Cloud Strife.

I keep staring at him without blinking. “You…” I could only manage a word to come out from my mouth.

Cloud looks at me oddly, “What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“Good morning you two.” A new voice called. Our head snap to that direction and find Tifa and Yuffie are walking toward us.

My eyes widened ‘[Name].exe is shutting down.’ I can practically hear a robotic voice said that. ‘What exactly is going on?’

Seeing my confused blank looking face, concern made to Tifa’s face, “[Name], what’s wrong?” She asked.

So, I did the most logical action I could at the moment, I pinch my left hand, “Ow…” ‘It hurt.’ I rubbed my reddening left hand.

“[Name], are you really alright?” Tifa asked again. “Don’t worry Tifa, I bet she just woke up.” Yuffie grinned.

‘It’s not a dream....? t-they are really alive...?’ I am still confused, I am still not sure if I am having a realistic dream or this is the reality. But if so, what about yesterday and the day before yesterday and the days before today? Was that reality a dream? And this is the real reality? My mind is in jumbled mess, but I am happy. My wish has come true, my wish for the Final Fantasy characters are real people and as a bonus I have befriend with them. There’s no more I could ask for.

I feel someone shakes me. “Huh?” I snapped back to the reality.

“Maybe we should get her to infirmary.” Tifa said.

“Whooa. [Name], you really sick?” Yuffie was shocked by the news.

“Let’s go.” Cloud said as he prepared to drag me.

“W-wait! I’m fine, I just dozing because I just woke up.” I said putting a sheepish grin.

“See, she’s just woke up.” Yuffie grinned again, but I can see she was relieved as well.

‘Well, I did wish something interesting like this happen. Well, dream or not let’s enjoyed it to the last.’ I smiled at my thought as we walked to the class.

Upon entering class, I no longer panic on what I saw. There are some FF characters here and there, but I spot no Noctis, ‘Well, I’ll be lying if I am not disappointed.’ I sigh softly. ‘Well, nothing goes smooth now.’

Then I heard giggles and squeals. ‘Don’t tell me this is a famous scene from shoujo manga. The moment when male lead and his group enter the classroom. If so, then… Those girls will be the mortal enemies of the female lead. After the plot milked her usefulness, she and her sidekicks will fall into ruin.’ I blinked as I looked at those girls. ‘What a shame. They look nice enough though. But, I wonder who they’re fangirling about.’ I follow the crowd’s eyes, then the door opened revealing ‘Emergency! Mayday! Mayday! All staffs please evacuate! The ship will sink soon!Eh? EEEEEEHHHHH???!!! What is happening?! Why is he here?! No... I mean… I am happy that he is here. But he being here is a problem itself to me, in many ways.’ The one who opened the door is no other than Noctis.

I stiffen when he walks to me. “Good morning.” He muttered as he walked past me to his seat which is behind me.

“Mo-morning…?” And the problem is I was suttering when I replied, ‘Now I’ve done it…. he officially think I am one of his fangirls.’ I sighed earning a few snickers from Tifa and Yuffie which I give them an odd look.

“Morning, Hime-chi.” Prompto greeted.

I am not sure who is Hime-chi is. But seeing no one responds to him, it must be me, right? “Morning…?” I greeted back hesitantly.

During the duration of the lesson, I can’t concentrate at all. Part of it is because Noctis is sitting behind me. The other part is I am frantically thinking what should I do, what is my relationship with him and the other characters. Just because some of them are my friends, that doesn’t mean all of the characters must be my friends. And I have to be careful how to act around them, so they didn’t notice my awkwardness.

The bell rings signaling lunch break. Finally, me and the group which included almost all of the alvalanche members plus some other go to school cafeteria. Minus Cid and Barret cause they’re too old to go to school anyway which I found out later the two of them are school staffs. Barret as P.E teacher and Cid as engineer. And of course, let’s not forget Zack and Aerith. We go to cafeteria to eat lunch, while the others eat and talking each other, I am thinking about a lot of thing and that mysterious golden watch.

“[Name].” A voice snapped me out of my own world and I found all of them were staring at me.

“Huh?” I blinked owlishly.

“Are you okay?” Aerith asked worriedly.

“Did they bully you?” Prompto frowned.

“Eh? Bully? Who?” I tilted my head not understanding who were they talking about. ‘…For the first time in my life I was bullied…’

“WHAT!? Those girls are bullying my little sister?! How dare they!” Zack raged.

“W-Wait a minute. I am fine. No one is bullying me.” I said quickly calming them down.

“I heard something about bullying [Name]. Who is daring enough to do that?” Another new voice chimed in.

“Ah.” I blinked at the newcomers, twins exactly.

“Stella, Luna. Where were you guys?” Yuffie asked.

“Sorry, the teacher needed us just now.” Stella apologized.

“So, I heard someone is bullying [Name]? Which idiot?” Luna smiled scarily.

“No one was bullying me.” I shook my head quickly. ‘Scary…. Does Lunafreya is this kind of character?’ I sweatdropped.

“If we are talking about bullying, then I am sure it’s no other than her and her little group.” Tifa rolled her eyes.

‘I wonder who and why would people bully me? I don’t think I’ve ever made someone mad enough to be bullied by them.’ I scanned the cafeteria and spot a group of girls glaring at me, ‘Ah. So, they are the bully group.’ Then a mop of blond caught my attention, I narrow my eyes to get better sight, ‘…Who is she? I have never meet her before, but strangely her name popped out in my mind. Tachibana Kirika-san, Noct’s fangirl…. Ah, no wonder.’ I looked at her object of affection.

“Ignore them” Noct said.

“Umm...okay.” I answered.

After that staring contest, all is well. No war break between us. The last bell finally rings, signaling the end of school. And so, as per usual ritual, apparently we always go home together. “See you tomorrow.” I waved to them when I arrived at my house.

“See you.” They waved back. I open the door only to find it is hollow of life. I found a note one dinner table ‘Business trip one week, there’s a leftover for dinner. We’ll get your cousin to stay at the house tomorrow.’ I sighed. It’s still the same,’Oh well, I’m used to it.... wonder who is my cousin. This is the first time I heard about having a cousin staying over.’

Tired and still in term of accepting what has happened today. I am feeling really sleepy, but I didn’t dare to sleep. What if this is just a dream and I’ll wake up in the same position on my desk, as selfish as it may sound I still don’t want this to end yet. So many thoughts race in my head, absetmindedly I take out the golden watch and finally fallen asleep holding that.

I wake up with a start and glancing at my room, then realize something, FF charas. ‘Is it a dream?’ I sighed and I felt something in my hand. The golden watch, it’s still here. That means ‘It’s not a dream.’ I grinned widely, they are real. Thus, I quickly begin my routine of the day.

Arriving to the class, I greet them. Them as in the group. “Morning.” I greeted.

“Morning.” They replied. I sit at my seat and put my bag on drawer, but then a sharp pain creeps through my hand, instictively I take out my hand and trail of blood is dripping from my hand. My eyes flicker at the sound of giggles, there Tachibana Karin stand proudly at what she have done, she even raises her chin up to which I reply with raised eyebrow.

‘Truly, this is the first time I am being bullied for real.’

Seeing my bloodied right hand and still bleeding. Cloud quickly take my hand and examines it. “You okay?” He asked.

“As okay as someone will be with bleeding hand.” I remarked. Zack is definitely pissed off by the look of his face and stalks toward them.

“Why you little-“

“Zack. There’s no need to get angry.” I called to him.

Ignoring my call, he still stalks toward them, that is until Vincent holds him, “Ignore them. We should take her to infirmary.” He said.

“No no no. we can’t let this kind of things go.” Stella stepped in.

“Indeed. We’ll need to teach her a lesson.” Luna easily agreed with the older twin.

“Stella, Luna. Not you two too.” I sweatdropped.

“Let’s just take [Name] to infirmary first.” Tifa said. With that, the group accompanies me to the infirmary.

“The cut isn’t deep, it will heal in few days.” Nurse Quistis said after she finished bandaging me.

“Thank you.” I thanked her.

“It’s my job, now off you go to class.” She ushered.

“Yes ma’am.” I give her mock salute as I get out of the room.

Entering the class, I was bombarded with questions. Quistis kicked all of the out for being so noisy and too much. “I am fine.” I said for the umpteenth time.

Then Tachibana-san comes to me and asks with her sickly sweet voice, “How was your hand? Is it hurt?”

“Well, why don’t we try it to your hand. And then you’ll know whether it’s hurt or not.” I smiled eraning a few snickers from my friends as they heard my reply.

Tachibana-san’s face is red with anger and opens her mouth to say something. But then, the door opened revealing Noctis and Prompto. she quickly puts her sweet façade again to which I know that isn’t fooling anyone with decent IQ. “Good morning.” She greeted him which was ignored and laughter rose from our throats.

“If you didn’t do something like bullying his friends, you might have a chance.” I told her.

“You!” She gritted her teeth.

‘Aaah… She really didn’t get it.’ I sighed mentally. “Good morning you two. How unusuall for you to almost late.” I greeted.

“Good morning, Hime-chi. You see, we are almost late because we met an old woman on the street. She… Hime-chi, what happened to your hand?” Prompto frowned when he saw bandage on my left hand.

“Your hand...”

“Oh, this..” I said as I lift my hand. “Apparently, someone with a bad hobby finds it interesting to get me scream in pain. Unfortunately, they didn’t get what they want.” I smiled. Noct opens his mouth to ask something when the bell rang, signalling the start of class. All of us goes back to our seat. Well, in my case after recieving a hateful glare from Tachibana-san.

‘More importantly I wonder… Why is she targeting me? I mean, Noct’s female friends are not only I. There are Luna and Stella too…. Does she know I like him…? Well, I do like him as character in games before. And meeting him right now does make my feeling stronger… but, I am not sure if I like him as man… Besides…’ A certain scene from the game flashes in my mind. It’s overlapping in a scene I’ve seen here. ‘I am such a fool… obviously they are together…’ A bitter smile graces my lips.

The lessons went well, save for the ocasion hateful glare... okay scratch that, hateful glare all along. Lucnh break bell rings..... “Okay class, that’s all for today... oh and there is winter ball on the 28th December. All of you MUST come, it’ll be the last event for you. Class dissmissed.” Then the teacher goes out of classroom.

I groan inwardly, ‘Great… a ballroom.’ Note the sacarsm. The students scatters, chatting about the ball, while the group (girls only) advance to me.

“Soooo.....” Yuffie begins the conversation. “Who is going to be your date?” she asked excitedly.

“I don’t want to go.” I groaned again.

“You shouldn’t idle too long [Name], he will be snatched away.” Aerith said gigglig slightly.

“He? Who?” I titled my head. ‘Do I like someone?’

“Of course it’s him.” Yuffie answered.

“Tsk tsk tsk. As if [Name] will like another boy except from him.” Stella raised her brow.

“That dense man is too dense.” Luna giggled.

“Who is he exactly?” I frowned. But to them, my expression right now is quite funny because they are giggling.

“Don’t play dumb [Name]. all of us already know who is he. He is the one who gifted you the golden watch on your birthday.” Tifa said.

 ‘So, that was a gift from someone. And that someone is my crush so to speak…’ I blinked. ‘Who is…’ Suddenly the answer appeared itself in my mind.

*Poof* my face explodes to a blush. ‘It’s him. That man who is a trouble to me just by being here.’ I covered my face looking away from the evil grins on their faces.

“That time he was so shy. It’s funny, right?” Yuffie exclaimed.

“Hey, you guys.” I was saved by Reno. “Who are going to be you girls’ date?” He asked excitedly.

“Not again…” I groaned. “Reno, you don’t have any delicacy at all.” I whined.

“What happened to her?” Reno blinked.

“Just girl trouble.” Stella giggled followed by the rest of the girl.

“I mean you guys have fixed date already. Is there any point to ask?” I pouted. “I’m sure Tifa is going with Cloud, Aerith and Zack, Yuffie with Vincent. Stella is with Prompto and Luna will be going with No-.” I said.

“My date is a secret.” Luna cut my sentence.

“Secret?” I blinked.

“Yep. You’ll know when the time comes.” She smiled mysteriously.

“So, what about you [Name]? Wanna be my date?” He winked.

I snort, “No, thank you.” I flat out rejected him. “If I go with you. Your group of angry girlfriends will be waiting for me. Nuh-uh. I still want to be perfectly healthy, thank you.” All of them excluding Reno who is now sulking are laughing at his misfortune. “I am probably going alone. There’s no rule I can’t go alone.” I smiled. “…What’s wrong?” I blinked when I found them stared at me oddly.

“[Name]… You are quite dense…” Tifa sweatdropped.

“Huh?” I titled my head.

“[Name] you know, you are quite popular. If you say you are searching for a date. Everyone will probably line up.” Aerith giggled.

“…You are teasing me, aren’t you? I have a plain face you know. The one that is neither pretty, beautiful or cute. Besides, if I mean if I am quite popular, how come no one talk to me or better yet flirt to me?” I put an unamused face.

‘That’s because a certain someone made sure no one will not talk to you more than necessary. How can they have a gut to flirt with you with him hanging around you like a guard dog.’ All of them sweatdropped.

“Enough about me. What about the prince?” I turned my question to the prince that walked past me back to his seat.

“About what?” He sat back down.

“The winter ball. Who are you escorting?” I asked.

He snorts. “I don’t want to go.” He said.

“Me too. But we are forced to go.” I chuckled.

“I am waiting for someone.” He answered shortly. His answer makes the boys laugh. I raise my eyebrow at their odd reaction.

“You should hurry and ask her out, or else she’ll out of your reach.” Zack chuckled.

“Yep. After all the effort you put into.” Cloud nodded.

Zack’s word make my chest stings a bit. ‘What is this feeling?’ I blink the I shake my head to ignore it and chat with the rest of them.

Zack’s word is still ringing in my head. I am indeed curious as who is he going to ask, but I am more curious about the feeling in my heart just now. ’They are just characters from game, right? So, why did I have this feeling? Besides, I am sure he is going to ask Luna. No need to think that hard. They obviously are going to reveal it at the winter ball.’ I finally asleep while thinking about this.

Again, I wake up from my peaceful slumber before the alarm rings. I rub my eyes to get rid the alimighty power of sleepiness. The calendar on my wall made me realize this is Saturday. ‘Oh, it’s finally this day.’

As usual, I did my everyday routine, and then off to school. My peaceful day was once again ruined by Tachibana-san and the rabid fangirls follower.

“You! You dare to embarass me the other day, in front of my Noctis no less.” She screehed.

“My...Noctis...? Wow, I am not sure how to reply to that statement... Besides, weren’t you the one asked me about my hand, I just answered that it would be better for you to experience it first hand.” I answered effortlessly.

“You bitch!” She swung her hand to slap me. I am ready to dodge and prepare some wise words. But, her hand was caught midair by a more masculine hand.

I turn my head to get a better look of my savior. ‘Squall.’ I blinked at the unexpected character. ‘Rinoa shouldn’t be too far from Squall.’ I giggled inwardly at my own thought.

“You better stop this or you’ll get more than just slapping.” He growled. Tachibana-san turns pale. She and her follower quickly retreat back.

Then suddenly a girl pops out from his side. “Are you okay, [Name]?” Said girl is no other than Rinoa. ‘As I thought, Rinoa is not far.’ I chuckled at my own thought.

“I am fine.” I answered. “But, why are you two here?” I asked, I am not surprised with the characters popping out as my friends anymore. Last time, I found out Ignis is our Chemistry teacher and Gladioulus as our school security guard.

“Listen well! this isn’t over! I’ll make your life a living hell!” Tachibana-san sreeched which we of course ignored. The she stomps out here with her rabid fangirls follower.

“Just like always, you are a trouble magnet.” Squall Leonhart, which like to be called Leon sighed.

“You haven’t answered my question... Squeon.” I added my personal nickname just to annoy him.

“Your parents were worried, so they asked me to take care of you.” He said ignoring my nickname.

“I am fine, Squeon.” I said again.

Squall snorts, he lifts my bandaged hand, “And you said this was okay.”

“[Name], you are injured. What happened?” Worrywart Rinoa asked.

“I am okay. It’s just a small wound, Quistis said it will heal in 2 or 3 days.” I said calming Rinoa down.

Then, we heard some footsteps running toward us. The group are rushing to us. “Squall! Rinoa!” They exclaimed happily when they saw them.

“It’s Leon.” He grunted.

“Nooo, it’s Squeon.” I laughed. Squall only glares at me using his infamous glare.

“Long time no see.” Rinoa smiled.

“[Name], are you alright? I heard from some people Tachibana was bullying you, what did she do to you?” The now panicking Tifa asked.

“I am okay. she was just going to slap me, but Squeon stopped her.” I answered.

“WHAT?! She was going to slap you?! That damn bitch! How dare she!” Zack cursed.

“Calm down. I am not strupid just standing there waiting her slaps me.” I snorted. ‘Besides, which idiot will stand still when they are going to be hit.’

“By the way, if Squall and Rinoa are here. Does that mean they are going to be your care taker again?” Cloud asked.

“Yes, they are.” I said grinning.

“Oooooh, it’s rare that we can gather here together. So, how about we go to Chocobo Land  tomorrow?” Yuffie exclaimed excitedly.

“Chocobo Land.... Well, it’s been a while, the last time we go together was on [Name]’s birthday.” Aerith said. With that said, all of us decide to go to Chocobo Land tomorrow. Unbeknwon to me, I am playing right to their trap.~”~

“Eeeeehhhh~ Why can’t you go with us?” I asked, dismayed at the fact we couldn’t spend time together.

“Rinoa isn’t feeling well.” Was Squall short answer.

But I can’t shake the feeling that something is off. “She was fine yesterday.” I mumbled.

“Yesterday and today are different.” But all I did was stare, stare and stare. He sighs, “Just go already, you don’t want to be late, right?” He ushered me to go.

“Yes~” I sulked.

Arriving at the Chocobo Land. Only Noctis is at the rendezvous point. “Hey, Noct, where is the others?” I asked.

“They still haven’t arrived.” He answered.

‘Weird. They are usually on time. Maybe Yuffie will be a little late.’ I blinked at the unusual happening. And suddenly our phones ring at the same time signalling there are messages in our group chat.

Tifa

“Sorry, my parents are out of town suddenly. Need to housesit.”

Yuffie

Some brats in neighborhood are hunting my treasure. Need to safeguard it.

Zack

Am grounded. T.T

Luna

“Sis and I have trouble escaping from arranged marriage.

Stella

“Have fun. We will arrive there late.”

Aerith

“The shop is crowded. I can’t go out yet.”

Squall

“Rinoa is sick. Need to take care of her.”

Rinoa

Sorry guys.

Cloud

“Fixing my bike.”

Vincent

“…Sleepy…”

Prompto

“Helping acquaintance in photoshoot.”

‘What kind of hellish timing is this?’ I sweatdropped. ‘…No matter how I think, they are definitely setting us up.’ I sighed softly.

The two of us look at each other and sigh. “We were set up.” He said. “So, what should we do? Should we go home?” He asked again.

“Hmmm… We’re already here anyway. So, let’s just play. Just the two of us.” I grinned. A small smile is tugging on his lip hearing my sentece. But, unbeknown to us, we were followed by eight enthusiastic stalkers plus two reluctant stalkers and cameras.

Everywhere and anywhere as far as I can see, all I can see is Chocobo. The excitement is building up. “Chocobo♪~ Chocobo♪~.” I hummed out with sparkling eyes.

“Your love for Chocobo is something else.” Noct sweatdropped.

“What can I say, I just love Chocobo.” I giggled. “Then, our first ride will be that.” I pointed to the Chocobo Jet that was quite far from our meeting point.

“Figures you will ride that first.” Noctis chuckled.

“Let’s go!” I giggled excitedly. ‘Just for today. Let me spend a quality time with him. Yes…Just for today.’ The Chocobo Jet is really exciting. “I want to ride it again.” I said enthusiastically.

“Let’s ride the other attraction first. We’ll ride the roller coaster again later.” He sighed helplessly.

“It’s a promise, okay. I won’t go home if I don’t get to ride it again.” I stuck my pinky to him.

“Yes, yes. It’s a promise.” He hooked his pinky to mine. And then seamlessly warps his hand around mine and tugs me along.

I blink at the action. ‘Alert, alert. The parameter is rising.’ A slight blush adorns my cheeks. I quickly put a hand on my cheek to cool it down.

“What’s wrong?” He asked when he saw my weird action.

“Nothing!” I squeaked in high pitched voice.

He blinks, “You are so weird.” He laughed.

“I don’t want to hear that from you.” I stuck my togue out to him.

The next ride is Chocobo Cup. “Spin faster!” I laughed cheerily as I spun the cup faster.

“You’ll get dizzy later.” Noct smiled.

‘Hm…?’ from the corner of my eyes, I think I caught a glimpse of a familiar chocobo head. ‘Was I mistaken?’

“What’s wrong?” Ncoct asked when he realized I stopped spinning.

“Ah, nothing, I thought I saw Cloud.” I shook my head. “It must be my imagination. I mean this is Chocobo Land.” I laughed. All of the visitors are wearing Chocobo headband which we get as a free gift in the entrance.

“What do you want to do next?” He asked.

“Hm…Oh!” My eyes are drawn to the shooting range not far from us. More accurately, drawn to the prizes in that shooting range. “That! Let’s compete!” I turned to Noctis.

“Yes?”

“Let’s see who will get the grand prize first!” I exclaimed.

“Yo, ojou-chan, an-chan. The point for the grand prize is 150. The rule is easy. Your gun has 3 bullets. Knock down the plate with the point written on it. collect 150 points and you have the grand prize. Easy, right?” Baku explained.

“Yep!” I nodded.

“One game is 150 gil.” He smiled.

“Give us two guns.” Noct said as he handed him the money.

“Haiyo!” Baku handed us the bullet.

“The game is on!” I grinned.

~One Round Later~

“Not fair….” I sulked. In the end, Noctis wins with overwhelming victory. I don’t understand how he managed to get 200 points, while I couldn’t even get the 10 points plate down.

“Bwahahahaha! Ojou-chan, you are the best! Your skill is one in one hundred!” Baku laughed merrily.

“Sh-shut up!” I cried out.

“An-chan, your skill is amazing. Usually, the guests will spend more than 3 games to get a hang of this game.” He smirked.

“This is just a fluke. My friend happens to be good at this kind of game. I was only following his advice.” Noct answered.

“Heh. I want to meet this friend of yours.” Baku smirked.

“Next time, I guess.” Noct shrugged his shoulder.

“Bahahaha! I can’t wait!” Baku laughed harder.

While those two are chatting. I am already at my own land of misery. “I am sorry Chocobo. I can’t get you. I am sorry I am such a failure.” I murmured.

“So, what happen to Ojou-chan?” Baku sweatdropped.

“She just happened to love Chocobo a bit too much. Too much that I am jealous.”

“Bwahahaha! You win the game, but lost the war. I really pity you, An-chan” Baku patted his shoulders.

“Haahh…” He sighed. “[Name]. Here, this is yours.” Something is shoved to my face. It’s the grand prize of the shooting range, Golden Chocobo.

“For me?” I blinked.

“Of course.” He rolled his eyes. “If I don’t give it to you. You’ll keep staring at me as if you are having a grudge on me.” He smirked.

“I-I will not.” I flushed.

“Ojou-chan!” Baku called.

“Yes?”

“Here. A consolation prize.” Baku gave me two droppy chocobo hat. “Thanks to Ojou-chan, I have a great laugh today.” Baku grinned.

“Thank you!” I quickly put it on my head, while keeping the headband I got on my small backpack I brought. “Noct, you wear one too.” I gave the hat to him. The said man obediently bends down his body so I can put it on him. “We match!” I laughed happily, completely missing his softened look to me.

“Bahahaha! I pray for your success, an-chan.” Baku laughed.

“Thanks.” Noct replied. While I completely don’t understand what they were talking about. “Let’s go. We still have many attractions to ride.” He tugged my hand along.

“Yes!” ‘I think whether this is a dream or reality, this will be the happiest day of my live.’

Our next destination is, “Chocobo House!!!” I shrieked at the sight. I rush to the house, wanting to see it up close and personal.

“Hey! Don’t run!” I heard Noct’s warning.

“Don’t worry! I am not a child. I won’t fall down. Hurry up! Hurry up!” I urged him.

“We need to buy tickets first.” He sighed.

“Ah.” I blinked, completely forgotten that. Noct rolls his eyes as he pays for the tickets.

“Thank you for the purchase. Please enjoy the house.” The staff smiled.

Chocobo House, truly befitting the name. The house is basically Chocobo den. Look right, there will be a lot of Chocobo. Look left, there will be a lot of Chocobo. Look up, there will be a lot of Chocobo lantern. Look down, the tile is Chocobo pattern. And in the center if the house, there is the fat Chocobo.

“….Can I take that home?” I muttered out loud.

“Will it fit in your room?” Noct sweatdropped.

“I have an unused room. It will fit there. I can just move my Chocobo shrine there.” My eyes sparkled.

“Oi oi oi. Will they even let you buy it. Rather, even if they are willing to sell. Does your pocket money enough?” Noct sighed.

“Hmmm…. I should really get a part time job.” I muttered as I trying to calculate how much the Fat Chocobo will cost.

“Wait! Wait! They are selling the miniature version of Fat Chocobo. Let’s take a look.” Noct dragged me to the merchandise counter. In the end, I buy the Fat Chocobo plushie. More precisely, it was bought for me.

“I could buy it myself. You’ve paid for the rides and tickets. I can at least buy the merchandise myself.” I pouted and frowned as I hugged the plushie.

“It’s fine. I just want to. My father told me I need to spoil you to win your heart. He even willingly and happily to let me spend money to make you his daughter in law.” He muttered.

“Hm? What did you say?” I couldn’t hear the second part of his sentences.

“Nothing. Let’s ride that next.” He pointed to the Chocobo-go-round.

“Okay!” ~”~

“I am hungry~” I whined as I sat on the park bench.

“It’s already 1.00 p.m.” Noctis said as he looked at his watch. “The food court is over there.” Noctis said.

“Yosh! After lunch, we are going to continue.” I beamed, while my companion just shook his head at my antics. “Hey, don’t tell me you don’t enjoy it. Because we know it’s a lie.” I pointed my finger to him.

“I never said I didn’t.” He chuckled.

“Then all is well.” I grinned.

We are sitting in the food court, waiting for our order. The topic of our conversation is the hellish timing our friends have. “They are definitely…” I trailed off.

“…Doing this in purpose…” He finished.

“There’s no way they have this kind of convenient timing of not going. Well, in Zack’s case… he might be really grounded.” I giggled as we glanced secretly to the seats behind us.

“He-hey! Don’t be too noisy, they’ll find out.” A familiar voice of Tifa was heard.

“But, I can’t hear what are they talking about.” Yuffie whined.

“What a sloppy tailing.” I sniggered.

“They really… have too much free time.” Noct sighed.

“They seem don’t know that we’ve know they tailed us from the start.” I laughed merrily, really enjoying this charade. From the corner of my eyes, I can see now they are fighting for food, Zack and Cloud plus Yuffie. “Let’s caught them red handed later.” I laughed.

“Here are your orders.” A kind waitress set down our food.

“Thank you.” We thanked her.

“Please enjoy!” She smiled cheerily.

“Thanks for the food.” ~”~

“Noct. Let’s go over there.” I pointed to an ice-cream stall.

“Didn’t you just eat lunch?” He blinked.

“If it’s for ice cream, I am sure my stomach will make more room.” I answered.

“….What flavor?” He could only helplessly ask.

“Sea-salt ice cream!” I said excitedly.

“Wait here.” He told me and he is off to the stall.

“Ah, I want ice cream too.” I heard Yuffie whined.

“If we go now. We’ll be caught.” Stella reminded.

“But… ice cream…” I could already imagine her face looked like a kicked puppy.

“We need to endure.” Luna said sternly.

“Here.” Noct came back with an ice cream.

“Where is yours?” I blinked as I took the ice cream.

“I am good.” He said.

“Is that so?” I licked the ice. “Mmmnn… It’s delicious.” My eyes sparkled. “Here. Have a taste. It’s delicious. Delicious food should be shared to double the deliciousness.” I grinned.

“…Then, I’ll be happy to oblige.” He smiled softly as eat the ice from my hand.

“How is it? Isn’t it delicious?” I asked animatedly.

“Yeah. It’s delicious.” A ghost smile on his lips.

“See! I told you, you should buy one for yourself.” I said smugly. I quickly devour the ice cream until I realize what have I done. *Poof* ‘He ate mine…. Indirect kiss… No no no, let’s not think about it.… Okay, breathe in… breathe out… It’s okay. It’s just indirect kiss. No biggie….NO! it’s not okay for my heart! Does he even realized what he has done! I know I was the one offered it to him, but…’

“Why is your face red? Is it heatstroke?” He frowned.

“No! I am fine! Completely fine. It’s only a little bit too hot! It’s not a heatstroke!” The completely flustered me squeaked out. “Let’s go there!” I randomly pointed a ride and hurried there, missing the knowing smirk on his face.

The clock has shown 5.30 p.m. the only remaining ride is, “Hey, Noct. Let’s ride Chocobo Wheel.” I dragged him to the line. The said man allows me to drag him, he’s suprisingly obidient.

The Ferris Wheel stops when we are at the top. “When are we going to catch them red handed?” He smirked.

“You’ll see.” I grinned mischievously. “As expected from the highest point. I can see all of them park from here. It’s beautiful.” I was awed by the breathtaking view.

“Indeed…” What I didn’t know is, he wasn’t talking about the view.

The ride has ended. We are back on the land. “Ah! I have to call Squeon, first. I am worried about Rinoa.” I said out loud, letting our stalkers hear. “If he has something he needs, I can swing to the nearest drug store.” I fished out my phone from my bag. Can practically hear the nervous choked sounds from our stalkers. I push the speed dial button number 1. A familiar ringtone rings. My smile widens when I heard that.

“Hello!” I waved to them. We catch our stalkers red handed. “I thought you all have some kind of troubles.” I raised my brow.

“Ahahahha… We were just...uh…worried about you two. Yes, we were worried.” Zack laughed nervously, which then elbowed by Aerith for stuttering.

“So, did you guys get nice pictures? Because I am expecting it.” I snickered.

“I thought you were grounded, Zack.” Noct smirked.

“Hey, everyone! The photos are done. What are- “Yuffie stopped in mid sentence when she saw us. “Ahahahaha. Hello, [Name].” Yuffie greeted me.

“Geh! Noct!” Prompto gasped.

“Yuffie~, Prompto ~ What about those pictures in your hands?” I asked with a smile etched on my face.

“O-oh, th-this is..” She trailed off, senaking a glance on me, I still waiting her answer with a smile. “Eheheheh.... Okay, I give up. Here, all yours.” She gave us the photos they took. To put it simply, those are our candid photos. There are also the others but mostly about me and Noctis.

“Awww, this one is soo cute.” Tifa cooed. The pictures she chooses is the one when Noct was eating my ice cream. The angle is good. It’s just quite embarrassing.

“Heheh. Mine is this.” Luna chose the time when I put Chocobo hat on Noct.

“Oh. I like this one.” Stella picked our competition in shooting range.

“This one is good.” Aerith liked the one where I hug the huge Fat Chocobo in Chocobo House.

“Oookay. Let’s save this for later. For the last ride, we’ll go on Chocobo Jet. I will not allow any objection.” I exclaimed happily. For the last ride. We are fortunate the ride is enough for all of us.

“It was fun! It’s been a while I play this much.” I stretched.

“We should come here together again.” Rinoa smiled.

“Agreed! But no more stalking.” I laughed.

Time sure flies fast. It’s already one week before Christmas, we the girls are shopping for Christmas gift. ‘Sooo, what should I buy? Let’s just buy what they can use everyday.’ The other girls already busy choosing their own gifts. I am just strolling in the accesorries shop. After all of us finished, we head back to home. ~”~

It’s finally Christmas. The girls agreed to gather at Tifa’s house and give a make-over to each other, while I opted to not involved which is not an option. I am also dragged in to the whole fiasco. Exactly 7 p.m. We heard the knock, signaling the boy group has come.

“Merry Christmas.” Zack said excitedly.

“Merry Christmas.” We greeted. After we greeted each other, the party starts. I give them their respective gifts. Earrings for Tifa, bracelet for Yuffie, a necklace for Stella and Luna, a phone case for Vincent, a dress for Aerith, a google for Cloud, another dress for Rinoa and a for Zack, my self proclaimed brother, I gave him a pair of shoes. For my dearest cousin, it’s a leather jacket.

I am now down to the last person, but the said person isn’t in the room. The gift is still clutched in my hand. I see Tifa tilts her head to the yard, I nod and flash a grateful smile.

I found him gazing stars. “Not going to enter?” I asked.

Noctis glances at me and then back to the stars. “Too noisy.” Was his short answer. I laugh lightly at his short, but clear answer.

There is a comfortable silence between us, until I remember the reason I searched him. “Here.” I gave him the small blue box.

“For me?” I nodded at his question. Then he also pulls out something small from his pocket and gives it to me. I look at the gift curiously. I try to guess what’s in this little black box. Seeing the blatant curiosity on my face, Noctis chuckles. “Open it.” He said. With that said, I open the box excitedly. There, in the black box there is a ring necklace. My name is carved on the ring. My eyes widened and let out a small laugh. Noctis only stares at me with raised eyebrow.

“Open my gift.” I said still laughing. With a strange look he opens the box. His eyes also widen, there in the blue box I gave him, there’s also a same ring necklace. the only difference is the carved names. Then a small laugh also escapes from his lips.

“Will you allow me to escort you in the winter ball?” He asked.

This question caught me off guard. I never thought he will ask me let alone think about it. I look left, right and then behind me to see if someone is there. “…Are you practicing so you can ask Luna?” I blinked.

“Why are you bringing up Luna?” He frowned.

“Eh? Why? Because isn’t that so?” I was taken back.

“It’s not.” He sighed exasperated.

“Then… If you are fine with me. I’ll be happy to take on your offer.” I smiled. ~”~

The day before the ball. The girls agree to meet up again in Tifa’s house right after school. They are going to match the dress they’ve bought with their accessories. “Hm? [Name], where’s your dress?” Luna asked.

“Ah, I don’t have one I was sure I am going alone, so I didn’t buy dress. I am going to wear school uniform. The rule didn’t specifically say the dress code is an evening dress.” I smiled sheepishly.

“School…” (Stella)

“Uni…” (Aerith)

“…form” (Tifa)

“You said?!” (Luna)

“Huh? Isn’t Noctis escorting you?” Yuffie blinked.

“He did two days ago. It’s just, I don’t have time to pick up dress. So, I am going to wear school uniform.” I nodded.

“Change of plan.” Stella said seriously.

“Yes. We have a change of plan.” Luna agreed.

“Huh?” I blinked.

“We are going to shop for your dress right now.” Aerith smiled.

“Eh? Right now. We don’t have that much time…anymore.” I finished timidly, seeing their scary smiles.

“Sorry [Name}. Even I can’t help you.” Yuffie said. ~”~

At last, the most dreaded day that I wish never come is finally here. 28th December, that means the winter ball. ‘Why it has to be a ballroom, can we just change to more casual party?’ I groaned.

“[Name], you shouldn’t put that kind of face. You are the prince’s date, are you not?” Zack teased.

“The said prince has the same opinion as me.” I said unamused. The girls and the boys wear a matching color, including Noct and I. Apparently, Luna called Noct and asked, no demanded him to wear a cobalt blue suit, so he can match with my dress.

The hall is decorated just like a real ballroom. There are also snacks and drinks there. Once we enter the hall, Reno instantly flies to the other side of the hall sweet talking to a group of girls. The others asked their dates to dance with them. Being a gentleman he is, our favourite prince also asks me to dance. “I can’t dance.” I smiled wryly.

“Don’t worry. Just follow my lead. Waltz is an easy dance.” He said taking my hand. We dance peacefully until someone with the name of Tachibana Kirika ruins it.

“Noctis dear~” She called with such coquettish voice that it actually made me had a goosebumps. “I am sure I can be a better partner than this plain looking girl.” Tachibana-san winked at him.

“Sorry if I am plain looking. At least, you should learn how to wear a proper make up. The color doesn’t suit you.” I rolled my eyes.

“No, thank you.” He refused politely.

But that sets Tachibana-san in rage. “Exactly what did you see in this girl?” She screeched and pointed her finger to me. “I am prettier and a ton of guys asked me to be their date.” She yelled.

Noctis narrows his eyes. “Then, you can have them to accompany you. Listen, I am tired of your antics. Don’t you dare badmouth her! The next time you do so, I won’t forgive you!” Noctis snapped. Then, Noct storms out from the hall, leaving the said girl there standing dumbfounded and biting her fingernail.

‘Wow, this is the first time I see him angry.’ I too, quietly leaving the hall searching for my partner.

“So, you are here.” I said after I found him on the rooftop. He only stands there unmoving. “Still angry?” I asked.

“Not anymore.” He answered.

“I doubt she will stalk you after your outburst just now.” I laughed.

“She better be.” He let out a snort.

“Hey, Noct.”

“Hm?”

“What was the meaning of the word carved in the golden watch?” I asked as I took out the watch from my dress’ small pocket.

“Are you curious about that?” He asked.

“Very.” Was my answer.

“That is-” He walked closer to me without breaking the eye contact. He stands right in front of me, making me wait with bated breath. He bends down so his mouth right beside my ear, and whispers softly. “Eternal bond.” After saying that, he stood straight. A small smile on his lip, satisfied with my now blushing face.

“You-! Can just say it normally.” I glared at him. The futile glare only makes him smiles. He pulls me toward him. “Wha-” I blinked rapidly as he pressed his lips to mine.

‘Unable to process. [Name].exe crashed.’

I suddenly wake up from my nap and look at my surrounding. I am in my room, the same room before all of that happen, my workbook is still on my desk untouched. “I see, that was a dream after all.” I said disappointed. I blush again remembering the last part of the dream. “What an outrageous dream I had.” I sweatdropped. I put my finger on my lips as if I can still feel the warmth.

“[Name], you idiot. That was just a dream.” I scolded myself. “Rather than thinking about it, I should take a bath.” I mumbled walking to the bathroom. Unbeknown to me there are a ring necklace with my name and a golden watch with its lid opened on my desk.

“Our bond is eternal”

#noctis x reader #final fantasy #FF #fluff #ffxv #ff series #ff fic #noctis lucis caelum #noctis x oc

[dirtyoatmeall]

Secrets (Shigaraki x Reader)

A/N: I know I said I was working on a summer camp wip and I am but then I got this idea and as usual here is a random fic that could be a series? n e ways enjoy ooc shiggy

Pairing: Shigaraki x gn!reader (p sure I dont use pronouns) (established relationship) 

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: Cursing

~

“Fuck”

“C’mon you’re almost there”

“I don’t know where it is!”

“It’s literally right in front of you, how can you not find it.”

“Shut up before I kill you.”

“I’m on your team you can’t kill me.”

“Watch me.”

“(Y/N) What the fuck!”

“I told you not to bully me this is your fault.”

“Oh my god you are such a baby how will you survive without me, stay put until I find you”

“I think you meant to say “(Y/N) I’m sorry I’m such a meanie face I promise to make it up to you.””

“No I did not.”

“Fine, remember you did this to yourself.”

“(Y/N) STOP SHOOTING AT ME”

“Stop being mean to me”

“Are you serious? Fine I’ll stop being mean to you, just stop shooting me we are literally not going to progress at all if you keep killing me.”

“I don’t know, that didn’t sound very convincing.”

“Are you fucking kidding me stop shooting me I swear to god.”

“Why bring God into this? We all know he’d take my side in this Tomura, now until you stop being a meanie I will simply not let you live.”

“Why do I put up with you?”

“Because I’m hot and will kiss your crusty lips.”

“Not for long if you keep this up.”

“Shigaraki Tomura are you threatening to withhold kisses from me? I think we both know you would cave before I would.”

“…Shut up.”

You snorted as you looked over to your boyfriend, who had a slight blush coating his cheeks. He refused to look at you, keeping his gaze on the TV, pretending to focus on the game. You rolled your eyes and set your controller off to the side before doing the same to his. He weakly protested but it was cut short when you placed your lips on his, his hands immediately going to your waist and bunching up the material of your shirt in his gloved fist. You cupped his cheeks, moving to straddle his waist to get more comfortable.

The two of you didn’t separate until you absolutely needed air, panting slightly when you broke apart. Your hands softly skimmed over his shoulders before encircling his waist, your cheek resting on his shoulder. He nuzzled into your neck, squeezing your hips as he sighed into your hair. You were content to sit there for the rest of the day, until an alarm went off on your phone. You groaned and slid off of Shigaraki’s lap to silence it. Your shoulders slumped as you realized you had to get ready for work. You had forgotten you agreed to take your coworker’s late night shift. You quickly got ready, Shigaraki watching you from the bed before betting up when you were putting on your shoes.

“I’ll walk with you, it's getting dark.” You coked an eyebrow at his words. “Are you sure? I’ve taken this shift before and you didn’t feel the need then, and besides, I think there are more heroes out than usual you might be spotted. He simply rolled his eyes and put on his shoes, grabbing your hand and leading you out the door, his hood pulled up to slightly obscure his face. “Shut up, let me walk you to work.” You giggled and walked beside him, hands intertwined. You talked about the new stuff going on at work, the new shipments of books coming in, catching him up on workplace drama, and anything else he missed since the last time you talked about work as you walked down the street. Shigaraki listened diligently, chiming in with “oh nice”, or “that bitch” when appropriate.

When you arrived at work you kissed him and promised to make up your game mistakes when you get home. He rolled his eyes but the smile was still on his face as he turned to leave. You turned to enter your work when a pair of green eyes caught your attention. There was a hero, most likely on patrol, and a sidekick? Or kid, you weren’t quite sure but something seemed familiar about them. The hero wasn’t paying attention to you, talking about something as they gestured to the building. But the other person's eyes were locked on your own, you couldn’t distinguish the look on their face, and you furrowed our eyebrows before going into your work, clutching your purse strap a little tighter.

You shoved the uneasiness to the back of your mind as you focused on your work. You stocked the new shipment of books, occasionally checking out a customer that wandered in. A few hours into your shift you were behind the counter organizing the specially ordered books, getting ready to call the customers who ordered them when the bell above the door jingled, signaling another customer came in. Without looking up you greeted them. “Welcome in! Let me know if you need any help, books with a blue sticker are 50% off.”

“I do have a few questions, though not about books.” You furrowed your eyebrows and looked up to where the voice was coming from, eyes widening slightly when you noticed the kid from earlier. “I’m sorry?” You said, not sure if you heard him right. He took a step toward the counter, his eyes nervously flitted around the shop, as if he was making sure no one else was in it. “Are you with him? Do you know what he’s done?”

Your blood ran cold at his words. You tried not to let it show, steeling your stomach that had dropped to your feet. You furrowed your eyebrows and cocked your head slightly. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re talking about?” He sighed and stepped up to the counter. “I saw you with him, you’re dating Shigaraki Tomura right? Do you know who he really is? What he’s done to people?”

Your fist clenched and you gritted your teeth, how did a kid know so much? Unless- fuck. He must be a hero student. Shigaraki mentioned his master had some plans with them, but he didn’t delve much into his work with you. This must be one of the kids. Even so, you’ve practiced for situations like this, though you never expected it to actually come. “I don’t know who that is, You must be mistaking me for someone else, and we are closing soon so if you’re not going to buy anything I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.” His face twisted into one of disdain briefly before quickly being replaced with a smile you were sure was fake. “I must have. Sorry to bother you.”

You let out a breath when he left and you quickly locked the doors and turned off the open sign. Your boss wouldn’t be mad if you closed a few hours early, right? You counted the till and finished closing everything up, texting Shigaraki that you were closing and asking if he or someone from the league could come pick you up. He said he was on his way and you bite your lip, trying to figure out if you should tell him or not. You mulled over it shortly before deciding it was best to tell Tomura. The two of you haven’t kept anything from each other, and you didn’t want to start. You waited in the staff room in the back until he texted you he was here.

You met him at the back entrance and hugged him as soon as you saw him. He hugged you back but moved you back after a moment had passed, confusion and worry evident on his features. “What happened?” You gripped his hand tightly as you took the back way to the hideout, worried someone was watching. You recounted your experiences earlier, and Shigaraki’s grip tightened when you described the boy to him. He didn’t say a word until you were back safely to the hideout. Not paying the others mind he led you straight to your shared bedroom, closing the door softly behind you.

You looked at Shigaraki worriedly, you knew he could get overwhelmed easily, but he wasn’t scratching at his neck, just standing in the middle of your bedroom, facing away from you. You stepped closer and rested a hand on his shoulder. When he didn’t flinch or push you away you slid it up to his neck and walked in front, hugging him tightly. “Tomura? What’s wrong?” His arms snaked around your waist, hugging you back just as tightly as you buried his face into your neck, inhaling and kissing the skin softly before bringing his head back to look at you. He sighed and cupped your face with one hand, thumb softly caressing your cheek. “Nothing. I’m sorry (Y/N), are you okay?” The corners of your mouth ticked up at his words, he was being unusually soft, he must actually be listening to Kurogiri.

“I’m fine Tomura, he was just being nosy, I’m more worried about you, obviously you recognized his description. Is he one of those students from U.A. you mentioned?” He exhaled and nodded, gaze cast to the floor. “Yes, he’s inherited all for one.” You nodded, Shigaraki had explained the quirk of all might and his master to you before. Though he obviously wasn’t telling you all of it, you didn’t press the matter, he either couldn’t tell you, or it was something you didn’t want to know, either way you’d accept what he told you.

You could tell it was bothering him, so you led him to the bed and laid down, tugging him down with you. He hugged you stomach, laying his head on your chest as you curled into him and ran your fingers through his hair absentmindedly. You felt his shoulders sag, he exhaled deeply as he tightened his hold, nuzzling into your chest. After a few minutes he fell asleep and you soon followed, green eyes still fresh in your mind.

#shigaraki x reader #shigaraki #shigaraki tomura #shigaraki tomura x you #shigaraki tomura x reader #bnha shigaraki #shigaraki x y/n #shigaraki x you #my hero academia #My writing #my hero academy #my hero academia x reader #my hero academia x you #tomura shigaraki

[blog-of-the-wildd]

i’ll make it 4 words if you don’t mind <3

star of my heart with romantic revalink! thanks!!

Star of my heart

“I’m cold,” Revali said.

Even in Hebra, amidst the ever falling snow and the peaks of ice, the Rito remained warm, covered with feathers. However, Revali lied anyway, expecting Link to decipher the truth under his words.  

The white, delicate feathers that hung over the roost tembled, signaling the beginning of a storm. The wood of the flight range creaked. It was an old structure, built by the Rito of a past long gone. Inside, quiet flames engulfed the cooking pot at the center, warming the place with a comfortable heat. 

Link, making sure their meal cooked appropriately, didn’t reply to Revali, perhaps too absorbed in his task. 

After a moment, he met his gaze, his far-seeing blue eyes unwavering. 

Link had thin sandy hair and a small mouth. His face was dotted with freckles, product of hours spent under the sun. He was of juvenile features, though there was an edge to them. His boyish air hid the truth, for Link was the deathly Hylian Champion.

“Cold?” he repeated, slowly.

Revali looked away, tempted to hide his face under his wings. 

“Cold,” he said. 

Link’s gaze drifted to the pot. He stared at it for a moment, as if waiting for it to tell him what to do. Outside, the wintry gales howled, drowning the gentle crackling of the flames. Yet, as tempestuous as the weather was, the flight range was warm. 

“I’m not,” Link said, gesturing to his clothes. He was clad in the snowquill armour, which was made of feathers. Revali scowled, for he understood what Link was alluding to.

Link sat next to him anyway and, in a gesture that was becoming more natural with every passing day, Revali wrapped a wing around his shoulders. 

Link closed his eyes and leaned his head against his shoulder. Revali raised his wing carefully, caressing Link’s weather-beaten face. Neither said anything, too embarrassed (or comfortable) to shatter the silence. Revali melted into Link’s touch, letting a sort of peace take over him. 

“This is nice,” Link said, his voice barely a whisper. 

“Yes, it’s decent,” Revali said

Link laughed. Revali felt the push of the boy’s giggles against his chest, which made him smile.

 “You are decent,” Link said, lips curled in a goofy smile.

“Indeed I am, unlike some hell-raisers here--”

Link straightened up and looked at Revali with defying eyes. They stared at each other for a couple of beats, the tension purposefully building between them. Finally, Link poked Revali’s chest, eyes bright as if he’d come up with the best insult, “Oh really? Well, you’re dirty.”

Link hadn’t finished speaking when Revali burst into laughter. Link looked confused, expecting Revali to be deeply affected by his words (rightfully so; after all, Revali had a tendency to be offended by the faintest insult). 

“I’m not,” Revali finally said, breathless from laughing, “You, on the other hand, smell unwashed.”

“Unwashed…” Link repeated, a slight frown creasing his forehead. Link looked at Revali, far-seeing blue eyes staring at him. Revali forced himself to look back. “Are you... asking me to take a bath?”

“Yes,” Revali replied mindlessly. Link nodded, eyes hard with resolution, and got up. Revali frowned, reaching a wing in his direction,  “Where are you going?”

Link paid him no mind. He leaned over to check on the cooking pot. Satisfied, he turned to his sword and picked it up swiftly.

“To the lake.”

“Not right now, you dunderhead,” Revali snapped. “The lake is frozen. It's winter.” 

Link’s resolve faltered. He placed his weapon where it had been and sat on the wooden floor, letting his attention slip back to the pot. Revali almost called him back, but he dared not. What would Link think? He would judge him needy and clingy, both adjectives that Revali did not want associated with him. 

He didn’t want Link to know how much--  how important he had become in his life, which was ridiculous because, well, he had. Why hide such an obvious truth? He didn’t know, but when he thought about telling Link, he felt as if tight claws were clutching his heart. 

Maybe he wasn’t ready, which honestly was stupid. Or maybe he was nervous. A love confession is a big deal, after all. It is giving the key of one’s heart to someone, being willing to be vulnerable, and that--

That terrified Revali. 

So he said nothing, watching Link cook their meal with a gentleness he had just recently noticed. Despite all, Link wasn’t a man of war, or, at least, on occasions he didn’t seem to be. His eyes were soft in the quiet moments. 

He was so caught in his web of thoughts he didn’t notice Link approaching him. He held out a bowl of soup, which Revali accepted after a brief hesitation. Link sat next to him, though this time their shoulders barely touched. 

They ate in silence, watching the flames embrace the pot. 

The soup had a sour taste. It was good, though never had Revali eaten something of similar flavour. Link sighed happily and placed his empty bowl on the floor, eyeing him curiously. 

“This is nice,” Link said. Revali looked at him, and to his surprise, a bittersweet smile was curving his lips, as if he were already longing for the present moment. “I never get to-- the life at the castle is so hectic.”

He looked down at his intertwined hands, rubbing his thumbs together. They were calloused, scarred with traces of past battles. Revali wanted to hold them.

“I imagine,” he said. 

“I like it here,” Link said suddenly. He took a shaky breath before continuing, “I like… I like Rito village.”

Even though his lips quivered with nervousness, there was nothing spectacular about his words. Rito village was a tourist attraction for Hylians. It wasn’t a surprise Link found its views fascinating. 

“You like that everyone is willing to invite the hero to dinner,” Revali said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. 

Link looked at him with wide eyes and laughed, the sound sincere and simple. Revali felt his chest tighten, overcome with emotion. 

Eventually, the laughter ceased. An oddly peaceful moment followed. Link wore a loose smile on his lips, though it lingered only for a moment before setting into a neutral, tight expression. Revali ate slowly, savouring his meal. The sun was starting to set, descending into the horizon and casting dim shadows over the land. 

Link extended his hands in front of the flames, seeking its warmth. 

“Why did you hate me?” Link asked, voice small.

Revali looked up, astonishment contorting his face. He opened his beak to say something, but closed it again tightly. Even though he had written in his diary myriads of resentful entries about the Hylian Champion, he had never been asked to speak them out loud. It wasn’t as if-- Revali did not hate Link anymore. He wasn’t sure when his anger had dissipated, but it had. 

It was weird. He knew exactly what had vexed him about Link, and in fact, he still considered his reasoning to be extremely sound. What Revali didn’t have was the drive to despise Link anymore. Instead of hate, a new emotion had found its way to his heart, even more passionate than anger.

“I did not hate you,” Even as the words left his mouth, Revali knew he was speaking bullshit. Link glanced at him, incredulous. Revali merely averted his gaze. What? Would he have preferred the cold, bare truth?  “Do you really care about that when everything has--?”

“I do,” Link said in an outburst of emotion uncharacteristic of his stoic self. He glared at Revali, the icy stare penetrating. They stared at each other for what felt minutes; Revali trying to keep a neutral facade, Link scowling at him.

Link was the first to break eye contact. The spark of fury in his eyes dissolved, and an expression of dullness settled on his face. 

“I do,” he repeated, quietly.

“If you started to hate me again I--” Link gulped and forced himself to continue, voice hoarse, “do you hate me?”

“No. I don’t--” Revali paused, thinking. There were a lot of things he could say to Link. He could apologise. He could open his heart and hope Link wouldn’t turn away in disgust. Or he could… say the truth, even if five words weren’t enough to convey the extent of his feelings.  “I don’t hate you.”

Link looked down. There was no emotion on his face. “A hollow knight,” Revali thought, though he knew better. 

“You are the star of Hyrule,” Revali said, for the sake of filling the silence. “Everyone speaks about how gifted and talented you are. The King--”

Link shook his head. He said something, but his voice was so faint Revali barely heard it. 

Sorry.

“Don’t,” Revali said. “You work as hard as the rest.”

“I’m just-- an assbird,” Revali said. 

Link snorted.

The knot of tension in Revali’s stomach became undone. The silence became lighter, more bearable. Revali finished his meal and gazed to the exterior of the roost, where ruthless gales howled as if they wanted to tear the world apart. Revali frowned, pondering if his gale would ever be as relentless as the ones of nature.

He was determined to make it so.

“I don’t know what Hyrule thinks of you,” Link mused. Revali was tempted to reply he wasn’t thinking hard enough. Hyrule viewed him as a sidekick, a secondary character whose only purpose was to make the leads shine brighter. Sometimes, he even thought Hyrule didn’t think of him at all.

Link placed his hand atop of Revali’s wing, letting his touch linger.

“I don’t know what Hyrule thinks of you,” he repeated quietly, “but… you’re the star of my heart.”

Link smiled nervously, averting his gaze. Revali couldn’t muster an answer, as much as he attempted to. What had that been? Link had never-- had that been a fucking pick up line? No. It must have been a compliment. Link seldom gave them, but it wasn’t discardable. After all, Revali was a skilled archer-- the most skilled of all. 

“Was that good?” Link asked awkwardly. His face was  beet red. He sounded nervous, anxious even. Link fiddled awkwardly with his hands, looking at them as if they were the single most interesting thing in the world. 

Oh.

So Link had been flirting. The realisation didn’t scandalise him. It was as if he knew, not because he was arrogant, but because their relationship had been headed in that direction or a long time. Neither of them dared to admit it, though, and that was okay.

“Link,” Revali said, masking his emotions, “Why did you ask that? It ruined the moment.”

“The Rito don’t blush. How would I know otherwise?”

Revali stared at Link, raising an eyebrow. The Rito, contrary to Hylian beliefs, were an expressive species. If Link didn’t notice the small details, he would have time to do so. They would have time to learn to be with each other.

“It was good,” Revali admitted, almost begrudgingly.

Revali rarely allowed himself to think of the present. His entire existence had been aimed to the future. “Right now I’m nocking the arrow,” he thought to himself, “Someday, I will shoot.”  He only marched forward, for if he looked back, he was scared to see nothing behind him. He had dedicated his life to a success he couldn’t yet grasp. 

But for the first time in a while, Revali let himself just be. 

Outside, the chilly currents blew. The sun had set, and shadows had spilled over Hebra. Link was by his side, looking at him with those piercing eyes of his. 

Revali didn’t love Link, not yet. However, he could love Link. Tomorrow. Someday. The possibility was both exciting and terrifying. If he allowed his emotions to bloom, if he opened his heart, their relationship would flourish. There was no pressure, no goal other than to enjoy each other’s company. They could take it slow, opt for the small steps rather than a leap.

After all, they had time.

#revalink #botw #hwaoc #loz botw #breath of the wild #mywriting #im going mad i HATE tumblr formatting AAA

[wings-flames-and-thirium]

Cupcakes | Fatgum (Taishiro Toyomitsu)

A/N: AH!! Okay, so I was still at Uni today, but now I can finally post the story I’ve been working on! This is my first time writing for Fatgum and also my first NSFW piece. I tried to do both a SFW and a NSFW part, so, if you’re just up for some fluff, go for it and if you’d like to read something smutty, simply click the “keep reading” link. 👀

And thank you so much @lady-bakuhoe & @thunderdenki for proof and beta reading! You gave me the confidence to finally try and write smut. ILY guys <3

Warnings: nsfw, food play, oral sex

“Come on y/n, you got this”, you tried to give yourself a little encouraging pep-talk, but you couldn’t help but be shaky and nervous.

It was just another ordinary day as the sidekick of the BMI hero, Fatgum, but you finally wanted to show your gratitude towards him properly. You felt like you have learned so much and have improved significantly since you started working here. All the patrols, filling out police reports and occasional fights with villains that caused trouble gave you a much-needed boost. You weren’t exactly confident in yourself or your quirk to begin with. Even after you graduated from U.A you didn’t think that any hero agency would take you in. So, it took you by surprise that a popular hero like Fatgum accepted your request to be his next sidekick. His previous one had transferred to another agency, so he offered the place to other heroes, but you never imagined he would pick you.

You honestly owed him a lot. Not only the part of taking you as his sidekick beside him but most importantly, helping you with your self-esteem and strengthen your quirk. You had become way more skilled and even more confident overall. It was probably due to the amount of praise he gives you on the daily. He is known for being sweet and kind towards all people, be it civilians or his interns, but you couldn’t help but feel a bit more special. You felt you to had tied a pretty strong bond by working together for the past months and it seems like so did Fatgum. He really grew fond of you after spending so much time together, always talking to you and wanting to know how you’re doing. He took you out to eat on numerous occasions, even outside of work because he enjoyed your company so much. On one instance, he even let you stay at his place after a particularly hard fight with a villain which left you pretty badly bruised. He made sure to patch you up and take care of you afterward. Of course, these could all be attributed to his kind nature, but you couldn’t help but feel that there’s more to it. Or at least you hoped there was.

That’s why you decided to give him a small gift as a sign of your gratitude today. And what better gift you thought than cupcakes. You knew Fat’s favourites were Takoyaki, but he definitely wasn’t opposed to a sweet treat here and there. It was a small gesture, but it was something.

And that’s how you got into the situation you found yourself in this morning. Standing in front of his hero agency, legs shaky and a box filled with chocolate-strawberry cupcakes in your hands. You still struggled to go inside the building you went inside on the daily without problems for the last months. Something was holding you back, but you couldn’t quite grasp what it was. Maybe the gift was just a stupid idea, but then again, you were so grateful that he had been this supportive, so you couldn’t just go on without letting him know.

Deciding to stop before you started overthinking too much, you went inside the building and to the locker room to change into your hero costume, as you did every day. Fatgum had already told you yesterday that another patrol around the city was planned for today, so nothing too out of the ordinary. However, there was always the chance of running into a villain, but you were sure you both could handle it.

The day went by rather smoothly. When you returned, Fatgum told you to get changed because he discovered a new restaurant he wanted to go to with you.

However, you tried to take as much time as possible to put on your civilian clothes. Your eyes landed on the box in your locker, the thought of giving him the baked treats now more terrifying than before. Would he accept them?

After you changed, you walked into his office with the box hidden behind your back.

A desperate, but poor attempt at hiding it.

“Hey, y/n, watch'a got there?”

“Damnit”, you cursed under your breath.

You looked around the room nervously. Deciding it was probably no use in hiding this from him any further, you pulled out the red box from behind your back. Fatgum looked at you with a questioning look, brow slightly raised as you placed the box down in front of him.

“I-” you began but a lump formed in your throat, making it hard to speak. You fumbled with your thumbs for a moment before opening the box in one swift movement. “I made these for you”, you mumbled, a faint blush now spreading on your cheeks.

The pro hero’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw the contents of the box in front of him. He looked back up at you.

“Y/n… you made these cupcakes for me?” he asked.

You nodded, not able to answer yet. Your head hung low, hair, covering your shut eyes, cheeks fully flushed.

You finally took the initiative to speak, opening your mouth slowly, words just flooding out all of a sudden like they were your last, “I made these for you as… as a sign of my g-gratitude. Thanks to you I’ve grown so much in using my quirk and also in trusting myself. I’ve gotten so much stronger since you accepted me as your sidekick and I couldn’t just go on without letting you know that. I owe you so much. Everything you did for me. Just… thank you!”

You heard a chuckle from the man before you and looked up. His cheeks had reddened at your words and he just couldn’t hold back anymore. Fatgum stood up from his desk and pulled you into a tight hug. You could feel your body sink into his stomach as his hands squeeze your back.

“Y/n! That’s so sweet of you! By the way, how did you even know these were my favourite flavour? And you made them yourself? That’s amazing!”, he practically boomed and you could clearly feel how touched he was by your gift.

 "Uhm, Fat?“ you remarked as your body sunk into him even more, making it a bit hard to get back out of his grasp. Not that you had anything against his hugs.

"Ah, sorry,” he said, laughing nervously as he pulled back. “What I also wanted to say is: It’s been really great working with you. You’ve made so much progress. I’m proud of you and-” he paused for a moment, “You are a real cutie, you know that?”

Your face heated up at his compliments. “Thank you, Fatgum”

“Just call me, Taishiro, alright? I told ya that already”, he laughed. “Now, let’s see how these taste, shall we?”

He walked back to his chair and sat down.

“Wanna enjoy these together, cutie?” he asked in a low, almost seductive tone, patting on his thighs to signal you to sit down.

Your blush deepened at the nickname as you made your way towards him. As soon as you were in arms reach, he took your hand and pulled you into his lap. You couldn’t ignore the fact that you felt quite aroused, being able to be this close to him, your back resting against his big, soft belly.

He reached over and took a cupcake out of the box, putting it in his mouth. His eyes lightened up as he chewed on the sweet treat.

“Wow, those are amazing y/n! Simply delicious!”, he said between chews. “You should have some too, you made them after all”.

He grinned, grabbing two more cupcakes out of the box. He ate one while putting the other one to your lips, watching you intently as you took a bite out of it. He bit down on his bottom lip, not being able to deny how hot you looked when some strawberry frosting lingered on your lips.

“You got a lil’ something there, sweetcheeks,” he said in an almost growling manner. He turned your head towards him and whispered, “Let me get that off you, may I?”

Before you could answer, you felt his tongue on your lip, trailing along to wipe the remains of the frosting. You moaned as he now moved in to kiss you deeply. Both of you moaned when your tongues clashed together.

Too soon, though, he pulled away, “Hmm, I always, hah, wondered what else that pretty mouth of yours can do”

“I can show you”, you shyly replied, the kiss leaving you yearning for more.

He groaned in response and you took that as a yes. You moved up from the comfortable position in his lap and slowly began sliding down his body. He linked your lips together one last time before you moved to kneel down in front of his chair, working on his belt.

"Sorry to do this at a time like this, sweetheart, but your cupcakes are just too damn delicious”, he said while reaching to the box to get another one of your treats.

You hummed, unbuckling his pants and pulling them down in one movement. He was definitely a lot bigger than you imagined and had quite a thick girth as well. You could already see how his member twitched, turned on from your make-out session. The mere thought of how he would feel inside you sent bolts of pleasure to your core and you immediately started to kiss up and down his length, licking along the underside which made him bite back a moan. You managed to swallow a good amount of his length and started bobbing your head.

“Fuck, sweetcheeks, that’s it,” Fat moaned as you stopped you movements to suck on the sensitive head. Your tongue moved to his slit, collecting the precum that had gathered there, enjoying it’s salty but slightly sweet taste on your tongue.

He grabbed the fifth piece of cupcake and ate it without hesitation. Just as he swallowed the dessert, you moved to bob your head again but flinched when his cock suddenly swelled and grew a little in size.

“Don’t, ah, don’t push yourself, cutie. You’re already doing so well”, he said, his mouth filled with the sixth cupcake. His cheeks were flushed, pure lust hidden in his eyes.

You tried not to choke and relax your jaw, moving your mouth further down his length, to get as much in as possible. His thick cock swelled up a even more and you could feel it stretch out your mouth, making you drool. It took all of his willpower not buck his hips up into your warm cavern.

“If you keep doing that I- oh fuck, yes. You’re so good with that pretty little mouth of yours”, he praised, letting out another groan.

You did your best to adjust to the growing and swelling member in your mouth. You moved up to swirl your tongue over his slit again, as Fatgum quickly stopped you. He held your mouth open between his fingers now, coating his fingers with frosting and pushing them into you. You wasted no time sucking on his digits, tasting the sweet cream on them.

 Taishiro watched you closely. How you moved your skilled tongue around his fingers with closed eyes, sucking eagerly on them to get every last bit of frosting off. You opened your eyes to lock them with his, earning you a lustful groan.

While you continued to lick off the cream, you snuck both of your hands around his throbbing cock and started to pump it slowly. Fat withdrew his fingers as your pace increased, throwing his head back and let out another moan.

“Please”, he whimpered desperately, gripping your hair as he guided your head back to his cock.

Understanding, you encircled his member with your hot mouth again, sucking down hard.

“Ah, f-fuck!”, he almost screamed, “That’s it sweetcheeks, you’re doing so fucking well. You’re gonna make me-”

Hot liquid shot into your mouth, painting your throat in white, making you gag a little by the amount.

“Oh, shit”, Taishiro said worryingly as he exhaled deeply, coming down from his high. “Everything okay, y/n?”

He reached down to tilt your chin up, watching as you gulped down as much cum as you could manage. There was still a reasonable amount dropping out of your mouth

The pro-hero smiled, his cheeks flushed. “You’re such a cutie, you did so well, sweetcheeks. C'mere.”

With that, he pulled his boxers back up and pulled you back into his lap, bringing his arms around your waist to cuddle you tightly, kissing your cheek.

“You honestly make awesome cupcakes. Those were delicious. Are you going to make those again for me?”, he asked.

“Hmm, of course, Taishiro”, you hummed in response, letting your exhausted body sink into his belly.

“My sweetie,” he mumbled while grinning contently into your neck.

After a while you shuffled again, looking up at him “Do you want to eat the rest?”

“Thought you’d never ask”

#bnha fanfiction #mha fanfiction #bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha fatgum #fatgum x reader #fatgum fluff #fatgum smut

[eternallyyoungjustice]

Wherever the Winds Take You: Chapter 13

A/N: Okay, not gonna lie, didn’t really edit this one much. It’s super duper short, sticks pretty close to the episode, and it’s just been a week. So I apologize for any spelling errors or awkward phrasing. But otherwise, I hope you all like it! Thank you so much for your continued support of my shameless guilty pleasure.

Santa Prisca July 22 21:10

The tunnel remained dark and cold for a few minutes, the only sounds being the ragged breaths of six young heroes and the shuffle of feet against stone. All members collectively could hear their own heartbeat in their ears, and felt the adrenaline pumping through their veins.

Finally, a loud crack broke the silence and an eerie red glow emitted from the glowstick that Aqualad held and promptly tossed to the ground. Every member of the team stood there; Kid Flash and Zephyr showing the most wear, as the non-humans held good composure and Robin stood silently, staring at the barricade of rock and debris that separated the team from the way they came.

After a moment, however, Robin finally broke the silence.

“How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?”

“You do have the most experience, but perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared.” Aqualad spoke. “Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined. You two do not need to talk. But this team is new, and a leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan.”

Robin whirled around, snarled and poison-tongued. “Oh, so I’m supposed to hold everyone’s hands?!” The boy let out a growl of frustration and glared down at the ground. But then, after a moment, the tension in his shoulders released and his form slumped slightly. “Oh, who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur. You’re the only one who can.”

“Please! I can run circles-” Kid Flash’s outburst was cut off by Robin’s now much calmer tone. “Wally, come on. You know he’s the one.” The young boy’s eyes lifted to meet his elder’s. “We all do.”

“Hello, Megan! It’s so obvious!” M’gann chirped.

“Could’a told you.” Superboy shrugged.

Kaldur’s eyes met Lina’s knowing gaze. “You know you have my vote.”

Everyone turned to Wally, who stood awkwardly for a moment before sighing in resignation. “Okay!”

“Then I accept the burden,” Kaldur nodded, stepping towards Robin and placing a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, “until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders. You were born to lead this team, maybe not now, but soon.” Robin nodded, his normal smile returning to his face.

Kaldur turned back to speak to the team as a whole. “Alright, our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving this island.”

“Funny,” Robin smirked, “I had the same thought.”

As the group began to dash down the tunnel’s length, they began to compare notes.

“Robin and I discovered data about the new shipments on a computer in the warehouse.” Kid Flash spoke up. “It looks like Kobra has combined Venom and the Blockbuster formula from Cadmus, making Venom three times as strong and permanent.”  

“So obviously Kobra attacked Bane’s Satna Prisca to have an unlimited supply of the Venom formula, making it able to create the new superformula.” Robin explained. “Which explains how normal supply chains have been cut off if--it’s for a whole new product. But it doesn’t explain how Kobra got his hands on Dr. Desmond’s formula.”

“We discovered that the supplier arriving today was the villain, Sportsmaster.” Aqualad nodded.

Robin pulled up his holo-computer. “Okay, so that must mean Sportsmaster is the supplier and buyer...but it still doesn’t track. He’s a gun for hire, he doesn’t have the power to acquire the blockbuster formula or to get Kobra to do his dirty work.”

“And neither of them have the chops to bond blockbuster with venom. That took some major nerdage.” Kid Flash chimed in.

“I believe the expression is…” As the team arrived at the mouth of the entrance, they were met with the sight of Bane standing there, finishing pumping himself with his normal venom serum which connected from a tube from his arm to the base of his skull, and seemed to enhance his muscle to an inhuman amount. With a sigh of relief, the masked villain dropped the vial formerly containing venom and gazed down at the team of young heroes with a crazed look in his eyes. “‘tip of the iceberg’.”

“Halt, ninos.” Bane growled and revealed a handheld trigger in his grasp. “I’m feeling...explosive.” Simultaneous beeping alerted the team to gaze up, revealing a large number of charged explosives around the mouth of the tunnel.

“You betrayed us, why?” Aqualad spoke, in a tone that-to anyone that knew him-sounded very fake. Bane, however, didn’t seem to notice the falseness. While Bane was distracted, the Atlantean reached out via the telepathic link. “Kid, you’ll need a running start.”

“I want my factory back!” Bane began to monologue. “So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies for me, or die trying. If the latter, the Justice League would certainly have come to avenge their sidekicks. And when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more...blowing the tunnel with you inside, should have the same effects.”

Caught in his own monologue, Bane didn’t see the dark blue that flew by him.

“With what?” Kid Flash suddenly asked, now suddenly behind the hulking man and holding the hand-held trigger that had just been in Bane’s grasp. “This trigger thingy?”

Bane let out a loud growl and pulled back to land a strong punch to the speedster, but promptly found himself being lifted off his feet by an invisible force. Being slowly turned around, Bane saw a smiling Miss Martain standing under him, lifting him telekinetically with a raised hand.

“Finally,” Superboy smirked as he stepped forward, and cracked his knuckles. “Drop him.”

Santa Prisca July 22 21:31

Back outside the warehouse, at its helipad, we watched patiently until Sportsmaster and Kobra bid goodbye to one another. Sportsmaster was a tall, hulking man that was essentially all muscle, who wore a signature goalie mask over his face, but otherwise had no notable physical traits. Kobra, on the other hand, has an almost just as tall figure with an equally as strong build, although his muscles were not nearly as hulking as his compatriots’ and hid his figure under a dark crimson cloak. His pale skin was almost anemic and seemed to glow under the light of the moon, but somehow didn’t make him look sickly. Overall, the aura around him made Zephyr’s spine tingle uncomfortably.

“This Kobra man…” Zephyr whispered from her spot in the shadows next to Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad. “I do not like his vibe.”

Robin snickered quietly. “Have you liked any villains’ ‘vibe’ before?”

The young girl thought for a moment. “Poison Ivy.” She whispered, thinking deeply. “She is, uh, qu'est-ce que...fine as hell, tres tres bonne. Robin, why are most of your famous villains so good-looking, hm? Seems very unfair.”

This made both Robin and Kid Flash snort with laughter to the point where they had to muffle themselves.

“Do you want to trade cities Zeph’?” Robin asked, eyebrows cocked in amusement.

The young women paled, recalling the patrol she and Aqualad had done the other night. “Fair enough! No thank you!”

This made Robin chuckle a little more.

Sportsmaster began to make his way towards the helicopter, causing Aqualad to give Kid Flash his signal, and the young ginger ran off at lightning speed, knocking down cultists and pulling gunfire in his wake.

“Protect the shipment!” A cult member exclaimed. Just in time for Superboy to jump and land in front of Mammoth, who stood next to Kobra.

“Go again?” The clone yelled at the hulking beast, causing it to roar and attack. However, it was promptly forced off-course by a sudden continuous force of water, controlled by Aqualad, sending him right into nearby trees. “Sorry, not the plan.”

As Mammoth roared fiercely and began to fight back against being sprayed, Zephyr flew over him, moving her arms and collecting as many of the coldest Winds she could find. The girl reached high up into the atmosphere to find the ones to complete her task and sent them crashing down onto the blast of water and onto Mammoth, freezing the water around him until slowly but eventually, he was encased in thick, frigid, ice.

At being controlled so forcefully, the Winds carrying Zephyr faltered and the girl landed on the ground in a crouching stance. “I am going to be honest with you,” She called to her new team leader as she dodged a cultist’s fire. “I did not know if that would work!” She managed to grab hold of the cultist’s gun and bashed him in the head with it, before chucking it at another cultist’s head, successfully rendering both unconscious.

“Be thankful it did then!” Aqualad yelled back as he fought his own share of cultists.

Not a moment later, the helicopter filled with products began to take off with Sportsmaster inside. Zephyr turned and prepared her Winds to go after it, just in case, but was relieved when it exploded into flames mid-air, causing it to plummet down towards the factory. Off in the distance, the figure of Sportsmaster leaping out and deploying a parachute could be seen.

As the burning helicopter dropped into the factory, it only took a moment before a deep, rumbling ‘boom’ seemed to shake the island as a whole, and flames erected from the giant metal structures. As the fire began to swallow up the entirety of the warehouses, the cultists-those who remained conscious enough to stand-began to flee from the helipad and into the forest, causing the team to turn its attention to Kobra, who stood (no longer wearing his cloak) over Robin, with a single foot pinning the boy to the ground. The cult leader seemed to scan the six teenagers carefully as if weighing his chances of success, but ultimately began to move away, removing his foot from Robin’s chest and slinking away into the shadows of the trees with a low, grumbling “another time then…”

Robin stood, and immediately darted into where Kobra had disappeared, but alas, he was gone without a trace. Slowly walking back to his team, Robin gazed up at the sizzling remains of the factory and watched the flames like at the metal for a moment, before looking back down at his comrades.

“We picked the right guy to lead.” Robin nodded with a smile at Aqualad. “...automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman!” Robin walked away, laughing, and Kaldur’s face seemed to immediately drain of any blood as fear entered his eyes.

“Don’t worry Aqualad.” M’gann piped up, floating close to her leader. “We won’t let Batman chew you out too much! Besides, I was technically the one who made the helicopter explode.”

“Yeah, don’t sweat it too much.” Wally smiled. “We’re a team now, which means we’re all gonna be killed by Bats equally!” This earned him looks from all the remaining members.

“Your bedside manner definitely could use some improvements, my friend.” Lina shook her head, but she quickly offered a supportive smile to her best friend-now leader.

Mount Justice July 23 10:01

“A simple recon mission! Observe and report!” Batman growled loudly, his tone so uniquely terrifying that it could possibly strike fear into every living creature on the planet. Or at least that’s what it felt like. “You will each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes. But until then…”

The main open room of the cave seemed to ring with anticipated breath as the co-leader of the Justice League paused.

“Good job.”

This shocked every member of the team with surprise, causing them to all whirl their heads to look at Batman with bewildered looks.

“No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success. And how you choose who leads determines character.” Batman turned and began walking away. “You’re all dismissed.”

“Did…” Wally spoke, a small smile itching at his lips. “Did we just get verbally patted on the back by the Batman? For blowing up a factory?”

“I...I think we did!” Robin chuckled, running a stunned hand through his spiky black hair.

“We just finished our first actual mission together, right?” M’gann perked up. “I believe that’s cause for celebration! What do you guys think?” All the members of the team looked to one another, and then looked to Kaldur.

“Well...leader gives the orders.” Robin smirked.

Kaldur smiled and nodded. “Celebration is well-deserved, I think.”

The team all cheered, or in Superboy’s case silently smiled, and began making their way towards the exit to the cave.

“I’m thinking...pizza, Chinese food, snacks and a movie marathon...with possibly dessert provided by the lovely M’gann?” Wally asked, shooting finger guns at the martian herself.

“You...want me to make dessert? After my batch of cookies went so wrong?” M’gann asked, seemingly delighted and flattered.

“I will give you some help in the kitchen M’gann, don’t worry,” Lina said, locking her arm with the younger girl’s. “We’re going to need two sets of hands in the kitchen if we need to feed Kid Mouth and everyone else anyway.”

“Oh, this is going to be sweet!!” Wally exclaimed.

As the gang began to loudly plan their big party, Lina leaned away from the conversation slightly, pulling her phone out of the pocket of her jean jacket. Unlocking the device, she quickly found her and Roy’s texting conversation. Smiling to herself, she quickly types out her message.

Call me when you get home from patrol tonight! You’re going to want to hear about our first mission! Guess who our new leader is…. :D -L

#Young Justice #young justice fanfiction #young justice fanfic #fanfiction #oc fanfiction #young justice oc #original character #aqualad x oc #Kaldur'ahm #kaldur #miss martian #Megan Morse #M'gann M'orzz #mgann morzz #artemis #artemis crock #tigress #Kid Flash #Wally West #nightwing #robin #aqualad #dick grayson #superboy #conner kent #red tornado #john smith #DC comics #dc fanfic #dc fanfiction

[nitewrighter]

Ah okay!! How about Samir & Aedan being a bunch of sleuths trying to discover and dispatch the Talon scientists responsible for the creation of Andrea. Or basically Aedan asking Samir and maybe to an extent Sombra to find a way to completely trash all the cloning-related research that Moira got from his conception so that no more clones would be made to go through what he's gone through(the existential dread) or wind up becoming another killing machine like Andrea!

I really love this prompt! Though I think Aedan’s relationship to Talon’s cloning projects would probably be more complex than “TALON ONLY MAKES MONSTROSITIES AND OUR EXISTENCE IS ONLY SUFFERING.”

...okay did this fic turn into a “Mountains of Madness/The Thing” knock-off? Maybe. Do I still like it? Yes.

----

The four of them stood huddled together in front of a massive, ice-slicked steel door dug into the side of Monte Sarmiento. All of them were bundled up, virtually indistinguishable from each other save by the colors of their windbreakers layered over thick down jackets, and Marti’s black braid speckled by snowflakes. Their faces were mostly obscured by goggles and scarves, and what skin did show was chapped by wind.

“Secret South American lab?” Jaime had pulled one glove off and was picking bits of protein bar out of his teeth with his pinky nail, “Even for Talon, that’s... nnnot a good look.”

“Overwatch had them too,” said Samir with a shrug, “Though, granted, it was for Crisis-era prosthetics research.”

“I’m just saying!” said Jaime, he shuddered as an icy wind blew through and looked over his shoulder back at the snow-capped peaks of the Cordillera Darwin before pulling a glove back on, “At least we’re not in Argentina.”

“Overwatch’s was in Argentina, actually,” said Samir, and Jaime snorted.

“Focus,” said Marti, her goggles down over her eyes as she and Samir decrypted the code on the door.

“We’re sure this site’s abandoned?” said Jaime, “We won’t be activating any... ‘nuke from orbit’ failsafes, right?”

“Best intel Auntie and Lynx could get, and Winston’s satellite should intercept any signal it might send out,” said Marti, numerous lines of code running across the lenses of her goggles, “And the decryption should be complete... right... about... now.”

There was a deep whirring sound and the ice on the door fractured. The four of them flinched back as it fell down in sheets and shattered against the icy and rocky ground, opening into a dark, steel-lined corridor.

“Scout it out, Ebo,” said Marti, taking the small spider-like drone off of her back harness and setting it on the ground. The little robot scuttled into the darkness and one lens of Marti’s goggles lit up with a feed from what Ebo’s camera could pick up.

“...so when do we all get the cute little drone sidekicks?” said Jaime as the four of them lit up their flashlights and walked into the corridor.

“You’re welcome to build your own,” said Marti, shining her flashlight around the massive heptagonal hallway. There was a loud ‘thunk-CHUNK’ and the hallway suddenly lit up in unnerving red lights. It mostly eliminated the need for flashlights, but all of them hesitated to turn them off. There came a loud whirring and all of them flinched with alertness.

“Stay calm,” said Marti, holding up a hand to make them pause in their steps. she brought a hand to her temple, apparently focusing on Ebo’s feed in her goggles, “Security drones incoming,” she said. Jaime swung his rifle off of his shoulder and Samir materialized his rifle from hard-light, “Aedan, stay low. If they get your head the mission is scrubbed. Samir. Take drones at two o’clock to eight o’ clock. Jaime. Eight to two.”

Jaime audibly cocked his rifle. The drones came flying out of the darkness, unnerving things, radially symmetrical, somewhere between squid and jellyfish in their design, bearing some resemblance to the gwishin omnic but even more unnervingly reminding Aedan of the construction of his own mother’s combat suit with a strange tightness to their chassises. Aedan could already feel dread chilling his blood but both Samir and Jaime quickly and efficiently dispatched the drones. A few loud shots echoing off the metallic walls of the corridor and the drones spun and crashed to the ground next to them. About 7 or 8, virtual target practice.

“Not to jinx it but... seems a little underwhelming, right?” said Jaime, “As far as secret labs go?”

Both Marti and Samir gave Jaime a wary glance as if he might very well jinx it, but there was a sound overhead and all of them flinched, Jaime and Samir bringing their rifles to the ready, but only a few nonfunctioning drone chassis tumbled out of a duct. They glanced up at the duct, noting even more nonfunctioning drones jamming it. There was a scuttling sound and Aedan tensed, only to see Ebo scuttling back to Marti.

“...I guess at one point they were supposed to overwhelm any intruders with numbers,” said Marti, picking up Ebo, folding its legs back in, and tucking the robot back into a slot on the harness on her back. She glanced over at Aedan, stooping over one of the dispatched drones.

“Aedan, if you want to study it further, we can grab it on the way out---” Marti started but Aedan was folding and unfolding one of the wing-like appendages on the drones.

“Pseudo-organic...” murmured Aedan.

“Come again?” said Marti.

“Nothing just...” Aedan pulled himself up to his full height, “Technically they’re living things.”

“What?” Jaime tilted his head.

“Well... insomuch as a nanite is a living thing,” said Aedan, rejoining the group.

“...Are you good?” said Marti, as Aedan closed the distance between them.

“You need someone with experience in Talon’s science division,” Aedan answered with a level of obviousness.

“But are you good?” said Marti, “This mission is already hitting close to home with you---”

“Look, it’s just a practical exploration of one branch of the capabilities of nanite design,” said Aedan, irritated, “I’ve already gone through my whole stupid clone angst well before I even defected, I’m here to make sure something good actually comes of it. Which I can’t do if everyone is treating me like a Fabergé egg.”

“I’ll take your word for it...” said Marti, glancing off.

Aedan did his best to ignore the implications of her words as they continued walking forward. “I’ll take your word for it,” didn’t simply imply that she believed his words, there was another layer to it. “I’ll take your word for it,” easily translated to, “I believe that you believe that---and of course, just because you believe this about yourself or your situation doesn’t make it true.” But no, despite everything he strived for as a person, Aedan knew his very existence represented probably the ugliest side of Talon’s unfettered scientific ambition.

It’s why they brought me, thought Aedan as they reached another massive steel door and the three of them looked to him expectantly. There was a retinal scan terminal next to the door.

“Your time to shine,” said Marti, as Aedan stepped up to it.

“...couldn’t you have tried to decrypt it? Or blow it open?” said Aedan, stepping up to the terminal.

“We don’t know if that would have activated some self-destruct failsafe,” said Samir, “We want to see the lab how Talon would have seen it.”

“Of course,” said Aedan, bringing his eye to the scanner.

Two blue lines of light crisscrossed over his mahogany brown eye.

“O’Deorain, Moira,” an automated voice sounded from the computer, “Vocally confirm any guests with you for biometrics.”

A bit of panic flared up in Aedan’s chest, but he glanced back t his three compatriots and looked back at the terminal. Pitching his voice in the best approximation of his mother’s, he spoke, “O’Deorain, Moira, reporting. And three guests.”

“Accepted,” said the terminal, “Enter passcode.”

“What?” said Aedan.

“Verbally state your passcode,” said the terminal.

“Let me decrypt it,” said Marti, bringing her goggles back down over her eyes.

“Please enter passcode in the next... 40 seconds,” said the terminal.

“Will it decrypt that fast?” said Aedan, quickly.

“No,” said Marti, looking at him.

Aedan brought in a sharp breath through his teeth. His mother never had very good passcodes for anything, largely because she was dealing with Talon passcodes around every corner with Talon putting pressure on her to come up with new ideas all the time. What would she pick for here? What would she pick for now? Something obvious. Something reflecting her sensibilities.

“Please enter passcode in the next... 20 seconds,” droned the terminal.

“Uh, Aedan?” said Jaime.

“Darwin!” Aedan flinched at how loudly the word came out of him.

“Passcode expired. Please enter current passcode in the next...9 seconds,” said the terminal.

“Aedan--” Samir started.

“Beagle!” blurted out Aedan.

There was a pause of a few seconds, then another ‘thunk-CHUNK’ as the gears behind the door shifted, and the massive steel doors pulled away revealing a large lift.

“...How did you know that?” said Marti.

“Well,” Aedan shrugged, “Some side effects to Mum supplementing my memories with hers, I suppose, but mostly? We’re both lazy in our way. I mean, I supposed there would come a point where you get so exasperated with passcodes that you just defer to the passcode being the location the passcode is in so...” He trailed off and scanned the faces of his team members.

“Let’s just... get on the lift,” said Marti.

The four of them moved onto the lift. There were only two other floors. A main level, and what seemed to be a ship bay for evacuation or Talon drop ships. They opted for the main level. The lift hummed and all of them felt a distinct gut-sinking feeling as it plummeted.

All of them tensed as the doors opened to a massive chamber hewn into the mountain itself and supported by steel beams like the ribs of a massive beast. There were more ‘thunks’ and ‘whirrs’ as the auxiliary power lit up the lab, cold little white lights on footpaths thrummed up from the floor, creating an eerie lighting from below, and there were a few industrial lights shining down on a central lab table. Lining the lab walls however, were what appeared to be massive cylinders of tight bands of metal, each equipped with its own terminal and what appeared to be a generator.

“Full scan, Ebo,” said Marti, once again taking the little robot off of her back and sending it scuttling off into the dark recesses of the lab. Scalloping around the tanks, the little spider drone bustled around a corner into a corridor which Aedan assumed might lead to the generators for this lab.

“What are we looking at here?” said Jaime.

“I’d guess maybe cryogenic research?” said Samir, walking up to one of the metal cylinders and putting his hand on it, “Feels like it would be appropriate, given the location...”

“So we might just end up thawing out Talon agents if we touch the wrong thing,” said Jaime. He snorted. “Can you imagine just... being forgotten in a freezer for years?”

“...Overwatch actually had that happen with Doctor Zhou,” said Samir.

“Speculating gets us nowhere,” said Marti as she walked up to the first cylinder’s terminal. She brought her goggles down and activated the holographic screens of the terminal, her fingers racing across them to decrypt.

“It’s too warm in here for cryogenics,” Aedan said, mostly to himself as he headed to another cylinder He rapped a knuckle on the cylinder. The reverberation of the metal wasn’t quite hollow. He frowned and turned to the terminal, typing a few old Talon access codes. The holographic interface lit up, displaying flatlined vitals. Samir might be right, thought Aedan, It could be cryo... but another possibility was itching at the back of his mind. Aedan selected a button that said, ‘Open exterior shell,’ just as an excited huff came out of Marti.

“Got it--!” Marti started as the metal bands slid to the side but that tone of victory in her voice quickly shrank in her throat. Aedan glanced at his own cylinder and saw the bands sliding away from it, revealing glass and… yellow. His gut seized. All four of them stumbled away from the cylinders, shrinking in close to Marti in horror as the metal bands slid away to reveal two yellowish glass tanks, each with a naked man floating in it with dozens of wires stuck into his skin and a particularly unnerving wire ported at his temple. Mnemosyne, Aedan thought, mindlessly feeling at the side of his own head. It took a second to make out their hair in the yellowness of the tank, it was a bit long for amnio-tank regulations. How long had they been abandoned? How much did the biotics slow the keratinization process of the growth of hair?

“Blonde clones in tubes...” Jaime said, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice but somewhat blindly fumbling for Samir’s hand, “Like I said before: Not a good look.”

“Look at their faces,” said Marti, squinting.

The truth was their faces had that strange, anonymizing shadow of death upon them. The way death makes anything look so very remote from anything it looked like in life. They were in tanks of biotics, but all Aedan could think about were embryos and reptiles in jars of formaldehyde. But they could still pick up a sharp nose, a strong jaw, and thin lips.

“…Jack Morrison,” Samir said hollowly. Even without the scars, everyone could recognize that nose and that jawline from the posters that had colored their world since well before any of them were born.

“You’re telling me Talon devoted an entire lab to cloning Jack Morrison?” Jaime said, his face twisted up.

“It might not be just Jack Morrison,” said Marti, quickly heading to the lab’s central terminal, and Samir paled slightly.

“With all data on the SEP serum destroyed, it was their most logical bet,” said Aedan, “Short of grave-robbing other subjects from the Omnic crisis, but I doubt any samples there would be viable if they couldn’t scry the compound from genetic information.”

He felt Jaime’s eyes on him, shrewd and disturbed. Aedan pressed his own lips together, hating how much he still knew about how Talon thought. Hating how much he still thought like Talon.

Marti still had her goggles down, streams of data going over the lenses as she typed at the central terminal, “I’m getting the next one open.”

They all tried to keep steady, but the loud whirrs and ‘thunks’ which issued from Marti’s hacking efforts while all their eyes were fixed on the other clones in the amnio-tanks made all of them flinch.

A nervous laugh fell out of Jaime. “Keep expecting their eyes to open...” he said, his voice a little strained.

The metal bands slid away on the next cylinder, revealing not a blonde man but a floating amorphous pulp of black.

“Nanite amalgam?” said Aedan, tilting his head.

“What’s a nanite amalgam, again?” whispered Jaime.

“Baby reaper,” whispered Marti.

“They’re not ‘Baby Reapers,’” said Samir, “More like... Reaper goo coral colonies.”

“But we don’t--I mean Talon doesn’t usually let them get this big...” murmured Aedan, “It’s easier to observe cellular anomalies when they’re...” he trailed off and tapped at the monitor next to the tank with the black pulp. Aedan put a hand over his mouth.

“What?” said Marti.

“...it’s not a nanite amalgam. This... was an attempt at cloning Reyes,” said Aedan, his shoulders dropping, “Couldn’t maintain cellular cohesion. He...” Aedan took a steadying inhale, “In the most scientific terms... ate himself.”

Jaime’s lips pulled back from his teeth in some combination of repulsion and that odd scrambling need to use humor to try and maintain some mental grip on the situation but also knowing he shouldn’t do that for Aedan’s sake.

“Aedan, do you need to--?” Marti started.

“Open the next tank,” said Aedan, stiffly. Marti gave him a look and Aedan cleared his throat. “Please. If it’s... in your best judgment, team leader.”

Marti tapped away at the monitor again. The next tank was a similar black pulp but now in a roughly human shape, like a shadow.

“This one managed to maintain its hox genes...” murmured Aedan.

“I’ve found the ‘Emergency access’ channel--I’m opening the rest of them,” said Marti.

There was a series of clanks and whirring then and the rest of the tanks were revealed. These weren’t all identical clones. If Aedan had to make a comparison, he would say it was like An artist’s body of work as defined by a particular phase. There was Picasso’s Blue Period, and here was his mother’s “Try and create a supersoldier that combines the most terrifying aspects of both Morrison and Reyes with varying but all uniquely disgusting results” period.

“Subjects seven through eighteen,” Aedan said quietly, pressing one hand to the glass of an amnio-tank. He remembered McCree interrogating him shortly after his defection. Why does everyone always assume clones are made in bulk?

They weren’t made in bulk, thought Aedan, This is trial and error. This is throwing everything at a wall and seeing what sticks.

 There was a man in the tank with a ruddier skin tone than Jack’s but hair too light to be Reyes’s--or at least most of him--his arms and legs tapered off into cloudy black points, like a piece of wood that had only half of it burned.

“Couldn’t maintain cellular cohesion at the extremities. Organs were probably in a state of peril from the start and failed as it moved inward,” Aedan muttered.

“Uh--Aedan?” said Marti, but Aedan moved across the next tank, featuring a man with similar features midway between Reyes and Morrison, in somewhat complete form, but with the entire back of his head dissolved and trailing up 

“Could reconstruct most of his body but not the arbor vitae. Probably killed himself at the first attempt at a fade, yet the nanites still responded to the peripheral nerves. Very unusual,” he murmured.

“Aedan,” Samir’s voice was troubled but Aedan was too caught up in his observations, moving to the next tank. 

The clone in this one was... unfortunate. Really more of just a brain and spine surrounded by a black cloud of nanites. “The previous couldn’t maintain the integrity of the central nervous system, this one couldn’t maintain the integrity of the periphera--”

“AEDAN!” Jaime bellowed and Aedan glanced up. Jaime pointed to the end of the row of tanks. The last tank was empty--or at least, what was left of it was empty. What remained of the tank was jagged glass rendered virtually white from all its fissures. They had all been so busy looking at the tanks and monitors they didn’t catch the shards of glass sparkling in those cold floor lights at the base of the final tank. The glass definitely showed that something had burst out of the tank, rather than a force shattering it inward.

“...do we know... why Talon abandoned this lab?” the words came out of Aedan squeakier than he wanted.

“Well, mostly our prerogative is to secure any Talon site that’s tactically viable,” said Samir.

Marti pressed a button on the side of her goggles and a clear tension overcame her, “And you know what?” she said, her voice pitching higher than usual, “Let’s consider this one secured! Let’s go to the lift, everyone!”

“What?” said Samir.

“But there’s still so much to--” Aedan started.

“We are going to the lift,” said Marti through clenched teeth, “Now.”

There was a scuttling and Aedan, Samir, and Jaime all instinctively clustered close, only to see Marti’s drone Ebo scuttling out of a dark corridor of the lab. Marti un slung her shockcaster off her back and fired off several tether lines behind the little spider robot.

“Uh, Marti--?” Jaime started. 

“I said get to the li--” Marti shoved her goggles up off of her eyes as a horrible creaking, sloshing sound came out of the corridor behind Ebo, “NOW!” she shouted, “GO NOW!”

What lurched out of the corridor, Aedan couldn’t really compare to the nanite amalgams he had sent swarming over Urdr when he had defected with Rei. Too much of it was flesh-toned. But the black of nanites spiraled all over the whorls of skin and muscle making it up. Aedan didn’t try to make out how many eyes or hands were throbbing and blinking and clenching in it. Somehow, despite having far more eyes than any organism had any business having, all of those eyes fixed on them. Four dumb kids in brightly colored windbreakers standing smack dab in the center of the lab. Some of the eyes that looked at them were blue. Some were brown. Some had entirely too much pupil. Too much tapetum lucidum. Some were runny with tears and yellow gunk. The mass of nanite-spiraled muscles and flesh pressed out at Aedan like some creature trying to burst out of an amniotic sack. Aedan was frozen in place mouth hanging open, staring at this creature. This thing that came from a tank and was made of only a few smatterings of DNA and nanites, just like he did. He stood there, dumbly, until he felt felt Jaime grab his arm and he felt his own legs pumping as all four of them sprinted for the lift.

 Marti fired out a tether at Ebo, caught the little robot, then yanked back hard, whisking the drone into her arms. She hugged it close to her chest as she ran. It wasn’t clear if she was protecting it or she thought it might protect her. Jaime just kept running, gripping Aedan’s arm so hard it hurt as Aedan flailed behind him, unable to pull his eyes away from the crawling, clawing mass that pursued them. Samir tossed out a few turrets to slow it down but soon surrendered to the dead sprint to the lift as the pulsing mass of flesh and nanites and muscles and sinew and limbs that didn’t know if they were hands or feet but were still reaching out, feeling out, followed after them. The four of them scrambled into the lift and Marti feverishly slammed the ‘close door’ button as the mass sloshed and crawled and reached for them. Samir brought up a hard light shield and the fleshy mass pressed against it, not-quite-hands pressing white against the bluish light before the doors of the lift finally closed and the lift shot upward. 

“Guh--” some repulsed noise throbbed out of Jaime’s throat. Jaime, who never knew how to shut up for anything, was at a horrified loss of words. He suppressed a gag. 

“Subject Eighteen...” the words left Aedan in a breath, a manic laugh shook him, “You created something with SEP serum toughness, and nanite adaptiveness but it wasn’t--it wasn’t...”

“Aedan--” Marti touched his arm.

“It was adapting,” Aedan was babbling, “It was adapting. It knew not to give itself a mouth or vocal chords because maybe then we could hear it coming--”

Marti suddenly pulled him into a hug.

“Probably converted what labtechs were here into biomass...” Aedan’s voice was breaking. 

“Breathe, it’s okay,” said Marti.

“There’s a brain in there--maybe a lot of brains---maybe--” Aedan didn’t know why he kept talking. Maybe talking was all that kept the worst of the horror back. He felt Jaime layer himself around Marti in that same embrace.

“Tell me it’s not me--Tell me that thing isn’t me---” Aedan wasn’t quite sure when his face had gotten so wet with tears but it must have been bad because even Samir was piling into the hug now. 

“It’s not you,” Marti’s voice was half-muffled against the bulk of Aedan’s own coat. Aedan just sank to his knees, his breath heaving between hyperventilating and sobs, and the rest of the team sank with him. Their only comfort was the thrum of the lift itself, bringing them up further and further from the horror below.

#moiraspawn #spiderbyte kid #mchanzo kid #symmarah kids

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

M*A*S*H: The Characters, Part 2: Trapper McIntyre, Henry Blake, and Margaret Houlihan

Trapper (Wayne Rogers) was a similar type of character to Hawkeye: a trickster Deadpan Snarker who had had his fill of the war by the time the show started.  Originally beginning the show as Hawkeye’s equal, he unfortunately fell to the position of ‘sidekick’ more often than not, a natural side-effect of Alan Alda’s magnetic performance and Hawkeye’s overpowering personality.  But where Hawkeye was unattached and had more potential for sincerity, Trapper was married, (but still playing a Casanova) and tended to be more lighthearted.

Trapper started out as ‘The Lancer’, a supporting role that got plenty of screentime and action, and despite only being on the show for three seasons, a fair amount of character development.  While he was never as depressed a character as Hawkeye, Trapper did have his moments of darkness, such as being tempted to kill a North Korean POW(who had unintentionally cost the life of one of Trapper’s patients) or punching out Hawkeye in an attempt to rush home.  Episodes like “Kim” and “Check Up” do give Trapper a spot in the limelight, but in the end, over the grand scheme of the show, Trapper’s chief influence came after he’d left.

Between seasons three and four, Trapper acquired enough points to get sent home, which he did while Hawkeye was on R&R.  This event signaled the second gut punch of the show, as Trapper’s departure occurred directly after Colonel Henry Blake left the show the episode prior.  But while Blake had a send-off (a heartbreaking one that we’ll come back to in a minute), Trapper…didn’t.  He just left.  No note, no message, nothing but a peck on the cheek for Hawkeye, his best friend.

Unlike most sitcoms on at the time, where Trapper’s departure would have been largely overlooked for the rest of the show, the hole that Trapper left in the camp, and notably in Hawkeye, was felt for the remainder of the series.  He is often mentioned in episodes after he’s gone, and the impact of his exit (and the lack of goodbye) is felt even by characters who never met him, such as his replacement, B.J. (more on him later).  Trapper was an early staple, who, despite his short time with the series, made a difference, just like real people do, and in the end, he was one of the lucky ones: he got to go home.  Trapper returned to his wife and kids, and left Korea behind, and left the 4077th a little emptier as a result.

And he wasn’t the only one.

For the first three seasons, the 4077th was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake, (McLean Stevenson) hailing from Bloomington, Illinois.  Henry was a skilled, caring doctor…and a terrible colonel.

Very much ‘The Alleged Boss’, Henry freely admitted that he wasn’t an army man.  He was a surgeon, with a practice at home.  Extremely Mildly Military, (frequently out of uniform and sporting a fishing hat) Henry left the running of the camp to Radar O’Reilly, the company clerk, and tended to try as hard as he could to not make command decisions.

With that said, Henry was a very kind man, understandably frustrated with his situation and missing his own wife and family back in the states (though, like Trapper, he did cheat on his wife a few times during the course of the show, with little remorse.  He was a Father to His Men, (especially Radar), and despite his typically goofy, down-to-earth nature, he had his moments of wisdom.

Hawkeye: “I haven’t cried once since I came to this crummy place. Why am I crying for him? Why not any of these other kids?”

Henry: “If I had the answer to that, I’d be at the Mayo Clinic. Does this look like the Mayo Clinic to you? All I know is what they taught me in command school. There are certain rules about a war. Rule number one is young men die. And rule number two is doctors can’t change rule number one.”

He was well-liked among the camp (except by Frank Burns and Margaret Houlihan), and in the end, his departure was a celebrated event…at first.

We can’t discuss Henry Blake without talking about “Abysinnia, Henry”.

The season 3 finale, “Abysinnia Henry”, was television history, for one major reason (at first): Henry Blake was going home.

By season 3, M*A*S*H mattered to people.  It was doing well in the ratings, many people were watching it, so when season 3 rolled around and the news hit that Henry Blake was going to go home, many people were, just as they are in the episode, elated for him.  The episode is a funny, heartfelt goodbye to the commanding officer, complete with a touching goodbye from each character.  Henry gets on the chopper, takes off…and the war goes on.

Until the final scene.

Radar O’Reilly, company clerk and son-figure to Henry Blake, barges into surgery in a state of dazed distress, reading off a note:

“I have a message… Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake’s plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. It spun in. There were no survivors.”

That was a gut punch, and audiences, as well as the characters, felt it keenly.

To quote the video essay: “Lightning in a Bottle – a M*A*S*H* Video Essay” by Ladyknightthebrave:

“Before this, characters did not die on half-hour situational comedies.  Not main characters anyway, and certainly not like this.  This moment changed television.”

It’s true.  In the 1970s, main characters did not die on sitcoms, and they certainly didn’t die on the way home from a war to be reunited with their families.  It wasn’t fair.  It wasn’t right.  Henry was almost home…and in the end, it didn’t matter.

While we often point to the episode “Sometimes You Hear the Bullet” as the moment M*A*S*H’s Cerberus Syndrome kicked in, there is an undeniable level of gravity that entered the scene the moment the news of Henry’s death entered the world of the 4077th.  All of a sudden, M*A*S*H went from ‘zany military hospital sitcom’ to coming face-to-face with the horrible reality that not everyone gets to go home at the end.

And like with Trapper, Henry’s shadow hung over the rest of the show.  

“They’ll never stop coming, you know. Trapper left, and they’re still coming. Henry got killed, and they’re still coming. Wherever they come from, they’ll never run out.”

At the end of season three, M*A*S*H lost both of these major players, and the loss was keenly felt, by the characters as much as by the audience.  Again, in the early 1970s, sitcom characters didn’t just leave, much less die, especially like that.  But the show had to go on, much as the war would, and instead of leaving two gaping holes in the command structure, replacements were sent in for the missing crew:

“Trapper John goes. No problem, there’s plenty more where he came from.  B.J. Hunnicutt. Same size, same shape.  Frank Burns out, Winchester in. Only a hair’s difference.  Henry Blake… Rest in peace, Henry. Incoming, Sherman Potter.”

But we’ll get to that later.  You see, while these characters would fade out and bring replacements in their wake, other characters, besides Hawkeye, remained staples of the show from beginning to end.

Characters like Margaret Houlihan.

While Hawkeye, Trapper, and Henry got by through Mildly Military antics and a blatant disregard or incompetence when it came to the army way of doing things, Major Margaret Houlihan (Loretta Swit) was a born soldier and head-nurse.  A strict, by-the-book Battleaxe Nurse and an ex-Military Brat, Margaret Houlihan was the definitive Defrosting Ice Queen, matching Hawkeye, and even outpassing him in terms of character development.

Margaret started the show as a one-note, one-joke caricature, much like most characters did.  Originally wholly unlikeable and serving as an antagonist to the rest of the main cast, Margaret was a Gung Holier Than Thou exaggeration of a character…early on, anyway.  Beginning the show as an entirely unsympathetic person, partner to Frank Burns (romantically involved with him, despite the fact that he was a married man), Margaret’s early personality left few positives to be seen…at first, anyway.

“I don’t fall over, captain. Everything around here will be just fine if there’s a little less leaning and a lot more leadership. We need obedience. We need discipline, not this chaos. Doctors like you constantly out of uniform. Nurses who don’t belong in uniform. Dogs running around loose in camp…they’re getting run over by jeeps.”

While there were glimmers of character development early on, as seasons went by, slowly, Margaret started to change, for the better.

Starting in season 5, with her engagement to Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott and dumping of Major Frank Burns, Margaret began to lose a number of her sharp, hard edges, becoming a warmer person, proving herself Not So Above it All, with plenty of Pet the Dog moments becoming more and more prominent as the show continued.  Slowly, she began to demonstrate real humanity, and a desire to be accepted.

“Did you ever show me any kind of friendship? Ask my help with a personal problem? Include me in one of your little bull sessions? Can you imagine what it feels like to walk by this tent and hear you laughing and know I’m not welcome? Did you ever once ever offer me a lousy cup of coffee?”

Despite this growth coinciding with her marriage, things were to change yet again for Margaret in season seven.

After a tumultuous marriage to her high-ranking husband, (a type she has demonstrated an attraction to in the past) a frustrated, exhausted, and cheated-on Margaret makes the decision to divorce her husband, a decision that would stick through to the end of the show.  Margaret remained single to the end, growing out of her role as stickler and love-interest, and becoming a full-fledged, strong character in her own right, as a Vitriolic Best-Bud to Hawkeye and B.J., and a compassionate, kind, strong, woman who learns to define herself, not only by the army, but by her own terms as a person.

Easily one of the most dynamic characters of the show, arguably the most dynamic, Margaret managed to become one of the most human characters on the show, without becoming perfect.  Her edges were smoothed somewhat, but never taken away, and she ended the show a deeper, richer person than she had been at the start.

Which is more than we can say for Major Frank Burns.

(Join us next time for Part 3: Frank Burns, Radar O’Reilly, Maxwell Klinger, and more!)

#M*A*S*H #70s #Television #TV-PG #TV #Comedy #Drama #War #Alan Alda #Loretta Swit #Jamie Farr #William Christopher #Wayne Rogers #McLean Stevenson #Larry Linville #Gary Burghoff #Mike Farrell #Harry Morgan #David Ogden Stiers #Larry Gelbart

[cleverbxrd]

What Were You Expecting?

WHO: Dick Grayson / @cxrcusbxrd​ , Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd / @rxdshood​ , Ra’s al Ghul MENTIONED: Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Talia al Ghul WORD COUNT: 4,141 LOCATION: Ra’s’ current evil hidey-hole THE BASICS:  Two Birds (and a Bat) walk into a secret League of Assassins base... TW: Comic/Action Movie Level Violence, Slight Trauma, Injury, Murderous Intent, Past Death Mention, Deus Ex Grayson

DICK: None of this was easy. Nothing about having to rescue a member of their family, their little dysfunctional clan, was remotely easy. It had taken them this long to even find out a possible place where Tim had been taken to, and even then something felt very off. Maybe it was uncharted territory, maybe it was the fact that he'd told Jason to lead the charge alone, call him over com if he couldn't find anything. The seconds were ticking away, and he wasn't keeping as strict a timer as he felt he should. Nightwing was currently on lookout duty, guarding their secretly made entryway into the compound, looking out for what he could only assume were ninja, assassins, that Ra's had employed on monitor duty. No one in or out, sounded on par. Luckily he hadn't run into anyone he needed to crack the skulls of, but even that put him on edge. It was like the Demon's Head was just waiting for them. If Steph hadn't been enough of a warning, this eerie silence while he waited for his younger brother's call... Ah Hell, Jason wasn't going to get back to him, not like this. Guy was probably looking for the source. Who could blame him? They were all reckless, very much to their own faults. If they wanted to be smart about this, though, they couldn't take the direct path to the one who started it all. Maybe a crash-course in their strategy would've been effective. Dick had to stop himself in his mental tracks. Relinquishing lead was hard, but he trusted Jason, trusted his instincts. They'd both been trained by the same guy... So why was he so damn nervous?

Maybe it was the fact that he felt someone's eyes on him in the fraction of a second he'd had a momentary panic about weather or not they were approaching this entire situation correctly (and really, who's going to say if it was right or wrong? Sometimes you have to call a shit-ton of audibles). Dick's white-lensed eyes squinted into the darkness, a hairline trigger activating infrared to see if he could really find who he was sure was watching him, watching them. It didn't take long before he reached behind his shoulders to pull the electrified escrima sticks from his back, settling into an all too familiar low defensive stance. If there was one thing he was sure of he wasn't going to take this impromptu mission any less seriously than his more 'normal', less paranoia-inducing ones. I'm getting my brother back.

"I know you're out there," He finally called out, the weapons crackling to life with charged light, just barely illuminating the small area that he stood his ground. "Show yourself!"

BRUCE: The boys were doing what the boys did, ignore his orders and get themselves into trouble. It was an old song and dance by now, one he had hoped they already knew the steps to, though he supposed that their urgency, their panic, blinded them to the inevitability of it all. 

Did they truly think they would go on a rescue mission without him finding out? That he would really allow them to charge headfirst into Ra’s hands without him having a say in it? He didn’t know if that reflected poorly on him or proved that as grown as they were his sons were all still boys in the end. 

Bruce perched atop the roof, his brow furrowed underneath his cowl as his planted device hummed, an EMP knocking out the motion sensors throughout the grounds before the bat took a running leap to glide closer to his target, Dick. 

He landed with a dull thud, his jaw clenched as he stood to his full height. 

“You’re jumpy,” Bruce said simply, his attention turning to the ‘Thwip’ of two guards being lifted and secured behind Dick’s back, “and sloppy. I was under the impression you two were conducting a stealth mission.”

DICK: Ah. Shit.

Hi dad. Er, second dad. The dad that didn't bother to adopt him officially until he'd been well past Ward status.

Still, the familiar sight of a bat-eared cowl did nothing to prevent the squinted lenses from narrowing further, the stance he'd taken relaxing only a fraction. He was still on edge, still on high alert. Bruce was good, as he always was, and caught him off guard. Sloppy.

He didn't need to be told twice, less-than-happy flashbacks of hours on hours of training popping in and out of subconsious memory... this wasn't the time to be reminiscing on weather or not you actually wanted to give the old man the argument of a lifetime. 

"It was," Nightwing sighed, absently twirling one of the lightened sticks in his hand. "But something tells me it's a bit hard to be stealthy against literal ninja." Assassins, same difference. Squaring his blue-lined shoulders, the former sidekick faced his mentor with a grimace. "How the hell did you find us, Bruce?"

BRUCE: Bruce fought the urge to roll his eyes at Dick's tense posture. He was glad he was on guard, they always had to be in these situations, but a bigger part of him wanted to scold him for following Jason into this suicide mission without backup, without him. 

Tim was his ward, his robin, his son. He needed to be here. 

For more reason than one, given the boys lack of forethought. 

He simply hummed in acknowledgement. He could dissect their plan at a later date. Tonight was about getting their boy back. 

"There are trackers imbedded into the fabric of your suit." He answered plainly. Dick didn't need to know about the trackers he had on Jason, nor the ones he had in the very sticks he held in his hands. A bat needed some secrets, after all.

"Come on, there are guards to the north that we need to clear out for our escape route."

DICK: Maybe it was the fact that he'd been on edge ever since Tim had gone missing without a trace. Maybe it was years of pent up aggression that he'd never fully let himself come to term with. Maybe it was the fact that he was still being treated like a sidekick. There were reasons Dick had made the jump to Bludhaven, then New York; He had to get out of The Shadow. Easier said than done, apparently

"Track-?" The hushed word fell short as his eyes suddenly went wide, looking down at the no-doubt invisibly weaved nanotech. God damnit, Bruce. "... You..." Seething, he hissed through clenched teeth instead of finding the right word. Of course he would've slipped up on that minor detail in his blind rage, the sudden need he had to bring his brother out here and bring Ra's to justice. No doubt, he was getting a full mission report after this, as if it wasn't his own, Jason's own, mission to carry out. 

Still... Having one of the best in the biz probably wasn't the worst thing in the world. With the Batman, this mission could take less time than he was sure it would've taken them. Hell, he hadn't heard the signal yet. With a bit of time, he was sure he'd hear that familiar tweet. He really hoped so anyway. 

"Fine," Nightwing huffed, semi-reluctantly dropping his head. "You'd better be prepared. This creep's been waiting for this for ages."

~~~

JASON: There was something unnerving about any and all League bases to Jason. It made his skin crawl and feel the urge to turn tail and run as fast as he could away. A child turned into a weapon, blood staining hands that couldn't be washed away now. Some for people deserving of it, some for those perhaps that didn't, but it was too late to try to attempt to feel remorse now. If he even did at all. It was apart of him now, a way of life he had come to accept and wasn't something he shied away from. Memories from this part of his life were broken at best, flashes of memories he could vaguely recall. Hands around the throat of someone he had been ordered to kill, the offense unclear, but the order firm, the anxiety bubbling up. Too intimate, too much, too close. Finishing the job and resolutely deciding silently from then on killing from a distance was mandatory. Maybe there was some psychology behind Jason's decision to choose guns as his primary choice of a weapon, but that wasn't something he ever really wanted to get into. 

For now, Jason had to push away the anxiety and insistent jagged memories to push forward, steel himself to do what he came to do. Save Tim, bring Tim home. Dick had told him to lead the charge, be the leader for once. Jason hadn't really known what to do with that other than take the reigns and push forward, take the information they knew and act. It had been long enough, far too long, and they were getting their little brother back. 

Things were quiet. Too quiet. It only added to the anxiety that stayed firmly building in Jason's chest he refused to show, thankful for the helmet that hid any and all facial expressions that might slip through the ever so diligent Bat training. Winding halls and diverting from any potential hiccups. Naturally, a few heads were knocked together, silencer on his gun as he shot to take incapacitate—not kill. No matter how much he wanted to put the bullet through the assassins' eyes rather than a knee. 

Inching further along, Jason got to where he intended. Not Tim, no. Ra's al Ghul. "Love what you've done with the place, Ra's. A lot more spooky chic than you had before. I'm sure Talia would hate it." The younger man hummed, a few quick shots sending the remaining assassins in the room sprawling out on the floor. "Don't worry, nothing a few surgeries can't do to fix them right up. Or do you prefer to put them down? Memory's a bit spotty from when I was here last time." He sneered under the helmet, gun trained on the man in question now—though silently he was unsure if this was a genius plan or completely idiotic. Probably the latter. 

"My brother. I want him back. I'm not leaving without him."

RA’S: Ra's was no fool. He hadn't expected the Bat clan to simply roll over and accept that Timothy was out of their reach now. Many of Bruce Wayne's children had ended up under Ra's care over the years, before or after meeting the billionaire: Jason, Damian, Stephanie, Cassandra. 

One would think that eventually, Bruce would get better at keeping them out of his hands. But getting to Tim had been easy. 

Keeping him was bound to be a bit trickier, so Ra's had called in some reinforcements. One could never be too careful. Loading the board visibly wouldn't be much of a deterrent but would show his hand, so instead Ra's had kept the halls of this hideaway under their normal guard--at least, as far as could be seen. Timothy was locked away deeper into the complex , accompanied by a handful of men under orders to put a bullet in the boy's head before letting him be taken back. 

He'd never professed not to be possessive. 

Jason came charging into the chamber where Ra's was waiting, and the ancient assassin didn't even blink as his men dropped with groans around him. Nor was he particularly bothered by having a gun leveled at his face. 

"Well, since you're asking--yes, I would prefer you aim for their heads in the future. Saves me the work," Ra's answered calmly, taking a step in Jason's direction. The man's demand earned an amused scoff. "Ah. Well, then, I'm afraid you won't be leaving. Timothy will be staying with me. You're welcome to request visits." Ra's smiled, icily. "I do so miss having you around, al'ahmar. You were very entertaining." Ra's reached up to his own throat, unclasping his cape and laying it over a chaise in passing. 

"Now, where is your father? I do prefer dealing with the one in charge. Smoothes the process. And I know they didn't trust you to run it, not their little stray bird."

Ra's smirked. "Did Grayson tell you, by the way? That you and dear Timothy have a new shared experience?"

JASON: Jason always could feel the oncomings of his pit rage. It had taken a good few years to be able to do just that. At first, it was uncontrollable. He lashed out at so many of the men that worked for Talia and destroyed a hotel room once in a fit of rage upon finding out he had been replaced. Now his said replacement was someone he considered his little brother and wouldn't be leaving without. If he wouldn't be leaving then so be it. As long as Tim left. 

Jason snarled under the helmet and could feel the haze creeping forward in his head, if his eyes were visible he was sure they'd flash an even more eery shade of green than they had been changed to from the pit effects. Every word that left Ra's mouth only fueled and poked at the fire. "He's not my father," a reflect, venom dripping from the four words. "You get me. No big bat or other birds to play babysitter. I don't do so well without supervision, I hear." 

Jason didn't see red. No, he saw green, and in an instant he surged forward and whipped the gun across the older man's face. He shoved it back into his thigh holster as his other gloved hand closed around Ra's throat. He wanted his blood to paint the walls, to see him choke on his own blood and die slowly. The urge to do what he could to finish him clawed at his chest violently. "I'll kill you! I'll fucking watch you choke on your blood and step on your throat to make it even more agonizing. To put you in a fucking body bag would be a goddamn dream come true!"

RA'S: Jason was so very easy to get under the skin of. He had died scared and angry and came back scared and angrier, the former beaten out until all that was left was rage. Ra's knew better than anyone else on Earth what the Pit could do to the mind, the way its haze could seep through the mind and obscure all but the urge to tear people apart. He'd had centuries to adjust. 

Jason had not--he was a constantly ticking time bomb. And Ra's enjoyed prodding at him to set him off. "Oh, my. You still hold a grudge about being replaced, and yet you're here to retrieve your replacement. Interesting choice. But then, you never were the bright one."

It was, of course, the mention of what he'd done to Timothy that set the man off fully, and even Ra's had to concede that Jason was fast. The blow to the face stung, but Jason shoved his gun away as quickly as it'd come out, opting for more up-close fighting. 

Poor choice. 

Ra's let the man tighten his grip, brought both arms up between them so his forearms were against the man's shoulders, and then hooked his leg around Jason's and pushed, sending them both to the ground. 

He snapped an arm up to deliver a sharp elbow to the chin, and then used the momentum to snap the same arm back against the one with the grip on his throat, hitting the crook of Jason's elbow to loosen his hold. 

"You know better than to think you can beat me, let alone kill me, al'ahmar. But I won't deny the pleasure of a fight if that's what you insist on--it'd bring me no greater pleasure than to have Bruce Wayne know that I took you from him again. One more dip in the Pit, and maybe the madness doesn't stay back." His own eyes flared with that poisonous shade of green. 

"You won't kill me, even if you could. He'd be dead before you ever got your hands on him."

JASON: Jason's head jerked up and he tasted blood immediately, likely from biting down on his tongue. The minor pain was nothing compared to the burn that was spreading through him as he fell into his Pit induced rage. His arm buckled, fingers loosening around Ra's' throat. That only served to piss him off further. He was literally rolling in the dirt with Ra's al Ghul. His life was a joke, but whatever the cost. He'd get Tim out of this. Even if he didn't—

"I didn't know you were in the business of making balloon animals now, al Ghul. You're taking credit for a clown's handiwork. Do you prefer Boo Boo the Fool or Chuckles?" Jason spat out through the voice modulator of his helmet, bringing a knee up to connect with any body part he could reach, gain some traction. Maybe he wasn't the best at hand to hand combat compared to the other birds, but he wasn't bad at it by any means. He also had size on his side, more muscles and height than the others did to use to his advantage.

The hand that loosened from Ra's throat snapped up to shove palm up at his nose hard and fast, disorient him any way he could. "Maybe I won't, but I do know I'll make it hurt like hell before you can even think to get your grubby paws on him again. Where do you prefer your stab wounds? You know what? I'll surprise you!" In the scuffle of their bodies, Jason whipped his knife out of his belt and slashed at his torso.

RA'S: A clown?  Really.  Ra's felt his anger ratchet up another notch at the mockery, hissing out between his teeth as Jason's knee collided with his ribs.  The younger man wasn't much for technique, but he was strongly built, and even stronger when the Pit started pressing its way forward.  Ra's could take blows from your average man with barely a shrug, but Jason, despite not being particularly skilled as Grayson and Damian were, could land some stinging blows.

"He put you down the first time," Ra's grunted, just barely managing to avoid the blow at his nose, "but I'll be happy to do it the second go round.  But I took you from Bruce in the ways that matter, didn't I?  Seeing you dead was one thing, seeing you a killer was another.  Does he still look at you like you're someone else?"

Jason's threats were nothing.  What was pain to a man who'd lived as many lifetimes as Ra's, who'd been hurt and killed and brought back more times than he cared to count?  Ra's would always come back.  Jason Todd would die and stay dead the next time he went down.  Jason grabbed at a knife, swiped at his side, and the blade sliced through cloth and skin like it was so much paper, even as Ra's started to roll off the man.  The ancient assassin snarled, and drew a dagger of his own as he got to his feet, ignoring the crimson that started to paint the side of his robes.  His own eyes were the same poisonous green as Jason's now, the Pit rearing to the forefront at the drawing of blood.  "The only one who can set your brother free is me, Todd.  My men will end his life before you get a foot through the door if I don't give the order.  And you think you can make me?  You're even stupider than I gave you credit for."

JASON: The younger man was entirely too thrilled in seeing the old man get irritated by his poking and prodding. Jason knew one of his assets was his ability to piss people off purely by speaking. Maybe it was reckless to get the already rage filled man angry, but it was his job after all. He was only doing what he was supposed to, lead the charge. If that had some consequences...oh well. At least they'd be getting Tim back. He wasn't leaving until they did.

The words had Jason biting his tongue, the blow landing as he was sure it was intended. He practically snarled. "What can I say? I've always been the black sheep of the family. Even before the whole 'Jason, this isn't the way!' shtick he was on." He pushed himself to his feet and flipped his knife in his hand, letting out a pleased chuckle to see the red staining the assassin's robes. "I'm sure you can get that out with a little scrubbing. Nothing a little elbow grease can't do. You do know how to do that, right? Manual labor?" Even with the helmet, he was visibly bored. He was angry, but then again, he was always angry. He was good at putting a front, lying was easy, especially for a bat. Might as well poke and prod some more while he was at it. 

The stupid remark made Jason's jaw tic and he only laughed. "I didn't need to make you do anything, al Ghul. I just had to distract you." There was a pause and Jason let out a Robin call, the signal to Dick. The signal all Robins knew. "How's it feel being played by someone you think is stupid?" He sneered and immediately pushed forward, slashing out with his knife once more.

RA'S: The jab seemed to land as intended, judging by the moment of silence that preceded the sharp-toned reply lobbed his way. It had never been hard to get under Jason's skin, and it certainly wasn't hard now that the Pit ran through his veins. 

Unfortunately, that same Pit had amped up Jason's speed, too. Ra's glowered at the taunts. "Don't you condescend to me, boy. You know nothing of work." Ra's took a step closer, feinted for a stab at the man's side before swiping for his throat beneath the helmet. 

I just had to distract you. Ra's eyes narrowed for a moment before he recognized what the call was, and then he sneered, retreating back as his gaze flicked around the room for evidence of the imminent arrival of the rest of the little flock. "Needed a babysitter after all, did we, Todd? Wise of them not to trust you to manage this yourself. Now why don't you go run along while I deal with the grown ups, hm?"

DICK:  "Who're you calling grown up?" 

The quip was too easy to let loose, even though every bone in his body refused to add any humor behind it. The blue bird stood just behind Jason, hidden partially in the shadows while he approached the apparently on-going fight. He was putting a stop to that, stopping the recklessness of his younger brother... From doing exactly what he would be doing too. "You're pretty twisted if you think both of us wouldn't come for Tim, Ra's." Not to mention the big bad Bat doing all the hard work in the background. Granted, he'd upped security tenfold for this kind of invasion. Clearly, they didn't keep quiet about their invasion. That would be something they'd be scolded for later... Well, himself, mostly. Just one look out of the corner of his eye looked like Jason would be laid up in Alfred's infirmary for a bit... And he didn't even want to think about how bad Tim had it.

"Don't even think about following me," Dick sneered, the white lenses of his mask thinning in his hard squint, moving to hook an arm quickly around the back of Jason's shoulders, attempting to not topple over from the sudden transfer of weight. He was hit that was for sure now. He didn't have time to assess, but they needed to get back to Gotham stat. The glowing stick in one hand, he tapped the non-electrified end against his hip, two black marbles bouncing onto the floor. Without looking down, the vigilante placed his heel on top of the two, drawing his teeth back in a final animalistic sneer. "And don't fuck with my family." 

Just the barest transfer of weight had the two spheres busting open under his foot, thick smoke filling the area where the two Robins once stood. Dick was sure this was one of the oldest 'ninja' tricks in the book, that they'd be easily tracked, but that would have to wait for worrying later. It took adrenaline and effort, but he was running with the intent to save. This time, he wouldn't be stopped.

No Robins left behind, he thought, breaching through to the rendezvous point, nearly letting tears loose when he saw the other retrieved bird being hoisted into transport. Never again.

#discord tag tbd

[trashfor-imagines]

If There’s Light There’s Hope | 1

Bakugou x Fem!Reader (BNHA)

Summary: U.A. High School was your dream. You wanted to save people. You never expected how wild your journey would be and you certainly never expected a hot headed boy to play as large of a role as he would. Warnings: Swearing

Reader’s Quirk: Celebration - reader can absorb energy from light sources and create explosions that look like fireworks. Overusing this power can cause heat exhaustion or sometimes heat stroke.

[1] | [2] | [3] | [4] | [5] | [6] | [7]

-

Getting into U.A. was a dream come true. You were originally placed in General Education, Class 1-C. Your performance during the entrance exams was a mixed bag. You had aced the written exam, but your performance during the practical wasn’t as high as you wanted. Luckily for you there was opportunity to move into the Hero Department - so long as you proved yourself.

The U.A. Sports Festival was your moment to shine and you did just that. Hesitation and overthinking had been your downfall during the entrance exams. With the right Hero recommendation, you could get back on track to becoming a Pro-Hero. You managed to make it to the Battle Tournament where you had your first real interaction with the hot tempered student you had seen throughout the day, Bakugou Katsuki of 1-A.

In fact, he was your first opponent and you were determined to win, however you were quickly knocked out of there by a large explosion created by the two of you that sent you flying into the stands. Quickly thinking on your feet, you did what it took to avoid hurting any of the festival spectators, using your quirk to redirect your body’s projection. You weren’t going to be able to stop your body, but you could change where you’d make impact.

Thankfully, you’d been saved by Endeavor of all heroes. He caught you with ease before you hit the staircase, an annoyed expression on his face. He certainly wasn’t going to allow All Might to save you; he’d seen the Number One Hero start to make his move. This also meant you were officially out of bounds. It was the serious expression you wore that caused Endeavor to share these words with you. You still had the will to keep fighting within you.

“Remember this moment and keep that fire burning within you. If your fight had been outside of this fishbowl, you’d still have your chance. There are no boundaries in the real world.”

He was right. When he put you down, you bowed deeply, thanking him for being a hero you could aspire to be.

“Thank you, Endeavor. I promise to continue fighting and make it into the Hero Department; that way I can work to become a Pro-Hero like you.”

Two days later you received a letter waiting for you at home.

Dear (L/N) (F/N),

It is with great pleasure that we inform you it is due to high recommendation of your recent performance at the U.A. Sports Festival that you have been accepted into the Department of Heroes at U.A. High School beginning Monday...

You didn’t need to read the rest! This was it.

The first person you called was Hitoshi. He managed to become not just a friend from junior high, but your best friend, and there was no way you wanted him to find out any other way. Despite the risk of him being jealous, you knew it was the best. His response actually surprised you.

“Don’t worry (Y/N), I’m right behind you. I’ll join the Hero Department soon enough, just watch.”

Monday came soon enough and you were sure to make it to class early. Your instructions were to wait outside of the faculty room for your new homeroom teacher. You expected Vlad King from 1-B, but when he simply gave you a smile that morning and walked off, you realized with great shock which class you had made it into.

You stood with a calm and even demeanor in front of the class; inside you were racked with nerves. The boy who beat you in the Battle Tournament, Bakugou, sat staring out the window, his chin propped up by his hand, disinterested in you. Eraserhead introduced you unenthusiastically.

“You may recognize (Y/N) from the sports festival. She was in class 1-C, but has been invited to join 1-A,” he said simply to them. He turned to you. “Go ahead and introduce yourself. You can have a seat behind Miss Yaoyorozu in the back.”

Taking a step forward, you bowed and spoke, your voice gentle yet firm. “Good morning everyone. I’m (Y/N) and I'm thankful to be in your class. Let’s get along.”

As you walked to your seat, you felt a chill run down your spine. Bakugou’s eyes had quickly snapped to the side glowering at you. You avoided eye contact with anyone else and quickly took your seat, doing your best to focus on Eraserhead.

He shared the class’s tally of nominations from Pro-Heroes and you were excited to see that you had done quite well with 416 nominations. Apparently you had been impressive to many heroes with how you managed to divert your point of impact during your Battle Tournament match. Being conscious of your surroundings and quick to think on your feet wasn’t something to brush off; apparently not everyone had the capability to be aware. He continued on about getting work-place experience and explained that we’d be deciding on our hero names with Midnight to which several students cheered in excitement.

When Midnight arrived, you were immediately filled with dread, realizing you had to present your name to everyone.

“Jubilee.” You stood in front of the class, doing your best to hide your discomfort under their gazes.

“Interesting! Now tell me why.” Midnight hummed thoughtfully at your name.

“Because of my quirk. I can...” you trailed off deciding not to explain and instead showing them an example. “If you’ll turn off the light please?” Midnight flipped the classroom’s light switch, dimming the room; the only light streaming in from window. Reaching outward toward the classroom windows, you made a single grasping motion with your hand. Your hand faintly glowed and with a simple motion, opened your hand and a small light shot up, exploding just above your head, like a golden firework. There were hushed aww’s from your new classmates as the lights came back on. “My quirk looks like fireworks at night and who doesn’t like a celebration?”

With Midnight’s approval, you gave a bow and returned to your seat.

The rest of the day seem to pass quickly after that. You’d gotten a list of agencies to choose from for your work-place internships. The Endeavor Hero Agency. It brought tears to your eyes as you stared at the name. Had Endeavor really drafted you? You guessed being blasted into the air and then caught by the man would leave a lasting impression. Your decision was easy and you quickly turned in your choice along with several other students.

Lunch time came around and you were thankful. The content some of their classes consisted of were just topics the General Education Department touched upon. It was going to be hard to keep up for a while, but you knew you could do it. Your gaze wandered over your classmates, subconsciously analyzing them and their behaviors.

A fuzzy pink girl bounded up to you as you grabbed your bento and made your way to leave the classroom. “(Y/N) why don’t you come have lunch with us?”

You were touched, your hand finding its way over your heart. “Thank you, but maybe tomorrow.”

Bowing politely, you quickly made off to meet Hitoshi in the courtyard where he sat under a tree waiting patiently for you. He gave a lazy wave and began digging into his lunch, chatting about your individual mornings. You went into depth about what Hitoshi would need to focus on for when he finally made his way into the Hero Department. He soaked this information up, taking what you had to say seriously. Despite his proclamations that other students were simply obstacles, you knew the truth behind your friendship which made you value it more. You’d known him since junior high after all. Soon the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

“Hitoshi, I’m expecting you to join me soon, okay?” You smiled at him warmly to which he returned the expression.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful and classes were over. Iida asked that you stay behind to help with cleaning the classroom, to which you complied by cleaning the windows. You recognized the few others helping, having picked up on their names throughout the day. Kaminari and Kirishima were sweeping the floor while Hagakure and Ashido were wiping down surfaces. Then there was Bakugou who was also on window cleaning duty. Pausing briefly, you observed the brute for a moment. Looking away before you could get caught staring, you quickly finished up and left.

You had just made it past the walls of the school when a rough voice echoed out from behind you. Stopping in your tracks, you refused to look back, your grip on your backpack tightening.

“What the hell do you want? Stop fucking staring at me in class would you!” his voice aggressive and angry.

Turning around you looked him dead in the eye, catching a look of surprise as it flashed over his face. “I’m going to beat you. One day soon, Bakugou. There aren’t boundaries in the real world.”

Life after that day seemed to accelerate. You barely spoke to Bakugou after that encounter. Slowly, you got to know your other classmates and found most of them to be quite pleasant and tolerable. Your internships seemed to fly by. You had gotten to know Todoroki as he also chose his father’s agency and found you enjoyed his calm and silent demeanor.

The night Stain had been captured, you had gone on patrol with Endeavor and Todoroki. You listened and stayed with Endeavor while his son ran off to help Midoriya. After Endeavor and Gran Torino defeated the Nomu, you were given instructions to stay with the sidekicks and learn something from them, leaving you behind. After the events of that night, Endeavor had you participate in filling out incident paperwork with his sidekicks where you learned Todoroki had to be hospitalized. You made sure to visit him in the hospital during your lunch break the next day. The rest of the internship went by uneventfully, thank goodness.

Soon it was final exams and then you were off to quirk training camp.

#my hero academia #bnha #boku no hero academia #bakugou x reader #reader insert #fanfic #imagine #bakugou katsuki #katsuki

[chaniters]

Halloween Part II

The Rangers take on Red Behemoth, who has joined Psychoathor as he leads the Phoenix riots against GeniTech’s Headquarters amidst an ecological disaster.  Sidestep comes up with a plan that can hopefully salvage the situation. 

(So on a quick note, I’ve learned that complex stories with multiple characters and a long series of actions and consequences are HARD to write.)

Hope you enjoy this!

Spoilers, as usual. 

__________________________________

“Let’s do the wiring trick!” you ask hurriedly, gun in hand back to the pile of clutter Charge and you are using for cover. You’re very thankful to whoever used this rooftop as their personal storage, else Red Behemoth would have splattered you both by now. 

“You think you can penetrate that armor?” he looks nervous and sweaty, but he’s still got that spark in his eyes that tells you he’s aching for action and crazy stunts right this instant. 

“With the plasma cutter, I got at your HQ? In a heartbeat!” you say holding it on your right hand. 

A single nod. Good. Steel would already be giving you hell about stealing. 

“Alright, you go left, I’ll go right,” he says starting a sprint that leaves a static streak behind him.  Never ceases to amaze you how fast he can move. You start your own sprint… 

“Hey, over here you Soviet asshole! I bet your museum armor can’t hit me!” you taunt him while taking a few energy gunshots at the Behemoth. You’re making it worse by sending a strong scent of frustration into Red’s mind as your shots hit his visual hud.

“Die, you capitalist pigs! RAAAHHH!!!” he roars turning the chassis of his armor towards you, machinegun’s spinning and vomiting bullets at a frightening speed. Thankfully there are a few water tanks on this rooftop to avoid the onslaught…not that they last long before you have to take cover elsewhere. You’re keeping his aim a few degrees off with an illusive after-image. It should be enough to keep you safe against most enemies but considering Red Behemoth’s already awful aim you could still get hit at any time.  

You let go of his mind just as Charge gets close enough to yank one of the Behemoth’s machineguns out of its base with both arms. It doesn’t go like planned, because the thing’s still heavily wired to the villain’s and won’t fully detach, nor will it stop firing… Luckily for you, Charge’s very good at improvising. He manages to turn the gun around just enough to face its owner, blowing up its own base along with most of the Behemoth’s mechanical arm. 

“Newsflash, the cold war’s over bitch! Lay off the guns!” Charge adds his own attempt to infuriate the enemy. 

“Never! I will burn your entire bourgeoise experiment of a country myself if I have to!” he yells turning while aiming a heat-seeker missile at Ortega with his surviving arm. 

Now it’s all up to you… You time your leap and… 

Success!

Wrapping your legs around the armor’s back, Behemoth notices too late that you’re there, swatting fruitlessly in your direction with his missile-loaded arm.

“Get off me, you little Sidekick shit!”

“It’s SIDESTEP!” you say dodging while confusing him about the length of his claw, making him think it’s impossible to reach you. If only… A slab of concrete collides with his face just in time to distract him. You hold on tighter, realizing Elyise is there providing support… good. 

“You’re all products of this weakened and fallen democracy! You will all be crushed under the Soviet Heel!” his Synthesizer yells while shooting some manner of a laser from his chest at Elyise, who quickly levitates away from its firing arc. 

“How many weapons do you have in there, freak??!” you ask in shock. 

“More than enough to destroy all of you American puppets!!”

“You’re not even a true Russian agent!” you say taking out the cutter and sticking it as close as you dare to the armor without burning your hand. 

“My birthplace doesn’t matter as long as I am serving the great ideals of LENIN and the motherlan…- AAAGHH!”

The burning must have got to him, and that does get his attention big time. He jerks violently, while trying to catch you with the claw, like a maddened bull. You twist and turn like a snake, doing your best to avoid getting crushed.

Luckily, the cutter is top-notch, and soon enough you have a decently sized fracture on the shell. You pull the wiring from your pack as fast as you can, and stick it in, throwing the other end at the ground, were Charge takes it.

“GET OFF!” Behemoth yells with a spin that actually leaves you without enough hold to stay on top. It’s a bad landing, and it takes the air of your lungs as you fall over the hard rooftop. You stand as fast as you can, but he’s faster this time. All you can see is the Red Behemoth impossibly tall in front of you, pointing the missile straight at your face.

“Say your prayers to your almighty dollar now” his voice thunders down onto you. 

“Oh, will you shut up already? Do you even know how annoying you sound?” Charge says activating a full discharge … 

What follows is that delightful moment when Red looks down, only now noticing the cables going all the way from Charge’s hands to the back of his armor…

*BKZKKAAAAAP*

He lights up like a glorious christmas tree, everything malfunctioning at once, intense black smoke coming from within soon after. He only manages a weak-high-pitched scream before falling down on his head. 

His arm falls limps to the floor, vaguely pointing at you. It’s over. He’s done. You won.

But the small missile’s not done, seems it didn’t get the memo. You notice that just as it activates, the burnt arm’s mechanism not releasing it. It’s ignited tail sizzles and yanks at it’s hold trying to break free for a whole two horrible, endless seconds as you direct a panicked jump to the side…  

Colorful.

That’s all you can think about the resulting explosion before the shockwave separates your feet from the ground.

Impact comes from behind as well, as your back hits hard against Charge’s solid chest. He wraps his arms around you, protective, holding you in place. His gesture is firm but ultimately hopeless, as the shockwave will soon sweep him away as just as it did you. Still, he doesn’t let go.  

Despite his aid, it’s now the both of you falling down from the building, fast as a bullet and hard as a brick. Your life flashes before your eyes in as the ground closes in, much shorter than you had hoped it would be.  Still, once the final score is tallied, you have to agree that hitting the pavement head-first while in Charge’s strong arms is a pretty decent way to go. You can probably accept this fate… He is the man that you…

…no. NO!!! What the hell are you thinking? Are you daydreaming in the middle of a fucking war?!?! What is wrong with you?!

Your training kicks in, dissolving the romantic delusion and bringing you back to the bloody reality of Phoenix’s riot. Pulling the pathetic sentimentalism aside, your mind reaches swift for Sentinel, who miraculously is both nearby and happens to be the ranger that can pick on your calls for help faster than any trained operative you’ve ever worked with. 

Because he’s a professional and not someone fantasizing about some himbo coming to his aid. Ugh, you disgust yourself. When did you let it get this bad? Your handlers warned you so many times against developing such strong personal attachments like this and it’s never been clearer that they had a point…   

Sentinel’s wind gust is quick, efficient, and incredibly cold, stopping you both from becoming a permanent landmark in the nick of time.    

When you finally do hit the ground, the impact is soft and gentle, and you both roll slowly to the side, Charge still won’t let go. You look back to see he’s got his eyes closed, shivering. Shit, he was probably expecting to die right now, just like you did… 

“Hm… guys? I’m really digging this bromance of yours, but Psychopathor’s Doomriders are still out there trying to kill everyone?” Sentinel says, hovering downwards. “Good save calling on me Sidestep, that telepathy’s sure handy” He grins, only his lips visible under his mask. 

Charge exhales, and it takes a few seconds for him to actually realize no one is going to break every bone, and that it would be wise for him to let go of you now, a point that you help drive with a heavy frown.  

“Thanks, Sentinel,” you say dusting yourself off, your gaze still on Charge. 

What the heck are you doing Awan? Why do you want him to hold you when you should yell for him to stay the fuck away? The worst part is you’re pretty sure you’re sending the worse mixed signals and now that you’ve effectively blackmailed Elyise into leaving him, there’s not going to be anything stopping this mess from getting impossibly much worse. 

You need to pick a lane and stay in it, and it can’t be the same as his. Right?  

“Great job, both of you,” Charge says, a bit sheepish, pretending he wasn’t burying his face on your shoulder just a minute ago.

If you could only scream now…

____________________________

“Well it’s official, it can get worse,” Anathema says holding a tablet that’s playing the news. “Another shootout, three dead, and now they’re taking over police stations. The Revengers got beaten badly. Psychopathor’s people are passing guns onto the rioters right now.”

Everyone looks at the scenes with concern. While Red Behemoth’s been defeated, The Calamity, Ripper, Queen of Diamonds and the Beast from Below have all joined Psychopathor’s “Doomriders”, his improvised villain team and more are said to be about to join as well. More and more people are rallying to them each hour. 

“At this rate, there’s going to be a civil war when they reach the base of the Arcology” Ashfall states

“That why we get the mission done, and don’t let them get any closer,” Steel says adjusting his new hand’s mods. 

“Oh yeah? Fighting Psychopathor’s one thing, but how are we supposed to stop hundreds, maybe thousands of armed civilians? I didn’t sign up for this!” Ashfall replies, and soon an argument erupts. Ashfall’s outbursts at Steel often make your own arguments seem mild. 

You take the tablet from Anathema as he joins in, their voices fading into the background as your shields raise. You focus on following the events on the screen. Only a few hours since the helicopter ride from Los Diablos, but the images are outright haunting now. Discarded Halloween costumes everywhere, stepped on by people fighting over air filters, shops closing or getting burned down and massive traffic jams after some rioters turned to burn cars as well. 

People have completely lost it, taking orders from the worst villains imaginable. Some of them, especially the ones without covered faces are going into awful coughing fits on screen. Just watching it makes you adjust your own air filter tighter, a constant reminder that you’re surrounded by the cloud.  

Things escalated very quickly after the first death from toxic poisoning was confirmed by the media, and it’s turned into a real shitshow since then. 

If you could just leave the villains and GeniTech sort out their differences in private it would be great, but that’s not an option. Not when the air is poison and everyone knows there are not enough gas masks coming. GeniTech did not help things out at all when they announced their “unlimited” power supply could keep the Arcology supplied with fresh air and clean water for centuries to come, of course, only for those with the means to buy their way in.

It doesn’t matter if Catastrofiend caused the toxic spills, the media caught on the factories being subsidiaries and now everyone’s blaming GeniTech… which also happens to owns the only safe refuge. 

A few civilians already tried to break in, and it turned bloody for them when GeniTech’s soldiers opened fire with short-range repeating anti-riot laser weapons. Most of it was blocked from the news, but several videos are being passed on by cellphone messages by those who recorded it, and it only made everything worse. They dispersed for now, but once Psychopathor rallies enough support and amassed enough weapons to fight off the GeniTech mercenaries, the parks around the trio of conjoined massive futuristic skyscrapers that form the Arcology are going to become a superpowered battle royale and who knows how many are going to die.

 You’ve given up on trying to find his motivation by now. Truth is, he’s probably just as angry at GeniTech and the government as everyone joining him and wants it all to burn. 

Steel’s right that if you let Psychopathor advance, the crowd will immediately follow and it will turn into a real bloodbath. But if you stop them… then the fucking cloud will still get them. 

Why is humanity so reckless and stupid, you can only wonder.

You focus back on them, Ashfall and Steel pointing fingers at each other while Anathema tries to mediate. Sunstream and Elyise are whispering at the back and Charge just looks miserable. 

“Marshall” you interrupt them at the right moment to break the argument, adding a mental finger-snap to get everyone’s attention to it. “I’m sorry but both Steel and Ashfall are both right. This is useless, we can’t stop Psychopathor if the citizens are on his side, and even if we could it will end badly because the cloud isn’t going away.”

“I know that, but do you have any better ideas?” Charge says exhausted. 

“Yes. We need to get GeniTech to let the people inside until the cloud dissipates. It’s the only way.”

“Already asked for that. They said no, no one gets in without paying them. Company policy, they said.”

“Well then we need to ask again”

“Look Sidestep, I’ve called several times already, ok?. We can’t turn those corporate vampires compassionate overnight.”

“Who said anything about calling? Their entire board is gathered in there for their Halloween party, right? I say we visit them.”

“What makes you think that will make any difference…?”

“I’m pretty sure I can help you appeal to their values if I’m right beside you. You know, change their minds on the subject?” you say tapping your forehead.

There is a brief moment of silence as everyone considers your words. They all know you’re a telepath, you just haven’t ever had a situation to use your powers like this. 

“I’m in,” Anathema says extending his hand first

“Me too” Ashfall places his hand on top of Anathema’s, a quick second.

“I don’t think there’s much of a choice here, we have to stand by the people” Sentinel says adding his own.

“Agreed. And I don’t want to shoot civilians, like ever” Sunstream states joining the hand stack

“I’m game for it, never liked those greedy bastards” Elyise states as she enters the huddle. 

Steel gives you a long stare 

“It might…actually be worth a shot,” he says drily before placing his new hand on top of Elyise’s.

All your eyes converge on Charge’s… he finally snorts, stacking his right with you all. 

“Alright, team… So this is how we’re going to do this…”

___________________________________________________

My Fanfics: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

#fallen hero: rebirth #@Kruk-art #awan cormac #Chargestep #Fanfiction #pre HB #fallen hero spoilers

[eidolonlathi]

The Issue with Gen’s wasted Character Potential

With the manga about to reach its end I thought it worthwhile to have a closer look at how Gen’s character has been written. And the conclusion I'm coming to is that things started promising but then ended with already established potential not getting used.

Let’s start at the beginning. I don't believe that by the time of their introduction, any of the Sato squad’s new members had a clear and finished backstory. Or if, that it must have gotten changed while the story was progressing.

At this point it is difficult to say what the initial intention had been. But looking at Gen’s introduction, I always had the impression he and Takahashi didn't use to know each other before, came to the meeting alone and met there for the first time, instantly developing sympathy for each other. Something of the body and facial language in their first panel just seems too distant for me to signal anything else. And taking into account that until chapter 66.5 it hadn’t been confirmed that they shared a backstory, I view an individual arrival still as a possibility. Gen stating some time after the Grant Pharma arc that he possesses no ghost is no contradiction; just because Kou was clumsy enough to attract attention and got caught doesn't mean Gen wouldn't have been able to attend the black ghost meeting undetected.

Either way, only moments later, as soon as Sato's plan was established, he and Takahashi were able to quickly adapt to the situation and work together in harmony. Be it because they used to already know each other or by forming an instant strong connection. This moment already established the pattern that functioning together came easy to them while with Tanaka in the equitation friction would develop easily. But interestingly on the newly formed team all disharmony vanished at first, the operation on Grant Pharma ending a success.

I think this is about the only time in the manga where Gen is completely on his own and it’s impressive how good his nerves are during this moment. He stays calm, analyses the situation and delivers the needed information. And he has to do all of this while Takahashi is constantly being killed right next to him, yet Gen doesn’t get nervous at all.

That kind of levelheadedness would last until into the Forge Arc. And then getting reduced for the sake of preparing a “twist” lacking any solid foundation. Regardless of what one thinks of Gen being human or him and Takahashi supposed to have been brothers all along, from a storytelling perspective it makes zero sense to hide this all away from the reader until the last second. Like, that’s it? That’s the twist? How is this supposed to be relevant again? One of the random sidekicks to the main baddy –who you always knew wouldn’t have a chance to make it to the end- died instead of having gotten captured. I doubt anyone but the less than 20 people who used to ship takagen cared. These characters were about to disappear from the story either way, the average reader wouldn’t care about the surrounding details because these two were not the kind of characters that were given enough relevance. Or more, after a strong introduction, relevance and focus kept getting taken away from them.

Because relevance is the second factor why the reveals at the end were a bad way to progress the story. Since it got clear that some intended surprise was along its way (being shocking for the purpose of being shocking always looks forced), Takahashi and especially Gen were shoved further away into the background of happenings, given little to do. And that was a waste, frankly, taking into account how active both of them were allowed to behave shortly after their introductions. Remember them both supporting Sato with their sniping skills during the Grant Pharma attack? Sniping is a task complicated to do right but both of them were proving to be capable. Together and on their own: The moment Takahashi was taken out by enemy snipers, Gen was perfectly able to calmly overview and asset the situation, like this gathering together the information Tanaka needed to advance further and deal with those threats.

So, you have these two characters who have proven to be capable during stressful situations with a reliable mind and then the manga just… shoved them aside. Not just by lessening focus on them but by downright ignoring the ways they would have been able to contribute to their team. Cutting their teeth and claws further and further, first by putting more of a focus on their drug using habits (edgy. Now we know they’re bad guys for sure. Don’t get me started on addiction getting used as an indicator of morality) and then taking this further until they were reduced to not much more than moving props clowning around in the background. Compare that to Okuyama, whose early established technical skills kept getting efficiently used to advance the plot.

The curse got broken. After years of silence chapter 59 finally allowed Gen to speak again. Unfortunately barely anyone still remembered he existed or what he had brought to the plot so far.

Letting all this potential go to waste, for what? Because more of a focus would have threatened to reveal those wannabe twists? Something that turned out as boring as “one was human all along but the writing never told us that for no good reason”. It is hard to imagine after all the Sato squad was unaware about this important little detail: Not with their habit to regenerate themselves or their injured comrades via shooting themselves back to life during operations. With this they would have needed getting informed about Gen not being an ajin.

And the sudden sibling status about to get introduced resulting in “Gen’s dialogue needs to get reduced into nothing, otherwise it would become too obvious he and Takahashi being brothers was a last minute idea, with them going against local conventions by not calling each other “brother”, instead using their last names ever since.” Yeah, how did that work out? Now we have actual implied canonical incest because Takahashi and Gen being related changed nothing about the fact they were giving off the most obvious couple vibes this manga had to offer, making it look they were actively hiding being related. Where did it go wrong? Was “Gen is human” installed as a possible twist last minute late in the game, kept nebulous in case some better idea came up? (The hints were always vague guesswork at best, supposed to be able to go both ways, and unlike the anime the manga didn’t have the foresight to prepare it as believable by keeping Gen out of the most dangerous situations and reducing this drug consuming habit to a zero. So, am I supposed to look at it as a deliberate suicide mission on his part in manga context? Was his nihilism this deeply rooted here?) And what about the sibling retcon? Was “he joined this non-human extremist group for the sake of supporting his friend” sounding too gay an explanation, so in an attempt to erase that away they were retconned brothers? Would at least explain why those two look absolutely nothing alike despite supposed to be related.

Ironically this accidental incestuous implication was the only element working here in favour of story telling and character development. Disillusioned incestuous couple disappointed with life drifts into nihilism and thus resonates with Sato's ruthless modus operandi? Now that's the kind of variation and originality I like to see in fiction.

Interesting how Gen just shrugs his shoulders and goes back to routine once told the hostages already served their purpose. Zero sentimentalities to be seen. 

I’m glad the story at least let those two stay loyal to Sato until the end, keeping the last bit of relevance in place that differentiated them from their (former) teammates. Takahashi and Gen had bloodthirsty motivations long before they met Sato, so it makes sense those shared similarities kept deepening the bond of those three. It makes sense on a level of characterization and interpersonal relation as well: I’d go as far as to say that Sato was most likely one of the few (the first?) people who accepted them the way they were. Attentive as he was it is hard to imagine he would have missed any aspect of the nature of their relationship. Yet his demeanour towards them never changed, more, as time went on the three of them grew closer. Being met with this kind of acceptance, it is easy to see why Takahashi’s and Gen’s loyalty towards Sato would have strengthened over time as well. Add to this that those three had a pretty similar mind set and voila. A unit that could have had it all, hadn’t it been for the story’s need to play it safe and prepare circumstances so the “good” guys (anyone seriously believing the status quo of using captured ajin for experiments would have changed without outside pressure?) win because of reasons.

This manga has many strengths but the recent habit to insert plot threads that keep dangling and are leading to nowhere or constant retcons that backpedal on what was previous established are none of it. Seeing how the manga started losing its way shortly after the Forge Arc ended and how the plot is now stumbling around in an attempt to reach an ending has been a disappointment, exactly because the story already has proven so many times that it can be excellent under the right circumstances. Alas, hope gets snatched away last.

#ajin #takahashi #gen #takagen #satou #eidolonlathi writes #lathi writes ajin

[faveficarchive]

Hints

By L.N. James

Pairing: Xena/Gabrielle

Rating: Mature

Synopsis: Trying to get Xena to leave boring negotiations and join her proves frustrating for Gabrielle as the bard exchanges a series of notes with her friend.

The room was full of hot, stale air and there were no windows to speak of. It may as well have been a prison cell because there was no escaping. On and on, they droned, the speeches becoming long and boring, the declarations more grandiose, and the political double talk more circular. It seemed as if everyone had some point they had to make or some contribution to the bureaucracy that was The Elder Council of The Regions of Argos. By the Gods, how had they been coaxed into participating in such insidiously boring and excruciatingly tedious negotiations?

This is what I wondered from the seat that had been my place above the proceedings for the past three candlemarks. I was hungry, hot, tired, and bored. I never thought it would be possible for a bard to be bored by anything (being that we generally like to learn from every experience) but sure as Hera’s curse, I was bored out of my mind. To make matters worse and insulting, I had been relegated to the box seats while Xena was down where all the action was on the floor below me (if you could call it ‘action’). They had some arcane ordinance about ‘interested parties, significant others, and sidekicks’ sitting upstairs apparently.

After hearing the same thing said in slightly different ways by different people, I was growing restless. I knew Xena couldn’t just up and leave the proceedings, they needed her to offer her insight into negotiating border treaties and alliances between friends and foes alike. I don’t know when, but my lover had somehow become the Warrior Politician in everyone’s eyes. So as much as Xena hated having to deal with these political battles, she knew that her word carried great weight and felt responsible for helping any way she could. On numerous occasions that day, I was convinced that she had briefly considered using her sword to cut short the proceedings, but she was bound by duty and honor. Sigh.

I, however, was bound by nothing more than waiting for my warrior’s work to be done and right now, that waiting was starting to feel like an eternity on Cecrops’ ship. I could have left, I suppose, but being in the presence of my love was much more interesting than sitting in the woods waiting alone. Besides, recent skirmishes between factions and less than hospitable taverns made the choice a bit easier. And since I was in for a dinar now, I might as well stay for the whole kingdom.

I had already listened to enough of the meeting to realize I couldn’t care less about the goings-on if I tried, I had written three stories out on parchment, and I had scanned the crowd for anyone interesting enough to make up stories about. Of course, that pretty much came down to one person as far as I was concerned. So, at the moment, I occupied myself by counting the number of times Xena raised her eyebrow. She’s really beautiful, you know. Strikingly so, actually. In fact, I know I’ve never seen anyone as magnificent as she is. She can look good anytime, whether she’s talking, walking, riding, fighting, eating, drinking, smirking, smiling, sleeping, kissing...mmm. Which reminds me, we were rudely interrupted this morning by a messenger from The Council requesting Xena’s presence. Hades hath no fury like an interrupted Amazon Bard when a certain Warrior Princess is about to become intimately acquainted with said bard’s body. I was livid.

Great. I just reminded myself that along with being hungry, hot, tired, and bored, I now had to add ‘frustrated’ to the list.

"As so, my fellow delegates, let us not forget that the beneficiaries of such defense policies would be..."

Gods, the end of this session was nowhere in sight. It was hard enough simply watching Xena sit and talk or occasionally stand. Ever since we became lovers (and before, really), the mere sight of her pretty much started any number of fantasies playing in my head and luckily, most of those we had thoroughly explored. I still had one or two (well, ok, more than that) that I hadn’t yet shared with her but in time, I was sure I would. Right now, the only thing on my mind was getting out of this hot meeting and having the Warrior Politician negotiate a new treaty with me.

Luckily, at that moment, Xena looked up at me as the last speaker finished and the next one was preparing to speak. Catching her eye, I raised my eyebrows in a question and silently asked if we could leave. We had worked out a couple of nonverbal signs over the years that we could covertly use when we were in situations neither one of us wanted to be in. You should see her sign for ‘If we don’t get away from this annoying person right now, I will accept no responsibility for the path my chakram will take. We devised this sign shortly after Joxer started showing up.

Sadly, Xena shook her head at me and held up a parchment and indicated with her hands that they were only half-way through the proceedings. Hades. So I sighed and nodded down at her. Stretching my legs, I sank down in my chair and waited.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was naked with Xena, laying on top of the table, parchments under us while the speakers kept droning on all around us. The reason I say I must have been dreaming is not that we wouldn’t have sex in public (we have), but that my hair was in that awful bun-do I was forced to wear when I almost got charbroiled. Startled, I sat up in my chair and blinked at the people sitting next to me. They gave me rather funny looks and I looked down at myself. Naked again. Shaking my head and rolling my eyes, I pinched myself in my dream and I woke up for real this time, my neighbors in the seats next to me seemingly enraptured by the politics going on below.

"And so, in accordance with Corollary Seven outlined in Policy Statement Three, there would be enough funding for defense if we..."

Sighing, I sat back up and realized that I had slept through at least one speaker (Thank the Gods) and a new one had begun. I could see that if something wasn’t done, we could be here all night. And as much as I wanted these policies to be hammered out, I knew that surely Xena didn’t have to be here for every darn speaker. Opening up my satchel, I dug through and pulled out a scrap of parchment and my quill. Seeing a biscuit left over from breakfast, I grabbed that too. While I ate, I scribbled out a note to send down to Xena. The various pages and runners would deliver such things to the Council members and negotiators down below.

Xena,

Hi. It’s me. Do you think we could slip out of here for a bite to eat? I’m really hungry if you know what I mean.

Love you,

Gabrielle

Signaling for a page, I folded the note carefully and tied it with a bit of string. After I instructed the page on who to deliver it to, I leaned over the railing and watched Xena leaning back in her chair with her arms folded and a scowl on her face. They were discussing defense appropriations and I could see that she didn’t agree that they should commission more archers than swordsmen.

The page made his way over to Xena and quietly handed her the note before moving off. I watched as Xena looked up at me and then untied and read my note. I smiled as she turned it over and took her quill and scratched out a note, nodding for the page to come back and retrieve it. Once he made his way back upstairs and over to me, I sat back in my chair and opened up the note, my smile fading as I read the words.

There’s a biscuit from breakfast in your satchel. I’ll be fine. A few more candlemarks. Can you believe they think archers are more important than swordsmen?

X

Obviously Xena hadn’t known what I meant and obviously she was taking these proceedings far too seriously. Taking out another piece of parchment, I had the page remain while I wrote out another note.

Xena,

Dear, you missed my point. I’d like to continue our ‘conversation’ from this morning and I don’t think I can wait a few candlemarks.

Love,

Gabrielle

***

Folding it up, I tied it and gave it to him and sent him back downstairs. Leaning over the rail again, I watched as Xena untied it, read it, and looked up at me with a curious look on her face. I smiled down at her and she smiled back and shrugged her shoulders. Turning back to the note, Xena scribbled and sent it back up to me. A new speaker was starting to talk as the page made his way up to me.

"While Delegate Cristos makes an interesting point concerning defense appropriations, should not our time be spent more on debating how we might feed our people? You see, if we simply...."

I glanced at the speaker and smiled. She was an impassioned young woman who clearly had her priorities straight in my book. Feeling the page’s tap on my shoulder, I turned and took the note. Closing my eyes, I simply shook my head and sighed after I read it.

Gabrielle, yes I think Argo still likes you after what happened the other night; no, I don’t think your story about Cecrops was overdone and melodramatic; and I really don’t have the slightest idea whether the Fates can know their own future.

X

P.S. Swordsmen have always been more versatile than archers.

Drastic times called for drastic measures. Nodding at the page, I wrote again and sent it down with him.

Xena,

My love, as much as I’d like to discuss defense with you, what I have in mind is much more exciting, if you catch my drift. Maybe we could see how versatile a certain swordswoman really is.

Love,

Gabrielle

Surely, she would get the point of this note but sadly when the page returned with her note, I became convinced that despite Xena’s many skills, catching on to innuendo was simply not one of them.

We can spar with your staff after this meeting is over if you want. That new speaker might have the right idea. Bread before swords just might work. We can talk later.

X

***

Determined and a bit perturbed, I scribbled out a note and handed it to the page. As he made his way down, I gathered my staff and satchel and followed after him.

Xena,

Please meet me at the side door ASAP.

Love you,

Gabrielle

***

I waited over by the side door of the council hall, twirling my staff, stretching my body as it had become quite sore from sitting in that Hades of a chair for so long. Before long, the page opened the door and came over to me. Narrowing my eyes at the note he handed me, he almost slipped back into the room. I grabbed his shoulder and told him to wait a moment. As I read the note Xena had sent, I cursed Hera and the chariot she rode in on at what I read.

Gabrielle, I can’t leave right now; we’re working on a plan to employ the archers and swordsmen as part-time farmers. Can’t this wait until we are through?

X

P.S. And if I remember correctly, it was your idea for us to come through Argos. I wanted to go to Melapania after we left Gralius.

Angry and immensely frustrated, I pulled out one more piece of parchment and devised a plan to get Xena and I the Hades out of here and into a bed, or bedroll, or hayloft, or field of grass, or lake, or any Tartarus of a place where we could be alone and naked. By this point, I had worked myself up into a bit of a dander and I was not about to let it go. Funny thing is, the angrier I get, the more worked up I get in other more.. intimate ways. Don’t ask. I don’t know why. I sent the page off with one final note. I was not above an ultimatum, peace treaty for Argos or not.

Xena, honey, if you don’t meet me now, I may be forced to find the nearest Inn and make friends with the barmaid. You know how ‘friendly’ I get when I’m frustrated and angry and at the moment I am very much of all three things.

Signed your lover of almost two years and the person with whom you share your bedroll,

Gabrielle

Folding the note and handing it over to the now-scared pageboy, I turned my back to the door and looked out the window in the hall. I swore under my breath that if my Warrior Princess was not the next person through that door, I would quite possibly go into that room and make a scene in front of everyone and their mother. I had tried subtlety. I had tried what I thought was pretty direct innuendo. And I had tried an all out request. Now I was sending out angry demands. This is what five candlemarks of sitting through politics will do to a bard.

Hearing the door open and steps coming behind me, I knew it was not the pageboy. Not yet willing to turn around, I waited. Feeling familiar hands on my shoulders, I let out the breath I was holding and tried not to let my tongue voice the frustrations I felt. Xena’s words were in my ear where they felt accustomed to falling.

"Gabrielle, there was no need for you to send me an ultimatum. You could have just asked."

Her voice held a hint of reproach and I turned around, my eyes flashing.

"Xena, I did ask, repeatedly! Whatever happened to the signs and secret words we worked out?! How many times have I used the phrase ‘let’s continue our conversation’ to mean let’s, you know...’continue our conversation’?? For the love of Zeus, this morning we left right in the middle of our ‘conversation’ and I didn’t even have a chance to get the last ‘word’ in. You know how I get!"

I continued talking all the while a surprised Xena was backing up as I pushed her forward. Her eyebrows were raised at me while I went on. I knew I was being unfair and unreasonable but my frustration of the day simply fueled me on.

"And while it was my idea that we go through Argos, you were the one who agreed to help the Council even after we got here and they said that it wasn’t really all that necessary. And another thing..."

I pushed her against the hallway wall as one hand went to her leathered waist. My voice lowered as my other hand realized it was resting on her breastplate.

"And another thing.."

When I felt my leg come in contact with hers as I leaned up against her, I almost forgot what that other things was. Her blue eyes danced down at me as a slight smile crossed her lips. She had placed her hands on my bare midriff.

"And another thing..."

I swallowed as the scent of leather filled my senses, I could feel her breathing under my hands. In my lover’s arms, I forgot.

"Yes?"

She asked me in that low voice of hers. Remembering my misplaced anger, my eyes softened in regret and apology.

"Oh Xena...I’m sorry. I have no right to be angry with you and I had no right to give you an ultimatum. It’s just that.."

My eyes dropped to my boots. She smiled as one of her hands came to my face and drew it back up to look at her. I looked at her and only saw the love she had for me. Gods, how did I get so lucky?

"It’s just what, Gabrielle?"

"It’s just that...I am so in love with you, Xena and sometimes I want so much of you and I need so much of you that I just...I just don’t think, I guess."

Leaning down, she placed a soft kiss against my lips, reminding me of how gentle she really could be.

"I’m very much in love with you too, Gabrielle, and it’s ok if you want me."

Her lips found my ear and I shivered just a bit in her embrace.

"And it’s ok if you need me..."

My neck was warm where she left a trail of wetness from her lips along my jawline. I closed my eyes.

"Because the feelings are very, very mutual."

I smiled as I leaned in and buried my face against the skin of her neck and breasts. Her arms pulled me in close and strong. I’d spend all of eternity in a room full of politicians for a moment here in her arms.

Pulling back slightly, Xena’s eyes sparkled as she smiled down at me.

"Well, Gabrielle, I’d better go back inside and hammer out those defense plans.."

Narrowing my eyes, I realized she was teasing me because I can read those eyes of hers like no one else can. That’s one of my many skills, believe me.

"Oh, is that so?"

I looked up at her and let one of my hands trail down the side of her leather, feelings it’s smoothness and then feeling the strips of leather and the heat of her thigh. Taking my hand away from her leg, I leaned up and placed my lips against hers, my tongue telling a tale or two against her lips. When I pulled back, I smiled at the slight flush on her face. Her voice was a little unsteady and hardly convincing.

"Mmm...yes. I have to go back in.."

It was clear to me that I needed to remind my warrior princess of exactly what the situation was here. She would be returning to that room in Tartarus over my dead body. Smiling, I brought my finger to her lips and lightly ran it across both.

"Are you sure I can’t convince you to leave with me?"

Her eyes closed and I smiled as I felt her breathing increase and her hands tighten around my waist. Her tongue brushed against my finger and I knew she was mine. Xena’s eyes opened and burned a sea of blue as she tasted the liquid of my wetness placed upon her lips. Growling, she looked down at me as she licked her lips, my taste finally sending the right message. Her words were clear and to the point.

"Let’s go. Now."

With that, she pulled me down the hallway and out the door, all thoughts of defense appropriations and policy negotiations left to those who could debate for moons. I, for one, never knew politics could be so exciting.

***

Colophon: The writing of this story was greatly aided by some major life avoidance, a few glasses of good, old Midwestern tap water on an especially hot day, and the challenge of writing something without any graphic sex in it. ;)

#xena #xena warrior princess #xena/gabrielle #xena/gabrielle fanfiction #author: ln james #mature #fanfiction #femslash

[crystaljins]

Would I choose you? | 04

Characters: Jimin x Reader

Word count: 5.6K

Synopsis:  Every year the graduating class of International Academy for Superheroes and Sidekicks are allocated to their future partner. They will work with their partner for the rest of their working lives.

Jimin, the star of your academy and picked as the favourite to succeed in life, is not pleased when he is allocated to you, the school loser.

Superhero!au.

Notes:  My purpose in writing fics is to get to the point where feelings start to bloom. Keep your eyes wide open folks because feelings are starting to sneak in for our characters O.o

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Things go really well between you and Jimin after that distress call. It turns out that when he’s not ignoring you and furious over a failed mission, Jimin is a competent, capable hero and just a fun guy to be around in general. The two of you have an endless supply of distress calls and with each new call you are improving. You learn how to work with each other, and you learn how to handle the numerous situations a hero duo is expected to lend aid in. Jimin hasn’t brought up the dinner debacle since it happened but it seems the two of you are fine to leave it behind. You had been hurt but you hadn’t given Jimin a reason to trust you. He trusts you now and you’ve accepted each other as partners and that’s all that matters.

It’s not just as heroes that you find the two of you are getting along better in either. As a roommate, Jimin is wonderful! He sometimes cooks dinner for you, and he’s always happy to hang and watch a movie with you, and sometimes he will pick up food for whatever the latest injured critter you decide to harbor is on his trips to the grocery store. He even admits one night over dinner that he finds it charming the way you can’t leave any creature alone without trying to help. That admission has you blushing and smiling for far longer than you care to admit.

You can’t help but feel that things are going really well for you- the alley cat who wouldn’t stop swearing at you has warmed up to you as well. He’ll accept the food you leave out for him and sometimes he’ll come in through the window and nap on the little cat bed you secretly purchased for him. Val’s babies grow stronger every day and Ratbert will occasionally come to visit (though he keeps his family far from the clutches of the alley cat and they all have apparently settled in a new building a few blocks down). You’re happy.

The same cannot be said for Jimin, unfortunately. Because while you are content to leave behind the dinner debacle and pretend it never happened, he is not. Each new day his harsh words and desire to dismiss you as a worthy partner haunt him, especially since with each new day you prove your worthiness anew. You’re almost always exactly where he needs you (apart from the odd mess up since you are only human), you’re supportive and when things get hard or scary or difficult you’re right there with him to help him find a solution. You do sweet things like make him breakfast and you hum songs under your breath as you clean the living room and you’re always sneaking things you think he might like into the trolley when you think he’s not looking. It’s no one’s fault but his own- he let his own fears and insecurities and other people’s opinion of you distort his view until he missed what was right in front of his nose. A compassionate, determined individual and probably the only person he’s ever met who works harder than him. The question of how to begin to apologise for his earlier behaviour hovers over him like a dark cloud.

The conviction that he needs to do something to make it up to you solidifies the first time the two of you make it into the newspaper. You both successfully take down some bank robbers in the area. The photographer requests that Jimin move closer. As he slides his arm around your waist and steps in close, you offer him a tiny, private smile. He doesn’t know what about that smile sticks with him, but something about it makes him realise he can no longer avoid apologising because somewhere along the line the two of you had become friends and trusting partners.

It is while he is training at headquarters one day that he stumbles upon something- or rather, someone who can help him apologise. He strolls through the now-familiar winding corridors of the government-funded facility, fresh from a sparring session with a former classmate and he collides with none other than Kim Seokjin.

The only sidekick who rivalled your infamy at the academy was the man who now stands before Jimin. The two of you had had a bit of a reputation amongst the heroes- everyone dreaded being allocated to either of you. It had been a running joke amongst his classmates whenever something bad happened to say something along the lines of “Hey, it could be worse- you could be allocated to one of those two.”. And while Jimin himself had never participated in such disrespectful jokes, he had heard them and that is why he knows you and Kim Seokjin are thick as thieves. Seokjin offers Jimin an uncomfortably bright smile.

“Park Jimin, fancy seeing you here.” He says cheerfully. “How’s (Y/N)? I’ve been meaning to stop by and have lunch with her.”

Jimin rubs awkwardly at the back of his neck- Seokjin is just tall enough that he must tilt his head slightly to make eye contact and it’s not a great feeling.

“She’s well. Actually, this is great timing, because there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you about.” Jimin admits. Will Seokjin be mad when he leans of how Jimin treated you? Then again, you have probably already told him if you are as good friends with him as you have seem. Either way, Jimin tenses just slightly, prepared to catch a punch from the taller man if necessary.

“No problem. What do you need to ask, merman?” Seokjin questions cheerily. Jimin shoots him a look to signal the nickname is unwelcome but he ignores it like he seems to do with most things in his life. “Who rained on your parade?”

Jimin frowns. 

“I... well...” he says slowly. He hesitates, mentally attempting to calculate the likelihood that he’s about to get slapped. Seokjin seems friendly enough.

“Is it about that whole dinner thing?” He asks suddenly. “And how you ignored her for a week after your first mission?”

“Wow she really tells you everything doesn’t she?” Jimin responds, equal parts nervous and impressed. Seokjin nods.

“If it makes you feel any better, I think one of her super powers is an inability to hold grudges. She doesn’t even hold grudges against our childhood bullies.”

“That makes me feel worse, oddly enough.” Jimin confesses sadly. Seokjin smiles sympathetically.

“I know the feeling. Kinda like you just punched Snow White in the face for being sweet enough to offer you some delicious baked apple pie while she cleans your house for you. It’s the whole Disney princess vibe she has going on- that’s her other super power. Tugging on your heartstrings like a wounded puppy.” He tells Jimin solemnly. “My guess is you want to know how to apologise?”

Jimin nods eagerly.

“I’m just not sure how to make it up to her, I guess.” He admits. “Can you help me, Seokjin?”

“First things first, call me Jin.” Jin tells him, clapping a warm hand on Jimin’s shoulder. “Second of all, I am a master of apologies.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good thing to be a master of-“ Jimin protests and the thought crosses his mind that maybe this isn’t such a good idea.

“Just trust me, Ariel. I got this sorted.” Jin cuts him off.

++

Jin does not have it sorted.

“Are you sure she likes these sorts of things? She doesn’t seem like the type to be big on video games.” Jimin asks hesitantly, setting down the bag of merchandise and games that Jin had coerced him into buying.

“Of course she is,” Jin tells him dismissively, reaching into the bag and pulling out one of the games. “She wouldn’t have the console if she wasn’t right? Besides, I’ve known her since we were kids, you can trust me on her likes and dislikes.” Jin selects one of the games and walks over to the console, popping it in. “She also likes chocolate cake- I’ve bought the ingredients if you want to get started.” He settles onto the couch and waves in the general direction of the grocery bags he had set on the counter. Jimin frowns- he can’t shake the niggling feeling that Jin is taking advantage of him.

“Can’t you just make one with your powers?” Jimin interrogates. Jin yawns, stretching widely.

“I’ve had a long day, see, and my powers aren’t as good when I’m tired. The cake might not come out well.” He tells Jimin over the startup music. Jimin sighs and rolls up his sleeves, pulling out his phone to consult a recipe.

This is how you find the two of them when you walk in an hour later.

“You’re eating it all!” Jimin protests as Jin practically spoons batter into his mouth.

“I’m just taste testing! I have to make sure it’s exactly to her tastes-“

“I feel like you were lying and you just wanted me to make you dinner! I distinctly remember her saying she likes fruity cakes- this is almost pure chocolate-”

“Jimin?” You call curiously. Both Jimin and Jin freeze. Jimin is coated in cocoa and flour and frantically wrestling Jin for a wooden spoon dripping with cake batter. Jin attempts to surreptitiously wipe away the icing and cake batter smeared across his cheeks. A game you’ve never heard of plays music in the background on the console he convinced your parents to buy for you for your graduation present. The console in question has sat untouched up until this point. “What’s going on here?”

Beneath the copious amount of flour and cocoa, Jimin flushes bright red and Jin takes the opportunity to shove the whole wooden spoon in his mouth.

“I… I was trying to do something nice for you.” He confesses, almost sweetly. Jin nods his support but does not remove the wooden spoon from his mouth. You raise an eyebrow at Jin and he pales. He recognises the face- it’s your ‘get of my house now and stop eating my food or I’ll send a lion after you’ face. You can thank Jin’s lack of boundaries throughout your childhood for the development of such a specific expression.

“I’ll just be taking my leave then. Good luck with the cake, Aquaman,” Jin says. He darts out of your shared apartment with a farewell salute and just like that you’re left alone with Jimin.

He still looks embarrassed, and you smile at him as you step forward and begin to help him shake the flour from his hair.

“Why were you trying to something nice for me?” You ask. “Not that I don’t appreciate it. And for the record, I do prefer cakes with fruit and I’m sorry Jin conned you into buying those games- he’s probably going to live on our couch with Hoseok for the next few months.”

Jimin chuckles, shaking flour off his forearms. He’ll probably have to vacuum the whole kitchen with the mess he’s made.

“I was trying to apologise.” He confesses. You pause in your adjustment of his fringe and meet his gaze.

“For what?” You ask, and your genuine puzzlement makes him feel a strange fondness. Jin wasn’t kidding about the not holding grudges thing.

“How I treated you, when we first moved in together. And that dinner where I…” He hesitates. “The things I said weren’t cool.” He confesses. “And you’ve been such a wonderful partner… And I really appreciate it.”

You hesitate, dropping your hand, before offering him a tentative, shy smile that causes an odd fluttering sensation to fill his chest.

“It’s ok.” You tell him, and you go to step away from him but he anchors you in place by reaching out and grasping your wrists with his hands. “You were stressed and we failed our first mission. I can’t say that I wouldn’t have reacted the same- it’s really ok.”

“It’s not.” He tells you firmly. He tilts his head slightly so that you are forced to look directly into his warm brown eyes. “It’s not ok- I was rude and misjudged you. I’m truly, truly sorry and I know it’s no justification but I acted like that because I was just afraid. Because so many people expect so much from me and I don’t deal well with failure. I took it out on you and I shouldn’t have. And you may have moved on but I haven’t, so let me have this apology.”

He doesn’t know what prompts his next confession, but the words come pouring forth anyway.

“I really admire you. You’re so kind and genuine. When you told me why you wanted to be a hero… I think it’s so amazing. You’re so genuine and you want to help people so much and next to you I feel so fake. I’m only in this profession because of my parents- how can I be a genuine hero like that?” He confesses. He still does not release your wrists nor your gaze. You wonder if he can see the flush that rises to your cheeks at his words. You’re genuinely at a loss for words.

“You’re not a fake.” You almost whisper. Jimin looks like he’s about to protest so you cut him off. “I’m serious. I’m an empath- I can sense fakes from a mile away. That’s not what I sense from you Jimin.” You tell him sincerely. “I sense a-“ You pause, hesitating. You’ve never admitted this out loud to anyone, but it was part of the reason you had been so smitten with Jimin at the academy. Confessing it is scarier than you thought it would be, but you plough forward regardless. “I sense this churning desire to do the right thing deep inside you. It’s warm and it always surrounds you no matter what you’re doing. It never goes away. Someone who wants to help others that much can’t be a fake. I know you’re the real deal, regardless of who your parents are or why you enrolled in the academy.”

The look Jimin gives you following your confession is loaded with a lot of emotions you don’t understand. You could read him, but you have a feeling you still wouldn’t understand the emotions that flicker across his face. Instead you watch as he finally settles on a warm smile that makes your heart flutter a lot more than you want to admit.

“Give me a second chance.” He begs softly.

“What do you mean?” You ask, confused. You’d already forgiven him ages ago.

“At dinner. I want a second chance to do that dinner properly, like I should have. To get to know you, my sidekick and my partner, instead of what I actually did.” He asks. “Let’s have a redo.”

His words bring a hesitant smile to your face.

“Sure.” You say.

The smile he offers you in return is blinding.

++

The two of you settle on a date later in the week for dinner, but it is not to be. The morning of, Jimin receives a call from his mother. You don’t know what it’s in regards to, but you know it is nothing good. Since moving in together, you have noticed that Jimin has a lot of fights with his parents, from mundane things like whether he’d called that day to more severe things like their disappointment with his lack of progress in his career. Overall they’d just given the impression that they were overbearing and put a lot of pressure on Jimin. It shows when he comes out of his bedroom with a stormy expression. You can practically feel the hurt and frustration pouring off him in waves. You don’t have to actively reach out with you empathy- you can sense the way his distress darkens the room.

“I’m going to have to cancel dinner tonight. I’m so sorry.” Jimin tells you, apologetic. It is a tense apology though- you can tell he barely holds back his temper. You shake your head.

“That’s fine- are you ok?” You question. He pauses, like he’s surprised by the line of questioning. Then he shakes his head.

“I… I was just on the phone with me mother and she…” His voice catches and he curls his hands into fists where they hang loosely at his side. “I don’t really want to talk about it. Sorry.” He says after a long pause where you get the impression he’s desperately trying to control his temper by taking slow, concentrated inhales.

“That’s ok.” You reassure him. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Jimin stares at you for a long, uncomfortable moment. It is like he is searching for something but you do not know what that something is. Finally, he takes a long, deep exhale.

“She just wants to meet with me to discuss our partnership. Don’t worry though- I’ll disregard anything she says. It just means we have to postpone our dinner, which sucks.” He says with a sigh, combing his fingers through his hair. You smile weakly.

“That’s fine. I can sort dinner for myself. I don’t mind rescheduling.” You say. Jimin gives you one last long look before sighing.

“I really am sorry.” He apologises once more, before hoisting his gym bag up on his shoulder. “Anyway, I have an appointment at headquarters for a health check- I’ll see you when I get back from dinner tonight, ok?”

You nod and watch him go. It doesn’t bother you to have the dinner postponed- you know it would probably cause a huge fight if he were to refuse his mother’s plans and go to dinner with you. It’s more that it bothers you that his mother hates you so. If Jimin has warmed up to you to such an extent that he’s started including cat food on his grocery list for the alley cat you’ve befriended even though it keeps trying to bite him, then you feel that all his mother has to do is make an effort to know you and she’ll change her mind.

Either way, you shake the discouraging thoughts from your head and proceed about your day. By the time it gets to early evening, around the time you were meant to have dinner with Jimin, your mood has cleared and you’re settled in for the night to watch some Netflix and then head to bed early- you have an all day training session at headquarters the next day and you’d rather not tire yourself out.

Alas, it is not to be- it seems the universe doesn’t want Jimin to go out for dinner at all, for right as you have settled down with a plate of dinner after feeding the numerous animals you’ve taken in for the night, your phone begins to trill with a distress call.

Not long after Jimin calls.

“I’ll meet you there?” He questions as you pull on your uniform.

“Yup.” You tell him quickly. You don’t comment on the way his voice trembles darkly. You suppose the dinner had not been going well. “I’ll meet you there. Remember not to engage without me or I’ll report you.” You scold as you slip on your watch and program the location of the distress call into it.

“No promises.” And the simmering anger in his voice makes you hesitate. Perhaps it is not the best idea to answer this distress call. However, Jimin hangs up before you can voice your concerns and you sigh.

The distress call in question seems to be a minor villain trying to make a name for themselves. You watch the carnage of the doomsday device from the rooftop of a nearby building as you wait for Jimin to arrive.

He arrives quietly beside you, watching the chaos below. You can’t read his face because of his helmet and when you reach out your empathy all you sense is a cold, dark, swirling sensation. You couldn’t name the emotion he’s feeling but if you had to try it would probably be close to a cold fury.

You don’t get a word out before he is launching himself off the side of the building. You are about to cry out in protest but a pair of ice handlebars materialize in front of him and he grips onto them, using them to lower him to the ground. With a sigh, you allow him to do whatever it is he thinks he’s doing while you evaluate the situation and decide the best course of action.

The doomsday device in question seems to be some sort of large vehicle designed to inflict structural damage to the buildings around it. An ominous ray gun is built into the top and you wouldn’t have the slightest clue what it does. Perhaps you could have managed some reconnaissance to evaluate the threat it poses had Jimin not leapt impulsively into action as he had, but you push down your frustration. He’s stressed and he’s upset and really the blame is on you for allowing him to come out despite the emotional turmoil you knew he was experiencing.

Instead you focus your attention to your main duty as a sidekick: Reducing the casualties. You do not need special powers to facilitate an evacuation of the area, and it had been one of the most fundamental pieces of training you had received when you were in the academy. Protect the civillians above all else had been the fundamental lesson drilled into you. You rush out onto the street through the fire escape, immediately evaluating who needs help. A young woman is injured but she seems able to walk. A lot of people have already fled in panic and the only ones remaining are those who are too injured or too scared to go on their own.

You start with the young woman.

“What’s your name?” You asks her, and she looks up at you. She is deathly pale and tears streak down her face. Taking stock of her injuries, nothing seems too severe. A laceration on her cheek. A scrape on her arm and potentially a sprained ankle.

“E… Emma.” She says softly, her voice trembling with tears. She looks puzzled that you are here to help. You smile as sweetly as you can and crouch down to your level. She’s only your age, perhaps a little younger.

“Well, Emma, I’m going to get you some help, ok?” You say warmly, and a fresh round of tears spills down her dirty, blood cheeks.

“You’re going to help me? But I-“ She begins, but you cut her off.

“The first thing I’m going to need you to do is stay calm, ok?” You tell her firmly. “I can’t help you if you lose your head, ok?”

She seems taken aback, but nods with determination in her eyes.

“Ok good,” You say, already looking around and deciding what step to take next. Perhaps if you can gather more civillians who are actually able to walk, they can help you transport Emma. Authorities are already on their way but they cannot enter the immediate danger zone until the villain threat is removed, as per protocol. That’s really all on Jimin to do. Ideally, he would have helped you evacuate the civs first and then engaged in combat like he does now, firing ice projectiles at the large metal machine, but he clearly isn’t thinking straight. Besides, it’s too late- he’s already engaged and preoccupied and the villain will work faster now that she knows there are heroes in the mix. He needs to stop the machine and restrain the villain. A glance in the direction of the carnage tells you that will not happen any time soon. “Emma, what I’m going to do is I’m going to help you walk. We’re going to try and see if we can find any others, but I don’t want to leave you alone. Do you think you can do that for me?” She looks like she very much can’t, but that is where your empathy comes in handy. You send out a wave of calmness towards her and then determination steels her gaze once more. She nods her head.

You loop an arm around her waist and she puts her arm around your shoulders as you help her to her feet.

It is slow-going, hobbling with this injured person, but you aren’t game enough to leave a civilian unattended with a doomsday device on a rampage barely a hundred metres from where she’s standing.

“Hydro,” You call into your comms device as the two of you hobble through the streets. If you can get her just a block away, you can probably leave her there and emergency personnel could begin administering first aid. “Update me on your status. Can you neutralise the threat?”

“Not yet,” Comes back Jimin’s static-y voice. “They’re putting up a big fight. Artemis I’m gonna need you here- there are civillians in the immediate vicinity and I need you to help them.”

You frown- you cannot take Emma with you but you can’t leave her there.

“I have something to tell you-” Emma says suddenly, eyes wide. You pause. 

“Hold on, ok? I just need to speak with my partner.” You quiet her before returning to speaking into your comms device. “I’m already clearing out the area. Maybe you should disengage and focus on bringing them to safety first?” You suggest to Jimin. Really, this sort of plan of approach should have been made before Jimin engaged. Perhaps you’d have more ability to evacuate civs if Jimin had been there to help. Neutralising the threat was meant to come secondary to removing all innocents from imminent danger, but Jimin in his anger had leapt straight into the ass-kicking portion of his job. You just hear static in the background- Jimin is too preoccupied to offer a response.

“Listen it’s really important that I- Over there!” Emma suddenly cries, interrupting herself with a startled cry and you look in the direction she’s wildly point in. It’s a young family- a woman desperately cradles her baby while her husband stands over her looking desperate and panicked. And then you realise the doomsday device is on a direct trajectory for them- it will run them over unless something is done.

“Hydro, red alert, red alert,” You cry. “The device is heading straight for a young family. You need to stop it! Disengage now, disengage now!”

“Affirmative! Taking action now!” Comes Jimin’s answer and you see an ice shield erupt in front of the machine. It is not enough though- it merely redirects the course slightly, but the ray gun is still pointing directly at the young family. You still don’t know what it does but you do not wait to find out.

You don’t think. You don’t plan. You drop Emma and race forward. You dive forward. Protect the civs is your mantra. The beam hits you in a concentrated ray.

The family remains untouched. They stare at you in shock. Then slowly it dawns on them what happened. You took the hit for them.

And then everything goes black. The last thing you are aware of is Jimin screeching your hero name in horror.

++

You wake up in a bed in the infirmary back at headquarters. You take stock of your injuries and realise you’re sporting of a lot of bruises and cuts that weren’t there before.

“You’re lucky,” you hear a voice call and you start violently. It’s just Jimin though, coming through the doorway with a bouquet of flowers in his arms. “It was a mind control beam. Not like a death ray or anything like that.”

You blink in confusion as you recall the events that lead to you waking up in the hospital bed. Your eyes knit together.

“A mind control beam?” You question. He nods, setting down the flowers in the table at your bedside. You can make out a card with Jin’s messy handwriting scrawled across it in their midst.

“Yup. Apparently she was trying to form an army to wreak chaos on the city or something,” He explains. “Which I suppose we would have known if I’d given us the time to evaluate the situation and do some recon.” The guilt is heavy in his voice. He settles into a chair beside you. He’s changed out of his super suit into some civilian clothes and he looks unfairly handsome. His hair is pushed back off his forehead from running his hands through it one too many times and his clothes fit him well. Will you ever be desensitized to his beauty? Probably not.

“So then… I was mind controlled?” You question. He grimaces but there’s something reserved and uneasy about it.

“Sort of. Apparently your refusal to do what anyone tells you to do is a very deep-rooted personality trait.” He tells you and there is a fond glint to his eyes as he recounts the story to you though it is diluted by the misery in his expression. “And so you put up a decent fight resisting it. Long enough for me to neutralise as many threats as I could. Uh… including the highly trained, combat ready soldier she had just hit with a mind control beam. Sorry. It wasn’t that gentle, taking you down.”

Well that would explain the bruises, then. Jimin had neutralised the threat- and while mind-controlled, you were probably the biggest threat. You nod, and Jimin raises his hand. You go eerily still as he pushes your hair off you face, revealing a large, purple bruise on your forehead.

“Never let me criticize your abilities again,” Jimin says, but his tone darkens with something. Perhaps guilt? “You can put up a fight when you want to. Anyway, once you were taken down and I knew it was a mind control beam I was able to focus on the important things pretty easily. And about the civillians...” He opens his mouth as if to say something but then he grimaces like he’s swallowed a lemon. “They’re all... They.... You see... They all came out fine.” He says, though he says it like the words pain him. Were you not still groggy with sleep and painkillers, you might have questioned him but as it is you miss his slight slip. “So everything worked out ok”

You nod awkwardly. Your hand is in a sling. You must have sprained your arm while fighting Jimin. His gaze darkens as he eyes your swollen wrist.

“I would tell you off for doing something as reckless as leaping in front of an unknown beam to protect a civ, but I feel like the blame lies with me.” He confesses. “I… I was off my game tonight.” He admits. “I leapt into things and acted recklessly and it got you and oth-” He aborts the sentence and clears his throat. “You got hurt and I’m sorry.”

The guilt pours off him so strongly you can sense it even without extending your empathy.

“I was just so… angry and hurt.” He admits. As much as you think it is important for Jimin to recognise what he could do better for his next mission, you are not a fan of the downward spiral you see him in.

“Jimin,” You say softly, and slowly. He lowers his gaze, shame painting his face.

“She called me useless.” He says in a low, broken voice. “My mother. She told me to get rid of you and when I refused she pointed out what a terrible hero I was. All the ways I’ve failed and all my shortcomings and she told me not to consider myself her son if that was how I was going to continue to perform.”

You are speechless as Jimin continues recounting the diner he’d had.

“And so when we got the distress call I was so determined to prove her wrong. But all I managed to do was screw up the mission and beat up my sidekick. I’m so sorry, (Y/N).” He cries. His voice cracks on the ‘sorry’ and so does your heart.

“Jimin!” You call urgently, reaching out with your uninjured arm to cup his face and force him to look straight into your eyes. He is surprised at the sudden movement and just stares dumbly at you. “Don’t beat yourself up. First of all, you’re an awesome hero and your mum is just trying to guilt you into doing what she wants you to do. Second of all, yeah, maybe today was a bust, but we’re only humans. Gifted or not, we’re gonna screw up every now and then. We have limits. Besides, I’m just as much to blame. I didn’t stop you from answering the call when I knew you weren’t in any state to handle it. We’ll just learn, Jimin. That’s why we start small. We’re working our way to the top in little steps, but we’re gonna get to the top. I can feel it in my bones, ok?”

For a second, he just stares at you, confused, and then his whole expression softens.

“You’re really something, you know that?” He says warmly. You grin.

Something in the air shifts between the two of you. You don’t know what causes it but suddenly the space that hovers between your faces is warm and tight. Why did you pull his face so close to yours? It’s suddenly hard to breath through the unnamed tension that thickens the air.

“Jimin,” You say slowly, as the smile slowly slides off your face. You don’t know what you planned to say next, because your attention is captured by his mouth. His lips are so smooth and soft looking. You like it best when they are curved upward in a smile, the kind that makes his eyes scrunch as they twinkle with delight. Currently they are pursed into a slight frown but the plush curve to them is still distracting. And you’re so focused on his lips that you miss the way that his gaze flickers downwards as well, anchoring onto your mouth.

And then he is abruptly pulling away, clearing his throat awkwardly and flushing bright head.

“Anyway,” He says, a bit more forcefully than the situation calls for. “Let’s get you home, ok? I’ll buy us some food on the way home to make up for my incompetence.”

You are too busy protesting his self-deprecation and so you don’t pick up on it on the journey home, but the flush never quite leaves Jimin’s cheeks.

The desire to kiss you never quite leaves him either.

#Jimin fluff #park jimin #jimin #jimin x reader #bts fluff #writing

[lonely-bored-writer]

Is Everything Okay? Ch. 13

Deep breaths Danny. Deep breaths.

Danny groaned, dropping his head into his hands. The fear still coiled deep inside him, anxiety thrumming through his veins. He swallowed thickly, he can do this. He was sure of it... At least Anderson and Lancer were sure of him.

A sense of sadness filled him as he picked up his head and looked at his support. Jazz, Dash, Chris, and Lancer. All of which were watching from the sidelines. A feeling of disappointment and betrayal filled him with the sight of a missing brunette. His mum had chosen to stay by his dad side, rather than being here for this. She was supposed to be called to the stand, but she pulled out not even an hour ago.

Not that Danny could really blame her. Her husband, the lover of her life was fighting for his life in a hospital bed while the kid responsible for this was about to have a court hearing. He would love to stay by his dad, but he couldn't He couldn't just let this get pushed back, he knew if he didn't do this than he wouldn't do this ever again.

"It's going to be fine." Anderson smiled, taking a seat next to the distressed teen. Danny accepted the water offered to him with a tight lip smile and whisper of thanks. "You'll just need to answer a few questions, like we talked about, it shouldn't be long."

"I'm more worried about her..." Daniel mumbled, his head tilting into the direction of a hyper redhead. His eyes scanned the room quickly for the woman's sidekick, worry filling him at the realization that the little pest is missing.

"Hey." Anderson shifted forward, getting into the teen's field of vision and forcing him into eye contact. Soft brown eyes met anxious blue eyes. "It's going to be fine. I'm not lying. Ms. Spectra would not be able to play any of this into Masters' favor. We can win this."

Danny swallowed, the fear not wavering it's hold on him. But nonetheless the teen gave the agent a small smile, appreciating that someone actually believed in all of this. Even when him himself felt like all they were doing was grasping at straws.

"Now for the case of Fenton V. Masters."

"So Mr. Fenton, can you tell be about the first instance where my client laid a hand on you?" Jessica Fredrick questioned, walking up to the stand. The color drained from the teen's face, his eyes landed on Anderson who gave him an encouraging nod.

"Take your time." The judge spoke softly. Danny swallowed and nodded, choosing to ignore the fear stricken tears that pricked at his eyes.

"It... It was the time that he-he got back into my parents lives. There was a class reunion and he invited us to stay... My parents took him up on the offer, I mean I didn't even think he was a bad guy until I noticed things. I saw how he would insult my dad in ways no one really noticed, and he would constant flirt with my mum. I...It weirded me out, I didn't want to stay long so one night I went to look for something, anything for a reason to leave...

"I stumbled on this room, he had these monitors and it looked like it showed my house... That's when I started feeling really scared and uncomfortable, so I went to get my parents. But instead I bumped into V-Mr. Masters... He seemed angry, I tried to talk to him, but he wasn't having it That's when he hit me, and he did it a few times-"

"Why did you not think to call the authorities when you were first injured?" Fredrick asked, folding her perfectly manicured hands behind her back. An air of arrogance surrounded her suited form. "If you knew that Mr. Masters was stalking your family, and you were in fear for their life, why did you not call the police?" Danny trained his eyes on the wood before him, an odd feeling bubbled inside him.

"Because that night he threatened to kill my family if I told anyone... I believed him, Heck I still believe the froot-loop could do something like that. But now-"

"Now a teacher point out your bruises, so you're using my client as an escape goat?"

"It's-It's not like that!" Danny gasped, his head snapping up to stare at the lady before him. "Vlad has been hurting me for years! I just never thought anyone would care, that anyone would even bother with me . I was-am the slacker kid who 'goofed' off a ton-"

"So you admit you tend to vary from the things before you?"

"Objection!" Anderson quickly shot from his seat. "This is irrelevant."

"This is relevant for the determination of this teen's word." Fredrick turned to the judge.

"Move on Ms. Fredrick." Judge Montreal nodded, turning his gave back on the slightly trembling teen before him. The older man felt a pang of sympathy run through him, even if for the briefest moment.

"That is all." Fredrick smiled, however her eyes seem to glare at the teen. Danny saw a glint in her eyes that caused a new wave of fear run through him. Something wasn't right...

"Mr. Fenton." Anderson greeted, motioning toward a blank projector screen. "When you were first examined the medical examiner took photo evidence, correct?" Danny responded with a nod, tense when the screen shifted to his bruised and battered body. The sight of it made him realize just how much a week can do for healing.

"The M.E. recorded that Mr. Fenton here was given a fractured hip bone, a dislocated shoulder, three fractured ribs, a hairline fracture on his left wrist, a concussion. Along with that, more than fifty five percent of his body was covered in bruises, another fifteen percent was scar tissue, and five percent were covered in various cuts." Anderson listened, flipping the slide show through the various photos of the teen's body. "Mr. Fenton, do you see the man we did this to you in this room today?"

"Y-yes." Danny spoke, his finger nails dug into his arm out of view of everyone. He needed to stay grounded, he couldn't let the anxiety overwhelm him.

"Can you tell me who that is?" Anderson asked, making sure to move from in front of Masters. Danny looked up, only to be met with dark, angry eyes.

"Uh...Vlad-" Danny swallowed, his fingers tightened drastically. A small relief filled him. "Vlad Masters." Daniel nodded to the defendant table.

"No more questions." Anderson glance towards to opposing lawyer who signaled she was done with questions. "I would like to call Jasmine Fenton to the stand."

"We'll we be getting the verdict today?" Danny whispered to his lawyer, who gave a nod. Nodding as well, the teen shifted his gave at the vibrant redhead who took a seat at the podium. Danny did everything in his power to push down the anger and distress welling under his skin, but the sadistic smile the Psychologist flashed him told him he wasn't doing well.

"Ms. Spectra, can you please tell be about your clinical idea of Mr. Fenton based on his records?" Fredrick asked, but the double meaning in her tone and the spark in her eyes gave Danny conformation that something was going to do in his favor.

"As an unbiased opinion, I would say that Daniel is a child suffering from psychotic episodes while also being a compulsive liar." Spectra answered, her grim features were contradicted by the glee in her eyes as she stared straight at the brew of negative emotions before her. "His history has shown instances where he would disappear and once he came back he would lie a web without a second thought. Aside from that, he's classmates had reported seeing him speaking to, or 'fighting' with a seemingly invisible force."

"So, would you say the teen's words are unreliable."

"Very much so." Spectra nodded, before he next words came out she flashed a dark smile at the distressed teen. She could feel the surge of emotions that came from it, and she was rolling in her power. "It may also be smart to mention how the teen seems to believe that he is the ghostly hero of the town, Phantom."

Instantly Daniel tensed even more if that was possible, his mind clouded with anxiety and an intense sense of dread. Was it Spectra who was going to out him? He turned his gaze on the older man in the table aside of his, his eyes were met with a dark smirk from the man who was already staring at him. Suddenly it was getting harder to breathe.

"-Video of the teen acting as if he were the hero."

Did she just say video? Video of what exactly? It couldn't be good in any sense of the word. The panicking teen looked over his shoulder in hopes to see a relaxed and reassuring sister... Not what he saw. The disquietude quadruple at the sight of a panic looking sister. He needed to breath, he needed to get out of this. He turned his bleary and shifting eyes to Anderson who had a locked jaw and hard eyes.

Anderson could help. But Danny's mouth felt intensely dry, he wouldn't be able to speak even if he tried. Reaching out a shaking hand, Danny winced at the black dots running through his vision. Not enough oxygen, that much was clear.

His eyes focused some, trying to read or hear the words that Anderson was mouthing or speaking to him. He needed to focus, but the loud ringing in his ears made it so much harder for him to hear.

"Panic-You-Sir-We-Oxygen-Danie-Slow-S-Oka-" That was all the teen was able to make out before his vision was succumbed in darkness, his mind falling numb...

#Danny Phantom #danny fenton #IM SORRY DANNY #danny phantom fanfiction #fanfiction #fandom #fanfiction.net #fanfic #Fandoms #Is Everything Okay?