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creweemmaeec11 · 3 years

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Villain X Hero Writing Prompt- Today is the Villain's birthday but due to a bad memory accosiated with it (and because the villain is kinda lonely) they dont celebrate. The villain has a battle with the hero with the hero merging victorious, kidnapping the villain. The villain thinks they've been kidnapped for information however the hero made made dinner and got a meaningful gift for the villain. Have fun with this prompt!

I love this concept. Villains being surprised with pleasantries is everything♡ I know I didn't quite get to the present part, but it felt like the right place to cut it off. I also just realized I kinda forgot about the "for information" part, oops. also I'm so sorry this took so long!

As if their day couldn't suck any more than it already did, the villain had to go and top it off with losing in a fight with the city's hero.

Could this day get *any* worse?

They were handcuffed in the back of the hero's police car, driving through the city, towards the city jail, just like they had so many times before.

The villain had escaped jail multiple times, so this wasn't much more than a large inconvenience for them, at least it would have been, had it happened on *any* other day.

The criminal in question had gone out to avoid sitting at home alone with their thoughts today. Having to sit alone with their thoughts in a jail cell was an even worse option.

Letting out a deep sigh, they flopped back against the seat. Miserable. They just felt miserable. It felt like they couldn't even see colour in the world around them anymore.

"You're much quieter than usual," the hero commented as they drove, "Is something wrong?

"Excuse me‽"

"You're usually more talkative. These drives have never been this quiet before,"

"What do you care?" The villain muttered as they turned to look out the window.

That's when the villain suddenly realized something.

"Wait, we aren't going the right way," the villain blurted out, sitting up straighter suddenly.

The hero in the front seat gave a laugh under their breath, "you only just noticed?"

"This isn't the way to the station or city jail,"

"That would be because we aren't going to the station or city jail,"

The villain felt their throat tighten.

"Where are we going?" The villain asked, trying and failing to sound demanding. There were notes of slight fear. Nerves.

In the rearview mirror, the villain saw the hero glance at them, before their gaze fell back to the road ahead.

They didn't say anything.

"Hero..." the villain tried, "Where are you taking me...?"

"You'll see," was the hummed response.

A feeling of dread settled in their stomach.

Looking out the window, the car was already on the outskirts of the city.

Suddenly the radio was flicked on.

The villain swallowed nervously.

What a day to go out on, of all the 365 to choose from in a year.

After driving for close to half an hour, they were well outside the city and into the surrounding woods, pulling up to what looked like a small cabin.

It wasn't that the villain exactly *blamed* the hero for what they were about to do. Clearly, they'd pushed the other too far, or maybe the hero had finally grown tired of their game of cat and mouse.

This just wasn't how the villain imagined themselves leaving this mortal coil. It was always in a blaze of glory, last stand type of thing.

Still, they couldn't find it in themselves to fight back. Not today. Perhaps it was fate, to be taken out on the same day it all began. Poetic, if not ironic.

The hero got out of the car, straightening themselves and stretching for a moment before turning and opening the back door.

"Are you coming?" The hero asked, before surprisingly taking a step back away from the door so the villain could get out on their own. Not like it mattered, the hero probably knew there was nowhere to run out here now.

"Do I have a choice?" The villain muttered under their breath, looking at the ground.

The hero had the *audacity* to look *surprised* at that. As if they were shocked the villain wasn't jumping with excitement to get this over with.

"Well, I mean... no... I guess... I'd like to think I'm not forcing you but..."

The villain sighed, before swinging their feet out and standing up. Luckily, they'd been cuffed in the front this time, which- now that they thought about it, was also abnormal- but it made it easier to get out of the car on their own.

Still, they felt the hero put a hand under their arm to help steady them -as if polite bedside manner would change anything, only for the villain to shrug them off.

"I'm assuming there's nothing I can say to talk you *out* of doing this, is there?"

"What?" The hero asked in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"Ya know, pull the whole 'you don't have to do this, I'll be better, I swear' kind of thing?"

"Excuse me-?"

"I mean-" the villain continued. They were rambling now. Maybe the fear was finally fully starting to kick in. The desperation, because they really *didn't* want this. There was no way they'd allow themselves to beg, but- "it would be a lie either way, I guess, despite the fact I probably shouldn't have said that I'm assuming you'd already know anyway, so-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," the hero said, placing a hand on the villain's shoulder gently, snapping them out of their spiralling thoughts, "What in the world do you think I brought you out here for?"

The villain rolled their eyes, "At least make it quick, will you? And stop acting oblivious or like I forced your hand. At least own up to what your about to do,"

The other's eyes widened as the final piece clicked into place, "You think-! I'm not gonna kill you-!" They cried in what could have been mistaken for horror.

The criminal furrowed their brows.

"I brought you here to *show* you something, silly!" The hero explained, before stepping forward and unclipping the handcuffs off the villain's wrists.

Said villain's eyes widened, "what‽"

The hero nodded, smiling, "I have a surprise for you,"

"What?!" They asked again.

The hero only nodded excitedly before turning the villain by the shoulders and giving them a gentle push towards the door, "Go on! Look inside!"

The villain glanced at the hero uncertainty before stepping forward toward the cabin.

When they opened the door, they froze on the spot.

It wasn't anything crazy.... the inside looked like any other cabin. Table, chairs, small kitchen and living area with a couch and tv. Warm glowing lights and-

A banner hung from the ceiling that read in large letters "HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

The villain spun around so fast they nearly gave themself whiplash, turning to the hero that had sense come up behind them.

They jumped back slightly, words and air catching in their throat as they gawked at the hero like they'd grown 3 more heads.

Said hero laughed lightheartedly, "Surprise!"

"What..."

It was like that had become the only word in their vocabulary.

"I know it isn't decorated much, but I didn't think you'd like the cliche ribbons and streamers and party hats," they made some jazzhand-like gesture, "I was also going to blindfold you but I didn't think you'd let me do that either,"

The villain could only stare, like their brain couldn't process the words they were hearing.

"I also made dinner, and a cake! Oh! I also have a gift for you too!"

The villain didn't move.

"Oh, and one last thing, I gave up and the fun cliche stuff just for you so I'm gonna make you suck it up and accept a birthday hug,"

"Why..." the villain managed, "why would you..."

"Why not?"

"I don't deserve this, I don't-" their voice cracked.

"Hey," the hero said softly, taking a step forward, "I heard you didn't celebrate, and I couldn't just let that happen. Everyone deserves to have a good birthday,"

The villain couldn't find any words, but the single tear that managed to quickly slip out and down their cheek did all the speaking for them.

The hero gave a small, sympathetic smile before opening their arms.

Nobody moved for a moment, before the villain caved, stepping forward and looking at the ground. They didn't reciprocate, keeping their own arms close to their chest, but allowed the hero to wrap theirs around them.

They'd never realized just how much taller the hero was until they were basically burying their face into the heros collar.

The villain couldn't even bring themselves to care at the moment, because they suddenly felt so safe, which was bizarre, considering how they felt on the way, but here they were.

"I still don't think I deserve this. Especially from you," the villain muttered from where their head was still tucked down against the hero's chest.

"I don't think your qualified for that kind of thinking, considering what you thought you deserved on the way here, which I'm almost offended by, by the way,"

The hero was rewarded with a small laugh.

"So, come on," the hero said before suddenly pulling back. They reached up, gently using their thumb to brush away the tear track on the villains face, "no tears," They reached down, grabbing the villains hand to gently tug them further inside "let's make some better birthday memories,"

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sxfik · 3 years

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let's talk about han seo, hockey and his relationship with vincenzo!

disclaimer: probably more unorganized than usual lol but i had a lot of thoughts on this. feel free to add on!!

hockey has been a connection to han seo that we have seen throughout the drama. hockey is a traditionally masculine sport, and focused on team building and brotherhood between the participants. hockey is also a violent sport, often very rough on the body and rigorous. the show utilizes hockey as a symbol of masculinity, and a representation of brotherhood, especially for han seo.

from very early on, hockey sets the dynamic between the brothers: the ice is a punishment and a reminder of han seo's relationship with his brother who uses hockey as a punishment for his brother's mistakes as well as a way to let off steam. the first notable utilization of hockey was prior to jun woo's reveal as han seok. we watch as han seo explains himself to han seok and han seok repeatedly hitting the puck into his stomach when angry and unsatisfied with the answers. this is the first real relationship we see between the two brothers. han seok uses han seo as a punching bag in order to let off his anger that he feels on a day to day basis and as a reminder to han seo of his place beneath him.

we can use this scene to infer about their relationship in their childhood. Mr. Nam has mentioned that han seo was abused by his brother as a child and has gone to therapy his whole life. as a young adult, he turned to drugs and partying and it is implied that he has wound up in the police station many times. han seok has used han seo as his punching bag and han seo molded his personality and actions in order to avoid provoking his brother. han seok has constantly reminded han seo that he is beneath him, both in blood along with intelligence and stature, and in order to satisfy him, han seo leveled himself down.

it’s important to note that this is certainly not true about han seo. we have seen that han seo picks up on situations much faster than han seok thinks (gummy bear scene), but refuses to let his brother notice as it can result in more abuse. the only reason han seo comes off as a bumbling chairman is because he isn’t as “cunning” as vincenzo or jang han seok.

it's also important to note that while there have been moments of a cordial relationship between the two, it is still an abusive relationship. even after moments where han seok has shown kindness to han seo, it is no excuse for the abuse that han seo has suffered. it is also not a reason to say that han seok is caring brother despite his abuse as he does not care for han seo beyond preserving him as an escape out of jail or death.

it's safe to say that han seo has never had a real brotherly relationship neither has he had a role model in his life and it shows in the early episodes. we see han seo mimic han seok's hockey tactics and throw pucks at his advisors (idk what to call them tbh) and even force the board members to drink spicy food without water (maybe this was a way han seok punished him when he was younger). han seo mimics his brother and attempts to be like him in these episodes. that is also why he sends thugs after cha-young and vincenzo: he is attempting his brother's scare tactics but it is clear to see that han seo is not the one for strategizing and well, being a villain. furthermore, we have noticed han seok's attachment to hockey sticks and how he deals out punishment (i.e. killing the prosecutor with a hockey stick, defending himself against intruders with the hockey stick, smashing in the car window glass with hockey stick) and han seo has bound to pick up this toxic relationship with hockey, and as an extension in the way he views his relationship with his brother.

we see this change as we watch the scene where han seo and vincenzo are on the ice together. both are stood opposing each other but in the same pose and in hockey gear. this establishes them as equals as both are equipped with the same armor and the same attack sticks. both of them have an equal chance at the puck. it heavily contrasts the scene we see where we see han seok, fully in armor and equipped to attack, and han seo in the lone suit with no protection or means to attack him back. we also note that when han seo scores, we see a genuine smile on his face and as vincenzo threatens light heartedly to "come here" and makes a move towards him, he playfully skates away. this is similar to how many brother's play on the playground together as kids: competitive but never cut-throat or attempting to maim each other. we also note han seo asking from approval from vincenzo, like a little kid would from their older sibling, asking if they did good, and vincenzo responds like an older sibling with playfully underplaying their contribution. we also see vincenzo granting han seo good advice to use/train his brain and asks him about his studies, the same way an older brother checks up on a younger one.

we can note that han seo feels comfortable around vincenzo in a way we don't see with his brother. vincenzo makes a move to throw a puck in his direction when he drops honorifics but we don't see han seo flinch in the same way that he does with han seok. even when vincenzo makes moves towards him, or gets closer he doesn't flinch, he just glides back. it shows that han seo trusts Vincenzo in a way he hasn't before. he also shyly thanks him for the advice and expresses a certain love to vincenzo, beyond just the admiration that everyone has for him (aka the vincenzo effect).

of course, we see han seo skate toward vincenzo and losing control but vincenzo catches him. he is caught off guard as he is caught though which might be telling us that han seok would have never made a move to protect his brother like that. even though i've seen many people criticizes the usage of "is this love" during that sequence, i don't believe it's used mockingly like adrenaline is. "is this love" is the song used when vincenzo develops a serious relationship with someone, most notably cha-young. what this song is doing in this scene is establishing a sibling relationship between vincenzo and han seo and noting that there is a specialty to their partnership, just like how cha-young and vincenzo's relationships are special.

most importantly (and what breaks my heart), han seo asks vincenzo repeatedly whether he will kill him. while this fear is warranted as han seo has aided han seok in many ways prior to him seeing the light and teaming up with vincenzo, we also know that han seo was fearful for his life with han seok. han seo walks on a thin line with han seok and never knowing when his life was going to end at his hands. han seok continually teased him and threatened him (we can infer this from the gummy bear and "are you going to kill me like you killed our father" and when han seok held the knife to his neck). not to mention, han seo now carries a watch gifted by han seok: a reminder that han seok has control over his life. han seo is continually fearful of when his brother will murder him and take that watch as his next trophy. except this time, we can note that han seo says something along the lines "i know you won't but i can't help but feeling uneasy." it really enforces how far han seok's abuse has hurt han seo. even with reassurances, he is still fearful that his brother, or someone he views as his brother will take it away from him.

it's important to note that hockey is a sport that emphasizes team building and brotherhood also encourages a little rough housing. han seok and hockey vs. vincenzo and hockey are the two opposite ends of what hockey is supposed to be as a sport. han seok and hockey empahsize the violence, and rough nature of hockey, where han seok is using the puck and the hockey sticks as weapons to attack defenseless people (han seok, those prosecutors, that poor car and also zumba snake choi and mr. han). han seok uses it to crush down han seo instead and leaves behind the team aspect. vincenzo on the other hand focuses more on the team building and brotherhood MORE than the violence, their scenes focused more on vincenzo giving advice and building han seo up rather than crushing him and pushing him down. we see han seo actually scoring and both of them being playful with each other, building a rapport with each other.

in episode 18, we can note that han seo is acting more and more like vincenzo (like how in the earlier episodes han seo acted like his brother). when revealing his hand in han seok's demise, he acts similar to vincenzo, leaning in and explaining how he pulled the rug from underneath his feet. we also see a new kind of boldness, a fire behind his eyes we don't see before this moment when he speaks to han seok. the same sport that was used to torment han seo has provided him the support and advice he has needed to turn his life around. i believe that having a genuine support system for the very first time has provided han seo the platform to change and grow, as well as gain confidence in himself and his abilities. in episode 19 and 20 i want to see han seo and vincenzo grow together and evolve into a relationship where both are comfortable and able to give mutual support and love to each other.

#mine #vincenzo #vincenzo cassano #chayenzo #hong cha young #song joong ki #tvn vincenzo #jeon yeo been #vincenzo x cha young #jang han seok #jang han seo #kwak dong yeon #ok taecyeon #let’s talk about series

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theprofessionalpromptmaker · 3 years

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Charity Rewards 2 (Part 1)

$12 donated to Survival International!

Person A has always been a parental figure to their younger sibling, due to a bad home life and their parent(s) being neglectful/abusive. But when their younger sibling came out to Person A as trans, Person A is extremely worried how their parent(s) will react (since Person A is gay and faced horrible treatment from their parents when it became known) and decides to run away with their younger sibling before any serious harm comes to them and so their sibling can start transitioning socially somewhere safe. But while traveling and camping in the woods temporarily, their younger sibling finds a large but injured predator and tries to help it, but when the animal gets up and starts walking/limping, the sibling follows. The animal, actually a shapeshifter Person B, reverts to their human form once they reach their home, a cottage in the woods, and when they realize the child has still followed them, is about to shoo the kid away, when they realize how dirty and hungry the child looks and decides to at least give them a meal. Person A, panicking when they find their younger sibling gone, immediately goes searching for them and runs into Person B, who was on their way back with the kid to drop them back off at the tent, since the kid told Person B the whole story (from their child perspective). But when Person B realizes how bad off the two siblings look, begrudgingly invites them over for a meal, bath, and one night of rest. Person B also had a bad home life that they fled from, and decides to offer to drive Person A and their sibling as far as they can in the direction of their goal location. But while talking about Person A’s plans for survival, Person B sees a lot of problems, and points them out, but when Person A gets defensive, Person B offers to let them stay until they can figure out a more solid and reliable plan. Person A agrees, realizing they’d be risking their sibling’s safety if they go ahead with their initial idea. In exchange for letting them stay, Person A helps out around the house and works a job in a nearby town. Person A and Person B start to grow close, and Person A realizes this is the most stable home life they can probably manage to give their younger sibling and Person B starts to grow used to their presences and care about them.

In a world of soulmates where the first touch between the soulmates triggers the indicator (a permanent mark appears on the skin or the skin glows or they feel a strong physical reaction, etc.), Person A has run away from home to escape a bad home life, but ran out of gas in a small town that’s far enough away for them to feel secure, so gets a job at a store in town (ex: cafe, hardware store, general store, etc.) to make ends meet while living out of their car. But one day, Person B, someone who everyone in the town is wary of and who lives on the outskirts outside of town, comes by the shop they work at and catches Person A’s interest, due to being so mysterious and seemingly scares the locals. Person B continues to come by more often, and the other employees start to try to shield and protect Person A from Person B’s curiosity, thinking Person B is up to no good. But Person A doesn’t mind the attention and doesn’t fear Person B like everyone else. But one day, when getting out of work late, someone tries to mug/attack Person A, and Person B rescues them, but while doing so, touches Person A, and both their soul mate indicators activate and Person B doesn’t want to talk about it, but does walk Person A home to make sure they’re safe. Upon seeing that Person A lives out of their car, Person B offers them a place to stay, and being shaken, Person A agrees. Person B turns out to be more normal than Person A expected from how wary all the locals were. But as Person A spends time with Person B, both start to develop feelings, but Person B is hiding that they’re a shapeshifter from Person A — the reason the locals are so wary of them.

Person A is trans and in a world where soulmates exist with a touch based indicator where their skin glows when they touch, and recently moved to the big city and started to socially transition, but keeps getting helped out in random situations — from collecting things they were holding that fell out of their hands to saving them from a mugging — by a random stranger, Person B, who always tries to conceal as much of their skin as possible. So when Person B shows up again, after so many times helping Person A, Person A insists they stay and let Person A buy them something as a thanks. But while handing Person B their drink, notices scars all over Person B’s hands, and is mesmerized when the scars light up especially brightly when they’re hands touch. Person A wants to learn more about Person B, but Person B is wary about the idea. But when someone breaks into Person A’s apartment and tampers with their hormone treatment without Person A being aware, Person A winds up very sick and strange things start happening to their body, giving them strange abilities. And Person B shows up and helps them deal with the changes. Which allows the two to spend a lot of time together, like Person A wanted.

Person A is a mage, but will only be considered a fully fledged one if they can get a fantastical creature to submit to them through their own magic. Person B is a shapeshifter who comes up with the idea of shifting into their beast form and appearing to submit to Person A. The only problem is the council who grants the title of mage as a gift forges a bond between the creature and the mage, so the creature becomes the mage’s familiar. Which Person A and Person B didn’t plan for, assuming that such magic was cast by the mage themself and not the council doing it for them. Now they’re bonded and are starting to realize there are a lot of strange perks and downsides to the bond (ex: telepathic connection, sharing powers, etc.). But as the two navigate the sudden boost in closeness in their relationship, they start to realize their feelings for one another — but are unsure if it’s merely a side effect of the bond.

Person A lives in a world of soulmates and where people are divided into alpha, beta, or omegas. Most soulmates tend to have the same dynamic, which works well due to the hierarchies between the groups (though each has their area of expertise in the public sphere and can be respected in those areas). Person A is a beta, expecting to have their soulmate be another beta, as per usual. So when their soulmate sense tells them their soulmate is Person B, an alpha or omega, they’re uncertain how to navigate a relationship. But Person A, after the death of a relative, gets saddled with their relative’s kid, and feels too young to be a parental figure to the child. So Person A is pleasantly surprised when Person B offers to help them care for their unexpected ward.

Person A is a trans omega (born alpha) who is struggling heavily with their family’s expectations for them. But when the pressure of trying to meet their expectations becomes too much, Person A runs off for awhile. At the place they go to to escape the familial pressure, they meet Person B, an older alpha who keeps flirting with them, despite being aware of Person A’s gender identity. Person A always assumed it was just to validate them and help put them at ease after they’d been under so much stress, but Person B is actually serious, and one day bluntly asks Person A on a date.

Person A lives in a world where soulmates, when they first realize they love their soulmate, will be sent back in time in their soulmate’s timeline to be there for them in a moment in their life when they were alone and/or needed someone who loved and cared about them more than ever. Person A met Person B, an older person, who they met when they needed Person B most, so they didn’t know Person B was their soulmate. But when when Person A realizes they’re in love with Person B, they get transported back to Person B’s childhood, when child!Person B needed someone the most. And Person A gets to witness and be present for Person B’s rough childhood and help them through it. Since Person B had a rough childhood due to being trans (or a different LGBT+ identity).

Person A is a superhero and trans, which makes keeping their civilian identity (where they’re closeted) a secret fairly easy. But Person B, a villain who works with a group of other villains, gets close enough to touch Person A during a battle/manages to grab Person A, but after a brief struggle feigns like they’ve been hit and purposefully lets Person A escape. Person A is confused but tries not to dwell on it, until Person B approaches them somewhere private, while Person A is in their hero costume, and tells Person A they have some tips for helping Person A keep their

Person A grew up in a supernatural hunter family, but as a child gets saved from some dangerous supernaturals by a young adult shapeshifter, Person B. Years later, Person A is hunting with their family, and runs into Person B, who’s injured. Instead of hurting Person B, Person A decides to repay Person B, the one who saved them so many years ago, by helping them out, and bringing Person B back to Person B’s home with Person B giving them directions. But while getting Person B safely home, another shapeshifter recognizes Person A as a hunter and thinks they’re trying to hurt Person B and attacks Person A, biting them before Person B can explain. Now Person A is also a shapeshifter, and a very young one, and Person B once more helps them out by letting Person A live with them and hide from their family who would surely kill them. But apparently among shapeshifters, soulmates are common, and now that Person A has been turned, Person B realizes Person A is their soulmate.

Person A was raised in a family of hunters, but was actually adopted and is secretly a shapeshifter, but only learns after going through puberty and their shapeshifter dynamic surfaces. Person A is an omega, and apparently they’re adopted hunter family wanted them to be an alpha, someone they hoped they could use to hunt other supernaturals with due to superior strength and endurance. But they decide instead of use Person A as bait, but Person A gets rescued from being hurt by an alpha, Person B, who saves them from the alpha they were used to bait. Person B takes Person A back to their home. Apparently Person B’s entire family was killed by hunters, and they had originally been planning to merely kill the family of hunters who moved in, but something seemed off about Person A, so they waited and when Person A displayed as a shapeshifter and an omega, Person B made it their mission to rescue them.

Person A is an omega known for having an extremely subtle scent that most people don’t pick up, so they’ve always been written off as a beta, and been told by those that know they’re an omega that they’ll never drive an alpha into any kind of sexual frenzy/rut nor will their soulmate be able to find them via their scent. Person B is a blind alpha and has a very sharp nose because of it, and when they first pick up Person A’s scent, realizes Person A is their soulmate, but has worries that their soulmate might not want them due to their lack of vision.

Person A recently left home to live on their own, but then the death of their abusive single parent lands their younger sibling in their care. Person A has no idea how to deal with their younger sibling, who resents them for leaving them alone with an abuser when Person A left home. But one day, while trying to take their younger sibling shopping their sibling runs off and ends up running into Person B, someone who works there, and Person A approaches and overhears their younger sibling opening up to Person B. Person A is embarrassed by how their younger sibling is describing them to Person B, and Person B clearly thinks they’re a bad guardian. But when their sibling starts coming to the mall to hang out with Person B and avoid Person A whenever the two fight, and Person A is at least calm to know their sibling isn’t wandering around the streets alone and eventually, Person B starts bringing the sibling home to Person A after they’ve calmed down, and even giving Person A casual pointers on how to help and care for their younger sibling. The two wind up growing close over Person B helping Person A out with their sibling.

Person A is in a fight with their younger sibling when their younger sibling accidentally curses them with a spell. Apparently their estranged parent was a witch/magic user and now Person A is stuck as a younger version of themself/child version of themself. Person A and their younger sibling head to the library, looking for books on witches and magic, but come up with nothing — until Person B, a library employee who’s the same age as Person A’s normal self, offers to help the two kids. But when the sibling ends up admitting what happened, despite Person A trying to stop them, Person B says they might know someone, and brings the two to a real and fully trained witch, who happens to be Person B’s own teacher in the magical arts.

Person A and Person B dragged together on a group project with a third person who’s blatantly crushing on one or both of them. But Person A and Person B are too blinded by their dislike (and attraction to one another). But when the third member of their group project gets sick and the two have to finish it together, they let down the pretense of hating one another as strongly as they act like they do, and get to having a bit of a shared moment. But after the group project is over, the two aren’t able to get the memory out of their head, and start to try to find excuses to be around each other more and more, while trying to keep up the pretense they don’t get along.

Person A and Person B are both alphas, and Person A makes it a competition to try to win over/seduce anyone Person B dates or even seems to like. Person B is always getting annoyed with Person A being such a heartbreaker out of seemingly spite. Person A secretly just is trying to get Person B’s attention, but isn’t sure how to get Person B to notice them. When the two get in a fight over a partner who got hurt because of Person A’s interference, Person B gets in a fight with Person A, and Person A admits they want Person B to look at them.

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watchtower-feed · 4 years

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Dating Bruce Wayne

Notes: Sorry for these drabbles. I’m working on something long and big and has something to do with Jason and the soulmate link. So enjoy these fillers for a bit.

✧ Dating Bruce Wayne is definitely what it has been advertised to be. He lives like he has his own timezone. He flirts and charms everyone he meets, man or woman.

✧ Most of the time you would find yourself waiting at a restaurant for an hour before Alfred would text you that Bruce can’t make it because he’s being held up. There are never any specifics as if you had no right to know.

✧ When he does show up, he’s late, he looks like a mess, and he greets you with a lop-sided smile and half-lidded eyes. And you melt because you remember that he did choose you and you do love him.

✧ “I miss you,” is his hello and his bitter goodbye, holding your hand for too long while he makes the car service wait. It’s minutes before he lets go and closes your door. But when you look back in the moving car, he’s already gone.

✧ Bruce’s absence is always outweighed by his affection. He loves touching you even if it’s just your shoulders or your fingers or your elbows. He always find a way to be close to you when you’re together.

✧ He doesn’t give you expensive gifts or take you out of the city or country impulsively. That part of the rumors and gossip is far from the truth. Everything he does is thoughtful and sincere. You have early dinners in cute little restaurants that feel like home.

✧ You go hiking, rock climbing, rappelling, swimming, diving, and even skydiving. You’re convinced Bruce is definitely a daredevil. So you start running in the mornings and at night just to keep up.

“You should be careful when you run at night. Kelley street can be dangerous on some nights. Why not stick to the main street?”

Your eyes would widen, “How do you know I was there last night?”

He’d grin and avoid your gaze, “I’m friends with Batman.”

✧ Never mind Bruce’s absence. What you really hate the most about dating this misunderstood billionaire is how often his life is in danger. He gets kidnapped twice a week, at least. By petty criminals, insane villains, and Batman himself.

✧ There was a time when Bruce had a welfare project for Arkham City that made him the target of every single villain so Batman had to kidnap Bruce himself and he was gone for weeks. When Batman finally returned him to his room, where you have been staying in his absence for your safety and sanity, you run up to snatch your man and punch Batman’s jaw. It hurt like hell and Bruce is quickly rubbing your knuckles.

“Y-you! You stay away from him. It’s because of you that his life is always in danger and--”

“Y/N,” Bruce holds you in his arms, tucking your head safe against his chest while you cry. When you turn back to the caped crusader, he’s already gone.

“It’s not his fault.”

“I know,” you whisper.

✧ The next time you see Batman, you would stare at each for a while, wondering if you should apologize or say thank you. He holds up his hand and shakes his head with a smile before he disappears into the night. You were a little pissed that you didn’t even say anything and he just assumed things.

✧ One of your favorite things though is definitely seeing the family. Most of the time you see Alfred and always try to tease recipes out of him which expertly deflects.

✧ Whenever Bruce’s children are at the manor, he invites you because they love you and he knows you love them, too.

✧ What’s not to love? The eldest was the most proper gentleman and then a week after first meeting him, he turns into the cheekiest flirt that teases you and Bruce. You love to play along with him because it makes Bruce very uncomfortable.

“So how’s his equipment these days? He’s getting old, might need to start baking in that oven soon.” Everyone around would spit out anything they’re drinking or just gape. Except for you.

“Oh, the equipment is still in very good condition.” Dick laughs hard at that. “As for the oven… I think there’s enough of all of you to love for several lifetimes. Right, Bruce?”

Bruce rolls his eyes with a smile as his children tease him and jump on him at the same time.

✧ You’ve never thought about having kids with Bruce because whenever you’re around his kids, it feels like they’re yours as well. Especially Damian.

✧ He would always tug on your clothes to get your attention (ever since he accidentally called you mom and his siblings never let him live it down).

“You’re leaving now?”

“Yeah, baby. I’m sorry,” you crouch down and hug him tight like a teddy bear, “but hey. When your dad goes away on business tomorrow, I’ll be staying here for a week. Does that sound good?”

He hums and kisses you on the cheek before he walks back into the manor.

You turn to Bruce, wide eyes, mouth open, and touching your cheek, “Did you just see that? He’s so precious.”

Bruce nods his head and chuckles.

✧ Tim, Cass, and Jason were a different story. They were a lot more reserved and doesn’t really know how to talk to you first so you do it because you don’t want them to feel left out. You thought doing a puzzle with them was such a great idea. You thought wrong.

“Tim, stay on your fucking side.”

“It’s a puzzle, Jason.”

“We’re supposed to be doing this together,” you instinctively say. Big mistake.

Jason glares, “Who the fuck died and made you boss?”

A slap rings loudly in the living room, making everyone gape at Bruce’s tall figure. You look between Jason and Bruce and then approach Jason. He quickly slaps your hand away and Bruce is tensing again. You quickly get up and hold Bruce in place until Jason leaves the room.

✧ You drag Bruce into the study and slap him hard. Your hand hurts but that doesn’t stop you from glaring and yelling at him.

“How does it feel, Bruce? Do you feel shocked and embarrassed? That’s what Jason is feeling right now. He probably feels hurt too.” Bruce stays and avoids your gaze. “God! Jason didn’t even mean it. You know how he is, he’s just very expressive and there’s nothing wrong with that. But everything is wrong about hitting your child even if-- no. Especially if you say you did it for me.”

✧ You keep yelling at him and warning him not to hurt his children no matter their fault. Tim and Cass can hear you from the living room and look at each other with pained expressions. Jason hides in the hallway and listens to you berate Bruce, his hand on his cheek.

✧ When you get home from a stressful day at work and still no messages from Bruce after the fight days ago, you find three of his children on the floor trying to finish the puzzle. They greet you like it’s the most normal thing to come home to. You drop your things and quickly go to them, tugging them all into one hug until their faces are squished together and the puzzle pieces are in disarray.

“I thought I would never get to see you again.”

Jason rubs your back and you nuzzle your nose against his cheek.

Tim laughs, “Are you kidding? Your slap pretty much made Bruce love you even more.”

Cassandra snorts, “If that’s even possible.”

✧ Bruce is getting a little concerned at how violent you’re getting though. He thinks it might be his influence and you laugh so hard he pouts like a child.

“You? I think it makes more sense to blame Batman. That freak just makes my blood boil and suddenly I have all this pent up rage and I don’t know where it came from.”

Bruce blinks for a moment before he laughs, doubled over, clutching his stomach.

✧ Sometimes you’re sad when you see how Bruce acts around children. Whether it’s a charity event, Wayne orphanage visit, or just walking past them in the street, he always slows down and takes the time to converse with them. His eyes would widen as he listens to them talk and then his laugh would be the loudest.

✧ Sometimes you forget that Bruce Wayne isn’t just the playboy rich kid the media has pegged him to be. He was also just a child. A child who lost his parents too soon. Truly he’s a child of Gotham through and through.

✧ You would curl up against Bruce in the car and nuzzle your cheeks against his shoulder. He would smile but raise an eyebrow.

“Something good happened today?”

You shake your head, “Every day is good when I’m with you.”

✧ Things are getting way too serious and public between you and Bruce, and the day he has dreaded the most has finally come. You’re kidnapped and held for ransom for Bruce Wayne’s head.

✧ Bruce has prepared long and hard for this. It was part of the reason why he decided to date you seriously. Because he can handle this.

✧ You scream at him that he’s an idiot for coming to get you alone. He smiles and says he’s missed you.

You cry, “They’re going to kill you, Bruce.”

He smiles, “They can try.”

✧ Of course, you mutter. He has backup. Batman saves you first and you’re already yelling at him for picking up the wrong person.

“It’s Bruce they’re after!”

Batman only groans and leaves you on the roof with Robin. He comes back with Bruce Wayne, suit slashed and hair disheveled, but no wounds. They leave you there while they clean up the thugs in the warehouse.

✧ “Bruce,” you call out to him in a low voice and it makes him panic, assessing where your injuries are. You hold his arms, “Marry me.”

✧ Watchtower Masterlist ✧

#DC imagines #DC fanfiction #DC reader insert #Bruce Wayne x reader #Bruce Wayne imagine #Bruce Wayne fanfiction #dating series #watchtower-feed #Acropen #lexyartem

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purplesurveys · 3 years

Text

1275

When you were younger, did your mother or father ever let you open a few presents before Christmas or your birthday even arrived? We open all our presents the night of Christmas Eve to begin with; but no, they don’t tease by letting us open a few of them before our usual schedule.

If you could receive a 100 dollar gift card for either blouses, pants, dresses, shoes or purses, which would you chose? If I could change blouses to shirts, then I would go with that because I’ve recently gotten into t-shirts and sweatshirts and no longer the trendy and preppy tops I used to like haha. But if not, I would go for shoes.

What is your favorite thing to do after crying? Ex: Sleep, listen to music, have some alone time, talk to someone, etc? It varies as it depends on how much I cried. The harder I cried the more I’d want to sleep it off, because it can actually get pretty exhausting. Sometimes I’ll reach out, sometimes I write. It’s really different every time, but at the end I’m just glad I can no longer even remember the last time I cried out of sadness.

Do you think Trump will be assassinated, or will he survive his term? Well we know the answer to this. It’s satisfying to notice him disappear off the face of the Earth immediately after his term, though. I don’t have a clue what he’s up to now.

Last time you felt suicidal? For some reason I felt down last Thursday and I felt the slightest, slightest tinge of suicidal thoughts. No idea where it came from.

Last time you had butterflies? Ugh idk but it was probably BTS-related hahahahahahah

Biggest asshole you know? Certain politicians.

Did you ever leave someone because you know you’d hurt them? No, I was on the opposite side of the coin for this one. I was broken up with because they believed they would hurt me, if not already doing so.

What song did you last listen to? Hip Hop Phile by BTS.

Ever ridden in a police car? Nopes.

Ever witnessed a murder? Hmm, not that I can recall. I do remember having to monitor crime stories for one of my very first journalism assignments and the one time I didn’t tag along to the fieldwork with my classmates, they got to witness a stabbing incident :/ By itself of course it always sucks to have violent situations like those, but as a reporter it would’ve been interesting to see the scene and its aftermath.

Have you ever lied under oath? I don’t think so, no. I can’t even remember the last time I was put under oath.

Have you ever failed a subject before? I’ve failed exams but never an entire class.

Have you ever had a deadly animal as a pet? No.

Have you ever kissed someone of the same gender? Well yeah, I dated one.

Have you ever been in a hot tub before? Sure.

Have you ever been to a movie that sold out? I’ve never experienced trying to buy tickets only to find out they’re all sold out, but that’s also probably because we have hundreds of malls in Manila alone and you can always find a theatre that are still offering tickets.

What movie last made you too scared to go to sleep? I’m not usually that way with horror movies, but I do remember running into a jumpscare on TikTok while I was scrolling at 3 AM. Not fun.

When you’re on a laptop, do you hook up a mouse or use the touchpad? Touchpad. I never use a mouse.

What’s your mom’s mom’s name? Agnes.

Would it be hard seeing someone else kiss the person you like? I’m not interested in anyone so this shouldn’t be a problem.

Have you ever been tempted to steal? Sure, but the urge is never so strong.

What is the main character’s name in the book you’re reading? I’m not reading anything.

Do you have a favorite local band? Who are they? Nah. I did have a Ben&Ben phase, though I haven’t revisited their music in a long time.

Who’s the last person you saw naked, aside from yourself? I’m not sure about completely naked, probably still my ex. As for partially naked, my dad sometimes goes shirtless at home as most Filipino dads do lol.

Who’s your favorite horror monster/killer? The most iconic for me would be that porcupine looking ass from Resident Evil 4, I believe it was meant to be for one of the boss stages or something. Anyway, it’s memorable for me just because that fucker had been impossible to defeat and I loved watching my older cousin do attempt after attempt. I don’t think he ever got to beat him and by the time he did us cousins were already adults, lol.

On a side note, we called him ‘Porcupine’ as kids since a shitload of spikes would stick out of him unpredictably during the boss stage, and I thought that nickname had been just our thing; but I’m actually surprised that that villain actually comes up when you do a simple ‘Resident Evil 4 porcupine’ search haha. I guess other people called him the same thing too.

What kind of music do you prefer to listen to when driving? I usually put on a playlist of BTS’ rapline; I tend to enjoy high-energy songs while driving.

Would you ever own a hairless rat, cat or dog? I don’t see why I wouldn’t when it comes to the dog. I don’t want a cat or rat.

All the people you’ve kissed, what did their names start with? G.

What did you and your ex fight about most? It was about the deeper, more profound stuff. We never saw eye to eye about the future, if we were helping the other grow, etc. Someone was always scared or insecure about something that the other could never help with fixing.

Don’t you love long hugs? Sure, I love getting hugs as long as I’m comfy around the one giving it.

And long kisses? Mhm, they’re nice.

Have you ever purchased condoms? Only for Angela when she had still been too shy to ask for it herself.

Have you ever gone on vacation with your boyfriend/girlfriend? No. We had gone out of town for daytrips, but never for a fully-decked out vacation.

Have you ever trashed your ex’s car after an argument? I wouldn’t do anything that loud. My resentment’s a lot more reserved and subtle, definitely on the passive-aggressive side.

Would you leave a note on a car claiming responsibility if you damaged it? If I left like a paint scratch, no. If I was somehow stupid enough to manage wrecking the car then yes.

Have you ever used someone's handicapped parking pass to get a parking spot? Oh that’s just gross. No. I do remember unknowingly parking over a spot meant for the handicapped once just because the paint was so fucking faded. It was genuinely so hard to tell but in the end I ended up just getting out of the spot and looked for another just to be on the safe, unassholey side.

Are you embarrassed to tell people your job? Not at all! I love telling people I work in PR and sharing the brands I work with...it’s just a bitch trying to explain what exactly it is I do on a normal day. I’m still blanking out on it now that I’m thinking about it, haha. PR’s a challenge to summarize in one or two sentences.

If you ran over an animal would you keep driving? I honestly have no clue how I’d deal with it. Ideally I would pull over and help bring it to the side of the road, and try to ask for help from passersby as well. I’m still not sure what I should/would do next.

Where’s the best place to eat a romantic dinner? French, Spanish, and Italian restaurants always seem to carry a pleasant, date-y atmosphere to them, so any of those cuisines should be ok. I also like quieter restaurants with warm yellow lighting, since that makes me feel at home the most. The place definitely doesn't have to be super popular; I would just want for it to serve good food.

What hobby would you get into if time and money weren’t an issue? Flying planes.

What would be the most amazing adventure to go on? Probably something that’s booked with thrill-seeking adventures? Like a day of wakeboarding, paragliding, skydiving, riding an ATV...I would be exhausted as fuck and sleep for the next three days, but I can’t even begin to imagine how fun it would be.

When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with? Writing stuff. < Yeah, essentially. My friends ask me for general life advice too.

Has anybody criticized the way your significant other looked like? Yeah. But I always defended her.

Have you written or drawn anything for somebody else? I mean I’ve written long letters, but I haven’t made a poem or song for anyone.

Who has impressed you most with what they’ve accomplished? These days it would probably be Arlan. He just finished his Masters in Journalism at Columbia and I couldn’t be more proud. I remember wanting to attend Columbia too, but seeing how my love of journalism turned out...I’ve long accepted the fact that that route was not meant for me, hahaha.

What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives? Finish a painting, which can also serve as a callout to me lol.

What would you rate 10/10? Seafood.

What do you hope never changes? My relationships with my best friends.

Would you ever have sex with the last person you texted? No, I barely have a clue who she is and she seemed decades older when she called me up this morning.

Is there anyone that you’d love to just spill your guts to? I’m good.

Where is the person you have feelings at right now?

Are you happy with your relationship status? Yessssssss. I love not having to worry about another person to spend on LOL

When did you last cry? What for? Two Saturdays ago. The one-year mark of my breakup had been coming up and an overwhelming wave of emotions just flooded me all of a sudden, I guess. There was happiness and relief from not being stuck in it anymore; feeling sorry for myself as I remembered the turmoil and deterioration I went through in the latter part the year; anger for the shit she pulled; and there was also just the general feeling of being grateful that I’m still here after everything.

Do you think you’re wasting your time on the person you love?

When’s the next time you’ll kiss someone? No clue. I’m not holding my breath for it and that’s okay.

Were you ever scared to death of anyone you knew? Or are you currently? Yeah, unfortunately I’ve always been surrounded by at least one person who terrifies me.

What’s the longest you’ve been away from home by yourself? Nothing more than a day. That’s something I have yet to try out.

Have you ever been made fun of, because of what you look like? Athenna was relentless in her insults. I dunno why I was friends her for as long as I was.

Have you ever made fun of others, because of what they look like? If they’re some random person on the internet with disgusting political views, then yeah; but it’s just thoughts I keep in my head and I never verbalized the bullying. But not anyone in real life. Do you think it’s cute when you’re leaving a place, and a guy says “no hug?” If I’m friends with the person I’ll banter with them for a bit until I give in for a hug. If it was any other guy I barely know...I would be disgusted and throw them the dirtiest glare.

Do you wear short shorts (if you’re a girl)? I didn't know short shorts were specific to females. < LOL same. Anyway no, not these days. I used to but they’re not really a part of my personal style anymore.

Who are you the most uncomfortable around? Relatives with the wrong political views.

Who has your heart? Nobody.

Should cloning ever be allowed to happen? I don’t see the point. No.

Are you impatient with really shy people? If it gets to the point that they seem aloof and radiate very I-could-not-care-less-about-getting-along-with-any-of-you vibes, then yeah I feel like I would get irritated pretty fast. But I was an extremely shy person once too, so I’m typically friendly with them and I would usually be That person who constantly stays next to them so they feel like they belong.

Does your house have air conditioning throughout, or do you have one that sits in your window? It sits in the window, as with most households here.

What is the most ridiculous band name you’ve heard recently? I haven’t encountered anything wacky recently.

Would you ever get a fashion mullet? No.

Do you believe that Jesus lived and is returning? No.

Do you believe in spiritual gifts? No.

Do you believe in callings? Not really, no.

If you were rich, would you get a professional photoshoot done? Hell no. I get extremely sheepish in front of a camera and a thousand times worse at posing.

#survey #surveys

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herohotline · 4 years

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We’ve Ran Into Eachother So Many Times But You Don’t Even Know My Name

Keigo Takami x Reader

A/N: I finally finished this :,/ It came out a lot longer than i intended HHGNGh

Word Count: 4,000+

Warnings: Mentions of suicidal attempt- but that’s it, it’s a very fluffy story and that’s not the plot!

You liked a lot of things in life. You liked cats, desserts, and plants; music, dancing, and even though you hated heights, you loved airplanes. Tall buildings and their impending doom are one of the things that you just don’t agree with.

You’ve tried to quell this fear many times, and you’ve found ways around it. Every so often your friends convince you to ride the more scary roller coasters, you sit up on your apartment balcony and sit there with your music and plants as you stare down below- but you can only stomach a few seconds before you’re looking away in a fit of anxiety. You’ve even gone to therapy about it because you know that your fear of heights is linked to trauma.

You were barely a teenager when you had tried to off yourself. You were well past that phase, of course, but teen angst and the desire to end it all got the best of your young mind as you jumped off one of the tallest buildings you had access to. Thankfully, you survived, but the injuries hurt like hell and it left you with scars.

And a long-lasting fear that just won’t go away.

You suppose it's alright to have this fear- it just meant you were better. You want to be alive, and your fear was proof. But you were past that depressing teenage phase and you wanted to move on completely. It just wasn’t fair to be held back like this in your opinion.

Villains, though? You weren’t scared of villains. Well, you were reasonably scared- as you wanted to live, and they could possibly end that- but you weren’t scared scared. That’s why when there was a sudden villain attack in the mall, busting the ceiling open and trapping civilians and yourself under the damage, you weren’t scared. You kept a level head and you began counting heads.

The area you were stuck under was fairly accessible. Everyone was still standing, though some had fallen over in shock, but everyone was mostly fine. The entrance had been blocked off and some pillars broke through the small shop, but that was it. You prayed that no one was stuck under the damage somewhere else.

“There’s seven of us here,” you talk to the group, gathering the things you dropped off the floor. “We should stick together and hide in one place until the heroes get here.”

No one disagrees with you. They follow you like lost sheep as you all pile behind the cash register counter and huddle. After that, it’s a waiting game, silent beside the sound of scared breathes and quiet weeping so that the villains don’t find you.

The one who has it worse is the little girl. She’s the one crying, of course, and the woman who is assumingly her mother surrounds the child in her arms as she coos in her ear. The crying makes you uncomfortable, to be honest, so you remember the chocolate bar in your bag and hand it to her with a tense smile. The mother looks at you thankfully while it distracts the child from crying.

It truly doesn’t take the heroes a long time to find their way in the mall and cuff the villains before sending them off in police cars. That’s when damage control and civilian rescue starts- it startles all of you when the wall blocking the entrance is busted through, but bright red wings quell the fear.

It’s Hawks.

“Anyone need a ride?” He asks and you quickly stand along with the other civilians. You gently lead the mother and child his way and he grins, immediately conversing with the little girl and making her giggle before he picks them both up and flies off. Other heroes begin to make their way inside with blankets and medical gear, slowly leading all of you outside the building where it’s safe and the ambulance is waiting.

As you make your way outside, you watch as Hawks lands from his flight, two other civilians in his hold as he drops them off and then immediately sets off again, his ruby-red wings basically shining as he speeds away. You admire his tenacity and strength- how many people had he gotten out in the time of you walking from the shop to outside?

Watching him fly back again with more people than last time, you quietly thank whatever God exists that you didn’t get hurt in the wreck. You might be able to handle a broken leg or arm- but to fly in the air? Even if it was the only chance of surviving… you don’t think you’d be able to stomach it.

You leave the mall as alone and unscathed as you came.

---

The next time you see Hawks, it’s not in a life or death situation. But you still don’t talk to him- it’s really just a chance sighting at most. He had simply walked into the noodle house you frequent, picked up his order, and left with a flap of his wings, taking off into the night sky.

A part of you wonders what that’s like. To always be in the air- you suppose it’s not scary for him. But even the thought of having extra appendages seems difficult and you wonder how he learned to fly.

Was it the same as birds? Did his mother push him off a ledge one day and hope for the best? You sure hope not.

“Hey, Amakuza,” you address the cook who you were on decent terms with due to your consistent presence in his shop. “What’d the big guy order?”

Amakuza shrugs. “Your favorite, actually. Extra spicy.” He seems uninterested.

You suppose it’s not that interesting- it’s just food. But now you know that the pro-hero Hawks has good taste, though you’re unsure why you even wanted that information in the first place.

---

Your third encounter with Hawks is the one you hate the most- the one you’re most ashamed of.

He was just doing the right thing. There was construction on your way to work- apparently, they were working on the road. This didn’t concern you as you didn’t own a car, so you kept walking a safe distance away. But someone’s quirk somehow went haywire, and the drilling was loud and harsh before the road broke entirely and pieces were sent flying everywhere. The fear didn’t even register yet as it happened so fast- you were aware there was a stray slab of concrete headed your way, but before it even hit you, you were sent flying in the air.

That’s when the fear came to you, so strongly it knocked the air out of your lungs.

“That was close!” The man holding you- the man you rescued you- whistles low and casual as he keeps you up in the air.

“Let me down,” you say as soon as you can find your words. Body shaking like a leaf, you desperately grab onto his clothes- you actually look down and you can’t believe he flew you up so high. “Let me- let me down. Let me down!”

You’re so frightened that you don’t even realize you’re crying. Snot runs down your nose and tears spread across your cheeks and drip off your chin.

“Hey- are you alright? Did you get hit?”

“Let me down!” You scream, and then you start struggling against him. You’ll punch, kick, cry- you’ll do whatever you need to do to get back on the ground. “Let me down! Let me down!”

Your vision blurs with red, and suddenly you’re sitting on the broken concrete with red wings surrounding you and a blonde man looking concerned as he hovers over you. Breathing comes out short and hurried, your body still shaking so hard that it feels like you’re vibrating. The man with red wings- Hawks, you’d later realize once your head was put together- continues to hover and talk to you. You can hear the words, but they don’t process at all. He’s probably saying the things they always do- breathe, you’re okay, breathe.

Your heart feels like it’s ready to burst out of your chest as you scramble to your feet, putting a good amount of distance between you and the man who saved you. “Stay- stay away from me,” you demand as you look at him, your face scared and distraught. You continue to back away from him as if he were a threat. “Stay away from me!” And then you turn your back to him, fear driving your movements as you quickly leave the scene and scurry off to work.

People eye you the entire way. They either saw what happened or saw that you were crying in public which is already eye-catching enough, but you ignored them even as you entered your work building. Only when you locked yourself in a private bathroom did you find peace.

And you felt fucking awful, so you suppose it wasn’t peace that you found. Instead, it was a heavy, guilty heart as you were forced to go on with your day and work in a crowded office until you could retreat home, tail between your legs.

You just wish you could tell the hero that you didn’t mean it.

---

How do you tell someone you have absolutely no access to that you’re sorry?

Apparently, you go to his agency building and just hope for the best. That’s the conclusion you came to, anyway, as you walk there the next morning- being extra cautious around construction this time- with a pot in your hands.

Walking inside the building alone was anxiety-inducing. Slowly making your way to the front desk was worse. And then you had to explain yourself to the receptionist who eyed you and your plant with- assumingly- heavy judgment.

“I… um, I wanted to drop this off. For… Hawks.” You place the potted aloe vera plant down on the receptionist’s desk gently. You don’t even know if you can do this, technically, but you might as well try.

“A plant?” The woman asks.

“Yes. It’s an apology gift.” Your fingers drum on the desk. “Do you think you’d be able to make sure it gets to him?”

The woman looks unsure as she reaches forward, picking up the pot and eyeing it. She gives you a guilty look as she sets it beside her. “I’ll try. But Hawks can be rather flighty… I can’t assure you he’ll get it, or even take care of it.”

“That’s okay, I figured that. If he ever gets it… just let him know it’s from someone who is very sorry. Thank you in advance,” you bow respectfully at the receptionist before quickly leaving the building. You feel guilty for leaving her with your apology- but it’s too soon to come face-to-face with someone you yelled at. The entire walk back home you just hope that the poor plant lasts at least two months before he inevitably kills it- either because he never got it, or because he hates you.

An aloe vera plant is admittedly easy to take care of. You only water it once every three weeks or so, and it doesn’t need much sunlight. You picked it out from your collection of plants specifically because you thought it was best for someone like Hawks. Minimal care was required, it was nice and green, and if he really took care of it he could make use of its soothing gel.

You also took its meaning into mind. An aloe vera is a healing plant- as a gift, it means a wish for good health, beauty, and protection. You figure after your childish tantrum, you could at least hope he lives a healthy life.

But as you sit at home, you think it’s silly that you even bothered. Hawks probably doesn’t even want it- and the meaning of it would be lost on him. You could have at least left a card attached, but you were too chicken shit to do it.

At least you tried.

---

Ever since your last encounter with Hawks, you’ve tried harder to kick your fear in the teeth. Nearly every evening, you go up the fire escape of your building until you’re on the roof and staring at the world below. You force yourself to last at least five minutes or more before you run away. It’s easier to manage once the sun has left and the moon shines instead- in the darkness, it’s harder to see what you’re so afraid of.

It’s still there, but it’s better.

Fitting that on one of those nights you head to the top of your building is when you meet the number one hero again.

It’s a chance meeting, just like the rest. You think maybe he’s on patrol when you see him fly by- or maybe he was getting dinner, but he notices you somehow and lands on your building.

There’s a considerable amount of distance between you.

“What’s someone like you doing up here so late?” He grins- he always does. The one time you saw him without a smile was when he was trying to help you.

“Trying to overcome my fears,” you tell him honestly because he deserves at least that much. “I’m… sorry about before. I shouldn’t have lashed out on you.”

He waves his hand in dismissal, walking a bit closer to you. “Ah, it’s fine. You were scared- that’s what people do when they’re scared.”

“Still,” you frown, “I was harsh on you. I mean it when I’m sorry. I don’t like that I lost control of myself like that.”

“That’s fair,” Hawks agrees and puts his hands behind his back, the smile still coy on his face. “But you’re already forgiven. I enjoyed the plant.”

Oh. Your eyes widen in surprise, “really?” You ask.

“It wasn’t exactly hard figuring out who it was from. No one ever apologizes to me.”

“Is that because you never do anything wrong, or you’re surrounded by stubborn people?”

Hawks just hums in reply, standing next to you now as he looks up at the sky. His large wings twitch subconsciously and your eyes are drawn to them- they’re a beautiful skeptical so you’re sure he gets stared at all the time. “If you have somewhere to plant it…” You disrupt the silence softly, your feet shuffling. “The aloe vera will fully grow, and you can use its gel. It’s not really much, but it’s good to keep the skin young and for sunburns.”

The hero eyes you curiously, his smirk making you a little nervous before he looks back to the sky. “You’re a lot calmer than when we first met.”

“That’s not the first time we met,” you argue and his eyebrows lift up in surprise.

“It wasn’t?”

“No. You saved me and a few others from when the downtown mall got intruded by villains… And you also came by my favorite ramen shop, but you left as quickly as you came. So last time wasn’t the first, but the third,” you shrug, “if you want to be technical about it.”

“I’m not sure I enjoy technicalities,” Hawks laughs. “They’re too confusing to be caught up with.”

“That’s fair,” you nod.

The air is a little awkward- at least, it is for you- now that you both have nothing to talk about. You’re glad you got to apologize to him, but now you realize you know nothing about him. It’s late enough that you should probably go to bed anyway, so rather hastily you tell him that you’re going. He looks surprised as you climb down the fire escape but he says nothing other than ‘see you later’ before flying off. You halt mid-step down the ladder as you can’t help but watch- but soon he’s out of sight.

It’s amazing how fast he is. But it’s time for bed so you let out a shaky sigh as you continue your way down to the patio of your apartment.

---

The fifth time you meet Hawks, he’s the one who comes to you. You’re relaxing on your patio with a book in your hands and a stray cat that likes to hang out laying in the sunbeams when Hawks comes bustling through rather suddenly. You gasp in shock and the cat quickly scrambles away, and several of your potted plants fall off the patio.

“Hawks!” You cry, already hovering over the fence as you watch your plants fall to the concrete. A potted plant falling from such a height is already dangerous- what if it hit somebody?

But also, they were expensive and you cared about your plants very much, so you couldn’t help but sit still in shock as you watch them fall to their death. Perhaps Hawks realized the urgency in your voice- maybe he cared, because before they do, Hawks shoots down and grabs all three of the pots before they hit anyone or break on the ground.

“Sorry about that!” He apologizes as he makes his way back on your patio, a lot less rushed as he carefully holds the plants. You quickly pick them up and set them back down in their respective spots, inspecting the leaves for any damage. “You have quite the collection, huh?” Hawks looks around your tiny patio, stepping carefully around your ‘collection’. You absentmindedly hum, still looking at the Coleus’ leaves. A few of the stems had come off, but it’s mostly fine.

“It’s even worse inside,” you tell him. Hawks whistles as he looks through the glass doors and into your apartment.

“No kidding!”

“So, what are you doing here? Would you like to destroy more of my plants?” You wouldn’t lie- you’re a little peeved that they all almost died. At least he was fast enough to pick them up, but still.

Hawks makes a weird sound from his throat as he winces, a hand coming up to scratch the back of his head. “I really didn’t mean to. I actually came to ask about the aloe vera.”

You purse your lips, sitting back down on your lawnchair you placed out on the patio when you first moved in. “It’s fine. What would you like to know?”

Why didn’t he just look it up? You can’t help but wonder.

“When should I water it?”

“Every three weeks.”

“How much sun does it need?”

“Six to eight hours. Place it next to a window or in a backyard.”

“Does it need… vitamins?”

“Hawks, why are you asking me these things?” You interrupt his little quiz with a sigh. The stray cat from before finally comes back, eyeing the hero cautiously before laying down next to your feet. You pet it on the head softly with a frown. “You didn’t need to come all the way here for some basic plant care questions. What do you really want?”

Hawks clicks his tongue. “You caught me,” he says. “I really wanted to get to know you, that’s all.”

“Get to know me or get to know why I’m afraid of heights?”

He shrugs, that all too familiar smile coming back on his face. He finally sits down on the only other chair available, his wings spreading behind him before folding up. “Well, I wouldn’t complain if it was brought up.”

“Are you always known for being so crude?” You raise an eyebrow at him. So far, you’re not exactly impressed with his behavior. From a distance Hawks is charming, but right in front of you? Sure, he’s handsome, but he’s a bit blunt. A lot blunt.

“I am the man who’s a bit too fast, didn’t you know?” Hawks leans back in his seat, crossing his legs and lacing his fingers together atop his knee. “So- why are you afraid of heights?”

You roll your eyes. “Last I checked, I didn’t sign up for a therapy session. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“I do not.” He says simply, and you don’t believe him.

“What about- I don’t know- the hundreds of villains out there?” The stray cat eventually hops on your lap, making himself comfortable while keeping a keen eye on the hero in front of you. He probably doesn’t like him- and you’re pretty sure you feel the same way.

“They’ll be taken care of. Right now I’d like to relax- I want to relax most of the time. Indulge me.”

You don’t see any real reason why you should, but Hawks is proving to be a persistent insect, so you sigh and give in. “I jumped off a building as a teenager. Now I associate heights with death. It’s like a trigger.” If he’s going to be blunt, you might as well do the same. You pet the cat’s back to soothe your agitated nerves and give him a look. “I’m mostly fine now. But you caught me by surprise that one time, which is why I reacted the way I did. Are you satisfied?”

He nods. “What’s your name?” He asks rather suddenly- and that’s when you realize that yeah, he doesn’t even know your name.

You slowly give it to him. You’re uncertain why he’d want it- but it gives you a feeling that it’s a sign he won’t be leaving you alone any time soon.

“Call me Takami. I’m sick of the hero name, anyway,” The now-named Takami inspects some of your potted plants that surround him. “Would you like to fly with me?”

His question makes you laugh in surprise. “Why?” You ask him. You could ask him this question a thousand times, really.

Why is he here? Why is he interested? Why does he care?

“Would you believe me if I told you I wanted to help?” Takami smiles again, his eyes gleaming beneath his visor.

“Why would you want to?” You’ve had enough. Picking up the cat, you gently place him down on the patio floor before sitting upright, elbows on your thighs as you stare the hero down. “I’m serious. I told you my thing, now tell me yours. Why do you bother?”

He leans forward as well and your bare toes touch the front of his boots. “I like your personality,” Takami starts, “and I’m being selfish with you. I’d like to have someone to talk to outside of the hero stuff. So I figure if I’m being selfish-“ he reaches forward and suddenly pinches your cheek, making you jolt back with an angry look. The hero grins. “I might as well help you out while I do it. And maybe I can learn more about plants or farming or whatever, too.”

You stare at him silently as you rub your sore cheek. “It’s not farming,” you grumble under your breath. Your shoulders sag in defeat as you finally break away from Takami’s gaze and your eyes fall to the floor. It’s quiet for another moment before you sigh, lips pursed. “Fine. But I’m gonna get dressed first- I don’t want my eyes to fall out from wind pressure.”

Takami hops up from his seat, his expression somehow even brighter than before with his hands on his hips. “Great! I’ll wait here.”

You groan in acknowledgment as you open your glass door and step inside your apartment- but you only make it a short distance before you come back outside. Without warning Takami, you throw a book in his direction and he easily catches it, his eyebrows raised.

“It’s a plant dictionary. I’m only gonna let you do this if you can tell me the name of three plants on my patio.” You think that’s fair enough. “You up for that?”

He's already grinning, flipping the book open. “Fuck yeah,” he says. You laugh under your breath and finally go to your room to get dressed. It’s amazing how his charm comes back full force as he stands on your patio, eagerly looking up and down from your book and muttering under his breath.

You hum. Takami is handsome, and apparently, he’s lonely, too. You suppose his offer is a mutually beneficial one- so you quickly get bundled up and find some cheap swimming goggles you bought forever ago. Honestly, you could also use a friend.

When you come back out onto the patio, Takami bursts out laughing at just the sight of you. You ignore him and put your hands on your hips, feeling confident. “Alright, I’m ready.”

“You’re not,” Takami giggles and snorts, placing the book on a miniature table. “You’ll get way too hot. Lose the snow boots, first of all. Some sneakers will be fine.”

“What if they fly off?!”

“I’m not- I’m taking you in the air, I’m not flying you full speed!” He exclaims and your shoulders sag.

“Oh. Right.”

He laughs hysterically again as you take off your boots and snow hat, along with several hoodies and sweaters. As you take off your very-many layers and toss them inside the house, you ask, “what about the plants?”

“Right,” he says, his knuckles tapping on the book he just read confidently. “There’s a Coleus, a spider plant... And a succulent,” he points at each plant as he speaks. The succulent was probably the easiest one, so you feel like that one shouldn’t count, but you keep quiet.

“Good job, you’ve won. Am I ready to go?” You think you’re finally suitable for flying- down to a single hoodie with a jacket over it, a pair of jeans and some sneakers laced up as tight as you could get them.

Takami grins, giving you the ‘ok’ sign with his hand. “Perfect,” he says. He gives you exactly 0 seconds to prepare before he picks you up, his speed suddenly showing as you’re suddenly being carried- his hands under your knees and wrapped around your back. “Okay, you ready?” He steps on top of your little fence surrounding the patio, looking down at you.

You bite your lip, looking down below. He shakes you in his arms- “hey, look at me.” You do so, nervously biting your lip even harder. “Are you ready?” Takami asks again, voice a little softer.

With a big breath, you exhale and try to relax. “Yeah,” you tell him. “I’m ready.”

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bewaretheidesofmarchyall · 4 years

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Prinxiety: A Beginner’s Guide

Hello, and welcome to the Sanders Ships: A Beginner’s Guide series!

Back when I was new to the shipping world, I had no way of knowing where to go. Heck, I didn’t even know multi-shipping was allowed.

This led to me rushing headlong into AO3 like a blind rhinoceros, and accidentally discovering some fun treats, like an E rated Padme/Jar-Jar fic that single-handedly peeled away what was left of my soul like an orange rind.

Anyway, things that haunt my nightmares aside, I kind of wish I’d had some sort of guide to the ships of the week and their flavors! And I’m currently obsessed with Sanders Sides, so that’s what this series is going to be about.

I’ll be discussing the ships based off of Canon Moments, Popularity and Reputation, Fanon Interpretation, and Acclaimed Fics, as well as providing some links to fan-art.

And now, without further ado, PRINXIETY!

Canon Moments:

Prinxiety is one of the larger ships largely due to the abundance of Canon Moments. Here are some highlights*:

Roman: If you had to have a New Year’s Resolution, what would it be?Virgil: Probably to find darker eyeshadow to match my soul. Roman: You are an emo nightmare. Virgil [taking it as a compliment: Thank you. (A New Year of Lying to Myself... In Song!!, 6:26.)

Pretty much their entire sinking out scene in The Dark Side Of Disney (beginning at 5:14)

And the end-credit scene of The Dark Side Of Disney (5:45)

Pretty much all of The Dark Side Of Disney, to be honest.

Roman: What’re you laughing at, Hot Topic? Virgil: Aww, you think I’m hot. ALLOW ME TO REPEAT THAT Virgil: Aww, you think I’m hot. (This momentous event occurs during Alone On VALENTINE’S DAY!, 7:34)

The end credit scene of Alone On VALENTINE’S DAY!, beginning at 8:18. THEY HOLD HANDS.

Roman calls Virgil his “Chemically Imbalanced Romance” at 1:07 of Am I ORIGINAL?

Yogurting (Am I ORIGINAL?, 3:52)

“You’re just too darn cute!” (Making Some Changes!, 6:14)

Everyone Loves The Villain, the figurehead of this ship. (Becoming a CARTOON!, 5:23)

Roman: Anxiety is the fairest of them all! (Becoming a CARTOON!, 7:28)

Roman’s “You Make Us Better” speech in Accepting Anxiety Part 2 (7:07)

“You...rescued me!” (Accepting Anxiety Part 2, 8:35)

MOVING ON, Part 1, 12:28 (it’s an overlooked one, but a good one)

Roman’s FACE when Virgil sings his line in The Sanders Sides 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS! (8:46)

When Virgil tells Roman that no one hates him in Learning New Things About Ourselves (28:12)

When Roman says that making fun of things is how he shows his love in the first Sanders Asides and then you re-watch everything and scream internally because he’s in love with Virgil (and also Logan, but that’s another story for another day)

Finally, Sally’s Song existing on Virgil’s playlist (although that has also been interpreted as Anxceit).

Popularity and Reputation:

Prinxiety is the #1 most popular ship in this fandom at 4,200 fics on AO3 (the runner-up is Logicality at 3,331 fics).

The combination of Prinxiety and Logicality are considered the biggest ships of Sanders Sides. They’re often the first ships to be shipped for a new fander as well as the overall most popular.

As with any popular ship, there are people who will dismiss it as “basic”. Though it is often the first step in a fander’s shipping journey, some people will choose it as their only step, and that’s fine!

Pizza’s a basic food too. Pizza’s also a gift from the heavens! (Although if you don’t like pizza, that’s okay too. Don’t harass people for liking or not liking pizza, kids.)

Fanon Interpretation:

Here’s the Fanon Recipe™️

3 cups of Rivals To Friends To Lovers

1 1/2 tablespoons of Nicknames (additional witty banter can be added, it’s up to taste and how witty the author is feeling (by which I mean “Did The Author Get Enough Sleep”))

1/4 teaspoon of Height Difference (can be for either of them, often Virgil)

2 teaspoons of Watching/Debating Disney Movies Together (add Virgil bringing up Black Cauldron and Roman laughing about how much of an emo nightmare he is to taste)

A couple pinches of One Is Popular And One Is Not (be warned: this is a volatile ingredient. Use with caution. Or just toss an entire container of it in, because it’s fanfic and there are no rules)

Add Belief That Their Love Is Unrequited Due To Misunderstanding to taste

Acclaimed Fics:

When I say “Acclaimed”, I mean that these are the fics that have received the most public approval. That doesn’t necessarily mean that any of these fics are better than less recognized fics (they could be, but that’s unconnected to the public viewing).

Anyway, these are the five most kudoed fics!

#5, Keep him Safe: This fic seems to be some kind of detective au based off of the description. At least, there’s definitely crime involved.

It is 34 chapters long and a work in progress that was last worked on on May 12th.

IT IS RATED E, KEEP THIS IN MIND. I have not read the fic, only the summary and tags, and so cannot tell you exactly why it is rated E. However, I can tell you that it is tagged with Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Abusive Relationship, and Rape/Non-Con Elements.

Basically, proceed with caution. Read it HERE

#4, To Make A Home: This seems to be a high school AU.

It is 29 chapters long and a work in progress that was last worked on on August 22nd.

It is rated M. Keep this in mind. It is tagged with warnings for Eating Disorders, Minor Character Death, Car Accidents, Panic Attacks, Underage Drinking, and Attempted Sexual Assault. Keep these in mind.

I’ll also note that it’s tagged as Angst, yes, but also Angst With A Happy Ending.

Read it HERE

#3, Powerless: I have to say, this fic kind of has a reputation as The Fic of this fandom. And you know what? It deserves the title.

Sorry. As someone who’s supposed to be presenting fics based on acclaim instead of quality, I should be objective. But it’s just....it’s stuck with me.

Anyway, it’s a Superhero AU where approximately 0.04% of the population doesn’t have superpowers. Surprise, surprise, a good chunk of the main characters are Unabled.

It’s 21 chapters long and a completed work. It is rated T.

Read it HERE

#2, Probable Theorem: Read it HERE, this fic is a sequel to the #1 fic on this list, which is [drum-roll please]

#1, A Lesson In Practicality: This fic is also a Superhero AU (those are a bit of a theme for this ship).

It’s 25 chapters long, and a completed work.

It is rated T, and tagged with Graphic Depictions Of Violence.

There’s some Logicality on the side, and it’s the slowest of burns.

Read It HERE

Fanart

Here’s some links to fanart**!

FANART, FANART, FANART, FANART, FANART, AND MORE FANART!

In conclusion, Prinxiety is a widespread ship with lots of canon moments and a fun rivals-to-friends-to-lovers dynamic. If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, buy Prinxiety today!

*All of these are more shippy when watched than when transcribed. Thomas is very good at showing emotions in his face.

**I wrote this fairly quickly, and so have not contacted the artists of these works of art. If you find your fanart on this post and would like it removed, tell me and I’ll remove it, no questions asked.

#sanders sides #ts sides #long post #prinxiety #roman sanders #virgil sanders #ts virgil #ts roman #roman #virgil #roman x virgil #virgil x roman #shipping #ships #fanders #fander #I worked pretty hard on this but it was fun!#Powerless sanders sides fic

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official-wayward-keener · 3 years

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How Many Spider-Men Are There?

Read here on ao3

For: @snazzy-jas-z-is-a-fan-of and @theirtheretheyre

Harry and Peter are both spider-man. They are also twins who don't remember their birth fathers. When a new villain shows up and is after the twins then they must find a way to stop him well keeping their identity from their aunt. Parker luck doesn't work like that though.

It was a well-known fact at Midtown that Peter and Harry Parker were inseparable. The two twins like to stay near each other. When both found out they got powers it made them come up with an idea. No one would suspect the twins. Especially if everyone thought Spider-Man was one person. The two always patrolled on different parts of the city and no one had figured it out yet. That’s why everyone seemed to look away from them. They only thought there was one Spider-Man out there so it was never considered that the twins could both be spider-man. Maybe it would have made more sense if someone actually watched patterns with Spider-Man but no one seemed to notice any routine in the patrols that the boys had formed. Harry would be taking down some robbers and Peter would be helping a kid find their mom. Peter would be stopping a bank heist while Harry would be helping a woman cross the road. Everyone just saw them as one person and this made it feel like they were even more if people couldn’t realize that there was more than one Spider-man. How could they when Spider-Man wasn’t a big deal? Even Tony Stark couldn’t figure out the boys’ identity. Maybe it was the fact that he didn’t expect it to be two people or that it was that he wouldn’t think it was Peter and Harry cause Peter and Harry couldn’t be spider-man. Maybe if he thought about them as a possibility he would have figured it out to stop what happened from happening.

Peter and Harry had been after the Goblin for a while. They had been hunting him down and trying to fight him. They had been trying to figure out who the goblin was. The two boys had some ideas but none were close. They even had it as one of their teachers but they were obviously wrong. They had almost given up when they learned about Norman Osborn had mental issues in the past. Just something May slipped up and said. The twins didn’t know how May knew that but they figured they would run with the information and use it to their advantage when looking into Norman Osborn as the Goblin.

“He has an empty warehouse apparently. We could check there,” Harry said. Peter agreed as the two suited up, Harry swinging out the window first so no one would see the two spiders at the same time. Harry got to the warehouse and snuck in seeing a lab set up. Norman has a secret lab which was never a good sign. It seemed no one was home so Harry started snooping. It wasn’t until he found a picture of Norman with Tony Stark that Harry paused. Cause it wasn’t just a photo of Tony Stark and Norman Osborn but May was there as well with two little boys. Harry set the photo down figuring it was a question for another time as he looked around some more finding them overboard. He went to examine when his Spidey Sense went off. He flipped out of the way as a bomb went off as the Goblin appeared. Harry knew he was screwed and hoped Peter would get there soon as he flipped out of the way again.

Peter got there just as Harry landed on the ground. Peter got pissed as he wrapped the Goblin up who was shocked at another Spider-Man. The web cocoon trapping the Goblin as Peter landed next to his brother. Harry was laughing.

“You aren’t leaving me alone,” Peter told him. Harry’s breathing was off as Peter pulled the mask up a bit concerned for his brother. He picked Harry up leaving the Goblin behind as he swung away. He had to focus on keeping his brother alive. He couldn’t lose his best friend.

May was concerned as she saw Peter and Harry in the bathroom. Harry was pale and was being stitched up by the other boy. They both were in sweatpants without their shirts on. Harry has a cut down the side of his chest that Peter was stitching up.

“What the fuck?” May asked moving closer to her nephews looking worried. Harry smiled at his aunt but she was more concerned as she took over for Peter figuring sowing up the wound would help some. She would need to call the one person who could help.

“Peter, what happened?” May asked if she took care of Harry.

“Some guy was beating up on Harry so I jumped in and knocked him out but Harry was already hurt,” Peter explained. It was partially true. Harry nodded and told May about how he wasn’t looking for trouble. May smiled at Harry trying to get him to focus on talking about how pale he was.

“We are going to get you some extra help,” May said. Peter and Harry both began protesting but she gave them both a stare which they knew they would have to obey and go to where May wanted Harry to go. Peter got a shirt on before grabbing a hoodie for Harry as May told him to get shoes on and help with carrying Harry down to the car. May rarely drove. The car was there in case of emergency. A gift from May’s dead father. She rarely used it but sometimes you needed to drive around the city. Peter and Harry were in the back as May called an old doctor friend who happened to be someone who could keep a secret. She knew her boys were hiding something and Helen would be able to figure it out faster than anyone. She texted Helen explaining the injury and what was going on and Helen told her to come right on over. She didn’t say anything to her boys. They would be fine once she got them to Helen. Helen’s place wasn’t far and was nice due to her job. Helen watched Peter carry Harry in as she told him where to set him as she asked May what happened. May gave her what she knew as Helen checked Harry’s injury to see it already starting to heal. She looked at Peter who was anxious before looking at May.

“He is probably pale from blood loss. Do they both have the same blood type by chance?” Helen figured she would ask Peter what he knew. May nodded as she pulled the boy aside to get a pint to help the other boy. As she was working on that, she asked Peter about Harry’s healing.

“We can heal quickly,” He muttered.

“I know that but May seems to not know that. I just want to know how.” Peter hesitated before explaining the radioactive spider and telling her the real story of what happened. Helen was more concerned about finding out that she was talking to one of two spider-men. How had no one figured it out before Peter told her? Helen focused on making sure Harry was well. Peter didn’t leave his brother’s side even when Helen said he would be fine.

“May we need to talk,” Helen told the woman. Peter looked at her worried, but Helen just smiled at him and he seemed to calm. Helen and May walked out of the room.

“Those aren’t…” Helen started but May stopped her.

“They are. Now is Harry really going to be alright.”

“With his advance healing that Peter let me know about yes,” Helen told her. “That is the only thing keeping your kid alive May. You should be thankful for that May or you would be down a kid right now and I don’t think your brother would be okay if he lost his son.”

“What else did Peter let slip?” May asked.

“Your nephews are vigilantes, May,” Helen told her, not wanting to hide anything. If her own kid was running around playing a superhero, she would want some to tell her. May seemed surprised as she stayed quiet for a bit.

“My brother can’t find out. He would freak if he knew.” Helen knew May was right. May knowing made her feel a bit better but she knew from what she heard through the grapevine about spider-man that these two weren’t giving up without a fight.

“I won’t say anything,” Helen said, touching May’s arm. She was concerned about how she would take this but seeing her take this well was always a good sign.

“Do you want to monitor Harry overnight? Because if that is the case, it might be best that I just stay. Peter won’t leave Harry’s side. Those two are attached at the hip on a good day,” May told Helen.

“It would be wise for the night,” Helen told her, not knowing if she should tell May about what she was keeping all those years. Luckily she didn’t have to have her son called for her and she excused herself to make sure her own child was alright. May went to check on her own children who had fallen asleep from the long day they had. She smiled seeing her two boys cuddled up. Peter was holding onto his brother and even in his sleep May could see how much he was concerned about Harry. Harry on the other hand was sleeping peacefully. May smiled as she kissed both boys’ forehead as if they were both ten again. She had raised the twins to protect them from their father. She raised them so they didn’t have to see what happened to her brother after their father lost it. She couldn’t have her boys know how much hurt their family had because of something that no one could control. She walked out of the room knowing the two were safe for the night. No one would be going after them.

Peter and Harry now had two people in their court that knew their secret. They still had to find proof to show the avengers, because their tip-off to the avengers leads to them finding an empty warehouse. Harry and Peter were tracking empty warehouses but were getting nowhere.

“How do we prove Norman Osborn is the goblin?” Peter groaned. Harry seemed to have an idea.

“The photo,” Harry said. Peter was confused as he waited for him to continue. “When I was in Norman’s lab I found a picture of Norman with Tony Stark and Aunt May.” Harry didn’t mention how they were in the photo as well. He needs Peter to focus on the person they could ask.

“So we ask May about what she knows about Norman Osborn,” Peter said. Harry agreed as they both went to find May and tell them what they had found out. May seemed hesitant but told them what she remembered about Norman not to mention how she knew Norman or Tony. The boys were more focused on finding Norman Osborn’s goblin lab.

“Maybe you both should let the avengers take this one over. Norman Osborn is a dangerous man and if he is this goblin it might be because he isn’t on his meds,” May let them know. The boys knew they should but the avengers were having zero luck plus the goblin always sought out the twins. It wasn’t their fault that he was after them. May was stubborn about them letting this fight go if they could.

“How about I ask Tony to meet with Spider-Man?” She asked. The two allowed that figuring if the avengers meet with Spider-Man then they could maybe let the avengers know what was going on without having to worry too much.

Tony Stark was surprised when May texted him asking if the avengers would be willing to meet up with spider-man about the goblin. May rarely texted him. He hadn’t really talked to her since Ben passed away. May kept to herself and stayed out of the spotlight. Which made it easier for her to raise two children.

“The Goblin is a bit under the avengers pay grade,” Tony admitted to May when she first proposed the meet.

“Look Spider-Man got hurt fighting Goblin and he needs the back-up,” May admitted. Tony seemed hesitant but May was desperate. Tony got the team together as Spider-Man swung over to meet with the Avengers. He seemed young when he arrived but before Tony could shut the window, Spider-Man held up a finger, and not more than two minutes later another Spider-Man appeared. The avengers all looked between the two as they tried to figure out. Tony looked between the two confused.

“May said Spider-Man, not Spider-Men,” Tony said.

“We both are Spider-Man,” Peter told him looking at Harry who just shrugged.

“So you both use the mantle of Spider-Man?” Rhodey asked. They both nodded as they waited for the avengers to say something. The real issue was the Goblin which is why Peter and Harry were there.

“You had something on the Goblin?” Tony asked.

“We were the ones to tip you off on one of the buildings. We had found one of his workshops but then after we looked into it, the building was emptied,” Harry said.

“Norman wasn’t happy about that,” Nat told the two boys.

“Norman is the goblin,” Harry said. “We found proof in the workshop. He had some mementos in his workshop that showed it but apparently, us looking around wasn’t appropriate.”

“We will look into it,” Tony said. “Thanks for telling us nothing that we didn’t already know.”

“Did you know he is after the two of us?” Peter asked.

“He tried to kill me the other day. If it wasn’t for the fake that we both have the same blood type and our healing factor I would be dead,” Harry let Tony know.

“Then just use them as bait,” Steve suggested.

“May knows your identities,” Tony said. They both froze at that.

“The people that make our suits know May,” Peter explained. Tony seemed to think but his next statement surprised him.

“You both are kids aren’t you,” Tony said. They both went to argue but Tony moved on canceling Steve’s plan that would require putting two minors in danger in favor of him going to talk to Norman and claiming they had proof this time to see if Norman bought the lie.

“You think Norman would believe you?” Wanda asked.

“He might ask for something, but he might listen to me if I’m the one to say it. Even when he hates me Norman Osborn wouldn’t risk me having something on him,” Tony spoke as if from experience. The twins seemed to think that was the best option before Tony sent them off and asked them to not patrol until Norman was behind bars. They argued but Tony promised them new suits and they couldn’t argue anymore not without upsetting Tony.

Things were normal for a week. Peter and Harry didn’t like it but the goblin sightings were down and the Avengers had told them they were looking into it. Whatever the goblin was planning he wasn’t going to let it slip now. Peter and Harry were at their favorite cafe with Ned when the attack on the cafe happened. The three slipped into the restrooms to hide as they heard the bombs go off very close to them. Peter and Harry almost got into their suits when the doors to the restroom opened. The two stood by each other figuring that the Goblin must have figured it out and that they would have to fight in a second. The Goblin knocked open the stall the two boys were hiding in.

“I found you both,” the Goblin hissed before grabbing them very hard. “Behave and nothing will happen to your friend.” The boys nodded as he held onto them and flew out of the cafe. Ned called May as soon as the goblin was gone to tell her the twins wouldn’t be coming home that night.

Peter and Harry sat on the ground as the Goblin muttered about something over and over again. He wasn’t attacking them or bringing up Spider-Man which was a good thing. The Goblin suit came off as Norman walked around talking about how he was going to win this time.

“Mr. Osborn,” Harry said, always the one who could talk to people and get them to talk.

“Not now Harold. I need to finalize my plan. Your papa will want to have the final word but he won’t this time. Not when I have everything he could never have,” Norman said laughing as he spoke.

“We just want to go home,” Peter admitted, acting like a scared kid. He was a bit nervous but for other reasons.

“Peter, we will be home soon enough once I deal with Anthony. He has a habit of appearing at the wrong time. Now be quiet,” Norman hissed. The boys both nodded as they watched Norman argue with himself.

“What do we do?” Harry asked Peter. Peter was trying to figure that out. Norman paused as they both heard the repulsors as well. Norman frowned as the repulsors blasted the doors.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Norman said as Iron Man appeared.

“You kidnapped the boys,” Tony said, waiting for Norman to say something.

“I just took what was mine. Now really Tony do you have to come in here with that suit. You are probably scaring the boys,” Norman said pointing to where Peter and Harry were sitting. Tony looked over before facing Norman again.

“Spider-Man said you were the goblin. I almost didn’t believe him,” Tony said.

“Which one told you that?” Norman asked.

“So you do know there are two Spider-Men,” Tony said. Norman rolled his eyes, continuing to mess with something.

“You know if you want to talk I have no weapons on me right now. You could lower yours. Especially around Peter and Harold,” Tony knew Norman was up to something but he got out of the suit. Norman seemed surprised at first as if he didn’t expect him to get out of his suit. Tony liked his armor as it was the only thing that would protect him. Peter and Harry watched as Norman looked at him assessing the situation.

“What are you up to Stark?” Norman asked.

“I want to talk. No weapons. Not in front of the kids,” Tony said. Norman seemed to agree with him which surprised Tony more than anything else. Tony knew he would have to talk Tony out of his plan before it would be too late.

“Like the old days before you left,” Norman pointed out.

“You mean you went off your medication and I needed time away from you because I couldn’t mentally handle it,” Tony said. Norman looked pissed.

“Those medications mess with my mind and make me worse. I can’t care for my kids if I can’t think straight because of the medicine in my system,” Norman shouted.

“They aren’t your kids anymore,” Tony looked ready to attack Norman but seemed to try and calm himself before he did anything that could lead to the two boys getting hurt. Norman looked annoyed at Tony though and ready to start a fight.

“I should have known that you don’t want to talk to me,” Norman seemed to grab something and hold it. Peter and Harry decided to move and head toward the back of the warehouse to find an exit.

“I’m really here to talk, Normie,” Tony tried. Harry and Peter got to the back entrance before sneaking out and looking around for someone to maybe help. They realized that they would have to help save the day.

“Suit up?” Peter asked. Harry nodded as the two suited up before sneaking back in seeing Norman throwing stuff around.

“You let them run away from us!” Norman shouted blaming Tony as if he was the person at fault for everything as if he couldn’t be to blame. Harry webbed Norman’s hands as Peter got his feet.

“Hate to break up this reunion but we have a villain to take down,” Peter said. Norman growled as he tried to break free. Harry and Peter looked at Tony who seemed surprised by the two appearing.

“I told you both to stay away,” Tony said.

“Sometimes you can’t stay away,” Harry let Tony know. Tony seemed annoyed as soon as he got back in his suit as they finished up as Tony called in the other avengers to help as the two waited for the team.

“Well I wish you both would have stayed out of this,” Tony looked for the twins that were now under the masks.

“We got them out of here if that is what you are wondering. They should be heading home now,” Peter explained. Tony seemed to believe them before the rest of his team got there and took Norman away. The twins swung away after that. Tony watched and told FRIDAY to make sure his boys got home.

“Look it’s one dinner with him,” May said. Harry and Peter were unsure about it. They hadn’t seen their papa apparently since they were five when everything was going down with their parents. “If you both don’t think that you want a relationship then I won’t push it.” The twins finally agreed knowing May wouldn’t push if they told her they didn’t want to see their papa anymore. The two followed May to her car as she talked about their papa and growing up with him. The two boys had heard some of these stories but they were rare. May didn’t like talking about their papa much when they were younger and they didn’t ask as they became teens. So the ride over was just stories from May has they tried to think about what to ask.

They finally got to the building and May led them up to the penthouse as the two looked between each other wondering who their papa was. He had to be someone to live in a penthouse. May rang the doorbell as they heard someone saying something and Tony Stark opened the door. The two looked between him and May waiting for some joke but May pulled Tony into a hug before turning to the boys introducing them to Tony. The two said hello to be polite as they tried to figure out what was really going on. Tony dragged them in and told them that he ordered Thai since May said they loved Thai as he talked about their childhood before he left them with May.

After a while of them eating and talking, Tony told May he wanted to talk to the boys alone. She nodded as Tony led them to a lab where there were two spider-man suits were set up. They both looked at him then the suits.

“You made Spider-Man two suits?” Peter asked.

“I made my kids two suits which come with a list of rules,” Tony clarified. The twins looked at him not knowing what to say as Tony smiled at them. “Norman didn’t know but I caught on pretty quickly especially when two spider-men showed up at the tower instead of one.” The two went to argue but stopped when they saw Tony daring them to try and prove him wrong.

“Can we test out the suits?” Harry asked.

“Well, they aren’t done. You both still need to personalize them to your standards and I would like your opinion on some of the designs but once they are done you both will be able to take them out for a spin.” The twins accepted that deal as they talked about what they wanted to add to the suits as Tony looked on them proud of the men they were becoming.

Peter and Harry both looked down from the top of the building they were standing on as they both smiled before they both ran and took a leap at the same time before swinging through New York. If the next day an article on the Spider-Men came out then they would deal with it then, but for now, they were there to protect their city as a team, and as brothers. No one was going to stop them from making the world a better place.

#harry osborn #peter parker #tony stark #may parker #helen cho #norman osborn

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kogo-dogo · 3 years

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I looked at your favorite character top 5 thing and there's the one character you said was your ''problematic fave''. And I've heard of that game before because I saw somebody play it on Youtube once, I think the second one, and I was just curious about the character. Torque?? Because it seems like such a bad game and he didn't seem to have much personality but you seem very attacked so I was wondering if maybe it was worth looking into the series or something. I like old games.

I am so sorry that I said a week ago I’d answer this, Anon. I have so many thoughts about this probably-actually-one-dimensional character because I’ve had sixteen years to pick apart every scrap of info that exists about him. And overanalysis of fictional men is, at this point, my primary hobby.

First of all… eh. I won’t say to definitively not look into the series, but I would encourage you not look into the series. It’s one of those things that’s aged like an open bottle of two-buck chuck and I can tell you right now that it wouldn’t be as palatable in 2020 as it was in 2004. As much as I love Prison is Hell (the first game) and as much as I get what they were trying to do, they messed a lot of things up and it wouldn’t translate well to modern times. This is especially true for Ties That Bind. Oh my god, do NOT play Ties That Bind if you’re easily offended.

It’s fascinating to pick apart, though, even if it seems extremely basic on the surface level, and part of the reason I like Torque so much is because he’s a very interesting character to crack open and inspect. I know he probably Isn’t That Deep, but he’s interesting, figuring him out is a puzzle because of the way storytelling is carried out, and if he’d been handled better, would probably still be remembered beyond “quiet dude in a game Youtubers occasionally play on Halloween.” He’s really an unfortunate casualty of that era of gaming. It’s surprising he was handled with any dignity at all.

Spoilers are to follow, but it’s for the best. Now you don’t have to play the game.

First, a disclaimer: The Suffering games do work on a morality system, where you can get good or bad endings based on how you treat other people. The game is heavily designed to favor the good ending, and most people I’ve spoken to have agreed the good endings are likely canonical considering how much you’d miss while playing neutral/evil. So, we’re going with the “Good Aligned Torque is Canon” angle.

Okay. Now.

- Who is Torque?

This guy.

Torque is, in essence, what happens when you take every tired trope of a horror movie villain and flip it around on its head. He’s a severely mentally ill inmate convicted of murder (while it’s never outright stated what mental illnesses he has, it’s pretty obviously a mixture of DID and schizophrenia), he never speaks (at least not in the present; he does have scant dialogue in flashbacks in the second game; it amounts to maybe eight words total), and he is… freakishly strong. Beyond that, there’s very heavy evidence that he’s somehow supernaturally inclined.

The difference is that, instead of being presented as the villain, he’s the hero. He’s not just the hero, he’s basically one of the very few competent people in the games. Nobody treats him any different than they would anyone else, the game doesn’t go out of its way to underline that he’s some kind of “monster,” and even when the most monstrous of his alters presents itself (The Creature, who we’ll discuss later), people are just kind of like, “Oh, well that was different” and then move on with their lives.

He is a character who could very easily take the place of Jason Voorhees, and instead of being given a machete and told to kill everyone he comes across, he’s given a fire ax and a voice in his head that tells him to take care to think about how much other people are struggling and that maybe, being that he is probably stronger than them, he should put forth the effort to get them someplace safe.

- Okay, but, like… WHO is he? Character-wise?

If you want his backstory, it’s actually one of the best parts about him and one of the few things that Ties That Bind expands upon correctly. To summarize, he’s a victim of the state that fell through the cracks, pieced his life back together, and then ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

To be more long-winded: He was a troubled child with psychiatric problems who lost both of his parents in a car accident. With no living relatives beyond his parents, he was placed into the Garvey Children’s Home, where the conditions were less than ideal. A mixture of strain, trauma, loneliness, and desperation prompted his brain to divide up into three: himself, Blackmore, and The Creature. Then, left to navigate life and his own mental health on his own, he ended up falling in with some very bad crowds.

He became a drug dealer. He got in a lot of altercations. He was in and out of prison. This only stopped when he met his wife and became a family man, and began to consciously put forth the effort to right himself. He had two sons, had everything under control… and then ended up in prison again when the guy he used to work for on the streets hired a man to come pay him a visit at his friend’s bar and press every last one of his buttons until he snapped. He wound up in prison, his wife divorced him, and everyone assumed he’d end up back to his old tricks.

Except… he didn’t go back to being a drug dealer. He got a job at a gym instead. He stayed on the right track. He started reconciling with his ex-wife who, right before the events of the first game, moved back in with him.

This didn’t sit well with the men Torque used to run with, especially not the guy he used to work for… so a hit was ordered on him and his family. He wasn’t home when it was carried out. He walked in, found his wife and kids dead, and passed out in his apartment from the shock, where the police found him after receiving a tip.

He was bloody. He was disoriented. He was known to be a repeat offender. They pinned the whole thing on him and, after a very unfair trial, he was sentenced to death.

The first day he arrives in prison--located on scenic Carnate Island--the ground opens up and monsters begin sweeping over the land. Convenient.

- Wait, this bitch has alters?

Yeah. This… isn’t really a part of the game that’s handled well, but it’s interesting. There’s a lot of weirdness going on with Torque (remember that supernatural bend I mentioned?), and one of the two is… well, I’m not sure he’s an alter at all.

First, there’s Torque himself who is just a short-tempered, easily frustrated, but generally reasonable guy who really just wanted to keep his head above water. Secondly, there’s The Creature, a defense mechanism and literal monster that is incapable of communication and rears its head whenever he feels threatened. Physically threatened, generally, which resulted in The Creature being a bit violent. Torque has a pretty extensive arrest record and most of his arrests seem to revolve around “punched a guy at an inopportune time.”

Blackmore is more complicated, because he isn’t really clear. You see, there’s a snippet of dialogue in the second game and a lot of environmental storytelling that indicates that Torque is supernaturally gifted somehow (something he likely inherited from his mother), and that some of his mental illnesses are actually paranormal interference. Blackmore is the biggest gray area, because while he is presented as an alter, he… very much defies that.

He’s presented as a presence that Torque experiences externally and that only he can see (not really uncommon; Torque hallucinates pretty frequently throughout the game), but he also seems to be aware and consciously trying to control Torque. When that fails, he settles for trying to find a way to take over Torque’s body permanently. He’s capable of actually getting in physical altercations with Torque, but at the same time can hijack his body to do things he wouldn’t normally be able to do. He honestly smacks more of something Torque is possessed by instead of something his brain came up with itself, made all the more obvious by the fact that the final battle in the second game is literally Torque and Blackmore beating the everloving hell out of each other after Torque consciously realizes that nobody can perceive Blackmore but him.

But at the same time, that guy that Torque worked for that ordered the hit on his family? That’s Blackmore. There’s a lot of talk about how nobody has ever seen Blackmore (indicating he only communicated via writing or phone or what have you), and it’s all… very, very stupid. It’s one of those things in TTB that made me throw up my hands and go, “Well, sure. Okay. Let’s just do that, then. That makes perfect sense thanks.”

(I do not like most of Ties That Bind.)

- Okay, so he’s supernatural somehow?

Mm-hm. Again, it’s never explicitly stated, but heavily implied through some dialogue from my second favorite character in the game (DR. Q.L. KILLJOY, MOTHERFUCKER) and just the way the story plays out.

Carnate Island erupts with a bad case of monsters the second Torque sets foot on the island. A prologue you unlock after you beat the game once reveals that Torque actually hallucinated the first game’s end boss before he even saw it, indicating he has some precognitive abilities. The sentient spirits of both games know who Torque is and take a special interest in him, and plenty make allusions that they’re “more alike” than he thinks. Blackmore is very clearly paranormal in origin and seems to even be able to command the monsters in some way.

Hell, Dr. Killjoy even implies at the end of the first game that Torque is somehow making all of this happen and, only by tackling the root of his problems, can he make everything stop.

While there’s never been an active fandom for this game, I used to associate with a small group of fans, and there was actually a lot of discussion/disagreements about whether Torque actually had any form of psychosis or if maybe he had latent psychic abilities he couldn’t control. Seeing things all the time, causing things to accidentally happen that nobody would believe; it’d be easy to be chalked up with a disorder when there’s no way to know or prove what you’re experiencing is Real Shit.

- Why do you hate Ties That Bind so much?

Because of the way it improperly handles a bunch of mental health stuff that the first game wisely didn’t actually touch on much beyond acknowledging the fact that This Guy Are Sick.

Prison is Hell makes it very evident that Torque has psychiatric problems but never dwells on it overmuch. There’s even an entire chapter of the game that takes place in an old asylum with an early 1900s alienist ghost (DR. KILLJOY) trying to diagnose and “treat” Torque, and it still is mostly hinged on the horrors of old-timey treatment of mentally ill patients than anything about Torque. That and Dr. Killjoy’s misguided good intent (that dude deserves a whole essay of his own, to be honest).

Instead of hammering it home that he has Issues and deciding to talk too much about Issues, it just treats Torque like a human being. Your main goal is getting off the island and saving stragglers along the way, all of which react to Torque just the same way they would to anyone. COs will either be authoritative or condescending. Fellow inmates will be suspicious but more likely to work with him. Everyone is always gracious for his help, and nobody makes any odd remarks about anything weird he does (barring when The Creature shows up; then, they just remark on, “DUDE HOW IN THE FUCK?” because you find out, later on, that all they see is Torque getting in fist fights with things twice his size and winning).

Torque is just Torque. He just do what Torque do.

Ties That Bind then goes barreling into a bunch of tired tropes and tries to make a convoluted twist ending, and then there’s the whole matter of the secret underground organization that wants to capture Torque and have been working with Blackmore and you end up fighting a helicopter and some SWAT-looking motherfuckers and… they try so much harder to be edgy and gritty and it’s really fucking stupid.

The only good things you get out of it are some further snippets into Torque’s backstory (appreciated), the return of Dr. Q.L. Killjoy (always welcome), and a set of monsters known as Gorgers (they make purr-gle sounds when they eat and I love them).

Oh, and Consuela. She is mentioned in the first game and actually shows up in the second, and I can respect any woman who gets captured by an evil paramilitary organization and, immediately upon being rescued, takes the biggest gun she can find, looks you dead in the eye, and says, “I’m going to steal a fucking boat, drive it straight into a warzone, and rescue my goddamn husband. You with me or not?”

She is literally some female parallel to Torque and my headcanon is they are bros.

- Anything else?

Yeah. The soundtrack for the game is pretty awesome and ended up inspiring some other music in a couple of other video games of the time (Mortal Kombat: Armageddon immediately comes to mind). They actually rigged up some pretty cool contraptions to make unique sounds and ambience using shit like scrap metal and garbage, and the results are pretty fucking cool.

Favorites of mine are the boss themes for Hermes, and Dr. Killjoy, with Dr. Killjoy’s being my absolute favorite of all of them. The main theme of the game is pretty great, too, and is probably the most iconic of all of the songs on the OST. I’ve even heard it used in stuff where I doubt people knew what the hell The Suffering was, lol.

#i've been working on this off and on for a week #because i totally don't care too much about characters nobody else cares about #seems suiting to post it now on Halloween #considering he's a horror game character

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jeaniegreysummers · 3 years

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phoenix three || jean, scott & erik

SUMMARY: jean uses the phoenix to bring scott back. she freaks out thinking how to explain this to the others. she finds herself on erik’s doorstep. the three plot a revolution. that’s the jist.

WHEN: the day jean brought scott back from the dead (happy valentine’s day, go visit your father in law)

TRIGGER WARNINGS: grief, death, murder mention, violence

FEATURING: scott summers, erik lehnsherr

JEAN: Emma said Jean lacked control. She said she was bitter, and immature, and that she lacked a true understanding of what was needed to preserve the lives of their people and to push them into the future. Jean agreed with most of that. She died. She missed out on years of her life, spent months in a room filled with nothing but white fire that wasn’t hot to the touch because she was the nuclear bomb in the room, and came back to a world divided and a family split. But Emma was wrong about one thing.

No one had any idea how much Jean kept control.

They would begin to understand, she knew. The truth of what occurred on the Raft would come out, and they would know what she was capable of. They would know that Jean lost it for a single fraction of a moment, and that a wave of her hand extinguished dozens of lives. They would know she allowed them to slap cuffs around her wrists so she would be brought right to the place where she could suffer, and then failed to stay in her self imposed punishment.

They would know, the second they saw Scott by her side, exactly what she did to bring him back. Everyone knew the bird was still there, everyone but Jean. Everyone knew she’d never be rid of it. Now, she knew it too. She knew it, and she still passed it on to one of the people she loved most in the world despite her best intentions to push that affection down so far she couldn’t feel it anymore.

The second Scott slipped on his shades, the moment they caught their breath, she thought about the man she’d fought against, the man she trained with down by the Hudson, the man who came for her when she didn’t even realise she wanted him to come — and Scott knew. He had to. . Jean’s hand shook as she raised it to knock on Erik’s door. Once the sound rang out, she moved back to hold onto Scott’s arm, her other hand already clasping his. The door opened, and Jean could feel the rush of energy, the low simmering threatening to boil over, as they stood.

“I did something,” she said, voice thick but strong, stronger than it had been in over two weeks. She pulled lightly on Scott’s arm, bringing him into the doorframe. “I asked for a favor, Erik, and I …”

How did she start with this? How did she even pretend to be sheepish about the consequences that were sure to follow?

“We need your help.”

ERIK: Ever since he'd realized there were other people like him, other people with gifts, Erik had been terrified of telepaths. His whole life, he'd been trying to get out from the control of others, restraining parts of himself to keep himself alive and sane. The idea of a telepath, of someone getting inside his head, influencing his thoughts, controlling his actions--that was the stuff of nightmares, compliance forced from the inside.

It'd been a relief to find himself resistant to that particular gift, though not immune--certainly not to telepaths of the calibre of Charles and Jean. He'd grown to enjoy their presence in his head, after he finally stopped throwing walls up when it became apparent that they had no desire to be in his head without permission, to do anything but understand.

The Phoenix was different. It wanted control, wanted Erik to lose his own, to yield to those dangerous whispers that had always been in his mind but that the bird amplified and twisted. It was already inside his head, and intent on keeping people he'd found a comfort in, like Charles, out. He could feel things changing, when he'd wake up in the morning, would have the distant sensation that his brain was being quietly shuffled around, searched through, edited oh so quietly.

Like the fear. He couldn't bring himself to be terribly concerned about the Phoenix, now, couldn't hold any thought like that without it slipping away like water through a sieve. Jean had said it was fine. That he'd be safe. He trusted Jean.

They were fine. Him and the bird. If he couldn't quite draw the dividing line, well. No one was asking him to. His apartment had changed, since the Raft--the curtains were drawn constantly, and where paintings had once hung, the wall space was increasingly occupied by various schematics.

The New York City power grid. The United Nations building floor plans--hand drawn on top of what was publically available, thanks to a painstaking day of using the bolts in the walls and the flow of bioelectric traffic to form an accurate mental schematic. A map of all the ways into and out of the island of Manhattan.

War was like chess. He would see that mutantkind did not squander their next move. There was a way to checkmate, and he was getting there. Slowly. Lots of pieces from the other side would be lost, but that was the game.

( They took his kids, his family, his freedom, time and time again, and they would pay in blood. )

He's got a fresh cup of tea steaming on the coffee table in front of him as he regards the images pinned to the opposite wall when the knock comes. The familiar warmth from the other side of the door, the other piece of the same stuff that runs in his veins, now, calls to him and tells him he needn't worry before he even opens it.

But then he sees her face, and concern wells. And then she's tugging something from behind the doorframe, something likewise warm and alive, and Erik feels the world tilt briefly on its axis.

Jean had brought Scott back. The Phoenix had brought Scott back. ( What else could it do? Who else, he thinks selfishly? )

Jean looks like she's worried, but Erik is stepping forward to wrap his arms around both of them in the next moment, squeezing as if he can keep them here, safe, alive, through sheer force of will.

( Can he? )

"I-- anything. You know that. Anything for you. Both of you."

SCOTT: He was alive. The word repeated in his mind over and over again, echoing with each beat of his heart. Alive, alive, alive. It sounded more and more foreign every time, made nonsensical with the repetition. It shouldn’t have felt as strange as it did. He’d done this before, after all, come back from the dead into a world that felt infinitely different than the one he’d left behind, but… this was more distinct. This fire burning in his chest, this strange power that mingled with that familiar anger… It hadn’t been here last time.

And neither had she. Coming back to a world with Jean Grey in it was much better than coming back to one without her, Scott thought. He’d prefer it this way every time, want this more than anything. His hand gripped hers like a lifeline, fingers intertwined with hers as if she was doing what gravity couldn’t and keeping his feet on the ground. He didn’t have to ask her where they were going when she lead him out the door. He didn’t know if it was their psylink, the Phoenix, or simply the fact that he knew her better than he’d ever known anyone, but he knew where they were headed. Part of him wondered if he ought to be surprised by it, but… He wasn’t. Standing outside of Erik’s door after dying in the war Magneto had always warned them was coming… It made sense.

He was quiet as Jean spoke, uncertain as he stood just out of sight. Jean wouldn’t have brought him here if she didn't want Erik to know he was alive, but Scott was still hesitant. There was a lot of explaining to do with his resurrection, a lot of things he wasn’t sure he was allowed to say. But Erik would understand. He could feel the power burning in Erik, matching that fire in his own chest. Jean had said a piece of the bird went into him, too, and that probably made Magneto one of the only two people alive who knew what was in Scott’s head now. That scared him less than he’d thought it might. . Scott ducked his head as Jean pulled him into view, looking almost sheepish at Erik’s wide eyes. Scott opened his mouth, ready to say something (and the only thing that came to mind was hi, which was, all things considered, incredibly anticlimactic), but he didn’t get the words out before Erik’s arms were around them both. Scott relaxed into his grip, feeling suddenly less tense, like something had been unwound, like a screw had been untightened allowing him to loosen up just a little. “It’s good to see you, Erik,” he offered quietly. He wanted to say more, wanted to say you were right, wanted to say I’m sorry I wasted so much time fighting you, wanted to say I understand it now, but he couldn’t quite find the words for it.

Glancing to Jean, he nodded. “They don’t know yet,” he said, and he didn’t have to say who they were. The people who’d shot him down in that park, the ones who’d gone on television to frame him as the villain of the story, the one who used his death as an inciting incident to prove just how violent mutants truly were, they didn’t know he was back. He didn’t have to say just how bad things would be when they found out. “When they do…” He trailed off, letting the implication hang. When they knew, things would get worse, for all of them.

JEAN: Growing up, Jean never had a shortage of safe places. Her parents, her siblings, her school and her best friend. Charles and Erik. Scott, when she sat down beside him on that park bench. Warren and Bobby and Hank, always pulling her from the fire when she needed it, watching her back. The older she got, though, the more experience she had with losing that stability. John and Elaine would speak to her only if she pretended to be a different person. Her sister was dead. Jean ripped her old middle school from its foundations, causing damages they were still paying for years later. Annie was hit by that car. Charles, Scott, everyone couldn’t stop Jean from falling on that battlefield, and even as she was lying in Scott’s arms bleeding out she felt entirely, achingly alone.

And Erik had left. The memory of it was still bitter, sharper in her mind than she would ever admit to. Scott knew, of course. The link between them meant that they couldn’t keep secrets if they wanted to, and they never had. Erik had left, and every day since Jean had tried to maintain the initial anger she felt at going downstairs and realising the Institute would be going on without its lifeblood.

They’d found a way to cope, her and Charles and the team they formed, but it would never be the same. Jean said she would never forgive him for that, for changing things from how they were supposed to be, for altering destiny because of his dedication to one never-ending cause.

Sometimes, though, forgiveness came from the strangest places. The fire brought Scott back from the ground, and immediately the only person Jean wanted to tell about it was the man standing in front of her now, the man putting his arms around both of them. Jean found herself buried easily between them, one hand clutching to the back of each of their shirts, breathing in the feeling and wishing that it would never end. . But things always ended. It was what you did between the beginning and the final page that mattered. She knew that now.

Scott’s voice came low beside her, and Jean turned her head only for a moment so she could wipe at her eyes with the heel of her hand. When she met Scott’s gaze through his shades, she was solid once more, or at least could appear that way.

“No one knows,” she continued, turning to meet Erik’s eyes. “I don’t know how to … We’re going to need to explain it. All of this.”

Charles would know before long. He would feel the Phoenix splitting the first time he went to search for Jean’s mind, and he was doing that more often than ever before after Scott’s death. The three of them were tied in this secret now, but there was only so long before the fire burned through the self deception like it always said it would.

She swallowed thickly, one hand going for Scott’s, the other reaching for Erik’s. “Whether Scott is alive or dead, they’re going to come for us,” Jean said. “This is what you were talking about, wasn’t it?” Erik had been claiming humans would come to fight them for years. He had a plan. Jean knew that. She knew she needed that.

ERIK: Scott and Jean were in his arms, and a bit of the world repaired itself. He wondered distantly if Scott had checked his voicemail. If he'd heard the apology that would never be enough, even now that the man is back.

It doesn't matter. Here, in this moment now, the three of them and the shared fire between them are one. They're all in the same boat, now, and Erik had meant his promise to the ghost on the other end of the phone. He would not fail again to keep his people safe. They would not fail.

Erik's hand tightened around Jean's, and his other hand wrapped around Scott's shoulder. "Yes." He'd long ago learned to prepare for the worst when it came to humans. He could say that he told them so, told the world so, but there was no point to that, now. So instead, he smiled, and there was something angry and cold in that baring of teeth, even as warmth towards the two of them is practically shining from him.

It would be unsettling to him, too, if he could think about it. . "Let me show you. I just finished putting on a kettle."

He opened the door, released his hold on the two of them, and stepped aside to let them come in. Two metal teacups and saucers flew across the room to join his on the coffee table, the kettle lifting to fill each. At the same time, Erik melted the metal edging of the doorframe down over the door, sealing it far more securely than a deadbolt ever would.

The Phoenix made splitting his powers to focus on different tasks child's play.

"The things on the wall are for... later. We can talk about that. But we need to plan for breaking the news about Scott. About us." He settled into one of his armchairs, stretched his legs out in front of him, and waved a hand to turn down the music drifting through the apartment.

"The humans used your death to inspire fear. Your resurrection should terrify them. Mutants are holding their breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop, one way or the other. You've always been well-liked, Scott. Those who've found me too militaristic still respected you. I've been warning of war for years. You have the ground to tell them that it is here and that we must fight it."

They needed to break news about the Phoenix, too, at least to certain people, but that was going to be a far trickier conversation. Jean didn't know about the... difficultly reached equilibrium he and the bird were slowly coming to.

He didn't especially want to talk about it.

SCOTT: When he’d died, he’d died angry. Rage had flowed through him like fire through his veins, ignited at the sight of children with guns pointed in their faces, unquenchable even as the blood filled his lungs and drowned him on solid ground. The anger had not died when he had, hadn’t left him during his brief exit from the mortal plane. Scott was still angry. There was still fire in his veins, even if that fire was a little more literal than it had been when he was sputtering and wheezing in the grass, begging Logan to kill him.

The people standing with him now, they understood that fire. They understood him, maybe better than anyone else ever had. Scott had tried all his life to be like Charles, had fought to be optimistic, to believe in a resolution that would find humans and mutants living side by side in peace. He’d tried, but he’d never succeeded. Not really. Deep down, he’d always been a little too much like Erik. He’d always been a little too angry, a little too ready for a war. Nathaniel Essex had seen that. So had Jack Winters. So had Erik himself. And maybe Charles had, too. Maybe the only one who was only just now realizing the inevitability of this partnership was Scott.

His eyes darted from Jean to Erik, and the discussion of his recent death didn’t bother him the way it probably should have. It felt senseless mourning a death that had already been undone. (Or, he told himself it did. If his heart continued to pound, if his chest ached with wounds already healed, no one had to know it but Scott. He was allowed to be senseless in the privacy of his own mind.) What mattered now was what came next. That was where his focus needed to be, what he needed to keep his eyes on as they moved forward. They needed to come up with a plan. They needed to find a way to keep what had happened to Scott from happening to anyone else.

They needed to save their people. . Nodding as Erik spoke, Scott trailed behind the older man, following him into the entryway. He felt the door shift behind him, knew that Erik had locked it in the way only he could. Not long ago, that might have made him nervous. Now, it was a comfort. Erik was not his enemy --- he never had been.

His eyes settled on Erik’s, and that familiar anger burned in his chest. The people who’d killed him had used his death. They weren’t hiding what they’d done --- they wanted people to know. They wanted people to be afraid.

Scott could make people afraid, too.

That was what Erik was asking of him, he knew. And it was a good plan. Their people were already angry. Their people already wanted to fight. All they needed to do was organize them. Good people would fight where they were needed, would do what was necessary. All they had to give them was a little direction. “I’ll make a statement,” Scott said, speaking for the first time since the discussion of the plan began. “In the Bugle. They’ll publish anything that sells papers and…” He trailed off, smiling tightly. “This will sell.”

JEAN: She walked into the apartment slowly, sticking close to Scott’s side until, paradoxically, the door was bolted closed and Jean felt some of the tension loosen itself from between her shoulder blades. Logically, she knew trusting Erik was a mistake. He’d burned her once before — but did that compare, she wondered, to the hundreds of times he had the opportunity to but hadn’t. At any stage down the line, especially in the early days when they were teenagers going against a man who had refined his powers for decades, they could’ve been knocked out of commission. Jean and Scott in particular were tested by Magneto, but never significantly harmed.

Now, she couldn’t help but wonder if their faces had ever been tacked to a board like this, if that overwhelming focus from one of the most feared mutants in the world was less about tactics and more about him knowing that one day, they would arrive on his doorstep and they would be having this conversation. Was that manipulation, or foresight? At this point, Jean wasn’t even sure if she cared.

Erik moved the kettle to pour out some tea, and it was only then that Jean realised she’d never been in this place before. It didn’t feel that way, not with Scott and Erik talking, not with the easy familiarity of a cat she’d never seen jumping up onto the arm of the couch to rub its head against Jean’s hand. She scratched behind its ears, whispering, “Hi,” softly to it as Erik and Scott spoke, before turning her attention back to the board.

He said not to worry now. He said to think of it later. But Jean’s eyes narrowed nonetheless, her attention flickering from photo to schematic, piecing it together. It was easy, relatively speaking — she’d always had a special understanding with Erik, and under the fire and anger she knew she was intelligent. She also knew this was something she had to expect. . “You think telling people about us is a good idea?” Jean asked, turning from the board to look back at Erik, a frown remaining on her face. “In my experience, people don’t react particularly well. They never … they thought it made me angry. They thought it turned me into something else. We bring the flames out into the open, and we’re allowing everyone to start shooting at us instead of the enemy.” Calling them revolutionaries, doubting their sanity, thinking their emotions were taking over when they should be impartial. Jean had seen it all before, and she doubted it would be any different for Erik and Scott than it was for her.

It was selfish to be grateful for the fact she was no longer alone in this. It was selfish, but this past month had proven Jean was pretty firmly in that camp already.

Fifteen years ago, Jean finally managed to pin down why, exactly, she loved Scott Summers, why she admired him, why she wanted him to look at her more than she wanted anything else in the world. That list of reasons had only grown over the past decade, but in the beginning, one of the main reasons was that he didn’t speak unless he had something to say. He weighed up his options. He spent most of the time in the safety of his own mind, ticking things over until he was ready to put his thoughts out into the world.

When he agreed with Erik, Jean looked over at him, keeping his gaze for a long moment. Her heart was pounding loud in her chest, there was a creeping dread in her gut, but there was no other option. There was no turning back.

She lifted her hand, causing one of the cups of tea to come towards her. As soon as it was in her hand, she settled down in one of the chairs, crossing her legs as she settled back. “Glad you two are getting along,” she commented, taking a sip. “I don’t think everyone else will be so easy to convince.”

ERIK: Erik was a selfish man.

His entire life, he'd wanted only one thing: safety. For himself, for his family, for his people. He was infamous for his singular focus on his goals, and there was no denying that he would--that he had--run over the desires of those very same people he wanted to protect in that pursuit.

Charles' peace. Jean's stability. Lorna's family.

Each had been sacrificed at the altar of his own goals. And despite the pain of doing so, he didn't regret it. He was sorry for the damage caused, but he would not apologize for the things he'd done, would do them again in a heartbeat.

When he'd left, he'd hoped that Jean would come after him. He knew she shouldn't, knew that she was better off with Charles, with a man who could give her all of the attention she deserved without reserve, who could teach her how to navigate her powers in a way that Erik couldn't. He knew that she was safer in the Institute.

He also knew she wasn't content to stay inside the bubble of safety, which meant that he needed to make the requisite arrangements. His fights with the X-Men had always been carefully considered, a mental calculus of how far he could push the children, how much damage he could do without putting them in true danger but still get them to push their powers. It was manipulation, put simply.

But one day, they would be facing people who didn't hold back like he did. . And perhaps he'd hoped that on that day, they would know what side they belonged on. Who was right. Despite the reasoning, despite what had brought them there, Erik was selfishly pleased that finally, they were here in his apartment, here and safe at his side and ready to fight the war he'd seen coming for decades.

Jean got what she needed from Charles. Now was the time for Erik to give her what Charles never could.

Her question earned a wry twist to his lips. "Schätzen, they already think I'm angry. Unstable. A warmonger. Growing aware that I have the Phoenix won't make them call me anything different: but it will make the humans as afraid as they ought to have been from the beginning. You're right, it will paint a target on our backs--but we can take it, where others cannot."

Scott agreed with him, and something made Erik certain that in the aftermath of the Park, Scott would find himself agreeing with far more of Erik's ideas than he would have before. ( And if he felt grateful for that, too: well, he was a selfish man. )

Erik took a sip of his tea, watched Mischa stalk over to settle on Scott's lap with a small meow.

"The Brotherhood has had hundreds of mutants coming to the meeting places I indicated in the radio show in the time since the Park. A spike after the Raft, as well--even if the government hasn't released details about what happened, the mutants we freed have been talking about it. Sure, there will be some who refuse to wage the war for survival that has been thrust upon us, but most simply need organization. And they need to see that even those who once advocated peace have realized the futility of peace through words. They need to see that we can form a united front against a common enemy."

He glanced between Scott and Jean, raising a brow. "I'm certainly open if you have any suggestions as to other ways to ensure this united front. The X-Men trust you more than they trust me. If you talk to them..."

SCOTT: They were safe. It was an odd realization to come to, for a number of reasons. Primarily, if you had told Scott years ago that he’d one day find safety in the home of the man he’d spent the better part of his teenage years actively fighting against, there was no part of him that might have believed you. Magneto had been more concept than man back then, too big to be considered a person in any sense. Things had changed over the years. Scott hardly ever even thought of him as Magneto anymore, not even in a fight. No, more often, he was simply Erik. Erik, who Jean loved like a father. Erik, who Scott trusted with the safety of his people even when he didn’t trust him with much else. Erik, who was the only person he’d ever feel confident coming to with something like this.

It wasn’t only the person he’d found safety with who was surprising, of course. Feeling any semblance of safety after something like what had happened in Central Park was laughable. When he’d been laying in that grass, his life bleeding away into his fingertips, Scott had been sure he’d never feel safe again. Safety, he’d thought, tore out the barrel of a gun and ripped through his chest cavity. Safety bubbled up in his throat and pooled into his lungs with every beat of his heart. Safety died when he did.

But he was alive now. And maybe, maybe that safety had been resurrected with him.

And maybe it would not remain alive much longer. (Maybe he wouldn’t, either.) . Jean was right, of course. If Central Park had proven one thing, it was that the Accords had never been designed to protect people like them. The enforcers there had been willing to aim guns at children whose only crimes were anomalies in their DNA they hadn’t chosen, had killed Scott for daring to stand up for them with a flicker of too much anger in his eyes. To them, mutants were threats long before they were people. They were little more than vague concepts, ideas to be squashed. That, Scott thought, was where they had royally fucked up.

People could be killed. It was an easy thing to do, a simple goal to achieve. A bullet here, a blade there, a blunt object swung at the right angle towards a head. People were easy to kill. It was more work keeping them alive, harder to make sure they didn’t die. If the government treated the X-Men as people, they would have made their jobs far easier on themselves, but they didn’t. No, instead, they saw mutantkind as an idea. And an idea was the one thing you could never kill.

“They’ll find out eventually either way,” he pointed out, reaching down to pet Erik’s cat absently as it climbed into his lap. “You might have been able to hide it on the Raft, but now…” He trailed off, shifting in his seat. People might not question how two powerful mutants destroyed a portion of the Raft. That was the kind of thing they could explain away, the sort of thing they could easily pretend was normal. But a man returning from what had been a very public execution? That was a bit harder to smooth over with logic. Unless Scott spent the rest of his life in hiding, people would realize something was up. Those with any sort of knowledge of the Phoenix and its relationship with Jean could make the jump to the correct conclusion with little effort. . Scott’s eyes flickered up to meet Erik’s, and he shifted in his seat. “I won’t ask anyone to fight who isn’t comfortable doing so,” he said. “People who want peace can choose peace, and I’ll fight for them, too. They all deserve to make that decision for themselves. But…” He trailed off, looking to Jean and Erik and back again. “I don’t think we can avoid a fight any longer. They want a war. I don’t see a lot of options that don’t involve giving it to them.”

Talking to the X-Men wasn’t something that would be easy. Just telling them he was alive would be painful, but adding in the fact that he’d joined forces with Erik and the Brotherhood? It complicated and already complex situation. But, just like they deserved the chance to choose peace… They deserved the choice to fight, if they wanted. “I’ll try to broach the topic with some of them,” Scott said, glancing to Jean, “if you think it’s a good idea.”

JEAN: They were talking amongst themselves, and in what was a rather uncharacteristic move, Jean was sitting on the sofa in silence, a cup of tea going cold in her hands and Mischa using her as a stepping stone to move onto Scott’s lap. It was rare that she didn’t attempt to become the centre of attention, even subconsciously. It was something she’d grown used to as the youngest of the Greys, then as the girl that ripped the school from its foundations, as an Omega level telepath at fourteen, as the woman who died and died and died and kept on coming back. There was a reason she clashed so vividly with Emma, after all, why she found herself immediately falling into step with the man beside her who wanted nothing more than to fade into the shadows when he wasn’t leading an army into battle.

She always had something she needed (something she wanted) to say. Jean thought best when she was thinking out loud, even if her domain was within the minds of others, sorting through their memories and working out where they stood, what experiences they were coming from. At this point, though, Jean was just watching the two men in the room beside her and in front of her, eyes flickering between them and back to that board on the wall, and then to the cat stretching out leisurely as if they weren’t discussing war (and how would the cat know? All Mischa knew of this world was that Erik would take care of things, and that was what Jean relied on when she showed up on his doorstep, too).

Taking it all in, turning it over, finally lifting the cool cup of tea to her lips only to find that the flavor was just as potent as it would’ve been boiling. It was the first time she’d had something proper to drink in the past two weeks. Her stomach began to curl as she realised she’d barely eaten in that time, either. . She’d changed, since Scott went down in Central Park. She’d changed since Erik came to her on the Raft, since they worked together to take lives and break collars and free their people, people that Lorna (a child, Erik’s child) had ferried across the border because she refused to step down when something mattered as much as this did.

She’d changed since she was a bitter, lonely little girl desperate for a place with the X-Men, desperate to prove herself, desperate for a father who loved her for what she was instead of what she could’ve been if she just missed out on that one little gene. She’d changed since Scott first met her on that park bench.

She wasn’t sure she liked the change.

Scott shifted beside her, and although her mind was still a thousand miles away, Jean’s hand still went instinctively to his leg, resting there for a moment as if her touch would be enough to ground him in a world void of anchors, void of meaning, void of justice. Jean chewed on the corner of her lip, trying to imagine how Logan would look at her when she said Scott was back, when she told Rogue how she dipped into that power that terrified all of them purely so she could have Scott under her hand again, could feel him breathe deeply beside her in contemplation, could feel as if her feet were on ground again no matter how unstable.

It was only when the room shifted into silence (she wasn’t sure how long they must’ve stood there, both of them, looking at her and looking at each other) that Jean realised Scott asked her a question. She searched his mind and the answer came easily. Talking to the X-Men. Asking them to join her in a war. Taking what Charles said about starting a fight or ending one on her own terms because she wasn’t a child anymore and turning it into a reality. . This was when she made her choice. This was her defining moment. She had no doubt that Erik would do what he thought necessary, knew he’d been doing that all along, but Scott …

Scott was asking what she thought. One word from her and they would leave. One word from her, and the allegiance would be sealed.

She set the cup to the side, pushing herself up off the sofa, hand brushing lightly against Scott’s as she moved. Her hand went to Erik’s shoulder as he sat in one of the chairs, squeezing gently on her way past to stand in front of the board. The plans stretched out before her, and she could touch them. She could feel the electricity under the city, how it called to Erik’s blood. She knew without looking back at Scott that this was something he needed.

War was never comfortable. That explained the feeling deep down in her gut, the feeling that she’d started them all on a path they’d never get off again -- but then again, wasn’t it better than death? Wasn’t anything, anything at all, better than the expanse of darkness or bright, blinding light, better than knowing you were never coming back to make another mistake?

“We’ll talk to them,” she decided, her voice stronger now, pulling from both men’s resolve to steel her own. “They can make their own choices, but we will give them the information.” Jean turned, slowly, and with the distance from the seats she could see both Erik and Scott without turning her head. “The humans won’t get the same luxury. We can’t keep going in circles. It’s time-”

Jean took a breath, and right on cue, she felt the flames in her veins, warmth curling in the palms of her hands that tightened into fists at her sides.

“It’s time to make a change. All of us, together. And those who don’t want to fight … we’ll change things for them, too.”

#char: scott summers #char: erik lehnsherr #discord

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someobscurereference · 4 years

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Graceless Heart Fic (Spoiler) Notes

These are notes for my 80K Fire Emblem fic “Graceless Heart.” These notes are full of SPOILERS! Please read the fic first! Beware at your own risk!

The notes will be under a Read More. Mobile users, if it doesn’t work for you, I’m so sorry.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS BELOW:

GENERAL NOTES:

Sumeragi was at work while Corrin was saying goodbye to the Hoshido family. He already said goodbye to Corrin that morning. That’s why he doesn’t appear here.

Xander texting Inigo back a heart emoji: I don’t see Xander as an emoji person, but I think Inigo is definitely the type to use a lot of hearts and whatnot when texting. Xander would not do that on his own, but if you look at his phone, you’ll see his most used (and only) emojis are the heart ones that Inigo sends him. Because Xander is willing to mimic how Inigo shows his affection for the sake of mutual reciprocation. Plus he got made fun of for being so stiff and formal when he writes.

Dock Fight with the Trio: Owain is genuinely embarrassed and Inigo really is going to tease him with those memes, but they’re all friends. This is not a serious fight. Severa and Inigo are not being deliberate assholes here. They’re all having fun.

The book Leo is reading when Owain asks is The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker.

Everyone’s swimsuits are based on what they wear in FE Heroes as summer units or their outfits in the Beach Brawl DLC, minus Corrin, who wears a swim t-shirt on top of whatever bathing suit you imagine for them.

In a real situation where someone is drowning, you should probably not grab them the way Corrin grabs Inigo. A drowning person is very likely to harm or hinder their rescuer due to panic. I just wrote that scene a little less realistically in the fic because I didn’t want to deal with that and, like I say in the notes, I’m functioning on action movie logic. Action movies aren’t realistic.

When Corrin tells Inigo that they’ll keep his almost drowning a secret so long as he lets them know if he has health problems later and Elise tells Inigo to let them know if he has bad dreams, what Elise is actually saying is “Hey, if you start to get PTSD over this, let us know so we can help you.” But she doesn’t want to be so blunt, making this be the type of thing Inigo keeps to himself and suffers through alone, so she says “bad dreams” instead to phrase it with less stigma.

You’ll notice after Inigo’s near drowning that I mention how exhausted he feels when he’s having a freakout on the floor of his cabin, how tired he is the next morning before, during, and after the shopping trip, how he leans heavily on stuff and people, etc. His fatigue can be explained by stress and other normal things. However, it is also a result of the lake water being genuinely bad for people! Most people who go to the lake naturally get this vibe and don’t swim too far out into it/tend to visit the lake in groups or pairs so the chances of drowning decrease. (I almost wrote some of this into Anankos’s dialogue but it felt wonky and didn’t fit.). Corrin also feels this same exhaustion in subsequent scenes, although it’s emphasized less.

Likewise, when Owain and Corrin are stranded in the middle of the water, they also grow quite exhausted rather quickly because (a) the closer to the center of the lake, the more powerful the Bad Vibes that drain your energy and (b) there’s so much rain and water everywhere that as they swallow, they’re also growing more and more tired. Also, fear takes a lot out of a person in general.

Similarly, when Corrin’s foot gets grabbed on the docks, I mention a few times that their legs feel heavy, etc. This is all related to Evil Lake Energy. Severa’s almost drowning is the same deal as Inigo. Everyone who gets in the water (especially if they swallow any) experience this same lack of energy. It’s worse if you actually swallow some water right out there in the middle of the lake and you’re just more susceptible to that kind of bad magic like Anankos unfortunately was. Corrin has been through the wringer at the end of this fic because of constant exposure. They’re on nothing but bedrest for a good number of days after the end of this fic. Lots and lots of sleep for them. Owain is only mildly better in that he doesn’t have to be admitted to the hospital but does need A Lot of sleep. Rest assured that they do eventually recover though.

Elise “lying to Xander and Camilla about stuff all the time” — A reference to in-game canon about how Elise regularly ditches her retainers and goes around to the poorer parts of the city where she is explicitly forbidden to go. She’s surprisingly sneaky and has no problems not telling her siblings about this.

I paraphrased some dialogue from in-game between Leo, Niles and Owain when the latter are trying to convince Leo to swim because it mimicked a Beach Brawl DLC scene.

“Pot, kettle” = a reference to Niles canonically reminiscing about the past in his and Leo’s support. He likely does that in this AU on occasion as well.

Camilla’s SUV has 3 rows of seats because she loves the extra room for bags/extra passenger space.

Some of Camilla and Xander’s interactions and some of Xander’s narration referencing her is also a direct reference to their Supports in Fates also. In this fic, Camilla’s jab at being surprised Xander would ever notice how she felt about Severa because he’s always so busy is more a jab to get him to back off than a pride thing like in canon, but the pride is probably still there too.

Severa lives! She lived because I wanted her too (and because I cannot stand any character death in fics that isn’t like “The Villain Died Forever Ago And Maybe There’s Danger But Everyone Else Is Fine”), but it is a sort of miracle. Camilla did not do proper drowning rescue procedure here. Nobody did. I’m sure you picked up on that from the panic and flashbacks and whatnot. Everyone did their best at handling that rescue, but it wasn’t great. There is too much Panic™ to remain calm, although in real life that’s absolutely what you should try to do in an emergency. Camilla’s one (1) exchange of air is not usually going to save the life of somebody who is really in danger. The only reason it worked is because (a) Severa wasn’t really dead, although she sure looked like it and (b) this is fantasy fiction. Please call emergency services in a situation like this irl or immediately drive to the nearest hospital if there is no cell service and it’s safe to do so.

Xander’s last conversation with Inigo in this fic directly stem from his fear of (a) not being in control and (b) not being strong enough to protect those he cares about.

Originally Elise was going to be the one who figured out Anankos drowned, but somehow while writing it just didn’t work that way, mostly because she ended up stuck by the cars. Whoops. You’re the real hero in my heart, Elise.

CHARACTER NOTES:

Owain’s insecurities stem from his Felicia and Severa supports where Owain reacts very negatively to being called weird. Also from the hc that growing up in modern AU with public school would probably emphasize that insecurity too, since kids can be real bullies. I very much picture him as the “Weird Kid” in class who was in his own little world and other kids whispered about him for it. Which is unfair, because he’s really just having fun :( By middle school/high school, he’s likely learned to tone this down a little, but only after a series of Bad Memories that make him develop a fear that everyone is just barely tolerating him or is making fun of him behind his back. It’s an infrequent insecurity because Owain is pretty good at not really caring what others think, but it’s one that exists all the same. He’s known Niles and Leo for a year or maybe two at this point, but when Leo admits (like in canon) to hating Owain when they first met, it triggers those insecurities again and sets back the progress the three of them had made in working up to a relationship together.

Corrin has a peacemaker type personality in Fates and always wants to believe the best in everyone to the point where they only seem to learn their lesson of “trust but have a backup plan” near the end of the Revelations route. I think I was mostly true to that character of Corrin in my other horror fic Dark Things Grew. And I think I was mostly true to that version of canon here until the part where Corrin and Owain are stuck in the middle of the lake together. (If you think Corrin was 100% what you expected all the way through, yay! But if not: ) Perhaps Corrin is a little more freaked out or snappier than some of you might have expected. However, I am taking some liberties with the fact this is a modern world AU here. In Fates, magic is real. Dragons are real. Ogre monsters that you can summon out of thin air to do your fighting for you (i.e. Faceless) are real. Some things are less likely than others, but there’s a whole realm of magical possibility that doesn’t exist in our reality. So when you find out that the lake your mom used to visit all the time is possessed (huh????) by a demon (?????) whose voice you are hearing in your head (???????) and also who is not a demon but actually your ghost dad (????????) who is trying to kill you and all your friends you guess (????????) but you’re not really sure what’s going on still except for the fact that oh, Ariana, we’re really in it now, aaaahhhhhhhHHHHH—

Well, you, too, would probably be a little upset. Corrin is the same at their core. They’re just allowed to go “Yo, what the heck” now. (I almost had Corrin say the F word in just their narration once and I couldn’t do it :/) They go through a lot of feelings in the climax of this fic, actually, and I hope they felt at least somewhat reasonable reactions to you, the reader, since the situation Corrin finds themselves in is so unprecedented, stressful, and wack.

Also, this is true for all characters! They’ve been mildly adapted into modern counterparts. This means some experiences that shaped them in Awakening/Fates didn’t happen here or were adapted into modern equivalents. (For example, Inigo is a little less able to run face first into battle than in Awakening/Fates bc he didn’t experience the terror and necessity of having to fight the Risen as a young kid. He still grew up shy and is a (self-admitted in Supports) crybaby who tries to hide those facets of himself, however. Hence why he feels the need to put on a brave face after Bad Things Happen. He still feels like he needs to be a pillar of support for people, although he’s a less steady than his more hardened counterpart. Similar extractions can be applied to other characters throughout this fic.

I often write Severa/Camilla as a very doting, established relationship. A lot of the time the conflict in my stories comes from some outside factor—a dragon, a war, magic, etc. I don’t write a lot of interpersonal conflict, and it’s something I thought I should try my hand at least once. Camilla and Severa’s dynamic here specifically draws from Camilla’s habit of keeping her true feelings close to her chest in her supports. In canon with Selena, she very obviously gives noncommittal answers to Selena’s demands that Camilla praise her for being the best. With Xander, Camilla lies by omission—when he guesses her favorite food wrong, she pretends he’s right for the sake of (presumably) not embarrassing him and proving he doesn’t actually know his siblings better than she does. I’m sure there are other incidents where Camilla hides her true feelings too. I’ve always wondered about these events. Emotionally, Camilla is a very interesting character to me. She has a lot of thoughts and feelings, but she seems to keep a lot of them to herself. I wish that was explored more in-game.

Here, I combined Camilla’s natural tendency to keep her true feelings to herself with her canonical childhood loneliness. She canonically felt bereft of maternal love as a child, and that’s why she tries to shower so much on Corrin. In this fic, Camilla is afraid of opening herself up to love from others. She can dole it out because she doesn’t want to deprive anyone (specifically Corrin, who was isolated a lot via Garon) of that same love, but in turn she never wants to actually be vulnerable with anyone. Family gets special privileges, but even her siblings don’t get to see everything. She has romantic feelings for Severa, but she’s afraid of opening herself up to potential hurt and having that love thrown back in her face later. So Camilla does herself the favor of not allowing herself to be vulnerable in the first place. There’s some part of her that really does want to openly love and be loved by Severa, however. So that’s the yo-yo affect Severa is dealing with throughout this fic.

Camilla knows, factually, that Severa likes her too. But she also has this defense mechanism she’s used her whole life. She wants the best of both worlds; she wants to teeter on the edge of romance/intimacy she and Severa both crave while still keeping Severa at arm’s length so she never actually has to face the danger of being potentially vulnerable with Severa and therefore hurt. Which, you know. Is shitty. (Sometimes the people you love can do shitty things. Sometimes you can do shitty things. I think Camilla’s character is more complex, realistic, and interesting here because of it. I hope you think the same.)

And Camilla keeps it up until she realizes losing Severa is still a very real possibility whether or not she admits her feelings. It’s too late to pretend otherwise. She’s already vulnerable to that hurt she wanted to avoid. The shock of that revelation, the fear of losing Severa, and also McFreaking Water Ghost is enough to get her to admit her feelings and change her behavior. It’s not all peaches and cherries from here on out for them, but it’s a start. They’re taking it slow.

Camilla isn’t a villain here, which I say because I worry some people may think I wrote her to be villainous. Sometimes the people you love have baggage. Severa has it too. So does everyone else in this fic and in your actual real life. That’s natural. Sometimes we do shit things because of that baggage. It happens. Does that mean you get an excuse for your actions? Absolutely not. Apologize. Do better. Camilla is trying. They’ll go from here.

I was trying for a lot more nuanced, complex approach to these two this time around rather than the zero interpersonal problems approach. It was new for me too. I hope it payed off.

Anyway, love wins.

A VERY BAD OUTLINE OF THE CABINS THAT I MADE IN PAINT 3D AND A FLOOR PLAN I STOLE FROM GOOGLE IMAGES 2 YEARS AGO:

I am so sorry for the quality of this, lmao

#my fic #long post #fe14 #fe13 #graceless heart #character analysis #fic analysis #my text #graceless heart fic

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its-jwang2017 · 4 years

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Part 4: In My Feelings - Mark Tuan Edition

“Good evening everyone. Happy Friday! The time is now 7:00 pm and we will begin with the daily announcements.

It has now officially been a week since Project J and Dark Soul seized command of the Chicagoland area. With their cunning skills and extraordinary foresight, our supreme leaders were finally able to deceive and eviscerate the menace that was Red Dragon. As per their orders, all facilities that were previously run by the incapable city government will henceforth be seized and shut down as our overlords remake the city into something that we can all be proud of. Schools will be shut down in order for the new curriculum to be set up. The boundaries of the city are still closed off and guarded by the robots, built and created by the genius Project J. This technological protege is continuing to uphold the outside communication ban, but has been merciful enough to grant us the ability to keep our Chicago radio stations and news broadcast so that we may keep up to date on the whereabouts, new policies, and warnings from our saviors. In turn, Dark Soul has also provided us with the working electricity we need to power everything from water purification systems to charging our phones. For these things, and many others, we thank our new leaders.

In other news, people are advised to stay inside for their own protection as Dark Soul and Project J supporters seize various properties. These groups will soon become the protectors, leaders, and givers of the communities they possess, as promised. Soon enough, the city that was once a corrupt mass of incompitent city officials will become a new utopia that all Chicagoans can enjoy equally.

There have bee-”

Mark Tuan sighed and turned the TV off, slumping even further down into the soft, well-worn beige couch. He threw the remote carelessly to the side, not even blinking as the remote came apart (again), sending the protective cap and batteries flying in all directions. He grabbed his hood and flipped it over his face, pulling the strings until all you could see was his nose peeking out from inside the bright orange hoodie. Collapsing sideways onto the couch, Mark let himself sprawl out completely as he let himself regret his most recent life choices.

Mark blindly reached behind himself, searching for the comfortable “stress-blanket” that he and Jackson bought on a whim years before. The blanket was made of a fleece-like, pale blue material and had a cute, cartoon-ish koala bear eating bamboo on it with big, soft pink bubble letters underneath exclaiming “You’re more than koala-fied!”. Jackson said the blanket made him feel validated from the instant he saw it. Mark just agreed because he thought the Koala looked sort of cute.

Once his hand felt the familiar material, wedged inside of the couch, he gave a strong tug and freed the blanket from in between the cushions. He immediately covered his entire body by curling up into a ball underneath and finally let out a yell of frustration he had been pushing down for the past couple of days. Holding his knees against his chest, Mark started to think about the repercussions of his “heat of the moment” decision to let the villains have control of the city.

In all honesty, he expected his plan to go a hell of a lot better. Mark always had a weird, niggling feeling in his gut every time he fought against his “arch-rivals”. During every battle, Mark always noticed that they fought in areas away from crowded parts of the city, like over the water or in large parks. There were usually very little casualties or injuries to civilians, and even when the villains kidnapped Jackson, it was never done maliciously or with the intent to harm. At first, Mark attributed that to his own superhero abilities, using his power responsibly in a way that protected the civilians and his best friend from all harm. But if he thought about it, it was usually the villains who chose the battleground and Mark would just meet their challenge head on, no matter the location. The latest battle went against the norm, which Mark noticed a little while later than he should of, and his gut instinctively told him something was off about the entire thing.

While he was “trapped”in the Planetarium, Mark had some time to think about what all of these collected data points meant. Even while Project J was threatening to obliterate the hero, Mark thought it still felt… wrong somehow. Project J and Dark Soul had to have known that by telling Mark their plan, they were giving Mark enough time to escape. After a cursory glance to his surroundings, he noticed that there was literally nothing keeping him trapped in the place. Project J’s bots were probably nearby, but Mark’s fire had melted them once before and he knew he could do it again if he wanted to.

At that moment, Mark decided to try his riskiest plan yet. He was tired of fighting, tired of going home with bruises and lacerations. The villains never seemed to take it easy on him, and he was tired of being the punching bag all the time. He was especially done with seeing Jackson kidnapped every week. Jackson was his best friend, his bro for life, and even though he had never really been hurt before, the image of Jackson’s bruised and bloody face would be an image Mark would be seeing every time he closed his eyes. He wouldn’t let his friend be hurt any more because of him, even if it might not have been intentional.

He had logical reasoning on his side, too; If the villains were truly evil, and if they had no hero to stop them, they would do what they have always claimed to do and mercilessly take over the city for power and wealth. If this was the case, Mark’s “sudden death” could be reversed, and he’d take them down once and for all. He’d finally put a stop to everything.

But something in his gut told him that this wouldn’t be the case.

So he made a quick decision, pretended to be dead, and had a tearful reunion with his best friend, filling Jackson in on all of the details. Mark could tell Jackson didn’t fully agree with him, still scarred with the front-row view of Mark’s death at the hands of the villains, but he gave his support nonetheless and didn’t argue with Mark’s reasoning.

Now, a week later, Mark wish Jackson would have smacked some sense into him.

Usually, at this time of day, the two friends could be found either celebrating Jackson’s latest win or out exploring the city. Ever since the villains took over the city, however, JYP International Prep decided it was in the students’ best interest to remain indoors in their dorms until it was deemed” safe to leave”. All classes, extracurriculars and athletics were canceled along with every other school in the area, for an undetermined amount of time. It had only taken three days for the two boys to become bored out of their minds.

In the beginning, they hung out with their floor mates and tried to pass the time by playing games, throwing parties, or even cleaning. Since outside communications were banned, cell phones stopped working and access to social media was denied. The students could still send messages to one another but not to anyone outside the Chicagoland area. In a fit of boredom, each student tried their best to prank call one another. That didn’t last long.

After the third day, students began to give up on finding any kind of stimulating activity to partake in and started staying in their rooms more and more often.

Which leads us to today. The seventh day.

Jackson Wang and Mark Tuan were roommates their freshman year at JYP International, and have kept up the tradition ever since. With two high-ride beds on opposite walls, a single window on the far end, dresser drawers under each bed and a desk located at the foot of each bed, their room looked like a typical dorm room that you could find at any American school. That’s where the resemblance ends, however, as the two roommates were anything but ordinary. With Mark coming from a wealthy family, he had the money and the resources to make their room as unique as possible. For starters, a flatscreen TV was hung up right over the doorway of their room, with video game consoles connected to the media center placed haphazardly in the corner of their room. Their room was one of the few that were located on the third floor of the dorm, which gave them extra ceiling height and access to the roof through their window.

Mark’s side of the room was filled with different musical artists he admired as well as a few newspaper clippings of the funnier rescues he’s had to do with Jackson (the picture of Jackson covered in glue and feathers with Mark in full costume holding Jackson in a bridal carry was probably Mark’s favorite). His closet consisted of his favorite clothing items, ranging from Target to designer, all ordered and put away nicely.

Jackson’s side of the room was more vibrant than Mark’s minimalistic, neat style. He hung up pictures of cars, artists, Pokemon cards he somehow always found, movie ticket stubs, flyers of events he participated in, polaroids of his friends and family, and anything else that he deemed “important”. His bed contained multiple plushies, all gifts from his “friends”, and about four different kinds of pillows from when he couldn’t decide which one was fluffier (then subsequently forgot to return when he found his answer). His desk proudly displayed the multiple trophies, ribbons, and prizes he had won in various fencing competitions, with homework and other papers caught up in the fray. His closet contained a lot more workout-type materials than Mark’s as well as a box of snapbacks during his “wild-and-sexy” phase.

They had enough in their rooms to have been theoretically entertained for weeks. But Mark, being an enhanced being, could feel himself starting to become stir crazy. Using his powers usually helped him work off the excess energy his body created, but since no one was allowed outside and Red Dragon was dead, Mark had no way to relieve his energy. All he could do was watch TV and see how miserably his plan has been going so far.

Jackson tried to help cheer him up at the beginning, forcing him to walk around and join him in various activities with his friends. But Jackson’s personality also demanded that he help others and alleviate their concerns about the takeover as well. So instead of getting Jackson all to himself, Mark had to share him with all of the other students in their dorm as Jackson did his best to provide a positive atmosphere in the otherwise dreary city.

The rational part of Mark’s brain was overwhelmingly proud to be called Jackson’s best friend; only a true-hearted, kind person would be able to put other’s well-being in front of their own to provide some semblance of normalcy as the world around them fell apart. Mark was grateful for Jackson’s unwavering support, never making him feel guilty or demanding he step up as they watched the city descend into hell. Mark knew that Jackson trusted him unconditionally and his loyalty meant more to Mark than anything else in the universe.

However, Mark was human. Meaning he was also extremely jealous and angry that Jackson’s time wasn’t fully devoted towards helping Mark figure out their current problem. Mark reasoned that, now that Jackson knew what the plan was, he should at least bare some responsibility into figuring out when their little experiment should be put to an end.

He also knew that Jackson was also spending more time with Yugyeom , which left Mark feeling out-of-place and (he hated to admit it) lonely. As Jackson’s best friend, shouldn’t he get more time with the other than Yugyeom, some one-night-stand with no prior history with Jackson?!

Before he could further spiral into a pit of self-deprecation, the blanket was snatched away from him. Knowing that Jackson was the only person that could be in their shared dorm, Mark just turned to face towards the couch, content to ignore his best friend.

“Man, you look like a hermit. That sweatpants-hoodie outfit you’ve got going on screams I’ve given up on everything .”

Mark knew Jackson was right, but he preferred not to inflate the other’s ego more than he had to. Instead, he just shrugged and tried to make himself become one with the couch.

Mark could feel Jackson still standing over him on his place on the couch and reluctantly turned onto his back, loosening the hood a little so he could peek out at his roommate. Upon seeing Jackson’s determined glare, he knew that he would be receiving another one of Jackson’s lectures and tried to roll back. Before he could get far, he felt Jackson grab his arm and roughly tug him up into a seated position, the hoodie unceremoniously yanked off of his face with Jackson’s other hand. A little shocked at Jackson’s forceful move, but not willing to let himself be manhandled, Mark yanked his arm from Jackson’s grip and stood toe to toe with the other male, feeling his irrational anger and jealousy uncontrollably rise with each passing second.

“Jackson, what the hell was that for?!” Even though Mark was only three inches taller than the other, he used the height in his favor to tower over Jackson in an attempt to make the other relent.

Jackson stood up straight and met Mark’s fierce glower evenly, apparently not perturbed by the size different. “You’re wallowing in your own misery again, Mark. It isn’t a good look for a newly retired superhero.”

Mark scoffed and glanced away,not willing to meet his friend’s eyes because of how accurate the description was. Shoving his hands into his sweatpants pockets, Mark tried to project an uncaring attitude to protect himself from Jackson’s searching looks. “I am not retired, I am undercover. I was not wallowing in my own misery, I was just frustrated by having been abandoned by my closest friend since he apparently believes that his relationship with Yugyeom is more important than ours.”

Mark felt a pang of regret as he saw the hurt flare up in Jackson’s eyes but the need to lash out was stronger than the need to comfort his friend in that moment.

Similarly, Jackson saw the uncertainty and agony clearly displayed in Mark’s expression. When he walked into the room, the image of Mark’s unmoving form underneath their stress blanket provided a clear indication of Mark’s mental state. Jackson had to sit by and watch as Mark scoured the news reports daily in order to find any truth to his hypothesis about the villains. However, with each passing day the crime rates skyrocketed and the villains gave no indication that they were anything other than pure evil, causing Mark to slowly lose hope and submit to the self-imposed guilt that his fake death caused. Jackson hated to see his friend in such a state and while he might not fully agree with Mark's idea, he had to give his friend credit; Mark’s intuition was usually right and, being the greatest bestie in the world, Jackson did his best to push aside his ill-feelings towards the villains that almost killed his best friend in order to become Mark’s personal cheerleader and support system. Even if Mark didn’t necessarily see it that way.

With all this in mind, Jackson took a deep, calming breath and pushed down his own desire to put Mark in his place. Taking a slow, steady breath, Jackson continued in a tone that he hoped was even and calm.

“You know fully well that our friendship means more to me than the world itself. We’ve just been cramped up in the dorm for a while and I thought that you might want some space so I went to try and see how Yugyeom AND Bambam are doing.”

“I never said I wanted space. YOU were the one who ASSUMED that you knew what was best for ME. But you were wrong, AS ALWAYS. I know you just wanted to get away from me, Jackson! I could see it every time you went out to hang out in somebody else’s room. I’m probably not WORTHY enough in your eyes since I’m not your personal bodyguard anymore to save you from whatever STUPID scenario you had gotten yourself caught up in! I mean seriously, who in their right mind allows themselves to be kidnapped EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK?”

Mark’s tone rose with each word, face becoming red with anger with his hands balled into fists at his side. Jackson wrapped his arms around himself unconsciously as he did his best to ignore the hurtful words spewing out of his friend’s mouth and took a step back from the other.

“Mark, you are literally the only person in the world that I think would be worthy enough to have these amazing superpowers. Even if you never got them, I would think you were worthy enough to get to know and become friends with! You’re inspiring, funny, kind and have always been there for me even when I’m not at my best. And I’m trying to do the same for you, right now. I know you feel guilty and struck down because you’re losing hope in your idea, but just give it a couple more days and I’m sure-”

Deep down, Mark knew that Jackson had only the best intentions at heart. If he told anyone else his crazy plan, he knew he would be met with angry individuals demanding that he take action against the villains. But Jackson took Mark’s words in stride and made a noticeable effort to support Mark even though he knew that Jackson would never forgive Dark Soul or Project J for trying to kill him. He loved Jackson like he was his own brother and made a promise to himself that he would protect him with everything he had. Which is why Mark will never forget the look on Jackson’s face when the need to hurt something caused Mark to say this:

“JACKSON! You are the most DIM-WITTED person I know when it comes to ANYTHING even VAGUELY emotional. How can you be sure that my gut-feelings is a SURE THING when you can’t even DISTINGUISH any other feeling out there? I’M not even sure I’m right anymore, which SHOULD tell you that this whole plan was a fluke and that YOU are a complete IDIOT for ever trusting me! Of course, you’ll always support me and follow me, yada yada yada, but can’t you get your OWN life instead of always inserting yourself into MINE? Why don’t you run on back to YUGYEOM. Anybody can see that he wants more than the one night you gave him. Maybe he’ll fuck some feelings into you and boy, has he got A LOT of feelings for you. But you wouldn’t know that now would you? You’ll just string him along and act completely obtuse as the fool throws lovesick glances your way whenever you give him even the SLIGHTEST BIT of attention and only use him for a convenient lay. I know you too, Jackson, and I know that you CRAVE attention and validity and when I couldn’t give it to you, when I REJECTED you all those months ago, you RAN towards whatever source would fill the hole that I LEFT.”

By the end of his whirlwind speech, Mark was almost screaming at Jackson and for a second, he felt a twinge of victory at having shut the other up. The short lived moment was immediately washed away as he noticed the hurt, shock and fear in the other’s eyes. During his blind rage, Mark had unwittingly caged Jackson against his bed, Mark’s hands gripping the bed frame on either sides of Jackson’s waist. Mark quickly released his hold and scrambled back as much as he could to give Jackson his space. To his dismay and utter horror, Mark saw that his hands were glowing a faint red and had turned the wooden bed frame black where he had touched it, the smell of burnt wood rising in the air.

Feeling completely sick with guilt, Mark dropped to his knees and looked up at Jackson with wet eyes. “Oh god… Jackson… I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it, you know I would never hurt you and there was absolutely NO TRUTH to anything I said!”

Mark saw Jackson starting to completely shut down, his emotional walls going up to protect him from Mark. Desperate to take his words back and get rid of the glazed look in Jackson’s eyes, Mark tentatively reached out to Jackson’s ankle to try and provide a grounding presence before Jackson completely closed off. Before he could even touch the other, Jackson launched himself over Mark’s outstretched hand and sprinted towards the closet, grabbing the first hoodie he saw, and throwing the door open, desperate to escape the hurtful words still ringing in his ears.

“JACKSON! WAIT-” Mark screamed out, but the sound of the slamming door cut off the rest of his sentence, leaving him sprawled out on the floor with his hand outstretched and a sense of loss as he watched one of the most important people in his life run away from him. For a moment, it all felt like a dream. Mark laid down on the couch, accidentally fell asleep and was currently having a nightmare that he’d wake up from any moment. But as he turned to look at Jackson’s bed with the scorch marks deeply imbedded into the wood, he knew that he had royally fucked up.

________________________________________________________________

I don realized I forgot to post this chapter to tumbler.... literally gag me with a spoon I can’t believe I done this....

#markson #jackbum #jaeson #jackson wang #mark tuan #fanfic #lololol he really went off #jackgyeom

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littlejeanniebean · 4 years

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peter parker goes to marvel high (normal mcu au)

A/N: Peter’s first day of high school ft. Shuri, Mr. Stark, Mr. Loki, and co. ~1700 words teenaged angst then fluff. More Peter x Shuri in my masterlist :)

Heavily inspired by this post by @spellbounding-slytherin

I’m also a big fan of @tinymintywolf‘s art :))

- J xx

Fact: Peter Parker was a nervous wreck. May, ever the optimist, had patted his cheeks, kicked him out of the car, and told him to have a good day. Peter had never had a good first day of school. He was smart but had a severe attention deficit, so even his teachers never liked him. His one best friend throughout junior high, Ned Leeds, had moved to New Jersey, so he would probably end up eating alone in some empty classroom just to be safe. And he’d met the principal at orientation last Friday. He had an eye patch and a perpetual frown, used to head up the corrections department for youth offenders. So yeah, high school was going to suck big time.

“Move it, dickwad,” one of the larger boys shoved past him at the door to his homeroom.

Peter strategically chose a seat in the ambiguous, unnoticeable middle.

A short, bright-eyed girl marched up to him, “You’re in my seat.”

“Sorry! Sorry!” he tried to pick up his backpack but the strap was caught on the leg of his chair, so he just kind of ended up spilling himself over the floor.

“Crap, I was just messing with you, kid,” she helped him up, “You good?”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry,” he just sort of stood there awkwardly, not meeting her eyes.

“Dude, you gotta stop apologizing. I’m sorry, okay?” she tried to get him to look at her, “I’m Shuri. I have a messed up sense of humour that scares away any friends I might’ve ended up having. Is it cool if I sit next to you?”

“Yeah, sure,” he nodded, “I’m Perker Pat - Parker Pete - Peter Parker.”

“Cool.”

“Dude, you are sad,” the boy who shoved him coming into the room twirled an expensive-looking pen, sparing him the most derisive of sideways glances.

Peter was saved from actually having to come up with a response when their teacher walked in two-minutes after the bell and put his feet up on his desk, “Okay, kiddies. My name is Mr. Stark, you may call me Mr. Stark. I am your homeroom teacher unless you’re in the wrong room. I also teach AP Math and Computer Science. If you have questions at this point, I honestly wonder how you got this far in life, but I’m obligated to ask.”

The room was silent.

“Great, do whatever until the bell rings, I guess.”

The class emptied out.

Peter hung back, “M-Mr. Stark?”

“Yes, Proton.”

“I-it’s Peter, actually.”

“I was talking about your t-shirt.”

“I - Oh, yeah,” he looked down at the “I’m positive” joke print, “um… I just wanted to let you know that I have ADHD, mostly the AD part a-and I don’t expect any special treatment or anything and I’ll work really hard, but I also wanted to join Mathletes and I wasn’t allowed in junior high because I’d always get sidetracked at the meets but I think I can do better now if you’ll give me the chance… butifnotthat’sokay.”

Mr. Stark appraised him, “First meeting is in this room at three.”

“Thank you, sir!” he smiled, but when his teacher didn’t smile back, he fixed his face and walked to his next period.

“I’m Mr. Banner, and there are three things you need to remember if you want to succeed in biochemistry. One: If you’re unsure but proceed without asking for clarification first, I will be angry. Two: If you show up to the lab without completing the prior work assigned, I will be angry. Three: If you do not share work between your lab partners equally, I will be angry. Don’t make me angry.”

“Wanna be lab partners?” Shuri asked.

“Sure,” Peter squeaked and cleared his throat.

“You’re not going to break a test tube on me, are you?”

He shook his head quickly.

“You’re a lot of work, Peter Parker, but it’s kind of adorable.”

“Um… thanks?”

“You’re welcome. Now hand me that pipette and fire up the spectrophotometer.”

The last period before lunch was P.E.

“I’m Coach Barton, that’s all you need to know. Let’s do a few warm up laps around the circuit.”

Peter ran hard and was close to fainting as he crossed the line in the middle of the pack.

“Woah, kid, you need to go to the nurse’s?” Coach singled him out.

He tried to say ‘no’ but no sound would come out, so he just shook his head, gasping. He could hear the other boys snickering beyond the pounding of his blood in his brain.

“I think you need to go to the nurse’s,” Coach beckoned to the boy who’d crossed the line first, “Flash, take him to the clinic, would ya?”

“Yes, sir,” the bully from his homeroom smirked at him.

As soon as they were out of the gym, he jostled and picked at the smaller boy only to exhibit the epitome of sympathy in front of Nurse Man-Ti.

“Here, drink some electrolytes,” she told him and he finished the small bottle in under a minute.

As soon as Flash was gone, Peter let himself just cry. He wished his aunt would just homeschool him, but it’s been hard since his uncle died and in the face of that, Peter felt bad for feeling bad about his little problems and that made him cry some more.

“Hey,” the nurse sat beside him quietly, “Peter, right?”

He nodded, “I’m sorry.”

“What for? Better out than in, that’s what I always say.”

Peter sniffed.

“Do you want to talk about it? Or make an appointment with Counsellor Barnes?”

“No, no, I’m fine. I just needed, uh… electrolytes,” he leaves quickly after that.

Peter goes to his locker for his bag and clothes, red eyes trained on the floor so that hopefully nobody notices. He doesn’t notice Shuri arguing with Flash, gesturing forcefully back at his locker. Flash sees him put in his combination and open the door, a cheshire grin spreading across his face.

“Peter!” Shuri tries to warn him, “Don’t -”

But it’s too late and he’s covered in silly string, a few old socks found decomposing in the gym lockers, and the contents of a bathroom trash can.

“I’m gonna go change,” he whispers to no one in particular.

“I’ll save you a place at lunch?” Shuri called after him.

Peter stops in his tracks to shoot her a grateful smile, “Thank you.”

Mr. Thor Odinson was a very loud history teacher, but it worked well for keeping Peter’s attention throughout the class, so he was able to answer all the review questions.

“Teacher’s pet,” Flash scoffed at the sound of the bell.

“Dumbass,” Shuri fake-coughed and pulled Peter to the auditorium.

“I’m Mr. Loki Odinson, you may call me Mr. Loki to distinguish between myself and my hard-of-hearing brother, Thor,” said their quieter drama teacher, “Thompson, if you kick Parker’s chair one more time, I will send you to Fury’s office with no note, no explanation. And he has a very specific way of dealing with those cases.”

Flash stopped and sat straighter.

“Good, Parker, you seem suitably nervous. Come up here and help me demonstrate a quick improvisation exercise.”

Peter tripped on his way down the aisle to the stage, but kept going.

“Now, you’re a superhero and I’m a supervillain. You’re trying to turn me over to the good side, but we can only converse alphabetically. So you must start with the letter ‘A’, I must start with the letter ‘B’ and so forth. Are you ready?”

“No.”

“Ah, ah, first rule of improv: the answer is always, ‘Yes, and…’ Let’s go, Parker. You’re brave. You’re bold. You’re a hero.”

“Alright, Mr. Villain, you have two choices,” Peter surprised himself at how his voice carried. It must be the way the auditorium was built, “perish, or join our fight.”

“Blech, I choose to perish,” Mr. Loki dropped to his knees, “C’mon Hero, end me if you have the guts at all.”

“Come on, you know you never wanted to watch the city burn to begin with. The hive possessed you, used you. Now, you have the chance to redeem yourself.”

“Don’t presume to know me because you can’t possibly. You don’t know what I’ve been through. What I’ve lost!”

“Everything,” Peter said quietly, “Everyone you ever cared for. I do know… because so have I. We’re not so different.”

“Fighting the hive is a losing proposition. You have nothing that could work against them!”

“Gas. Even a million eyes are no good in a fog.”

“Huh… I never thought of that. I’ll join your fight, Hero if you’ll let me,” Mr. Loki proffered his “bound” wrists.

“I knew there was some good left in you, Mr. Villain,” Peter “unlocked” the “restraints.”

Mr. Loki mimed holding a knife to Peter’s neck, “Just not that much, I’m afraid. Hive Mother! I’ve got him! I’ve got the hero! Now release my family from the void as you promised!”

Peter wracked his brain from the next letter. The plot twist didn’t help him think either. “... Krap with a ‘k’?”

Mr. Loki broke character and laughed before clapping and shaking his student’s hand, “That was the most interesting improv demonstration I’ve had in awhile, Parker. You’re a natural. Now everyone pair off and try to top that performance if you can!”

English with Mr. Rogers was the last period of the day. He didn’t look up from his book until everyone was seated, silent, and had their eyes up front. It took a crazy long time and a good deal of organization and yelling on Shuri’s part.

“Sorry, guys, I was reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down!” he joked.

Peter was the only one who laughed.

After giving a bit of a lecture on respect for their instructors, valuing their education, and how much they were going to love English this year, he let them go early.

“Okay, I’m calling you three Alvin, Simon, and Theodore from now on,” Mr. Stark addressed his small Mathlete gathering, “Our new mascot is a chipmunk, I don’t care that all our other teams are Rocket Raccoons.”

“Which one of us is Alvin?” Shuri asked.

“Since you asked, you are. Fancy-Pen is Simon and Proton is Theodore. Now, we have a competition to prepare for in… ages from now, so… drill, I guess? I don’t know. Who wants to do Euclidean algorithms?”

Three hands went up.

“Nice,” he brought out his expensive Japanese chalk, a gift from his wife, the well-known Fortune 500 CEO, Pepper Potts.

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oveliagirlhaditright · 4 years

Text

Author’s Note: The first thing I wrote after I beat KHIII, that I’m uploading again. Sora in Shinjuku with Yozora, some Invi and Ava stuff, and Sora missing Kairi/SoKai.

Sora didn't really know what to make of Yozora… and there was a part of him that didn't even care about that.

…Which was horrible of him, he knew, because he was supposed to be this happy-go-lucky kid who solved everyone's problems.

And Sora knew he should have been thankful he'd gotten a second chance at all... but there was a part of him bitter that he still couldn't be home with Kairi, and instead now had to help Yozora, his friends, and this Stella girl out.

And in some ways, from what he'd seen, the way Yozora treated Stella was frustrating to Sora:

The Keyblade wielder would have said Yozora and Stella reminded him of Kairi and himself a bit (before they'd finally found their way to each other as more than just friends)—with how the two of them seemed to get separated a lot—but Yozora was too aloof: acting like he didn't care about Stella at all. And Sora never would have treated Kairi like that, if his life depended on it.

Yozora's mismatched eyes watched Sora warily now, he could tell—as the two of them tried to figure out how they were going to scale down the roof of Yozora's old home, since Sora had lost his power of Flowmotion—when he finally asked the inevitable: "What's your problem with me, Sora?!"

Despite himself, Sora blanched at this.

To Yozora's credit, he actually hadn't said the words unkindly at all. But since Sora was used to being loved by everyone, having someone with less than pleasant feelings about him took him aback.

Sighing, as he scratched the back of his head, Sora decided that honesty was the best policy here. "...I just want to go home. You might not believe it, because I'm all scrawny now, but I've fought some great wars… I thought I'd earned a chance to finally be at peace with the one- the ones I love. But here I am.

"Though I swear it's not all bad, Yozora," Sora smiled, looking down at the car-lined streets beneath him, and the yellow street lights that reminded him so much of San Fransokyo. "I'm used to this kind of thing. And I'm sure helping you out is my way out of here, so let me aid you. I want to."

"Sora… You were originally going to say 'loved one' instead of 'loved ones', weren't you? You're really thinking about a girl ...I understand."

Without thinking it over, Sora was about to tell Yozora that that was the closest he'd ever heard him come to admitting his feelings for Stella—which the older guy probably would have murdered him for—but before the words could come out, Yozora was already interrupting him.

"You get an intense look in your eyes like I do when I use my powers… or when my emotions are a wreck. Do you have power there? Ya think you could do that to get down?"

Sora put his hands behind his head, trying to make sense of this question that he really couldn't understand at all.

Since when did anyone have magic in their eyes?! And even if he did have that, how was it going to help him descend the stories of floors beneath them safely?

But then it clicked.

Sora doubted it was what Yozora was going for, but he recalled his power to focus on ledges in the air and make a path to them in his mind and actually traverse it.

The brunet still didn't know how he did this—the power of the Keyblade, he assumed. One of the few he'd retained after he'd sacrificed himself for Kairi—but he was sure it would work. Air-stepping it was, then!

Smiling widely, Sora summoned his Keyblade to hand—so he'd have its power flowing through him when he attempted this—and first jumped to the roof on the tower of the castle... and fell through it, the way he had the tree house in the Deep Jungle so long ago (and dang, did it hurt). But then Sora was landing on a rafter, grabbing a chandelier in his hands, and landing on the ground in a tuck-roll.

And Though Sora doubted he could really hear this, since Yozora was too far away for him, he thought the man might have scoffed at his display.

But just as Sora thoughthe had, Yozora portaled right beside him and was quick to read him the Riot Act. "Sora, you ended up in the wrong room! And you- you're already in here with the enemy."

Sora groaned, running a hand down his face as he did so.

There was a good chance the one clad in a blue robe and mask had seen them—and as time seemed to slow down, Sora thought he did see her eyes narrowing in their direction—but it was also possible she wouldn't have noticed them at all, if Yozora hadn't spoken up.

But it was really too late to wonder now.

"You!" their enemy's somewhat raspy voice bellowed, as they summoned their Keyblade and sent shards of ice in Sora and Yozora's direction.

Sora leapt over them, and closer to the assailant like it was nothing. And Yozora teleported onto a wall the moment he'd seen the icicles.

Sora hissed, when he took in the sight of the Keyblade before him and prepared to send a fire spell back the way the blizzard spell had come from.

There had been a few people that Sora had caught glimpses of in this world who looked like they could have had Keyblades, when he saw their weapons in his peripheral vision...

But to for sure see a new person with a Keyblade now, who wasn't a friend Sora knew he could trust, put a sour taste in his mouth.

Sora had hoped that after the Keyblade War, that the number of new wielders would dwindle and Kingdom Hearts would be safer that way.

But yet here this person was, who was clearly a threat as they'd attacked them... and had even taken over Yozora's home.

"Fire!" Sora exclaimed, moving his arm in a wide arc around the flames—as they escaped from his Keyblade—so that the magic coming out of his hand could solidify the pyre in a new trick that he'd learned: It was much like he was using the bombs that Captain Jack Sparrow did: If the fire itself somehow wouldn't hurt one, then this shrapnel for sure would.

Yozora smirked Sora's way-the first bit of approval he'd ever gotten from his rival, that he couldn't help scratching his cheek awkwardly for—and closed the distance between himself and his adversary and placed his crossbows against their neck, as he pinned them to the bookshelf in this makeshift library.

"Name!" Yozora growled. "Name, and I might spare you."

'He's asking her name to see if she's a woman', Sora realized then-looking at Yozora with wonder, and banishing his Keyblade at the thought. 'Yozora's... intense. So I have no doubt he'd kill a guy who stole his kingdom, no problem. But it seems he'd hesitate if it's a girl that did it.'

"What?!" the woman—and she was exactly that—demanded, using a thunder spell so powerful that it destroyed the ends of Yozora's crossbows.

Yozora then pulled out a potion to smash against her face in retaliation if need be, Sora saw.

"Just because my outfit got cut in a fight—so it's less form fitting, and makes me seem a bit more masculine that way—means that this big boy wants to kill a little girl?!"

"I should!" Yozora roared, slamming the mystery girl into the novels, whilst she then attempted to kick out at his head.

Sora was horrified by all of this—since murder was still wrong in his book, and he wanted to find a way to resolve this peacefully, if at all possible.

They duo sort of missed out on doing the damage they had meant to do to each other.

And as Yozora was weapon-less, and was keeping the female from using her Keyblade arm, they both were about to claw at the other's face... until Sora begged them to stop:

Because even though Sora was miffed at Yozora, because his feelings were a jumbled mess after coming back to life (and he was jealous he couldn't return to Kairi the way Yozora could Stella, if he manned up), Yozora was still his friend.

And this person... something about her blue—almost purple, in the right lighting—dress reminded Sora of his beloved so much that it hurt. So he just had to save her.

"Stop!" And to Sora's relief and amazement, the villains did.

Encouraged by this—and clearing his throat to get ready for a speech—Sora gave his thoughts on the subject. "Yozora, I may not know you very well yet. But I know this really isn't you. It just can't be."

And Sora may have been imagining it, but he thought Yozora might have looked a bit ashamed by his own actions as those words sank in.

"And, you!" Sora continued on—unintentionally quoting her own word from before—as he began talking with rapid hand movements. "Your tone acted like there was no way Yozora could defeat you, despite you claiming you're 'just a girl', so I get the feelin' you must be an ancient and gifted wielder like Master Xehanort was. But you're lookin' at everything here as if you've never seen it before-like a kid at Christmas-which tells me you must be new coming back to the world like Ven was… and not really onboard with whatever this plan is. So, please: Can't the three of us talk and figure this all out?"

Sora knew that Yozora was about to tell him where he could stick it for even suggesting that, but thankfully the more talented one of the three had a bit more grace.

"The original plan was to give the Master... a seat. A seat of power, because he deserves it and probably needs to be the master of this- of this world after everything he's figured out. But lately, I don't care so much about that as I do finding my sister-who's been missing for ages. Following my Master's plan is the only way I know to do that."

Yozora was the first to react to this, as he let the woman go and even attempted to straighten out where he'd messed up her clothes some.

At first, Sora was baffled by this change of events. But then he remembered that Yozora had friends that he saw as brothers. So anyone who had such a bond would probably look a bit better in his eyes.

Sora couldn't help smiling some himself here, at the thought of his best friend and brother Riku:

How he missed him and the rest of his friends so much…

And Kairi... he missed her most of all. How he prayed that she was okay, and that Riku was taking care of her.

"What's her name? What's she like?" Yozora asked questioningly, with his head tilted to the side. And it pulled Sora back from his reverie, of where he'd been holding a hand out to Kairi—the Kairi in his heart—and trying to find a way to connect with her at all.

At first? It seemed like the woman wasn't going to answer.

And pleadingly, as books fell around him, Sora found himself ready to lay all his cards on the table. "Please tell us! We can help you find her, so you can leave Yozora's kingdom alone and this blood bath can stop."

But just as Sora said this, with his hand under her chin, the woman answered—so they both ended up speaking at the same time. "My surrogate sister's name... is Ava. And she's far too sweet for her own good. But she's also made out of steel, I tell you. I've often thought the blonde and red in her hair was reprehensive of those two traits of hers battling it out... And my name… it's Invi."

Invi... like the word "envy".

Now that Sora knew her a bit better, she reminded him of Naminé—for the time that she had been controlled by the Organization—and for the strength she'd displayed in doing the right thing.

Sora was then certain-that this beautiful lady, with a square shaped chin and button nose that she was now letting them see for the first time—would be the same as Naminé in that way.

"So will you listen to Sora?" Yozora asked the ultimate question as he stared Invi down-his hands on his hips, in a gesture that was somewhere between aggressive and kind. "And will you step down, and help me reclaim my throne?"

Invi shook her head, but Sora could tell she was only slightly hesitating here.

Clenching her fists, she uttered these words: "I won't challenge the Master of Masters directly. He's too strong... he knows too much—and in the end, he may be right about all of this—but at the same time... I don't trust him right now. So I will... stop opposing you, Prince Yozora. And if you need information on his coup, I guess I could give you some. But only if you come through with information about Ava."

"He will!" Sora decided for Yozora, before he could for himself. And Sora saw Yozora about to try and strangle him for it, but without much effort. "And I will, too! I think I may know how to find her. Yozora, I'll come back and see this all to the end later. I promise!"

This talk of Ava... it reminded Sora of someone else he'd met recently: Oerba Dia Vanille.

Sora wasn't sure if Vanille was Ava, but he did think Cocoon—that he'd visited after beating the Reapers' Game recently—might be the key to fixing everything here.

Sora had been given one of Chocolina's feathers—who had saved him and his new friends a couple of times lately—and as it reminded Sora of what Jiminy had done for him in his hour of need, Sora thought she might even have another miracle up her sleeve.

Because as Vanille had taught Sora: "When prayers turned to promises, not even fate could stand in their way."

So summoning his Keyblade to hand, Sora opened the gate to Cocoon and was awash in light.

He would fix this—fix the world again—and then he'd find Kairi. He knew he would.

Because she was his light in the metaphorical and literal sense, the way that Stella was Yozora's and Ava was Invi's… they were all connected this way.

Sora felt a hand in his—simply felt it—then closed his eyes and woke up to New Bodhum.

#long post #fanfiction #sokai #mine #my work #Shanna writes #my writing

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