#Rapture TAkeo

[drabblesofrapture]

I just want to talk (Superhero AU)

The manager of the place - Cindy, Selena was sure of it, she would never forget the managers that made her life hell - hesitated for a moment. 

Selena cocked back the hammer of the gun, holding up towards the woman’s face. “C’mon, Cindy, it’s gotta look real, here!” she chided, her stance slack as she held a hand out. “Juuuust long enough to get on the news.”

A splash behind her drew her attention. A civilian was getting up from the table, trying to be stealthy, looked like. They’d knocked over their soda cup, spilling it all over the floor.

Moments passed, tense as they could be. Selena eventually shrugged, gesturing with her head towards the door. “Yeah. Everybody else, out. I don’t care.”

The patrons of the shop didn’t waste a second of time, scurrying out of the door like scared insects. Who would want to be in the same restaurant as the worst serial killer in Rapture?

Not that she wanted anybody to die today. She just wanted to talk.

When she looked back at the register, Cindy had already gotten it open, holding her hands up. Selena raised an eyebrow, earning an awkward cough in response. 

“U-Uhm… Did you… want me to put the money in a bag?” Cindy asked, probably desperately waiting to hear police sirens at any second.

Rolling her eyes, Selena uncocked the gun, holding it up towards the ceiling. “Yeah, sure, do whatever,” she said as she turned around to lean back onto the counter. “I’ll get the money back to ya within the week, Robby’ll understand. He’s a good boss, still, right?”

Not wanting to disagree, Cindy let out a nervous laugh before hurrying to grab a bag from the counter, stuffing cash and coins into it as fast as she could.

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

Police sirens finally filled the air a few minutes later. Selena could hear Cindy sighing in relief behind her. The both of them had been standing silently the whole time, Selena waving her gun around as her tail lazed just above the floor. She’d learned not to try for small talk with these stunts; people tended to be more afraid when she was talking. They didn’t want to upset her. 

Made sense. It also made her more determined for this to work, though.

Multiple officers jumped out of their squad cars, guns immediately trained on Selena. “Put the gun down or we will open fire!” shouted one of them through a megaphone. 

Selena couldn’t help but snort, shoving the gun into the waistband of her pants. “Come on, guys!” she called out. “I’ve done this like three times this week! Get the picture already!”

“Put the gun down on the ground!”

Groaning, Selena looked boredly at the officers. “Seriously? C’mon, get the drill - I hold up a place, you call the news. The NEWS, I want to be on the news. Can’t we just skip straight to that point yet?”

Some of the officers exchanged glances and quick words with each other. “... A negotiator will be here shortly to discuss the release of the hostage!” one of the officers finally said.

Deep breath. Deeeeep breaths, Selena had to remind herself, careful not to make any sudden movements. They might think she was changing and shoot at her, again, and she did not want to deal with that again.

She began to open her mouth again when a shadow descended behind the officers, and a loud thud broke the asphalt. The officers turned around in fright, pointing their guns, but they relaxed when the two figures stood up.

“Angel! Ghoul!” The cops nodded gratefully to the intrusion. “Please help, it’s… it’s her again.”

Selena let out a scoff, rolling her eyes. They wouldn’t even say her name? Pathetic.

“We understand. Please put your guns away - we’ll handle the situation,” Angel said, weaving between the officers into the sandwich shop. 

“Yeah, we got this!” Ghoul said, waving to the cops. Selena couldn’t tell anymore whether it was a genuine action or a practiced habit to show off his bare chest. Probably both. “Go save some cats from trees or something!”

“That’s the fire department that does that, Ghoul,” Selena called out, leaning her elbows onto the counter. “Police don’t have ladders for that shit.”

“But they can climb!” Ghoul did finger guns at her as they approached, a big smile on his face. Goofy as ever. She missed when they’d joke around, but only a pause in her tail’s movement would ever betray that. 

Well, to anybody but Angel, of course.

He crossed his arms as he stood in front of Selena, the pair almost towering over her. “You can’t keep doing this, Selena,” Angel said quietly, shaking his head. “This isn’t going to work - it’s not going to make him talk to you.”

Selena began to snarl out a reply, but she clenched her teeth to hold her tongue. Pointing to a door, she snapped at Cindy instead. “Restroom. Now. Stay there.”

Frantic footsteps pattered through the shop as Selena stared down the superheroes in front of her, waiting for the door to shut. Once it did, she bared her teeth at them. “It fucking will, Johnny!” she hissed. “Eventually, he’s gonna realize the only way to get me to stop is if he talks to me again!”

“Selena…” Angel sighed, his shoulders falling slack as his head fell forward in disappointment. “Look… I don’t think he will. Derek quit being a superhero for good. He’s not coming back.”

“He doesn’t have to be a superhero!” Selena cried out, almost too loud. The cops were trying to preoccupy themselves, trying not to obviously eavesdrop. They didn’t want to offend her. Too much risk. “He doesn’t have to be the Red Scarf again, he just has to come here as Derek! And he can-”

“And you never get far enough in the scheme to even say that,” Angel pointed out. No - Johnathan. Johnathan and Takeo stood in front of her, trying to be her friends again. 

If only that were enough to make her stop hurting so god damn much.

“Come on, Selena, why don’t we think of something else?” Ghoul - Takeo - spoke up, smile lines crinkling around the edges of his mask. “Like a plane stunt or something, you know? A giant statue that says ‘call me’?”

“Something that doesn’t involve holding people hostage and getting shot at by police,” John said bluntly, crossing his arms. “You know that Derek doesn’t like these kinds of situations.”

Letting out a huff, Selena crossed her own arms, looking away. “Didn’t bother him none when we went out patrolling,” she muttered. “All those years he lied to me.”

“He didn’t lie to you,” John insisted, holding his hands out. “You two did a lot of good. You really did.”

Selena clenched her teeth, her hands flying up to cover her ears. “I don’t fucking hear you,” she seethed, “shut UP.”

Takeo stepped up again, still smiling that stupid, dumb goofy smile. Fake smile. “You guys took out tons of criminals, man!” he agreed, reaching out to clap a hand onto her shoulder. “I mean, I know it was small, but it kept you guys safe from the big guys, like Adela-”

“I don’t NEED safe!” Selena exploded, slamming her fist into the counter. It felt like she breathed fire, warmth on her lips as she spat out her next words. “Didn’t I prove enough of that as Vice!? Didn’t I show everybody I don’t need the fucking coddling!?”

Takeo jumped back, holding his hands up. “Whoa, hey-”

“Selena.”

“WHAT!?” she screeched as she whipped back around to Johnathan, grimacing.

“... You’re bleeding,” he said softly, pointing loosely at her face. “Your teeth…”

“Your face,” Takeo said, pointing with both hands. “I think you need to chill.”

She growled, bringing a hand up to her cheek. “I don’t need t- ow…”

When she pulled her hand back, she saw the dark red on her palm. She brought her hand back to her mouth, and now she felt it; fangs. Huge, sharp fangs that didn’t fit into her mouth as it was, tearing into her lips as she pulled them back. Her hand instinctively went back to wipe sweat from her brow, but when she lowered her hand again, the liquid on it wasn’t sweat. It was black.

No, no, no no no…

Whirling around, Selena put a hand over her mouth, trying to concentrate. It didn’t help that she was getting a little nauseated, terrified of the idea of doing that again-

Takeo reached out to her, but Johnathan pulled his hand away, shaking his head. Selena had recovered from being Vice on her own, and John knew that she had to deal with these moments as they came. She had to keep Vice inside, and the fear and concentration he sensed from her told him it wasn’t an easy job. The last thing they would need is a sudden startle from an unexpected touch.

A few moments later, Selena turned back around, looking exhausted as she panted heavily. One hand was on her chest, blood was dripping down her chin, but the leaking black liquid on her forehead was gone.

Johnathan waited for her to catch her breath before stepping closer. “... What can we do to help you, Selena?” he asked quietly. “This… It…” He shook his head, at a complete loss of words.

“... I know,” she mumbled as she slumped back onto the counter. “... I know it won’t work, he won’t come this way.” After a pause, she seemed to deflate, her shoulders sagging as she dropped her gaze to the floor. “... He never comes, anyways.”

Takeo moved forward to catch Selena in a hug as she started to fall over, and he helped hold her up. His usual humor was gone as he frowned, wrapping his arms around her. As she started crying into his chest, John discreetly handed him some napkins so he could wipe off the tears.

“He never had to stop talking to me,” Selena whimpered through her sobs, holding onto Takeo’s arms. “He can stop being a superhero, but he didn’t have to stop talking to me. I thought… I thought he was my friend.”

Johnathan and Takeo exchanged a glance before looking back down, not knowing what to say. Derek had been her friend, but they didn’t know what happened either. They could only sit with her and wait, hoping Derek would break his silence one day.

[madameazzure]

Rapture AU [SNIPPET 4]

No piercing scream, not the sound of metal giving in under telekinesis, nothing gave away her approach. She simply dropped from the high ceiling of the hall they were in, landing before them with ease and practice.

M quickly pushed both children behind him, taking a defensive stance, one hand going to the Tommy gun, the other already engulfed in electricity.

Shit!

He barely made it out alive of their first encounter and that by pure luck at best. He prayed he’d never have to deal with a Big Sister ever again after that incident. As luck had it, that thing came after him and he had no idea how to stop it, given he could not overpower her and his little theory about the plasmid that healed Gatherers working on her too seemed to have failed.

His heart thundering in his chest, he carefully watched her, ready to react to anything she might do, weighting his chances and trying to come up with viable strategies to kill her, but Big Sister simply stood where she was.

She stared at him, studying him, her head tilting from side to side as if he were some sort of riddle she could not find the answer to. She stood half crouched, holding a bundle of cloth to her chest.

M flinched as she moved, but instead of attacking, she simply showed him the bundle she was carrying, pulling the cloth aside to reveal what it was.

A Gatherer. A Little Brother. Small and scrawny, two black streaks going through his white hair, his glowing yellowish eyes dull and lifeless, staring at nothing.

M-21 frowned at him, pressing his lips in a tight line. What happened to that child? ADAM made Gatherers nearly invincible; if he had been hurt, he should’ve healed it in a matter of moments.

She tried to speak, but words never left her lips, only mere distressed noises as she was clearly trying to show him the child she was carrying.

M-21, however, did not understand what she wanted with him, with the Little Brother. He simply stood there, measuring her, keeping Tao and Takeo behind him.

The Big Sister seemed to become increasingly frustrated with the fact that he didn’t react as she wanted him to upon showing him the Little Brother. She was struggling to convey something, her mouth opening and closing several times as she tried over and over to speak. She scrunched her eyes shut for a moment, angry at herself, and when she opened them again, she didn’t look at him anymore, but at Tao and Takeo, her gaze desperate and pleading.

“Big Sister wants you to help him.” M glanced down at Takeo as he pulled on his sleeve to get his attention, but the child was looking directly at the Big Sister.

“She’s no longer mad you’re playing with us, but she’s worried about him. She says he’s sick.” Tao added, he too staring at her for a moment, before looking up at M. “Big brother, can you help him?”

She wanted him to help her?

 “I… I have a med kit. Will that help?” M-21 said cautiously after considering it for a moment.

Big Sister shook her head, making a low, distressed noise.

“Big Sister says it’s not his body that’s sick, it’s his mind.” Takeo translated what she wanted.

“Mind?” M-21 frowned.  He couldn’t ‘heal’ minds, unless… she referred to the conditioning. Perhaps what was wrong with that Little Brother was only the conditioning program going awfully, awfully wrong, making him complexly unresponsive? If that was the case, he should be able to undo it, like he did with Tao and Takeo.

“Can you understand me?” She seemed to have some level of understanding, but he wasn’t sure how intelligent she was. If she really thought like humans did or she was nothing more than a beast programmed to obey the orders given to her.

Her mouth opened, again mouthing words that caught no sound on her lips, then she nodded.

“I’ll try to help him, but on one condition. You won’t attempt to attack us.” If she wanted to, she would’ve already done it, but M had to be sure.

She nodded again.

Seeing as he somehow accepted to help the Little Brother, she approached him like a beast with slow and careful steps.

Watching the Big Sister to make sure she wouldn’t lash out, M put his hand on the Little Brother’s head. As before, he let the power he had flow through to the child, the Little Brother’s skin beginning to glow.

Once it was over, the child simply blinked sleepily, still not much recognition in his eyes, before finally closing them and going to sleep, snuggling into the Big Sister’s embrace.

M frowned. Did it work? He wasn’t really sure.

He glanced at the Sister, worried that him not being able to heal the Little Brother would cause her to lose control and attack them, but she seemed happy, a fond look on her face as he gazed at the little brother in her arms, carefully taking the blanked he was wrapped in an covering him better.

With a nodded thank you, she ran away again.

~Z~

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[o-c-o-c-o]

Takeo and Tao as little brothers.

Inspired from @madameazzure‘s Rapture Au

[drabblesofrapture]

Angel and Ghoul meet the King! (Superhero au)

Hey there kiddos, it’s your ol’ pal Dusty here again with a lil snippet I wrote for our superhero au. The young superheroes Angel (Johnathan) and Ghoul (Takeo) cross paths with one of Rapture’s most notorious supervillains: The King (Malcolm).

CW: some violence and broken bones

Another late night in Rapture. Most people had already gotten home from work, so the usual evening traffic had died down considerably. Still, car horns and the peeling of tires could be heard in the distance, typical for such a city. The lights in most of the small businesses and restaurants were starting to go out as the owners closed up for the night. Even the welcoming neon lights of Glen’s Diner went out. A few lonely souls wandered the streets, some taking refuge within Chugger’s Bar for a long night of drunken shenanigans. All things considered, it was a rather quiet night.

However, quiet or not, justice never takes a night off. Perched on the lonely rooftops were two of Rapture’s new young superheroes; the Dynamic Dude Duo themselves, Angel and Ghoul! Once again the pubescent patrollers were spending the night scouring the unforgiving streets of Rapture looking for crime to fight and people to help. They’ve found themselves in somewhat of a rut though, now entering their second week of seeing no action whatsoever. 

“Shit,” Ghoul breathed as he paced around the roof, his gloved hands furiously rubbing his bare arms. His entire torso was exposed to the elements, save for his waste which was protected by a purple sash wrapped around it . “It’s fuckin cold tonight.”

“You’re the one who thought fighting crime shirtless would be a good idea,” Angel pointed out, not prying his eyes away from the street below. He was crouched on the very edge of the roof, like any typical brooding superhero.

“Whatever man, I still look badass,” Ghoul scoffed in return, puffing his chest out only to shrink back in on himself as a shiver ran down his spine.

Under the mask, Angel rolled his eyes at his poorly prepared pal. He undid the clasp of his capelet and tossed the garment to Ghoul. “Here, take this.”

He caught the capelet and looked down at it for a moment before sheepishly draping it about his bare shoulders. It was a bit tight for his broad frame, but it would do. “Thanks..”

“Just bring a jacket next time.”

Pulling the capelet around himself, Ghoul walked over to Angel and sat down beside him. He let his legs idly dangle back and forth off the ledge of the building. “Think we’ll see anything tonight?”

“I hope not,” Angel said, raising a hand to his mouth to stifle a yawn. “I should be working on that paper for english class; it’s due Tuesday and I haven’t even gotten a start on it yet.”

“Aw c’mon Johnny! Fighting crime is way more important than school!” Ghoul replied, his lips pulling back into a grin to reveal his pointed teeth.

“If heroism starts affecting my grades then my aunt is going to know something is up,” Angel pointed out. “She’s already becoming suspicious of how late I stay out most nights.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose lightly before easing his grip and allowing his hand to slide down the rest of his face. “I swear, between patrolling with you and all the things Evelyn is having me do, this heroism thing is starting to run me ragged.”

Ghoul just gave his friend a reassuring pat on the back. “Don’t worry bro, you ain’t doin’ it by yourself; I’m by your side ‘til the end!”

The way the eyes of Angel’s mask squinted slightly gave away the fact that he was smiling. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Ghoul smiled and patted Angel’s back once more. “Tell ya what, let’s just stay out for like ten more minutes, and if nothing happens we can go home.”

Not even five seconds after he said that, there came a crash from the alleyway behind the building the two heroes were stationed on. The boys rushed over to the other side of the roof, being careful not to make too much noise themselves. They peeked out over the edge of the roof to see two men in the alleyway, carrying duffle bags into the dry cleaner’s shop through the back door. One of them was holding the door open, and he gave a reproachful look to his counterpart behind him who had accidentally tripped over a metal trash can, tipping it over. After a whispered scolding, both of the men shuffled inside, closing the door quietly behind them.

“Didn’t know the dry cleaner was open this late,” Ghoul whispered.

Angel shook his head. “I don’t think they’re here to get their clothes dry cleaned.”

“Well, what’re we waiting for? Let’s get down there and crack some skulls!”

“Takeo wait-” 

Too late. Ghoul had already jumped down into the alleway. They were two stories up, but with Ghoul’s powers it was nothing. Rolling as he landed, he quickly hopped to his feet and ran towards the door. Angel followed quickly behind him, bringing out his wings and using them to slow his fall. He dashed over to his comrade and pulled him away from the door as he began tugging on the handle.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Angel hissed. “We don’t even have a plan!”

“I have a plan!” Ghoul defended, throwing his hands up. “We go in there and beat the ever-loving shit of every bad guy in there!”

“That’s a terrible plan!” 

Ghoul was already trying to open the door. However, one tug on the handle gave away the fact that the door was locked. With a sigh, Angel lightly pushed his friend to the side and put his hand up against the keyhole of the door. A small black tendril snaked out of his hand and slotted itself into the hole, growing and contorting to fit the necessary space of the key. With a turn of his hand, the lock clicked and Angel gently opened the door. Ghoul was about to go right in, but Angel suddenly blocked his path.

“We’re only going in to observe, understood?” he said, holding a finger up in Ghoul’s face. “We don’t know how many more are in there, we don’t want to get in over our heads.”

“Dude c’mon, will be fiiiine,” Ghoul groaned as he pushed past him.

To their surprise, the place was completely dark and empty. The only thing there was the racks of clothes which looked so eerie in the dark. Upon further inspection, they noticed a light coming from behind the door to the basement. As they approached the door, they also began to hear faint voices coming from within. The boys looked at each other for a moment before softly pushing the door open.

They found themselves staring down a stairwell bathed in the yellow light of incandescent light bulbs. The noises from the basement became more clear as well; people talking, the shuffle of feet, and things being moved around. Angel was about to go down first, his leg extending out and slowly lowering down onto the first step. When he put his weight down into that leg, the step made a loud creak. They both froze. It felt like their hearts had stopped beating for a moment, and they both held their breath as they waited for the henchmen to take notice. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like any of them noticed as the noises downstairs continued. They let out a shared sigh of relief and stepped away from the stairwell.

“I’ll go down, you stay here,” Ghoul explained in a hushed tone.

He approached the stairwell himself and turned around so that his back was facing the stairs, leaning back, he reached his arms out towards the ceiling and stuck his hands to its surface. Once his hands were firmly stuck to the ceiling, he leapt up off the floor and brought his feet up to the ceiling as well, sticking them firmly in place. From there he slowly crawled along the sloped ceiling down the stairwell until he reached the bottom.

The two men from the alleyway were there, as well as a few other assorted henchmen and henchwomen. They were all quickly stuffing money from secret compartments in the wall into the duffle bags they were all carrying. One of the henchmen stood back from the others, frowning and tapping the barrel of his gun against his hip impatiently.

“Hurry it up you guys!” he barked. “The boss will be here any moment and he wants all this shit packed up and ready to go!”

One of the henchmen turned around with a confused look on his face. “By ‘boss’ do you mean the Boss or our boss?”

“Of course I mean our fucking boss! Jesus Christ Gary!”

“Don’t have to shout at me…” Gary murmured as he continued shoving money into his bag. The henchwoman beside him gave him a consoling pat on the shoulder.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Angel watched his companion. The mask hid the concerned expression the boy had on underneath. His hands clutched at the door frame as if it was the only thing keeping him standing. Something was about to go wrong, he could feel it. He could literally feel it, it was one of his powers. A nagging ache at the back of his head. A cold sensation spreading down his back and causing the muscles in his shoulders to tighten. A pit in his stomach that opened wider with each breath. Something bad was about to happen. Something bad was coming.

No, not something bad, someone bad.

A hand suddenly clapped down hard on Angel’s shoulder, and he had to will himself not to let out a yelp. He spun around to face the stranger, and the eyes of his mask grew wide to match the horrified countenance underneath. This was no stranger, he knew who the tall man was from the very moment he laid eyes on the golden crown that sat atop his head. He knew that brilliant emerald green suit, he recognized that intricate masquerade mask and the dead eyes that lay behind it. He had seen it all countless times before on the news, the one thing he knew he would have to face someday when he first donned the title of a superhero. He was standing face to face with one of Rapture’s most powerful supervillains, the King.

The gloved hand on his shoulder quickly moved to his neck, strong fingers squeezing his throat and lifting him off of his feet. The King threw him down the stairwell. His body slammed right into Ghoul and both boys fell in a heap of tangled limbs at the bottom of the stairs. They wasted no time getting back on their feet, backing away from the stairs and into a wall of goons all with handguns trained on them. Both their bodies tensed, locked in fighting stances. The stairs creaked as King slowly made his way down them. 

There he stood, blocking the way to the stairs. His cold glare was locked onto the heroes. He took a step towards them, and then another. They couldn’t help but flinch when he approached. Two boys, kids really, facing off against what was basically to them a demigod. They’d seen the stories on the news, they knew the things he was capable of. What chance did they stand against someone of such great power?

“Leave.” His deep voice resonated throughout the room, sending chills even down the goons’ spines.

“Like Hell we will!” Ghoul growled, finally mustering up the confidence to speak. He took a step towards King, his teeth bared and his fists raised. “We came here to kick crime’s ass, and right now I’m looking at the King of Crime himself!”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” King clarified. His piercing green eyes scanned over his underlings standing behind the heroes. “All of you, leave. I will deal with the heroes myself.”

They all seemed more than eager to follow their bosses rules, all quickly shuffling up the stairs as soon as he finished speaking. The heroes made no attempt to stop them, both locking gazes with the supervillain before them. Once they heard the door upstairs shut, the fight was on.

Ghoul lunged forward with a mighty roar. He took a wild swing at the King who dodged effortlessly out of the way. He threw a jab straight for the villain’s chest, but King avoided it with a simple sidestep. A wild frenzy of punches ensued, all of which the King easily evaded. Ghoul threw a jab for his jaw but found his fist caught in the villain’s hand.

“Your form is sloppy,” King commented. His fingers tightened around Ghoul’s fist, causing him to wince. There was a loud snap and Ghoul howled in pain as the bones in his hand shattered. His face caught the back of King’s other hand and he went flying into the wall, knocked unconscious.

The King then made a lunge at Angel. He barely had enough time to throw up a wing to block a lethal punch for his head. Angel staggered as the fist made contact with his wing, nearly forcing him to his knees. The wing swung outwards to push the villain back. It succeeded, but King was immediately back on the offensive. Angel was stuck on the defensive, constantly blocking a flurry of punches with his wings. When the barrage let up, he opened his wings to let out his own barrage of black projectiles shooting out from their inky depths. King was faster though, dropping down and sweeping Angel’s legs. He was thrown off balance, and King moved at inhuman speed to get back up and slam Angel into the floor. 

“Pathetic,” King spat as he stared down at the defeated hero on the ground who only let out a strangled groan in response. “Killing you two wouldn’t even be worth my time.”

With that, he turned away and began walking to the stairs. Angel wanted to get back up and stop him, but he feared what would become of him if he did. Instead, he lay there in his own loss until King’s footsteps faded away and the door upstairs shut once more. Once he was sure that the villain was gone, he slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. His entire body seemed to scream in protest as he did. Now that he was sitting, he then slowly got to his feet and staggered over to his unconscious friend. He scooped Ghoul up with his wings and carefully carried him up the stairs and out of the building.

The King and his goons were all gone by the time they got out. Angel couldn’t help but let out a disappointed sigh. The first action they see in weeks and it turns out to be the most major loss they’ve faced so far in their superhero careers. He gently set his friend down on the concrete before sitting down next to him. He let his face rest in his hands for a moment before letting out another loud sigh.

A groggy moan escaped Ghoul’s lips as he started coming to. An eye fluttered open, and he looked over at his sullen comrade. “Did we win?”

“No,” Angel said bluntly. “We got our asses kicked.”

“Ah fuck..” Ghoul breathed out. He reached out a hand and patted his friend’s knee. “Don’t worry man, we’ll get the fucker next time.”

Angel looked down at the battered Ghoul before staring off into space. “Yeah… next time…”

[madameazzure]

Rapture AU [SNIPPET 5]

M rolled an ADAM syringe between his fingers. He knew he should just inject that into his arm, just accept he needed its power, but he wished there was another way. Still, in Rapture there was only so much a bullet could do against creatures that could hardly be called ‘human’ anymore.

Earlier that day, as they were making their way to Olympus Heights to find Dr. Frankenstein and politely ask him some questions – well, as politely as M could given what that monster did to these children – Tao and Takeo felt… an angel.

Tao tugged onto his sleeve to get his attention, but when M looked, the child wasn’t paying attention to him, staring somewhere in the distance instead.

“An angel, big brother! There’s an angel!” Tao told him, M’s stomach turning at the way his voice curled around the word ‘angel’ as if it was the most wondrous thing in existence.

“Let keep going,” M told him, wrapping his hand around the child’s to make sure he wouldn’t run off to… harvest the angel.

“But you need the ADAM to fight those mean people,” Tao said innocently as if he saw nothing wrong with it.

Before M could reply, Takeo sprinted from his side to where the angel supposedly was. “I’ll go get it!”

“Takeo, no! Come back here!” M shouted, but the child ignored him. He tsked in annoyance, quickly picking Tao up in his arms; he couldn’t just run off and leave Tao behind or drag the child after him as he couldn’t keep up, so carrying him was the next best solution. Tao wrapped his arms securely around his neck just like he always did when his Big Daddy would pick him up, and M sprinted after Takeo.

M didn’t want to admit it, but in moments like this, he was somewhat thankful for his enhancements. He could carry Tao like his weight meant nothing and run quite fast compared to a normal human.

Tao clung to him, his little hands crumpling M’s shirt, hiding his face into M’s neck, though M had a good grip on the child and wouldn’t drop him no matter what.

Soon enough, they had found Takeo. The child was kneeling near a corpse, carefully driving the needle of the syringe in between the ribs and draining all the ADAM that was left inside the body. His expression was calm, focused, not how a normal child should be reacting at the sight of a corpse.

With a shuddering breath, something inside M’s mind clicked and he finally understood why these children seemed so… used to all the things happening around them. He thought they would be traumatized to see Rapture as it truly was once they were free of their conditioning, but in reality, it seemed that they had always known. The conditioning didn’t change how they saw things, but rather how they regarded those things, how they thought of what was happening around them.

They had always known what Rapture was like. The only difference, they now knew how to name the nightmare they lived in. There were no longer knights in shining armors defeating fairytale villains, but monstrous Big Daddies crushing spliced-up madmen. No longer playing with princesses and angels, but ferocious Big Sisters guarding them as they harvested corpses for ADAM.

“Takeo that’s enough!” M walked over to him. Supporting Tao’s weight with just one arm, he caught Takeo’s wrist to stop him from collecting any more ADAM.

“I got you more ADAM,” Takeo told him quietly, looking at M with an unsure expression. Everyone wanted ADAM in Rapture. His Big Brother should want it too, right?

“You no longer need to do this, alright?” M said, gently pulling Takeo to his feet. The child let him do that, but didn’t let the ADAM syringe go, M noticing that it was almost full.

“Don’t you need it to fight bad guys?” Tao asked, shyly peeking up at M.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” M replied, trying not to frown. He needed the ADAM, but not like this. Not by having children do what they’ve been compelled to do all their lives, the only reason Rapture’s people saw value in their existence. He’ll find another way. Somehow.  “Let’s go find some food. You must be hungry.”

Even though that was hours ago, M was still troubled, rolling the ADAM syringe between his fingers just to watch how the red liquid moved around. He kept wondering about his choices, if they were even his to begin with.

It might not have been something striking, but losing contact with Atlas… had changed something inside him. Something he had yet to pinpoint, and the only person who could shed some light onto this mystery had yet to be found.

At the moment, he and the children were sitting by a Gatherer’s Vent – so the little ones had someplace they could quickly hide in case something happened – eating what little food M had managed to scavenge. Not that M had much of an appetite at the moment, choosing to stare at a syringe. He felt like a hypocrite, telling the children they no longer needed to harvest ADAM for him, but now, with syringe full of ADAM in his hand, he felt compelled to use it. As if he had no choice in the matter.

With a sigh, he injected the ADAM into his arm.

A soft little noise drew their attention to the vent. From the darkness they saw a Little Brother – the same Little Brother M had helped not a few days ago – peek at them.

Tao and Takeo quickly sat up and went to the vent, happily greeting the child and getting acquainted. They helped the little one get out of the vent, sharing what little food M had scavenged for them earlier. Regis was the little one’s name and he was warily keeping away from M, even if Tao and Takeo told him he was a ‘nice person’.

“Here.” M held out his food for the child to take. He wasn’t all that hungry anyway and he’d rather have the children eat. He could find more food later.

Although wary, the little one seemed to consider the offer, his eyes flickering between M, the food held out for him, Tao and Takeo, the vent nearby and strangely, some point on the ceiling. After a few moments, he stood up and approached M cautiously, his movements very much like the Big Sister’s who was protecting him. As if expecting M to lash out and grab him, he quickly took the food and ran back to Tao and Takeo as if that was his safe place where M couldn’t reach him.

M sighed, knowing it would be useless to tell the child he had nothing to fear. That was something he had to prove. Even with Tao and Takeo, he knew the children didn’t fully trust him. Yes, they were following him around, but M suspected that was more because they had no other choice and no one to turn to except for the man that had freed them from their conditioning. Which, he assumed was the reason they kept reminding him they can find ADAM – to show him they were useful so he wouldn’t abandon them.

As M stood there, watching the Tao and Takeo trying – mostly Tao – trying to talk to Regis, the little one only giving them short answers as if talking didn’t come naturally to him, several packages of food dropped from the ceiling in his lap.

With a hissed cursed, M sprung to his feet, wrench in one hand, his other engulfed in electricity, scanning the ceiling for the enemy, heart hammering into his chest.

Just as he was about to tell the children to get into the vent, a person popped out between the pipes on the ceiling.

The Big Sister.

Shit!

He held his breath, ready to counter if she were to attack, but she only stared at him for a few moments before disappearing again into the pipes.

Wait, she left? Just like that? She wasn’t going to try attacking him to protect the children or get revenge on him?

Dumbfounded, M just stared at the spot where the Big Sister had disappeared. Slowly, he lowered the wrench and let the electricity around his hand dissipate into thin air, confused at the Sister’s actions.

No, she couldn’t have just left, leaving her Little Brother unprotected. M was sure she was still there, just hiding from them. But why?

M’s gaze fell on the packages of food scattered on the floor.

She gave them food? Why? And why allow her Little Brother to just join them like that, as if she was trusting him to be safe with them?

Maybe the plasmid did work on her and now she was free of her conditioning? Maybe she was just trying to show them she was thankful for M helping her and her Little Brother?

M could only hope so.

~Z~

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[madameazzure]

Rapture AU [SNIPPET 2]

Much to his dismay, the children followed him around.

M had hoped that once free from their conditioning, the children would go back into the vents and to their hiding place. But these two didn’t, choosing to follow him around like baby ducks wherever he went.

He was concerned they might get hurt in a fight, but they were clever enough to run and hide while he dispatched the splicers that attacked him at every corner.

M watched as the children sang and played around him, happy and cheerful. Tao and Takeo were their names, and while he told them his name, they insisted on calling him ‘big brother', which was still better than being called Mr. Bubbles, as they wanted to address him in the beginning. It reminded him too much of that creature he killed, something no longer human, with no thoughts of his own, whose whole existence revolved around protecting and caring for Gatherers without question.

While the children were free of their conditioning, they could still sense where the ‘angels’ slept, though they no longer felt compelled to immediately go and harvest the ADAM. They did ask him if he wanted it and as much as he wished to refuse, to tell them they no longer had to do that, he needed it. The splicers attacking him were vicious and relentless; he needed every bit of power he could get his hands on just to keep them at bay.

In a way, M was thankful the plasmid Dr. Frankenstein gave him only freed them of the conditioning, but still let them see Rapture as their little paradise. He wasn’t sure what he could’ve done for the children once the Rapture dream was over and they saw reality for what it really was, this broken carcass of a once flourishing city.

A piercing shrill snapped him out of his thoughts, sending shivers down his spine. He frantically looked around to identify where it came from, readying his Tommy gun and an electric charge to stun whatever the creature making that noise was, instinctively pulling the two children behind him to protect them. He tsked in frustration as another scream rose and he just couldn’t pin point the source. It seemed to come from everywhere.

A light squeeze on his hand drew his attention from the shrieks and he glanced at his side. Takeo looked at him worriedly, but not as he’s seen the child behave before, worried for his own safety, but rather for M’s safety.

“Big Sister’s coming,” he whispered, then looked somewhere in the distance, a point where M guessed the screams were coming from.

“She’s mad. Really, really mad.” Tao added, drawing closer to M, his little hand grasping M’s shirt. “She doesn’t like you playing with us.”

Before M-21 could ask who or what that was, yet another shrill pierced the silence, louder, closer.

“Hide! Now!”

~Z~

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[madameazzure]

Rapture AU [SNIPPET 1]

“Mr. Bubbles! Mr. Bubbles, get up, get up! No…” The two Little Brothers tried to help the creature back to his feet, pulling him by his fingers as his hand was too big for them to grasp properly. 

M’s stomach twisted at the sight and he looked away, doubting with each passing moment that he was doing the right thing, that he was only freeing those conditioned monsters from a lifetime of servitude.

He glanced at the two little children he’s ‘saved’. Six or seven years old, thin as paper, hauntingly glowing eyes, trapped inside their little paradise where they weren’t harvesting corpses of ADAM, but playing angels.

The gold that kept Rapture’s gears turning.

He needed the ADAM those Gatherers were carrying, he needed the power to survive here, to fight all those spliced madmen, and to do that… he’d have to… those children.

“Those aren’t children, not anymore. Dr. Frankenstein saw to that. Took them and turned them into those monsters.” He remembered what Atlas had told him, the way his voice twisted into disgust and pity. “You’ve got to do what do got to do, kid.”

He’d have to…

The children noticed him as soon as he started walking to the them, turning to him. Wide eyes stared at him in fear, tears running down their faces, holding each other’s hand.

“No, Mr. Bubbles! Mr. Bubbles, wake up!” The continued to plead, hoping that through some miracle their fallen protector would rise and help them.

Was it worth it? Sacrificing children for his survival?

The realization dawned on him: he still had the plasmid Dr. Frankenstein gave him.

“If you find Little Ones, use this to save them, and I will make it worth your while.”

Could he trust the one who made the children into these… things? Then again, when he met Frankenstein, he was protecting a Little One. Protecting a monster of his own design.

M took the bottle out of his pocket, staring at it. Could he really trust in that doctor’s word?

Either the plasmid would kill him on spot or he would be able to use it to save the children. Either way, he will not have innocent blood on his hands. His survival wasn’t worth sacrificing these children’s lives.

With a sigh, he took out the syringe, drew the liquid from the bottle and injected it into his arm.

Like with all the other plasmids, he expected to feel his bones shattering, his muscles tearing, his whole body breaking and remaking itself. But the pain never came. Only warmth spreading through his veins, soft light under his skin.

Once the sensation ceased, he approached the children, taking the closest one by the arm.

“No, no, let me go! Mr. Bubbles!” The child struggled, trying to free his arm.

“Let him go!” The other child cried, wanting to help his friend, but too scared to do so.

“I’m sorry.” M  truly hoped this would work. He placed his hand on the child’s forehead, breathed in, then let all the power he had flow into the child.

Like with any other plasmid, his body already knew what he had to do. As if not only his genetic code has been rewritten, but also his reflexes and instincts have been rewired to fit the new ability he’s gained.

The child gasped, eyes wide open. From where M’s hand was touching his face, light began to spread through his veins, until the child’s skin was glowing. Soon, the light faded, and with it, the dead glow in the child’s eyes, now no longer a dull, washed-out yellow, but black and seemingly normal. The child breathed out, blinking sleepily at him.

M set him gently down, letting him lean on him and rest while he worked down the genetic change, and held out his hand to the other child.

The child was trembling, tears still shining in blue eyes that were moving from the deceased protector behind him, to his friend, and finally to him.

After a moment of hesitation he took M’s hand, though M was sure he did so because he felt compelled, not because he wanted to, and M used the plasmid on him as well.

Soon enough, both children were asleep by his side, safe and sound, free of their conditioning. All he had to do now was find Dr. Frankenstein, get the ADAM he needed... and make him pay for what he’d done to these children.

~Z~

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Inspired by this Little Brother concept

[madameazzure]

Rapture AU [SNIPPET 3]

Shrieking like a rabid animal, the Big Sister attacked him relentlessly. Her telekinesis would tear apart the walls around them, twist metal, shatter glass, crush concrete, and all that debris would be used as projectiles and hurled at him. If somehow he managed to dodge all that, her hands would light on fire and she would incinerate everything around him without a care how the fire spread.

M could hardly even land a hit without having stunned her with an electric charge, so impossibly light on her feet and fast to react she was. Even more so as he had to dodge attack after attack as she either tried to crush him or burn him alive with her incinerating barrages.

In the midst of the fight, all it took was a moment of hesitation and she had him pinned to the ground in a matter of seconds. The earth cracked under him as he poured every bit of energy he had into his telekinesis to just keep her at bay, holding her by her wrists to prevent her from impaling him with her ADAM syringe.

Years and years of being an ADAM factory had made her terrifyingly powerful. There was no comparison between them in terms of strength and endurance; she was on a whole another level.

M grit his teeth as his left hand faltered and he had to dodge quickly, the syringe’s needle going straight for his head and embedding itself into the ground.

He had to do something and quickly, but continuously using telekinesis to keep her away from him, he could hardly focus on summoning his electricity.

In a desperate attempt, M’s hand found the wrench he had dropped when she slammed him to the ground, and using his telekinesis, he boosted his attack and bashed her helmet off.

Long, white hair flowed freely around her, red eyes staring at him, but the attack did little to deter her. If anything her attempts to overpower him became even more vicious.

He was dead! There was no way he could defeat her. She’d been a Little Sister, her strength from the slug inside the lining of her stomach made her stronger, resilient, restless.

A Little Sister… She’d been a Little Sister!

M’s eyes went wide as he realized it. That was it!

He knew what he had to do, but to do it, he’d have to stop using telekinesis  and that was suicide.

Still, it was his only chance to survive this encounter. He had to do it!

Dropping the wrench and letting go of his telekinesis, M’s hand found her head and desperately poured all his remaining energy into healing her, letting the same power flow into her like when he had healed Tao and Takeo

The Sister instantly froze at his touch, her eyes widening at him. From where M’s palm touched her face, her skin began to glow, the light spreading in her veins all through her body.

However, instead of her calming down and returning to normal, she shrieked in pain, jumping to her feet and backing away, clutching at her head. Her breathing became erratic, her mouth moving as if she tried to speak, but nothing but pained whimpers came out.

M knew he shouldn’t waste this opportunity, so he quickly stood up, or tried to as his legs gave in under him and he fell to his knees. Dread pooled into his gut as he realized he’d overused his powers, leaving him drained and barely able to move.

However, to his relief, it seemed the Big Sister was in no state to continue the fight either as she turned on her heels and ran away.

“Big brother! Big brother, are you alright?” Tao and Takeo left the vent their were hiding in, running to him.

“Big Sister was really mad, but you scared her away, big brother! You’re really strong!” Tao said, his eyes sparkling in awe at the feat M just pulled.

“Yeah,” M hummed a reply, relieved that the fight was over, but still looking in the direction where the Big Sister to.

What happened to her?

~Z~

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[drabblesofrapture]

Dusty’s Characters

Hewwo uwu, mod Dusty here again. Doing what Vicey did and introducing some of my characters as well! This is gonna be a bit of a long post so I’ll try to keep descriptions brief.

Malcolm MacDouglas

Malcolm is what is known as an Immortal, a magic-using human with the gift (or curse) of eternal life. He was born in the Scottish highlands in 1401, and has spent most of his life as a warrior. He is also an important member of the Immortal Council, which works with the Demons to help address supernatural threats. This is what has brought Malcolm to Rapture. With him he has also brought his adopted daughter Roxanne, and his wards: Johnathan, Takeo, Jazzy, and Oliver.

Roxanne Donnadieu

My favorite witchy gorl! Roxanne was born in France and given up by her mother to a Catholic orphanage. She was adopted by Malcolm at a very young age after he caught her trying to pick his pocket. Malcolm noticed her potential in water magic and had her train with his friend Adelaide so she could hone those abilities. Roxanne is literally the definition of “looks like a cinnamon roll but could murder you.” Overall she’s quite friendly and chill, but she strives to prove that she can keep up with her more powerful peers.

Johnathan Rhoades

Ah yes, Johnathan, your typical quiet emo dork who is also an ex cult member. After his unwilling involvement with a cult of religious zealots, Johnathan has been required to serve under Malcolm until he is no longer deemed a threat to both normal and paranormal society. He seems very cold and distant, but he’s really just shy. He also has a soft spot for books, piano, and wine.

Takeo Hagakure

Ah hell it’s this chaotic bastard. As evident by his razor-sharp teeth, Takeo is a ghoul. On all levels he is Himbo™️: 6’5”, made of muscle, and not the sharpest tool in the shed. Rarely does he say anything that isn’t some stupid joke. He likes to act like this tough punk who will fight everyone, but it’s all just a front to hide the fact that he’s a big, sensitive sweetheart. However, Takeo is a notorious trouble-maker that only his girlfriend Jazzy can reel in. He also canonically has an Onlyfans I am not sorry.

Here’s his Twitter btw https://twitter.com/Takeo35272653

Jazzy Valentino

Short, angry werewolf that WILL punch you in the mouth if you look at her funny. She is sarcastic as hell and is constantly done with everybody’s bullshit. Usually werewolves live in packs, but after dealing with her family’s shit for her whole life she ran off the first chance she got. Needless to say, she’s found much better family in the company of the MacDouglas household.

Oliver Collinsworth

Gay, vampire, British, twink. What more do you need? Despite being extremely intelligent, his father always deemed him a slacker for wasting time on inventing crazy machines rather than following in the more successful footsteps of his older siblings. When his father tried to force leadership of the coven on him, Oliver immediately left England and ran off to America. A brilliant inventor, Oliver’s genius is limited only by his overinflated ego.

Mason Webster (and Deus)

Another British boy! Mason seems like a normal chap, but he’s also host to an alien parasite named Deus. He has a good heart, and is constantly having to teach Deus how humans function mentally and emotionally.

Quinn Webster

Quinn is a journalist in Rapture and is Mason’s older sister. She’s a paranoid conspiracy theorist and the only reason she’s even still standing is all the coffee running though her veins.

Adelaide

Another important member of the Immortal Council and the thorn in Malcolm’s side. Adelaide was married to a nobleman in medieval Germany. She resurrected after her husband chucked her off a cliff and came back to chop his head off while he was asleep. Adelaide is sly and power-hungry, not afraid of who she has to step on to get what she wants.

Santiago Velez

This picture is drawn by me, so sorry for the poor quality lmao. The third of the Chaotic Three of the Immortal Council, Santiago is basically a magic cowboy. He has perfect aim, whether with his magical powers or without them. Unfortunately, he often misuses and abuses his powers. He spent much of his time in his early days of being an Immortal by making a name for himself as the God of the Wild West. He’s a born huckster with a silver tongue, but unfortunately his desire to have a good time greatly outweighs his responsibilities.

[madameazzure]

I would like to thank you for writing the "Would You Kindly and "Little One" series. Both of them are simply wonderful (ooohhhh little m21 can i cuddle him please please please please please he's sooo cuuteee oooohhhmyyygawwd and poor manipulated m21 T_T T_T T_T T_T) and this isn't a post to ask you for update (I just wanna thank you :3) because even if you never update them ever again it's perfectly okay because what you've written is already much amaze xD Thank you very much ^_^ ^_^

Thank you so much for your message, anon ^_^ Unfortunately,the chance of me ever updating either of those fanfics is very, very slim, evennonexistent at all.

Would You Kindly? turned out to be too much for me tohandle. There were a lot of things I had to clear: Tao finding Tenenbaum, RKtraveling to Rapture to meet her, convincing her they’re not from the Union andgetting her to help M-21, RK and Tenenbaum traveling back and stopping M-21from killing Takeo, Tenenbaum and Frankenstein having a parent confrontation onwho M-21 should go/stay with (Frankenstein insisting M-21 should choose, butTenenbaum being like “I’m taking mylittle one home, verstehst du?”), depending on the result of theirconfrontation, either M-21 waking up home all safe and sound, with a messagefrom Tenenbaum to come to Rapture if he ever wanted to find out who he is(Franken won the parent confrontation), or waking up in Rapture, to his brotherSigma, his sort of mother, and the rest of the W.Y.K Project experimentsubjects (Tenenbaum won the parent confrontation).

Since I couldn’t find a way to incorporate all this in thesnippet-like structure, it all quickly went down in flames :/

Little One, eh… I actually had around ~ 10-ish new ideas andeven worked on some of them, but while I was writing them, I just couldn’t pushthem over 500-600 words, so I kept trying and trying and trying until I began to hate it.With passion. What’s even worse, some people found Little One worth drawingfanart for, and I know I owe them something in return, but I just can’t bringmyself to write anything related to that AU, that’s how much I detest it. 

Long story short, Little One is one big guilt trip for me,so nope. That fic is done, dead and buried to me, I’m sorry :(

On the bright side, I’m sorta maybe kinda into this AU whereteeny tiny M-21 is adopted by the werewolves, and I sorta have another chapterfor it waiting to be edited. Also, I had an idea for a ‘timeshift’ sort of fic,where each of the characters goes through a child-like state (Franky fangirlingaround tiny Master, Takeo and M-21 trying to deal with tiny happy-go-lucky Taoetc) and an idea for another Bioshock/Noblesse crossover fic, where M-21 isJack (the main character in the first game, who is controlled through thephrase ‘would you kindly?’); Tao andTakeo are two Little Sisters Brothers he’s saved; Frankenstein isTenenbaum now trying to atone for everything he’s done, from discovering ADAMto turning children into ADAM factories, taking care of Rai, a Little Brother;Seira’s a Big Sister protecting Regis, a Little Brother. Who knows if I’ll ever write either of those tho ;_;