#AND the squeaks are canonically found family so

[veveisveryuncool]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'VE NEVER DRAWN DAROACH BEFORE????

[clownwritesfanfic]

So Come One, Come All - Five Hargreeves X GN! Reader

Summary: After you find out that your husband of 40 years cheated on you with his own brother’s wife, you give up on figuring out how to fix the apocalypse and run off. That’s when you’re lead to a suspicious deli full of the exact face you never wanted to see again.

Word count: 1647

Genre: Angst/Fluff

Warnings: Cheating, Heartbreak, Happy Ending, rushed writing, not beta read we die like men

Disclaimer: Five is canonically in the body of an 18 year old in this season. Not to mention he aged like 7 more years with Lila. Also, obvious Season 4 spoilers. This season was awful and Five was done so dirty and he’s still ooc in this fic (or at least a version of him is)

———————————————————————

You had no idea how long you had been walking for. All you knew was that you were tired.

Tired of everything. Of the constant apocalypses, the fighting, the stress, …the lying, the heartache. Everything.

You had to get away from that place. You couldn’t stand to be around anyone from that family anymore. Around…him.

You and Five have been married for forty years. You both met in the first apocalypse as teens. You weren’t special like him or his siblings but you were both grateful to have someone else around.

You slowly fell in love over the years as you grew older together. You had a makeshift marriage with a ring Five had made for you out of random bits of metal he had found.

You had both been recruited into the Commission together and quickly became the most badass couple in the entire organization. You were always put on missions together for your efficiency and speed.

You had followed Five back in time to see his family, consequently getting stuck in your younger body as well. You followed him everywhere. You would’ve given your life for him.

So, how could he do this to you?

Forty years, thrown away all because he supposedly got stuck for seven fucking years in a stupid timeline traveling subway station with another woman.

You wanted to kill him. He knew that you didn’t like how comfortable Lila was with him since the beginning and he had assured you he wasn’t interested in her at all and that you were all he wanted. What a load of bullshit that was.

You had left after their explanation. You saw the way he looked at her. The exact same way he used to look at you. For him at had been years since he last saw you. For you, it had only been a few hours since he last looked at you like you were the world.

You had slipped off the wedding ring and threw it at his face before leaving. You could hear him trying to get you to stay and try to follow you but he was stopped by Diego.

You were so lost in thought before you found yourself in front of the entrance to a subway station. This must be the one they were talking about. You looked behind you, making sure no one had followed you but also as a way to look back on this life.

If they were telling the truth about the timelines…then you weren’t going to be coming back to this one. Maybe there is a timeline where you’re happy. One where you and Five don’t meet. Or maybe one where none of this happens. Where you’re both a normal married couple.

You took a deep breath as you gazed down the steps. Once you took your first step down, you knew there was no going back.

As you descended the steps, the eerie silence unnerved you. You could hear only your footsteps on the ground and the squeaking of the turnstile as you pushed through it.

You were startled by the sound of the speakers playing some sort of announcement. It was impossible to understand considering it was all backwards.

Soon, the subway entered the station and came to a halt. The doors opened and you stood still, you were still a little creeped out. Five always made you feel more comfortable in situations like this…but he wasn’t here anymore.

You swallowed your unease and entered the subway car. You slowly took a seat and looked around before the doors closed and the subway started moving. You looked out the window as flashes of colour went by.

You were there for a couple minutes before you stopped. The doors opened but you didn’t get up. You weren’t sure if you wanted to get off yet. You wanted to be sure you were as far from the timeline you were just in as possible.

You felt something pull inside of you though. Something wanted you to get off and explore. So you did.

You let yourself be guided by this feeling deep inside. It was like your heart was pulling you somewhere.

It isn’t long until you end up in front of a building of some kind. Could you even call it that? You never left the station and it’s the only other place in here. Is it more of a building in a building? You didn’t want to think about it too much.

The words “Max’s Delicatessen” were shining brightly in your face. You were a little amused. Maybe you were hungry and it was actually your stomach bringing you here rather than your heart.

You sighed and decided to check it out.

But when you entered, you were horrified at what you saw.

The entire deli was full of copies of your (now ex) husband. This was the last thing you wanted to see and you internally cursed at your conscious for bringing you here.

You could feel your heartbeat pick up and your breathing become heavy as tears pricked at your eyes.

Finally, one of the Five’s had looked up and noticed you stuck in place at the door.

“Darling!” He shot up out of his seat, audibly hitting his knee on the table but he didn’t flinch.

Suddenly, every single Five in the place had his eyes on you, each with various emotions displayed on their face.

The Five that spotted you quickly made his way over to you. He lifted his shaking hands and held them over your cheeks, too scared to make contact in case you fade away.

You could see the disbelief and love in his eyes. This snapped you out of your confusion and slapped his hands away from you and backed yourself up into the door.

The Five in front of you looked confused and hurt before sighing and lowering his hands.

“Sorry…I forgot that you’re not the same one.” He apologized.

“What the FUCK is going on?” You exclaimed as you looked around to be met with all the Five’s still staring at you. “How did you get here? Why are there multiples of you? Why can’t you just leave me alone!”

“Woah, woah, slow down. Breathe. You’re okay. Everything’s fine.” The Five in front of you tried to calm you down. “You took the subway right? This is a different timeline. We’re all the same person from different timelines. Usually the only new people that enter here are a version of me…or…us I guess. You’re the only…well…you, that has shown up here.” He explained.

“What?” You looked at him like he was crazy.

“They should sit down.” Another Five had said.

“Come on, hun. Come sit down and we can talk.” He had reached out towards you, careful not to touch you while he guided you towards the opposite end of the booth he was previously at.

You sat down, still in shock. It felt weird being surrounded by so many Five’s. Especially when you were trying to get away from him.

“I guess I’ll start.” Five had sat down across from you and sighed.

“In my timeline, you and I had been together for years. We met at the Commission. At first we hated each other but we were always put on missions together. Over time…I had fallen for you, and luckily for me, you reciprocated those feelings. We were together romantically for years. We were on our last mission before our contract with the Commission ended. We were planning on getting married after and retiring somewhere nice. But…it went wrong…and I lost you. You died in my arms.” He looked off to the side and tried to play off wiping away his tears.

“I haven’t seen you in years. You’re just as beautiful as the day I lost you.” He reached a hand across the table and gently placed it on yours.

You teared up as you saw the pure love in his eyes. Your Five used to look at you like that and it still hurt knowing he no longer felt that way.

“If you’re here…then something must’ve happened to the Five in your timeline.” He rubbed his thumb on the back of your hand.

You stilled and took your hand back, making the Five in front of you frown.

You hugged your torso for comfort and curled in on yourself slightly as you looked down at the table.

“We were married for forty years…but he got stuck in the subway with Lila and…I guess forty years didn’t mean anything because in seven years he threw it all away for…her.” You hiccuped as you tried to hold back your tears.

There were multiple grumbles and scoffs around the deli.

The Five across from you reached across the table and held your shoulder gaining your attention.

“Everyone here had a version of you in their timeline. We all lost you in one way or another. I think I speak for all of us when I say…having you here is the best thing to happen to us, and he’s a complete idiot for throwing you away like that.” He smiled as he lightly caressed your cheek.

You smiled slightly at his words.

“Aww there’s that beautiful smile.” Five said as he lightly pinched your cheek.

You giggled and batted his hand away and wiped your tears away.

A sandwich and drink was placed in front of you and you looked up to another Five holding a now empty tray.

“Your favourite, just the way you like it.” He said as he gently grabbed your hand and placed a kiss on the back of it with a wink.

You blushed at the action and thanked him.

Even though you got on that train in order to get away from him…you don’t think you’ll be getting back on any time soon.

[carpenterswife]

HALF OF ME (iv)

SUMMARY: With Soldier Boy alive in the 2020’s, back in America, he starts his mission of vengeance. Of course, his first stop is to you; the only woman he’d truly wanted to start a relationship with, who’d taken his spot only months after his supposed death. And you don’t exactly expect your old lover to appear in your home, with the intent to kill.

WORD COUNT: 2238

WARNINGS: MINORS DNI. Typical Soldier Boy behaviour, gore, heavy violence, canon divergence.

SERIES MASTERLIST / MAIN MASTERLIST

Finding you was difficult. They were beginning to think Ben had been wrong, that you were six foot under in some unlabelled grave, rotting away. But, Ben was sure. And arguing with him seemed like signing their death warrant.

So, they kept searching. Despite the fact they could have located at least two other Payback members, and had them dead, by now, Ben was insistent on killing you first.

So, they kept fucking searching.

And then they found it.

It was a tiny discrepancy. Something most people would simply brush past. But, Hughie found it, and it was all they needed. They followed the rabbit hole, down and down, finding hidden documents and details not even Ben knew about.

It only took two days to pinpoint your location.

The Appalachian Mountains. In the middle of fucking nowhere. Smack-bang in the middle of one of the largest forests in the entire USA. But, to Ben, that fact was whatever. He had your location. And he was going to find you, even if it meant spending weeks searching every inch of that forest.

Butcher and Hughie knew it was a dumb idea.

But, they got Ben in a car, and started their roadtrip.

━━━━━━ ✦ ━━━━━━

The quiet life was nice, you’d decided. You’d forgotten about Queen Maeve’s uninvited visit, going back to your routine of feeding the animals and drinking coffee on the balcony every morning.

It was weird. You used to be one of the most famous people on the planet. There was blood staining every inch of your hands, and families who were likely still trying to gain justice for the people you killed. You had decades of history. And, yet, you now lived out your days as some sort of Disney princess.

You couldn’t complain. It was better than willingly running into gunfire every week.

Padding through your dark home, the moonlight casting a soft glow over the floors, you headed for the kitchen. You were never too old for a midnight snack. Especially in the comfort of your own home. You turned into the kitchen.

And you saw it. A dark figure, shadowed in the corner.

But, you kept moving, playing oblivious. In your mind, your old training make itself own. Ben’s critiques and advice played like a movie, as you pulled the cabinet open, standing high on your toes to reach for packet of chips. Your senses were on fire, focused in on the quiet breaths, the soft squeaking of boots on the tile.

They moved, and so did you.

You ducked under the fist swinging towards your face, snatching a knife from the block beside the fridge. Holding it tightly in your fist, your stance ready to attack, you looked at the intruder. Every muscle in your body froze.

“Ben?”

He didn’t pull his punches. Ben grabbed you by the throat, using your momentary distraction to his advantage, shoving your back against the sharp edge of the counter. Instinctively, you swiped the knife towards him, but a rough hand caught your wrist, slamming it down onto the counter.

A cry of pain slipped past your lips, fingers releasing the knife. It was his turn to grab it, tossing it from your reach.

No words were spoken, just heavy breathing.

You’d never seen Ben look at you like this before. This look was reserved for those who got on the wrong side of him. Those who disappeared mysteriously overnight and were never found again — but you knew what happened. And so did he.

He was here to kill you.

“Ben—“ You choked out, through the tightening grip his hand had around your throat. The grip tightened, and your breath caught with a squeak, broken gasps for air trying desperately to pull in oxygen.

“How much did they pay you?” He demanded, his voice low and gravelly. “Huh? How much, did they fucking pay you?” There was something about him that was so different. A new edge to him, maybe. But, what caught your attention, was the look in his eyes.

Hurt. He was staring at you like you’d ripped his heart from his chest and stomped on it.

You clawed at his wrist, unable to bring any air into your lungs. Your nails bit into his skin, the scratches down his wrist quickly repairing themselves. He let you go. Not out of mercy. No. He grabbed your collar, lifting your head up, and then slamming it down onto the counter.

Your vision went completely white, all remaining breath knocked from your lungs with a gasp. Blinking desperately to clear the stars, you tried to struggle. But, he slammed you down again. And again. And again. Until he tossed you to the floor like nothing more than a rag doll.

The counter was cracked from the force of it, blood staining the white marble, and splattered across the counter. Your own kitchen. Stained with your blood. You could feel the warm liquid dripping down the back of your head, matting in your hair.

If you weren’t a supe, you’d be dead.

He didn’t let you get a word in, brutal with each of his attacks. As you desperately tried to scramble away, body on fire, he put his foot down on your ankle. Leaning down, staring intently at you, with dark eyes, Ben snarled. “How much?”

“Ben—“ Finally, words escaped. In a pathetic whimper that made his lips twitch in disgust. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Your breath hitched with pain.

That answer wasn’t good enough for him. You swore you could feel the bones in your jaw crack, as his fist met your cheek. You cried out in pain, the force of the impact whipping you around, hitting your head against the ground.

His hand curled into your hair, forcing your eyes on him. “Don’t fucking lie to me, you bitch.” Your breaths were ragged, with pain and terror, staring up at the man you thought was dead. He seethed, nothing but anger and disgust (and hurt?) in his green eyes. “You whored yourself out to me, huh? Put my dick in your mouth? For what? Fuckin’ soften me up like a weak pussy?”

“Ben—“

“Don’t.” He tugged your hair, hard. “I loved you.” His teeth grit together.

Your heart broke, tears in your eyes as you stared up at him. He loved you. And he thought you’d hurt him? He was dead. He was dead. That’s what they said. They said he was dead. Your mind worked at 100 miles an hour, heart constricting.

He loved you.

Soldier Boy loved you.

You didn’t even think he was capable of that. Sure, you knew you had something special with him, something unique. But love? It’d never crossed your mind. You’d always loved him somewhat, always throwing yourself in front of bullets and danger to protect him. Always following his lead and teasing him.

Always pushing your luck with his temper. Because he never snapped. He never hurt you. He never hit you. You knew you’d loved him, when your heart would dance when he chuckled at your jokes. The way your body reacted to his hands on your hips during your first training session. You knew there was something. But, for sure, you thought it was one-sided.

That, to him, you were a good fuck. Just a hole, as he liked to say about some women.

But, you’d been so wrong. And, all this time, 37 years, he’d been alive. And you’d done nothing.

“I loved you.” He repeated, in a broken seethe. His eyes were less angry now, but still held that hint of vengeance. “I would’ve died for you.” You could’ve sobbed, right there. “We were gonna start a family.”

Your voice was shaky. “Ben. Please. I don’t know what’s going on.” You begged, pathetic and weak. Ben scoffed, emotional. “I thought you were dead. I swear it, Ben!” It was practically a plea; a desperate cry for him to believe you.

He was too blinded by his rage. “I waited every day for you.” He hissed, reaching over and grabbing his discarded shield. “For you to come and get me. To save me. You never came.”

“Ben—“

He shoved you down, head slamming against tile once more. Knees on other side of your hips, Ben gripped the edge of his shield, raising it high.

He was going to kill you. You couldn’t stop him. Couldn’t fight it. All you could do was look at him, tears running tracks through the blood on your face. A silent plea, begging him to not do this.

He rose the shield higher, lined up with the juncture of your throat.

And then he saw it. A glint of metal peeking out from under your shirt. He could recognise them from a mile away. They were his, after all. His dog tags, sat delicately just above your chest, resting on the skin like they were made to be there. His brows furrowed, movements faltering.

His dog tags. You were wearing his dog tags.

Ben hesitated, unsure.

He looked down at you, meeting your teary eyes, and his brain ran wild. Of memories of being a couple. Of the memories of when a big question mark had hung above your relationship, neither of you sure of what was going on, but treating each other like lovers anyway.

Your soft touches; the way your fingers would trace the contours of his muscles in the morning. The way you’d kiss each of his scars, muttering against his skin how perfect he was, despite the flaws and the imperfections littering his body. How gentle you were. He’d never felt a gentle touch before you.

How you’d giggle at his jokes, smile blinding, pretty dimples, cheeks flushed.

God, and those eyes. How they’d shine and shimmer when you looked up at him, like he was made of the stars themselves. He always used to melt when you propped your chin on his chest in bed, looking at him with that cute smile, and he’d trace your face with his thumb, cradling your cheeks like delicate glass.

Those few nights spent together, in the limited time you’d had together as an actual couple. The way you’d move together; perfectly in sync, like you were made for each other.

The way you’d hold him. Laugh with him. Smile at him. The passing touches. The lingering stares across red carpets and events, subtly checking each other out, and then meeting up in the supply closet. The quiet moments together, cooking dinner or merely holding each other. All those times you forced him to dance, and he’d begrudgingly spin you in the kitchen. The dates, and the movie nights, and the silly fights, and how warm his cold penthouse felt when you were with him.

Every memory, every moment, replayed in front of his eyes, as he stared at you. He lost his breath, muscles stiff. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t bring this shield down and kill you. His chest ached and burnt.

He couldn’t kill you.

So, instead, he hit the blunt edge of shield against your head, and watched your eyes roll back.

━━━━━━ ✦ ━━━━━━

Coming to was disorientating and painful.

Every inch of your body ached, from the beating you’d received from Ben. You cringed as the light made the throbbing in your head intensify. Through squinted eyes, you made out the sight in front of you.

You were in your dining room. And there were two… unfamiliar men stood by your table, leaning over files and papers. Movement caught your attention.

Ben. Setting his shield down by the table.

“Ben.” You choked out, instinctively trying to reach out and grab him. To check if he was real. If he was actually stood in front you. Living, breathing. Your hands didn’t move. You looked down, frowning at the sight of tattered rope tying your wrists of the arms of your chair.

The noise drew over the attention of the three men. They exchanged a silent look, and slowly, and rather intimidatingly, approached. You whined a little, at the throbbing pain that made a tremble run it’s course through your body.

One of the unfamiliar men pulled up a chair. “What d’ya know abou’ BCL-RED?” Was that an English or Australian accent? You couldn’t tell through the buzzing in your ears.

“Wha’?” You slurred, blinking rapidly, trying to orientate yourself. “BCL-what-now?” A grunt slipped past your lips. They didn’t look impressed by that answer. “I— I saw it on a file. Back in ‘84. Never figured out what it meant.”

The man learnt forwards. “Neva’ found out?”

Your head shook, and it made the pain increase. Your face scrunched up in agony. “Mm, no.” You groaned, breaths hitched. “It was all classified. Edgar never told me. Mallory and I— we tried to figure it out.”

“Grace Mallory?”

“What? Yes. Grace.” You groaned again. “Jesus. Can you turn off the fucking lights? It feels like there’s a drill in my head.” You tried to push your face into your shoulder, hiding from the light that made your eyes burn and your head feel like Ben was slamming it against the ground again.

There was a beat of silence. “Did you know?” That was Ben. He sounded hesitant.

“Know what?” You peeked up at Ben, eyes squinted to be able to look at him. He looked tense, face expressionless. “I thought you were dead. I don’t know what else to say to convince you. I thought you were dead.”

“How did you not know?” He demanded, his short fuse lit. Ben and his fucking temper.

“I don’t know, Ben!” Your own yell made you wince in pain. “They never told me shit! I tried for 15 years to get answers!”Ben didn’t look convinced. Of course he didn’t. He was so set in his heartbreak and rage, by your supposed betrayal, that he’d utterly convinced himself. “I didn’t know.” You echoed in a broken whisper.

“How’s ‘bout this?” You blinked rapidly, trying to focus in on the accented voice. “We track down the otha’ girl. See what she ‘as to say.” There seemed to be a group-wide agreement.

“Countess?” You grunted, confused. Your gaze flicked between the three men. “I know where she is.”

And that got their attention.

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[sunshine-on-marz]

Cradles

In which you get to see Dean in his TRUE element

Dad! Dean x Mom! Reader

Warnings: none really unless you don’t like kids

I am not a mother but I tried to be accurate lmao

Also I couldn’t remember for the life of me if the bunker had a couch but it does now stfu

You were on the couch folding clothes, baby clothes to be exact, while Dean was holding the baby. It was a miracle to keep her awake for more then 20 minutes at a time so Dean was more than happy to play with her when she was up, not that baby Charlie was all too happy about it most of the time. You and Dean both knew it was expected for newborns to cling to their mother, but you saw the hurt on Dean’s face whenever his daughter cried as soon as her picked her up, so right now, seeing his smile as she squeaks and coos makes your heart smile.

You feel the couch dip next to you and you turn to see Sam who extends his hand “I can take over laundry if you want to go take a nap” he offers, and as much as you could probably use a little break, you shake your head. “Don’t wanna miss this” you smile and nod over to Dean, Sam smiles. “It’s pretty cool to see him being a dad” Sam’s comment makes you laugh softly. “I’ve been watching him be a dad ever since I met you two” you say, leaning you head on Sam’s shoulder. “You were his kid long before Charlie was” you tell him. Sam doesn’t respond, just pulls you into a hug. When you two go back to watching Dean and the baby, you speak again. “I really hope she’s a daddy’s girl”, you say it so quietly you’re positive Dean couldn’t have heard, but Sam did. “I don’t think any mother ever has said that before” he laughs, and so do you. “Yea well, I think he deserves it” you hum, fully content to just watch Dean be a father. In this moment that’s all that matters. Not monsters, not Chuck, nothing but the little family you’ve built.

You hear the bunker door click open, and look up to see Cas holding groceries. He walks over and hands you an energy drink. “Cas you might have just became my favorite person ever” you chuckle as he smiles “Hello to you too”. Sam follows him to the kitchen, which leaves you and Dean alone again. He walks over and sits beside you on the couch.

“She looks just like her mom” he says, kissing you on the cheek, “speaking of her mom, how are you? You can go shower or sleep, or both. I’ve got her” and you realize for a millionth time that you’ve found your person. “I’m shockingly gonna decline that offer” you say, leaning to rest on Dean’s shoulder. “I wanna stay like this for a second” you whisper, and he kisses your temple. “That sounds nice”. So that’s what you do. Sit there and look at the life you brought into the world and realize that everything truly had been worth it. Saving the world was nothing compared to this.

OMGGGGABSJAKAJSKXKDKS DEAN WINCHESTER DESERVED TO BE A FATHER.

Sorry for my disappearance school made me want to die then drivers ed made want to die then life made me want to die and I still want to die but now I want to die AND write about Dean so like

Tagging @canonically-a-genloser bc they’ve been witnessing my crazy and also think dad Dean is amazing

Btw this is one of the good supernaturals I made in my head so this is post season 15 minus all the bad shit okie love you bye

Remember to reblog and tell me what you think!!! Feedback and reblogs make the world go round!! Love you babes!!

[bi-writes]

bff!roomate!simon has nothing left to lose. and it's time to face the music. (part 11/?)

more bff!roommate!simon

word count: 3.5k

cw: mature language and content, suggestive language and content, aNGST, mean!simon, toxic!simon, depictions of simon's canon trauma, pet names (luv, sweetheart, kitty), lots of angsty pov shifts, possessive!simon (not healthy), allusions to smut (18+) ⚠️🔞

large blocks of italicized text are flashbacks.

he found a box of tipped-over memories some time ago. at the back of your closet, between the hastily tossed clothes, a box had fallen onto the floor. when he picked it up, pictures fell from it, scattering at the bottom of the closet as he set the box down.

he leaned over, picking up the polaroid pictures.

he had his head down as he walked. there was a sound--as the doors opened, a plethora of cries and happy calling of names surrounded him. families seeing their recruits after the grueling weeks away at basic training.

this was supposed to be reprieve. the chance to see sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, cousins, aunts, uncles--to see the people they loved ever since they had been cut off from the outside world as they learned to build themselves from the ground up.

he didn't know what that felt like. he didn't know what it felt like to look into a crowd for familiar faces. to search for his father and mother in a sea of happy, supportive people--that wasn't something he understood. when other recruits talked about their families, about the partners they had left behind, simon didn't really understand.

this was his escape. this was the place that felt normal. duty, subservience, the act of giving off control and finding it in the job you were given to do--it had been comforting.

but now he was back on the outside. now he was back to remembering how dysfunctional and unusual and lonely everything had been before this. so he kept his gaze on his feet as he pushed through the laughing crowd of warm smiles and excited voices. he just needed to get out of here. he just needed to keep walking, to not think about--

"simon?"

his head shot up at the call of his name, and he turned to look to the left of him. a few people shuffled out of his way, and then he blinked when he saw someone waving at him from just a few paces away.

it was you. you had your purse slung over one shoulder, in a simple pair of light blue denim and a soft cardigan. he swallowed, closing his eyes, squeezing them shut before opening them again to look at you, to make sure that you were still there.

"simon--" you pushed through a few other people before you came in arm's reach, and simon didn't hesitate. a rough hand wrapped around your elbow, tugging you forward, and you squeaked when he forced you into his chest. your eyes closed when his other hand dropped the backpack he was holding, and you let out a shaky sigh when that hand wrapping into the back of your head, into your hair, crushing you in a warm hug.

you tucked yourself into his chest, your cheek pressed to the fabric of his uniform, and you sniffled as your hands found purchase on his sides and squeezed him close.

"simon--"

"luv..." he breathed, and you pulled back, standing on your toes, your lips kissing his cheek as your arms came around his neck. simon felt his knees almost give out when you pressed your forehead to his, your hands sliding down to cup his cheeks. "i...i-i...missed you--"

"missed you more," you whispered, wiping a shaking hand along your face to rid the happy tears you shed. "'m so proud of you, simon."

"you came."

"wouldn't have missed this for anything."

one of your hands fell, tracing the lapels of his new uniform. he looked so good in it. he looked older. he looked so much better--stronger, more confident, eyes not so dark and dull and sad. he had put on some weight, and there was something so nice about feeling the solidity of him.

"hey! smile!"

both of you turned to see someone holding up a camera, waving at the two of you. you shuffled, breaking into a big smile, and you posed for the picture. you cradled simon's face to your own, pressing your lips to his cheek, and you giggled after you heard the click of your picture being taken. you were handed the photo back, and you shook it gently to develop the ink.

and there it was--fuck, it was so obvious. you were looking at the camera as you kissed simon's face, a happy shine in your eyes, bright and easy and soft.

he couldn't be bothered to look at the camera. all he could focus on was you.

he didn't really know what he had been waiting for. it would never be a good time, a right time. he had been at death's door more than once, and every time he was there, all he thought about was how much he regretted not knowing more about you, not taking more, not giving more.

in his room, alone, in the barracks of a place he no longer saw as he home, he thought about you there, too. thought about your soft skin and your pretty curves, the weight of your breast in one hand, how solid and grounded and real the space between your thighs was. he thought about how difficult it had been to find the meaning and the love that sex could be with another person, and how easy it had been to sink back into that place with you.

he didn't see pain behind his eyes when he tasted you. he didn't feel the burn and sear of some other memory when he thought about spreading you wide, giving you his burly fingers, fucking you senseless with his trigger-happy hands. those memories were erased. they were numb and far away, and he dreamed about saying thank you for making him feel just a little more human again.

maybe that was why he hadn't really fucked you yet. maybe that was why he hesitated every time he thought about sinking his cock inside of you, taking that soft, drooling pussy and making it his own, really his own--maybe he thought twice before getting that far because deep down he knew this would happen.

he knew he would lose you.

it was spring. flowers getting their color. soft sounds in the trees. sunlight warm against your face. it was too bad it was doing nothing to soothe the ice in your chest.

it was so heavy. it hurt, it was painful. in a matter of weeks, more like days, you had lost every person you had ever loved.

your second mother. the warmth of a brother. the kiss of loving sister, the soft hands of a nephew. the truth of it, the reality of it, was that they were your family. not by blood--chosen, because you chose them, and they chose you.

a friend. the love of your life, you thought. no, you knew, because the depth of what he left in you was too deep to be anything else.

it felt trivial to call him your soulmate. it felt stupid to call him your lover. it was more than that, you knew it was. now that you thought again, it didn't even feel right calling him the love of your life--what the fuck do you call the better part of what you are?

what do you call the thing that has always been the same? what do you call the constant, the unchanging variable, the thing that makes your sky blue? what the fuck do you call the thing that pumps your blood and kisses your scars and always makes it back home?

every terrifying goodbye. all the letters sent back and forth, the late night phone calls, the whispers of i love you that you knew were more--why didn't you just tell him?

why didn't you just tell him that this was what you felt? why didn't you just confess every suffocating feeling?

because now he will never know. he will never come home, he will never hear you tell him you miss him--fuck, did he think about me? when they killed him too, did he have time to think about me? did he think about tommy? did he think about what would happen to me, did he wish he could say something, too, do you think he had his own regrets?

because it was real, wasn't it? he loved you. he had to have loved you, because you loved him, you knew this, and you still do, and it hurts, and i want to die, too. and you hate him now, because he did this to you, and there was nothing you could do.

your hand shook as you shoved the key into the lock. you turned it, opening the door and closing it behind you.

you hadn't been inside of your apartment in a long while. it wasn't safe, they told you. but now, it didn't really matter to you. dead, alive, you weren't either anymore. you were somewhere in between, and you would rather be one of them then none of them.

and dead felt like it might be relief, too.

it was dark. every surface with a thin layer of dust, the curtains drawn, locking out the spring. it was still winter inside of here, a moment in time that you wished so badly you could go back to. when they were here. when he was here.

you blinked when you saw the sway of the curtains. a soft ray of sunlight peeked through them as they moved with the wind, and you swallowed hard.

you had left it closed.

when the fabric pulled back, you held up a hand to block the glare of the sun. you stepped backwards, back into the dark, and when the curtains fell again, you rubbed your eyes before opening them to focus.

no. that wasn't right. a figure stood there now, standing tall and imposing. big shoulders, a solid chest, the gait of someone you once knew, but not anymore.

a ghost. i'm seeing a fucking ghost.

you stepped forward, opening your mouth to speak. for a second, you could pretend it was someone else, but as your gaze adjusted back to the dark, you met those eyes. eyes, his eyes--you would recognize them anywhere.

he wore a mask, but he couldn't hide from you. not anywhere.

"si...simon?"

fuck, you couldn't stop the break in your voice. the bloom of something horridly happy in your chest--because your family was gone, but fuck, fuck, fuck--

sobbing. you were sobbing, dropping your things, running because even a second longer without him, and you would lose your mind. you shoved the table out of your way, kicked the chairs, you heard something crash onto the floor and shatter--but then your arms were around him.

he called your name, but you didn't respond. you cried out again, and when you tried to jump, he couldn't catch you. he fell to his knees with you in his arms, weak from injuries you couldn't see, but he didn't complain about the pain. he held you just as tight, cradling you to his chest, and you both fell to the floor in a messy, tearful embrace of two people who couldn't believe their blood-soaked luck.

because you had lost your family, but hadn't lost each other, and even though it sickened you to feel happy, you did, and you couldn't care yet about what that might mean.

"i thought...i thought they..." you had never heard him this way. his voice so low, so hoarse, and you knew what had happened. he had accepted your undoing, just as you had, and he was struggling with the mix of nauseous happiness and deep-set guilt. "thought they had you, luv--"

you shook your head, cupping his head, smoothing your fingers over the mask. you did not ask about it, not about why he covered his face or what he had gone through to get back here.

they can't kill him. he's mine, they can't take him from me, they can't, they can't, they can't--

you didn't remember how long you laid there. how long you spent with him draped over you, his head buried in your neck, the sounds of his shaking breaths.

you love him. i love him. he loves me. but you don't tell him that. and he does not tell you.

he lied. over and over again, he lied to you, and you never batted an eye. and there had been moments when he knew that you knew--you would look him over, knowing what you were hearing was not the truth, and yet you stayed.

accepted the keys to a shared apartment. wrapped his wounds after he had let go of the anger, sinking it into soft, supple flesh of revenge that had tasted so good. when you washed his clothes and saw the water run red, you did not blink twice. all he remembered was you nodding to his pants and telling him that cold water and peroxide would do the trick.

bonded. that was what you were. bonded, through trauma and death and blood and the look in your eyes when he ate your pretty pussy. the naked, glorious truth of you, it was cruel, and now you weren't here.

an empty room. pictures he couldn't bring himself to burn. a mug he won't throw away, the hairbrush still rattling in the bathroom drawer, the shoes you left in the hallway. you were everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and he was fucking sick.

he ached. he hated; hated what, he didn't know, but he hated something, and he wanted to tear it apart. there was someone he loved in another place, and he needed to bring her home.

she needed to come back to where she belonged. needed to come home. needed to lay on his bed and listen to him apologize, and he needed to fucking have her.

he was going to bring you home. whether you liked it or not, whether you believed what he said, whether or not you would forgive him, you were coming home, you were coming home, you were going to fucking come home.

he waited for you. you could see him from down the street, sitting there on the steps, elbows resting on his knees. you stopped walking, skidding to a halt, and you adjusted your jacket as you turned to look around the street.

it was empty. and you were just desperate to get back to your apartment. you took a shaky breath before moving again, adjusting your bag over your shoulder.

you tried to walk past him. tried to sidestep him as you walked up the steps--but that was stupid. he reached over and grabbed ahold of your shin, holding you back, and you huffed as you gripped the stair railing for balance.

"let go."

the hairs on the back of your neck stood tall when you heard the low chuckle, and then--"no."

you kicked his hand off, turning to face him, looking down at him.

"how did you find me?"

"not a fuckin' corner of the world y'can go without me findin' you, kitty."

"what did i say about calling me that?"

he shrugged. "dunno."

you gritted your teeth, "get the fuck out of here, simon. i won't ask you again."

you were forced backwards when he stood up, to his full height, and although he was a step or two below you, it only made you at eye-level with him. you glared nonetheless, trying not to let his size intimidate you.

"i don't want to see you. ever again. leave--"

"no," simon muttered, and he narrowed his eyes under the mask. "not goin' anywhere, kitty. i came to get you."

"i'm not going anywhere with you," you spat. "fuck you."

you blinked when all you saw was the crinkle of his eyes, the tell-tale sign of a smile. your heart squeezed a little at the sight of it. it was unsettling. it didn't make sense.

"i told you--not ready for that," he said lowly. "now go get your things. we're leaving."

you leaned in, shaking your head. "i'm not going anywhere with you, simon," you repeated. "leave. get out of here. i...i don't want anything to do with you, i--"

"liar--" he snapped. you jerked back at that, and before you could respond, he reached up and cupped the expanse of your throat with the meat of his hand. you gripped his wrist to relieve the pressure, but it was no use. simon had an iron grip on you, and he pulled you closer, the front of your lips pressed to the mouth of his mask. "you're lyin'. it's olright, sweetheart."

"simon--"

"no, you listen t'me," he growled, and your lips trembled. you couldn't decipher the feelings you were having. fear, uneasiness, arousal--it was all at once, and it confused you. "y'didn't let me fuckin' talk before, but you will now."

you whimpered, clawing as his gloved hand, but he clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

"made a mistake, didn't i?" he hummed. "wrecked the only good thing i ever had, yeah? 'cause i'm a right bastard, kitty, but you knew that, hmmm?" he smoothed a rough thumb over your bottom lip, and you spat, but this only made the crinkles around his eyes grow. his smile, fuck you. "shagging girls i don'even know, fuckin' them, 'cause i was angry--" he tsked, shaking his head, "dunno wot i am...wot i was thinking. was just...so fuckin' angry."

"fuck you!" you breathed, your eyes watering. "i hate you."

"y'don't, luv," he whispered. "y'don't hate me, and that's what bloody kills you, yeah? y'never could. not after everything."

your lips trembled, and your face scrunched up in pain as you started to cry.

"it's not fair, simon," you gasped. "i-it's not fair. what did i do wrong? what did i do?"

maybe that was the cruelest part of this. simon had been the one to make a mistake, but somehow it was supposed to be your fault?

simon had let you go for too long--you were thinking, and he couldn't have that. you were thinking too much, letting your mind fester and spill over and make a mess of what really was the truth.

you just needed to come home. that was all.

"nothin'," he murmured. "did nothin' wrong." he pressed the face of his mask to yours again, harder this time, a kiss that took your breath away. "could never do anythin' wrong, kitty. somethin' wrong with me, th's all."

"i-i can't--" you sobbed. "i-i can't do this--"

"'m not leaving without you," simon growled. he reached behind with his other hand and gripped your hair roughly, shaking you, biting against your mouth. "not fucking leaving, you understand me? i will follow you wherever you go."

you cried, and all he did was hiss, shaking his head.

"simon--"

"you could run all you want, kitty, but i will fuckin' come for you--" he cupped your face with both hands, making you look at him. there was something in his eyes. something insane, something unhinged, and you wanted to be afraid, but simon would never be able to scare you, not really. you were shaking, tasting the saltiness of your tears, but you stared right back at him. "y'can even die, kitty..." your eyes fluttered shut, and his breath was warm. "i'll crawl into your fuckin' grave and pull y'out. n'if i can't get you then, i'll find y'in every other life y'live--" your mouth fell open, slack-jawed and wide open, just like always, just like he knew you would be, "--i'll follow y'there, and i'll bring y'back. bring y'home."

when you opened your eyes, he was still staring down at you, and your gaze found his immediately. maybe simon wasn't the other part of you. maybe he wasn't the love of your life; maybe he wasn't what made the stars align or the pieces match up.

maybe this was fuel to fire. a cup that never goes empty, one that simply overflows. the igniter to something that neither of you would be able to control.

but when the fuck did you ever care about control? maybe you just needed to let go.

if he took from you, then you should take from him. steal and take and bite and growl and make him bleed, because that was what he did to you, and you wanted it, too, i want him to beg, too, want him to lose his fucking mind the way i do, because it isn't fair, and i deserve it, and it is what i'm owed.

for the first time in your entire life, you saw the same in his eyes that you knew was inside of your own. something hungry and territorial and fucking angry--and i am sick and tired of burying it.

simon was yours. yours. and you were going to fuck him until he understood that, too.

[cloudysfluffs]

If you’re accepting requests, I’d love to see any tk hcs you have for the pines family! No rush of course!

OF COURSE!!!!! havent written hcs in a while but i bet i can come up with some :3

PINES FAMILY TICKLE HCS UNDER THE CUT!!!! KINK/FETISH BLOGS DON'T TOUCH!!!!! HALF OF THEM ARE MINORS AND ALL OF THEM ARE RELATED!!!!! DONT MAKE IT WEIRD!!!!!

Dipper

definitely the biggest lee in the family i fear. he's canonically ticklish and i just KNOW no one lets him live it down. least of all his sister

his ribs are his main spot!!! BUT also since idk where else to mention this, all of the pines family also have a spot that they share!!! theyre all ticklish on their backs :3

my boyfriend picked his rib spot because he always wears that vest. he thinks itll protect him. it wont

squeaks a LOT, his laugh is very high-pitched. his family/friends like to poke him a lot because of the noises he makes

he is SO embarrassed about it but he actually does like being tickled!!!! but he will NEVER ask for it. ever. luckily mabel has very good insight and can always tell when hes in a mood

out of everyone, surprisingly, he might like sessions from stan the most!! stan isnt QUITE as good at reading him, but dipper has learned that intentionally getting on his nerves is a good way to get wrecked for it (ex: the 'stans tattoo' short? stan nearly tickled him to DEATH for that stunt)

so incredibly paranoid that someone might find out that he likes this. hes definitely the type to search 'tickle scene' on the family computer and FREAK OUT if anyone walks in

generally prefers sessions with people hes really close to/that he knows he can trust and they wont take advantage

Mabel

exact opposite of dipper. the families biggest ler!!!! and she is making it EVERYONES problem!!!!

completely shameless about finding tickling fun ("it's a game for kids!!! we're kids!!! relax!!!!")

if dipper ever starts acting paranoid or 'too-grown-up' she swoops in to the rescue to remind him that its OK to like silly, childish things!!!!

her and stan are a VERY DANGEROUS TEAM. they regularly form alliances to take down the other two twins. and they have yet to lose!!!!

kind of feared the day that dipper would 'grow out of' playing with her. but when ford came home she was a lot less worried, because him and stan never really grew out of it!!!

queen of cheer up tickles. her smile is very contagious

she will make jokes WHILE tickling you, just to be like 'wow, i must be really funny, if you're laughing so much!!' <3

she DOES have a lee side, and she's also completely shameless about that!! she just likes tickling other people more :3

Stan

have you noticed that hes like. almost never in gravity falls tk headcanon posts? unless hes specifically suggested? i have seen so many include dipper, mabel, ford, and just skip over him shjdkhsdfk. i dont understand why, hes got so much potential!!!!

anyway, second biggest ler of the family. and hes really only ranked below mabel because mabel is so SLIPPERY. she cannot be caught unless she WANTS to be. stans a little easier to take off guard

also much more shameless about it. takes literally every opportunity to tease his nephew in particular

i mentioned above that dipper tends to try to get on his nerves to get tickled for it, because stan doesnt seem to pick up on it otherwise. i should add that stan absolutely knows that hes doing that JUST to play with him. he knows dipper isnt just being annoying on purpose. and he respects it!!! because it means dipper is toughening up, and standing up to him!!! even if its for kind of a silly reason. he wont let dipper know he knows, though

hes also been interested in ticklng since he was young. him and ford BOTH were, seperately, and then they found out at the same time and were BOTH like 'YOU TOO??????? I THOUGHT I WAS THE WEIRD ONE'

hes got that boxer training, so if you try and start a fight with him and youre NOT mabel, youre gonna lose. hes REALLY good at pinning lees down

hes got like. one, single exception that he will willingly be lee for. but he will never tell you who it is. ("what are you, a cop?")

ford could, theoretically, beat him in a tk fight.....but he never does. :)

Ford

unpopular opinion i fear, but this man is a LEE!!!!!! my mind will not be changed!!!!!! biggest lee in the family, second only to dipper

"oh but he has six fingers! wouldnt that make him a great ler by default?" of course it would!!!! thats why its SO FUNNY thats he's a lee.

hes got 12 fingers in total. hes been fighting his way through the multiverse for thirty years, so hes TOUGH. muscular, with a lot of training. AND HES A LEE. he has so much potential and hes using NONE of it when it comes to this!!!!! do you guys see the vision

him and dipper bond over being the lees of the family. he has apologized for passing it down to his nephew in the past. meanwhile mabel and stan are chanting 'ALPHA TWIN! ALPHA TWIN!' in the other room

this man could fill journals JUST about the sessions he had in the multiverse

him and stan have been play-fighting since they were children, and he loses almost every single time. mostly because stan is a dirty cheater who will bring tickling into it without fail and thats all it takes for ford to crumble

the only person he was consistently winning tickle fights with, ever, was fiddleford, back when they were partners. AND EVEN THEN he still LOST, all the time!!!! and now he doesnt even stand a chance against mcgucket. much like mabel, he is simply too slippery

my favorite tickly dynamic with ford though is his one with bill. bill thinks tickling is SO entertaining!!! so back in the days of their partnership, sometimes theyd take a break from work just to have a session in the mindscape. LITERALLY fords 'dream sessions'. bill holds this over his head to this day. the chain scene, from weirdmageddon???? he has used that exact method in past sessions

HIS PALMS ARE TICKLISH. adding to the irony that his greatest asset as a ler is what makes him the best lee

[found-family-tournament]

Found Family Tournament Round 2 Part 13 Group 61

Propaganda and further images under the cut

Squeak Squad: Daroach, Doc, Storo, Spinni (& the Squeakers)

Team Bleck: Count Bleck, Nastasia, O’Chunks, Mimi, Dimentio & Mr. L

Squeak Squad:

they are rat thieves who are a found family and nothing can convince my otherwise (not even canon)

Not much is known about them, but they’re 4 little dudes just being in a gang together. Here’s a list of their names from the image: the one with the hat is Daroach, Storo is the big blue one with the eyepatch, Spinni is the yellow one, and Doc is the one in the flying saucer. The pink guy carrying the chest is Kirby(he’s not a member of the Squeak Squad). The little mouse things at the bottom and in the background are the Squeaker. Squeakers arent really part of the family, they are more like Henchmen

Team Bleck:

VILLAIN FOUND FAMILY I LOVE THEM SO MUCH THEYRE SO GOOD MAN C'MON... Dimentio is a bitch and Mr. L was kinda brain washed into it but overall they all genuinely have such fun dynamics even Mr L and Dimentio involved, Tragic Wants the world to die Count, the devious little shit that is the insane Fool, the secretary who is in love with a man who loves another, the big lug who just wants to chunk up the place but cares for blecky boy, the beautifully mildly terrifying shapeshifter who can be a giant spider abomination, and the brave brainwashed mechanical genius! You can even add in tippi as an honorary member because shes bleck's fiance :]

Villian found family!

Oh man where do I start. Evil team with the power of friendship. Dimentio reading everyone’s diaries. Nassy and Mimi and O’Chunks forming their own mini found family after Dimentio and Bleck are gone.

[themeatpit37]

More about the Sunny Time Fair Au!!!!

This is mostly just ramblings, but here are some random bits and pieces that people who found the au can get a glimpse into.

There probably won’t be art for a while, mostly because I don’t know how I would change designs to fit the theme (Jack will get more face paint though and probably a new outfit) and because it’s kinda hard to draw right now.

What I do have though is!!!!!! Some music!

Playlist for the Sunny Time Fair

Welcome to the circus by skittishmusic - Jack tormenting Ian and mocking him for his job at the fair, knowing he could never replace the void left after his death not only as a staff member but as a part of the crew.

Freakshow Theme from American Horror Story - Ambiance perfect for a haunted amusement park! The soft sound mixed with what sounds like groans and squeaks of a balloon being twisted… It really fits the vibe that something is off.

Fall Fair Suite from Ride the Cyclone - A mix of referencing Jack’s death and his attempts to kill Ian, Nick, and Shaun. I imagine this as Jack messing with the ride’s carts before they got on so it would crash. Not a canonical death, but it being them experiencing the horror that is a park ride accident would be certainly something!

Rollercoaster by The Orion Experience - More leaning on the cute, fluffy side of the au where Jack is falling for Y/N and is trying his best to woo them. Plus the irony of a love song about rollercoasters when Jack died on one. The hesitation of Y/N realizing Jack might not be as sweet and innocent as he seems, his manipulative nature slowly seeping in yet he still keeps luring them in.

Terrible ride by The Queenstons - As you can tell, a lot of ride theming and Jack messing with the guys. But also the sinister vibe and the start speaking of taking someone away could be seen as how Ian interprets Jack taking Y/N away while the rest is Jack luring Ian to his death.

Circus by Lindsay Mendez and Drew Gasparini - First of all, song about a person killing for their obsession. Second, all the theming around the circus and clowns. And with that one pair of lines “Good evening gents, step right up into my circus! I’m the ringmaster and this is where the work is!” because it fits Jack in this au so well! He is the ringmaster! The one in control! The one pulling the strings! The victims the singer talks to, I imagine them being the guys from the group. He’d kill Nick first obviously, probably Shaun second so the mentioned line can be sung to Ian since he is basically Jack’s replacement. The ending of the sound with the looping noise could be Ian on the ride’s tracks, flashing from him watching the cart coming to back when Jack died himself only for it to end with the crying. The crying coming from Y/N at the sight of Ian mangled and bloodied, gore strewn throughout the tracks and on the poor traumatized riders.

Also Ian got Y/N a fast pass, something he is able to give out due to his job there. Nick and Shaun still have to wait though because Ian didn’t know they were coming. (This is relevant because this au has a dash of Nick x Shaun in it plus the two try to partner up to survive against Jack only to be separated anyways)

The park crew do not like Ian. Not in a “Fuck you die” way, but they’re definitely still grieving. Sue is the only person to welcome Ian with open arms while Rory on the other hand thinks he’s nothing close to the role Jack had before and will be dead weight. Knackadan doesn’t hate Ian really, but he is definitely still messed up from the incident and keeps his distance. If Ian ever tries to get close to whatever Knackadan is working on, he panics. This is because he blames himself for Jack’s death and worries that he’ll get Ian killed too.

The only reason Sue, Rory, and Knackadan haven’t quit working at the Sunny Time Fair is out of respect for Jack. He was like a friend, maybe even family to them and they don’t want to leave him behind… So they put on brave faces and stayed in memory of their dear friend.

It seems this was appreciated, as all of them experienced non-aggressive paranormal activity after the incident. Sometimes Rory can still hear Jack asking him about what he’s cooking up and Sue occasionally finds open makeup kits in the dressing room along with Jack’s old outfit.

Knackadan keeps seeing figures on the tracks of the rollercoaster replacing the one Jack died on and he even hears the sickening crunch of bones whenever people ride it… But he also keeps finding balloon animals sitting on top of the operating systems or little taffy candies in his tool box.

Jack isn’t a malicious spirit at first. It only started with major changes from the new park owner and the sight of Y/N crying at the fair. He hated seeing people sad at the park, but to him this was the final straw. No one, especially not someone he found so charming, should be left alone to cry.

Will probably add more later but have my word vomit for now!

[markerofthemidnight]

Wiggly Speculative Biology Headcanons

(specifically ones that I designed to be complacent with the backstory established for him in Greyscale, even though I know for a fact that it’s not canon)

I don’t know what the hell I’m doing but I wanted an excuse to talk about Wiggly so here

As established in Little, Wiggly, to this day, has no clue what species he is, other than the fact that he’s the last of his kind and has been more or less his whole life

His relationship with the other Lords is more found family than anything else, hence why they all look so different

It’s pretty much just something he treated as a fact of life for a long time, but also a pretty big source of ego given that he was not only able to to beat fate’s plan for his kind, but also get to the top of the pecking order in the Black and White

It did result in a hidden interest in biology, though, so he could finally figure out some of the unanswered questions he’d had about how his body works

For example! The reason why he has fur is because, as a cold-blooded creature, he needs all the heat he can get

I’m well aware that there’s a good reason why this doesn’t occur in real life, that being that fur would probably make cold-blooded creatures more cold due to having no heat to trap

But there is reason behind this! Almost all other creatures in the Black and White are warm-blooded, and stay warm-blooded for a long while after death due to the tiny residues of magic they all have, so Wiggly and his kind worked their way around this by just eating a whole lot!

He’s easily the second-most gluttonous Lord, next to Nibbly, although he’s a fair bit more picky with what he eats now compared to what he used to eat

(though that’s mainly because of course you would prefer really high class seafood to literal rotting corpses and whatever else he was eating as a squidlet)

Of course, nowadays those instincts don’t do anything give him a belly-well that’s rather marketably squishy, but that shit saved his life when he was a kid. And even if it didn’t, no one who’s interested in living a life without eternal torture dares to call Wiggog Y’rath fat.

The tentacle mouth he sports is an anomaly caused by the sheer amount of power coursing through his body. Beforehand, it was replaced by a simple squid beak that’s still there under the mass.

Aside from the obvious, his kind used it to communicate through a series of dolphin-like squeaks, which slowly devolved into deep, guttural ostrich-y noises as he got more powerful

I like to think that this one time, a short while before the banishment, Webby managed to track down a small swamp occupied by a colony of creatures that were, rather obviously, close relatives of his kind

Wiggly would then go on to deny crying with sheer awe and joy the first time he saw them until his dying breath.

[litnerdwrites]

Clandestine Affairs - Lust X OC (II)

A/N: Okay, sorry for the wait on chapter 2, but it's my birthday on Saturday, so I want to get through as many of my obligations as I could so I could enjoy my weekend with it. I can't promise that the next chapter will be out in a timely manner either though, since my sister's birthday is exactly a week from mine, and I'll be prepping for hers. I'll be back at it after that, hopefully.

However, I did get myself the Waterstones exclusive edition for Throne of the Fallen. Beautiful cover, sprayed edges. No bonus content, which is sad. I really wanted to read it, but I still love how it looks on my shelf. I also really want to read Heartless by Marissa Meyres, but I'm having trouble getting started. Motivation? Anyone? On a side note, would y'll like to see me write short snippets for some fun prompts every now and then? Just for fun, and hopefully get some writing critiques if anyone has any.

Feel free to comment what you think will happen next, or what you hope will happen next. Also, requests are open, and let me know if you want to be added to a tag list. I do have some Euphemia content I'm editing. Hopefully, I'll have it up next week, if not chapter 3, since that is where things are going to start getting a bit more interesting, now that I've set things up.

WC: 1509

TW: Nothing outside the canon typical.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 (You are here) Chapter 3

Something felt… different. 

Despite not having slept, spreading the night dancing and chatting with the Malvagi instead, Amara felt… Lighter. 

She found herself humming softly as she walked into Sea & Vine for breakfast, waving at shopkeepers setting up their stalls for the day, and even stopped to indulge in idle chatter with the few who had some time to spare. 

It wasn’t until she found herself outside of the bookstore her family ran that she felt those imaginary cinder blocks appear around her ankles again. Each step seemed to take more effort than the last, as she forced herself to lift her feet instead of dragging them, and the invisible chains seemed to double in weight as she raised her foot to remove her shoes.

Amara’s heart rate picked up with every tiny noise she made as she entered her father’s store. The click of the door opening as she turned the handle had her pausing in apprehension, before timidly pushing open, only as far as necessary to squeeze her body through. Amara stiffened further and further, for every second that the hinges creaked, or the floorboards squeaked beneath her. She flinched as the bell above the entrance rang, alerting potential occupants of presence, but when nobody came, she gently pushed the door shut, shoulder staying hunched and stiff as the bell rang again, softer this time, and the door fell shut with a thud and a click. 

It was silent for another beat, before quickly slipping her slippers back on, she creeps through the store, to the back, and finds her way to the kitchen. Only once she’s shut the door, does Amara let out a tiny, tentative sigh of relief.

Rolling up her sleeves, she begins tittering about the kitchen, grabbing eggs, flour, sugar, and other ingredients, to start on breakfast. Within an hour, the Cornettis are in the oven, and the table is set with bread, jam, and freshly brewed cappuccinos, so she took the chance to head upstairs and take a quick sponge bath before changing. She paused momentarily when she heard voices from up the hall and rushed back down again, as silently as possible while the voices turned into movement, prompting me to be quick. 

It was only when the table was set to perfection did she hear footsteps headed down the stairs. She took the opportunity to duck into the back garden, and begin setting up the various seating areas that could be accessed by a side door in the store, that leads down a quaint little path, to the back garden that overlooks the beach and ocean. 

Even without taking count, there were more boats bobbing over the water, amongst white foamed waves, now that it was daytime, then there were last night. Light reflected off of the azure pool, concealing the darkest depths below. 

Peaceful. At least on the surface. 

The thought was uncomfortably familiar. 

In the quiet of the early morning, Amara found her mind drifting back to last night. 

She had danced with the Prince until her feet ached, losing herself in every glide and tug and twirl. Music, unlike any music she’d heard in their mortal realm, echoed, even now, in the depth of her mind. Elegant, like something you’d expect to be played for nobility, yet something about that music touched her very soul, as if it somehow had hands and puppeteered her body through the motions while her mind drifted, though it never drifted too far from her dance partner. She had only really clocked the hours passing when she felt herself slump against Lust’s arm, and her breaths came out in pants. 

When she’d moved to pull away, she’d almost collapsed into the sand after feeling the white hot pain shoot through her feet. Lust gave her a crooked grin, and scooped her into his arms, carrying her to a nearby rock formation. With a surprising amount of tenderness, he’d placed her down and begun removing her shoes, the grin widening when he noticed how much she’d worn them through in the hours they’d danced, and seemed pleased by it. At some point, a goblet, likely worth more than every store on her street, filled with water, and some cookies, frosted in purple and silver royal icing. They looked like something foreign nobility would have at tea parties or concerts. 

She raised a brow at Lust, before taking a hesitant bite. The sweetness had her eyes widening and cheeks going red. Lust merely snickered at her, to which she huffed, and attempted to kick him, only for him to catch her foot easily from where he stood. With an all too calm expression, he began inspecting her foot, eyes narrowing every now and then, as though he were a doctor. He even began tutting her when she tried to pull it back. Then, that cursed demon had threatened to resort to ‘his own brand of discipline’ should she attempt to assault him again.

Her eyes snapped open, suddenly aware of her flushed cheeks, and the way she froze in place at the memory. At the time, she’d huffed and turned back to her biscuits, with red tinting her cheeks, but now, as she thought back to that moment, she felt a fluttering in the pit of her stomach. 

Anxiety, surely. 

“Amara!”

She flinched at the voice that so rudely pulled her from her thoughts. 

“Oh, good morning father,” she greets, quickly walking over to him, shoulders stiff, “Did you like your breakfast?” 

He pulled his eyes from the set up back garden, turning to examine her. 

Amara remained stiff under his gaze. 

“Breakfast was a bit… much, this morning, Amara,” he comments. “Do go easy on it tomorrow, lest we run out of food for lunch and dinner,” 

“Yes father. I’ll do better tomorrow,” 

“Oh, and Amara? Later this week, go into town and use some of your salary to buy something… respectable to wear. We’ll be having guests over next week,” 

“Yes father,” 

He smiled down at her, before pulling her forward, into his chest. 

“Alright, sweetheart. I’m going to open the shop. Make sure you have a quick breakfast before coming down to help too,” 

Amara barely suppressed her squeak as her father pulled her into his arms. 

“Y-yes father,” 

“Pardon?” he asked, tightening his grip. 

“Yes father,” 

She spoke clearly, willing herself not to stutter. She shrunk under his touch, as her father ruffled her hair, before he went back inside. 

Amara didn't move. 

Clasping her hands together, she inhaled a deep breath, before exhaling again. 

Then inhaled again. 

And released it.

Again.

Release.

Once she felt as though her nerves weren’t at risk of frying her brain, Amara went back towards the kitchen. Silently, she took in the empty platters, and cups, with little more than crumbs left over. Sighing, she began washing the dishes, putting everything away. After helping herself to the very last slice of bread, smothered in some homemade jam, she headed out to the store front. 

“That took a while. You weren’t dallying were you, sweetheart?” 

“No Father. I cleaned up, ate, and came straight out,” she quickly assures.

He ruffled her hair again, pressing down slightly harder than necessary. 

She suppressed her wince. 

“Just don’t take so long next time, alright?” 

“Yes father,” she nodded when he left. 

Amara watched as her father wandered into the back, likely going up to his study to work. As he left, the tension left her shoulders, just a little, and a sigh of relief escaped her. 

How long has it been since it happened? 

Weeks? 

Months? 

Part of her didn’t want to believe that it’d been so long since her mother had been found dead in an alley, heart carved from her chest. She’d been there for most of the night, it seemed, left to rot. Amara had broken down by the corpse, prepared for burial at the church. She’d sobbed and screamed and begged the Goddesses to bring her back until- 

The ringing of the bell drew her from her thoughts. Amara spun on her heel, ready to greet the first customer of the day, a bright, welcoming smile on her face. 

“Good mor-” 

The parchment gently landing on the desk in front of her caught her eye. 

She glanced left.

Then right. 

Then towards the door. 

Despite clearly having heard the bell ring, the store was empty, and the door shut. Nothing had been moved, or altered, aside from the tiny slip of parchment now resting on her desk. 

Reluctantly, Amra reached for it, examined it. 

Then she glanced left again. 

Then right again. 

Then she slowly unfolded the parchment.

A sharp gasp was pulled from her lips at the contents. 

She staggered back. 

The parchment fluttered from her fingers to the ground. 

Miss Willows,  I found such enjoyment in your company last night, that I find myself craving more. In exchange for a sinfully delightful reward, please come grace me with your company once more, where we shared our last dance.  Forever yours, L. 

[givekennyabreak]

Friendship is not magic.

A little snippet of Jade and Bug's (my OC) friendship!!

I'm planning on writing about Bug's arrival in town soon enough ;)

Warnings: canon compliant swearing, Jade Herrera is a warning by himself, mentions of attempted murder. lowercase, i think?

“d’you think i’m annoying?”

jade looked up from his little notepad of horrors, brows furrowed in mock thought.

“yes.”

bug whined. the sound echoed through the semi-empty bar, where the older man tried to put something - he still didn’t know what, exactly, yet - together, hair mussed up from his frantic hands.

“i hate it when you do that.” they mumbled, rotating on the stool, that squeaked with the movement, and their own hair was a curly, dry mess.

(‘it woke up like this, and i ain’t got any leave-in cream in this hellhole’, bug grumbled when jade asked what the fuck hit them that morning.)

“when i say the truth?” he asked, genuinely curious. he decided to indulge the younger a little, just to give his mind a break from the situation at hand.

“when you’re so honest.” bug replied, stopping just as they faced jade. “reminds me of myself.”

the man sighed, and sat on the stool closest to them. “please, do continue. sounds like you want to say something, but i can’t promise i’ll pay attention to all of it.”

“just half is fine.”

“you settle for low, huh.”

“can’t expect much from you.”

“fuck off.” jade grumbled, receiving a chuckle from his friend.

“sorry.” they picked at their own fingers, onyx eyes focused on the dusty ground. “it’s just- i’ve always been blunt, tried to be honest most of the time. not to the point of hurting people, but doing my best not to lie, you know? to not lose the trust i’ve gained from the people around me.”

bug sighed and turned back around, picking at the wooden counter instead of their own skin. “look where that got me. got two friends, and they tried to kill me in some kind of shitty ritual.”

“well, that’s not your fault though, is it?”

bug looked up, and found jade’s eyes staring right at them; they moved, uncomfortable, and averted their own eyes. 

“guess so.”

“you did your best. if they fucked up, that’s their own shit, not yours.” the older man huffed, and placed the notepad on the counter. “‘sides, you got rid of two fakes and got what, three friends here?”

bug looked up again, glasses a little speckled with unshed tears, as their wet lashes brushed against the lens. “you consider me a friend?”

“i meant kenny, victor and your chicken.”

bug let out a choked laugh at the response, mumbling a ‘bitch’ under their breath.

“jellybean is family.”

“yeah, i consider you my friend. a very annoying, nuts, kinda intelligent friend.”

they smiled, and jade saw their eyes light up - a genuine, happy smile.

“thank you. you’re a very nice friend, even though i’m pretty sure you’’d be part of a mean girl group out of this place.”

“i’d bully you.”

“definitely.”

they sat in comfortable silence, until bug leaned towards the man.

“...can i see your notepad of secrets?”

“you have to level up your friendship stat first.”

“‘kay. i’ll leave you to your dark business, then. shout if you need anything.”

“thanks.”

[mirchloe]

i think i'll also use this blog as just a place to put down some headcanons or ideas because i just finished reading the final chapter of higu meguri, and boy, oh, boy, and i mad at how it just gutted itself and need to distract myself. (don't read it. just don't. it takes everything that was interesting from the anime and makes it ten morbillion times worse.)

so, before i was shadowbanned, i had an ask from around summer '22 asking for some camper headcanons! and i had a massive google doc for it, but i never ended up finishing it because of life stuff, so to not let it go to waste, here's a handful of them below the cut! it goes through each camper who i had written up to at that point, and i haven't touched the doc since spring '23 because of, you guessed it, life stuff.

well, hope you guys enjoy because i need to get my mind off this atrocious ending lol. i'm copying and pasting which ones stand out to me, and this might get a bit long. for context, i do consider key aspects from campster as part my personal headcanons such as the ranking system, comments the kids make to each other or about themselves, listed likes/favorite media, etc! campster might be considered non-canon, but it holds a wealth of knowledge about the kids that the game can't touch on, like benny's love of musicals and elka's entire family history! (please excuse any spelling mistakes - this is already long enough lol)

Benny

Although he is a Tender Brain, Benny doesn’t mind being one of the weaker psychics, so long as he’s safe. While he is concerned that makes him a target, especially when Maloof gains power with Mikhail, he’s more content to hide behind others or immediately latch on to the person with power (even if it means struggling to canoe himself to Thorney Towers to beg the coach for a job offer and coming back in shame when it doesn’t happen). 

He focuses so heavily on Bobby because Bobby is like a bodyguard. Benny is able to bully and demean others for the fun of it because he has Bobby’s protection (despite Bobby’s exasperation with his flunky’s excessive behavior).

But he isn’t exactly friends with Bobby. He clings to Bobby because Bobby is, at one point, the person with the most power. Bobby is brash and bold, and Benny enjoys his cruelty because it provides him the opportunity to mock the weaker kids. He’s quick to express his annoyance when Bobby begins showing an interest in Chloe, a kid who provided a genuine interest in Bobby, even if based on a misconception. If Bobby is away, then he has to find someone new to suck up to stay safe, hence why he’s sitting between Maloof and Mikhail at the end - they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse when he found himself isolated.

He’s very much a scared kid. He hates being alone. I like to think he found comfort in the extravagant world of musical theater. Not because his parents are neglectful - his parents are perfectly fine and provide for him and love him - but because musicals show this beautiful side of the world. Dancing, singing, colorful costumes, romance, and drama, it’s the likes of which that draw him in. He tries to write his own scripts as a kid, refining them as he gets older.

Benny grows up to be the Media Relations Officer for the Psychonauts. Although still a pretty weak psychic, he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s very persuasive and able to get in a good word about psychics in various types of media such as television and movies - though, he does try to squeak his own script edits in order to get credited, and it’s worked quite a few times! He’s dined with celebrities and socialites, and he wouldn’t change it for the world. Champagne is on him! Now, listen to him talk for two hours about his latest idea for a musical. He’ll be in the director’s chair one day! You can’t leave, of course, it’s just plain courteous to stay!

Although his lyrics could use work as a kid, he becomes a very skilled pianist. He found it a great hobby when he was growing up, and his mom enrolled him in after-school lessons. He prefers upbeat, high-energy songs, but he can appreciate a good melancholy vibe.

He is THE biggest Gloria Von Gouton fan. If Raz had mentioned he met her, Benny would have caught him by the shoulders and seethed, “You met Ms. Von Gouton, and you didn’t think to mention that first?” Raz would’ve been dumbfounded but replied, “Uh, yeah? She threatened me with her trophy.” “And you deserved it!” Benny would scream. Instead of fleeing to join Oleander, he would have jumped in a canoe and row all the way over there to get her autograph AND tell her that her critics were WRONG.

Bobby (content warning for child abuse and child neglect)

Drywell is a total dump. It’s not even on a map. It’s an area where no one should really live, and yet, this is Bobby’s home. Cruel people, hardly sustainable, trash everywhere. He’s learned how to protect himself by trying to be the toughest in this environment, but in the end, he’s the one burned. There’s no one in Drywell who respects him, making him the perfect target for other bullies and horrible kids. He’s the circus freak here. It’s also an area plagued with social issues. 

He’s been in and out of foster care and his mother’s care. No one seems to want him around, and he grows more violent because he’s miserable, and if he’s miserable, everyone else should be. He wants to laugh at their pain and ignore his own. It’s a terrible coping skill, one which he relishes at camp.

Neglect from his mother has caused significant dental erosion, no haircuts, poor clothing, malnutrition, poor eating habits/not having enough to eat etc. Neglect from his foster families has left him jaded. There are too many people who came into his life with the name “Dad,” and almost just as many with the name “Mom,” but they’ve all since blurred together.

He was friends with Lili for a time when she first came to camp. He thought she was really cool, and he liked making her laugh, but they’d grown apart after an incident with Sasha’s training.

Chloe shows a genuine interest in him, even if it’s based on the misconception that his appearance stems from an alien heritage. He’s never had someone show such kindness to him, although it’s based on a firm agreement that she will be his friend so long as he stops hurting kids. This does work because he really begins to care for Chloe and manage his temper. In return, she grows fond of him because Bobby truly believes she’s an alien and listens to her. He even starts making up information about his life as an ambassador from Fath 703 because he sees how happy it makes her. They have fun together talking about space, working together in class, and he helps drawing her star maps because he’s a really good artist! (The artist headcanon stems from a discussion in the Psychowhatsis discord btw!)

He tends to cling to her. Trauma victims may latch onto someone who they believe is important in their lives. For Bobby, this is Chloe. Despite the short span of time they’ve known each other, she’s become an integral figure. He doesn’t want to lose her friendship, so he walks on eggshells around her. His jealousy and anger issues do exasperate Chloe, but he does try curbing them like when Raz punches him, he doesn’t punch back, sighs, and says he’ll kill Raz later. If she thinks he can be a better person, he really wants to try for her because she’s his best friend.

When he and Chloe are both Psychonauts, they go on missions together! Lots of fun times to be had there. They work closely on experiments with Bobby being more of an all-around agent and Chloe specializing in science, astrophysics, etc. Sometimes, he’s her guinea pig for whatever she’s cooking and occasionally lands in the ER because of it. She is so very sorry for messing up the cloning process with him a la The Fly, and he didn’t talk to her for days.

While he is also a solo field agent, mostly working undercover in the psychic underbelly of society, he really likes working with teens who were in the same boat as him. He knows exactly what it’s like to feel like it’s the end of the world, so he wants to use his position as a way to lift up those hopeless teens.

He noogied Chloe the millisecond he saw that she finally joined the intern program. An omg bestie moment.

He loves football. He’s the type who will stand in the doorway and watch if his team is losing. “Chloe, did the Raiders do it?” “Unfortunately, they didn’t make the touchdown.” (He screams.) “We have neighbors please stop yelling.” “Sorry.”

That video where the two guys are shocked when the girl takes off her fake eyelashes are him, Benny, and Chloe. “Do they hurt??” he asks, and she’s laughing.

oh fuck uhhh bobbyraz uhhhh he has internalized homophobia, but mostly deals with it, and when he's an adult, he finally comes out of the closet. too bad kitty is trying to shove him back in but raz has already grabbed his hand to welcome him to the bi boys club, and now they're doing the magnet post and kitty hates it because that's for gay girls only!!!!! (i'm /j but also /srs but also /j)

and MIRTALA that's her boo-boo right there. her metamour. they're both dating chloe, so they have metamour outings like sneaking into the movies lol.

Chloe

Specifically, Chloe believes she’s from Cygnus A, a radio galaxy. It’s why she’s using the coach’s radio in hopes of reaching her people. She refers to herself as a Cygnan and created her own language (believing the words, letters, etc, came from her people). She’s taught it to a few other people, but Bobby is the one who memorized everything. This also becomes a great secret way for them to communicate at camp for privacy or on missions. (When they argue, they sound like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZdwSugMuO4) (also adding mirtala to this in general because chloetala realness etc etc)

Chloe’s parents really do love her. While they are sometimes hurt that Chloe rejects them, citing that they’re not her “real” parents, they try as much as they can to support her. They’re possibly the oldest parents out of the cadets’ families, but that certainly doesn’t lessen the love they have for her. They try to get her as many books, research materials, etc, as they can because they treasure seeing her smile and reaching her goals.

Eventually, when Chloe comes to terms that she isn’t an alien as a teen, she fears that she has hurt her parents by shunning them throughout her childhood. They reassure her this isn’t the case, and she’s able to form a much stronger bond with them.

Chloe’s built her identity around being an alien. While she is studious and interested in all aspects of culture, both human and alien, she finds the cracks forming in herself when she’s made to realize that she made up an elaborate lie for herself. She briefly tries then to be someone she’s not - a “human” without her various quirks or interests, but quickly realizes through the help of her friends that she’s always been Chloe no matter what, alien interests and all.

Relationships astound and fascinate her. She wants to examine them, which is why she loves reality tv. The trashier, the better! Girls yelling over a man who really isn’t shit? Fascinating! She’s crushed when Lili explains that reality tv isn’t a real emulation of reality.

She believed she’d be very tall as an adult because “my people are naturally taller than humans.” She’s average height, and she’s pissed. She will seek areas to be taller. Bobby’s shoulders. A chair. Blasting herself into space to be taller than all of humanity (though she’s also in a rocket because her dream has been and will always be to get to space!)

While she’s so delighted to be in space as an adult, being up there for long stretches of time can bum her out if she doesn’t have her friends. It’s still her dream to bring her friends up there! (And she sometimes is up there for too long that she forgets how to be human when she returns to orbit i.e. holding up objects in the air, letting them go, and forgetting gravity is a thing.)

Chloe is very confident and eager. She’ll talk someone’s ear off with her passion projects, but this is done on *her* time. Distractions or irritants earn her ire, and she’ll dismiss the person in a way that can be construed as rude. Although she doesn’t mean to be, her sometimes blunt personality can make her unlikeable among different kids.

But Lili appreciates this fact in her. Chloe doesn’t try to hide information or secrets. She isn’t one to let bygones be bygones. She’ll seek out the answer, move forward with her research, or just happily pursue her current interest like trying out different things such as painting nails or learning about the “human make-up industry that seems to ensnare girls as young as ten to cover their faces with colorful products!” (This is a nod to sincerelymendacious’ fic Painting Stars on Your Thumb! It’s an excellent Lili & Chloe piece.)

She’s a little engineer! I like to think she’s made a ton of machines at home. Her parents are super impressed! She’s been building, crafting, and making blueprints as soon as she could. Her room is covered wall to wall with her star maps and invention ideas, and her shelves are filled with (safe) tools and (also safe) mechanisms she’s made under her parents’ supervision. She’s on the neighborhood watch list because sometimes when she goes out and tests them, things do not go to plan, and she miiight have to apologize for sending a bottle rocket into Mrs. Thompson’s window (again).

But when she’s too engrossed in her work, she tends to lose track of time. It’s more of a prominent issue when she’s an adult. She’ll develop tunnel vision when focusing too heavily on a project, mission, etc. She might go a little…stir crazy. One time, she lost track of time so badly that two days had gone by without a wink of sleep, and when Milka pointed it out, she fell asleep on the spot in the Yamcha death pose.

On a sillier note, this makes her a bit of an energy drink guzzler. Bobby has come across her in a Mountain Dew haze while making what can only be described as a pseudo-time-splitter atom-crasher, and she crashed five seconds after offering to let him try it. While she once used a spray bottle to make him stop bullying kids, it was his turn to use it on her.

https://twitter.com/KibaSniper/status/1479028936105361408 ngl i just really like this thread i wrote about the negative aspects she causes with her friendship with bobby.

Chops

For starters, he and Lili used to be an item! Last year (one year before the events of PN1), they dated but decided to stay as friends. They’re really firm in that regard, and they’re also pen pals. He still flirts with her a little, but it’s in good nature. Lili thinks he’s fun and charming, and he cracks great jokes! (Again, I recommend the works of sincerelymendacious and the art of the-laughing-lunatic on dA, who has other nice PN artwork!)

He has a talent for psychic boxing, but he is strictly a pacifist. He isn’t afraid of arguing, and he hates when someone (like Elka) tries to talk down to him, but physically fighting isn’t for him. Chops’ talent for psychic boxing comes from his own physicality and his psychic specialty of PSI punches improving to where he can attack with a flurry of PSI punches while standing still. Yes, just like in JJBA. He thinks he looks so cool doing it.

He loves hockey! He’s a super-talented goalie. Nothing gets by him! If he has to get physical, it’s in the hockey rink! He loves ice skating, too. He even taught JT how to do it during the winter session at Whispering Rock.

His parents are divorced, and he lives with his father. His parents have a good friendship and joint custody. Chops would say they’re probably closer that way, too, since they split really amicably. (Just fell out of love, nothing bad!) He has a few older siblings and gets along really well with them. He’s the baby of the bunch tho! (He also gets along well with his step-parents.)

Music is also one of his many passions. When he sets his mind on learning something, he focuses on it. Playing his acoustic is so calming to him, especially when he’s with JT. The quieter, calmer moments are what he strives for when he can listen and enjoy the time with his friend and their song.

At the same time, he really does not like Phoebe and Quentin’s music. He claims it has no rhythm. This has led to a little bit of a playful, non-harmful rivalry with Quentin. He did try to play with the Levitators, but Phoebe had a flare-up when JT skipped again, so he decided to ditch the band when she almost ignited him. This headcanon comes from the PN strategy guide which states twice the Whispering Rockers have bad music lol.

His negative traits are issues of jealousy brought on by feeling ignored or ghosted. He isn’t one to hate someone - only when they’ve shown their nasty colors. When Elka dragged him aside and flatly told him that he couldn’t be friends with JT, it was too much for him, and he let his anger show quietly. He doesn’t raise his voice (but he will online!) because he doesn’t like arguing, but he will make his point known.

In general, he loves sports! He loves watching big games, especially hockey. His dad made sure he was athletic - a trait he shares with Mikhail! If only Mikhail would stop asking him to wrestle, they’d get along way better. He does like chilling while Mikhail wrestles bears. He provides great background music (or backup if Mikhail gets overwhelmed with his boxing skills!)

Separately, he and his dad go on a ton of hikes together. His dad works as an advisor for college teams, but he always prioritizes his son. Through that, he was able to meet a few hockey idols! Alternatively, his mom is a conservationist. She’s usually on the move, so while she doesn’t see him as often as she’d like, she loves her son so much! She always goes to his hockey games!

She was also the one who encouraged him to pick up the guitar! She’d play for him when he was little, and he picked it up so easily. When they’re together, they have little jam sessions.

As for his future, I like to imagine he tried the intern program and decided it wasn’t for him. It’s a lot of cerebral work, and he decided the life of a Psychonaut wasn’t in him, but he honed his skills to a near-professional level. He wants a creative path for adulthood, so his teenage years are spent kind of like how he spent his youth, just with more dating and mingling - maybe even reconnecting with Lili?

Clem (content warning for child abuse)

Clem’s relationship with both of his parents is incredibly strained. While his father is much crueler, preferring insults whenever Clem messes up, his mother will passively observe, not stepping in unless she needs something from her husband. Sometimes, she regards Clem negatively if her husband is stressing her. Because of their distance, Clem tends to give everyone a wide berth and stays secretive for his own protection. His mother is a victim, too, but she’s been verbally beaten down by her husband, and divorce is not an option.

He masks his true emotions under layers of false happiness. While he is kind - to a degree - his mask sometimes slips. He is easily annoyed by bullies or weaker kids. His smile will drop, and he’ll remark rather bitingly, especially toward those who don’t physically harm him such as Kitty extracting arrowheads or Maloof trying to strongarm him into accepting his protection services.

Like Bobby and Crystal, he has insomnia. For him, his thoughts keep him awake at night. He’ll think himself into circles until he can’t get out of them or he’s so exhausted, his brain mercifully shuts off.

But he isn’t always doom and gloom. He does want to try to make friends, and he does have a few good companions. He does like listening to JT and Chops play their music, preferring it over the music from Phoebe and Quentin. It’s something Chops certainly agrees with! Clem wishes he could learn harmonica but can’t because of his teeth.

I think what people forget about Clem is that he is very analytical. Unlike Crystal, he sees the world as half-empty. Although coping with humor and sarcasm, if his buttons are pushed too far, he will say the intentions of the other person in rather sharp detail. An incident that I wanted to explore was Bobby attempting to apologize for his previous bullying when they’re older, which Clem initially takes as another chance of bullying. To that, he bluntly surmises that Bobby is trying to find some absolution from “the kid you used to kick when he was down,” a way to soothe other the guilt in his mind, and Clem will not grant it. He is bitter. He isn’t one to forgive as easily as many would believe when he’s sixteen and digging himself into a deeper isolated hole.

But back to how he is as a kid! As the oldest Tender Brain, his psychic abilities are stunted due to the negativity he endures at home. When he was younger, he explored them in secret, but his father was horrified to find out he was psychic. He didn’t want a damn psychic for a kid, and he makes that fact known. His mother is too worn down to defend him, and Clem understands why. He’s wise for his age, and it startles her when he says something that sounds so grown up. Clem has learned to keep those thoughts to himself to not upset her.

He’s also decently athletic. He can run fast, and if he had control over his levitation ball, he’d probably win Milla’s race all the time. Clem’s energy is surprising despite his insomnia, but it’s because he’s so used to staying up late.

He was pretty surprised when Maloof said all jocks will pay. He decided to stay far, far away from him when he teamed up with Mikhail because hoo boy! He doesn’t want to touch that can of worms! Good thing he’s pretty good at hiding because Maloof remembered how Clem said he was a wuss.

His bond with Crystal is incredibly close, bordering on codependent. From afar, they can sense what the other is feeling. He can tell when her mother is being awful to her. But his telepathy isn’t as skilled, so he can’t reach out to her, and sometimes, there are days when he isn’t allowed to use the phone. He treasures the days they’re at camp and later the intern program because they can be there for each other…even if his mental health declines at the intern program, too. His pessimism, blunt outlook, and his inability to forgive as easily as Crystal begins wearing heavily on both of them. I can see it leading to an argument and mutual exasperation about how the other is handling it. Crystal still tries so hard to please, and he isn’t one for platitudes as a teenager.

For him, overcoming his depression and passive suicidal ideation is a big deal. They’ve been a part of his identity for years. A simple trip into his mind to clean up mental cobwebs isn’t it. It’s months of trying to cope or even finally cry, about the lot in life he had been given. There are people to blame, and he deals with his spite, but for Clem, he really, really just wants to live happily deep down.

Crystal (cw for child abuse)

Regarding her insomnia, her anxiety keeps her awake. She worries about social situations or what tomorrow will bring. She wants to make friends but holds herself back when she’s alone thinking she had presented herself in a way that let herself be mocked like not getting she was being tricked by Bobby.

She’s a people pleaser. She wants to make everyone happy! Because if others are happy, she’s happy, too! It makes her feel connected. Being a member of a group provides a sense of self that she doesn’t get home.

She lives with her mother, older sister, and two younger brothers in a cramped apartment located in a brick building. There is no father. Her mother fawns over her brothers. Her sister often fights with her mother. It’s a chaotic environment with her mother enforcing strict regulations, which her sister tries to break, and her sister also takes her frustration out on Crystal.

In return, Crystal tries to be on her A game at home! All with a smile! (An incredibly strained smile,) She does her homework on time. She does her chores, sometimes without being asked. She keeps out of her mother’s way when she’s ranting and stays in her room, knowing when it’s too much. She just wishes they would stop fighting, just wishes she was anywhere else in the world.

During a moment of high stress, she PSI blasted the couch, her first realization that she is psychic. Her mother is stunned, and her sister remarks she’s like their father (who her mother and sister don’t speak of). Crystal was promptly shipped off to camp at age 8.

Coming off that was one of her happiest memories. She met Clem that summer, bonding with him after a few attempts to coax a kinder response. Clem was surprised by her sincerity, considering he hardly knows anyone genuine at home. They bond over their desire to spread cheer and goodwill, something they lack in their lives. She makes up the routines while he writes the cheers!

She’s very self-critical, but that’s obvious. It stems again from her home life but also because she desperately wants friends. She wants to be included and treated well by her peers. This doesn’t go well either at camp, but to a much worse extent at school. She’s kept at arm's length by popular girls who seek to have her around for a laugh. While she does have friends, she is always putting their needs ahead of her own. Because of that, she fears losing them and cries when she perceives any social faux pas or inadvertently hurting anyone. With emotions in flux, crying is how she copes to release that energy that has been building.

At the same time, she’s very forgiving to a fault. She forgives her bullies time and time again because at least she’ll be close to them again, right? She just has to adjust herself to suit their needs - even if they continue taking advantage of her. This is something that follows her through her teenage years until she learns to make a stand for herself.

To cope with that, I like to imagine she takes to working out. She finds that strengthening her body really does help her mind. It lets her work through her struggles by moving her body, just as cheerleading once did. When she’s active, she’s happy, and through it, she starts to really like herself but also creates boundaries by asserting herself. Getting out in the sunshine is also a way she helps Clem with his bad moods.

She beat Mikhail in arm wrestling at camp, and it confounds him well into adulthood because It Keeps Happening. She keeps winning. The Common Crystal W.

She has a lot of good friends when she’s in her older teens! Chops, Phoebe, Quentin, JT, Elka, and Franke especially! (I see her friendship with Clem on the rocks, but they *do* become good friends again since they’re both at a crossroads in life, and she wants to help him get some good coping skills!)

Crystal/Lili also real. I think Crystal develops a one-sided crush on Lili during her time at camp. She thinks Lili is so cool! She stands up to the bullies with such confidence! She wishes she could be like Lili. Lili can tell Crystal is going through heavy stuff, so she allows herself to be an open source of comfort for Crystal, knowing what it’s like to feel alone. Lili teaches Crystal herbaphony, too.

Dogen

Oh, Dogen, poor Dogen. He doesn’t like to be seen as someone to be pitied. He doesn’t like it when people eye him strangely for his hat or when he mentions blowing up heads. He tries to ignore them when it happens because when he stands up and the situation escalates, heads start to roll.

Puppies and kitties are his favorite. They’re too cute! I like to think his parents kept their end of the deal and got him an adorable cat when he returned from camp. They also had choice words for HQ when Dogen explained to them Oleander’s plot and how he was kidnapped. His mother was NOT happy!!

He’s been friends with Lili since he was really young. Truman and Compton were worried about any trouble, but Lili got along very well with him. She could tell he was a nervous kid, a bit withdrawn, too, so they took things slow in their conversations. Dogen was able to open up to her without feeling like he was being mocked, even though he did believe he was at first. Lili is a very comforting presence in his life, and he’d defend her from anyone saying she’s mean.

But regarding closeness, in addition to Lili, his first friend who makes on his own accord is Raz. Raz isn’t afraid of him, which surprises him. Most of the other camp kids are nice to him, and Quentin is definitely down to do the scavenger hunt together, Raz makes an effort to get to him. For Dogen, it’s a very nice feeling to be wanted, to be acknowledged, not for the fright that he instills.

While Raz and Lili binge True Psychic Tales, he doesn’t care much for them. Sam already told him they’re a bunch of misinformed hoo-hah, so he can’t find it in him to like them. But he *does* like being read to, so when they’re doing their dramatic readings, he’s all ears.

As an adult, he has more control over his emotional outbursts because he’s more aware of what harm he can cause if that anger builds and releases. He’s always wearing a handsome hat, too! Gets the style from gramps (and fashion advice from Elka).

He can nap in the weirdest places. You can find him curled up in a chair in his office or on a nice sofa, but there’s also the off chance he’ll be in a tree among the squirrels. You might even locate him in a cave at camp, its ambiance dark, and you might even trip over him and fall face first in a puddle. Raz knows he has.

Absolutely a sucker for being told stories. Loves Milla’s puppet shows. Love when his sister tells him fairy tales that definitely stray from the original source. He grows up to be a pretty good storyteller in his own right and exchanges stories with Vernon, who I’ll discuss in a bit! (note - i never finished vernon's section. sorry vernon.)

He needed braces since he was a thumb-sucker. He hated wearing them. Sensory nightmare!!

Elka

Elka is the tallest girl when she’s an adult, a headcanon I credit to basic-braining, which made me baffled and laugh the moment I heard about it. She’s putting her hand in the middle, and Clem, Bobby, and Mikhail are putting their hands over hers. Tall Psychics Solidarity. (Bobby and Mikhail are trying so so so sooo hard to claw each other tho, and it doesn’t matter how old they are because they are trying to fucking GET each other!!!!)

She rarely has a bad hair day. She makes sure her hair is always styled to how she wants it, even if she’s feeling lethargic or miserable. But if her hair is bad, then the mental health demons won.

Elka’s backstory was fleshed out in that leaked PN document a few years back, and I subscribe to it. Mabel loves it when Elka starts telling her the awful things that will happen to others. She lives off it. When Elka is much younger, she doesn’t fully get the impact of her words, like, “Their dog will die tomorrow” or “Mrs. Burkowitz will learn she has cancer in three months from now.” But her mother will drum her fingers together and smile in a way that makes Elka think it’s okay to say, and her mother does love her dear Elka so much. They’re like twins in how she dresses Elka.

Barney is wary of his wife’s behavior when Elka gets closer to her canon age. He knows firsthand the exhaustion and depression foresight causes. It wears him down. Only seeing horrible tragedies has left him sullen, a bit cynical, but he makes an effort to appear happy for Elka. Sometimes, it slips, but he loves his daughter tremendously and tries to prepare her for the depths of anguish that will follow when a Doom sees only sorrow.

Her parents are working-class people. Elka’s mom has had a few jobs here and there, and Barney is one of those office worker types. Nothing really interesting happens in their lives except when a vision occurs, and Elka’s foresight is seemingly much stronger than her father’s was when he was a child. This elates her mother, who sees Elka’s visions as gossip and ways to bond with her (and as a way to brighten up her own life), while Barney is fearful of how worse Elka’s visions will get. Mabel is concerned, too, especially when Elka starts feeling the physical attributes (weariness/exhaustion, needing to rest right away, collapsing, falling unconscious, or sitting in a fit of shock), so she does put Elka’s needs above her own when it happens.

But it all culminates to a point when Elka reveals one of them will have an affair. She likes her secrets, but this was too extreme to not say. And when her mother goaded her for it as usual, the color drained from her face when she heard it. Barney was just as shocked, sweating, and they reacted exactly as Elka expected.

This incident is the primary reason why she is obsessed with the idea of her life with Nils. Mabel encouraged her pursuit of Nils when she saw a rare vision of herself being “happy” with him. Although Barney thought it was another omen, Mabel wanted to believe it was nice that Elka saw something fortunate, and Elka clung to it, believing her future is with Nils. Fleeting happiness can be forever. She knows her parents are destined to divorce, but she doesn’t have to repeat their misery.

They divorce when Elka returns from camp. As expected, it comes true. She lives with Mabel and has visitations with Barney. Subsequently, her visions continue to worsen, feeling their effects on a far more physical level that leaves her with, at times, chronic pain and exhaustion. She takes medication to cope with the headaches, ailments, and psychic fatigue, but her prescriptions increase until she’s an adult when her abilities stabilize. Still, she needs them and always will.

Dogen has a cat. Elka has a cat. They bring their cats together when they go on brunch.

oh fuck uhhh elka/kitty/franke uhhhhh they're yuri baby!!!!!!!! i think she still hates kitty's toxic slutch hair dye jobs but puts on a brave face when franke thinks it looks nice.

She likes to go hat shopping with him! He picks out the best ones! “Excuse me, Dogen asked for the discount,” she says, and she will make problems for the retail employee.

Elton

Definitely has an anxiety disorder. He’s skittish to a fault as a kid, but through Milka, he gains a lot of confidence. His connection with her strengthens him, and he’s able to stand up for himself a lot easier through his teen and adult years.

Although anxious, he can be quite blunt. If he doesn’t like something, he’s says it in a way that clearly conveys his annoyance. He might avoid conflict, but he will complain if something keeps agitating him. It does border on passive-aggressive if it really bothers him.

He doesn’t have many memories of his father. He died when Elton was around five, so the few memories are the ones he cherishes. In particular, he remembers that his father gifted him his treasured hat for his fifth birthday. His father took it off his own head and placed it gently on Elton, who never took it off because it smells like the sea he loves and fears.

When his father died, and he learned he drowned at sea, he quickly developed a fear of drowning and hydrophobia. He loves the sea and the creatures within, and he loves calm, lapping waves on the shore. But he definitely doesn’t want to end up like his father, his body never recovered, more likely than not having turned to fish paste.

It’s not a fandom secret anymore that he lives in a brothel. The other women working alongside his mother are incredibly kind to Elton. They treat him with little gifts and trinkets, and through one of them, he learned how to play the accordion. His mother does love it when Elton plays for the girls, clapping along with them while Elton beams. One of the memories he has with his father also was a musical one, in which is father sang a sea shanty to go along with his son’s melody. He remembers his mother was very happy, too.

Because of his circumstances, he really does try to treat girls with respect. He knows his father loved and respected his mom, so the girl he likes deserves that, too. He first fell in love with Lili because of her rebellious, cool attitude, but he never got to know what was under the surface. He tried, but he came off as off-putting. He did her homework, sure, but there wasn’t much of a connection between them. She didn’t want to hang out with him because Elton was awkward, and without meaning to be, kind of clingy. He tried inserting himself in her life way too often without realizing Lili needed her time alone. He took her silent treatment pretty hard, blaming himself for not being good enough and worrying that he hurt her feelings constantly.

The girls cabin is up in arms whenever Elton tried fawning over Lili. Kitty, Franke, and Elka always had a good laugh at Lili and Elton’s expense when he tried “wooing” her. Franke will not let him live down the sexy plant article.

But then there’s Milka! He can’t believe he “reeled in a catch” like her! He was lost at sea, and now he’s found in her arms! Elton is incredibly dramatic about Milka. He wants her to know that she’s the apple of his eye, the brightest star in the sky, the most purple of prose! While they do kiss (a lot), he loves being around her in general. Gossiping with fish, exploring for scavenger hunt items, and even learning invisibility from her, Milka is the best thing to ever happened to him, he’ll say!

He argues with Chloe over whether sea creatures or aliens are better to explore. He insists the sea is better because there’s so much unexplored while humans will never breach alien life. Milka had to physically restrain Chloe. Elton is also not sad that Chloe kicked him out of the spaceship because he never wanted to go.

they never fucking break up. they are at each other's hips all the times as adults. what's weird is that it's not even unhealthy.

Franke

Not initially a bully! She was a shy, clumsy kid before Kitty took an interest in her. Kitty loved her full hair and wanted to help mold her into being someone better than the teased girl wearing pediatric shoes. She might not be the best at insults, but her relationship with Kitty is extremely genuine. She might no longer be shy, but she’s definitely clumsy in both movement and insults.

Based on the cut concept of certain kids roaming around the sanctuary after re-braining, Franke’s identity is currently based on Kitty’s perceptions. She feels lost without Kitty. She’s way different outside of camp, being considerably nicer and less antagonistic but still a bit mean. But at Whispering Rock, she revolves around Kitty, so when Kitty is brainless, she’s in a panic, crying, and really hoping Benny will go the hell away. She is sort of lost without Kitty and unsure of her place in Whispering Rock, so she holds onto Kitty, and Kitty will hold her back because Kitty does cares about her. It is something I wish was kept in the final game since it would’ve shown a really nice difference in how they view their relationship. (Kitty was intended to kind of poke brainless!Franke and meander all, ‘Okay, girlfriend, wake up…’ while Franke was really sad about it.)

While Kitty is a makeup expert, Franke is great with hair! She loves doing all sorts of crazy things to it with Kitty, and Kitty likes styling Franke. Low pigtails, a deep side part, or even a mohawk just for fun!

She lets Kitty do her makeup. She has to wake up early, but it’s worth it to have Kitty’s attention.

I’m not sure if I see Franke as a Psychonaut. I think she’d much prefer a job where she can be creative. I like the idea of a hairstylist for Franke’s occupation. Going to college for a degree in cosmetology, working in the city, going steady with Crystal, etc. She also hangs out a lot with Chops, and they double as wingmen for each other!

And speaking of Chops, he taught her how to play bass! It gets the girls’ attention at house parties. Anyway, here’s Lesbian Wanderwall.

As for her future relationship with Kitty, I do like thinking they end up together. I also like thinking of how they’d stay in contact. If they stay together over the years, Kitty is definitely having her dad fly Franke out for parties and homecomings, etc. Franke and Kitty just want to spend as much time as they can together! And also go shopping and get their nails done.

“You’re telling me a shrimp fried this rice???” she shouts. (Kitty is fumbling for the engagement ring at the restaurant - Elka beats her to it and wins Franke’s hand)

okay i had a bunch of sadder franke headcanons that i don't like anymore so sorry her section is shorter, so here's a few ones off the cuff

she has two gay dads, and she's the number one weed smoker when she's an adult. good for her. good for her. i do think she gets other girlfriends, like if she and kitty are on a break, or they have period where they can't be in contact

the open marriage is very important to her! franke is the one kitty trusts the most, which really touches her. if they ever actually get 'married,' it's mostly because kitty wants a big celebration and throw a party to show off franke, and franke is just awww baaaabe!!!!

JT

I mean this in the kindest way possible, but he’s a doormat of a kid. He prefers to avoid conflict, or if he’s in the thick of it, find the most peaceful solution possible. This, however, leads him to avoid his problems if he can’t find an immediate answer, which is what he did when he was dating Elka. It was better to appease her or hide rather than tell Elka he didn’t want to be in a relationship.

His parents are hardworking cowpokes. They instilled a deep meaning to that term when he was young, so he’s constantly working on the farm at home. He can lasso and hogtie the best farm animals. Handling animals is much easier than people.

He learned he was psychic at a very young age when he was PSI blasting in his crib while throwing a fit. His psychic powers come from his grandmother, who was an outlaw before her untimely death. Before she passed, however, she taught JT how to control his PSI blasts and help curb his temper with target practice on hay, which when JT does at camp, makes him feel closer to Granny Hoofburger.

His ten gallon hat is a family heirloom passed down from Hoofburger family head to their eldest child. JT’s father gvae it to him right before he started camp, tho it was a bit too big for him.

Speaking of camp, he started attending at age 7 before Chops, who came a year after. He mostly kept to himself, rather soft-spoken, which made him a bullying target for Bobby. He did PSI blast him near his feet as a warning shot, so Bobby steered clear of him.

When Chops came, they connected pretty casually. It was nice to connect with him through music, and soon enough, they were fast friends! They opened up new worlds to each other (JT taught him how to lasso a pig, and Chops spent a whole day (accidentally) hitting him with hockey pucks to teach him how to be a better goalie, among other activities).

Chops stays over with JT when it’s time to depart for camp. His mom or dad ships him down to the Hoofburgers a few days in advance, so JT and him have time to horseback ride and herd caddle before it’s time to shove off! JT really treasures these personal moments with his best friend.

He’s polite and kind to a fault, tho excessive compliments will annoy him. If he sees someone sad, it tugs at his heartstrings, and he has to help. When he saw Elka weeping on the bus ride to camp, he sat next to her and offered a friendly ear. His ear was promptly talked off by Elka lamenting her woes, and in the middle of it all, JT was somehow her boyfriend by the end of it.

Like a few other kids, JT was a curious subject in the eyes of Sasha. But he declined on account of the rumors. He saw the results of Bobby’s experience within the walls of the GPC, and he doesn’t want it to happen to him. Sasha tries a few times to convince him, viewing his PSI blast skill particularly keen due to JT being a nonviolent individual, but he ends up shrugging his shoulders. Just another kid wary of him. He’ll try when JT is older and wisened up to the rumors, but he’ll still look after him.

And indeed it happens! When JT goes through the intern program, his mentor is Sasha. JT is flatly smiling at Hollis, and she’s not granting him a mentor swap. But the training is actually far different from he expected - instead of child experimentation, it’s further control over his blasting abilities. And poking around in JT’s mental world via the Brain Tumbler because of course Sasha will do that. It’s invaluable research while also helping JT sort through some mental cobwebs and self-confidence and conflict resolution issues!

Although I see him struggling with internalized homophobia through his youth and teenage years, I think he’d come around to accepting his sexuality after seeing how normalized it is at the Motherlobe. 

As for his future, I think a Psychonaut or a settled down cowpoke works for him. While the Psychonauts have experience in therapeutic fields, JT is strictly a field agent. In particular, he uses his cowboy skills to wrangle entities that don’t belong in minds, so he’s commonly placed on teams. But the life of a cowboy with Chops is also fun to imagine, especially with how down-to-earth he is.

His mother taught him how to play the harmonica! It was passed down to her by her mother, and she wanted to teach it to JT the moment he started babbling as a baby. There’s a cute video she keeps showing his friends about tiny tyke JT playing the harmonica (poorly and happily) on his own! He buries his face in his hat when his friends start going “Awww!”

He sometimes spots Milka in the strangest places. It’s surprising, and he’s not sure if it’s a trick of the light. But they live in the same state, and occasionally, he’ll come across her in different towns. There are times when she looks beat, and he tries to be as compassionate as he can since Milka’s been through some hard stuff. (When she had her seizure in the lodge just before canon, it terrified him to bits.) If it’s a friend to just relax with at the local park or supermarket or whatever, he’s fine with looking strange talking to no one there.

He and Milka take care of stray cats when she’s over! Milka has a natural affinity for them, and it rubs off on JT.

Kitty

Kitty is the daughter of a man kicked out of the Navy, who subsequently made it big as a defense lawyer in high-stakes cases. But before his time in the courtroom, she was a Navy brat living from base to base across the world. This was a detriment to her social life as she couldn’t make long-lasting friends nor understand the depths of a solid, strong friendship or relationship.

But the friends (and partners) she made were good during the periods of time when she lived in those different places. She always wanted to be the star of the show, and she was influenced by her father, who rose through the ranks of the Navy (before getting the axe). She saw how he acted, taking charge and ensuring he knew information on others, and took that to heart, so she emulated him to always stay the most stunning, most powerful girl in the room.

Her father showers her with gifts. Expensive jewelry, clothing, perfumes, accessories, limited editions, one of a kind products. You name it; he’s gotten it for his darling daughter. She really is the apple of his eye when he pays attention to her and not his work ventures.

Because of Kitty constantly moving as a kid, her father would have various girlfriends. These relationships weren’t anything special, and the women would try to appeal to Kitty with the same affection her father shows. Kitty just takes their “offerings” and smiles charmingly and promises to chip in with a nice word about the current girl to her father. She never does. Relationships are a lot of work, and she needs to stay on top.

She learned she was psychic purely by accident. She had mistakenly hypnotized a bunch of susceptible kids in her class into doing her bidding when she was seven without realizing it. Her father is also psychic but not as powerful as Kitty. So, when he hears about Whispering Rock, he ships her off to help Kitty control her powers. She, like Bobby, attends Whispering Rock in its opening years five years before canon.

She and Bobby loathe each other. They both hail from vastly different worlds. Kitty knows he’s violent, even as a seven-year-old, so she tries to manipulate him only when necessary. Bobby is quick to her game as they grow up, and his mental walls are far too strong for her to penetrate. However, his expressions show so freely on his face, and she’s already made more friends with the Tender Brains and Psychic Scouts while he has no one in his corner, so he isn’t a threat.

But her first genuine friend came in the form of none other than Lili Zanotto two years later (at this point, Kitty is nine). Lili was far different from the other girls. She was fun and dynamic and bonus points for being the daughter of the Grand Head. Kitty knew she wanted Lili in her court, and she made quick work trying to befriend her…only to see she had already made friends with Bobby. This would start a tumultuous back and forth between Kitty and Bobby over Lili over the summer (who wasn’t having it), and by the end of the summer, after an incident in Sasha’s lab, Lili and Bobby were no longer friends much to Kitty’s delight.

She swooped in and took Lili under her wing after that incident, and she grew to truly care for Lili. She even learned a little herbaphony from Lili. They’d call even after camp, and Kitty would tell her dad to buy her a plane ticket to visit Lili in the west coast from whatever Navy base she was staying at. It was a close, tight friendship…until it wasn’t.

Lili is not a bully. She hates seeing other kids hurt, even if she acts aloof. She didn’t like it when Bobby was picking on kids, and she hates it when Kitty picks on kids. It’s that sense of self-righteousness that earned Kitty’s ire after some time, and realizing she was not making much leeway with Lili and that their friendship had stalled, she cut Lili out suddenly. She stopped talking to her, stopped answering the phone, etc. She dropped Lili like a fly. It hurt Lili, she knows it did, but she’s replaceable.

But the girl who came into Kitty’s life could never be replaceable. Franke was a shy, sweet girl when she came to camp at age nine. Kitty was so charmed by her that she had to take her under her wing just like she did for Lili, but Franke was much more accepting of Kitty. Kitty could tell Franke wanted to impress her, and that earnest behavior, coupled with her genuine kindness and affection, started having Kitty doubt her own ways. She really wanted to make her relationship with Franke work because she saw just how much Franke adored her, and in return, Kitty adored her as well. (Her face is also perfect for kissing, a compliment that would always make Franke blush!)

Lili (this one is long lol)

Child of a recent divorce!! Abandonment issues!! Self-worth issues!! Wants to make friends but feels distanced!! She’s got it all!!

On a serious note, Lili is a fascinating kid. In the first game, we see as far more aloof than she really is. She only starts opening up because Raz has brought a spark back to her life. From the Li-Po doc, there was a lot of pressure seemingly on her to follow in the footsteps of her father, but she would rather garden or talk with the plants. There’s an expectation of greatness placed on Lili because of her lineage, and it’s a deep issue for her. Her name follows her. She’s the daughter of the Grand Head, the grand-neice of a founding member of the Psychonauts. It’s pressure on her to be seen as perfect from certain people like those counselors and teachers at her school or even other agents.

But Lili just wants to be herself. When her father campaigned for the position of Grand Head, Lili was in the limelight. Her family was scrutinized. She was scrutinized. I’d say she was around five, so her earliest memories are feelings of uncertainty and confusion and a little resentment toward these strangers coming after her father and the great-uncle she never knew but kept believing was truly great. It made the Psychonauts feel far more political than it really was because of that mounting pressure faced by her father until he won the election.

As for Lili, she wants to be herself. She doesn’t want to live in her father’s shadow, but she also doesn’t want to disappoint him. She has so many conflicting feelings wrapped up in her head because she loves Truman, but she also wants to explore different possibilities outside of the Psychonauts, feeling as if her life is being planned for her, possibly to even take on the role of Grand Head. She has so many muddled feelings, but she’ll always, always, always love her father and the peaceful times they share together.

Psychic parents trying to win favor with her dad would often offer play dates with their kids. It worked for a bit until Lili realized they didn’t want to be real friends with her. Truman quickly shut that down when he noticed how unhappy was with these “friends” over. It made her wary about new kids in her life in case they or their parents wanted something to do with her dad. 

It’s why Whispering Rock was such a haven for her at first. Truman thought it would be the best place to make real connections, choosing that camp personally out of the others due to the counselors present. He believed she’d be safe to meet new kids. Initially, she thought the kids would try to warm up to her to get access to her dad or some “power” of some sorts, but the campers are just very normal, regular kids. Most of them didn’t know she was the daughter of the Grand Head and treated her as average as possible (except Kitty). It was really refreshing at first, and she began opening up.

“Are you talking to me because you want to get my dad?” “Um, no, sorry, miss. I was just wonderin’ if ya wanted to kick around the hackeysack.” Lili quickly realizes making blunt accusations around these kids isn’t the best way to go about it during her first week, and she does apologize to JT for it. She did have fun kicking around that hackeysack with him and Phoebe!

But her first friend would be Bobby. He was a loner, didn’t have friends either, and they hung back in the coach’s class enough together for Lili to start talking to him. He was surprised at first, but hey, someone wants to be his friend? He’s game. For Lili, it’s nice to have someone to talk to and learn more about the silly rumors around camp (like the lake monster).

There’s also Kitty, who really does like Lili, too, and she’s great at applying Lili’s eyeshadow. Shocked the hell out of her dad on parent’s day, but he kept his mouth shut because Lili was beaming as she introduced her two new friends. And she’s slowly making more friends, not as close, but it’s very pleasant to be around these kids (even if she gets annoyed when it’s obvious Kitty and Bobby are bickering over who gets to hang out with her).

Sasha had set up his lab this year, making it also his first time in camp. He tends to look out for Lili, all while offering advanced training to the kids who show exceptional promise. She hides out in his lab when she wants a break, always denying his chance to use the Brain Tumbler on her because “Dad would kill you if anything happened to me.” Sasha keeps claiming it’s safe, and that’s what helps convince Lili to encourage Bobby to try out the advanced training. (Unfortunately, Bobby would blame Lili for the machine going haywire and hurting him, severing their friendship in a very public, very hurtful way. It was a total accident out of Lili’s hands, but Bobby couldn’t see it that way at the time.)

She is able to find comfort in Kitty, who is able to cheer her up. Though, she is able to use a bit of “influence” on Lili when she gets tired of Kitty sneering at the other kids. Soon enough, though, Lili finds herself alone. Kitty has moved on, and Bobby is still pissed at her summers later, and camp leaves a bad taste in her mouth. There are other kids who are nice to her, and she’s friends with them, but Whispering Rock doesn’t have the same charm.

But it isn’t all bad! She does have great friends with Chops and Quentin. Chops was her first boyfriend, and she really liked his humor and music. Quentin was also fun, even if his singing needed so much work. Phoebe was also cool until she started insisting she help with Lili’s “isolation issues.” Lili is sensitive, but she hides it under layers of controlled confidence.

And of course, there’s Dogen! Being that they’re both descendants of founding Psychonauts, she knows Dogen has a different kind of pressure on his shoulders. She thinks he’s a sweet kid, a bit naive, but very genuine in his own way. She might act aloof about him, but she’s still protective of Dogen. (Also, Sam was her babysitter when she was younger! She let Lili watch PG-13 movies.)

She’s aware that Crystal looks up to her, and that Crystal has issues of her own, so she is ready to stand up for her whenever Bobby and Benny try tormenting her. She’d help Clem, too, but she gets the feeling he’d rather be left alone when his smile slips.

So, it’s kind of drab for Lili for a couple of years. Flowers are much preferable than people. And she can’t pick a favorite flower! That’d be far too mean! Different fauna has different feelings, after all.

Which is why Raz was such a spark of life! A breath of fresh air! He brought excitement back to her life, jarring Lili out of a funk that she stewed in for so long. He made her see how fun being a Psychonaut could be, how fun being a psychic can be in general. That adventure in Whispering Rock helped change her worldview, especially now that she had a friend (and boyfriend! Because she’s tough like that, and she wants what she wants, and she looked at Raz and asked, “Is anyone gonna be his girlfriend?” and didn’t wait for an answer.)

But back to Truman, she regrets that their relationship dwindled. She’ll always be his little girl, even if Truman wishes he could always do more for her. But Lili loves him so much! He’s her hero! Just how she looked at him during Hollis’ speech, she adores her father and wants to do right by him after years of blowing off the Psychonauts. I think the end of PN2 really allows them to connect and be together in a way that they hadn’t had for quite some time. I like imagining them taking up gardening in Lili’s private area, especially with Uncle Bob joining them, really giving Lili this feeling that the Zanottos are a family again.

But let’s get some happier headcanons! Chloe and Lili are really tight friends!! When Chloe told Lili that she would want to dissect her least, Lili was very touched. She knows Chloe is human, but she goes along with Chloe’s alien heritage to make her happy. They’re friends over the years, and she appreciates Chloe’s honest, blunt nature, AND Chloe picks out the best eye shadow and nail polish.

Huge Sonic the Hedgehog fan. “But it takes place in the 80s?” Irrelevant. She has the Shadow the Hedgehog gun statue AND the massive Shadow poster from E3 from circa 2000. Never forgave Bobby for erasing her Sonic Adventure Dreamcast data in favor of starting up a new save file for Mortal Kombat Gold. Lili had a level 100 Chao, stats MAXED OUT, and she had never known a harsher loss. She bit him on the shoulder for it, and Milla had to break them up.

She’s able to become friends with Milka, too. She’s dumbfounded when Milka left that scathing message on the bulletin board because she was trying to ignore Elton’s advances. She didn’t want to get involved with someone really clingy (even if Elton didn’t mean to come off that way - he thought he was being nice). She gives Milka a few of her old skirts the next time they’re both in camp because she remembers the one compliment Milka left in that note. Milka thought it was a trick, but after coming to know Raz, Lili opens up more, and in turn, Milka does as well - the girls are gossiping!!!! And sharing hair tips!! I think they’d smugly parade their guys around each other in good fun all “My Elton can navigate several vessels.” “Well, my Raz can part the seas those vessels are on.” “That’s cute. Elton could kill him. “Whoa, uh…” (Elton shocked but enamored face goes here)

I’m of the belief she looks more like her father when she grows up. A stockier frame, a bit on the shorter side, etc. Though, one year for Halloween, she dressed up like her dad, and there were agents genuinely confusing her for him. Truman tried to nudge his paperwork her way, and she was just, “No, Dad.”

When she’s working on her own paperwork as an agent, however, she’s blasting her dark ambient tunes. She focuses better with background noise and lyricless music, something that’s been happening when she was a kid.

Maloof

Karaoke junkie as an adult. He thinks he’s a great singer, and he has a lot of power to make his men clap even when he’s off-key. Only Mikhail has the guts to tell him when his pitch was off.

Still loves cartoons well into his adulthood. He’ll be in his private limo on his way to a meeting, and he’ll have a portable DVD player with the box set of seasons one through three of Spongebob with him. (He will absolutely criticize the newer art style and how bright it is compared to the earliest seasons. Not a fan of plot-driven cartoons btw. They get too preachy for his liking such as when a character goes on a deep, emotional journey to become a better person. Boring! Instead, he prefers a good gag.)

His mother and father were shocked to realize he was psychic. While they aren’t psychic, through their lineage, they realized it was a recessive gene in both of their families. They’ve employed private psychic tutors to help Maloof master his powers, but it wasn’t successful, so they contended to send him to Whispering Rock. It was against his mother’s better judgment, but his father insisted, believing the Psychonauts would be a good fit for him. If anything happened, all Maloof needed to do was call him, and he’d send over a goon to pick him up (and also collect the name of anyone who bothered him.)

With the way his parents raise him - Maloof’s environment is very upper class considering his father is the don of a familial syndicate - Maloof is sheltered. He’s an only child, and his parents don’t plan on having more kids. His extended family is large, and there are many people employed by his parents (whether they’re butlers or hitmen are different matters). He’s shy around new kids, and he’s very comfortable at home. He’s a mama’s boy and the apple of his father’s eye. They simply adore Maloof, who can do no wrong.

In turn, this makes him a crybaby. He’s used to getting what he wants, so in Whispering Rock, where he’s easy pickings, it terrifies him. He doesn’t want to go to Whispering Rock. It’s scary. It’s dark. He heard there’s a lake monster. The kids are mean to him online. But his father reassures him that he’s just a call away, which is what makes Maloof agree. His pop knows Maloof is a smart boy, and Maloof believes that, too.

Maloof is very aware. He knows what his parents do, and he knows about the mafia. His father wanted to prepare him in case anything happened, so he makes sure to never lie to Maloof. He even brings Maloof to meetings with other mafiosos, letting him see how it’s done (but only in places where nothing bad can happen. Neutral zones, that is.) Watching the Godfather with his dad is a fun pastime for them!

He looks up to his parents and emulates his pop. He wants to follow in his footsteps, admiring what he does and how he expands his control. Maloof listens to what he says and repeats them until he understand the depths of their meaning. He also has a pocket dictionary on him, wanting to learn more as well. (The Canolas are experts in extortion, blackmail, and ‘protection services.’)

If there is another camper who he likes aside from Mikhail, it’s Crystal. She was always nice to him, She never picked on him. She let him cry on her shoulder, and sometimes, when he accidentally stumbled upon her crying, he felt terrible because he couldn’t say what she needed to hear. He knows what it’s like to be weak, and he’s aware she has certain issues, so he has Mikhail look after her from a distance to make sure Kitty and Franke leave her alone.

Though, he was frustrated when Crystal gently refused his offer of “self-protection.” He thought it was the perfect plan for her, and it dumbfounded him throughout the rest of camp because he really thought he was about to help her through her problems.

He is one to hold a grudge. He remembers all the times Bobby and Benny punched and kicked and pushed him in the creek. He remembers all the times Kitty and Franke pulled him into the girls’ cabin to dress him up in tutus and force him to wear lipstick. But if there is someone interesting he holds a grudge against, it’s Clem. He thinks Clem is dragging a nice girl like Crystal down. Making matters worse, Clem is a jock, and Maloof isn’t one for sports, being picked last during gym class. It’s a matter of jealousy.

With Mikhail on his side, he has a much, MUCH more enjoyable time at camp. He might only go for the first summer session, but during that month, he’s in charge. He feels so powerful, and there are other kids coming to him for protection or requests. He receives their Dream Fluffs (he has no use for psitanium), and he and Mikhail go out and finish the job.

Per Mikhail’s request, Maloof uses a camcorder and films Mikhail while he wrestles bears. He is sometimes downright petrified to watch him and the bears maul the hell out of each other for sport, and it doesn’t matter how old Maloof is when he’s doing it.

And per Maloof’s request, at camp, Mikhail would read him Russian bedtime stories via their telepathic connection (that Mikhail focuses on; Maloof is as adept yet).

His psychic speciality turns out to be using his shield. I was initially going to say PSI blast, but he has ways to express his frustration through much more expository manners (ordering a goon, giving a deal someone can’t refuse, etc). He has to protect himself, so shielding felt perfect to me.

He grew up in luxury, and he joins in the family business. Though, I also like imagining him at the Psychonauts pulling double duty in an office job to keep his Canola family affairs away from their suspicion. While his father is still calling the shots, he’s trusted Maloof to do the same work as he does, and Maloof is very efficient at it, managing the goons and other associates while expanding their profits.

He and Mikhail are close friends over the years. There have been many partners in Maloof’s life, but Mikhail stayed the longest. Although I also like Mikhail being a Psychonaut (or a professional wrestler), if he stays at Maloof’s righthand man, he’s the only one Maloof fully trusts as his confidante. He can tell Mikhail anything, even if it sometimes earns a hearty laugh if he’s embarrassing himself.

Maloof has great taste in wine and is an excellent cook. There might be people who make his meals, and he can afford the best restaurants, but he likes the smells of the kitchen and preparing his own dishes. It helps him stay grounded.

Somehow, he’s become friends with Benny. At the end of PN, when Benny returned, shunned by Oleander, Maloof made him a deal he can’t refuse: be his “ears” in the camp. Benny quickly accepted, and for that short period of time, even if Benny grated his nerves after a while with his excessive flattery, they bonded over their mutual enjoyment of power. And occasionally, Benny would make him laugh. Mikhail does graduate out of camp soon after, but with Bobby stuck like glue to Chloe, Benny found himself around Maloof, and Maloof had to admit his company was not terrible.

They’re better friends as adults. They’ve both made something for themselves, and Maloof can’t have a karaoke night without Benny, even if they’re making Mikhail’s ears bleed. “Awful. Horrible. I’m calling the cab to go home,” he says during their rendition of Luck Be a Lady.

Mikhail

Misha!! What a fun kid!! A lot of people deem him very serious or lacking depth, but Mikhail has a strong sense of humor and a nobility to him. He dislikes those who pick on the weak, but he hams it up a lot when it comes to making friends. He says how he’s going to wrestle them as a way to befriend people to stay in character as a “villain.” He was really looking forward to that fight with Bobby! He thought it’d be a great challenge!

He was born to a psychic father and a non-psychic mother. He has a few other siblings (an older sister, two younger brothers, and a youngest/toddler sister), and almost all of them are psychic, too, except for the youngest brother and toddler sister. His big sister is in college during canon, but Mikhail gets to wrestle his little bros and lift his baby sister as a form of training his telekinesis.

His father is a carpenter, and his mother is a former politician. She was a local community organizer and stayed that way until the birth of her third child. She wanted more time with her family, so she stepped out of the public spotlight. His oldest sister is following in their mom’s footsteps, so Mikhail doesn’t see much of her since she’s focused heavily on her education.

Because of his parents’ occupations, they instilled a sense of hard work in Mikhail. He believes that hard work will bring about good results. They also want Mikhail to focus on his goals in life. When he became enamored with the world of professional wrestling, his dad laughed and ruffled his hair and said they’d get him the best training out there. His mom likes to drive him to practices and tournaments and support him! (There is a bit of generational wealth in the Bulgakov family, so money isn’t a concern for them.)

His family travels a lot, so Mikhail is very worldly. He has a decent grasp on a few languages. He’s also invested in many sports like hockey, basketball, tetherball, etc, but wrestling will always be his favorite. He loves the idea of building a persona, hyping up a crowd, and going wild in the ring! He hopes to sign autographs one day.

Mikhail loves nature. He is taking pictures of snails and captioning them effervescent. There is so much beauty in the world. Sending dozens of nature photos to his friends. Phoebe scrolls through them, and there is Mikhail in the far distance looking like a mirage in the desert, but he is very distinctively giving a peace sign. (Shout out to Rem for putting the thought of Phoebe waking up to Mikhail’s snail photos in my head)

He loved bears since he was a tiny tot. His mom thought she lost four-year-old Mikhail at the zoo only to SHRIEK when she found him VERY HAPPILY running into the bear exhibit to tussle with some cubs. (“MY MISHA!!! NO!!!”) But they were happy to see him, too!! He feels a kinship with them in how they wrestle and communicate. He forms a zoolingualist bond with them, tho it’s really the only animal he can speak with, not that he minds. The bears back home are always eager to wrestle! Also, they’re chill. He’s taking naps on them. He’s at Whispering Rock, thinking, “Patricia, I’m weary. Mind if I nap?” And Patricia the PSI bear flops over to rest, too, and he’s asleep on top of her back. Ranger Cruller doesn’t know what the hell he’s looking at. He’s also too wary to tell Mikhail to leave the woods because the bears gang up on him.

But when he’s nearing adulthood, he finds himself at a crossroads. There’s so much he wants to do, but he feels suddenly limited. His parents support his choices, and yet, Mikhail doesn’t know which path to take. He wants to be a wrestler. He wants to be a Psychonaut, but the Psychonauts aren’t what he expected throughout his internship. He excels in field missions, but he isn’t the best at the therapeutical angle. I see him pulling double duty as a compromise - being a field agent in addition to a professional wrestler. Sasha and Milla are celebrities, so for me, it makes sense for Mikhail to be one, too, in a very unique way.

As a Whispering Rock camp counselor (he got shipped there because he kept forgetting to fill out his paperwork), Mikhail ran a fight club for the Astal Warriors at Whispering Rock with Bobby when they were both assigned there. Do NOT tell Phoebe, or she’ll make them disband it. Crystal happens upon it, and they freak out (because they’re also drinking a little while supervising the kids duking it out), but she isn’t a narc, and the kids want her to keep it a secret, too

Mikhail, standing tall and proud. “GG.” (Bobby coughing and sputtering) He crouches. “No RE.” (Bobby groaning and struggling to kneel) He grins wide and holds out his hand. “Shake my hand.” (Bobby collapses in the Yamcha pose with a loud OUGH.)

He’s weak to confusion. He knows he’s susceptible to it, so Hollis’ training was modified for him to help strengthen his mental defenses. I think Kitty would try to manipulate him (like doing part of her intern assignments), and it works for a bit, until he’s able to keep her out of his head. He’s not one to rat someone out, but Phoebe was not happy to hear about Kitty’s dealings! He was also disappointed in himself for being such an easy target.

Milka

Milka was born to a mother alone. The father is not in the picture. She does not know the identity of her father, and she doesn’t care to find out. All she knows is that when she asked her mother about her father when she was younger, she started crying. With her face in her hands, she glared at Milka through her fingers, and Milka quickly went invisible. For that, Milka chose to stay quiet and forget he ever existed. 

It wasn’t always bad with her mother. Milka remembers times when she could be visible around her. There was her fourth birthday party. There was a small group of kids, and her mom didn’t seem upset. She even smiled. That’s the year Milka got her cat, who, much to Milka’s delight, can see her when she’s invisible, and Milka is later adept at turning her pet invisible.

Definitely a cat person. Has multiple cats over the course of her life. She grieves the passing of each one because she had a close connection with all of them.

 I think she crushes hard and fast. This first happened with Quentin, who’s nice to everyone, but he went out of his way to make her feel included. This evoked a special feeling in Milka, the feeling of being wanted, so she started following Quentin via invisibility, hoping to get closer to him (as she would for her mother). But Quentin isn’t interested in romance, already crushing on Kitty, and he’d rather stay as friends. (He was also a bit weirded out by Milka constantly staring at him or lingering without saying a word.) This did upset Milka, fully aware that Kitty was using him, and she set out to use her ability to dump Kitty’s expensive makeup in the lake. And Kitty can’t sue her because there’s no proof she did it.

MIlka isn’t as shy or anxious as she appears. She knows what she wants. She also knows who she wants to be seen by. If she doesn’t want to listen to Vernon’s stories or be caught by him, she’s turning invisible and rushing away. If she wants to eavesdrop, she’ll stand still and be invisible to Elka as she rants about Nils to Crystal, Phoebe, or Dogen. She’s a great lurker, and she likes having control by suddenly reappearing when no one is anticipating her.

Sometimes, it isn’t out of malice. She does prefer staying invisible. It makes her feel comfortable and even wanted. Chloe especially doesn’t mind, believing it’s just part of who Milka is. Milka really appreciates Chloe’s friendship, and they have a strong trust in each other. They can also climb trees really together, with Milka challenging Chloe to contests over who can climb faster or higher, and Chloe isn’t one to say no! (They’re both shocked when Mirtala effortlessly beats them when she comes to camp.)

Milka helped Mirtala see if she was psychic during her time at camp. (Milka did not return to camp a week after PN2, and she met her next year during the first summer session.) While Chloe theorized upon Mirtala’s hidden potential, Milka has more practical solutions such as concentrating really hard on an acorn and trying to move it. She had to stop Mirtala before she could give herself a bad headache when she concentrated way too hard. Mirtala suspects she’s psychic on account that Mirtala always seems to be able to find her general location when she is invisible. 

She has the power of foresight, but it’s unstable. They happen very rarely, unlike Elka’s persistent visions (which still come on at random, but at least Elka knows that they are a possibility). When they happen, she has terrible seizures. Her body will flail, and she’ll begin speaking out what is happening (i.e. stating the words that are being said by the person involved in the vision), which sometimes means she’s speaking a different language. She’s later prescribed anticonvulsants.

Her true love really, really, REALLY is Elton. She was convinced it was Quentin, but that fateful vision changed her life. What she saw was pure delight, a future filled with happiness. They were on the sea enacting out Jack and Rose’s moment on the bow. The sea was wide and blue, melting into the sky. It was in that moment Milka understood freedom, the vastness of the world, and joy bursting in her chest. With Elton, she had fallen in love.

And she stated it so bluntly to him. She skipped the dating stage and went right with her loving proclamation. Elton was fast to accept her, too, so they jumped into their relationship with their heads in the clouds, and their eyes set on each other, and they never left.

She has a really gentle relationship with Elton’s mom. She’s a very keen woman, and she can tell that Milka’s home life has been rough. So, she always treats her sweetly. She gifts her things her mother never would. She takes her shopping when she’s come to visit, sometimes across the country. And she never mistreats her, never wants her gone, and Milka feels at home with her and Elton.

MIlka grows up to be one of the best spies for the Psychonauts. Her exterior might seem reserved and shy, but she’s a firecracker. She can trail an enemy for days without them ever realizing she’s right next to him. Milka’s never suffered a single scar with her talent in invisibility. She goes in, stealths about, and returns to the Motherlobe with the needed information. (And then she stalks off to ignore her paperwork or foist it upon a poor intern).

JT helps her out when he can as a kid, but sometimes, she shows up in his family’s barn to chill out. She chats with the stray cats who hang out there, too. The Hoofburgers are aware Milka is around and give her dinner if she wants to stay the night, but sometimes, she leaves without telling them to make it back home. It is worrying for JT, but she insists she’s fine, and they remain good friends.

She keeps her “Jennifer Aniston” hairstyle when she’s older lol.

Mirtala

“But Rose she’s not a camper-” YET!! Right after PN2, my belief is that she wants to go to Whispering Rock. Problem is, she isn’t psychic. While Frazie joins the intern program, Mirtala pleads her case to Oleander of all people. She really wants to meet new kids, especially psychics, having grown up mostly in the shadows of her siblings. While they’re able to connect with others so easily, she isn’t. She’s a bundle of sunshine and energy, but she’s had trouble maintaining friendships because her family is always on the move, so her longest “friends” are her siblings. Oleander sees how camp can help her, deciding it’d also be in her best interest to attend to see if she has any psychic potential laying dormant. Augustus and Donatella agree, though Donatella is more reluctant as she’s worried about the many miles that will be between her and her little Tala. (in addition to this, hollis would like to make amends with donatella for threatening to burn their caravan, so she personally approves of mirtala attending camp for one summer session whenever she can - free of charge! it's an olive branch that donatella does appreciate.)

So, she joins Sasha, Milla, Oleander, Ford, and Lucy to camp the following week after PN2. Mirtala is less than happy to know Ford will be with her Nona, so she made a show of sticking close to her and glaring at "the bacon man” whenever he tried coming close. She hasn’t forgiven Ford for what he did to her family (and she still has a little trouble understanding it all), and it’s going to take a long time for her to warm up to him. In the meantime, she’s glaring at him when Lucy isn’t looking (but Lucy is aware and simply smiles because MIrtala is her sweet little turnip who can do no wrong!)

Mirtala isn’t psychic as a child. To attend classes, the counselors pulled her into their minds using their own abilities. Mirtala, however, breezed through Basic Braining using her acrobatics. She even finished before a few other Tender Brains, much to Oleander’s pleasant shock. She wears her Basic Braining merit badge with pride! He thinks she’s a real promising agent!!

She has a very keen intuition. She seems to know where everyone is just by her gut feeling. Oleander had speculated that she is psychic, setting up with Sasha a secret test to find out if she could sense them, which after a few bits of trial and error, she was able to look in the direction where Oleander was using invisibility. Later findings would note that Mirtala was able to detect Milka, when none of the other kids could. (This is based on how Raz said sibling detection could be a psychic power and on the cut dialogue where Augustus and Donatella send her out to find Nona)

Though, intuition isn’t a psychic ability. Mirtala would later find out she is psychic when she’s an adult, but she’s an incredibly weak one. As in, she can barely levitate, barely lift anything, can only set small things on fire, etc. She has strong headaches if focusing for too long and nosebleeds if she goes overboard. But she uses brief pushes of her powers to help with her acrobatics, such as controlling ribbons of water, as she decides to stay with the circus as the new Prima Donna - though, her mom is still around. (She can go into a state of subconscious control if over-exerted where she has much more technical prowess based on instinct, though this last a short period and only activates if in a flight-or-fight situation.)

At home, she was the peacekeeper among her siblings. She often tried to soothe fights between her older siblings, sometimes utilizing her tears if things were going south. She’s incredibly close with Raz, so it hurt her very hard when he ran away. She blamed herself for getting mad when he fiddled with her tiara during that fateful performance. She puts her feelings secondary when trouble brews among the Aquatos (sibling spats, arguments between Augustus and Raz over psychics, etc), so she keeps practicing her acrobatics to bring smiles to their faces, especially Nona, and keep everyone together.

But at camp, she gains a sense of freedom. She always put her family first. She might’ve been the star, but she stayed quiet and to herself, often overshadowed by the others. (This isn’t meant to come out as neglectful - the Aquatos love Mirtala, but she put them first over herself). At camp, she doesn’t need to worry about anything, and she can be herself and FINALLY make long-lasting friends!!

And speaking of friends, she wants to be everyone’s pal! It makes her an oddball at the camp with cliques. The first kid she met was Bobby, who stayed at camp during the break period (his foster family didn’t want him anymore). He wasn’t nice at first, but Mirtala made it her mission to befriend him…by following him around. She wouldn’t leave! They were the only kids for that weekend, so Mirtala bounced after him and even got to have a tea party with him…after she eagerly went through what happened at the Motherlobe, in which Bobby learned Maligula was her great-aunt (and also she’s that stupid gogglehead’s sister!! Which means he’s also related to Maligula!! Awful!! They even have a powerful psychic in their lineage, so he’s a little jealous and a little fearful because Lucy gives him this knowing smile all, ‘I know you want to be mean to my little turnip, but my sea serpents will SEIZE you if you so much as pinch her.’)

They end up having a tea party together. He’s so thankful no one was at camp while Princess Prima Donna and Boo-Boo the Clown had scones, but he was willing to gossip about the upcoming kids with her, so Mirtala had a good idea of who she’d be dealing with by the time they showed up. She followed after him a lot during their time alone because she wanted him to play with her, and he kept giving in because “FINE!! FINE. just stop JINGLING.” She purposefully jingled her bells more afterward.

“Oh! Boo-Boo! You have that eye condition! It’s, ummmm…heterophobia!” “Yeah, I got heterophobia. What of it?” “I think it’s neat!” (He thinks that’s the actual world until he tells Chloe his condition, and she drops her telescope, wide-eyed.)

As for the other kids, she made an enemy out of Kitty but simultaneously ended her legal reign over the camp. She bumped into her and spilled orange juice all over Kitty’s white cashmere jacket in front of everyone in the lodge during lunch. She was so furious that she SCREAMED, “My dad is going to sue your family until they’re six feet under!” The other kids tried to intervene, but Mirtala wasn’t deterred in the slightest. In fact, she calls Kitty stupid to her face, and the campers lapse into silence.

“You’re stupid! Your dad can’t sue me. I’m a kid. He’d have to sue my parents, but the lawsuit would be thrown ‘cause it’s frivolous. Also, we weren’t looking at each other when we collided ‘cause we were both distracted. That’s negligent on your part, Kitty. The court would throw this case out in a jiffy.”

Kitty is stunned. Franke is stunned. Everyone is stunned. Mirtala frequently listens when Donatella works on any legal paperwork when the Aquatos are sued for mishaps at the circus, so she filed away the lessons her mom imparted. She might not fully get the history with her family, but she learned a lot from Donatella and the legal world. She’ll inherit the circus one day, so it’s on her shoulders to keep it in tiptop legal shape!

This was a catastrophic event for Kitty because it made everyone realize ‘hey, she can’t actually sue us into oblivion no matter what legal jargon she says’ so her arrowhead scalping scheme is tarnished, and no one takes her seriously anymore (unless she’s trying to hypnotize them). And she can’t do ANYTHING about it because Lucy has made it very clear, VERY CLEAR that no harm shall befall her little turnip. (She calls Mirtala ‘Dirty Mirty’ because of the former ‘water curse’ but Mirtala doesn’t take her seriously at all. She calls her smelly right back because “You’re using perfume to hide your BO!”) 

Aside from making enemies out of Kitty and Franke, she tried to make tons of friends! Dogen was an obvious friend! He told her what the squirrels were thinking, and she’d use him as a jumping board until he told her to stop messing with his special hat. Sometimes, she’d get bored with him because he isn’t the best conversationalist. Dogen often wandered offin the middle of her performance, and she’d stare at the spot where he stood all >:/. They’re better friends as teens because Dogen is able to come out of his shell a little more.

Mikhail thought she’d be a fun challenge until she said he had really skinny arms all innocently. She crushed his spirit that day, but it was back the next day when he tried sneak attacking her…only for Lucy to get involved. Mikhail was like, “Oh?? Well, I accept your challenge-!” He gets snapped up by a sea serpent. He was left staring gobsmacked at the sky while Mirtala giggled.

As for JT, she thinks he’s cool, which is just as Raz saw him! She kept complimenting him as he practiced his PSI blasts and played his harmonica. I think she’d have a tiny little crush on him, but JT is NOT interested in a relationship, so it fades pretty quickly.

Phoebe was a curious case! Phoebe saw this new kid and wanted to give her therapy. Much to her pleasant surprise, Mirtala accepted! No one accepts because her advice is, hm, decent at the best. When Mirtala goes in-depth about her past, she starts tearing up because it’s been a lot on her shoulders, and Phoebe really tries her best to help Mirtala understand what she’s feeling.

But her most special friend at camp is Chloe! She was so excited to meet her the most because of how Bobby described her. She’s going into the friendship truly believing Chloe is this super smart, super cool alien from another galaxy.

“You’re Chloe!” “I am” “Boo-Boo told me so much about you! Like how you make stuff! And how you’re an alien! That’s so cool!” And Chloe immediately looks at him. He’s stammering something, but she gives her attention back to Mirtala because it seems this creature accepts that she;s an alien, which must mean that Mirtala is also an alien due to her enormous eyes, tiny hands, and characteristics belonging to the Zwickians

They become very good friends!! Mirtala is invested in helping Chloe reach her people, and Chloe wants to learn everything she can about Zwickians, so they spend a ton of time together. Mirtala’s support is something that’s different from Bobby’s. While he’s more passive and accepting to anything Chloe says, Mirtala is quick to offer her own solutions, and her perspective is something Chloe enjoys because it’s a new form of knowledge.

She teaches Chloe acrobatics! Her helmet kind of gets in the way, but Chloe concedes that the earth toxins won’t hurt her if it’s only momentarily, so Mirtala is the first camper to see Chloe’s face up close. Mirtala calls her cute reflexively, and Chloe is pleasantly surprised. They also share hair accessories!!

They’re involved when they’re teens, but it’s mostly casual, kind of like what Franke and Kitty have at camp. Hand-holding, not trying to be serious, like a romantic friendship. The distance is an issue, and sometimes, they have dramatic break-ups because of misunderstanding (Mirtala was so upset when Chloe said she wouldn’t love her if she was a worm!!), but they support each other through thick and thin. Mirtala and Chloe have done the MadoHomu head nuzzling gif. Milka is doesn’t see it because she’s currently doing the MadoHomu head nuzzling gif with Elton.

And speaking of Milka, she, Chloe, and Milka are the weird little girls of Whispering Rock! Causing trouble! Making Kitty mad! Throwing her stuff in the lake while Chloe stands guard!!

Also, she’s friends with Linda! Linda has a special bond with most of the kids who returned to camp. But with Mirtala (and Chloe and Bobby, who she’s deemed powerful alien children), Linda takes them down to explore the depths of Lake Oblongata.

She can roll her r’s really well! She and Benny are experts at it.

She and Chloe have The Bachelor/The Bachelorette nights when they’re grown and living together. Bobby does everything in his power to not be home when they’re watching it because they get intense about the show. Milka occasionally joins!

She might not be a Psychonaut as an adult, but she sometimes tags along to be a distraction with Chloe and Bobby! She has her own circus act with Bobby as her “assistant” (unwilling, help him) while Chloe does her spy stuff.

she and raz are EXTREMELY CLOSE!!!!! do not separate. "i'm raz!" "and i'm tala!" THE BOBBY BOTHERERS.

Ni

Oh, Nils, what is there to say about you? Most consider him to be the worst camper due to his “less than savory” ways toward the girls, which is completely understandable. I headcanon him as having grown up in a pretty upper-middle class way. He’s living a very comfortable life, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

His parents had Nils very young, and they married shortly after. They’re in a perpetual honeymoon state, so sometimes, Nils is a bit secondary to them when they want to have fun, BUT that doesn’t mean they don’t love him. They just want to have a lot of date nights, so sometimes, they just aren’t home and leave him with a babysitter.

Nils’ mom can be described as the one meme where the woman says “not now sweatie mommy is cyberbullying.” She likes to have time for herself and go out with her gal pals. As for his dad, he’s very much a Silicon Valley type of guy. He wants Nils to be the best he can be and also try to not get in trouble because he doesn’t want their family to have a bad connotation. It’s a little bit of pressure on Nils, but his dad hopes it will give Nils a greater sense of purpose.

It does not. In fact, it kind of has the opposite effect. Nils’ needs really aren’t met by his parents. It’s not a huge case of neglect compared to Bobby or Milka, but Nils isn’t really getting what he feels he needs, and there’s a rift between himself and his parents. It’s not an unlovable rift, as his parents really are trying to give Nils what they think is best for him, but again, it’s not what he really needs. (To clarify, they do spend time with Nils. They go on vacations and shower Nils with gifts. His mom is involved at his school. His dad brings Nils to his job, but there’s an emptiness inside Nils.)

So, Nils seeks affection outside of his parents. Hence, where his flirtations with girls starts to become more prevalent. He thinks being in a relationship will be great. He’s definitely seen too many R-rated movies, and he has, unfortunately, been influenced by those films. It’s a classic case of “way too young to be seeing this.”

Around the same time, his psychic powers developed. It happened one year before canon, with his power of clairvoyance being a staple of who he is. Seeing how others saw him was a way for Nils to examine himself. He first checked himself through the eyes of his parents, and while he saw himself, he was dressed differently. For his dad, he was in his father’s clothes. For his mom, he was a wealthy businessman, ready to take on the world. They were thinking of his future, instead of his present.

That brings us back to how he seeks affection from others. He isn’t attracted to boys at all, and his feelings for girls are…extensive. He thinks he has to be a casanova to win their heart. He doesn’t want to trample on their feelings, so he goes at them one at a time, hoping to impress them. Most, however, are uninterested or are unaware he wants to date them. Lili and Phoebe rolls their eyes at him. Kitty takes Franke away, etc.

But then, there’s Elka Doom. He thought he hit the jackpot. To Nils, Elka was beautiful. She was sweet, and she liked being around him. She liked holding his hand and giving him kisses. It was the affection he wanted, and he found himself suddenly thrust in the middle of it. It boosted his confidence, thinking this was the way to win over girls (or at least, keep Elka as his summer fling because hey, she might be bossy and snooty, but she’s always giving him a meaningful look.)

So, when Elka hit him with a “so, I’ve seen us married in the future, and we’re destined to be together forever,” it scared the HELL out of him. First of all, Nils was way too young to hear that. He, after all, was only eight. He didn’t want commitment. He wanted fun! He wanted a girlfriend! Not a wife! He broke up with her in a messy way, leading him to realize Elka hadn’t really taken care of his needs. He figured another girlfriend would, leading him to pursue others while she blamed him for the break-up, her cryptic warnings that they would meet constantly still in his head. 

Nils doesn’t exactly change his ways as he grows up. His relationships with women are superficial as a teen, but he does have a few good friends. Crystal is always nice to him, and he doesn’t really want to date her after a few years. Clem is chill with him, and his poker face gets so much better as the years go on. Nils ends up losing to him more often than it’s worth to play cards with him. He doesn’t have many close friendships with the teen!campers, but he has friends outside of the Motherlobe and the Psychonauts.

He’s a great surfer! He’s grown up by the beach, so he really likes getting out in the sunshine and hitting the waves.

Like Kitty, he does want to be presentable, so he indulges in high-end clothing. He tries wearing suits as a teen, but people just made fun of him at HQ, so he ditched them for his surfer-esque clothes. Not the best choice in attire to wear in a colder climate!

and i just didn't get to the rest! but i jotted down soe tidbits about them!

Phoebe’s mentor is Morris. She knew him from when she reached out to him to premiere the Firestarters on KLOB a week after PN2.

Both Phoebe and Quentin are DBZ fans are kids. She likes Gohan. She wants to give him therapy so, so, sooo bad.

Phebe takes anti-anxiety medication whenshe's older.

quentin isn't a psychonaut, but he a traveling dj! phoebe joins him for gigs as she chose to become a therapist for the psychonauts

quentin smokes weed as an older teen like that one image of ralsei

d'art is still in that damn outhouse (jk - he's friend with clem and crystal when they happen upon him scurrying through camp, and they all make the mgs ! noise when they see each other)

vernon is a master storyteller, and he's a published author! it's given him a pretty big chip on his shoulder since he proved them all wrong.

[wooyoblr]

showertime (kys x jwy, 18+)

overview: shower sex..... what else is there to say

cw: smut. canon compliant, handjob and oral sex, nearly getting caught and/or cockblocked by your hyung because you can’t keep it in your pants for one goddamn morning. implied poly woosansang as with most things i write.

wc: ~900

author’s note: i remember this came to me in the shower one day. found it as a blurb in my google docs months later.

The morning is quiet and Yeosang is up early. He’s getting in the shower and intends to have a long, warm shower since they don't have schedules this morning. Seonghwa can fuck off if he also decides to wake up early today.

He’s barely been in the bathroom for five minutes when there’s a knock on the door. There is only one person it would be. Yeosang’s hand is under the spray of water, testing the temperature, and he doesn’t look behind him as he tells his boyfriend to come in.

Wooyoung announces that he wants to join Yeosang in the shower. He has this ldevious ook in his eyes and Yeosang knows he can't resist him. And, well, there are no schedules this morning - they have time.

They kiss under the warm water, wash each other sweetly and slowly, touching softly, cherishing. It’s slightly too warm for Yeosang’s liking, but he knows it’s just the temperature that Wooyoung likes, so he doesn’t complain. Yeosang brushes wet, black hair from Wooyoung’s face, admiring him. Wooyoung smiles, soft with no teeth, and it’s sweet, endearing, until Yeosang turns around and suddenly Wooyoung is pressed up against his back. He did expect this, sure, but that doesn’t make it much less surprising that it happened so quickly. They just finished washing each other.

Already impatient in the two and a half seconds since Yeosang turned away from him, Wooyoung starts whining and kissing the back of his neck, hands running up and down his sides with too-warm water between them. Wooyoung’s hands drift lower to Yeosang’s ass, but Yeosang quite frankly does not feel like letting Wooyoung have his way with him this morning.

Yeosang turns back around and sees his boyfriend’s dark eyes and kisses him firmly, holds his hips and pulls their bodies flush together. Between them, he can feel that Wooyoung is hard already and is moaning easily, eager, tilting his head to allow Yeosang to dip his tongue further into his mouth. Yeosang pulls back just enough to smirk against his lips, then pushes Wooyoung backwards against the shower wall. A sharp hiss shoots through Wooyoung’s teeth as his back hits the cold tiles and then he cries out when Yeosang ducks forward to grind their hips together. Soft whines slipping out of his mouth, Wooyoung hikes his leg on Yeosang’s hip and knocks his head back against the wall. Yeosang has to tell him to be quiet.

Wooyoung gestures towards the bottles of shampoo and body wash and begs Yeosang to fuck him. Wooyoung sounds so pretty when he’s begging for cock.

They still have time.

Yeosang eagerly complies, slippery hands fumbling with the bottle made even more difficult with Wooyoung’s lips and teeth and tongue on his neck.

Yeosang jumps when there's a banging on the bathroom door and Hongjoong’s voice floats through the steam in the room, yelling at them to finish up because something about a family meeting before they go out this afternoon. Yeosang can see it in Wooyoung’s eyes that he’s thinking about yelling back “fuck off, hyung, I’m about to get laid here”. He doesn’t, Hongjoong leaves, and Yeosang kisses Wooyoung quiet.

Plans effectively ruined, Yeosang slips the bottle back into the caddy and grabs Wooyoung’s cock with his rough palm instead. Wooyoung squeaks, hands flying up to grip Yeosang by the shoulders. He jerks him quickly and mouths at his neck, nipping and sucking, careful not to leave marks. Wooyoung’s short, high-pitched little moans are enough to get Yeosang back to full hardness where he’d flagged earlier, leaning in to whisper sweet and dirty words in his boyfriend’s ear to make him cum quickly. 

“You just love the idea of Hongjoongie-hyung coming in here and catching us. Do you know how unbelievably hot you look right now? Do you really want him to see you like this with your cock in my hand? That’s so filthy, Wooyoung-ah.” Wooyoung’s moans grow louder and Yeosang’s teeth attach themselves to his ear. “You know what I think you want? I think you want Sannie to find us. He’d be so jealous that we’re in here without him. Come on, baby. Be loud, let Sannie know you’re all mine right now.”

Yeosang twists his wrist and sucks on the skin right under Wooyoung’s ear and then he’s cumming all over Yeosang’s hand. Yeosang jerks him through it and then shoves him to his knees with his clean hand. Wooyoung’s eyes are glazed over as he looks up at Yeosang, mouth dropping open with his tongue out expectantly to take his cock and fuck, it’s the hottest thing Yeosang’s seen all week. Yeosang brings his cum-covered hand to his own cock, stripping himself rough and fast with Wooyoung’s release all over him, and Wooyoung moans and whines at how hot it must look. When Yeosang’s breath hitches, Wooyoung leans forward and sucks on the head of his cock and Yeosang cums all over his face, streaking across his lips and cheekbones.

The moment he’s able to, Yeosang drops to his knees and kisses Wooyoung as if his life depends on it, working his tongue into his mouth and tasting himself on Wooyoung’s tongue. Wooyoung’s hands are wandering again already.

There’s a banging at the door again and Yeosang groans, standing up to rinse his hands and then turning off the water. He grabs a towel and then opens the door fully, glaring at an extremely shocked Hongjoong. He hears Wooyoung giggling behind him. Hongjoong blushes tomato red and stutters his way through telling them to hurry the fuck up already.

Yeosang kisses Wooyoung with a grin once the door is closed.

[hesthermay]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 (𝐏𝐓 𝟒)

PAIRING: sergeant hunter x fem!oc

SUMMARY: the bad batch follow the only lead they have and find themselves presented with a business proposal as unconventional as the last. miri faces the music about the less than subtle weapon on her hip.

WORD COUNT: 6.6k

RATINGS + WARNINGS: general audiences, mature themes, angst, miri thinks she’s funny. found family trope/dynamics. female oc, jedi oc, use of she/her, canon typical violence. the bad batch time period, follows the timeline of the show.

NOTES: late as everrrrr. take it or leave it. i have more on the way! between u and me theres some rooooomance on the way !!! ps...do u guys like cage the elephant? saw them in concert and it was fucking awesome

STAR WARS MASTERLIST THE GREAT FIGHT MASTERLIST

Emotion filled Miri as she watched Tech fit the comm device around Omega’s little arm, and she thought back to her own Master. Had he felt this way when she gained new accomplishments, earned new devices and gadgets in her training, proven herself in risky situations? Had he thought of her the way she thought of Omega? 

“It’s not an exact fit,” Tech informed, but it seemed the girl did not care. Omega was a child so easily brought to wonder, and every day it felt like she found something to be excited about. Times were dark in the galaxy, and Miri imagined the Marauder would be even darker if they had not had the light that was Omega. 

“Technically it was Crosshairs, but,” he paused for only a millisecond, eyes looking away as he spoke. “He doesn’t appear to need it.” The slight sting of it all was lost on her, though, and they were able to move through the moment seamlessly. Sometimes Crosshair got them caught up and they found themselves stuck, even for just a bit, in a moment of hurt and betrayal, anger and blame, unable to pick and unable to move on. 

“Echo, what is your position? Over,” she spoke into the commlink built into the vambrace, similar to the one Miri wore. Her words echoed through everyone's comms as they were all in the same part of the ship, though Omega still held the device up to her ear to hear better. Miri chuckled as she watched on, but Echo clearing his throat caused her grin to drop. Ever so serious, he kept them in line most of the time, a stark contrast from his ARC Trooper days with a certain twin of his. But when he stepped forward she knew what was to come before he even began speaking. 

“It’s not a toy, Omega,” he looked down at her with a soft yet serious face, hoping his words would get through to her. Intelligent as she was, she was still a child, and this was proven when she grinned up at him, pressed the button on the comm, and spoke into it once again. 

“Copy that,” she answered, just as seriously. Miri laughed, out loud this time, and deflected the look Echo shot at her as Tech reached forward for her arm again, pressing buttons on the vambrace. “Why are we going to Ord Mantell? I thought the plan was to lay low?” 

Hunter turned from the computer to face her, the chair squeaking with the movement, and all eyes were on him. In the soft glow of the dash lights, he looked handsome as ever, but it seemed as if an opportunity for privacy was not in the cards. She could only do what she’d always done, admire from afar. “Not while a bounty hunter’s after you. We need to find out why.” 

“I remembered an informant there named Cid that the Jedi used to work with,” Echo explained. “I asked Miri about it and she said it was as good a plan as any.” 

“And you trust him?” Wrecker questioned, Gonky raised over his head as he lifted him repeatedly. Miri, having kept mostly quiet the whole time, covered her grin with her hand. The assumptions they’d already made of Cid were quite wrong, though she did not feel like letting them in on that. She had to fight off her smile when she realized the question was directed at her. 

She shrugged, an air of indifference about her. “To say the least,” she settled on, though it was not much of an answer. 

“The Jedi trusted him,” Echo offered, holding his hands up as if it was any better. 

“The Jedi who are all dead?” Tech questioned as he rose to his full height, not realizing the punch behind his words until they were already out in the open. Miri, silent once again, looked at him with a blank face as his eyes flicked over to her. “Apologies. That was…a bit blunt, I see now.” 

While the ache reverberated throughout her body, she did not let it show. Her voice, steady under the gazes of her entire crew, left her in a calm delivery. She would not let the truth get one over on her, however difficult it would be. “If you have a better option, Tech, I’m sure we would all like to hear it.” He did not answer, for he knew he did not, so she continued. “Can’t hurt to check it out, then, can it?” 

“She has a point,” came echoing from everyone’s comms, and all eyes turned to the girl with the device held up to her mouth once again. “Right,” she lowered it. “Not a toy.” 

-: ✧

Ord Mantell was nothing special. The part of town where Cid was wasn’t anything special either, but Omega found herself impressed once again. As they made their way through the streets, their group made less intimidating by the sight of a woman and child, Hunter looked down at the girl. “Remember the rules?” His voice was distorted as it came through the modulator in his helmet, but his expectation still rang clear.  

“Don’t wander off, keep my eyes and ears on my surroundings, and trust no one but my squad,” she listed, the rules engraved in her mind with how many times Hunter made her repeat them. 

“And if you get into trouble?” Miri questioned, her own eyes flicking down to the girl. 

“Use my comm and give my location,” she answered effortlessly, much to Miri’s satisfaction. 

Cid’s bar came into view soon after, and Echo took the lead. “This is the place,” he mused, looking up at the light up sign. She took a step back, letting everyone in before her, hoping her plan would be as amusing as she had imagined. Again, their lives would be much darker if they didn’t find the light wherever they could, so she felt no shame in the little trick she had planned.

“Gotta run back to the ship real quick,” she answered when Hunter questioned her. This moment felt uncannily similar to Kaller, when she sent him off before Order 66 and she went missing, and he didn’t accept her answer for that very reason. 

“It can’t wait? We should stay together,” he argued, one foot on the step before him, but helmet still facing her. 

“Hunter, I’ll be fine. I just need to grab something,” she assured, smiling at him in a way she was beginning to figure out disarmed him. A sweet smile, one she only gave him, and it was a surefire way to get him to bend. 

It had worked. He entered the bar and left her there in the alley, though she did not head for the ship. She stayed, waiting, giving them a chance to get down the narrow corridor and take in their surroundings before she entered herself. Her steps were light and she remained close to the wall, trying to reduce her presence down to zero as she peeked around the corner, overhearing them faintly discuss the whereabouts of the mysterious Cid. 

In the corner of the dark room, she saw Cid leaned over wiping something down. Cid wasn’t too far from the boys, and with their helmets removed their voices were clearer and carried just a bit further; if she could hear them, then Cid would too. Miri’s grin grew ever so slightly. Really, it had been far too long since she’d felt this much giddy joy and for a moment thought of it as sad, but quickly dismissed it. She was doing her best, that’s all that mattered. 

“Which one of them is Cid?” Hunter questioned, looking out at the open space before him. 

When Echo shrugged his shoulders, she almost broke her cover. He didn’t know left from right when it came to this, yet he was so quick to take the lead. What a weirdo, she thought to herself as her face settled on a warm grin. “I couldn’t tell ya. I only heard about Cid. Never actually met him.” 

She wasn’t able to see their faces, but she could imagine the look they were giving their brother. “Miri knows,” Echo argued, and started to look around. “Where is she?”

“She’s getting something from the ship, but I don’t think we should waste any time,” Hunter answered before stepping forward to the nearest person. “We’re looking for Cid. You know him?” 

Unknowingly, Hunter had spoken to the subject of his question, and Miri shook her head. When the Trandoshan turned, she looked up at him in faux confusion. 

“Cid, huh?” She slowly rose to her full height, shrugging before shaking her head. “Nope. Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“What about them?”  He looked over at the patrons of the bar, fighting over their game of dejarik. 

“Was I not clear?” Cid’s voice had begun to take on that familiar bite, and Miri knew she would need to cut it short soon. “You’re in the wrong place. So unless you’re here to spend some money, get lost.” She barely looked at him before walking away, shaking her head ever so slightly. 

“Great plan, Echo,” Wrecker griped, even though Miri had approved of it. 

“I’m certain this is Cid’s,” Echo defended. “The Jedi came here during the war, and Miri led us to this place.” 

In the midst of everything, Omega had occupied herself with tinkering with things here and there, but soon her attention shifted to the Trandoshan behind the bar. Her brothers were talking as if Cid was a man fleeing, but something had evidently told her otherwise. Miri watched as Omega made her way to the bar, looking up at Cid from the other side, and she began to round the corner. She had had her fun, but now she wanted to see what the girl was going to say. 

Four highly trained clone troopers, and the little girl who’d never left Kamino figured it out? With how clever Omega was proving herself to be, Miri would believe it. 

One thing about Ciddarin Scaleback was that she was not only rough around the edges, but all the way through too. She wasn’t particularly nice, and she was a businesswoman if nothing else. Cutthroat, greedy, and somewhat unpleasant to be around, she never switched it up on anyone. Not even children. “What’s your deal, tiny?” 

“You’re Cid.” Omega, unphased by her attitude, stated it simply. This, while raising some questions in Miri’s mind, earned her a rare compliment. 

Cid turned to her, crossing her arms and losing the bite. “You’re sharper than your friends over there.” 

With this, Miri decided to make herself known. She stepped into the room, walking slowly towards everyone when Cid caught sight of her. Surprise, another rarity from the woman, covered her face for a second as she watched her move closer. “Well, well, look who it is,” she called out, gaining the attention of the rest of the squad. “Never thought I’d see you here again, sunshine, I’ll be honest.” 

Miri, grinning as she stepped up beside Omega, shrugged. “Can’t blame you there.” She gracefully slid into a seat, settling in as she removed her hat. “Alas, I persist.” 

“You’re Cid?” Hunter questioned, face screwed up in confusion and frustration. Miri couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking her head. 

-: ✧

“I had a good thing going with the Jedi,” Cid explained as she led them into her office, and in her head Miri knew it was the better part of her business. “They valued my insights, and now that they’re all dead—well, most of them are dead—the demand for my services has declined.” She crossed her arms, looking at them from across a holoboard. “Thanks to this new Empire.”

“Times have changed…for all of us,” Hunter stated, quite severe compared to the lack of care from Cid. 

“No kidding,” she countered. “I’ve never had clone deserters come to me before. And never did I expect a surviving Jedi to show up here, either.”  Hearing the words spoken out loud almost made Miri flinch, because it was so unsafe to even exist anymore. She could never not be who she was, but she would need to hide it away as much as possible. 

“Yes, well, we separated due to a fundamental difference in ideology,” Tech explained, adjusting his goggles. 

“That’s cute, you thinking I care,”  Cid taunted, an unsurprising response to Miri. She knew Cid wasn’t one to care for the fluff, the extra; she wanted the rundown, the target, and the price. “Cut to it and tell me what you want.” 

Hunter looked to Miri, and she nodded her head once. Then he looked to Echo, and Echo stepped forward to place his helmet down and plug his scomplink into the base. “By all means, make yourself at home,” Cid remarked sarcastically, and Miri rolled her eyes. 

“We encountered this woman on Pantora,” Hunter explained when the holo of the bounty hunter popped up. Miri’s eyes burned holes into what would be the back of her head. “Do you know who she is?”

“No,” Cid instantly replied. “But I know a bounty hunter when I see one.” Miri sighed; Cid knew a lot of people, and knew a lot of things about a lot of people, and she didn’t even know who this was. She didn’t seem new to this gig, far too skilled to be a rookie or a lowlife, yet her name wasn’t reaching around as far as one would think.

Sneaky. Dangerous. 

“Can you find who hired her?” Echo pushed, trying to get something out of her. 

Her next response didn’t surprise Miri one bit. “That depends on what you lot do for me,” she grinned in her own way, somehow still unsettling. She exchanged glances with Hunter, then the rest of the boys, communicating silently before Cid’s voice interrupted them. “Are you fresh outta the tube?” She shot out, and Miri almost laughed. “Got Force sickness?” She mocked, and her smile dropped. “You pull a job for me, and I get the information you want.”

She began to walk away, leaving no room for discussion. “That’s how this mercenary thing works,” she waved, and Echo looked as if she’d struck him. 

“Mercenary?” He questioned, looking after her with brows drawn tightly. 

“Not too quick, are ya?” Cid remarked, not stopping her pace. “Clearly the kid’s the brains of your operation.” 

Miri sighed, stepping forward. “What kind of jobs?” 

“A rescue,” Cid answered, sitting down. “You’re good at those, aren’t ya?” She pointed a claw at Miri, another sarcastic jab slipped in before she continued on. “There's a nice bounty on a kid named Muchi. My sources say she was taken by Zygerrian slavers who are holed up on the other side of the planet. Bring me the kid and I’ll get you your intel.” 

“Well, who collects the bounty?” Wrecker questioned, speaking for the first time since they’d entered the office. 

“Oh, look. It talks,” Cid shot out, and Miri scoffed. This was something that she remembered bothering her immensely every time she had to be around her, she was relentless with the negativity. It was tolerable at first but got old very quickly, yet there was hardly a break with her. 

“We split the bounty 70-30, my favor. Take it or leave it.” 

“Grab a kid from a few Zygerrians?” Wrecker laughed, nudging Hunter before turning around, leading Omega out. “We could do that in our sleep.”  

“Looks like we have a deal,” Cid declared, and Hunter and Miri shared one more glance before she threw the holodrive at the Jedi. “Details of the bounty are on that. Don’t screw it up.” 

Everyone that was left turned to walk away, but Miri stopped at the door. She turned to face Cid one last time, face serious as she spoke. “I trust this means you’ll keep quiet of my participation in your business?” Worded in a way where she was asking without asking, for she needed to know. 

“Helps to have a hand in every pocket, sunshine,” she replied, leaning back in her seat. “Keeping you on the streets means getting my business back up, sound familiar?” 

Miri didn’t respond. Instead she turned and walked through the doorway and didn’t stop. It did sound familiar. Back then it didn’t seem the same as it did now, almost as if she was seeing it for what it was for the first time. A weight she readily let go of as Hunter came into view, waiting for her so they could board the ship together. 

-: ✧

“According to Cid’s intel, the Zygerrian slave traders are hiding in the ruins of Old Ord Mantell city,” Tech’s words filled the silence of the ship  as Omega flitted past him into the seat that Wrecker had left. Her eyes were on the trooper doll they had all gone through so much for, but her question was cast into the open for them all to hear. “What’s a slave trader?” 

Sometimes it saddened Miri to think of all the things the girl had yet to learn due to her containment on Kamino. Younglings didn’t leave Coruscant, but they were exposed to knowledge every single day. It was imperative to their futures as Jedi to know how things worked, how people worked, and that was something Omega had been robbed of. She could only hope to do right by her, to help her become the greatest she could be. 

“Someone who buys and sells people for credits,” Tech answered simply, though his words caused Omega to look up. 

“People can be sold?” She sat up straighter, face scrunched up. 

“Against their will,” Miri answered her. “They’re people taken captive, treated like property,” she explained, thinking of little Ani on Tatooine working his days away for but a moment before she pushed it aside. 

“That…” Omega started, clutching the doll to her chest, “doesn’t seem right.” 

“It’s not, and we have the means to do something about it. That’s why we won’t let this happen to that kid; because it’s wrong, and we can stop it. Omega,” she paused, gesturing for the girl to come closer. She slid out of her seat and stopped right before the woman. “I need you to understand how important it is to recognize when you are able to help someone in need. I would never want you to put yourself in danger, I mean that, but sometimes you will have the tools to do something and you will need to know when to use them,” she explained, and Omega’s eyes never left hers. To be truthful, she had no idea what she was doing. But perhaps her Master didn’t either, and it was with that that she gave the girl a gentle smile. “We have the tools to make a difference today, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

“As well as earn a decent amount of credits once the job is complete,” Tech added, and Miri almost rolled her eyes. Instead she sighed, for her teachable moment had ended, and Echo’s mood had dipped. 

“Yeah, that too,” he sulked, turning to walk away. 

“Don’t worry Muchi,” Omega exclaimed lowly, face as serious as ever. “We’ll rescue you.” The resolve in her voice matched the expression on her face, and Miri felt that her words had gotten through as intended. She shared a look with Hunter, and there was something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite pinpoint. She could if she really tried, if she pried and peeked with the Force, but she did not want to do that to him. She had enough respect for everyone in the Batch to not meddle where she was not meant to, so she resigned to not knowing why he was looking at her that way, to giving him a funny look and shaking her head before rising from her seat. 

Upon landing, a quick scan of the terrain was done before a group of captives was spotted. Only one child was present and Tech made note of that, leading to the conclusion that that must be little Muchi. “I’m clocking two dozen hostiles,” Tech continued. “Multiple entry points with minor fortification.”

Miri knew their base would be weak. The Empire had only just formed and done away with outlawing slavery, so slavers were only just gaining their footing. Plus, the city was run down and in terrible condition, leaving them poorly protected and susceptible to infiltration by anyone with a little skill. Clone Force 99, unfortunately for the Zygerrians, possessed more than a little skill. 

“Simple smash and grab like that time on Kuat,” Wrecker remarked. “Easy enough.” 

“I’m in!” Omega exclaimed, beginning to rise from her crouched position. “What are we waiting for?”

Hunter grabbed her by the shoulder, stopping her as the others walked away. Miri stayed, knowing he would need some backup on this. She knew he was going to say no, and while she wanted Omega to accompany them on missions eventually, she found herself agreeing. Complicated, this was; much more than she was hoping for. 

“You get back to the ship.” Hunter left no room for negotiation, and while he was bossy from time to time, Miri agreed with the decision. “That’s an order,” he stated, one finger pointed at her chest firmly; a classic Hunter move. She almost chuckled, but Omega’s quiet—albeit not quiet enough—huff of defiance caught the man’s attention just as he was walking away. In a fashion akin to a Master and Padawan, a father and child, he whirled around expectantly. 

“Yes, sir,” she answered, begrudging but still respectful. 

Deciding to just follow up on his order, because Omega was not a soldier, Miri leaned forward and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “For now, I think Hunter’s right. Just until we can get you some more training, okay?” Omega nodded, but that was the only answer she got before she began to walk away.  But something was nagging, pulling her to a full stop. On second thought… 

When had that ever worked on her or Anakin?

She turned around, pointing her own finger at the girl. “But you heard what Hunter said, stay on the ship,” she warned, using a tone just a step under stern. “Do not leave that ship unless absolutely necessary.”  

“Yes, ma’am,” she replied, the same way as before. In the corner of her eye, Miri could see Omega cross her arms as she made her way to the ship, but she had still listened and that was a win in her book. 

The terrain was nothing difficult for the squad to maneuver, quickly and quietly making their way closer to the heart of the base. When they stopped, Tech crouched down and turned on his scanner before Miri turned to the others. “Echo, you’re the eyes in the sky. Wrecker, you and Tech draw the Zygerrian forces out. Hunter and I will grab the kid.” 

When Echo had departed and the three others made it to their first stop, Hunter pressed his comm button. “Echo, sitrep,” he questioned lowly. Behind them, Miri made a little place for her lightsaber to sit. If they were captured, they would find it on her. If they found their ship, they would find it there. This way, it was hidden away from prodding eyes and ill intentions, waiting until its Master called upon it. 

“Two roving patrols on speeders,” he replied. “First guard checkpoint dead ahead.” For a moment, Miri felt something. However, she felt a lot of things, so she didn’t question it until Echo’s voice came through the comms once again. “Hang on, I think I’ve got company.” 

“Well, take care of it,” Hunter responded. “Quietly,” he emphasized, but any chance of covertness flew out the window when Echo’s groan rang loudly through their comms, and was followed by his body falling from his post up above. His body thudded against a fallen building, landing roughly and remaining unmoving. 

“Watch out!” She hollered, moving quickly as something else came in from above. A creature reptilian in appearance, with wings and a long tail, flung Wrecker into some more broken foundations, body thudding on impact as well. They each pulled their blasters, but the shots did little damage. Miri knew her saber would have made things easier, would have done more to fend off this creature until it flew away, but in the end knew it was for the better.

Even though they were captured. Even though they were stripped of their helmets and belongings. Even though they could now do nothing to stop them from finding their ship. It was for the better. 

Wrecker’s fingers pried at the collar around his neck, swearing it was getting looser, but Miri knew it was no use. Still, his actions were met with repercussions, his body shocked with just the push of a button. He groaned before slumping over, and Echo was quick to come to his defense. 

“Do that one more time and you’ll be—” his threat was cut off by his own collar shocking him. 

“Save your energy,” Tech advised a slumped over Echo. “We’re going to need it.” 

Miri’s eyes flicked back and forth as they all bantered, but she had nothing to add. They needed to get out of this, get to Omega, get Muchi back to her family; her thoughts were going a mile a minute as she ran through every mission she could remember right then for an answer to their problems.

“We need to signal Omega before their scouts find her,” Hunter interjected. 

“Except our comms are over there with our weapons,” Echo countered, looking over at where all of their things were piled together. Indeed, all of their resources were much too far out of reach, a tauntingly impressive trophy for their captors to admire. 

Once again, Miri felt something, though she had now grown familiar with this one. She turned as best she could, eyes squinted as she looked into the sky and saw, lo and behold, Omega herself. “We won’t need ‘em,” she assured, and everyone followed her line of sight as discreetly as possible. 

Omega waved at them, using hand signals to let them know she was coming to get them, but Miri and Hunter’s heads shook in unison. A cautionary glance thrown over his shoulder revealed that the leader of this operation was on his way, and Hunter signaled for her to make herself scarce. Thankfully, she listened. 

“Look at what we have here,” the Zygerrian mused as he made his way closer, hands clasped behind his back. “Five new slaves to add to my collection. Strong ones, too; you should fetch a nice price,” he added before his sights were set in Miri. “This one, especially.” 

“The Republic outlawed slavery,” Echo interjected fiercely, face screwed up in a way that was so familiar yet so his own. If his plan was to get the eyes off Miri, it had worked; the Zygerrian with the scarred face and the milky eye turned on the trooper immediately. 

“We are not in the Republic anymore, skug,” he insulted, advancing on him. Miri did not like that Echo had taken the heat off her by putting himself on the burner, but when the man walked away and she saw Echo’s eyes meet his sister’s she knew it would play to their advantage. 

“You’re lucky we don’t have any of our gear,” he threatened boldly, much louder than before. “Because this would go very differently for you.” Miri could practically see the pieces fit together in Omega’s mind as Echo’s words reached her and she put whatever plan she had formed into action. Miri’s eyes were wide as her little legs carried her from her hiding spot before she slid out of view, and she realized that this had to be the Padawan Learner experience.

And when Omega accidentally kicked a big rock down and nearly blew her cover, she could only nod her head. Yep, this was it. The slavers all turned to look at the place where the loud thud had come from, dust slowly rising in the air, and Miri took the opportunity to share a look with Wrecker, nodding just once. 

Almost immediately his leg shot out and kicked a small boulder directly into one of the Zygerrians, knocking his feet right out from under him. The immediate retaliation was to pull out the electrified whips Zygerrians so fondly preferred, and Miri and Wrecker held their hands up to shield their faces from any lashes. Though none landed, and she knew it was most likely their warning, so whatever happened next needed to count. 

“We can do with one less slave,” the Zygerrian threatened, accent thick as he sneered at them. “Maybe I’ll feed you to my pet.” His speech that followed fell on deaf ears when it came to the Bad Batch, for they had other concerns. Omega was on the move again, and it would be foolish to follow her movements for the risk of blowing her cover, so they had no choice but to look away. 

That’s how they missed her getting snatched up by one of the guards. He came forward, dropping her before the leader. “I found her sneaking around the cage.” 

“I wasn’t sneaking,” Omega corrected, that devient streak showing itself once again. “I was unlocking,” she held up part of the locking mechanism on the large cage before it began rumbling violently. Whatever was in there wanted out, and it was beginning to figure out that the door was open. 

“Secure the cage,” the leader ordered, panic exuding from them all as they rushed forward. It was no use, for the doors to the cage burst open.  

The rancor that emerged, adolescent in size, roared at her newfound freedom before being shot with the energy bolts from the Zygerrians bows. They did nothing in terms of damage, and it was met with a large boulder thrown at them in retaliation. “Well, not the distraction I thought we’d get,” Miri mused as she held her still cuffed hands up. 

“That’s their problem,” Wrecker countered before bracing himself against the foundation which they were all chained to before pulling. “We’re getting outta here!” The chains snapped and they made quick work of helping the other captives while they let the Zygerrians deal with the rancor. 

“It’s okay Muchi,” Omega comforted the child they had all assumed was their target, but the adult Falleen beside them confirmed otherwise. This child was not who they had been sent to rescue, but rather the rancor surrounded by their captors. It was, in fact, their problem. 

At the edge of the sanction they were all held captive in, CF99 looked at the others around them. With nowhere to go and no other options, it made the most sense to follow the people who looked like they knew what they were doing; and besides, the clones had become a symbol of hope to people in need during the war. When clone troopers arrived, liberation almost always followed. 

“What about them?” 

“Omega and I will get them to safety. You find Muchi,” Echo answered, finality in his words. 

“Hey,” Miri called to Omega as the parties began to separate, holding a hand out to the side. “Remember what I said on the ship,” she stated firmly, not looking long enough to see if Omega responded in any way before turning and closing her eyes. As her saber flew into her open palm and she ran off after the others, the girl behind her holding the hand of another child in need swelled with bravery. 

When they located their target, Wrecker remarked that it looked like she was doing just fine on her own. And he appeared to be right, she was still so much stronger than them even being so young. She overpowered them all and when she was left with nothing else, turned to charge at them. “Woah now,” Miri remarked as they readied themselves for what was to come, but Muchi stopped short when a distant screech could be heard. In the sky and heading right for them was the leader of this whole operation on the back of his flying beast, and it was clear that he had every intention to take them out as well.

The group separated to avoid the impact but Hunter hadn’t gone far enough and was knocked over when the creature’s long tail whipped against his helmet before it jumped to Wrecker, sending him flying with a headbutt. Muchi was the next target, Miri and Tech having scattered and hid in the rubble surrounding them, but the rancor had seemingly met its match this time. Overthrown and cornered, it was the vulnerable whines of the child they were sent to rescue that launched the former Jedi into action; coming in hot from the far right, Miri’s footsteps were light as she bounded towards the Zygerrian and hurled herself at him as he swung the whip above his head. 

Muchi took the opportunity the woman had presented her and fled, followed by the winged creature, but now Miri was back on the burner once again, this time alone in the pot with the milky eyed Zygerrian. He groaned as he lay on the dirt below, frustration rearing its ugly head as he reached for his weapon once again. “You’re going to pay for this, skug,” he sneered, brandishing the whip to back up his threat. 

The others ran to her aid, but she held a hand out to stop them. “I’ll handle this one. Go get Muchi,” she ordered, now reaching for the matching vibroblade she had with Hunter. Truth be told, she was hesitant to use her lightsaber; whoever walked away from a fight with her could use that information as leverage with the Empire and she could not afford that. They had not yet learned of her survival nor of her reunion with her squad, but all it would take was time before she landed on their radar once again and that made weighing the options too difficult to think about at the moment. 

Her saber felt heavy on her hip, like a dirty secret to be hidden away. She didn’t like it.

And as she charged at the Zygerrian and the whip wrapped around the arm holding her blade, shocking her as she groaned in pain, she really didn’t like it. Yes, enough was enough; the weight of the options had been skewed by the newfound threat and it took insurmountable strength for her other hand to reach across her body and unclip the hilt. When she did, she locked eyes with the man above her, teeth grit and knees digging into the ground, and shocked him by grabbing the whip and yanking on it. Before he could react, a flash of orange illuminated the small space between them and the whip was severed from the hilt, sparking in his hands as the inner workings fried. 

He retaliated by throwing a punch, but it was slow due to his confusion, and Miri caught it before headbutting him, not caring for the pain it always caused her. Her foot landed in the middle of his chest as he stumbled backwards, and she kicked as hard as she could to send him flying. His body thudded as he landed on the ground and stirred up clouds of dirt, and before he could recover Miri had appeared before him again. 

With a white knuckled grip on his shirt, she pulled him close and stared into his eyes. “You hit your head and do not remember what happened here,” she whispered, words dripping in faux comfort as she willed the Force to bend his mind. He repeated the words back to her as if in a trance, and she landed one last hit to knock him out; the only thing she could think of to cover her tracks short of killing him and that was a line she did not want to become blurred from overuse. 

When she found the rest of her squad, Echo and Omega were just pulling up on a speeder. She took her place beside Hunter, as per usual, watching the scene before them. “How long’s he been at it?”

“Too long,” Tech answered. “He’s losing his touch.” They all turned to watch Wrecker and Muchi tiredly swing their arms at one another, groaning and roaring respectively as they grew weaker and weaker before slumping onto the ground simultaneously. 

-: ✧

When they arrived at Cid’s, Muchi was in a much better mood and had taken to Omega quite well. In the alley by the entrance they all stood, the girl atop the rancor, as who she assumed to be the client for this job came out and greeted Muchi fondly, speaking Huttese. Miri recognized him to be in close association with Jabba the Hutt, and while she didn’t know exactly how the Hutts would operate with the Empire, she wanted to keep news of her away from them. She drifted to the back of the group, shielding her face with the wide brim of her hat. 

As they departed, Miri gravitated to the front of their group once again while Cid addressed them. “I gotta say fellas, I wasn’t sure you could pull this job off.” 

“You could’ve told us we were going after a rancor,” Echo leaned forward to criticize, popping up from behind the Jedi. 

“Hmm,” Cid mused. “Must’ve slipped my mind,” she shrugged her shoulders, not caring for what had happened during the mission or what they had to do. She pointed a claw at Miri, and then at Hunter. “You, sunshine and dark and broody. My office.” 

In the darkness of Cid’s space, the image of the woman that went after Omega was bright and glaring. Fennec Shand, she was called. A name Miri didn’t recall, and the Trandoshan confirmed why. “She’s new to the scene but has already proven herself to be cunning and ruthless.” 

“Who hired her?” She questioned, voice low as she stared up at the holo. 

“Unknown,” Cid answered, planting a seed of frustration in the two of them, and her further explanation did little to help. “With someone like her nipping at your heels, you’re going to need two things: friends and money.” 

The pair shared a look before their eyes landed on Cid once again. “Mostly money,” she added gravely. 

“Well, we’re not swimming in either at the moment,” Hunter chimed in from behind her, so close she could feel his presence. 

“I guess it’s a good thing you met me then, isn’t it? And that I like you, sunshine,” she answered, turning off the holo and grabbing the case of credits with their cut of the money. “There’s more where that came from…if you’re looking for work.” 

The offer sat heavy in their ears as they, once again, shared a look. “We’ll think about it,” Miri drawled, hesitation clear in her words though Cid didn’t comment on it as they walked away. However, before they could fully leave the office she started speaking again. “It’s interesting.”

“A bounty hunter of Fennec’s caliber being after you,” she continued and it was those words that stopped them in their tracks. “I mean, I know the Jedi’s a hot shot, but…you fellas must be pretty valuable too.” In unison, whether intentional or not, Hunter and Miri turned to look at her with sharp eyes. 

“Don’t worry,” Cid assured, but they could hear the tease in her voice. The threat. “I’m good with secrets.”

all works on this blog belong to hesthermay.tumblr.com: do not copy, repost onto other sites, or claim my contents as your own.

[aquanova99]

Little to No Choice

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Alistair x Reader

A/N: I used an actual name instead of y/n. I’m so tired of writing it out but it’s still the same concept pretty much. Will probably continue to do that from now on

A/N: so this strays very far from canon as the request wanted a sister from Edward but to me that changes things. So demon spawn is not Renesme Carlie but Elizabeth Renee.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

“The entire family will be implicated if this ends badly.”

 

“Badly as in, I would become the meal.”

 

The awkward forced laughter filled the air. Edward made eye contact with his sister, begging her to stay silent. Lucia’s eyes widened. Fury coursing through her.

 

“No. Isabella. Badly as in our whole family is killed. I know it may be hard to understand but my idiot brother over there, yeah, his actions dating you, affect all of us.”

 

Bella’s lip quivered. She knew Edward had said this was dangerous. She always assumed it meant dangerous for her; he had mentioned a longing for her blood nothing more. Bella suddenly understood Jasper’s weariness, Rosalie’s coldness towards her. She understood why Edward had ensure he steered her away from Lucia at every chance. During the meadow Edward had refused to talk about her, Bella could only get one thing out of him.

 

Esme thought of him as the prodigal son, how could she not after a decade of drinking human blood and then returning. Bella asked if Carlisle felt the same. It was the first time that day Edward had frightened her. His whole body shook. His fists clenched up, and he could only speak through gritted teeth. Edward admitted he knew Carlisle was happy he had returned, but Lucia held his highest regards. It had hurt Edward but knew he could never fault Carlisle for his thoughts. Still, Edward felt Lucia had ensured Carlisle almost looked at him with contempt, pity.

 

“Lucia.” Edward growled, “Give it back.”

 

“No.”

 

“Now.” Edwards stance changed, it looked like he wanted to pounce on his sister.

 

“What’s wrong brother? I thought you loved not being able to read Bella’s mind. So different from everyone else, right?”

 

“I thought—” Bella felt like it was getting harder to breathe, “You said it was you, Jasper, and Alice.”

 

“I told you he wouldn’t tell her.” Alice nudged Jasper

 

“You act as if I doubted you.”

“Lucia. Now.”

“Make me.”

 

“Alright everyone calm down, please.” Carlisle’s voice cut through the chatter everyone had happening. The beautiful symphony of voices now sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Bella. Carlisle voice cut through the tension in the air like a knife. “Edward…Lucia is right. Bella should know what is entailed now that she knows about us.”

 

Edward grabbed Bella a bit too forcefully. “Carlisle surely you aren’t suggesting…”

 

“Edward please.” Carlisle held his hands up in effort to calm Edward, “Lets all calm down. Lucia please, return Edwards gift.”

 

The young girl rolled her eyes. Edward forcefully shut his own as a mirage of images and voices echoed loudly in his head. Bella’s head was spinning, she had a made a terrible mistake. She would never forgive herself if something happened to Edward. She imagined his sculpted face, even bruised, though she knew it was impossible would hurt her very soul. She tried to think of their time at the meadow, how beautiful he looked, how much she seemed to crave his very being. Bella looked up and saw Lucia’s eyes trained on her. Alice squeaked and before Bella could blink Edward was thrown across the hall. Jasper and Lucia surrounded Bella.

 

His sister often blocked his gift in their home, something he would never admit to despising. Now, Edward wished nothing more than have kept his mouth shut. Lucia had warned him not to bring her home. Rosalie had begged to give her time. No Edward knew the levels of his own vanity outweighed their opinions. He wanted to show them how human he had remained, how he had found a human so perfect they would not be able to compare the bond they have. A singer? It should have made them proud made all of them proud. But she just had to use her gift. Of course, Lucia had to be right. He hoped she was happy, she had to be right of course, she was just like everyone else. Bella was just like everyone else.

 

His sister tilted her head smirking, knowing exactly what she had done. Still, there was no staying away now. He had been adamant he could control himself, the volturi hardly ever checked on Carlisle, why didn’t his family understand that? Why turn an someone who could have so much life, someone as innocent as Bella? Or perhaps not as innocent as he thought? It didn’t matter, Edward was determined to prove them all wrong. Perhaps this was enough to scare Bella away on her own, all he could hear was guilt for possibly hurting him. She was more foolish than he thought.

 

The family all stared at him. Waiting for him to relax. Rosalie just scoffed and turned away. Annoyed by everything that had happened. Happy she had proved her point but annoyed this had even been an issue. They had been standing around for a few seconds, but Edward felt the judgement lasted for years. He tried to regain his composure, hadn’t he embarrassed Carlisle enough?

 

“I—I’m sorry. I was…”

 

“About to kill her?” Lucia stood up straight, she laughed dryly, “God. You still do terrible under pressure.”

 

“Lucia…” Carlisle warned

 

“Yeah, fine. Whatever.” She went stood by Esme, who patted her shoulder. Almost as thank you for keeping the peace. Lucia glared at Edward before going to join Rosalie and Emmett. The silence was deafening. Bella had been wrong this was too much. Too much for her.

 

“Can I go home?”

 

“Bella you will have to excuse my siblings behavior, I’m sor—”

 

“Edward I want to go home. Now. Please.” Bella was close to tears, Edward could only hear the embarrassment. The sadness she felt at not being accepted by his family. An idea of a stable family ruined in seconds. Carlisle nodded towards Edward. He was suddenly next to the door waiting for Bella to follow him, any previous pleasantries were long gone.

 

“Lucia!” He called out with a snarl

 

“Nope! Enjoy your oh so special Bella!” Lucia looked towards her sister, “is he going to kill me?”

 

“I’m no Alice, but no. We wouldn’t let that happen, right babe?” Rosalie chimed in before Alice said anything

 

“Please, he’d be dust in less than a second.”

 

“Emmett!” Esme called from downstairs

 

“Sorry!” The siblings laughed and headed back down. Alice didn’t take long to call a family meeting. Everyone sat around the giant living room. Alice jumped into the seat next to Lucia.

 

“Did you have to ruin my chances at having a new friend?” She pouted towards her oldest sister

 

“I still think we’re pushing it being this close to humans. We don’t really fit in. I am not willing to die by the volturi just because Edward is convinced his singer is his mate.”

 

“You still owe me.”

 

“I’ll let you dress me for a week.” Alice nudged Lucia as Carlisle sat down in his chair holding the bridge of his nose at the newest headache he would have to deal with once Edward returned. Esme continued to fidget.

 

“I don’t think we should do this until the whole family is here.”

 

“Esme, please.” Carlisle soothed his wife, “Alice says this concerns him.” Esme sighed but sat on the armchair on her husbands chair, waiting for Alice to continue.

 

“Bella will be going back to Florida. Edward won’t be able to stay away. He will be asking about weather updates a lot.”

 

“I can continue to stop his gift inside the house.” Lucia shrugged

 

“It won’t be enough. I don’t see his course changing. He wants to be around her blood too much.”

 

“Will he harm her?” Carlisle asked

“Of course he wouldn’t!” Of course, Esme still believed that.

 

“I-I don’t know. I see her getting irritated at his sporadic visits. But after a while, she disappears. Not Edward. I don’t- I can’t see her choice. She flickers in and out.”

 

“Would it be better if he stayed away from her?”

 

“Infinitely, but I don’t see a very high chance of that happening. Lucia may have helped, now that she turned off Bella’s gift. He is going to convince himself he’s in love. But his control isn’t that strong.”

 

“He’ll convince himself he’s helping her, doing something noble.” Rosalie warned, Rosalie put her head in her hands groaning at the thought of it. “You were right Carlisle, we should have just left.”

 

“I think our time among the humans may be running short. I will… try and talk to Edward. Alice?”

 

“You’re our best shot as usual…but its clear he wants to prove to you it wasn’t about her blood. I don’t know how long he will keep it up.”

 

Edward came home shortly after. Furious, raging as if the entire family hadn’t been against befriending his singer. He screamed at Lucia to give Bella whatever ability she had back. Esme pleaded with him to calm down. But his sisters resounding no, only pushed him further. He began attacking, or trying to. Lucia had seen it coming and easily avoided him, but Edward was nothing if not fast. His fury blinded him, she had ruined everything. He could never unhear Bellas thoughts. She was still too good for him, that much was a fact. All she worried about Edward. He was so foolish, he hadn’t lied to her the other day, he was in much too deep. She was a drug to him and he would not be giving her up quite so easily. Right now however, Edward was not thinking about any of that, all he saw was his almost too perfect sister meddling and actively ruining his life. He struck again, this time actively hitting her arm as she blocked him, he raised his other hand before Carlisle grabbed it.

 

“Enough.”

 

Edward softened immediately. He didn’t need to read minds to see Carlisle’s fury, and thanks to his gift not being muted by his sister he also knew exactly what thoughts came across Carlisle’s mind as he had tried to explain himself. He was right. They all were. He should stay away from Bella. What was he thinking?

“I—I’m sorry I don’t know what came over me.”

“Edward…” Alice warned but his decision had been made. It was wrong, so very wrong, but Bella needed him. He owed her that much after today. He would prove they were both worthy of this family.

It had been almost a year and a half since Lucia and the rest of her family had seen her brother. Alice was able to keep all of them Cullens aware of Edward’s actions. Bella kept her promise, leaving to find her mother in Florida. Lucia never allowed Bella’s shield to return. Edward continued to enter her room. Alice surprised everyone when Bella had enough and gave Edward an ultimatum. It was no surprise he refused to change her. They hoped Edward would return after her rejection, but Edward had gone too far. Risked too much. He continued to pursue Bella, offering compromise after compromise. Eventually, the visions stopped. Alice worried about the uncertainty in their lives, but Bella and Edward soon returned to their home, with a very pregnant Bella. 

 

 “I know I have no right to ask for your help but…” 

 

Carlisle was silent, an eerie calmness masking his disgust had washed over his face. The rest of the Cullens sat there, silent, mortified. 

 

Rosalie as usual, took it on herself to say what everyone was wondering, “What the hell did you do?” 

 

Bella voice was quiet but demanded the attention of the room, “He said the only way he would change me was for us to get married.” Evens Esme’s eyes shined bright with fury, “I figured if I was going to stop being a human, it would be nice to have every human experience. I—we didn’t think…” 

 

“No, you clearly didn’t.” Lucia huffed 

 

“Carlisle please, you need to get it out of her.” Edward begged 

 

“No.” 

 

“Bella please, we talked about this.” 

 

“And you don’t listen. I’m having this baby.” 

 

“You can’t force her to have an abortion, Edward.” Rosalie said quietly, Edward hissed at his sister 

 

“Regardless of what it is, you aren’t going to have a baby Rosalie.” 

 

“I wasn’t—” 

 

“You were.” Emmet growled at Edwards accusations but followed after his wife as Rosalie left the house. A deeper part of her breaking, a part she long ago pushed to the deepest recesses of her mind. 

 

“Carlisle?” Lucia touched her fathers arm, only continuing when he turned to look at her, “You need to call Aro.” 

 

“He will kill her! Carlisle please, this is easily fixed.” 

 

“Edward!” Esme could not ignore her childs actions, Bella was pleading for anyone to hear her out. Esme felt for the poor girl. Alice and Jasper began whispering to eachother, wondering what they would have to do. 

 

“Bella come sit down. We are going to have to take a trip.” Carlisle finally spoke. His head hurting with how the hell he was going to explain this to Aro. 

 

“Carlisle please! If we get this thing out, things can go back to normal.” 

 

“NO!” Bella screamed, “I want this baby. You can change me after, its going to be okay.” Lucia and Carlisle shared a confused look, how Bella didn’t understand that he was more worried about her soul than her choice. There would be no way to get her off this cloud. Edward looked panicked. More ashamed than he could ever admit. He slept with Bella to convince her she could have it all, no transformation required. Now, there would be no other choice. He couldn’t allow it. Still, he tried to placate her, smiling as much he could. Rubbing her back.  Lucia silenced the voices around him. He wanted to be furious, but months of hearing the woman he had once thought was too pure for him be anything but, it was a welcome silence.  

 

“Edward I will not force anyone to do go through something they aren’t ready to. I told you to leave her alone or there would be consequences. She made it easy, and you still followed.” He turned towards his wife, “Esme. We should discuss what we can do.” 

 

Before the couple stepped away, Rosalie rushed back into the house, “Carlisle.” 

 

“Are you alright? Whats the matter?” 

 

“It’s the—the wolves. They’re wondering whats going on.” 

 

“Why would they…” 

 

Edward shut his eyes, pained by his carelessness. Rosalie continued, “Billy said Bella stopped by to see Charlie. Apparently, jet lag wasn’t convincing enough for him.” 

 

“You have got to be kidding me?” Lucia glared at Bella, demanding an explanation. 

 

“Edward needed to feed, I just-I missed my dad. I didn’t think I looked that tired.” 

 

Rosalie scoffed, Alice stood up “Carlisle I know you’re going to talk about the treaty but, I can’t see them. I can’t tell you whats going to happen. Bella too. My gift isn’t working.” 

 

“What do you mean—” 

 

Alice snapped at Edward, “I mean I can only see things that don’t involve either of those… those things. Whatever is inside Bella, I cant see it or anything surrounding it. And I don’t know about the tribe.” 

 

Carlisle nodded, “We can talk about it more when I come back.” Alice and Jasper looked away. Unsure of their own presence in the coven, Rosalie and Lucia stared back and forth between their father and siblings a silent understanding passing between them. “I see, Alice, if I may ask a favor.” 

 

“Sure.” 

 

“Do you think you could stop by and visit some friends of mine? Maybe someone knows how best to handle a situation like this. Esme please, call Aro and explain whats happening.” Esme nodded and disappeared into the other room.  

 

“I’ll look around, good luck.” Alice went around the room hugging both of her sisters, Jasper did the same before disappearing. Both made sure to avoid Edward and Bella, appalled and terrified at the new development they could have never predicted. The couple kept their word asking friends for any advice. There was none to be had, none that would be useful before Bella had her “miracle” baby. 

 

Carlisle managed to calm the wolfpack. While difficult, they managed to placate them as long as they left Forks. Bella tried to protest, afraid of worrying Charlie but was quickly silenced by Rosalie’s glare.  

 

The pregnancy went through quickly. Esme had reached the volturi on a particularly bad day it seemed, Caius was quick to accuse Esme of lying. Regardless of what was true Edward had broken several rules in attempts to save Bella. The Cullens charade at high school clearly a problem, the second Edward saved Bella from the sliding van. Caius was sure there was more to that, Aro found it hard to justify the behavior and went on to say they would be visiting to handle any other situation that arose. Alice called to let them know she had managed to send a few friends their way to help their case, but she could only help as much as she could see and the baby interfered with her gift. Lucia couldn’t disable a gift from something she couldn’t see, if the thing growing inside even had a gift.  

 

It was the near the end of the second week of Bellas pregnancy, her body ballooning at immeasurable rates. Only blood seemed to satisfy her any cravings she had, much to Edwards dismay. This act seemed to be the only thing to convince him that Bella had to be turned. Denali arrived first, followed by the Irish coven. Both ready to stay and talk to the volturi as a favor to their friends, both families refusing to do any more than meet Bella. Renesme was born before Garrett and then Alistair soon after. 

 

“Well, we’ll all be on Aros list now. Centuries on the run and this is why you called for me? Some friendship.” 

 

Carlisle tried to thank his friend, offer a place inside Alistair refused to even look at the child and went into the attic. Bellas transformation had gone well. Both her and her child completely fine. Lucia was able to see Renesmes gift the second Rosalie was handed her as Edward panicked to save his wife. The much larger than ordinary baby reached out to Rosalies face, a glazed look everyone seemed to notice. Rosalie had been supportive of Bellas choice but the touch the child had her robotically taking care of the child. Lucia had now disabled half of her family members gifts, Rosalie’s smothering seeming to abruptly end. Lucia kept quiet, let them argue amongst themselves. Once Bella was awake, Carlisle’s friends were hesitant to help over the strange child that was growing entirely too quickly. Formula had not worked, and much Carlisle’s upset she would take in human blood. Refusing to touch anything else.  

 

Bella had assumed she would bond to this magical baby, but now wanted to do nothing more than to explore her new strengths. Everyone arguing about what to do with the child when she would sleep. Lucia hid from Edward and Bella at every chance, lest she rip both of their heads off in front of their child. She decided to join Alistair as everyone seemed to respect his hideaway in the attic. 

 

“What do you think you’re doing???” Alistairs cool tone shocked, her Carlisle had never pushed him to meet anyone but Esme. But his personality was the polar opposite, 

 

“Sorry, I just— I need to get away from all of that”

“Your family?”

Lucia sat down head in her palms of her hands, “ugh, adopted family. I had no choice in having Edward as my sibling.”

“You-how did Carlisle find you?”

“He never told you? Edwards mom begged him to save her son. I happened walked on in Carlisle changing him. Which—not smart I know, but I didn’t want to die. Not that way. Carlisle seemed like the better option.”

“How old were you?” Alistair tried to seen disinterested. Had it been anyone else, it would have been obvious he was anything but.

“I don’t know. I was in and out of ‘hospitals’ my whole life, I think I was in my 20s. If I play along with the whole high school thing I just do the last two years. Really, I’m shocked the volturi hasnt gotten mad at us sooner.”

Alistair stared at the young woman, curious. He was fighting everything in him to not just run away and apologize to Carlisle later. He had to be more careful. She tried to ask him about his friendship with Carlisle, but Alistair snapped back to his reclusive state. Answering as short and concise as possible.

The following days had Lucia sneaking away whenever possible. As the days passed Lucia grew increasingly worried, pressure was raining down from Edward to return his gift, from Bella to return her child’s gift. Both felt it would help gain people’s trust. Lucia refused, she would not put anyone in harms way by deceit and manipulation. Edward became irritable, it did not help his case. The few friends stayed only out of loyalty for Carlisle. They made that clear. With Alice and Jasper gone it seemed to point toward this being a useless battle. She needed a break, she had never missed sleep more.

Alistair felt himself itching to reach out and comfort her.

“Edward again?”

Lucia shrugged, “it’s everything, everyone…I don’t know. Esme is trying to have me help my ‘brother.’ I think Tanya is debating whether this is worth it. I’m supposed to go hunting today and I’m too…tired I guess?”

“Too tired to eat?”

“Guilt I guess.”

“You really believe you could change their minds?”

“No. But the kid can. I saw my brother go from wanting to destroy her to screaming at Esme to be careful. Esme can barely handle blood. She was trying so hard to not even breathe. And it’s like it knew she was in danger and she reached out and suddenly Esme was fine.

It’s just… it’s not right. And you know that, don’t you?”

“So save yourself then.” Lucia’s head snapped at him, “go to the volturi first.”

“I won’t do that to them. Edward and Bella at this point have made their bed. The rest of my family is clinging to their last shred of humanity left. A family unit. Which is us. All of us.”

Alistair sighed, understanding but worried for his new friend. “So..what are you going to do then darling Lucia.”

“Darling? Who knew you could be charming?” She chuckled but her mood went somber almost immediately, “I don’t know. I wish Alice could have told us something.”

Alistair just nodded. Trying to come up with a plan that benefitted everyone. Lucia took his silence as the end of the conversation, still grateful he allowed her to vent. Even around her family she always had to filter what she said, at least when the matter at hand concerned her now unstable sibling. It was easy to talk to Alistair, simple. She hoped to learn more about him, if they ever made it out of this situation anyway.

“Would you leave your family? To save yourself?”

Alistair went still. Lucia could see his ruby eyes shine with both resentment and fury. This was not a conversation they were going to have, Lucia determined. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—“

“No.”

“Wh—“

“No I wouldn’t.” Lucia nodded, there were some memories better left untouched. Immortality had too many drawbacks, a perfect memory proved often to be a setback. Forcing you to grieve most everything when you had little choice in a new life. Lucia had nothing but poor memory as a human, she had no strings to cut out. Alistair had no choice in what he lost. The strings tying him to his old life tangled a deep resentment inside him, cursing him to refuse any sort of connection lest it be stripped away from him again. Lucia opened her mouth to try to apologize for clearly opening a wound that may never truly heal before he rushed before her covering her mouth with one hand. The other pressed a finger against his lips.

Lucia inhaled as quietly and deeply as she could. Aside from Alistair she could smell Bella, barely hearing her movements. Lucia moved his hand away, confused as to why he would be worried about Bella being there. It suddenly dawned on her that she had told you she was going to go hunting herself. Why would she be here? She was trying to be quiet. Something was wrong. Alistair seemed to understand Lucia’s thoughts and motioned for her to stay there before disappearing quieter than she thought should have been possible.

It had only been a couple minutes before he heard movement from him, “You know you almost had us all fooled.”

“Give it back.” Bella’s shockingly icy tone was enough to jar Lucia from her hiding place, her appearance in her the study seemed to worry Bella’s, her eyes widening. “I thought you were going hunting.”

“I could say the same about you.”

Alistair rushed next to Lucia, handing a piece of paper before silently standing behind her. Lucia tried to ignore the heat she felt rush her cheeks when his hand brushed against hers, it took her a great effort to turn her attention back to Bella.

“What the hell is this?”

“I need you to give me whatever gift I had back.”

“Excuse me?” Bella stiffened at Lucia’s rising tone, as far she was concerned the last person that should be making demands was Bella. They were in this mess thanks to her. “I’m not asking again. Tell me what the hell this is?”

“I’ll save her the trouble. She’s planning on running away.”

“Stay out of this.” She hissed at Alistair which brought out an echoing snarl from Lucia.

“You cannot be serious. Tell me he’s joking Bella. Tell me this piece of paper is anything else.”

Bella’s lips formed a tight line. She barley shook her head before another growl came out from Lucia’s throat,

“We are risking everything to help you! Why are you doing this?”

“It’s not enough. You know that.”

“But we are trying anyway.”

“No. I need to do this for her. I’m going to give my baby the best chance I have at surviving. And you can help me. You can lie and say that you don’t know where I am. Just give me my gift back. Eleazar told me everything, that I was probably a shield. Shields can protect more than one person right?”

“We don’t know that. And that doesn’t change the fact that our whole family will die if you leave.”

“Oh so now it’s our family? Lucia, please you and most of the family have hated me since Edward brought me here.”

“Even then we are risking everything to—“

“That may be the best thing she can’t do actually.” Alistair spoke up. Lucia’s head snapped to Alistair, the rage in her eyes unmistakable. “No, really. If you can ensure she goes to the volturi they would probably allow her to be in the guard. They could even train her gift.”

The fire burning inside Lucia quieted as she thought about his plan. Bella was in front of Lucia in an instant, “Lucia please.”

“They won’t take Edward. They will have to make an example out of someone.”

“No! he didn’t do anything wrong!”

Lucia grabbed Bella’s shoulders, “Bella. Look at me. I can’t even guarantee that they will your child alive. But I promise, if you run away they will find you and they won’t hesitate to kill either of you. If this is going to work then it’s going to be just like your original plan, either way you lose Edward.”

“I—“

“Make your choice girl, everyone will be back soon.”

Bella stepped away from Lucia’s grasp, “Elizabeth is with Esme and Carlisle right now, I’ll pick her up. Where do we meet?”

Alistair suddenly seemed to realize how quickly things were about to change, he fue throat felt tight. The words seemed to die in his tongue. He only vaguely heard Lucia tell Bella where they could meet.

“Are you okay?” Lucia’s hand on Alistair arm made him flinch, maybe Carlisle was right he’d been away from others for too long. Lucia worried she had crossed another line, she cursed herself for destroying any chance of getting any closer to her new friend, she pulled her hand back, a longer hope he would keep her there sparked in the back of her mind. She tried to not let the disappointment show on her face

“If you go to the volturi Aro might take the punishment out on you, you’re smart enough to realize that.” Alistairs voice was softer than his normal already hushed tone, his stare was trained on the floor. Doing his best to avoid looking at Lucia’s eyes, this could not be happening. Not again. He failed at trying to sever the connection he had made in the short time he had known her. Lucia knew the risks. They both knew that much. She couldn’t find the words to say in this situation. She was unsure of what he wanted and if she was being honest to herself so was she.

“I’ll figure something out.” Was all she could muster

“Lucia, with your gift Aro will think you are a liability you cannot be the one that takes Bella.”

“You said it yourself this could be our only solution.”

“They will kill you.”

“But my family will be safe.”

“You know that’s is not guaranteed.”

“Alistair it’s fine. This is my choice. We all have to die eventually. If this is how it happens so be it.” Alistair opened his mouth to protest but Lucia didn’t let him interrupt, “I have to get going Bella should be leaving now. Please, just tell Carlisle what happened.”

“You expect me to let you go?”Alistair finally looked at her, the very thought of her assuming that hurt an ego long buried inside of him.

“Just hoping.” She turned to leave. Alistair wished he could beg her stay, but what right did he have to do that to her, to add more to her already heavy plate? He was nothing to her. He would have to accept he may never know what would become of her. But he could tell Carlisle what had happened he could do that at least.

He stayed frozen in place, Lucia itched to tell him everything would be fine. Almost reaching for his hand before remembering his recoil the last time she had touched him.

“You’ll tell my family?”

Alistair nodded once, “I think I can handle that much.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, “thank you. I hope we can continue our conversations again one day.” She offered a soft smile and nod and disappeared.

Carlisle’s warm home suddenly felt very cold, he tore apart the room to try and find a phone to call Carlisle. He needed to get out of here, quickly. But he made a promise and he would be damned if he messed this up. Something told him Lucia would find her way back. Perhaps, it was time to stop endlessly running.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Look I’m sorry but this is long enough she can either come back and Alistair stumbles to ask but manages to convince her to go on a walk and eventually you live your cottagecore dreams. Or she does and Alistair is lining for the rest of his life. If she loves it because she convinces Aro that if she dies she will make sure they have no gifts when she goes.

Taglist: @adaydreamaway08 @artaxerxesthegreat @aunt-pipie @heartrise (look I finally wrote something 😂) @mintsatin @imtoanonymousforyou @lacychick @quarthly @venusdelaroix @volturiwolf @jelly-fishy-babie

[snicketverse-fic-finder]

I really just want a fanfic about Atwq. Specifically about Moxie. But anyone would be okay. I really don’t care what it’s about. I just want something lol.

[Word count: 2,616]

🗣️Main Character: Moxie Mallahan 🗞️

👥Side characters: Ellington Feint, Kellar Haines and Mr Mallahan

🫂Main relationship: Moxie Mallahan / Ellington Feint

Fic Type:

Oneshot 📕

Hurt/Comfort

❤️‍🩹

Set: Post-Canon/after book 4⌛️

Rating: General Audiences ✅

Description:

‘In which Moxie Mallahan, Ellington Feint, and Kellar Haines are going to spend a pleasant evening together, but one pesky storm is determined to ruin everything.’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Word count: 5,253] (Moxie isn’t in this one however this was too good a fic not to recommend!!)

🗣️Main Character: E.Snicket (J,K+L’s mother)

🫂Main relationship: E. Snicket & Jacob Snicket & Jacques Snicket & Kit Snicket & Lemony Snicket

Set: Pre-Canon ⏳

Rating: Teen and Up ⬆️

Fic Type:

Oneshot 📕

Angst, Family Feels, Parenthood, VFD is Terrible

🖤🧑‍🍼👁️

Description:

‘If E had known what plans VFD had for her family, she would have run away as soon as she possibly could, and never looked back.

She had an investigation one day, and Jacob was able to stay and watch the children while she went to the lumbermill for the morning.

When she returned, her children were gone.’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Word count: 577]

🗣️Main Character: Moxie Mallahan 🗞️

🫂Main relationships:

Moxie Mallahan / Ellington Feint

Moxie Mallahan & Mr Mallahan

Fic Type:

Oneshot 📕

Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Angst with a happy ending

🧸🖤🙂

Set: Post-Canon⌛️/ after book 4 (WITNDFAON)

Rating: General Audiences ✅

Description:

‘"Her eyes were an interesting color too. They were dark grey, as if they had once been black but somebody had washed them or had made her cry for a long time."’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Word count: 2,498]

🗣️Main character: Lemony Snicket

👥Side characters: Ornette Lost, Jake Hix and Moxie Mallahan

🫂Main relationships:

Lemony Snicket & Moxie Mallahan

Lemony Snicket & Jake Hix

Lemony Snicket & Ornette Lost

Set: Post-Canon⌛️

Rating: General Audiences ✅

Fic Type:

Oneshot📕

Angst with a Happy Ending

🖤🙂

Description:

‘Lemony Snicket is on the lam with nowhere else to turn— so, of course, he heads to Stain'd-by-the-Sea.’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A SERIES of works. [Total word count: 8,805] [No.of works in series: 5]

👥Characters: Lemony Snicket, Moxie Mallahan 🗞️, Cleo Knight, Jake Hix, Pip Bellerophon, Squeak Bellerophon, Ellington Feint, Kevin Old, Florence Smith, Oliver Sobol, Ornette Lost, Marguerite Gracq, Kellar Haines, Jackie, Stew Mitchum

Rating: Teen and Up ⬆️

Fic Type:

A SERIES of oneshots 📕

Chatfic, Modern AU, Comedy, Crack

📱💬😂

Description:

‘everything’s the same except they have a group chat this time. that’s it. that’s the series.’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Word Count: 7,124] [Last updated 2020❗️]

👥Characters: Lemony Snicket, Jacques Snicket, Kit Snicket, S.Theodora Markson, Ellington Feint, Drumstick, Kevin Old, Florence Smith

Rating: Teen and Up ⬆️

Fic Type:

Multichapter 📚 (Described by author in notes as a ‘series of loosely connected oneshots’.)

Modern AU, Foster Family AU, Found Family, Autism, ADHD

📱👩‍👧‍👦🧠

Description:

‘The Snicket siblings were just trying to survive their boring guardian. Ellington Feint kept trying to run away to find her Dad. Drumstick just kinda wanted to be left alone. But now they're all stuck together, so while they're here, they might as well prank S Theodora Markson once in a while. And sing off-key ABBA songs whenever she's out.

Modern AU, Foster Family. Series of loosely connected one-shots. Updates randomly.’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Thanks for the ask!! I hope you will enjoy these fics!🤞 If you would like more recommendations then just send me another ask and I will be happy to answer! 💛

If anyone would like to recommend an ATWQ fic/a fic featuring Moxie then feel free to either link the fic in the comments or attach it to a reblog!😁