#Every kidnapping session is now a 'HEY CAN WE TALK' opportunity

[xx-akubara-xx]

Beg: Page 112 -

For anyone curious about the paperwork - It's basically Peach making a Royal Decree to lower the military budget, and reducing the amount of palace guards that would have potentially offered her protection.

-

Next

Previous

START HERE

-

Masterpost of my Comics HERE

[c-is-for-circinate]

The Mighty Nein have exactly three ways of dealing with enemies, and that is so fascinating to me.

Befriend.  Between Essek and Isharnai, this has been pretty front-and-center lately, but it’s not actually a recent development.  The M9 have been cozying up to potential threats and making nice as far back as Zadash, when they first discovered the Gentleman’s operations and then promptly decided to go to work for him.  It happens in Hupperdook, when they spend all day swearing bloody murder and hunting down the pickpockets who robbed them, and then promptly adopt four more children and nearly die getting their parents out of prison.  It happens in the Bright Queen’s throne room, when they walk into the innermost heart of the nation they’ve been told for fifty sessions is their enemy, and become heroes of the Dynasty.  There’s a tribe of giants who owe them their home and their gratitude and a band of no-longer-bandits who owe them their lives and their pants-wetting terror, because sometimes that is just how the M9 roll. There are so few people this party actually has a stake in killing.  Monsters, whatever, needs must, but like--who the hell are they to judge?  (The first monsters and enemies they ever made friends with, after all, were each other.)

All-out slaughter.  When the Nein do decide they really want to kill someone, they fucking go for the jugular.  True, murder is pretty standard in D&D, but the Nein often throw both caution and reason out the window when something hits their kill button.  This is almost everything about the pirate arc, starting that day in Nicodranas where they tried to talk threateningly to two guys and ended up committing domestic terrorism and then also murdering their way into ownership of a ship, ending that time they got kicked off Pirate Island in less than 24 hours because they decided to rend Avantika asunder the first instant they had the chance.  It’s their entire brief enmity with Lorenzo--they would not wait, they would not plan, they would not stop, and they would not under any circumstances, no matter what Matt wanted of planned, let him go. Hell, this is how ‘prank call Essek in the middle of a dinner party’ turned into ‘paralyze, kidnap, and interrogate’ in the first place.  This group does not do long games if they can possibly help it.

Absolute avoidance.  There are, sometimes, enemies the Nein dislike too much to befriend and aren’t strong enough to kill.  U’kotoa.  Trent Ikithon.  These opponents are relatively rare, because the Nein do absolutely everything player-ly possible to distance themselves from them at every opportunity.  Don’t want to unleash an immense immortal sea serpent?  Fuck just saying ‘no’, we’re headed to the opposite side of the continent from the ocean, and then we’re going to yeet that magic sword directly into a volcano for good measure.  You can’t threaten or blackmail me. This party is very, very good at avoidance on both a personal and collective level.  So much of the early game was built around getting the fuck away from the entire concept of war and law in general, once upon a time.  They have all of them stayed away from their own families, steering clear around Felderwin and Kamordah until they couldn’t any more, putting off visiting the Menagerie, sleeping on the boat instead of going back to Marion’s for one more night.  They run away from their own pasts and selves and inner demons.  They are not all entirely fond of mirrors.

The thing is, I’m always so fascinated by the moments when the party seems to surprise or vex Matt by derailing his plans, and while he’s generally so proud of them for it, what I’m thinking about tonight is his endless, futile attempts to give them a fucking nemesis already. I’m thinking about why it just keeps not working.  And I think it’s this!

This three-pronged approach to dealing with enemies, avoid-befriend-destroy, is basically a three-step guide to making sure you don’t have enemies any more.  In fact, I would say not-having-enemies-anymore is one of the highest priorities the M9 hold, and it has been, almost accidentally, since before the game even started.  The M9 have since the very beginning played what I can only describe as an extraordinarily defensive game.  They don’t go looking for trouble unless it’s specifically connected to some immediate threat to themselves or someone else.  The handful of mercenary contracts they’ve taken have almost universally been about, “hey, let’s do this thing for the Gentleman so he doesn’t decide to mistrust and kill us,” or, “let’s do this thing for the Gentleman so we can get the fuck out of town before they start conscripting to fight the Krynn Dynasty,” or, “hey, let’s do this thing for the Krynn Dynasty so they don’t decide to mistrust and kill us.”

And it’s not about trying to thwart Matt!  It’s about a party of characters who are all extremely defensive and avoidant in their own ways.  Some of it’s about the sheer trauma of everything to do with Molly, and some of it’s probably about the sheer trauma of everything to do with Vax and Raishan and Anna Ripley and every C1 mistake or villain that ever came back to haunt them, and some of it’s just baked into these new characters.  Everyone in this party is so fucking hurt and defensive before they even start.  The only thing that’s changed so far is the bit-by-bit careful broadening of their circle of ‘who to protect’ to include each other, and their friends, and maybe more or less half the world.

The one exception here is, of course, Obann, who has them on the ropes for almost 20 episodes--who they could not kill, and tried, and he had Yasha and they could not possibly join or befriend him, and he had Yasha and they could never forgive or ignore him, and he had Yasha and they could not kill him.  And the thing is, all I can remember right now is how painful so much of that arc was.  Everybody was so desperate.  Everybody was so miserable.  And still, and still, they could not think how to go around this problem any back way, could not recruit allies or head it off.  They could only just distract themselves with brief side quests in hopes that it might help them next time they hurled themselves head-first into trying all-out slaughter again, and again, and again.  It wasn’t like the Chroma Conclave.  They didn’t back out of the first desperate battle and decide to take the long way around on purpose, to measure and trick and evaluate and gather specific resources and plan.  They were so utterly lost.  They were so desperate.

I think that probably, Matt’s hope for Essek was indeed that he’d become the party’s long-term nemesis that Lorenzo and Avantika didn’t have the chance to be.  I think he was hoping the other night for Essek to get away and leave them all feeling suspicious and betrayed.  I think he was hoping a month or two ago that the M9 would head off away from the peace talks and never even find out about Essek until he tried to call in some of those favors for increasingly suspicious things or it all came back around to bite them in the ass.  I think he hoped for a very long time, maybe even a year ago when they met Essek in the first place, that this traitorous mole would become their Anna Ripley--the cold dark super-intelligent mirror to their own broken super-intelligent knifeblade of a friend, someone they could loathe and fear and despise and eventually, eventually destroy.

But the M9 don’t do nemeses if they have any way whatsoever to help it.  Good luck, Matt.  Pretty sure for this crew it is Trent Ikithon and U’kotoa and Tharizdun himself, and absolutely nobody else is big or bad enough for them to actually run up against for more than a single rematch, unless you get real fucking creative.

[babi-correia]

You’re My Sunshine

From Anon:

Hey girl! Would you mind doing another Jay Halstead pr maybe Jesse Lee Soffer imagine/one shot*? Maybe being the hidden girlfriend? Thanks hun!

Words: 2147 Warnings: Kidnapping, torture, canonical violence Pairing: Jay Halstead x Officer!Reader A/N: This ask has two viable one shots, actually. I did this one now, but I’ll probably pick up the JLS sometime in the future. Hope you like it, hun!

Deep down, both of you knew this day would come. The day when Voight barked out to bring a uniform up for an undercover stint, and the Intelligence member brought you up. 

Jay tries to interfere and go with Adam as he goes to get one of the officers down at the lobby, but Voight quickly shuts him down, remembering him that Adam knew the suspect's type better than Jay. His jaw clenches and his hands close into fists as Adam goes down the stairs, already knowing you are going to be the one he brings up. 

The two of you have been dating for a few months, and Jay liked having you to himself. By hiding your relationship, not only are the two of you not in the public eye for dating each other - the last thing you need is someone calling you a badge bunny and saying you're sleeping with Jay to climb the hierarchy - but you are also out of the line of immediate danger that comes with dating a law enforcement agent, inevitably becoming a target.

At first, Jay wasn't very keen on the idea of you: a new cop with shiny eyes and hope in the world; he knew you would be shattered by the job, and he didn't want to watch it. But then he started warming up to you. He couldn't pin down what you had done exactly, if it was how you refused to drop your kindness with Platt, or how you could offer an input that he hadn't seen, or how you would charge in, gun in hand with unwavering intent when someone's life was at risk... it was probably how you didn't try to take pity in him or treat him like a baby when you saw him having a particularly nasty flashback that made him freeze in the middle of the locker room. You had just grabbed his hands in yours and gently coaxed him out, giving him the visual help of the "Chicago Police Department" badge on your vest - you would never know how much it meant to him. 

He had seen your determination falter over the time, but he always tried to make you get back up on the positivity horse; secretly, it kept him going too, the idea that someone could see so much good in the world and still believe in the best possible outcome. It was something rare and precious, in your line of work. 

So, when Adam comes back to the bullpen with you in tow, Jay feels like punching him. He feels like going out on a solo manhunt and face the consequences of it, if it means that you won't be brought into this case. But he watches you walk into Voight's office and nod after the Sergeant explains what he called you up for. He knows that you would never refuse the opportunity to help other people - that's why you had become an officer in the first place.

He sits in his chair, resigned, as he watches you and Voight leave the office. 

"So, officer (Y/L/N) will go undercover as an immigrant that needs help getting the rest of her family inside, no matter the cost." Voight says, pointing at the board. The pictures of 7 women are pinned in, their faces stuck in an eery, eternal smile, unknowing of the atrocities that committed against them. All they wanted was to give their families a better life.

Jay meets you in the locker room after he makes sure that no one saw the two of you entering, and crosses his arms. 

"There's no chance I'm talking you out of this, is there?" He asks, his voice small and defeated. You turn back, already wearing your civilian clothes, and give him a reassuring smile as you lay your hands atop his forearms. 

"I'm a good cop, and this will be over quickly." You say, lightly rubbing his arms. "It has to be done, they can't keep killing these women."

"What if something happens?" He asks, his brows furrowed - you don't quite grasp the seriousness and danger of this, and it worries him deeply. "It's more dangerous than you think."

"Jay... I've been a cop in Chicago for a while. A beat cop. I'm cussed at and thrown things at for existing. There, I'm going to be a girl that they're going to underestimate. The only way this can go wrong is if they figure out I'm a cop, and that's a risk every undercover takes, and that you have also taken several times." You grab his face. "It's going to be ok."

-

Unintentionally, you had jinxed yourself in your conversation with Jay. Not in a thousand years would you have thought that the measly drug dealer you arrested a couple weeks ago would be involved with a human trafficking ring, and when he saw you, you knew it was over. He shouted to everyone how you were a "pig", how you were there to arrest them all. You had stood your ground, unwavering, claiming you had never seen him before in your life and had no idea what he was blabbering about, but no one bought it. They ganged up on you and you knew that resistance was futile and would only hurt you further.

And now, 3 days later, here you are. Bruised, bloody, sweaty, laying on the cement floor of an abandoned warehouse somewhere by the river, in between torture sessions. The big boss doesn't know who you work for - all he knows is that you're with law enforcement. He's too paranoid and knows that CPD isn't the only one after him, and even though he knows you're CPD, he has no idea if you're working directly for them or if you've been "scouted" by a bigger agency. 

Your mind rarely leaves your memories of Jay, trying to isolate and disassociate yourself from the prodding metal and angry fists connecting with the several different parts of your body. A small part of you hangs on to hope that Jay and the rest of Intelligence are coming for you, but the bigger part tells you that they either won't make it in time, or that they think you're already dead. 

The footsteps in the hallway drag you out of your thoughts and you raise bloodshot eyes to glare at the grunt in front of you. He hastily pulls you up by one arm and drags you into another room, different from the one you had been beaten in. There's a hook hanging from the ceiling, but there's also a chair and some blades arranged neatly by the chair. The thing that jumps at you is the camera standing in the corner of the room, hooked to a computer, and aimed at the hook and chair. The grunt stands with you by the door as the boss walks into the room, walking with his usual swagger towards the camera.

"Since I don't know who my little toy is working for, here's what is going on: to whom it may concern, this bitch is at my mercy, and either her employer comes forward, or I'm going to kill her." He says darkly as the grunt drags you into further inside, near the hook. 

You put on your best brave face as he hangs you in the hook by the bindings on your wrists. Your shoulders scream at you but you refuse to show pain. The boss sits on the chair next to you and the grunt leaves, making it just the two of you in the room. He grabs a small, yet sharp blade from the assortment and turns to you, smirking darkly. 

"So, I'll ask you again. Who are you working for?" 

"Your mom." You spit at him, biting your tongue to not cry out when the blade cuts across the skin in your stomach.

-

The mug in Jay's hand hits the floor the second he sees the screen of his computer taken over by a video of a dark, grimy room, with you hanging from a hook and a slimy-looking guy in a suit passing around you with a large blade in hand. 

He knew to fear something bad when they stopped getting the daily debriefs from you, but part of him had been influenced by you into thinking it was the best-case scenario: maybe you had gone deep to the point of not being able to contact them, but were about to resurface with enough evidence to nail every single interferent in the trafficking ring. He feels his heart sink to his stomach and his legs threaten to give out as his gaze fixates on the screen. Your face is bloody and bruised, along with the rest of your body, but your expression is one of stubbornness; whatever the guy is asking of you, you're not complying. 

"This would all be over much quicker if you told me who you're working for." The guy snarks, and your expression remains unchanging.

"We both know you're going to kill me either way, just get it over with. Besides, I already told you I'm working for your mom." His fist connects with your ribs and you give out a pained chuckle. Jay's fists close up as anger begins to boil and cloud his head. "Or maybe for Brutus over there. Maybe you're his Ceasar, and he's waiting for the right chance to stab you in the back thirty times. Now seems like a good time, Brutus."

Voight bolts out of his office, vest on one hand, and a post-it note on the other. 

"A contact of mine got me an address. Let's role." He barks out sternly. Jay bolts out behind him and the whole team gets in the armory, putting on their vests and grabbing their choice of weapon before getting into the cars and driving towards the address Voight's contact had given him. 

Jay checks his three guns yet again: one Glock 19 in his hip holster, one Glock 17 in his thigh holster, and an AK-47 in his hand. He knows every moment from breach is going to count, and the longer they take to get to you, the worse the outcome can be. 

The car comes to a stop and he turns off the security in the AK, rolling his shoulders as he steps out of the car and stealths towards one of the entrances. He peeks through a window, seeing two grunts. He gestures what he saw towards the rest of the team and prepares for breach, kicking in the door when Voight says so. 

He feels the adrenaline coursing through his veins and doesn't stop until he's passed the guarded area. The hallways are silent and he strains his ears, trying to pick up something, anything that will guide him to you. 

In the room, you're still dangling from the ceiling when the loud noises snap the guy from yet another monologue about how it would be easier for you to just give up and blah blah blah. Honestly, you had started to tune out the moment he opened his mouth, already knowing some variation of what was about to leave his lips.

"Go check out whatever that was!" He barks at the grunt, making you focus on the door as the other man exits through it. Before you realize what's happening, a shot rings out and the grunt falls back into the room, making the boss jump in fright. You see Jay slowly stepping over the body, AK steadily trained on the suited guy standing by your legs. 

"If you move another inch, I'm blowing your brains out." Jay growls out as the other man tries to reach for the gun on the chair. "My finger is feeling very, very trigger-happy, and I just need you to give me a reason to give it what it wants."

You feel tears prickling at your eyes, both of joy and of pent up frustration and fear, flinching when you see the man moving towards his gun and Jay delivering a clean shot to his chest, dropping him to the floor instantly. 

The AK hits the floor with a clatter before Jay rushes to you, unhooking you and lowering you to the floor before wrapping you in a bear hug. You feel yourself starting to sob as you hide your face on his neck, relishing in the feeling of being wrapped by Jay and his scent surrounding you. 

"I would die happy if I died like this." You mutter into his neck, feeling him chuckle as he pulls away.

"You're not dying anytime soon, I'll waltz in and save you every time." Jay says, retrieving his AK and slinging it over his chest before he picks you up. "Let's get you home, yeah?"

"Sounds good to me."

[flying-nightwing]

Pink and Totalitarianism Always Go Hand in Hand

Here’s the promised crack fic. Disclaimer, this is terrible in every and any form, because it is meant to be that way. If you want quality, structure, a story that makes sense, this ain’t it chief. This is certified Crack. If you finish this and all you can say is something along the lines of “what the fuck”, my work here is done. (Besides, this isn’t edited to add to the overall crack vibe)

Enjoy and good luck, because it get worse and worse as it goes

Masterlist in bio // pinned post

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader

Word count: 4626

Warnings: Mention of drugs, light non-graphic violence, language

Summary: You’re stuck in a world that does not make sense, alone and surrounded by secret police and spies that will report you to the government. One early morning, Jason appears in your living room. His arrival gives you an opportunity to get the hell out of there for good. 

You had taken a habit of sleeping lightly.

You, who had once cherished your sleep like it was the rarest gem in the world. Yet, you found out you had still severely underappreciated its importance in your life, something you realized only when it was gone. You missed it like an old friend who was gone to war and died on the front, leaving words forever unsaid. What would you do for just one more night in your bed, with your own pillows and that drool stain that just wouldn’t leave anymore, sleeping like a log until the late morning. Or just a nap, that even would be enough. But you were far from home now, and you didn’t have a lot of hope you’d ever come back. 

When you heard a loud thump in the living room, your eyes flew open and your muscles tensed. Pushing off the pink comforter and pulling on the equally pink robe that was draped over the wooden chair, you carefully made your way down the corridor and toward the sound. A man dressed in black and red, with a red helmet complementing his strange outfit was standing there, looking around like he was trying to understand what was going on. You plastered a smile on your face. 

“Hiya there” The corner of your mouth hurt from the strain of smiling so wide. “Can I help you?”

“Uh?” He looked up, and even through his helmet you could assume his eyes were wide with confusion. They wouldn’t get you this time, you’d make sure of it. He didn’t fool anyone. “Where am I?”

“Silly!” You laughed, waving your hand in a small dismissive gesture. “We’re in Happy Town, obviously!”

“Uh?” He repeated, already visibly exhausted. That one agent lasted longer than the last, you had to give him that. His confusion was credible and well played down to the last detail. “Listen, lady, I’m sorry I crashed your house but I need you to point me toward Metropolis”

“Metropolis? I haven’t heard of a city of that name” You didn’t drop the smile. The goddamn smile. “Although, you are quite illegal sir, black and red are prohibited colors”

“... What?” 

“I’m afraid you’ll need to change” You explained. “Luckily for you, I have spares in the bedroom. Come along”

“Wait, prohibited?” He repeated, and you nodded eagerly. A test, it’s always a test. “What colors aren’t prohibited then?”

“Well, pink, you silly goose!”

He stared at you for the longest time. “What the fuck”

You froze. Actual agents were not allowed to swear, under any circumstances. They were physically not able to, even. “What did you say?”

“I said what the fuck”

You let your smile drop and sighed in relief. “Oh thank fuck”

“Hey, stay with me” He waved a hand in your face. “What the fuck is going on? Where am I?”

“Okay, we don’t have a lot of time, but basically” You paused, looking around to make sure all of your curtains were closed. You found a way to disable your microphones, but you had only to sunrise before they turned back on again. It was less suspicious that way, when you could attribute the lack of sound to you sleeping. Besides, you couldn’t risk you saying incriminating things in your sleep. “We are in a side dimension called Happy Town, but things are sketchy here. I don’t know what they are hiding, but if you don’t stick to their gimmick to the letter, you’re going to reeducation camps and stuff. This is some serious brainwashing, and I’m talking worse than Scientology”

“Fuck” He swore, taking off his helmet. “How did I get here?”

“Some portal, I dropped in the same place you did” You spoke quickly, in a hushed tone. “I haven’t found a way out, obviously, but if you came from Earth too, I’m betting there’s something I missed”

“This is insane” 

“You tell me” You scoffed. “And you haven’t even seen how bonkers this place really is yet”

“Do I really have to wear pink?” He flinched, and your eyes widened.

“Yes, you do!” You replied. “They will have you under scrutinization as soon as you step out of this house. If you want to survive, you must follow the rules to the letter. They don’t fuck around, I tell ya. When I first appeared, all the neighbors moved away and were immediately replaced by other creepier neighbors. I swear they’re spies. They’re all spies!”

“Wait, how long have you been there?”

“I don’t know, years?” You guessed. Could have been any measure of time really, you couldn’t know for sure. “I have no idea how I got through their brainwashing sessions. Either I outsmarted them, or they have no idea what they’re doing. It’s better not to take any chance, though”

“This is fucked up” He sighed and sat on the couch. “Besides wearing pink, what do I have to do?”

“Oh boy, sit tight” You began pacing in front of him. You didn’t know him, but he was your best chance at getting the hell out of here. Your bed now seemed a little bit closer now, even though you knew you’d never sleep the same. “It’s not just the clothing that’s pink, it’s any fabric, by the way, because happy people like pink”

It was like he was now aware that every couch, chair, carpet, curtain in your house was actually pink. 

“You gotta smile, always. You gotta look like chuck-e-cheese on crack” You continued, pacing in front of him. “Talking of which, never, EVER eat pie. I don’t know what’s in it, but it messes with your brain. Always find an excuse or distraction to avoid eating it”

“I’m not--”

“Never allude to the microphones you might find, act like you’ve never seen them and have no idea they’re there” You added. “Also, tomorrow we’ll have to get you registered if we don’t want the secret police to storm the house. You’ll have to follow my lead or we’re both dead, got it?”

“Yeah but--”

“Don’t say anything incriminating during the day” You interrupted him again. “I tweaked the microphones so they’re scrambled from midnight to sunrise. But that’s it. Also, always assume anyone you talk to is a spy or a snitch. It’s the Stasi all over again here, you can’t trust anyone who you don’t hear swear, which is nobody”

“Wai wait” He stopped you as you opened your mouth to continue on. “Why?”

“Because the people from here cannot swear, happy people don’t swear, they smile and giggle” You felt your eye twitch as you recited the lines you were fed over and over again. “The people engineered here are not able to, only those they kidnapped from Earth. Bad news is, beside that, they are virtually non-differentiable from each other. And they all wear those stupid pink clothes, only the regular police wears a darked shade of magenta. Other than that, all the same”

Confusion and horror was evident on his face. He sat there, processing it all as your eyes fell on the clock. You had about ten minutes until the first rays of sun showed up and reactivated the mics. “There’s no way back?” He finally asked.

“Not that I know of yet” You wrapped your hands around yourself. “You know, I have been begging for help out of this hell hole. You might be the key. Anyway, we gotta change you into something non offensive before they find out you’re here”

You dragged him in the bedroom, leaving him at the threshold while you rummaged through the dresser. All those clothes had been there too when you popped in the house, as if they had known exactly what they were doing by bringing you here. However, it wasn’t clear whether or not they had planned for their new citizen to be you. Ad judging by the arsenal of weapons on the new guy, ir reinforced your theory that the actual selection was still experimental. You weren’t exactly the shut up and obey type, and you doubted he was either.

“What’s your name?” You asked as you pulled a pink cardigan out of a drawer. It occured to you that you might have to know what to call him. Polite people knew the name of their housemate. You grabbed a yet again pink pair of slacks and pushed the clothes in his hands.

“Uh, Jason” He replied, surprised at the sudden income of pink fabric. You threw him the socks, suspenders, bow tie, belt and dress shirt that was, you guessed it, the exact same color as the rest. He was covered in pink clothes like a coat hanger.

“(Y/N)”

“Hey, I’m not wearing that” He objected as he took a better look at the clothes. His face turned to disdain as he shook his head like he had drank bad milk. “Nope, no way”

“If you don’t wear pink, they’ll kill you” You said through your teeth.

“No, I’m not talking about the pink” He said, his expression unchanging. He pulled the cardigan and held it up. “This. This won’t do at all. I’m not wearing a fucking cardigan”

You stared at him, wide eyed. You didn’t have the time to deal with that, sunrise was a few minutes away!

“You will wear that cardigan or so help me” You said in a low, yet threatening voice. He recoiled. “Suck. It. Up.”

Wordlessly, he headed for the bathroom on the other side of the bedroom. He changed in two minutes, coming back awkwardly with his pile of dark clothes. You picked them from him and walked to that spot just beside your bed, and kneeled. You unscrewed the floor board, which was already loose, and you deposited the bundle, weapons and all, next to a very, very dusty blue jeans and burgundy coat. You hurried to replace everything like it hadn’t been touched and stood up again to face an all pink, visibly uncomfortable Jason. He was tying his bow, a displeased frown on his face. It made you wonder what was his life before. He changed rather quickly, and didn’t seem confused by the way bow ties worked.

“What now?”

“We gel your hair”

“No” His eyes widened. The wake up siren sounded outside, and like a reflex learned through violent lessons, your face pulled into a pained smile. You still made a zipping motion over your mouth, pointing to the bathroom. With a silent sigh, he complied.

---

His smile looked unnatural.

But again, so did yours probably. So did everyone’s. Smiling that much wasn’t natural for anyone or anything but perhaps a hyena. Or a clown. You walked arms in arms with him, waving at people sending you curious glances, their smiles unwavering. The government was already aware of this presence, either because they zapped him there or because they heard your made up meeting conversation through the microphones. 

“Okay, I see what you meant by everyone is a spy” He muttered through his teeth, making sure his lips weren’t moving. He was holding to his grin like it was a lifeline. And it was. 

“Right?” You replied in the same manner. “So don’t slip”

“I won’t”

“Well hello there!”

You jumped in surprise at the Mayor appearing in front of you, seemingly out of nowhere. You put your free hand on your heart and laughed. “Hi there, you startled me good!”

He laughed. Jason laughed. It all seemed forced. 

“I see we have an addition in Happy Town!” The mayor pointed to Jason, nodding in approval at his attire. “Where did you come from?”

His first test.

“I… Came from Earth!” He replied with enthusiasm. “Although I have to say, I looooove this place. It’s so… Happy!”

Well played, Jason. Well played.

“I am so glad to hear you say that” He placed a “friendly” pat on his shoulder, but he seemed satisfied. “What is your name, lad?”

“Dick Grayson, sir” 

You swallowed back your confusion at his words, but also at the hint of genuine smile that crossed his expression. Keep smiling.

“Well Mr. Grayson, welcome to Happy Town!” They shook hands. “I see Miss (Y/N) is already taking care of you, integrating you nicely in our community”

His gaze shifted to you as a silent warning behind those cold, smiling eyes. You had your fair history of problems with them, but they had every reason to think it was over now. Still, the warning lingered. But those pink assholes wouldn’t catch you this time.

“I’ll make sure he becomes one of us in no time!” You assured, giving a light nod to Jason.

“No doubt you’ll make an amazing couple” He tipped his pink hat and you noticed Jason held back a cough of surprise. “The daily play of the anthem is about to start, I must return to city hall. I’ll see you around!”

He waved. You waved. Jason waved. He walked away with a skip in his step like the happy jerk he was.

“Couple?” He said, coming back to your public mode of communicating. 

“Sorry, I should have warned you” You sighed internally.

“Sorry?”

“Yeah!” You wanted to burst out so bad. “What about it, Dick Grayson?”

“I wasn’t about to give them my real name” He defended, watching around for people noticing your hushed conversation. But everybody was preparing for the anthem, their attention directed to the morning messages man on the giant screens.

“So you gave that poor guy’s instead?”

“Poor? Nah. Relax, he can take care of himself” What you were sure was a chuckle escaped his lips. “Besides, he’s not even--”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for our national anthem”

You elbowed Jason and stood up straight, the sun hitting the side of your face. He mimicked your posture. The music started, and you could see faltering in the corner of your eye.

“Is this--”

“Yes”

“What the fuck”

“I know”

“Whyyyyyyy”

“Stay with me” You urged silently. You really didn’t know how or why Happy Town’s anthem came to be ‘Yeah!’ by Usher feat Lil Jon and Ludacris, but even if you did, now was not the ideal time or place to get into that kind of discussion. You suspected it had something to do with the exclamation mark after the ‘yeah’. But you could be wrong. You still didn’t understand the bigger picture however, since the lyrics clearly contained the word ‘not’ followed directly by ‘happy’ in the first verse, which made ‘not happy’. It was against the party line. 

“Okay, we stage a coup tonight” He decided as the song ended. “I don’t think I can do this another day”

----

Midnight came slowly.

After a day of mingling and presenting Jason as Dick Grayson and your future husband like the Mayor had most probably hinted at during your morning encounter, of slyly getting out of eating pie and avoiding the police, you were glad to finally breathe. 

“UUUUGH” Jason whined, plopping on the couch. “I can never look at the color pink the same way ever again. I’m sick of it, sick of it!”

“Get it together!” You snapped. “We need to plan our coup. We’ve got one shot for it, and if it fails we’re toast. I need my bed, Jason. MY BED”

“Alright, what do you have in mind?” He asked, taking a deep breath. “You know this place more than I do”

“I say tomorrow night, we quietly follow the police after their curfew patrol round” You began, biting the skin around your nails. “How good is your stealth?”

He looked at you blankly for a good ten seconds before he let out a small, ironic snort. “Above average, I’d say”

It was like he wanted you to ask why he’d think that, but you were too busy thinking about your plan. “Good, good” You nodded. “There must be some headquarters somewhere. All we have to do is get there, threaten them at gunpoint--Your guns are functional yes?”

“Obviously”

“--So they’ll zap us back to Earth. And if not, we shoot the mayor and take control of this hell”

“That escalated quickly,” He stated. “But what the hell, sure, I’m on board. Let’s go”

“Tomorrow the sun sets at 8:07. We’ll need to be changed and ready to go by then”

“Wait, tomorrow?” He sprung up in his seat, eyes wide. “No, no. I can’t take one more day of pink cardigans and pleasant conversations with spies!”

“DEAL WITH IT” You gestured wildly before calming down almost instantly. You didn’t need the neighbors to hear and report a fight. “Patrol is already over for today. Be smart about this”

“Fine” He sighed aggressively. “But if this flops, I’m taking everyone down with me. There won’t be an after tomorrow, I can fucking tell you”

“Yeah I won’t stop you”

“Good”

“Good.”

You stayed there in silence, unmoving for a moment. This was it. The moment you’ve been waiting for. Your liberation. Your bed was less than 24 hours a day if things went as planned, which you hoped it would. 

“I’ll… Sleep on the couch” He mumbled after a while, moving to lay down. YOur eyes widened.

“You can’t” You objected, knowing the government would find a way to find out the scam you were running through that detail. 

“Why not?”

“If the secret police comes for a surprise inspection and your side of the bed is cold, we’re kaputt” You explained. “We’re supposed to be at the very least fiancés, remember?”

“God fucking dammit” He swore, looking up at the sky like it would help him. Ha, you already tried that and it didn’t work.

---

The next day, as you prepared the decaf pot of coffee because happy people didn’t need caffeine to be happy, a knock sounded on your door. Jason was taking a shower in the bathroom, so you went and opened the door. Like you had predicted, two men in dark magenta stood at your doorstep with dangerous looking smiles. 

“Good morning ma’am” One greeted with a tip of his hat. “This is a surprise inspection, warranted by the new arrivant in your household, name Dick Grayson and title husband to be. May we come in?”

Your smile widened as you stepped aside, like you actually had a choice in the matter.

“Of course!” You exclaimed. “Coffee, officers?”

“We’ll have to politely decline, thank you” The other smiled as they came in and observed the clean state of the house. All houses were required to be neat and clean at all times. They looked around for something out of place, slowly but surely directing themselves to the bedroom at the end of the hall. You followed them a few paces away, ready to answer their question if they had some. It wasn’t your first surprise check. 

They finally reached the room, from where they could hear the shower running. Their gazes caught the neatly folded pink pile on the bed, then they surrounded it. They started to feel under the comforter and drapes, on the pillows, everywhere they could spot the presence or absence of another person. You called it, oh you so called it.

The shower stopped, and both officers shared a look. “Alright, everything is in order ma’am. Have a good breakfast and a good day!”

You escorted them to the door, threw them a thank you on the way and silently sighed once the door closed behind them. You returned to your coffee, and not long after, Jason emerged from the hallway all dressed in pink.

“Ooh, who were the gentlemen here?” He inquired cheerily, but you knew what it meant. 

“Some nice officers came to see if we were doing fine here!” You replied with equal cheer.

“Shucks, I missed them” He snapped his fingers, chuckling. “Next time perhaps”

“Of course!” The pep in your voice did not match your eye roll. Thank god there were no cameras. 

You finished breakfast and went to town once again, like you did everyday. You felt like everyone was staring at you even more than usual. Like they all knew what you planned for that night. You might have been slightly paranoid, but Jason’s calm demeanor was helping. He was good at that, like he had practiced for all of his life to deceive people.

The mayor bothered you again after the daily play of the anthem, a song you were sure would elicit a violent reaction from you once you would be back in the real world. Then, you repeated the same daily routine you had had forever. Smile, avoid the pie, smile, talk with the neighbors-spies, smile, think about how life is amazing, smile.

Smile smile smile smile smile smile. 

Eurgh.

That night, the pleasant conversations contained codes to trump the microphones. Jason pretended to dance while you unscrewed the loose floorboard and carefully placed his clothes and weapons on the bed. You picked your old clothes, quietly dusting them off. They smelled weird but you were excited to wear something other than pepto bismol dyed fabric. Making sure the curtains were drawn, you proceeded to change. Jason looked ecstatic to finally be rid of his cardigan, while you took a moment to appreciate your black t-shirt and burgundy coat. While he had his red helmet, he handed you a domino mask from his pocket. You had no idea why he had that, but you took it anyway. It looked cool and rebel. You sneaked through the back door, avoiding the spots of light by either lamps outside your house and street posts. You watched the patrol casually making sure everyone was inside, keeping a good distance in between you and them at every time. They weren’t talking, but whistling some creepy tunes. You had to make a small hike through a hill when they entered a gated tunnel, but you ended up in front of a giant factory where workers dressed in grey buzzed around with crates. YOu gasped.

“Illegal” You muttered.

“What?”

You shook your head. They had gotten to you too much, it was time you left that god forsaken place. “Nevermind. How do we go through that barbed wire?”

He pulled out a medium sized pair of cutters from… You had no idea where, but he had them. You shrugged, gesturing to him to go ahead. In a blink, you were in. You sneaked inside without being seen, navigating the building with guesses and feelings. You finally ended up in the main production room, where crates of products were opened and emptied in a giant bassin. The stirred liquid was purple and smelled strange, but you knew it was to do no good. And right beside, there was the pie filling packaging. 

“I knew it!” You hissed under your breath. “They’re putting drugs in the pie! Can you see what it is? Cocaine? Heroin?

“Doesn’t seem like…” He leaned in. “Wait…”

“Al-- Allegra?” You managed to read the crate.”Never heard of it, but it must be terrible and dangerous”

Jason turned his head and stared at you. HIs helmet bore no expression, but you were sure he looked at you like you were dumb. Did he know what it was? “Are you kidding me?”

“No, why?”

“Allegra is--” He sighed. “It’s allergy medication. It’s… Not drugs per say”

“Uh?”

“God dammit--” He paused as something caught his eyes. It was sparkly, and unfit for this environment. From it emerged five armed guys dressed in earth clothes. They had a bag of white substance, which was tasted by the man who welcomed them. “Of fuck, THAT’s cocaine” 

You waited as they put some of it in a vial, which already had purple liquid. 

“Fuck, they mix it with allegra?” He cursed, mostly to himself. “What kind of fucking insane dimension did I step in?” 

“I told you”

“Okay, so those guys will have to leave eventually” Jason pointed at the visibly Earth humans. “We’ll make sure we catch it as well”

“But they have machine guns” You pointed out, not sure how his mind worked. 

“Wait for my signal” You knew he was grinning under that helmet. Before you could ask him how the fuck he would manage five armed guys, he jumped over the rail and started running toward them. You shut your eyes shut as gunshots went off, then opened them again when it was silent. There were bodies around, but Jason was still standing, wrestling with two guys. You watched for a few seconds when you noticed a pink figure sneakily approaching from behind, a frying pan in his hand.

The mayor!

You jumped over the rail too, but your landing was way less graceful than Jason’s. Actually, you were pretty sure you sprained your ankle. But still, you ran-limped to the man and jumped on his back before he could bonk Jason’s head with his weapon.

“ARRRRRGH”

He did not see you coming, as he lost balance at your attack. You crashed on the ground, where you managed to get on top and start hitting him. But apparently neither of you knew how to punch, so it was a rather pathetic looking fight. You swapped and slapped, pulled hair and scratched, until you got a hold of his pan and made a pancake of his face. 

“Take that you pink fucking nightmare” You spat as you stood up. You turned to Jason, whose shoulders were shaking with silent laughter.

“Wow uh” He covered it with a cough. “That sure was an interesting fight to watch”

“Keep mocking me, mister fucking assassin” You rolled your eyes. “I stopped him from bonking your head”

“Alright, alright, thank you”

“No problem” You replied. “Let’s get out of here”

You went and stood on the platform the dealers came through, then waited. But nothing happened.

“I think we need to activate it” He spoke up. That was logical.

You scanned the room for a panel control, and you believed you spotted it on the opposite wall. You grabbed your shoe to throw at it, before Jason held back your arm’s motion.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Activating the portal” You furrowed your brows, pointing at the panel. A big red button on which was written ‘ON’ was glaring at you from the distance. Practical target.

“Don’t throw your shoe, that’s dumb” He snorted. “Let me”

Before you could argue, he cocked his gun and fired a bullet right on the button. A death sound resonated, but nevertheless sparks began to fly and not just from the ruined panel. The portal opened and swallowed you, sending you through flashes and weird colors until you were spat out in a dull, dark place that smelled bad. Jason seemed to have landed just fine, but you were another story. You pulled yourself up, whining at the pain in your ankle. 

“I didn’t expect to see you here”

A creepy, unknown voice made you both turn around. It was a pale man with an unnaturally stretched smile and bad taste in clothes, and right away it made you think the worst. You had been thrown in Dark!Happy Town. Without thinking, you let out a war cry and hurled your frying pan to the more evil version of the Mayor, knocking him out instantly.

What you didn’t expect though, was the roaring laughter from beside you. 

“Oh--Oh my god” He could barely talk. “I wished I filmed that”

“What? What’s happening?” You asked. Had he gone crazy? “Who’s that? We’re not back home are we?”

“Relax, we’re back” He took a deep breath, his shoulders still shaking. “You’ve just knocked out the most wanted criminal in Gotham city”

“WHAT?”

“Welcome back, (Y/N), welcome back”

[herohotline]

Wet Clay (P.1)

Shouta Aizawa x Reader

A/N: alright let's try this again. take 2 everybody

Summary: You’ve been officially hired as U.A’s first school counselor. You’re assigned to help the hero course- learning more about their students and teachers along the way. And if you manage to catch a crush on one of said teachers... You just hope he doesn’t distract you from doing your job.

Word Count: 3,300+

Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

If there was one thing you knew about U.A, it was that the school seemed like a never-ending magnet for trouble. They’ve already been on the news twice this year due to villain attacks, and it made you wonder: hey, who’s taking care of the aftermath? 

You’ve been working as a freelance therapist for over ten years, and you reached into several things. Family sessions, PTSD recovery, addiction therapy, the works. So with high hopes, you came to U.A one day with a proposal for the principal. Getting a meeting with him wasn’t easy, so you intended to use the time you got with him wisely. 

Your meeting was scheduled at a random time of day- the middle of the school day, really, so when you made your way to Nezu’s office, you saw several students. They seemed like busy little bees, rushing over to the cafeteria with smiles- it must be lunch hour. The whole place was insanely big, and you wouldn’t have been able to navigate it on your own- so good thing you weren’t. 

Your tour guide sure was loud, though.

“It’s great that Nezu let someone in, but he wouldn’t tell us what it’s for!” The hero you recognized as Present Mic had been chatting animatedly the whole time, and you tried your best to keep up with his energy. 

“That’s strange,” you say back to him, adjusting the grip on your briefcase. They checked it at the front gate- happy to see it was only a few business papers. “I don’t think what I’m talking to Nezu about is very secretive.”

Present Mic waves his hand in the air, making a ‘ppsh’ noise with his teeth. “Nezu likes to mess around with us teachers a lot. I’m not surprised! Oh, and here we are!” He spins rather suddenly to face you, presenting the large office doors to you. 

You look at it curiously. “...Isn’t Nezu supposed to be a small animal?” How could he fit through the door…?

Mic laughs as if you had made some sort of joke. He opens the door for you, patting your back as you walk inside. “I’ll be here to escort you out when you’re done, good luck!” He whispers- well, his own way of whispering, which is still very loud, before thrusting you in the office and closing the door behind you. 

You blink once to try and realize what just happened.

“Ah, ___!” Nezu greets you as you stand still in the rather large office, his little body looking comical behind his desk. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting with you!” Oh boy, here we go. You don’t really appreciate Mic thrusting you into this, literally, but you smooth out your clothes and walk toward the principal’s desk.

“I feel the same way, Nezu,” you smile at him as you shake his little paw across the desk. “I’m glad you’re willing to listen to what I have to say.” He gestures to the seat beside you and you gladly take it, making yourself comfortable.

“Of course. It’s been chaotic but I’m always willing to hear ideas for the school. You mentioned therapy?” The business has begun- but oddly enough, the animal pulls out a tea set and begins to brew. 

“Simply put, yes. With all the events that have been happening at your school lately, I believe it’s due time for a therapist to be hired. You’re training heroes, and while it’s important that they’re physically ready for the world of heroics, I believe they should be mentally ready as well.” You take a cup from him, muttering a ‘thank you’ as you continue to give him your proposal. “Just this year, you had a kidnapping. I know you took care of it, but those sorts of things have a large impact on kids- they might be teenagers, but they aren’t fully developed. Then there’s just the thought of studying and working to be a hero- it’s stressful, and I believe every child should have a good outlet for when it gets to be too much.” 

Taking a sip of the tea, you hum under your breath. It’s a wonderful citrus flavor.

Nezu smiles. “I looked into you- I hope you aren’t offended, it’s merely what we must do for letting strangers into the campus. You’re a therapist, correct?”

You nod. “I’m not offended, I figured as much. And yes, I am. I’ve been in the field for over 10 years, so I’d like to think I know what I’m talking about when it comes to mental health.” 

“Of course! I don’t doubt you!” Nezu laughs- a squeaky little noise. “You’re right, the students deserve a good person to talk to about their struggles. The question is… are you sure you can be that person?”

So he had caught onto you. Yes, more than anything, you wanted to be the one to help these kids. It’s a bit ballsy to walk into an office and suggest they hire you, unprompted, but you believe it’s the right move to make. Nothing will get done if you don’t put the first foot in, after all.

“Yes,” you tell him, as determined as you can. “I would like to be the test driver in this. With how many students U.A holds, one therapist for so many kids is nearly impossible. I’d die of stress before they do,” you pull your briefcase up to your lap and open it, handing him a few papers. “These are the things I’ve planned if you were willing to go through with hiring me. I’d like to focus on the hero course first, a few sessions with each kid throughout a few months. I want to learn about these children, and from what I learn, I can fully deduce what sort of changes need to happen in U.A. Like if my work is even needed here, or what type of therapy should be offered or special programs.” 

Nezu flicks through your papers with an impressed smile. “You’ve thought a lot about this,” he says, “you seem to care very deeply.” 

“I’m passionate about helping others how I can,” you tell him honestly. “And frankly, if you don’t mind my honesty, U.A is long overdue for a school counselor. Every child deserves to have someone to confide in, plain and simple, Nezu.”

At your statement, he laughs. It’s not because he thinks you’re joking, but he knows you’re right. “I love your attitude!” He says. “And you’ve convinced me. We’ll start our hiring process right away, and you can show me more of your plans. I’m happy you came to me today.”

“Oh, what?” Your eyebrows stand up in shock. “Really? Wh… really?”

“Yes!” Nezu smiles. “I had already decided on hiring you before you came. But meeting you was a pleasure and convinced me more.” He hands out his small paw again and you slowly shake it.

“Welcome to U.A, ___.”

---

Getting home, you looked back at the meeting and for a second you think you were tricked. But you’re soon emailed several background check forms and sessions for drug testing- the works of getting hired at a very cautious school. So you deduce that it’s not a trick- but it’s very strange. 

You’re grateful though, and you accomplish what you can right away such as the background check, quirk information and license, and sending in your history with therapy. Nezu told you that if you were quick, you could have your first day in just a week. It shocks you- a week? It’s so soon!

Maybe, you think, they’ve already been thinking about hiring a counselor for a while. It was long overdue, and now they’re in a rush to get you in and working. You suppose that with everything that’s been going on for the school, that’s fair. 

You hope you can do this- the last thing you want is to let this opportunity slip through the cracks and let everyone down. 

---

After a full week of filling out paperwork, various meetings, and a lot of movement speeches that you’ve given yourself to get through it, your first day at U.A comes, bright and early on a Monday morning. And, interestingly enough, your first big task of the day is getting dressed. 

The students have uniforms, but the teachers all wear their hero costumes, and you’re not a hero. So what on earth do you wear? You glare at your closet for a long time before finally slipping on a simple button-up shirt tucked into some slacks. It’s the most professional-casual you can get, right?

Taking the train to U.A was a bit busy, but you were buzzing with first-day energy that you couldn’t even mind the pushing and shoving of people coming on and off the train. You’re sure that the longer you have to take the train, the more it will bother you, but today it seems like nothing can break through your hopeful exterior. 

God, you hope this works. You hope the kids like you. 

It feels funny to walk into U.A with no guards hounding you- but thanks to your I.D that you got just yesterday, you walk in without any problems. It makes you grin. Your first stop for the day is to find Eraserhead- you’re meeting with his class first and taking over homeroom for today. Tomorrow, you’ll meet with the other hero course. 

When you walk into the teacher's lounge, nerves are tingling your senses. It feels like it really is the first day of school, but instead of a student, now you’re a teacher, sort of. The room looks empty, so you assume the teachers have all gone to their classes for the day. You wonder where Eraserhead is…? 

It’s as you walk around the desks in a curious manner that a yellow bag on the floor catches your eye. Quite frankly, you do a double-take on it-- is someone sleeping in there?

“Hello?” You walk up to the bag. “Is that you, Eraserhead?” 

You remember Nezu joking about something like this, but you didn’t take him seriously. As the sleeping bag rolls around, your eyes widen in surprise as you see that yes- this is Pro-Hero Eraserhead sleeping on the floor. 

His tired, dry eyes look up at you. “You’re the therapist?” He asked, his voice deep and scratchy. 

“...Yes. ____.” It’s all you can manage to say as you watch him slowly crawl out of his bag, picking it up and standing on his feet. All of a sudden, he’s looming over you with his height and it almost catches you off guard. “Thank you for working with me,” you shake yourself out of your thoughts and present your hand to him. 

As he shakes it back, you notice that his hand basically engulfs yours. Woof. 

“I’m glad you’ll be working with the students,” he says, and his honesty throws you for a loop as he begins to walk off, you following him from behind. “Do you mind telling me what you have in store for the day?”

“Right!” You try to walk a little faster so you can walk side-by-side with the man, his legs quite longer than yours. “I figured I'd like to introduce myself, let the kids get to know me. It’s hard to suddenly have a new face around, as well as being expected to talk about your problems with a stranger. So I just need to not be a stranger anymore.” You look up to Eraserhead and he silently nods. You figure that’s his way of telling you ‘good idea’? 

“We’re here.” He stops in front of, again, another rather large door. They all seem to look like this. “Get ready.”

As the door opens, you’re immediately met with the sound of teenagers laughing and yelling. Eraserhead heads in first, thankfully, and you peek your head in to get a look of the students. You’ve seen a lot of them through the news, so some faces are familiar, while others aren’t. 

“Class,” Eraserhead’s authoritative voice cuts through all the noise. The students are quick to sit in their seats, heads up and attentive for their teacher. He sighs, his shoulders sagging in a tired manner. “Today, ____ will be taking over the class,” you take that as your cue to enter the room, standing next to Eraserhead silently. “I’ll still be here, so don’t disrespect them. Listen to them, take what they have to say seriously.”

That seems to be the end of his little speech as he shuffles away in that same sleeping bag you found him in. You step up to the podium, and your nerves are back as you look at the sea of students. Oh boy. 

“Hello, everyone,” you smile. “As Eraserhead mentioned, my name is ___. There’s no need for formalities with me, you can just call me by name. My job here at U.A is to be your school counselor.” You watch as several of their faces change and you laugh a little. “I know, it’s strange. I’m here today to ask you a few questions. My first question being, how many of you are comfortable talking with a stranger?” 

None of their hands raise beside a rather sparkly boy with blonde hair. 

“I appreciate your honesty!” You gesture for him to put his hand down and he does so. “Most of you aren’t going to come to me right away with struggles you may have, and I understand that. My job today is to have you all get to know me. We’ll be doing a few activities, and by the end of home-room, you’ll go back to your regular classes. Are there any questions?” 

A hand shoots up right away, and you nod your head to the girl it’s attached to. She looks very attentive and scholarly- you have a feeling she might be a class president or something like that. “Why has the school decided to hire a counselor?” 

“That’s a good question. What’s your name?” You ask. 

“Yaoyorozu Momo.”

“Thank you for asking, Yaoyorozu. Truthfully, with all the events that’s been going on in your district, the school believes we should be more attentive to our students' mental wellbeing.” You feel like you’ve gone over this pitch thousands of times… “It’s important that you all have an outlet when you’re stressed or upset.” 

Yaoyorozu seems satisfied with your answer as she nods, her hand going back in her lap. Another hand rises after that- not as confident as Yaoyorozu, but still there. 

“Yes?”

“I was wondering- my, uh, name is Midoriya Izuku! I was wondering what we’d talk about in your office?” The boy has wonderful green hair that curls at the ends, freckles on his cheeks that make him look innocent and cute. He’s somewhat nervous, which intrigues you, but you move on to his question. 

“Yes, in my office…”

The rest of the period goes like this. You eventually get a question out of almost every student, and they seem to be warming up to you already. You’ve learned most of their names- but you’ll probably need a few days until you remember them all. After the questions, you do a few games together that you thought up- things that typically would be done in middle school. You split up the classroom as you have them learn more about each other- things like ‘go to the left side if you’d rather lose your taste, go to the right if you’d lose your smell’. They were simple activities that the students seemed to mostly enjoy, and you participated in them as well. 

At one moment, you asked a very specific question on purpose: how do you feel about your quirk? If you like it, you would go to the right side of the room. If you dislike it, you’d go to the left. If you weren’t sure how you felt, you’d sit in the middle. In the end, only you and boy with white and red hair stand in the middle as the rest of the class sits on the right. 

“What is your quirk?” He asks you and you smile down at him. Everyone turns their attention toward you, clearly interested. 

“My quirk is called Sensory. If I use it right, I can heighten my own or someone else’s senses such as their hearing or sight. But if I use it wrong, the person goes into sensory overload.” You explain it as simple as you can, and a pink hand raises in the air. You can’t quite remember her name… 

“Why don’t you like your quirk?” 

“Well, I don’t dislike it,” you quickly reassure the class, “but I have my reasons, as I’m sure Todoroki has his own as well?” You look down at him and he nods silently. “Anyway, I asked this question so that you all would get to know who I am a little better. Quirks are a great way to express yourself, but it’s important to remember that it isn’t the only way. It’s okay to not feel completely at home with your Quirk, but it’s important to understand it and accept it as a part of you.” 

After the activity ends, the period is over and it’s time for you to go down to your office. Eraserhead offers to walk you there since you’re still new to the building and you gratefully take it. The two of you leave the classroom with a stern word from the teacher for his students to wait patiently for Present Mic to arrive ‘or else’. You have a feeling that there's no real threat behind his words, but it seems to work. 

“So,” you fill the silence in the hallway, “do you think it went well, Eraserhead? You know them best.” You look up at him and the hero reaches up to run his fingers through his hair. He’s not quite looking at you, but you know he’s paying attention. 

“You don’t have to call us by our hero names,” he huffs and his hands go back into his pockets. 

“Oh! Well… To be honest, the forms Nezu gave me never mentioned any of the teacher’s names, so I don’t actually know…” 

“Typical of him,” the man rolls his eyes, his lips tugging upward just a bit at the ends. “You can call me Aizawa,” all of a sudden you both come to a stop and you realize that you’re outside of your office on the first floor. “Mic is Yamada and Midnight is Kayama… I’m sure you know who Yagi is.” You nod. “You’ll learn the rest of their names along the way. The 1-B teacher is Kan, by the way.”

“Oh, good! Thank you, Aizawa,” you smile up at him. “And thank you for walking me back.”

“You’ll get used to it in a bit,” he sounds sure of himself, making you believe him. “And… you did fine with the kids. I can think of a few who might come over by the end of the week.”

His reassurance is honestly very touching, as you weren’t really sure of yourself. 

“I hope I have at least a week, my office is kind of baren right now,” you laugh at yourself a little. “And thank you- it’s good to hear. I really hope this goes well, you know? I think I can really help them- I want to help them.”

Aizawa just stares down at you but you’re honestly getting used to his silence. You can already tell that he’s a man of few words, so you’re grateful that he’s talked to you as much as he has. You laugh again- you’re not sure why- before opening your door and waving goodbye to him. He leaves after that, and now it’s just you alone in your office.

You sigh as you look around the room. It’s got the essentials- two chairs, a couch, and a table in the middle. Then there’s a desk in the corner of the room, but other than that, it’s empty. You’ll definitely have to fill up the area to make it seem more welcoming- maybe you can bring some things over from your apartment. 

All you know is that you’re determined. By the end of the week, you’re going to make this place feel like home.

[thepineapplejuicer]

Know It All: Xmen evolution fanfic Chapter Two

Title: Know It All

Chapter two

Nightcrawler fanfic (I do not own the X-men or the gif, I do not claim to own any Marvel characters ).

Violet Ashbourne is a gifted human hacker in possession of a radio, a secret device that gains her access to a large underground information network and electronics all over the world. Human and mutant coexistence has always been her goal, but will the betrayal of her mutant mother and father- once partners to her rise to power- distort her beliefs? Will the X-men be able to save her from her own pride and ambition? Or will she sacrifice everything, including the only boy she’s ever trusted, for vengeance?

He takes a moment and drinks his own tea. "It is an extreme risk having you here. A girl with no powers, but yet has complete control over all of us here. And then there is the issue of how you found us and how you know all about each of my students and myself." "I'm a girl of many talents." I simply state. "It appears so, but to the matter at hand if the wrong person were to get their hands on your technology," He points at my wrists, "We could be looking at a catastrophic event for mutants all over the world." Somehow I feel like he is talking to himself more then he is to me. I watch as his eyes begin to wander into the ripples of his tea; strangely his stern look reminds me of my own father- well Dominic to me now. I swallow hard, trying to deal with the situation step by step without melting into a pool of tears. I bring the cup to my lips in the hope the scorching water will shock my composure back into place.

Charles Xavier's eyes flick to mine, "But if you were to stay here...." I choke slightly on my tea, "I beg your pardon?" "Hear me out." He offers. "If you stay here in my school perhaps we can both achieve what we desire. I have a student here by the name of Forge, he may be able to put a dent into those bracelets of yours." "I hope you mean figuratively, I have to admit chopping my hands off are at the end of my list of attempts." I sarcastically laugh. He joins me in a laugh, "I must request that you limit your time around the students, at least when they are in training sessions." "Of course. Funny, I have a request of my own." "Oh?" "I have a... business, all handled online. As long as I have access to it from here I will comply with your rules and stay locked up here. As long as you do all you can to get these damn things off me, of course."

He ponders for a moment.

"Alright Miss, Ashbourne." he sticks out his hand for mine, "You've got a deal, welcome to the X-men."

"Woah, let's not get ahead of ourselves, I didn't even bring a resume."

He chuckles lightly and rests back in his wheelchair, "But I must ask, what is this business of yours? I must know if my students will be safe."

"I completely understand your caution and if you must know I am a hacker. I work within channels, gathering information; a keeper of secrets if you will. "

"Earlier... you said you're 16?"

"And you're the most powerful mutant of all?" I chuckle before continuing, "I have a Ph.D. in programming; my age is simply a means of a host. Point is, what I do is dangerous, but I am very careful in how I handle my network and will ensure that your students will not suffer the consequences of my business."

Xavier nods and begins to wheel away, signaling me to follow. We begin to walk into the foyer and towards the elevator, "You'll be able to set up in the commutations room down in the second sub-basement."

We step into the elevator and I feel my arm pulled gently as he examines the metal, "it is extraordinary."

"It is a means to an end," I state and walk out as soon as the doors open again.

Once down in the basement, Xavier guides me through the silver halls with doors lined with Xs. I felt an urge to discover every room, but withstood the temptation as we are greeted by a young man dressed in a sweater vest and slacks, "hey professor," He stares at me with bubbly eyes for a moment, "uh-."

"I hope you don't mind, Forge, but Violet will be setting up her station down here with you."

"Wait, what? I- hi- no offense, but this place is cramped enough as it is," he protests, trying to get in front of the professor as he wheels in front of a large circled projector in the center of the room. Behind are several monitors, a walkway with a railing and an empty room just to the left of it. "Professor, I just got these monitors installed and ready so-"

"So I will make good use of them." I smile.

Forge turns to me, annoyed that I finished his sentence without his consent. "Who the heck are you?" he asks sarcastically, easily showing he didn't actually care.

Before I am able to introduce myself Xavier wheels next to him, "This is Violet Ashbourne, she will be working with us as we help her with a personal dilemma."

"Oh, what are your powers?" The way Forge's domineer changed as he asked that question irritated me as if I had to be a mutant and nothing else. "Knowledge." I simply say as I swallow my pride.

"So, like, you're super smart?"

I roll my eyes and walk up the small stairway up to the monitors. "This will do nicely professor." He nods, "Perfect, you may take the room to your left and Forge will temporarily bunk with one of our other X-Men."

"Do I not get a say in this?" Forge stares at me.  I couldn't tell if he was angry or shy. I lean over the railing, the blue, transparent light of the circle projector highlighting my face, "I will be as quiet as I wish you were, do not worry."

"Huh, that's comforting, I think."

Xavier spoke up, "The others will be here soon-"

"I'm not an X-Man, introducing me to them will not be necessary," I state plainly, looking back at the monitors.

"We do not know how long you will be here and I would rather them be aware of a power neutralizing girl in our basement. Plus, you said you would abide by my rules."

I sigh, remembering what I had said,"Yes, the boys especially, I assume, will be the most interested."

Xavier chuckled as he noticed Forge staring at me with goo-goo eyes. "Ehem."

"W-what?" Forge asks hazily.

"Catch him up on your problem, will you? I must contact a friend."

"Is it Logan?" I ask hoping for a reaction.

As he wheels out of the room, he stops in the doorframe, "you outta be a telepath."

I grin and look back at Forge who is still stuck between annoyance and boyish hormones. "So, you're not a mutant?"

I sigh and begin to explain in a quick, simplified matter, "A bad man kidnaped me and attached these metal bands to my skin. These bands neutralize mutant powers with a kind of interference, I do not understand the complete technology considering I was in pain for the entire process. Point being: I need you to get them off."

"Why did he do that to you?"

I thought for a moment, "That will remain my business."

"Oh, uh okay. Let me just finish some stuff and I will take a look."

I agreed and went to the monitors to pull up my mobile access to Sanctuary. I immediately see a message from Nisha, 'Moriarty has gone underground, we can't find much of his whereabouts.'

I reply harshly, 'I want him found at any costs I don't care how many of his men you need to kill.'

I lock my messages, not caring whether or not she had answered.

I need to find him before he can find me.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The information running across my monitors prove extremely interesting. I hear Forge's muttering as he tinkers on the other side of the room, next to the door, on his workbench, cramped between the boxes of my things. I glance behind me to see his back to me, hunched over. I stare at his arm that switched from one form to the next as he constantly blew his shoulder-length hair to the side. I watch the brief video of him appearing from a room in Bayville high, accompanied by a blue figure. I tap on my keyboard to the next X-Men and find Katherine- Kitty- Pride, Jean Grey, Scott Summers, Evan Daniels, Anna Marie (goes by rogue, I'll have to remember that) and Kurt Wagner-

"Will all X-Men please meet me in my office." Professor Xavier's voice blasts through the speakers of the mansion, interrupting Forge and I. The door opens and closes as Forge walks out, but I scramble to take the opportunity of privacy and call Nisha and Bronco.

I use my free hand to sneak a small bug into the mansion's system, locking the door at my will to ensure no one interrupts me.

"Boss, what's going on we were waiting for your call." Nisha says as Bronco tries to squeeze into the frame.

"Looks like I will be bunking with the X-Men for a while. In the meantime follow my experimental instructions and send me the information on how our newest citizens are adjusting."

"Are you sure being in a house full of mutants is a good idea, especially because of your situation?"

"I have a plan."

"Don't you always?" Nisha smiles, siding with me. Bronco steps toward the camera, "The subjects responded well to the training and setting of the city so far. To be honest I think they are just glad to have warm sheets and good food."

"Glad to hear it. Sanctuary is to be a place for the people, not tyrants, make sure you use our funds wisely and feed as many mouths as you can."

"I have to ask- how are you raising all this money, boss?"

"Information is as valuable as a life and there are those who offer their souls for it."

Nisha speaks up, " Be careful, boss, you have enough enemies at the moment."

Before I am able to answer Bronco sighs, "Speaking of offering up your soul- how is the search for the Admiral?"

I frown, "Unfortunately, I've had to put it on hold. The information I acquired from the commander is enough to keep our heads above water for now. We will continue the search once the matter with Moriarty are dealt with and I can return home." They look at each other with concern as I finish my sentence as if hiding something. "The radio, is it safe?" Bronco asks.

I fiddle with the chain of my necklace, "Completely."

"And what of your father? You think he will let you back into Purgatory after what happened?"

I hear the door behind me beep, "Huh? Did she lock the door?- Professor!" I hear Forge whine after he attempted to open the door.

I turn back to Nisha and Bronco, "I have to go, my lock isn't going to hold for long. Contact me through my computers, not via cell phone. Nisha I want Moriarty found and tabs on my father. Bronco, I want Sanctuary filled with new subjects."

"She locked the door." I hear Forge whine again.

"Boss, don't you think one of us should be there-" I cut Bronco off and shut down the call as soon as I hear the door unlock and slide open. I turn to see the professor followed by a group of teenagers, "Something wrong with the door?" he asks sarcastically. I make my way around the ramp and step in front of all of them.

"Must have gotten stuck," I answered coyly. The professor smirks and I look at the X-Men, mostly at the fuzzy faces of the boys. "Nice." Evan simply whispers to the blue-haired boy- the only one I didn't recognize, but my, was he handsome. A red-headed girl steps in front of the others, "Nice to meet you I'm-"

"Jean Grey." I finish rudely, leaving her in shock. "Do we know each other?-"

I begin to point at each of them, obviously bored, "Scott, Kitty, Evan, Rogue-" I stop as they all stare at me, "Forgive me, I just hate introductions."

I glance at the unknown boy, "But I must admit, I do not know your name." My voice is more flirty then intended. He just stared at me, slack-jawed until Scott elbowed him, "Ah! Ja, My name is Wagner- Kurt. Vell Kurt is my first name."

As he rambles my eyes widen and I glance back at my monitors, "You can change your form?"

He seems to get a bit fidgety and uncomfortably embarrassed, "You know how I look?" He said it so quietly that I could hear my heart break from how self-conscious he sounded.

"Only from what I've seen in cameras."

"Cameras?" Kitty perked up.

"I can gain entrance into a lot of city cameras, even personal ones if I want."

"No way!" Evan smiled, moving Kurt to the side a bit.

A long sigh comes from the professor as he reels in their attention, "This is Violet Ashbourne."

"How do you know who we are?" Scott asks as he towers over me. I smile, "Trust me, just assume I know everything."

"Okay, what is my power?" Kitty asks.

"You have the ability to phase through solid matter."

"Are you sure you're not just a telepath?" Jean asks.

Uncontrollably, I glare at her, "Some people have to work to gain information."

Jean is taken by my sudden hostility and Xavier quickly notices, changing the subject almost immediately, "Violet is a human, skilled in hacking and other talents."

I stand up straight, trying to look proud of my humanity. "Violet I was hoping to convince you to go to a summer camp with the students, perhaps bond a bit."

Xavier took me by surprise, "I'm sorry, come again? I told you I have no interest in being anyone's friend. The sooner you get these things off the sooner you can be rid of me."

He is silent and motions for Forge to come forward. He examines my wrists, "man these are wedged on here pretty good."

"I'd be disappointed if they weren't, considering all the pain I had to go through."

Forge holds out his hand, I didn't understand what he was doing. he looks at his arm and chuckles uncomfortable, "oh yeah, no powers."

"Makes you feel vulnerable, doesn't it?" Part of me regrets how I said that as soon as the others look a bit hurt.

The professor took the others back upstairs after seeing my reactions and Forge spent hours examining and writing notes. Soon after midnight, he had receded upstairs to sleep and left me alone.

I can't sleep, I can barely breathe easily without thinking of how much betrayal I had recently endured over a course of these past days.  The black Monitors are the only thing keeping me company. The more I keep analyzing it the more I feel like a knife is stabbing me in the stomach. Finally, I get up and make my way upstairs, trying to find the kitchen based on the blueprints I hacked a few hours ago. Soon after finding the kitchen I quietly rummage through the cupboards and find a kettle and bagged earl grey. Not my favorite, but under circumstances is doable.

I sit alone until the stove and microwave clocks read 1:43. Dozing off became easier the later it became until I got startled by a gust of wind and cloud of black dust, followed by an overpowering scent of brimstone. Kurt, the real Kurt, yawns lazily in front of me, unaware of my presence. Payback came quickly as I spoke, scaring him out of his fur. "So that's how you look, the cameras only show so much." His embarrassment bounces off the silence, "Violet, You're still up?"

I nod, looking into the murky water in my mug.

"Can't sleep?" his accent becomes sweeter. 

"There's a lot on my mind," I say, receding into my antisocial bubble.

It was so quiet after a few minutes I thought he had left until a cup was set down next to me. Kurt hopped onto the stool and swiveled a bit to adjust himself, "Zhen it is lucky you don't need beauty sleep."

I raised my brow and look at him, amused.

The fur around his cheeks turns a slight tint of pink as he sips his tea. "You know what would go good with this?" he gets up before I can guess and reaches into a cabinet, pulling out a package of untouched cookies. "I managed to hide them from Evan." he places them between our mugs as he returns to his stool. After a while I give in and take one, munching on it as I listen to Kurt swallowing his third one. "You know everything about me?" He asks.

"As much as the cameras can show. Creepy I'm sure." I admitted.

"Have you seen how I look?" he laughed self deprecatingly.

I really didn't know what to say, or how to lighten the moment, I've never spent so much time engaged in a conversation with someone my age.

So instead I said nothing.

"How did you become so powerful?"

My head snapped to him, "Trust me, I'm not even close, but one day I will be."

"I hope so."

"Why?"

He stares at the cookie in his three-fingered hand, "because humans are just as powerful as mutants."

My chest begins to heat up, amazement running up the thin hairs of my arms.

"Are you coming with us to camp tomorrow?" Kurt asks completely changing the subject.

"I don't think it is my place," I say truthfully.

"It might help you clear your head if you take a step back."

I thought for a moment.

He has a point.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning I can't believe what I am doing. With a duffle bag and fading nostalgia from last night, I am facing a grinning Xavier and a loading bus. "I am so glad you changed your mind about the camping trip."

"That makes one of us." I groan as my eyes meet Kurt who is helping to load the bus. Xavier, without turning smiles smugly, "Or two." he mutters, referring to Kurt. "I am just going on this trip because I need to clear my head. The moment I get back I expect Forge to be making progress."

"It is our top priority."

I stutter angrily, "yeah, in case you forgot."

Gripping my duffle bag I carefully hand it to Kurt who gently lays in with the other bags. I can't help but stare at how the maroon shirt complements his skin tone, not to mention his toned arms. While he is in his human form I feel less comfortable, like it isn't him from last night.

The moment the bus begins to leave the school grounds I am reminded of how much I missed from high school. I spent most of the time studying and learning, because of my family's low social status I had to ensure my financial aid and scholarships paid for my degrees. I never went on field trips or sat with a boy on a bus. That was, of course, before I found The 'Commander' and the radio.

The X-men are considerably accepting towards me and converse the entire time, well, all except for Jean.

(Chapter three will be posted on Monday, June 17,2019)

[cygnahime]

FFX Relivebloggening Part 3

Meanwhile, back in Kilika...

What was Dona intending by coming back to the Cloister? She was apparently looking for Yuna, and it's not like she knew Tidus wasn't an official guardian. Did she finally think of a comeback and actually have the guts we all wish we had to actually go back and say it? The Kilika Cloister of Trials is always the hardest for me. Every time, I forget a step or get one out of order. This time I forgot which type of sphere needed to go into the pedestal for the Destruction loot. Tidus, as usual, is the only one who finds the fayth creepy. Also, "willingly" may be a stretch - or an outright lie. It's not like there are release forms on file. They seem relatively chill with it now, but then again, they are also asking for help with dying. I'm not talking to Lulu as much as usual, because I want to keep my affection with her low. It's odd, coming off playing Tales of Symphonia where Colette gets a massive affection boost at the start, that it's so easy for the canonical romance to not be the person you get the optional dialogue with. At least for me, it's usually Lulu. (It's because she has so much interesting dialogue in the early game. I often go straight to her to chat, and up goes that affection value.) It's not that Tidus craves being the center of attention, exactly, but he's used to it, it's part of the world-as-he-knew-it, and seeing everyone focused on Yuna reminds him of how that's not the way anymore. I always save like crazy on this boat ride, because I will get the Jecht Shot. Tidus is learning to take the easy route of saying he's toxin-brained, but Yuna has never taken the easy route in her life and doesn't mean to start now. She's also...the only person in the world who actively says she believes in Tidus and his Zanarkand. (Also, flirting again. That's how people flirt, right? Say they'd like to see your home and stuff?) (Tidus definitely wants to flirt back, but unfortunately, well, "As if I had a place to show her.") It's possible to miss that conversation with Yuna entirely, or not go up the stairs to listen to Wakka and Lulu. I did the former last time I played, so I made sure to do it now. Lulu wants someone to complain with, but Wakka's too easygoing to get a good kvetch session going with. I don't entirely blame her; a lot is happening, and she's under a lot of stress what with Yuna's impending death and all. "Be discreet." Lulu, this is Wakka you're talking to. No, that's not fair, Wakka can be discreet...ish...sometimes. "Sin just takes everything away from us." And of course he's not just talking about their parents, but about Chappu, and Yuna, and everyone else they've lost or are expecting to lose. An NPC says "Sin's attacked Besaid so many times I lost count"; they've probably lost friends then too. And back to Jecht, as I flex my proto-QTE fingers. This is a straight-up memory, and he does not come off well, even though I think he's...trying, or upset that he doesn't know how to try. I think Jecht is the kind of father who thinks he must be doing okay because he's not hitting his kid the way he was hit. He doesn't realize that emotional damage also fucks people up. One reset later: meanwhile, Tidus has recognized more fully that the way he was treated was wrong, and his response is to avoid it in how he treats others. In contrast to Jecht saying no one else could do the Jecht Shot, Tidus says, "Anyone can do it if they try." Even though in blitzball, only Tidus can in fact ever learn the Jecht Shot. I checked. Yuna remembers a lot about Jecht for someone who was seven - but then, she was probably trying as hard as she could to remember the last time she would ever have with her father. All this time, and so few people have ever known that guarding a High Summoner is a death sentence. Yuna still assumes gossip would have told her if Jecht were dead - and Auron, even though neither of them have been seen in Spira since Braska died. Tidus feels like something bad's going to happen. Buddy, this is Spira. Something bad is always going to happen. Tidus is so happy to finally be in a place with a lot of people. He's a city boy at heart. I really love the announcers; they make the world feel so lived-in and "normal". I love patter like that. I mean, I also want to glare at them for badmouthing my Aurochs, but you know. Different parts of the brain like different things. Introducing: the Zombie Space Pope! And not one of your modern popes, either. One of your serious kingmaker popes. Although, I guess he's just fully king, since the maesters appear to be the holders of all temporal power in Spira as well. (Except for the Al Bhed.) Nothing will ever make Seymour's clothing make sense. Nothing. Somehow, Seymour could tell that Yuna's a summoner in the midst of the crowd. At least, he seemed to zero in on her very intently. Creep. When I was a kid, I thought he was creepy, but I didn't have a sense of the age difference. As a 30-year-old, someone who's around 27 professing interest in a 17-year-old is double creepy bad. I mean also he's planning to use her death to destroy the world, but. You know. There is only one Auron, Tidus. No one has double names in fiction. It's against the rules. The Psyches Tidus talks to definitely understand him, but pretending not to means they don't have to respond to people, especially if they're rude. Yuna is clearly angling to hold hands here, and Tidus just does not notice. "Hey what if you whistled for me like a taxicab?" "...Not what I had in mind but okay." (Of course they manage to make this heartrending later.) To Tidus, this is "a pretty big town"; to Yuna, this is a city, the second-largest in the world. Cultural context is everything. Yep, Tidus, you thought you were famous before. Back there, there were still plenty of people who didn't care about blitzball. Here, it's this or studying scriptures. Forever amused by how the building they walk into is clearly labeled, "Bar", while the building next door is labeled "Cafe". Maybe there's a reason you didn't find Auron there... I assume Yuna got "kidnapped" by someone overhearing her asking about Auron, saying they knew where he was, and leading her off. I assume she was too polite and didn't want to kill anyone, or she could definitely have Valefor'd them to smithereens. (Maybe a Silence Attack was involved. Does Silence cut off summoning?) Don't ask about blitzball physics. Or biology. Or...anything, really. Just destroy your opponents. Was claiming to be holding Yuna hostage for the game a cover to avoid admitting that they were really kidnapping the summoner for her own good? Seems weird. I have to assume the "Psyches" in this game are ringers relying on "all Al Bhed look alike", because there's no way the Aurochs got that many goals on Nimrook at level one without their best forward. Lulu just fucking. teleports onto the boat. She has no feet and therefore cannot jump. Among my favorite exchanges in this game: "I hope you hurt them." "A little." There's definitely something to be said about Yuna being mixed-race with the complicated way actual mixed-race people are treated in Japan (and the US, for that matter). Buttttt I am not the person to say it. I'll just gently whisper that Yuna is matrilineally Space Jewish. One of Lulu's flaws that she has to get over during the game is that she's dealing with her grief over Chappu by comparing everyone, especially Wakka, to him. Maybe Chappu was a better blitzer than Wakka, or would have been fine after having what I assume are several cracked ribs from illegal tackles, but the fact that Lulu says it in no way means that it's true. #WakkaDefenseSquad2k19 That said, what Wakka has to get over is his racism. Which is obviously a much bigger issue. It seems almost benign here, since it was in fact Al Bhed who just attacked Yuna, but...it gets worse. I'm probably going to have to see this cutscene several times. But I will be victorious. I am, however, impressed that Lulu can catch Wakka when he collapses (Yuna plz heal his ribs) without going down with him. He's a big guy and most of it is muscle. And the inscription actually says, "To the memories of childhood - farewell," which is particularly touching and, of course, sad. If this were fencing, a decent referee would give Bickson a black card for unsportsmanlike conduct. (For those of you who are unaware, a black card means you have to leave not merely the event but the venue. Non-participants such as coaches can also be black-carded.) First try: kept the score tied 2-2 in the first half, got Tidus the requisite level so he can use Jecht Shot. Got off a Jecht Shot early in the second half and kept the Goers from scoring until Wakka came in. Aaaaand I got Wakka the ball at the four-minute mark for our fourth goal and victory! I AM SUPREME! I'm not saying I would have realized I was gayce a lot sooner if not for that FMV of Auron slipping his arm out of his coat, but I'm also not not saying that. So cool! Auron is not cool. This is an important fact to know about him. He seems cool, but internally he is panicking 50% of the time and sad and gay the other 50%. But I was a teenager and didn't know that competence is fake actually. Spiran ecology count: another dog, happily observing the Aurochs' farewells. Speaking of said farewells, they're kind of unnecessary as I will be getting Wakka back on my team the very second I have an opportunity. Tidus is...not entirely wrong about this all being Auron's fault. I mean, on a macro level it's not since he's just doing the best he can with this shitty situation, he didn't create the situation, but on a micro level he definitely did toss Tidus into Sin's magic traveling sphincter. Like, this was definitely in the plan, although it goes much better than he has any right to expect - he was probably expecting to pick up Tidus and Yuna separately, not find them already buddy-buddy. I really respect Auron for telling the protagonist some facts at least earlier than your average protag gets to know what their father has become. Which is a chronic protag problem. He's also gently patting Tidus on the back, which is about the limits of his emotional support skills. He tries, but... Auron, when he's done being a cagey bastard, correctly identifies Lulu as the One To Talk To if he wants to receive information. She has the map, the color-coded notes, and the safety pins stuck to the inside of her purse. She's the big sister I wish I could be. "I understand. I think." Tidus does not understand, because Yuna is deliberately not telling him the important part: she needs to practice smiling when she's sad about how she's going to die soon and people are so encouraging and happy to see her do it. And now, the scene that everyone loves to make fun of. Look, people, it's not bad. If the ha-ha-ha were supposed to sound like normal laughter, that would be comically bad, but it's not. It's a couple dumb trauma babies fake-laughing badly until they give themselves the giggles while their friends watch in confusion! "I want my journey...to be full of laughter." She may not have much time, but Yuna wants to pack in as many good things as she can, while she can.

[ukaia]

It’s all in your head.. Part 2

It's all in your head.. Part 2

Here’s the second part I promised. Again this was an idea that was suggested by an Anon, and posted to @septic-dr-schneep Full credit for the idea goes to both of them, and I hope that they don’t mind I took the thought and ran with it because of how much I liked the idea!

Anti kidnaps Jackieboy and tortures him with hallucinations over and over till he breaks him, then returns him home for the others to fix him up. But how can you get though to someone who doesn't even think you’re real?

I hope that you enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't understand Henrik.. why.. why isn't he coming around?" Marvin asked pacing the floor back and forth, his cape fluttering behind him as he ran fingers though his hair. Jackie had been back a week now, and not once, not even once had he responded to them. He remained a curled up lump, listless and staring blankly at the wall. Only saying they were not real when they came to him.

"I do not know! I have tried everything. I do not know what Anti did to him!" Schneeple said just as frustrated and tired looking as Marvin. They looked at each other, seeing the tired lines, the dark circles and then they sighed in unison. They were getting nowhere. How could they get though to him? Everything was a fail. Every time Marvin tried to sooth Jackie's mind with magic he felt like his bod was getting prickled with static shocks. Anti had done so much damage! What had he done to bring down Jackie the Hero like this?!?!

"If I just.. understood why he thought we were not real.. " he muttered pulling his mask off and rubbing his eyes tiredly.With the static wall he kept running up against, and the “you’re not real” Jackie kept muttering at them he had an idea of what had happened, but he couldn’t be sure.

"Let us get.. some rest. Perhaps if we get some sleep, we will think of something... something.... new.. to try " Henrik said. He looked at Jackie, still curled under the blanket refusing to make any response to them.

"y.. yeah.. Is Chase going to sit up with him tonight?" Marvin asked. Henrik nodded a bit. They had taken to sitting with him, talking to him, just trying to convince him they were real and he was home and safe. It was... as frustrating and heart wrenching as talking to Jack in his coma. Though speaking of, the blogger himself was coming though the doors. He had a small, forced smile, and a tray of some of Jackie's favorite foods on it.

"I thought I'd try to get him to eat something today " he said in a slightly shaking tone. This was so painful. Schneeple nodded and lay his hand on Chase's shoulder giving him a reassuring squeeze.

"Zat vould be good for him. IV's can provide only so much." He said to him. Marvin nodded slightly in agreement. Both left the room allowing Chase to walk over.

"Hey b.. bro " he said, his words stuttering slightly as he looked at Jackie's pale form.It was so... disconcerting to see the brightest member of their group a huddled unresponsive lump.

"I got some food I know you'll love. You just need ta sit up and eat with me OK? I brought plenty. Even suck in some of your favorite desert!" he said forcing the cheerful nature. He got no response outside of a small shudder and a hitch of Jackie's breath. Chase frowned and reached out rubbing his back

"It's.. it's ok bro. .I'm here" He said to Jackie.  He stared at him sadly. What had Anti done to him?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before he was released Anti chuckled as Jackie sobbed once again, the sounds much quieter and broken then before. Then again he'd just watched as Marvin had drown inside of a water tank. Anti was rather pleased with himself. He'd come up with so many fun ways for them to die! Little performances with Marvin. Acting as though they were at the circus and Marvin's poor little tricks failed each time. Henrik got to be operated on multiple times. It was always so satisfying to use that bone-saw of his to cut off limbs slowly. JJ, poor little Jameson Jackson.. he'd enjoyed using different colored acids to "bring some color" to the sepia boy. Even if he couldn't scream out loud, the sizzling of flesh had been more then enough for Jackie to suffer as JJ had writhed in pain. With Chase, oh that had been fun, he'd forced Jackie to watch as Anti possessed Chase and made him murder his own kids.. The agony in the scream then had been simply wonderful, and in stereo as Chase and Jackie had been in pain!  As for Robbie, well the little zombie he didn't use much.. well not to kill him anyway. He had him attack the others, ripping them limb from limb and tearing the flesh from their bones even as they begged Robbie to stop, to remember who they were, devouring them before his helpless little puppet. Even if they were all hallucinations, the screams were just so.... satisfying.

But it couldn't be all fun and games!! Jackie would become numb to the torture FAR too soon if he kept it as an endless cycle of death! He grinned as he leaned back against the cool cell wall, cleaning blood from under his nails after his latest "grounding" session with Jackie. Time to break him more, time to make even escape seem like something he'd never get. Anti straightened up, rolling his shoulders a bit and reached out grabbing Jackie's temples once more... and pushed.

Jackie screamed out as his nerves and body blazed with Anti's fiery static pulsing though him. Finally though Anti let go and he laughed, then sighed deeply.

"I̵ ̸t̴h̴i̷n̵k̴ ̴t̵h̸a̷t̴'̵s̴ ̷e̶n̴o̶u̷g̴h̴ ̶f̴o̵r̴ ̷n̶o̷w̶.̷ ̵N̶o̷ ̶n̴e̴e̷d̴ ̶t̷o̵ ̵b̸r̸e̸a̸k̵ ̸y̶o̴u̷ ̴a̷l̴l̸ ̶a̸t̸ ̴o̸n̷c̷e̴ ̸l̸i̴t̵t̸l̶e̸ ̷p̷u̴p̶p̴e̴t̷.̷ ̸I̵t̷'̷s̵ ̷s̷o̵ ̵m̸u̷c̴h̴ ̶m̷o̷r̴e̴ ̴s̶a̸t̵i̷s̷f̷y̶i̴n̴g̵ ̸w̶h̸e̴n̵ ̸t̶h̸e̷ ̷t̴o̷y̷s̶ ̶l̸a̶s̵t̷ ̶l̸o̵n̵g̶e̶r̶.̶" He headed for the exit of the cell, something Jackie never saw since it would let in light,it might give him some sort of idea where he was. So instead he simply glitched out like always. Jackie hung limply, catching his breath from the latest round. He had to.. had to hang on. The others would find him... Anti kept telling him how much fun it was killing them in his head. That meant they were not there.. they were.. ok.. nothing he saw was real! He just had to.. to hang on a bit more. His eyes drifted shut and he fell into a light doze, his body to wore out to stay awake.

The room shaking was what jerked him awake. The sound of an explosion and the chains holding him swayed, making him sway as well. He blinked in confusion as there was another explosion, and the room rocked again. Suddenly the door burst open and light filled the entire room making him cry out with pain as it pierced his eyes. Light that wasn't Anti's eyes or an illusion for the first time in... days.. weeks? He didn't know how long.

"FOUND HIM!!" A familiar voice shouted out. Jackie winced at the sound, not another illusion..

"I've got the keys! Come on Marvin can't keep Anti occupied forever!" another voice said. Two figures rushed in and warm hands quickly began to work at the shackles holding him in place

"Geeze, he worked you over didn't he Jackie?" the first voice spoke, and Jackie could finally focus.. It was.. Chase? Chase was there, looking a bit bloodied with a split lip and dust in his hair.

"Less talking more vorking!" the other voice spoke. The accent should have given him away immediately, but Jackie's mind simply wasn't keeping up. Henrik was on the other side, of him, and caught his arm as the shackle finally unlatched and he sagged against him. Chase took the keys and did the same to the other side, then knelt and worked on his legs. Another blast rocked the room and Chase looked around anxiously.

"I really hope Marvin's doing alright" he muttered. He stood up and slung Jackie's arm around his shoulders

"C'mon bro. lets get you out of here!" he said. Chase and Schneeple began to make their way out of the room. Each of them supporting Jackie's weight as he tried to comprehend what was going on.

"WOOAH!!" Chase Yelped shoving them both to the ground as a bolt of green blue magic flew over their heads and exploded covering them all in more dust and some debris.

"Watch it!!" He shouted. The Masked Magician ignored him as he darted after the glitching Anti.

"T̵h̶a̷t̴'̷s̶ ̸M̴Y̸ ̷T̸O̷Y̴!̶!̵ ̷" Anti Screamed seeing Henrik and Chase with Jackie. Anti glitched towards them blades materializing as he threw them. Only to have them bounce off a shield that Marvin created, protecting them from the blades.

"I'm your opponent!!" he snarled and dove at Anti firing more magic, forcing him to glitch back and away from the other three. Henrik and Chase didn't waste the opportunity and quickly began to run for the exit. Jackie tried to stumble along with them, hope was swelling in his chest. They'd found him! He knew they would find him!! A smile was on his cracked and chapped lips as he struggled to help move his battered body.

Finally they reached the outside. He could breath.. they had reached it!! A strangled scream came from his side as Chase faltered and fell, a couple of blades sticking out of his back. Jackie and Henrik looked back. Anti was grinning, his eyes glowing bright green as he chased after them. And then in the next moment he was directly in front of them, a backhand sent Henrik toppling over and Jackie dropped to the ground in front of him, no energy to fight back..

"D̸i̶d̴ ̴y̸o̸u̶ ̶t̶h̷i̷n̸k̶ ̶i̴t̵ ̴w̶o̸u̶l̷d̸ ̷b̷e̸ ̵t̸h̶a̴t̵ ̵e̴a̸s̸y̷?̴ ̶T̶h̶a̴t̸ ̸I̴ ̶w̸o̸u̸l̶d̵ ̵l̴e̵t̴ ̵y̷o̶u̴ ̵g̴o̸ ̶t̸h̷a̷t̶ ̴s̴i̶m̸p̷l̵y̶?" Anti laughed, hauling Jackie up by the tattered jumper....and the world began to glitch out around them. The next thing he knew... he was standing once more in the cell, breathless, eyes wide with confusion as he stared at Anti whose hands were on his face.

"T̴h̶a̸t̸ ̶w̶a̵s̴ ̵a̸ ̶d̸i̸s̵g̸u̵s̶t̸i̵n̶g̵ ̴d̷i̶s̴p̷l̵a̶y̴ ̸o̶f̶ ̵f̴a̴i̵t̴h̸ ̵t̶h̶e̸r̴e̶ ̶J̷a̴c̷k̴i̵e̸.̵ ̷I̷ ̷t̶h̷i̴n̷k̶ ̸y̴o̴u̷ ̶o̴v̵e̸r̵e̴s̷t̴i̸m̶a̷t̷e̷ ̸y̵o̷u̸r̸ ̴l̸i̵t̶t̶l̶e̷ ̴m̶a̴g̵i̵c̵i̸a̷n̵s̸ ̵a̷b̴i̵l̵i̵t̵i̸e̶s̴.̷ ̸" Anti said grinning more as he leaned close to Jackie's confused face. He let out along almost disappointed sigh at the hero, as though he'd expected him to grasp what had happened right away.

"I̸ ̶a̵l̷r̵e̸a̷d̴y̸ ̸t̷o̵l̸d̷ ̴y̷o̵u̵ ̸J̴a̷c̶k̴i̴e̷b̷o̴y̴.̶.̴.̸.̵ ̷i̶t̶'̵s̵ ̷a̴l̷l̶ ̸i̵n̶ ̶y̶o̷u̴r̴ ̴h̸e̶a̴d̵.̶ ̶N̷o̷n̶e̵ ̵o̷f̵ ̸i̴t̶ ̷i̷s̶ ̵r̴e̴a̵l̶.̴ ̶I̷'̸m̸ ̵n̵e̴v̵e̸r̶ ̷g̵o̴i̵n̵g̶ ̶t̷o̵ ̸l̶e̸t̴ ̸y̵o̷u̷ ̵g̸o̶,̴ ̵a̸n̵d̵ ̸y̷o̴u̸'̸r̶e̵ ̷n̶e̸v̷e̸r̵ ̶g̶o̵i̴n̴g̸ ̸t̴o̶ ̷e̴s̶c̷a̸p̶e̶.̵ ̷Y̴o̴u̵'̴r̵e̷ ̶m̴y̵ ̵p̵u̵p̵p̸e̸t̸.̵.̷.̵ ̵f̵o̶r̴e̴v̶e̷r̵.̸.̶ ̵"He said almost gently to Jackie. Ahhh that was the look he wanted as Jackie's eyes widened and the realization of what happened dawned on him. They hadn't found him, he hadn't gotten away... it had been.. just.. just another hallucination caused by Anti. The Glitch smirked a bit seeing some of the hope and light fade from Jackie's eyes. He was getting there, slowly, bit by bit, he was chipping away at the very foundation of the Hero. He'd have fun watching his little puppets try to untangle the knots and sew up the bits once he was done with Jackie.

And so it went on.... and on.. Sometimes Jackie was forced to just watch death after death. Other times he was "rescued" by someone. Marvin slipping in, silent and using his magic to destroy the links holding Jackie in place, always stopped by Anti. There were even times Anti told him he was bored of him and glitched him away to the house, dumping him on the lawn, laughing as he watched the others run to him.... but it always ended up the same. Always back in the cell with Anti right before him, his hands on his face, the smug grin on his lips as he asked if he'd enjoyed his little taste of freedom.

Finally sweet Chase was coming in, looking frightened, but determined as he stepped up, keys carefully unlocking the chains around his wrists. He noticed Chases hand's shaking, the pale parlor of his skin.. the hitched breathing as he tried to keep calm.

"I got you I got you bro" he said.. Jackie couldn't take it anymore... he knew... he knew now this was false. Anti just messing with his head again...and Jackie had spoken.

"You're not.... real... " he whispered, parched lips hardly able to form the words. Chase looked shocked at him.  

"No I am.. I'm real Bro.. we're going to get you out of here! Marvin's just outside!" he said to him sounding anxious as he undid the other shackle. He could get him out of there!

"not real... go.. just.. just.. go away.. " he whispered, hot tears falling down his face. The image glitched and froze. Chases hurt betrayed face was there for a long lingering moment...and then it was Anti once more before him. A satisfied grin playing over his lips, that was what he'd been waiting for..

"G̶i̸v̸i̶n̴g̴ ̵u̵p̸ ̷a̵l̶r̵e̸a̸d̴y̴ ̵H̷e̶r̸o̸?" he asked in a sweet voice. He wouldn't let up yet, not just yet. He still had some fun little shows to put on, and he needed to make sure he ground out every little speck of hope left in the hero. But, it seemed he'd reached the end of this little game. Anti laughed in delight, making Jackie flinch and cringe in on himself as much as he could while the laughter echoed in the black room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A few hours sleep and Marvin was up once more, looking over his magic tomes. Something.. anything he could find to wipe away the influence of Anti in Jackie's mind. Something to convince him they were real. If only he could break that barrier, he was sure SURE that he could get though to him.

Chase had no luck in getting Jackie to eat, or respond with anything besides not real and go away. The same has he'd done every day since he'd been returned. He looked up as Marvin came back in, a determined, if not worried look on his face. He had one idea, just one, but it was rather risky. It could send Jackie over the edge he was on, or it could pull him back. But it was the only idea he had left.

"Chase.. .stand back " he said to him quietly. Chase frowned, but stood up moving the chair and small table from the bed. He squared his shoulders taking a deep breath. He forced the worry from his face and marched over to Jackie, then yanked him up off the bed, holding him by the hospital gown. Jackie blinked at him, but didn't resist, or even try to fight back. He just... stared at him

"Get your god damned head out of your ass and WAKE UP!!" He shouted at Jackie.. then slapped him as hard as he could, sending a spell into his body. Something of a.. healing spell, filled with as much positive emotion as Marvin had been able to gather and multiply in a very short amount of time. It seemed rather counter intuitive to be so rough while trying to push such emotions, but hopefully the jarring shock between the two would be enough, just enough to light a spark back in Jackie's eyes,break though that static wall that Anti had built up around everything that was Jackie...  and Marvin was desperate to see that life again. Chase's shocked cry was ignored as Marvin held Jackie in place, not letting him fall to the floor, though he'd hit him hard enough to do that. He could already see the red imprint marked on Jackie's pale skin. That was going to bruise... had he.. over done it a bit? Probably..

But something happened he didn't expect. Jackie's hand slowly twitched.. and then lifted up.. touching the side of his face. He blinked once... twice... and then looked at Marvin... actually looked  at him.

"y.. you.. you hit.. me?" he said, words faltering, his voice horse with strain and laced with confusion. Marvin nodded, his chest was swelling, his heart fluttering. Had it worked? This was something different!

"Because you're being an ass and scaring the hell out of all of us and we need you back" he said to him. His voice started out firm and commanding almost harsh, but was breaking by the end, the tears in his eyes burned and prickled as he struggled to keep his composure.

"We need you Jackie..l.... I need.. you.. come back to us.. Please... " he whispered as he leaned his head forward and touched Jackie's forehead to his. His one hand still held the hospital gown, the other reached up and grasped at the back of Jackie's neck, fingers pulling him tighter.. please.. please let this have worked. Let it have gotten though to him.

"You have to believe me... you're home... we're real.. you are safe now" he whispered, the tears fell over and dripped off the mask. There was a long... long silence, fear welled up in Marvin. It had failed, he’d pushed him in the wrong direction, he had cut off any chance that they could save him!! And then Jackie's breath hitched. He reached out and grabbed at Marvin, grasping at his arm in the way one drowning in the ocean might grasp a life savor.

"I'.. i'm home?" Jackie asked. His voice weak.. horse.. desperate to believe what was being told to him. Not once, not once in all of the hallucinations that Anti had forced upon him had any of his family struck him. It felt like a desperate measure, it felt.. it felt.. real.

"You won't fade.. Anti's not going to be standing in front of me again. You're real?" he asked as he grasped Marvin's arm, squeezing, hard enough to leave bruises, but Marvin didn't care. He pulled his head back staring hard in Jackie's eyes

"You. Are. Home." He said giving Jacke's neck a light squeeze with every word. Jackie stared at him more and then drew in a shuddering breath... and broke down. He pulled Marvin to himself and sobbed against his shoulder, his entire body wracked with the cries of relief. Chase stood stunned at the entire display... and then bolted from the room hollering for Henrik. Now that Jackie was responding, he wanted the doctor there as well.

It would take a bit of time for the first initial shock of Jackie waking up and responding to finally were off, but he had to hug and touch each one of them, he had to know they were all there, none of them were Anti, not in their actions or words or touch. He had to be assured several times they were real, that they were his family, that he was home. Finally he was curled up, his hand gripping Marvin's hand in his sleep as he had fallen into an exhausted rest. Marvin let out a breath.  

"Zat.. vas a dangerous gamble" Henrik said as he brought a mug of hot coffee over to Marvin and offered it. He nodded weakly, exhausted as well, but took the hot drink gratefully and took a sip, then rest the cup on his knee.

'I know Henrik.. but.. it was the last thing I could think of. I was... desperate to bring him back. " he muttered. Henrik nodded slightly sitting down as well and sipping is own cup of coffee.  They lingered in silence for a moment, both just feeling the relief of having Jackie awake again. It wasn't going to be easy, but now that Jackie was at least responding to them they could start to work though the damage Anti had done.

"I'm going to kill that glitch " Marvin muttered as Jackie made a distressed sound and moved in his sleep. Marvin soothed his hair back gently speaking soft words of encouragement, of assurance till finally Jackie stilled once more.

"I am going to kill him. " he snarled under his breath his magic flaring up for a moment and then dying down. Henrik simply nodded. He couldn't bring himself to argue against the ire of the magician. But for now, they would focus on Jackie, mend his wounds and help him recover. That was what was most important.

[audiovizualna]

This particular illustration belongs somewhere between pt. 3 and 4 of CC Christmas fic, but It’s my favourite. You’ll find a lot of team dynamic in this chapter and some nice memories. As always massive ‘thank you’ for @flabbergabst  for correcting my mistakes.

Cheers, lads. Enjoy :*

(I own nothing)

~

“You’re Not Him”

Part 1: “For Him”

Part 2: “About Him”

Part 3: ”From Him”

When  the Captain finally came back to Waverider, Nate was in the middle of singing along ”God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman”—the very same Stein had been singing last Christmas. Considering how horrible this version was, she stormed off to her quaters faster than intended. Sara had to admit though, the atmosphere on the ship improved significantly. The plan was working.

Leo had no intention of following her. She was upset enough after he had her sussed a few moments ago; so instead,  he also went straight inside and joined Amaya and Jax in the kitchen for dinner preparations.

Even with the lack of cooking possibilities on Earth-X, he managed not to burn the yam casserole with marshmallows. He also did a pretty good job with herbal mashed potatoes, but that was all he could achieve in this field. However, an attempt to make spiced mulled wine turned out to be disaster, so he imperceptibly retreated. Only God knows how Snart missed the laughter and learning simple things from his own mistakes. Eventually, another members of the Legends came to help too. Leo figured that he is not needed in the already too crowdy space.

 Leo asked Gideon where the captain is. The AI reported that Sara was currently in the training room, punching hell out of leather board. Leonard wanted to approach her again but he had one more person to talk to before dinner.

So there he stood, in front of Mick’s door, waiting. The doors opened at the request and Leo walked into the messy room without invitation. Not like he needed any.

”Before you try to kick me out, let me clarify one thing,” Leo started. ”You, or more like your version from Earth-X, was my best friend. Him and I have a strong connection in every world we exist. So why don’t you just talk to me? It will cost you nothing. But then again, I know you’re afraid.”

”I’m afraid of nothing! You wanna know why?” Rory almost growled. ”Because I have nothing else to loose, Snart!”

Leo waited for the man to calm down. Mick picked up a bottle of beer lying around and said in a way less gruff than a few seconds ago. ”There was only one Leonard for me. My true partner who had to play the hero and die, leaving me with those bunch of idiots.”

”Then why did you stay?” Leo asked, turning his head towards the arsonist and patiently waiting for the answer.

Mick loudly sighed. ”Exactly because of the same man who blew himself up. I knew he would stay if I had been the one dead in that damnxplosion. Beside, someone has to take care of those kids now that grandpa professor is gone.”

That comment caused small laughter deep inside Snart’s stomach, but he managed to find some snarky answer.

”I assume you’re not exactly the most suitable role model for any of them. But I’m no different, Mick. I never wanted to be a role model, but at least I try. The awful things we went through  made us the people that we are now and you, my friend, as terrible as it may sound, are becoming a better man every day. And those ‘idiots’ are one of the reasons behind that.”

Heatwave started to open his mouth in response, but Citizen Cold already stood up and began leaving the room with one last sentence.

”And yes, I know what you’re going to say. ‘Stop calling me your friend!’,” Leo drawled. ”Noted, Mick, once and for all. But that doesn’t mean you’re not my greatest companion.”

That’s how he left, asking Gideon to close the door to Mick’s room.

While everybody was busy preparing for dinner, Leo decided to roam around the ship, looking for places he hasn’t discovered yet. He could not understand though, why Sara felt emotional while having their previous conversation. The former assassin knew his presence in the ship is only temporary and sooner or later, he’s going to go back to Ray Terrill - love of his life.

On the other end of the ship was Sara, taking a cold shower after her training session. As the cold water flow through her body, one thing was bothering her. Why did Leo decide to stay in this Earth if everything he cared about was on another Earth?

As worried as she was, Sara Lance had to know the answer to that question and fast. Otherwise, her head might explode. She got dressed and despite her state, she entered the galley to see everybody patiently waiting for her.

”Ah! Finally our boss showed up! Now, let’s eat,” Mick proposed enthusiastically and grabbed closest dish - cranberry-stuffed duck.

”Shall I do the honours again?” Sara asked the group with one raised eyebrow, holding a large carving knife in her hand.

”Yup. As I remember correctly, last year Martin asked you to carve the poultry. Turkey is all yours, Captain,” Ray answered, already waiting with plates next to Sara.

The heroes almost forgot how good it was to sit together, laugh, and bring back some memories of their past days, both as the team and as individuals.

The original Legends answered every question Zari and Leo had about the photos displayed around the ship. Most of them were pretty funny stories like the one about kidnapping their younger selves, or meeting the Justice Society of America and the big misunderstanding between the two teams.

”Jax, do you remember when Marty rescued you from time pirates? He loved every minute of being… how had we called him?” Raymond asked.

Jax chuckled at the memory. ”A Space Ranger! Oh, yeah. Grey was a total badass those days.”

Both men laughed out loud, then looked at Mick carefully, remembering other events from that night.

”You’re right boys. That would have been cool if I had not almost froze to death in our engine room and Rory didn’t burn my arm,” Sara mentioned casually with a smirk.

”Oh, come on Birdie! Cut me some slack. That’s the part none of us want to remember,” Mick reminded the captain. ”Screwing things up is our speciality and it’ll never change. Less talking, more drinking.”

”What about the toast? Sara, that’s your call,” Jax suggested eloquently with a raised glass of wine on hand.

Sara was lost in her thoughts after Jefferson mentioned the time pirates. She was currently looking at the photo of her Leonard after he left Mick in the middle of nowhere. The said picture is both beautiful and sad. She realize that she’s never seen it before. Jax, however, knew when it was taken. Jax remembered perfectly this moment and that’s when he snapped the Canary out of her thoughts, gently putting hand on her shoulder and giving a her small smile.

She smiled back at the young man and stood up.

”Well, it seems like routine to me now, so I can’t retreat now,” Sara said, rolling her blue eyes and continued on with the toast.

”First of all, I want to thank Jax, Ray and… Leo, for the whole idea of bringing us together again. I had my doubts if this would be helpful at all after what happened last month, but I see now that the plan worked.”

She caught herself staring at Leo’s eyes, which were focused on her through the whole timethey’ve spent at the table. Even if she wanted to drown in steel blue irises, Sara carried on.

”We all had our precious time to think, to silently save the timeline, making it worse first obviously, but I’m glad we’re enjoying each other’s company once again. I assume that what happened made us stronger than ever, even if not all of us can fell it now.” She paused for a second, catching Jax’s stare.

”Everything is temporary, guys, and it’s up to us to show our own demons that we want to save ourselves. It’s up to us how much light we want to give to one another. So I make this toast for everyone who isn’t scared to share with us their best and their worst. To the people who made us better. Through darkness and light.”

”Through darkness and light!” All the voices answered in sync, emptying the glasses.

After dinner, the Legends moved to the main hall for another portion of exchanging stories saved on photo-chain. The whole team knew that this is a kind of bittersweet Christmas that will be the most memorable of them all.

Bottles of eggnog were opened and quickly consumed. Stories of King Arthur, evil demigods, brainwashed friends or World War I were shared and genuine laughter filled the air, mixed with the ginger scent of candles and the dim light of christmas lights.

One by one, the team members began to disappear in their private rooms, until only Sara, Leo, and Jax remained in the spacious hall.

”Thanks, both of you. I mean it. You did something I should have done many weeks ago, but I’ve never found courage to do so,” Sara softly said with a small smile, looking at the men in front of her.

”Hey Sara, like you said: ‘We all needed time,’” Jax replied. ”Besides, I bet Grey would be proud. The team took the opportunity to recover without fights and arguments. Aaaaaand he would also be pissed I’m still not in bed, so goodnight and…of course, you’re welcome, Captain,” Jax ended, looking at his watch and saluting both of them goodbye before he headed back to the quarters.

”I see that Stein is still the voice of reason here,” Sara exclaimed after her young friend turned back.

Jax smiled and looked back at the Captain.

”Yeah. I got it from him. Someone has to be the voice of reason in this crazy ship.”

If he got a glare from Sara, Jefferson never had a chance to see it.

[circle-cypher]

Part 01 | Part 02 | Part 03 Word Count: 1503 Request: Texts where Jimin is cheating on you and the other girl messages you (ft. Park Chaeyoung of BLACKPINK).

∇∆∇∆∇∆∇∆∇∆∇∆∇∆∇∆∇∆∇∆∇∆∇

It had been a few days since Chaeyoung and I had met, and as much emotional pain I’ve been in these past few days, Chaeyoung made it so much better. I could vent about Jimin for hours and she’d know exactly what I was talking about. There was always a hint of ache, knowing that Jimin had cheated on me with her, but I always managed to step back and remind myself that Chaeyoung was as much of a victim of Jimin’s ways as I was.

I managed to convince Jimin to come over at around 5:00 pm that afternoon, under the impression that we’d be watching movies the whole night. Chaeyoung had come over a half hour earlier, and we waited patiently for Jimin to arrive.

“I still can’t believe this is happening,” Chaeyoung chuckled as she brought a small cup of tea to her lips, sipping the drink, “can you imagine his face?” Her laugh bounced off the walls, barren after I took down all the pictures of Jimin and I. The pictures sat in one of the three shipping boxes beside the door along with the rest of Jimin’s things.

“I hope he’s so humiliated that he doesn’t even speak,” I said, my throat still a bit raw from the intense crying session I’ve went through these past few days. I shook my head at the thought of his voice. “I don’t think I could bare to hear his voice right now.”

“Yeah,“ Chaeyoung sighed. There was a moment of echoed silence; Chaeyoung clasped her hands together after she set down her mug, he manicured nails clicking together.

Chaeyoung was a beautiful woman. Her face was slim and dainty with pouty lips and almond-shaped eyes. Her hair was dyed a rusty orange, and her body was nothing but double-take worthy. It truly made me wonder if it was my appearance that drove Jimin away. Though I was generally satisfied with both my body and face, I couldn’t help but feel sub-par compared to Chaeyoung.

I hadn’t realized how dangerous this was until Chaeyoung was at my doorstep, either. It occurred to me once the doorbell rang that "Chaeyoung” could be a fake name, and I was about to be kidnapped or attacked. However, a look through the peep hole eased my worried ever-so-slightly, and I was pleased to realize that my worries were for nothing.

It had to have been over a minute of pure silence when Chaeyoung spoke up. Her voice was small, like she was afraid of what I’d say back to her. “I’m sorry.” I could barely hear her words. “I can’t imagine how much pain you’re going through.”

I sighed. These past few days had been torturous. My memory of them was reduced to only a few vague memories, as if my mind was deliberately trying to erase the pain I’d gone through. What i did remember, however, were horrendous. I recalled a mixture of crying and throwing Jimin’s things across the room as I attempted to pack his things. I remembered staying up till early morning and waking up in the late afternoon, all with thoughts consumed by Jimin and another girl. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. Soon, it became when we would confront Jimin, not if. Just as I went to answer Chaeyoung, my phone chimed.

Jimin | 5:09 The doors locked let me in :-(

“Game time,” I said, glancing at Chaeyoung. She nodded, and I pushed myself off the couch to answer the door. I took a deep breath on the way, attempting to calm my restless nerves. Before I could give myself the chance to back out, I swung the door open.

“Hey, baby,” Jimin said, tugging intensely at my heartstrings with a gentle smile on his face. He looked stunning- he was wearing a loose button up and tight black jeans. He looked as if he was genuinely happy to see me, which was something I couldn’t decide was true or not. Jimin wrapped his arms around me, planting a chaste kiss against my cheek before taking off his shoes and making his way to the living room, where Chaeyoung waited patiently.

I followed him after I shut my front door, a painful smile growing on my face as Jimin took the last few steps to the living room.

“I was thinking we could watch The-” Jilin cut himself off when he took a look into the living room, only making it a few steps before stopping mid-step. He was silent for a long moment, which I took to catch up to him. I placed a hand on his back, catching his attention, and giving him a devilish smile.

“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked, batting my eyes in an obvious attempt to act innocent. “I thought my new friend could join us for tonight.” I took a moment to look at Chaeyoung as she stood from the sofa, “Chaeyoung, you know Jimin, don’t you?”

“I do,” she said standing up confidently in front of Jimin with a smile that could only be described as gleefully evil, “I know him very well.” I waltzed my way to her side, crossing my arms as I stared him dead in the eye. The look on his face made me want to burst our laughing. His face was contorted into one of exaggerated fear, his eyebrows knitted together and his mouth gaped. He didn’t say anything, and I took this as an opportunity to begin the monologue I’d been working on from the past few days.

“How long did you think you could get away with this, Jimin? How long would this have gone on if I hadn’t found out?” I asked. Jimin refused to meet my gaze. “Did you ever plan on telling me? Or Chaeyoung? What was your plan, exactly?”

“Do you think it’s okay go play women like a pack of cards?” Chaeyoung chimed in, rage lacing her every word, “like we’re just some quest to conquer? You’re pathetic.”

Jimin clasped his hands together and gazed at his shoes, which only made me more upset. “And you’re not even going to own up to your actions?” I fumed on, talking with my hands dramatically, “No ’ I’m sorry’ no ‘it’ll never happen again’? Or do you not regret it?”

“Of course I do!” Jimin’s voice sounded hoarse, “I regret every moment of it, I swear!”

“Then why did this go on for four months?” I snapped back at him, “You’re a filthy liar, Park Jimin.” He was clearly affected by the comment, and he acted as if the comment was a blow to the heart. His eyes finally reached mine, filled with tears and pleading for mercy. It took a tremendous amount of mental strength to glare back at him.

“Get out of my house, Jimin.” I said, venom dripping from my every syllable. Jimin’s eyes widened, as if he couldn’t believe I had actually told him to leave.

“Wait, baby, I-” Jimin desperately tried to defend himself, but he was quickly cut off by both Chaeyoung and I.

“Out!“ We yelled in nearly perfect unison, starling Jimin at out volume. I continued, marching up to him.

"I never want to see you again, hear your voice, or look at your face.” I poked his chest roughly, and he took at step back. Despite being taller than me, I was clearly intimidating him. “You’re repulsive- a filthy mutt who can’t control himself. Now one more time, get the fuck out of my house.” I glared at Jimin intensely, watching his face contort into unashamed pain as he glanced from me to Chaeyoung, who stood only a few paces behind me. He took one last look at me, and ducked away, briskly making his way to the door. He slipped out as soon as the door was open wide enough, not bothering a look back.

I waited, not breathing until I could hear Jimin’s car pull away. As the engines roar faded, I could feel the tears brimming in my eyes. Without the wall of anger, my emotions flooded my senses. An overwhelming sense of sadness came over me, and my feet gave out from under me. Chaeyoung caught me, pulling me up and helping me to the couch as I let out an ugly sob.

“It’s okay, Y/N, it’s over now..” Chaeyoung said, her hands running through my hair as she cradled my head against her chest. Chaeyoung’s voice cracked as she spoke, and I knew she was hurting too. I hugged her tightly, and Chaeyoung let out a quiet sob as she let her emotions overtake her as well

And we cried. We cried and yelled and reminisced for hours, hoping that some day soon we’d be over this- over Jimin, over these emotions, over this day. We hoped for a day that we could be truly happy once more. Until then, we had each other. And that was enough.