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riality-check · 1 year

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more daisy jones-adjacent things. this time, they're finally starting to hate each other a little less.

parts 1, 2, and 3, for your reading pleasure. less drugs this time around, but way more talk about steve's ptsd. part 5. part 6. part 7.

ao3

Steve has never co-written anything before. All of his songs are his, from start to finish. Every note, every chord, every syllable is his invention, and he takes them all very seriously.

That's not to say that he doesn't accept help. He wouldn't be himself if he wasn't constantly bouncing ideas off of Robin and Dustin and Lucas, and he always has other people look it over and offer suggestions.

But the initial creation? That's all him. Steve likes that kind of control.

Writing with a band is very different. Eddie declares it, the song Steve pissed him off enough into writing, done after they've got lyrics and a lead guitar part.

"They'll write the rest," he says, like it's that simple.

Steve can't imagine letting go that much. In all honesty, he's scared shitless. He's never been good at being nice. Charming, yes. Nice, no. And he doesn't know how he'll be nice if the drum, bass, and rhythm guitar parts suck.

It's his song. Well, his and Eddie's, which is weird to think about, but still.

Steve has never co-written anything before.

And, to make matters worse, he fell asleep last night.

He knew it was coming. He's never made it past seventy-two hours, no matter how hard he tries or how high he gets. He knew it was coming, and he prepped as best as he could.

That didn't stop him from sleeping in three hour bursts, at max. Torn between the nightmares and the exhaustion and the crash, he freaked out, passed out, and repeated the cycle until he had to get up and go to the studio.

At least this time, last night, he was back in the Byers house. Scary as shit, with the initial confusion never fading, but it's the best of the nightmares he gets. Between the dogs and the torture, Steve's brain has plenty of worse things to torment him with.

Maybe he should be grateful, but he's never been good at dealing with what he's given.

This morning, he doesn't need to take anything. He's tired, but not that tired, and he's trying to give himself breaks when he can.

He doesn't want to die. He just wants to stay awake.

He has a coffee, though. That's mostly for the taste. His tolerance is shot to hell, so it's not like caffeine makes a real difference.

Steve walks into the studio, coffee in hand, and sees the band setting up and tuning their instruments. Jeff gives him a little wave, Gareth nods absently as he tightens his snare, and Archie positively beams.

"Steve, you're a saint," he says, a little mischief in his eyes. "Different chords, finally. I could kiss you."

Steve laughs and promptly cuts himself off when he sees Eddie staring at him.

"Do I have something on my face?" he asks once the silence has stretched on for too long.

"Why are you here?" Eddie asks bluntly.

Steve, notably, doesn't flinch back. He doesn't snap. He doesn't do anything that he would regret later.

He just says, steadily, "I can go if you don't want me."

He stands there, and he swallows back his hurt. He thought Eddie was finally warming up to him. He took Eddie's fighting words as an improvement from being ignored. And, as usual, Steve thought wrong.

"Hang on a sec," Jeff says. He sets his guitar down and stands between Steve and Eddie. "I said I wanted Steve on backing vocals for this."

"Is Steve not on backing vocals?" Gareth asks from the other side of the room.

"Far as I know, he is," Archie says with a pointed look at Eddie.

Eddie turns to look at Jeff instead. Steve watches their intense staring match and thinks about just walking out.

Before he can take the first step, Eddie says, "Fine."

"Fine what?" Steve can't help but ask.

"Stay."

Steve nods, but he turns to Jeff. "Are you sure? It's fine if-"

"I'm sure," Jeff says. "I think you wrote this song more for your register than mine."

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," Jeff says. "I changed everything I can't hit, but I just want a little more support, you know?"

Steve looks around the little studio space, around at all the cables and amps and mics and instruments, and he counts. Then counts again.

"There's only four mics," he says.

Jeff picks his guitar back up and gives it a little strum. "Share with Eddie."

"What?" Eddie says, looking like he would rather walk out than do that.

"Nothing against you, Steve," Jeff explains, ignoring Eddie. "I'm just a big personal space guy. Can't focus otherwise."

Steve looks over at Eddie, still sitting, still scowling.

"Fine," he says, because he'll be professional, even if Eddie won't.

"You guys are fucking killing me," Chrissy says, and Argyle, the audio engineer next to her, nods in agreement. "Can we get this show on the road?"

Gareth gives them a little salute, one that Chrissy rolls her eyes at. "We all ready?"

"As we'll ever be," the rest of the band choruses.

Steve shrugs. "Yeah."

"You warm up?" Eddie asks, walking toward his mic.

Steve follows. "Never do."

Eddie rolls his eyes, but then Chrissy gives them the all-clear, Gareth counts them off, and they start.

And something switches.

Steve knew this would be higher energy. Different genre, different sound, whatever. But there's something fucking electric about playing with a band instead of being by himself in an iso booth, drilling vocals until he has a take he's happy with.

Recording with a band brings a different sort of energy. It creates a feedback loop, getting them higher, playing faster, sounding better.

Steve tells himself to back off. He's not the star of this show. He's been invited, and a quarter of the people in this room don't want him here.

But filling in the gaps has always come easy to him, and he gives the backing vocals his all.

And somewhere between the guitar solo and the end of the song, Eddie smiles at him for the first time.

It's quick, but it's blinding. Steve didn't think Eddie could smile until he does. It's quick as a flash and wide and feral and a little mean, but it's there, and it's directed at him.

But just like that, the first take is over. It was messy and imperfect, and as soon as it ends, Eddie is back to scowling at him.

But it's not as harsh. And that's how Steve knows that he wasn't imagining that little bit of something.

"Holy shit," Archie says, as soon as they're done. "This is gonna be a good song."

"It's gonna be a great song," Jeff says.

"I want more from Steve," Gareth adds, and the rest of the guys agree.

Even Eddie, however begrudgingly.

"Alright, boys," Chrissy says. "You've got the fun out of your systems. Let's focus and make some music."

Steve looks over at Eddie, who nods, however slightly. And he thinks, because he has never been able to kill hope a day in his life, that they could make a good team if Eddie could stop hating his guts.

#ria writes #dja au #eddie munson #steve harrington #chrissy cunningham #corroded coffin #steddie #steddie ficlet #stranger things #stranger things ficlet #st #st ficlet #rockstar eddie munson #tw drugs #tw substance abuse #tw ptsd

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alice-after-dark · 3 months

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Mer!Vox AU

I have wanted to do a Mer!Vox AU for a while now, but I hadn't quite found the vibe I wanted until @hiemaldesirae posted this adorable art and my brain ran away with me.

That being said, this AU is uh...not nearly as adorable. My brain does weird things with the most random of inspirations.

Takes place during the Golden Years of New Orleans (1810-1840).

Alastor is a wealthy oddities collector living in Victorian Era New Orleans. One day while out and about, he is approached by a man who claims he has something remarkable to sell him.

TW for implied racism, blood, gore, cannibalism, and other canon-typical triggers.

It wasn't uncommon for people to approach him, trying to sell their snake oil. Anyone who knew Alastor Bourreau's bizarre tastes tried their hand at it at least once. So when this weasel of a man approached him, claiming to have a real live mermaid to sell him, Alastor nearly dismissed him. It was only when the man showed him a scale, a glittering iridescent shade of blue he'd never seen before, did he decide to entertain the sleazy man's offer. He'd go, see what hoax they'd put together, and be on his way. Some entertainment for the evening.

The full moon is high among the stars when he arrives at the warehouse with Husk by his side. Confident does not equal stupid and he is not nearly foolish enough to come to the docks alone at night. The man from before greets him with a bow and hurriedly ushers him into a back room while Husk makes his revolver known to their host with a casual brushing back of his coat. A show mostly. Alastor is perfectly capable of defending himself should the need arise, but he would rather not if he can help it. Giving away his secrets is not something he does lightly.

A long glass box filled with water sits in the center of the room. Heavy chains are wrapped around it. Alastor hardly acknowledges either of these things. No, his eyes are fixated on the beautiful creature inside the box.

The creature appears to be a young man, skin pale as moonlight and eyes a brilliant blue. Those same shimmering scales twist and ripple under the warehouse lights. He is gagged, more chains wrapping his body and biting into the flesh.

He is real. Alastor is certain of it.

The weasel sees his interest and starts to haggle, an unpleasant wrenching forming in Alastor's gut as the fool discusses the price of another person. The thought sickens him, knowing that had things gone differently for him he could have very well been on the opposite end of this endeavor.

But Alastor does not collect these things simply to marvel at them behind glass.

He collects them to learn.

"While your generous offer is greatly appreciated, I think I'll just take him."

"What?"

The shadows descend.

When it is done, the scent of blood hangs thick in the air. Alastor takes a deep inhale and basks in it. Beside him, Husk rolls his eyes, muttering "freak" under his breath. Alastor steps over a severed arm and kneels before the box. The creature inside looks up at him with curiosity. Alastor snaps his fingers and the chains unravel themselves, falling away from the box with a clatter. He opens the lid slowly, holding a hand over the creature and mimicking the same spell on the gag and chains binding it. The mer rises, grasping the edge of the box and lifting himself up so he is meeting Alastor's gaze. One hand comes up to touch the man's face, tracing his features and prodding curiously at his glasses. Alastor lets him explore, content with indulging the creature.

A low groan interrupts them.

The weasel man is still alive. Limbless, but alive. Husk pulls out his revolver, but the creature moves first, dragging himself across the floor with alarming speed and descending on the man. Pupils and irises give way to brilliant red and razor teeth and claws take turns rending flesh apart. Blood soaks the mer's front and Alastor remains silent as the disgusting little man is devoured. Eventually the screams fade and the creature pulls back, blood and viscera dripping from its jaw. His eyes turn to Husk.

"No, no," Alastor interjects. "He's with me."

The mer pulls back. The red glow fades from his eyes. He wipes the gore from his face, licks his hand clean. His tail begins to twist and warp, scales recede and pale flesh emerges. Alastor watches in fascination as the tail becomes legs and the mer takes on full human shape.

"Holy shit," Husk breathes.

Alastor stands, regards him with interest. He crosses the room and offers a hand to the creature. Thin fingers grasp his and the young man stands, stumbling almost immediately and collapsing against Alastor who braces him.

"Thank you."

"Ah so you can speak." There is a sheet draped over some crates nearby and Alastor has his shadow bring it to him. He wraps it around the young mer's exposed body and brushes wet locks away from his face. "Could we have your name then? I am Alastor and that man you almost ate is Husker."

"Husk is fine," the older man chimes in.

The mer pouts at up at Alastor and Alastor decides that a bloodthirsty creature who just devoured a man in front of him has no right to look so cute.

"I wasn't going to eat him. I thought he was going to shoot me." He pulls the sheet a little tighter around himself. "My name is Vox."

"A pleasure." Alastor scoops him up into his arms. "Shall we depart then? It wouldn't do us much good to get caught here."

Husk offers him a two-fingered salute and the three make their way out to the waiting carriage. Alastor's smile reaches his eyes as the mer gazes around the docks in wonder and he gazes out the window their entire ride back home.

What an interesting creature indeed.

---

Not sure if it actually counts as cannibalism since Vox isn't actually human, but tagged just in case lol

#mer!vox au #hazbin hotel #hazbin vox #hazbin alastor #radiostatic #hazbin husk #alice rambles #hazbin hotel vox #vox hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel au

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master-sass-blast · 5 months

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Let's (Not) Party, Baby.

Summary: You rub your swollen belly, both fond and exhausted. “I think it just feels weird to me. Like, the gender reveal party was to celebrate the healthy pregnancy lasting so long. But I just feel really weird about being, like, ‘I’m growing a human, come give me shit.’”

Kitty laughs as she unwraps another bar of chocolate. “Well, I think it’s the duty of the community to support pregnant mothers, y’know? It’s about equipping the parents with what they need to care for the baby.”

“Yeah, but everything I’ve read about and seen online is a whole spectacle,” you grumble. “And, honestly, I don’t have the energy for a party. I’m fucking tired. I feel bloated and sore. I don’t want to have a party where I have to put on real pants and eat melted candy bars out of diapers.”

Kitty stills, then slowly looks over at you with a wide-eyed expression of horror. “That’s a thing?”

“It’s a game,” you answer with a roll of your eyes. “You’re supposed to guess which kind of candy it is.”

Pairing(s): Piotr Rasputin x Reader, Kitty Pryde x Illyana Rasputin.

Rating: G.

Word count: 4.3k.

Set after "S'mores for Two."

Author's Note: Me? Posting more than once a year? Surely not.

In other news, my CFS/other body and brain shit is still overwhelming. It basically took dragging myself through editing to be able to post this latest round of fics (for those of you who don't check out my other works, no worries, but I like to post in little caches so that everything is updated mostly together). I'm not trying to vie for pity; I'm really fucking proud of myself for pushing through and being able to post. I had an unofficial goal of wanting to post more fics before April was over (because April is my birth month), and I did it! I am that bitch!

Thank you all for your patience -and all the comments! They really kept me going when the grind of editing was starting to wear me down.

Happy Reading!

“I guess I’m just not sure what to do.”

Kitty nods as she paints your fingernails a pretty shade of shimmering lilac. “Well, I think it just depends on, like, what you and Piotr want to do, y’know?”

The two of you are on the family room couch; you’ve both taken over the space a bit, actually. It’s a scheduled at home spa day, courtesy of Kitty. There’s dozens of bottles of nail polish lined up on the coffee table, next to two discarded face mask wrappers, a tub of coarse sugar scrub, a sleeve of cotton discs, and an entire store's worth of toners and moisturizers. There’s a half-empty pizza box on one end of the table, several bars of chocolate (and more wrappers), an open jar of pickles (the good, Kosher deli kind, according to Kitty), and a cereal bowl half-filled with peanut butter.

You swipe one end of a pickle spear through your bowl of peanut butter, then crunch down. I mean, I know that’s the point, but… “I think it’s more, like,” you begin once you’ve swallowed, “that I never thought I’d be in this position in life. And that if I ever did get to this stage in life–” you gesture vaguely around you with your munched-on pickle spear “–that I’d automatically know what to do.”

Kitty nods, curly hair bobbing with the motion of her head. “I get you.” She finishes your right hand, then screws the lid back onto the corresponding bottle of polish. “It’s, like, hard to wrap your head around.”

“Yeah. I mean–” You pause to load more peanut butter onto your pickle, which is harder than it sounds. “How are you even supposed to plan baby shower stuff?”

It’s a quandary that’s been gnawing on the back of your mind for months now. The gender reveal party, at least, had been easy. Tasty food, balloon with colored confetti inside, Aiden’s photography team because you and Piotr had wanted pictures, done. It’d been a celebration of having a pregnancy last long enough to see the baby’s gender –and a wonderful day where you and Piotr learned you’d be welcoming a daughter in a few months.

Trying to plan a baby shower, however…

You rub your swollen belly, both fond and exhausted. Your eviction date is coming for you, Masha, whether you like it or not. “I think it just feels weird to me. Like, the gender reveal party was to celebrate the healthy pregnancy lasting so long. We all ate food and enjoyed each other’s company. But I just feel really weird about being, like, ‘I’m growing a human, come give me shit.’”

“Yeah, but everything I’ve read about and seen online is a whole spectacle,” you grumble. You hold your hand out for a square of chocolate, then pop the piece Kitty gives you into your mouth. “And, honestly,” you continue as you tuck the chocolate into your cheek like a hamster, “I don’t have the energy for a party. I’m fucking tired. I feel bloated and sore. I don’t want to have a party where I have to put on real pants and eat melted candy bars out of diapers.”

Kitty stills, then slowly looks over at you with a wide-eyed expression of horror. “That’s a thing?”

“It’s a game,” you answer with a roll of your eyes. “You’re supposed to guess which kind of candy it is.”

She gags, then shakes her head. “Fuck that. That’s just gross.”

“Exactly!”

Kitty eats a few squares of chocolate, expression contemplative. Once she swallows, she says, “I guess I don’t see it as that big of a deal –not having a baby shower and all that. We don’t have baby showers in Jewish circles.”

“Oh.” Your brows lift upwards. “Why not?”

“It’s considered inauspicious,” she explains. “My best friend’s older sister’s parents kept all the baby stuff at their house until she gave birth. Then, they went over to her and husband’s place and set everything up for when she came home.”

“Oh.” You cock your head to one side, considering, then grimace and shrug. “We already have the nursery part way set up, though–”

“I didn’t mean that, like, that should do the same thing,” Kitty interjects. “I meant it, like, whatever you do should serve you and your happiness.” She offers you a reassuring smile. “There is no real rule about what’s normal or not. If a baby shower sounds exhausting, then don’t do it.”

“But people might be expecting for us to have one,” you sigh wearily, “so they can celebrate.”

“Fuck them and their expectations.” Kitty grins when you laugh. “I’m serious! All that matters is what makes you happy.”

“And Piotr,” you tack on once you catch your breath. “And he might want one.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find that out–” Kitty twists towards the front of the house when the front door swings open, then thumps shut. “Hey, speak of the man!”

Piotr pauses his conversation with Illyana as he looks towards you. He glances at you, eyebrows raised, then at Kitty, then back at you again. “Chto?”

“Your wife has a question for you!” Kitty hollers before flashing a dazzling, enraptured grin at Illyana. “Hi, baby!”

Piotr takes off his shoes, then strolls towards you. “You have question, myshka? Is everything okay?”

“Well, first things first.” You cock your head back so you can look up at him. “Will you give me a kiss, even though I’ve been eating peanut butter on pickles?”

He smirks, then bends down and presses his lips against yours.

“Aaw, what a man,” Kitty croons. She cocks her head back when Illyana approaches the couch. “Will you kiss me, even though I’ve been eating pickles without peanut butter?”

Illyana chuckles, then cups Kitty’s chin with her hand and kisses her girlfriend. She looks up when you and Piotr share a grin, then gently tugs on Kitty’s elbow. “Davay.”

“Help yourself to the pizza!” Kitty tosses over her shoulder as Illyana ushers her towards the front of the house (and away from prying eyes).

Piotr kisses the top of your head, then circles around the couch and sits down next to you. The couch creaks beneath him as he helps himself to a slice of cheese pizza, then again when he leans back and settles in. “Ty v poryadke?”

“Da,” you assure him. “I was just talking to Kitty about baby shower stuff.”

Piotr’s brows draw together as he chews a mouthful of pizza. He swallows, then says, “I thought baby showers were not held in Jewish communities.”

“They aren’t. It was more like…” You gesture vaguely with one hand and sigh. “I don’t know if I want to have a baby shower. I’m so tired, and I feel like a boat, and I don’t want to wear pants.”

Piotr lets out a bellowing laugh mid bite, then quickly claps one hand over his mouth. He finishes chewing between giggles, then swallows and sighs. “Oh, moya serdtse. One day, there will be pants that you like.”

“Doubtful.” You smirk, but it quickly gives way to weariness. “I mean… I just don’t know if I have the energy to deal with a baby shower, y’know? But if you want one, I don’t want to take that away from you.”

“What I want–” Piotr sets his partial pizza slice down on a piece of paper towel, then leans over and draws you into his arms. “I want you to be happy and well.” He kisses the crown of your head, then tucks your head beneath his chin. “Masha will be loved and cared for regardless of having baby shower. If you are tired, then you deserve to rest, myshka.”

“Yeah,” you agree as you bury your face in his burly chest, “but if everyone’s expecting us to have one–”

“‘Everyone’ does not get say,” Piotr interrupts gently. “If they wish to help or give gifts, they know where to find us.”

You sigh, then nuzzle against his shirt when he starts stroking your hair. “Maybe we can have, like, a nice dinner or something? With family and close friends? And some help to finish setting up the nursery?”

Piotr gently rubs your back. “That sounds nice.”

“Cool.” You sigh again, far more relaxed this time, then lean over and grab your jar of pickles. “Want a pickle?”

Piotr hums, then nods and plucks a pickle spear out of the jar. “Spasibo.”

“Konechno,” you say before kissing his cheek.

…

“Thanks again for driving me,” you say as you stretch your seatbelt around your swollen belly. “I’ve just been so tired lately that driving isn’t really a good idea.”

“Konechno, ptitsa,” Alex says as she starts the engine on her truck. “How did your appointment go?”

“Good,” you sigh as you stretch and settle into the passenger seat. “Everything’s looking good. Baby’s healthy. Blood sugar looks good. My iron’s still low, though, so I’m taking a higher dose of supplements and I need to be careful about overtiring myself.”

Alex hums and nods as she navigates out of the clinic parking lot. “What can we help with at home?”

“Uh…” Your face and mind go blank. You try, unsuccessfully, to kickstart your brain, then rub your face with your hands when your mind refuses to cooperate. “I think that’d be a difficult question without factoring in pregnancy brain.”

“Fair enough,” Alex chuckles.

“Man, I thought I was spacey before,” you lament. “And then it was bad enough weaning off my meds, but now–” You stop mid-sentence and gape when you see the sign for a McDonalds. “McFlurry.”

Alex laughs again, then changes lanes and drives into the McDonald’s parking lot.

One order for a large fry and an Oreo McFlurry later, the two of you are back on the road and headed for home.

You hum contentedly as you swirl a few fries in your McFlurry. Before you can indulge, though, your addled brain kicks back into gear. “Oh. Did you have a baby shower when you were pregnant with Mikhail?”

“No.” Alex pauses to turn, then explains, “It’s considered back luck in Russian culture. Most expecting parents won’t have one or purchase things for the baby until they are born.”

“Oh.” You blink a few times –the curse under your breath when McFlurry drips off your fries and onto your shirt. You shove your fries and remaining McFlurry “dip” into your mouth, then wipe down your shirt with a tissue (not that it does much good). Once you’re cleaner, and you’ve swallowed, you ask, “Then why was Piotr so ambivalent about whether we have one or not?”

“Because that boy will follow you to the ends of Earth if you asked,” Alex answers with a smirk. “And he’s Americanized a bit since moving here. Plus, we didn’t necessarily raise our kids to be so superstitious. Nikolai and I saw it as more to not ask about someone’s pregnancy unless they wanted to share, rather than luck related. We still prepared a nursery for Mikhail and stocked up on supplies.” She drums her fingers against the steering wheel while you wait behind another car. “To be honest, even if parties were part of our culture, I wasn’t in any shape for one.” She chuckles ruefully beneath her breath. “I was a wreck during that pregnancy.”

“Honestly, I feel the same way,” you admit with a heavy sigh. “I’m so tired, and sore, and I don’t want to wear pants.” You smile when Alex laughs, then continue with your griping. “Plus, all of the shit I’ve seen for baby showers just… doesn’t appeal? I don’t have the energy to decorate, and apparently there’s games you can play? But it’s weird stuff like melting candy bars in diapers, then having everyone try and guess what kind of candy it is–”

Alex grimaces. “That sounds disgusting.”

“Yeah. Plus, if I’m getting candy, I just want to eat the candy.”

“Understandable and wise.”

“We talked about having family and friends over for dinner,” you continue after grinning, “and to have some help around the house and finishing the nursery… but, like, how do you ask people ‘hey, come bring some food and hang out and help us with the nursery and house stuff because we’re expecting a baby?’”

Alex smirks and shoots you a sidelong glance. “That seemed pretty coherent to me.”

“That’s not what I–” You stick your tongue out at her when she laughs. “You know what I mean.”

“I do,” she assures you. She brakes for a red light, then looks over and puts one hand on your shoulder. “Just ask, ptitsa. Ask, and we’ll be there.”

You smile, and place your hand over hers. “Thanks, Alex.”

…

“I was thinking of actually printing invitations? I don’t know why, I just think it’d be funny.” You spit toothpaste foam into the sink, then resume brushing your teeth. “We could print an extra one to keep. It’d be, like, a cute memory thing.”

Piotr smiles at you in the bathroom mirror, amused. “We could. What would these hypothetical invitations say?”

“I dunno.” You rinse your mouth and toothbrush, then stick your toothbrush in the little holder you keep on the sink. “‘We’re having a baby; come eat food about it.’ Whatever works, honestly.” When he chuckles, you turn to face him. “Do you have a better idea?”

Piotr laughs, shakes his head, then bends and kisses the top of your head. “I trust your creative vision, myshka.”

“Damn straight.” You smirk, self-satisfied, then turn back to the sink and resume your bedtime routine. Floss, fluoride, wash face… what kind of food are you supposed to serve at a baby shower? “What kind of food would we have?”

“Uh…” Piotr clears his throat. “I am not sure,” he calls from the bedroom. “Perhaps we should discuss in morning. Take night to sleep on ideas.”

Your reflection scrunches its face as you floss. “I don’t think it’s that serious. It’s just, like, a potluck dinner. Almost anything would work.”

There’s a pause, and then your husband’s heavy footsteps approach the bathroom. He leans around the doorway and meets your gaze in the mirror, lips pursed. “Da. However…” He tucks his tongue inside his cheek and looks away. “Your nighttime cravings are… ravenous. And unpredictable.”

“I am not that bad!” You blow a raspberry at him over your shoulder, then toss your used flosser in the trash. “Fine. We’ll talk about food in the morning.” You reach for the bottle of fluoride –then gasp and scamper to the bathroom door. “We should have pancakes for breakfast!”

Piotr laughs and nods as he turns down the bed. “Pancakes for breakfast, very good.”

“With blueberries!”

“With blueberries.”

Pleased, you smile, then head back to the sink. Once you’re done with your routine, you head to bed and heft yourself onto the mattress.

Piotr, the saint he is, helps arrange pillows behind you to support your back. He leans over to watch as you scroll through YouTube. “Ah, nighttime listenings.” He holds out one hand. “Would you like me to find Among Us gameplay for you?”

“I can do it,” you insist, frowning. “I’m pregnant, not missing my hands.”

“Nyet, nyet,” he agrees. “But–”

“‘History of Americana Diner Food.’” You gasp when you see a thumbnail displaying burgers, fries, and a milkshake. Your stomach growls, and you groan. “Oh, burgers sound so good.”

Piotr bites the inside of his lower lip when you gaze up at him pleadingly. He hesitates, then sighs and relents with a soft laugh. “Davay, myshka. Let’s get you burger.”

You coo happily, then leverage yourself out of bed. “Just for that, I’ll share my fries with you.”

…

“I meant to ask you something earlier.”

Piotr glances over as you rummage through your take-out bag, then turns his attention back to the road. “Chto?”

“Why –that smells so fucking good.” You stop to cram a few fries in your mouth, then continue once you’ve swallowed. “Why aren’t you bothered by baby shower stuff?”

There’s a long silence. Then, with quiet bewilderment, Piotr says, “I think I am not understanding your meaning.”

“I mean… Your mom said that baby showers are inauspicious in Russia. But, when I asked you if we had to do one, you seemed ambivalent about it all.”

“I do not believe much in luck,” Piotr says after a moment, shrugging. “Some things are beyond control, da, but choices are what impact outcomes. Not unseen forces.” He pauses to change lanes, then adds, “And I want to be sensitive to you. You had bad upbringing. If there was something you wanted in preparation for our baby, for healing, then I want to make sure that happens.”

“Not everything comes down to my shitty childhood,” you press. “I’m not the only person in this relationship, and this isn’t just my baby we’re expecting.” You wolf down a few more fries. “I don’t want you to set aside what you’re comfortable with just because I had fuckheads for parents. This is all supposed to be about compromise.”

“I am not making myself uncomfortable, dorogoy,” Piotr assures you, tone gentle. He takes one hand off the wheel and takes hold of yours. “I think baby showers as tradition –as mandatory–is foolish. But if you want one to celebrate our baby, that would make me very happy. And if you just want to rest, that makes me happy, also. Khorosho?”

“Alright.” You squeeze his hand lovingly, then reach into your bag and retrieve a few fries. “Open up.”

Piotr chuckles, then opens his mouth and lets you feed him fries. “Spasibo.”

…

The two of you settle on printing one commemorative flier, just for the two of you, then email your prospective guests. The promise is for a breakfast-style buffet of sorts; the two of you will provide the blinis, kasha, and some beef bacon (so Kitty can partake), and everyone else has been asked to bring their favorite breakfast dish.

You bust out laughing when Wade –with Nate and Russell in tow–shows up with a trunk full of Poptarts. “You would!”

“We are not keeping all of those,” Piotr mutters as he eyes the wall of blue boxes uneasily.

“Says you,” you tease. “I’m eating for two! These should last us… oh, about a week.”

Ellie and Yukio supply doughnuts and muffins, Neena comes with a box of freshly made breakfast burritos, and Alex, Nikolai, and Mikhail bring a veritable feast of traditional toppings for the blinis and set up to make fresh latkes.

Kitty and Illyana arrive last.

You blink rapidly when you see the numerous bags and containers carried between the two young women. “You didn’t have to–”

“You’re the one who said to bring breakfast foods!” Kitty interrupts with a cheery grin.

You eye the gallon plastic bowl in her hands with mild suspicion. “What kind of breakfast is that?”

“Okay, this–” she gestures with the bowl as she bustles into the kitchen “–isn’t breakfast, but my mom heard that you’re pregnant, and she wanted to send along some food to help you guys out. This–” she lifts the bowl again “–is cholent, and ‘Yana’s got some roast chicken and challah from mom, for you guys, too. Do you have room in your fridge? Anyway,” she continues as Piotr starts rearranging the fridge contents to make room for everything, “we brought good bagels and toppings for them, because you can’t have breakfast without bagels.” She turns, finally catches sight of all the food in the kitchen, and her jaw drops. “Oh shit.”

“If you leave hungry, is own fault,” Nikolai announces while grating potatoes.

“Hey, that’s my kind of party!” Kitty says with a laugh. “Let me get my skillet and shit set up, and then I’ll start helping you, Nick. Where should I drop everything?”

“We have counter space for you over there,” Piotr says, pointing towards the back of the kitchen. “And vegan pancake mix.”

“There’s dairy free breakfast burritos for you in the paper bag!” Neena calls out. “And the guy doesn’t use pork for any of his recipes.”

“And the pork gelatin free toaster pastries!” Russell adds.

“The doughnuts back there are parve, too,” Ellie pipes up.

Kitty beams. “Thank you so much. You guys are awesome!”

You smile, and pause for a moment to take it all in.

It’s been an inexorably long journey. As far as you’ve come from your past, there are times where you still can’t believe you’ve made it here –somewhere good, and healthy, and safe. It almost feels like a dream. Or a magical trance. Or like you’re watching a movie, and you’re waiting for the credits to start rolling and for the house lights to turn on.

But it’s real. You’re in a beautiful home, with a wonderful husband, surrounded by people who love, respect, and care about you and each other. And you have a baby on the way, on top of it all.

“Myshka?” Piotr places a gentle hand on your shoulder.

“I’m okay,” you assure him quietly as you wipe tears away from your eyes. “Just very happy.”

Piotr smiles softly, then bends down and kisses your forehead. “I love you very much, moya serdtse.”

“I love you, too.” You tug him down by the collar until you can kiss his cheek, then pat his chest when he straightens back up. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road.”

“Uh, only if you’re sitting down.” Kitty blocks you when you try to enter the kitchen. “Pretty sure you’re supposed to be resting? Doctor’s orders and all that?”

You purse your lips. “You guys are guests–”

“And we’re here to help.” Neena gently takes you by the shoulders and ushers you towards the couch. “So, let us help.”

“Resting is good, myshka,” Piotr starts when you protest.

“Aren’t we here to help both of you?” Ellie pipes up, voice flat but eyes glinting with unmistakable mischief.

“Yeah, but who’s gonna muscle Colossus out of the kitchen?” Russell stage whispers in reply.

All heads turn towards Alex.

Piotr’s confident expression quickly slips away as his mother looks him dead in the eye. “Mama…”

“Are you going to sit?” she asks in Russian.

“Bozhe ty moi –I am not pregnant,” Piotr insists. “I can help.”

Alex sighs, then rounds the kitchen island. “Alright.”

“Nyet, nyet, I am not, mama don’t –blyat!”

You laugh along with everyone else when Alex scoops Piotr up bridal-style.

She carries him over to the couch, then sets him down with surprising gentleness. “Be good,” she admonishes lovingly in Russian. She kisses Piotr’s forehead, then glances meaningfully at you. “Rub your wife’s shoulders.”

Piotr chuckles, somewhat exasperated, and rolls his eyes as his mother strides back to the kitchen. “I am grown man, you know.”

“Da,” Alex agrees without turning back. “You are heavy like one.”

You giggle when Piotr rolls his eyes again, then reach over and grab his hand. You fix him with your prettiest, most pleading eyes when he looks at you. “You don’t want to sit with me?”

“I always want to sit with you,” Piotr assures you, relenting immediately. He moves closer to you, then puts one arm around your shoulders. “Would you like me to rub your back?”

“Oh, always.” You lean against your husband, then relax as he starts rubbing your sore back with his thumbs. You groan, eyes sliding shut, and bask –in him, in the warmth of your home, in the happy chatter and delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen.

Your life certainly feels full of magic.

...

Epilogue:

“Insert Leg A into Slot G–”

“That doesn’t fucking tell me which shitbag it is!” Wade snaps. He snatches the instructions out of your hands, scans the page, then growls and hurls the paper against the floor. “You’re a goddamn rocking chair! No one fucking asked you to run the elementary school accelerated program!”

“Definitely comes with the same baggage,” Neena mutters.

Wade looks over his shoulder at her, then back at you. “Remind me why she’s being the peanut gallery again, instead of using her internal magic eight ball to help us?”

Neena rolls her eyes. “For the last time, that’s not how my powers work.”

“Not to mention they’re probably already maxed to keep you from throwing the materials through the window,” you mumble under your breath.

Things would’ve been simpler if you’d just purchased a pre-assembled rocking chair. Unfortunately, not many of them come rated from someone of Piotr’s size (or the wear and tear you’re both certain that your baby –and, eventually, kids–will put the seat through).

“I keep telling you guys, you’re going about this all wrong!” Kitty calls as she carries the vacuum cleaner down the hall.

“Yes, do enlighten us, Ms. ‘Quantumania Axed the Best Character,’” Wade grumbles.

Kitty stares at him for a long moment, face scrunched up in conclusion. “...Right.”

“KURT WAS A GEM, AND WE ALL KNOW IT!”

“Look, you guys just need to let Alex and Ellie do this,” Kitty presses on as she gestures to the mess of wooden slats and rocking chair pieces on the ground. “It’s butch magic. They’ll sort it out in, like, ten minutes.”

“I already told you, Katherine,” Ellie hollers from down the stairs, “I can’t assemble a fucking chair!”

“Fine, Ellen!” Kitty shouts back. “Then just let Alex do it! Honestly, you have a hyper-competent badass in the house, and you don’t stick her on IKEA assembly? The fuck is wrong with you all!”

“Let’s keep things moving, please.” Alex’s voice and footsteps echo up the stairwell. “And reasonably calm,” she adds with a knowing look at Kitty. There’s a pause until Kitty nods and heads off, and then Alex appears in the nursery doorway. “What am I doing now?”

“How good are you at assembling rocking chairs?” Neena asks.

Alex chuckles, then plucks the instructions off the floor. “I’ll give it a go.”

#sass writes #piotr rasputin x reader #kitty pryde x illyana rasputin #the aforementioned gender reveal fic will be coming soon #but this is what i had so they're gonna be out of order #x men fanfiction #deadpool fanfiction #colossus hyperfixation collection #i wrote a lot of this when i was hungry can you tell #the reference to quantumania at the end is for my bff ily mady

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baenyth · 8 months

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First Half of Miraculous Season 2 Done. Here's my thoughts:

The Collector: A pretty good start! They made the teens smart while still being dumb teens!

Despair Bear: Chloe needs a therapist, arguably moreso than a redemption arc and especially a downward villainous spiral. Also Dangit Grandpa

Prime Queen: Wow, this was a lot more chill than expected. Even Cat Noir was left aghast at what Nadja was doing, Nadja seemed to be pressuring Ladybug and Cat Noir more for views than anything else, and I'm not entirely sure Akuma personalities can be trusted.

Befana: Fun fact: This was the episode that got me into Miraculous in the first place because of how shocking it was. And then I discovered even more. In hindsight from watching the other episodes, it was relatively darker, but mostly because it's Marinette's friends and family that are getting G-rated killed instead of random civilians like every other episode.

Riposte: Kagami is here! I don't see too much chemistry with her and Adrien yet, but she's cool and I like her and feel like I could be friends in real life. Also this feels like a relatively uncommon trope, but I wish "X is blatantly a woman but no one notices" was spedran through by someone with brains.

Robustus: Pretty good, all things considered. From what I've heard about Miraculous lore, creating sapient or at the very least semi-sapient AI isn't that uncommon for weirdness hotspots, and I'm putting Max in the list of characters I think should have figured out Ladybug and Cat Noir's identity. (There's four now!)

Gigantitan: It turns out my favorite parts of Miraculous are the slice-of-life bits instead of the superhero bits the show is about! We got to see more of Marinette's friends! Alix! Mylene! Julie! The Eeby Deeby herself! Also it was really sweet to see Adrien's bodyguard calm down just by looking at the kid. Adrien's true daddy.

Dark Owl: No wonder these two aren't allowed to know eachothers' identities, considering how much of a loose tongue Marinette has!

Glaciator: Alright, it's finally time to talk about the sins of Marinette and Cat Noir, considering the fan content I osmosed before watching the series was heavy salt stuff, and I wanna see how much it holds up. So far Cat Noir has acted as if he's already dating Ladybug previously, and in this episode he got mad at Ladybug for not showing up at a date when she herself said she might not come due to having other plans. Isn't he supposed to be used to not-showing-up disappointment as Adrien due to his dad? Is it different because he's Cat Noir? Is this a breaking point? No matter, he eventually calms down and is ultimately the less bad member of the relationship. Marinette, meanwhile, doesn't have as many misdemeanors to her name but they're a lot worse. She stole Adrien's phone to get rid of an embarrassing message and got away with it too, what the hell, and also owns the schedule. Although I don't believe she stalked Adrien and made it herself due to how busy she is as both Marinette and Ladybug, that's just weird and wrong. I'm reluctant to call her a stalker, but her actions are still wrong. Ultimately, this relationship is going to need a lot of therapy and counseling to not crash and burn. What were we talking about again? Oh yeah. The ice cream episode. I think the ice cream guy can be wrong and he doesn't understand that.

Sapotis: Silly little fun episode, also it introduces the first new Miraculous holder! I'm honestly fine with it so far if it means more screentime for side characters. I honestly really like seeing Marinette's classmates. They're neat. Also I was this close to putting Alya on the list but she proves time and time again that she doesn't actually know Ladybug's identity.

Gorizilla: In this episode we are introduced to Adrien's deranged parasocial fanbase. I'm starting to understand some of his father's decisions at this point. This is what I was talking about with the schedule, by the way. These obsessive stalker creeps make Marinette look reasonable, and I wouldn't be surprised if the one guy who I'm pretty sure becomes Party Crasher discreetly stalked Adrien to get his schedule. Restraining orders need to be filed.

Captain Hardrock: One of the funniest episodes, up there with Dark Cupid. Also Luka is here! And he already has great chemistry with Marinette! And more Rosie and Julie content even if it's crumbs!

#miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #ml salt #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #nadja chamack #kagami tsurugi #max kante #alix kubdel #mylene haprele #juleka couffaine #rose lavillant #alya cesaire #luka couffaine #lukanette

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randomalistic · 1 year

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Anyways here’s a rambling infodump thing about all the similarities between Spamton and Turbo and then some. (you should bully me for this)

My fixation on both of them… they feed into eachother.

3 foot tall FREAK !!!!!

THE INSANE SMILER…

Glitchy and pixelated

Full of envy, pent up hatred, DESPERATELY CRAVES REVENGE.

Kinda ugly </3

Or at least. Unconventional!

Used to drive a car when he was popular

I know there’s a difference between being a car spokesman and being a racer but it’s close enough <3 Spamton would not know how to drive a cungadero they just told him to pose in there and smile. Ok Headcanon OVER !!!!

Had it all in the 80s/90s before losing the spotlight

Turbo did his bullshit in 1987 (actual road blasters release year) and Spamton did his bullshit in 1997

Only really known as an unspeakable rumor and lives in infamy

It’s more like everyone “moved on” from Spamton and forgot about him (or at least tried to forget about him…) where with Turbo what he did was so bad that he’s only known for that ONE thing

Goes in hiding for decades

Spamton has his alleyway dumpster, and maybe other areas of cyber city with low traffic. Turbo’s hiding was implied to have been in the depths of game central station until Sugar Rush was plugged in. (Which I think was asked about in an AMA) Both are like. ~30 YEARS of hiding 💀

Would go any length for the same attention again

The interesting thing about this is Turbo DOES win. He does get that attention back by disguising as King Candy and being able to race again, and he keeps it for however long Sugar Rush was around for before the events of the movie. Spamton never gets it back…

But at least Spamton doesn’t get INCINERATED so I’d say he’s better off, even if the best outcome is him becoming an item

Dependent on some kid for his plan to work

Although Spamton’s relationship with Kris (dependent on them helping him) is pretty different than King Candy’s relationship with Vanellope (dependent on her not interfering) I still think it’s funny that they both have beef with children

Later attempted murder of said kid

Quality villains out here not even hesitating to kill kids to get what they want !!!

Imitated/fabricated identity

Spamton imitates Swatch, Turbo fabricates (?) King Candy

Stupid catchphrase

NOW’S YOUR CHANCE TO BE [TurboTastic!]

BOSS BATTLE FORM IS FUCKKKKED

They essentially have the same monologue of “THANKS TO YOU I'M MORE POWERFUL THAN EVER!! But it's not enough... so I'm going to kill you anyways"

I think King Candybug’s Face resembles SNEO in a weird way. Mostly just the big eyes and weird nose and THE SMILERRRRR. They have very similar vibes! I will stop myself now!

Virus/malware adiacent

Turbo literally claims he’s a virus by the end of the movie and Spamton is Spamton

Critically Acclaimed Tumblr Man (and hated)

From my RESEARCH. (Aka. Looking up art of him) Apparently a lot of people on tumblr liked Turbo in 2013. And those people have since become spamton people (perhaps ……) I guess that is me now too. Really unfortunate

Lore ties into a real life video game (Petz & Road Blasters)

In the sweepstakes spamton was kinda confirmed to come from a Petz game. I also didn’t know road blasters was Real until I started looking into it . (TurboTime is fake tho) But there’s a very specific similarity for you. Fucked up characters blurring the lines into real life my beloved

Rivalry/broken friendship with Those similar looking fellas (I’m running out of brain power here)

Spamton had the Addisons, which were like his friends? Fellow advertisers. Looked a bit like him, just taller with different colors. Spamton left them after becoming a big shot because he thought he didn’t need them anymore…

Turbo had the “turbo twins” (the 2 other blue racers in his game) idk if that’s their official name cuz they kinda barely exist in canon.. I think it’s popular fanon that Turbo is shorter than both of them, but that’s actually not true. But I’m still gonna count it. Anyways he KILLED them when he got turbotime unplugged. THEYRE DEAD.

Extreme temperature related death (is this a stretch)

Less of a similarity and more of an interesting contrast

Turbo burns to death when he’s INCINERATED in diet cola mountain. I could ramble about this a lot but. That’s for my second account

And Spamton NEO (in snowgrave at least) is FROZEN SOLID by noelle. He shouldn’t have asked for that ice cream man

Anyways I get similar vibes from those guys..

I hope they explode.

Also thinking more about this is making me realize how similar in concept deltarune and Wreck it Ralph are. As in, those apps and computer programs in the computer lab ? Yeah they’re alive and theres a whole ass cyber city and mansion and theres a ton of little guys living in there! (And same goes for the card kingdom in chapter 1)

Like if there was a dark world created in an arcade, it would probably look something like the WIR world. In a way, lightners would be the “players” because everything the game characters (darkners) do is to serve the players. I’m just saying !!!! These pieces of media are both Really Good!!!

#spamtastic #whatever #long lost #pong post #CAN YOU TELL IM LOSING IT #Long Post #you don’t wanna know how many hours I spent thinking about this!#oops!!!!!#I have work to do!!!#spamton #wreck it Ralph #Turbo wir #turbo #turbo wreck it ralph

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isa-ghost · 3 months

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some qphil and pomme hcs 🥹? i was thinking abt the rescue we were robbed of

Okay bear with me, I didn't get to see her a lot because I didn't watch most POVs she was on so these might not be spicy and deep or smth, they'll mostly be silly or surface level stuff. 😭

Phil headcanons masterlist

He thinks she's one of, if not THE most brilliant egg. Pomme's mind is something else /pos. He'd love to sit down and pick her brain sometime as one big brain to another (though he'd never admit he's big brain).

He makes dad jokes about Chayanne making anything apple flavored/centric like "How could you cook Pomme like that D:" and it always gets him smacked by both Chay and Lullah.

And then he'll see Pomme and be like YOU'RE ALIVE :O!! and watches her scramble like ?!?!?! before dying laughing and explaining himself. Etoiles has started to get in on this, much to Pomme's dismay.

He makes so many apple-related dad jokes in general, he enjoys watching all the kids die inside too much when he makes them. He doesn't even LIKE dad jokes that much, he's just a shithead.

He actively encourages Pomme to "compete" with Richas in collecting dads

There have been multiple occasions where they've had a Moment of some sort with or without other people around and he's told Pomme how much of her parents he can see in her. He's talked about seeing Baghera, Etoiles, and Pierre.

Phil loves the way Pomme just kinda blends in with her parents. She's not a Mommy's Girl or a Daddy's Girl. If she's with Baghera she's a lot like her and that her is different than when she's with Etoiles and those are both different from when she's with Pierre. And so on. Phil finds it endearing that Pomme takes after each and every parent and how it really shows when she's with them individually.

The couple times she (usually also with Dapper or Richas) would come to Phil in the wake of big stressful things going on, it was because she knew of all the islanders, Phil is one of the ones who's no doubt seen the most in his lifetime. He Gets It. He'll be real and raw about it, he won't sugarcoat just because she's a little girl. He'll level with her, and that kind of insight and comfort is what she needs in those trying times.

I think if Phil was Pomme's parent then she would've pulled a Chayanne and personally beat Ender King's ass right out of his body. And she'd spend day and night beforehand painstakingly plotting a plan to ensure it goes right too.

My memory is fuzzy on Pomme's first day, but I remember Phil being on high alert while the French were getting on their feet and offering everything he could in order to help keep Pomme safe while they settled in. Pomme's never forgotten that. If there were ever a crisis that left all of the French AND Bad + their bases inaccessible or unsafe, she'd go straight to Phil next. She knows how much effort he puts into keeping his bases safe and secure, and she knows he has always dropped everything at any moment no matter what in order to prioritize the eggs.

God these two shake hands on the insomnia fr. The only reason Phil eventually passes out is bc of his weird universe transcending fuckery. He may willingly Go to sleep but his ass doesn't willingly Fall asleep if that makes sense. Brain too busy going 90 miles a minute.

Phil's never thought abt this but I am: Of all the eggs, I think Pomme is one of the ones who would survive the best in his Hardcore World. She'd lock the FUCK in.

And Phil would've seen that if we weren't robbed of the rescue. 😔 The rescue would've changed how Phil views Pomme in a positive way I think.

Because as of right now, he just feels awful that Pomme has to grow up and be mature so much faster. There are too many horrors, she just doesn't let herself be a kid. Chayanne does similar things but he at least still let's himself be a kid. It saddens Phil that Pomme seems to think she can't be, even if she wants to be. :(

If he wasn't afraid of an awful accident happening, he'd probably spar with her. She's the daughter of Etoiles, he has no doubt she's a lil fireball. But he only trusts himself to spar with Chayanne and Lullah. (I think I've said this somewhere already,, hm. Well at least I'm consistent LMAO)

#qsmp #qsmp philza #philza #q!philza #qphil headcanons #qsmp pomme #pomme the egg #qsmp headcanons

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bitzandbotz · 11 months

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Rolfe Dewolfe Headcanons!

He is my current microwave blorbo (he is rotating around in my brain rn) and I have many thoughts about him!

This post is sfw of course!

He has a huge inferiority complex and some major ego issues. Bro is a little delulu but we love that.

I headcanon that Wolfman (lead singer of The Wolf Pack 5) is his older brother. This is where a large majority of his insecurities stem from, as his brother is far more well-liked and successful than he is.

He struggles to emulate Wolfman’s natural charm and charisma, so his attempts come off as forced and disingenuous as a result… Just ✨neurodivergent things✨

Not a headcanon but he forged prescriptions for pain medication???? Back pain allegedly, according to the Smitty’s introduction tape at least. Perhaps he’s a chronic pain king who couldn’t afford them!

I know it’s heavily implied that Earle is his own entity and whatnot, but I personally prefer the idea that Rolfe is just using his puppet to vent his frustrations with… Well, himself! It’s his own way of trying to tell people he’s self aware, but everyone seems to take his outlandish persona seriously…

Going based on that headcanon, he’d have to have some good vocal range too. His singing voice might not be the best but he’s definitely got some good impressions up his sleeve.

He’s funnier when he’s being authentic and not trying to be funny, if that makes sense. His jokes on stage are all very corny but behind the scenes I think he has his own unique sense of humor that the others often miss out on.

He loves disco. Canon technically, but it’s cute enough to mention. He was probably going to a lot of discotechs back when he was younger, since he was likely a young man during the time period in which disco would be relevant.

Age wise I feel like he’d be somewhere in his 30s-40s. Gray is a common color for wolves but he gives washed up celebrity vibes, yk?

He could wear shoes but he chooses not to wear them, it’s a sensory thing. He doesn’t like how constricting they feel, and I’d imagine it’d be hard finding shoes in his size anyway.

He’s the typa fella to go to sleep with that old ahh nightgown and the long droopy hat and comically flap his jowls when he snores.

Him and Fats bicker a lot but I think it’s mostly playful banter, they’re the kind of friends who start fake beef with each other just for fun. Fats is probably the one he’s closest to out of the band members, since they have a mutual understanding of one another and what makes each other tick.

Absolutely a terrible shopper. Do not send him to the store (even with a list), he will buy the most expensive versions of everything and a bunch of stuff you didn’t ask for (he only wants the best for you but he can’t keep paying 50$ for orange juice 😭).

In denial about his wrinkles. He’s still fresh as a daisy, or at least that’s what he tells you. His rosy cheeks are real though, no makeup needed for those.

If he gets frustrated enough he’ll do that dog thing that’s not a growl but a little bit of a low rumble.

In high school, he was the “weird puppet guy.” It was like every social interaction with him was a dry run for his future standup routines, he’d never talk to anyone without Earle also being involved in the conversation. It was a comfort thing for him, and it made interacting with others easier, but most people thought he was just weird for it. Once again I say ✨neurodivergent things✨

Avid vest and bowtie collector of course. He’s like Saul Goodman if he didn’t wear pants.

He knows how to play some weirdly specific instrument that sadly wouldn’t fit in with the rest of the bands lineup, but it’s something you’d never know until you’re like shopping for a replacement for your instrument and you see him trot over to a fucking theremin and start making some alien invasion ahh music

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 1 year

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AITA for wanting my parents to get me a nice PC?

no real fighting or anything happened, this is mostly so I can grapple with my own brain about it. I'll also avoid talking about general past parental abuse since that feels largely irrelevant/extraneous to the current question :P I (24ftm) am still living with my parents since the pandemic left me unemployed and I don't make enough money off my hobbies to actually go anywhere. I have been slowly starting to go back to college (after experiencing immense trauma from getting forced into college full time by the parents at 17) which my parents have been very receptive of, if not annoyed that I'm staunchly refusing to go back full time. I'm generally grateful that they've housed me as long as they have.

As a more mature adult now I do feel that I *can* return full time, or at least part time rather than my current one class a semester pattern, but there's one single problem with that— the classes i need to take to get the degree i want (technical design, which requires classes on 3D modeling and related) all require a more heavy duty computer than what I currently have, which is a dinky 4gb ram laptop I've had since at *least* 2017 that takes 20 minutes just to open a browser, and slow as molasses when I'm trying to use more than two applications at once. My parents agreed to pay for it using money from my college fund on a few conditions (such as cleaning out my bedroom to make space for it which I've been trying to do, but ADHD has made it embarrassingly difficult)

however, when I bring up the PC in any conversation, especially where i try to bring up that i need it for any classes i want to take in the future, my parents seem very upset. They accuse me of making that fact up since I've only been taking one class each semester, calling it unfair and accusing me of only wanting it to "goof off with my friends" (verbatim) and don't seem to understand the laptop *physically cannot handle* the programs that classes require, and I can hardly get a word in edgewise. It's been a nonstop feedback loop of saying I need a better PC for more classes, but getting told i cant get a better PC because i'm not taking more classes, subsequently not taking more classes because i don't have a better PC, rinse and repeat. I've been trying to explain, but they genuinely won't even listen to me.

I feel spiteful that my parents aren't understanding, and even more bitter when they've been buying thousand dollar TVs for themselves and whole new appliances for my older sibling (28mtf) who's moved out (she's the favorite sibling by a mile lol), so i know their hesitance isn't from a monetary standpoint (not to mention I said I'd be willing to pull from my own college fund for it). But I also feel guilty like I'm asking too much, or that I'm just making this problem up in my head, or that my parents are being generous in even offering/agreeing in the first place and I'm just being greedy. I have yet to fully confront them on it, but it's driving me insane with weird mixed emotions. so I just want to know if I'm being an entitled baby or if I really should be persistent on this topic.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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accirax · 5 months

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initial thoughts on DCAS episode 8

having just rewatched S1 with my sister (and even while genuinely, actually looking at the screen instead of putting the show on in the background while multitasking), it is so wild to see tomjake in this season as opposed to S1. like, Jake is more or less correct here: although Ellie's meddling and Tom's own dumb moments are also to blame, it was mostly his fault that the relationship fizzled out. how far they've come, to where Tom is the rash fool and Jake is the (mostly) rootable victim...

i KNEW homegirl would be idol hunting this episode.

absolutely baller comeback from Tess. i doubt they increased the prize money from $1mil to $3mil just for this exchange, but what a power move if they did.

if anyone (in the audience) truly believes that Tom has a real boyfriend at this point...

this was a weird ass way to phrase it but okay Emily pop off i guess.

ooh, time for Yul's psychological issues? 👀

wait, isn't Emily hired by the show, not Yul? how would Yul be able to fire someone under Kristal's employment? is this just Yul firing her from the unofficial job of watching over his image, or is it a soft confirmation that Emily has been hired directly by Yul('s manager) all along?

i'm so desperate for Fiore and Alec to like each other again that i'll be happy with literally any vaguely positive note they end on, as long as it's not hating each other. i still hope that All Stars will be able to acknowledge and expand upon their relationship a little more in upcoming episodes, but if this is the end, at least we know that Alec was trying to have her back one last time.

forgive me if i'm wrong, but, would going to space really trigger someone's fear of heights? like, the "heights" are on such a high scale and there are so many other things to be worried about that i feel like your brain wouldn't really process it as "gee i'm going really high up." still, it's always interesting to see how Kristal has more of an established relationship with her (S2) campers. it makes sense, but it does seem like she's not afraid to show her bias in that way.

damn, Trevor must get paid a LOT! even if the vehicle didn't actually take them to space, it's still a huge building with many rooms that can actually fly. makes me wonder how much the producers/hosts are getting paid. (i understand this was just a joke line but it is technically canon now)

this line was only mildly funny to me, but Ally's face is great. she really hasn't had to spend any notable time around Gabby before. get ready for it, girl, because you'll probably be on the same merge tribe sooner or later.

oh dang, he's directly asking Kristal out.

this was an interesting response, especially with Kristal's later agreement to go upon hearing that they had a pool table. Kristal could have either been letting him down gently, or have genuinely not realized that this is flirting. i think it's the latter. that leaves the door open for Kristal potentially reciprocating Derek's feelings later down the line... also, where the hell is Oliver?!

Tess proves that she can be the goth gf AND the gamer gf. step aside, Ally.

they've done SUCH a good job of making Yul continuously pay for his actions this season as opposed to S2; it makes me like him way more. the fact that Alec is the one handing out the punishments just makes it all the sweeter.

ALEC DRINKS HIS RESPECT WOMEN JUICE!! (is that an outdated meme/saying at this point?)

while Jake is still mostly at fault for this conflict, i do like how they're making sure that Ally isn't just an innocent victim, too. she's stooping down to Jake's level of childishness instead of being the bigger person and handling things maturely. it makes both of them and their conflict feel more well-rounded, even if it makes them more annoying as well, lol.

Trevor was right; this particular iteration of the space challenge, at least, is bad. the fact that the Cyan team (Aiden by extension) got literally no advantages or head starts from arriving to this room first means that the first half of the challenge didn't matter at all. even if there's the Survivor saying that "it all comes down to the puzzle," the physical challenges beforehand can at least give one team a head start at looking over the pieces. as it turns out, fucking around on the ship was just a waste of time. it diminished my enjoyment of the episode a little :( (sorry for being a downer)

glad we're revisiting Aiden and Riya's relationship a little more, probably in preparation for them reuniting at the merge. given that Jake and Riya both don't like Aiden, i wonder if they could gather their allies (Ashley, Alec, Yul, Grett) to fuel an Aiden elimination soon.

Emily has to be gay right (/j)

this staging is really great at quickly visualizing the dynamics on each team, and may be foreshadowing for future events. the Yellow Team has completely shut Riya out, with Yul not even being visible, but Alec is still smiling at her from inside. not leaving the door open for Riya will actually waste Yellow's time, but they're so eager to win the challenge that they've actually made things harder for themselves. Magenta leaves the door open for Jake, with Ashley's face expectant and unobstructed, while Ally has retreated inside. despite their disagreements, the Cyan team all waits for Aiden outside, not even opening their door until he gets back. the storyboard artists for DC are a talented group!

Jake, too, is making his case for the villains' alliance.

i liked this sort of rationale from Tess; it feels in character with how they're portraying her this season. i also hadn't considered it as a reason why they would be steadily ramping up Ellie's villainy even as a pre-merge boot. but like... she's totally right.

THEY'RE SO CUTE!!!!! thank god the writers didn't decide to destroy gabbellie this season. instead, it seems to be a basis to set up something even greater...

I'M SO GLAD THAT THIS IS THE DIRECTION THEY'RE TAKING GABBY'S CHARACTER!!! i thought it would be a really good idea, but i didn't know if the writers would wind up taking that path. but it looks like we may be getting our true "explosive girl" back now that Ellie is gone, and i couldn't be more excited. i just know it's going to lead to something buckwild.

... wait what do you mean Ellie isn't doing the patreon reads? is she going to be the real returning player?!

for a somewhat disappointing challenge (for the reasons i described earlier), i'm really happy with this elimination and the direction they're taking the season. some sort of merge or tribe swap has to be happening soon, right? that next episode trailer can't come soon enough!

#disventure camp #dcas #hopefully this is still entertaining for people even though it's several days late #i still enjoyed making it and wanted to record my thoughts for posterity though so that's why i didn't cancel this installment #disventure camp spoilers #dcas spoilers #dcas initial thoughts

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the-s1lly-corner · 10 months

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Hey I was just wondering if you could do a tadc x reader who dies their hair very often? like every month or so they dye it a different color and no one knows what color it'll be next

TADC cast x reader who dyes their hair a lot!

UEUEUEUUEU hope this is okay! i must admit i was a little uwuwuawua on ideas for a lot of the characters </3 grr finding new songs to play on loop to get me into writing is hard; though currently antonymph by vylet pony is doing things to my brain

CAINE:

makes a huge deal of things whenever you dye your hair simply because he thinks what you do with yourself is cool; and since its the digital world you can get away with dying your hair as often as you want! cant damage what technically isnt real! probably makes hair color suggestions and is absolutely thrilled when you actually follow through within the coming days. prepare to have some weird combos, though... probably changes the color of his suit to match your hair... even adds stripes if your hair has stripes, or any other pattern dyed into it

POMNI:

honestly? more power to you, thats her reaction mostly. would pomni dye her own hair, or otherwise get anything to modify her appearance? probably not... but she thinks you look great with it... probably asks why you chose the current color you went with, as well as asking whenever you change. nothing like "oh WHY? why THAT color?" but like genuine non-rude curiosity... doesnt like outwardly betting or wondering what color youre going to pick outloud since she doesnt want you to think shes rude or something

RAGATHA:

has probably made multiple color variations of accessories she has made for you so you can wear anything without having the colors clash... thinks your hair is pretty, me thinks! doesnt matter what color it is, could literally be the unpleasant green-pink-brown color gradient meme and she would still find something nice to say about it... does sometimes wonder what color youre going to choose next... probably has a hush hush bet going on between her jax and zooble on what color youre going to choose next... huh what no jax didnt just get all moody because you walked in with aqua blue hair- no hes not passing something to ragatha, what are you talking about?

JAX:

as mentioned above he makes bets with some of the other circus members on what color youre going to rock next... if you ask him for any suggestions on what color you should change to next, dont expect any serious answers. even if he is being serious, jax doesnt strike me as the type to care much about colors and shades so hes probably going to drop the most basic colors. ..

"purple."

"what KIND of purple? light? dark? pastel? reddish or bluish?

"purple."

stuff like that, i think! probably fiddles with your hair, especially if you dye your tips a different color... jax fidget headcannon strikes again

KINGER:

on a bad day he might just not recognize you for a short moment... i originally said that as a joke but considering he sometimes forgets gangle is literally standing right next to him, i dont... think thats much of a joke... but after the initial confusion, i think he would really like whatever color you choose! likes playing with your hair, if you let him! he finds it soothing in its own way, and now he just has pretty colors to look at! cant explain why but i feel like he would be very good at identifying colors, so if you come in rocking some new color hes going to ask if its (insert specific shade of red that no one knows the name of. like. amaranth red.. or something..)

ZOOBLE:

honestly, they get it! i like to think that they swap out their pieces in order to fit whatever look or vibe they want for the day; aaaand i personally hc that in the real world they would dye their hair and get a bunch of piercings! though, they dont really remember much stuff from the real world, at least not clearly... but the point still stands, you guys probably get together to make a new look together! though, on days where they dont give any input on what hair color you choose next, theyre making bets with jax and ragatha... dont know why but i think zooble wins the most in the bets... shrugs

GANGLE:

oh she thinks its so pretty! has probably always loved things like that, since its a form of self expression! and she can kind of relate to that since shes an artist, albeit her medium is paper rather than her body... thinks... probably gives shy recommendations for colors if you ask her, is also bad at masking (lol) her surprise when you actually take her idea into consideration and follow through with it... makes her feel some type of way that someone cares enough about her ideas that they literally apply it to their appearance, you know?

#tadc x reader #the amazing digital circus x reader #digital circus x reader #caine x reader #pomni x reader #ragatha x reader #jax x reader #kinger x reader #zooble x reader #gangle x reader

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kariachi · 9 days

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Late Night Thought: I can't get words together but my brain keeps going to the concept of a storyline for that 'Argit joins the team in OV so there's still a trio' au that's him, Ben, and Rook getting stuck in the Null Void for an actual notable length of time. Like, at least a week.

I mean, Rook joined the crew so he got episodes for himself and his homeworld and shit, so it would only be fair to gives Argit shit like that too in this stuff.

Drop the three of them in the Null Void and Rook is wary and Ben is just kinda tired but also kinda overconfident, meanwhile Argit at first is freaking the fuck out only to then then suddenly just switch over to being very serious and very in charge.

Thinking a two-parter, starting with Ben and Rook not really taking Argit seriously, thinking that the sheer level of 'do what I say, be careful, This Place Is Dangerous' he's throwing out is an overreaction (the place is bad but it can't be that bad, Rook assumes because there's law enforcement in the dimension, the place is bad but it's perfect survivable, Ben assumes because the two days tops he's spent in there over multiple visits totally gave him a complete view of how life is), though they are kinda weirded out by the sheer change in his behavior. (Trauma will do a lot to you, including making you revert back to 'keeping myself and those I care about alive' mode, whudda thunk?) Over the course of the little arc there's a lot of learning about how the Null Void works, how ineffective the Plumber presence is, the very real problems that arise from living in a place where people throw their violent criminals with the only real protection for anybody being hoping a Null Guardian is around, and most importantly so much about Argit's history in the Null Void. By the end of it the others have developed a whole new respect for Argit, an idea of just the sort of person he could be given the chance, and a whole new understanding of not just him but also Kevin and just how fucked up the both of them are from experiences like their time in the Void.

(For bonus pain: The growing realization, over the course of the arc, that through the whole ordeal Argit is fucking terrified that when somebody eventually comes to save Ben and Rook he's gonna get left behind, trapped in the Void once again for who knows how long. Holding himself together mostly through pure 'if you have a proper meltdown then who the fuck is going to keep the three of you alive?'. The culmination of the trio's development into a proper team, finally, with this final chunk of respect for the 'token evil teammate', being Ben and Rook's vowing up down and sideways that they would never let that happen. He's their friend, he's there on accident same as them, and damnit they're not leaving without him.)

When they get out they learn that when Kevin heard the news his main concern was for Argit and so help Ben and Rook if something happened to 'his rat'.

Neither one can blame him.

#ben 10

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positivelybeastly · 3 months

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To the Mod: I know Cat! Hank is your number one version of the character, now I'm curious of how you rank the other encarnations from least favorite to favorite...

Ha, so, funnily enough, this reminds me of an old meme I made, which is horrifically low quality, but eh, it makes me laugh.

Pretty much all versions of Hank, I can find at least something to love about them, even if it's just something visual or something small, one little scene that works for me, so, with that in mind, let's begin our ranking! I hope you don't mind, but I went from favourite to least favourite, just because that's the way my brain works. :)

Platinum Medal - Feline Beast (2000-2012)

As you mentioned, in my opinion, absolutely the best version of our man. When drawn well, he has the best design, the best look, the best storylines, the best everything. He's still eloquent, he's still hilarious, he's still bipolar, he's still ridiculous, he's still so aggressively unhappy and doing his best to make it through, he's still the biggest bleeding heart you'll ever see. He's my guy.

Gold Medal - Classic Beast (1974-2000)

The boy! The bouncing, bludgeoning, bountifully blue Beast himself! Honestly, I used to be a little down on him, I used to think he lacked complexity and was just kind of a weird 'diversion' on the path to cat Hank, but reading New Defenders completely changed that opinion, and now he's firmly second place. He's just such a goofy goober!

Silver Medal - Dark Beast (1994-Current)

Honestly, one of the better evil twin/counterparts I've seen in media, mostly on account of some very subtle characterisation tweaks that make him fascinating. His strange, borderline narcissistic-but-also-self-worth-affirming fascination with 616 Hank, his inability to hurt Hank's parents because the idea of being loved makes him weak, his absolutely incredible sense of humour . . . like, I dislike what he's done to the discourse about Hank, since people will trumpet the idea that Dark Beast 'proves' that Hank always goes evil, but as a character, I really am just happy any time he's on panel.

Bronze Medal - Modern Beast (2012-2019)

You'll note that I cut this off before 2019 for obvious reasons. Honestly, this version of Hank is saved primarily by a few key stories that actually bother to examine his actions and ongoing personality crisis in more than surface level detail, and I do really like this design, even if I wish people could be more consistent with it (seriously, he's not a hard character to draw, can we please establish if he's as big as the Hulk or not?). Forever tarnished by being written by Bendis, but I do like him when he's written well.

Runner-Up - TAS/'97 Beast (1992-1997, 2024-Current)

I love this boy, but he hasn't gotten quite enough stories of real import and character development for me to say I like him as much as the comics versions of Hank. I'm optimistic that season 2 of X-Men '97 will rectify that, given some key scenes in episodes 5 and 7, but until then, I just like him. I think he's neat. Definitely has one of the best voices of all the Hanks.

Runner-Up - Grey Beast (1974-1975)

I used to regard this guy as just a transition from human to blue Hank, but going back and reading those issues of Amazing Adventures and the tie-in issue of X-Men Unlimited, I actually kind of adore this brief but meaningful period of Hank's life immensely. When I started writing my big X-Force fix-it fic, the idea of regressing Hank back to this colour and something like this state of mind was key to my vision of the character, because it's so under-explored and so fascinating to me.

Runner-Up - Sublime Beast (2004)

The best of the villain turns Hank has ever had, because it's not really Hank, and yet, the manner in which he turns is so achingly Beast - he burned himself out trying to keep everything afloat, and in his desperation, he made a stupid mistake that ended up hurting him most of all. Also, 11/10 character design. White fur and purple leather? Fucking god damn what a daddy.

Runner-Up - X-Men 3: The Last Stand, The Marvels (2006, 2023)

Honestly, good version of the character, even if I don't love Kelsey Grammer's politics. Great voice, good design, good integration into the storyline, interesting place for Hank to end up after leaving the X-Men, good use of his acrobatics. I was very pleased to see him crop up again in the Marvels.

Runner-Up - X-Men: Evolution, Wolverine & the X-Men, Marvel Anime (2000-2003, 2009, 2011)

Throwing these all into their own little space because I do love them, but they were very much just supporting characters who didn't get a real chance to shine outside of one or two funny moments, and one or two episodes (the Beast of Bayville from Evolution is the standout here). Great designs on these three fellas.

Runner-Up - Human Beast (1963-1974, 1986-9, 2013-2018)

Honestly, not my favourite version of the boy. He's fine, but he's not done yet, he hasn't finished baking. I appreciate a lot of the stories that come from this era, but I always regard this version of Hank as fundamentally unfinished and incomplete. The magic stuff with time displaced Hank was interesting, the Jean love triangle and the conga line of humiliation Bendis was intent on putting him through was. Less so. Still. Good lad.

DNF (Did Not Finish) - X-Men: First Class, Days of Future Past, Apocalypse, Dark Phoenix (2011-2019)

Just not really the same character, tbh. See me after class for notes.

An Affront to Me, Personally - X-Force Beast (2019-2024)

If I could fill your bed with thumbtacks, Ben Percy, I would. You have poisoned the earth for this character for decades to come, if not forever, and I regard you as a blight upon his legacy. The fact that you were allowed to do this with the character is all the confirmation I needed for my theory that the X-office, and Marvel at large, does not give a single solitary fuck about the integrity of this character, will not protect him, and does not hold any regard for his history or meaning.

Beast in name only. Shame on you.

Bonus: Lives In My Head Rent Free - Gay Exiles Beast (2009)

It's canon.

This list isn't entirely exhaustive, there are a billion other versions of Hank out there, like Brute from Mutant X, Manga Beast who looks like a teddy bear, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3 Beast, Ultimate-1610 Beast, etc, etc, but these are my 'core' Beasts, and as such, this is my ranking.

#ariel-seagull-wings #gif warning #outofmuffins

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inbarfink · 8 months

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Okay, this is probably just me being Very Silly but… I think Roleswap AUs are a lot of fun, not just like… as a character design exercise thingy, but as a character exploration and analysis exercise… thingy.

Like, you know, it’s a game of ‘what would this character do if they were in that situation that this other character was in?’, ‘how much would change if those were the circumstances of this character’s life?’, ‘how much do you have to change about a character to make them work in this specific narrative role - and how much you just cannot change without making the character unrecognizable?’

So I’ve had a lot of fun playing around with my Adventure Time Roleswap AUs (you can get a better look at them with the AT Roleswap Tag on my blog).

And I’ve been thinking if I could do a similar thing for Invader Zim - both because IZ has these clear Four Leads that you can swap around very neatly (actually much more than AT does lol) and… mostly because I’ve been going through yet another of my Literally Can’t Think of Anything but Invader Zim Phases and Roleswap AUs offer an exciting new opportunity to Rotate These Characters in My Head.

(For the sake of clarity, I’ll be using ‘the Alien’, ‘the Kid’, ‘the Robot’ and ‘the Sibling’ when referring to the Narrative Roles of Zim, Dib, GIR and Gaz respectively. So if I’m talking about a Dib-Zim Roleswap I’ll be talking about Zim-as-the-Kid and Dib-as-the-Alien. It might lead to weird turns-of-phrase later down the line, like Sibling!Dib when Dib is obviously always a sibling - but at least I hope it’ll be less clunky and more clear that way lol)

So, yeah, I had some Thoughts and Considerations about the idea of a Zim-Dib GIR-Gaz Roleswap, but all-in-all things fall into place pretty easily. Playing on Dib’s relatively-more-heroic role and his only-sane-man shtick by having him as a kinda Irken Rebel - he might still have the interest in magic and supernatural things that Mainstream Irken Science does not acknowledge, but mostly he’s seeing as ‘crazy’ for such ridiculous concepts as ‘conquering the galaxy just for the sake of it is Bad Actually’ and ‘maybe it’s kinda stupid to pick our leaders based entirely on how tall they are’ and ‘the Tallest are obviously blatantly figureheads and the Control Brains are running the show’.

And to add insult to injury, it’s not just that his fellow Irkens don’t listen to his ideas - it’s that they don’t even have enough respect to treat him as an actual dangerous enemy of the state. Instead he’s seen as a crackpot and a joke. He’s basically constantly avoiding the obvious Existence Evaluation he deserves because the Tallests keep procrastinating it and pushing it back in favor of more ‘important things’. And, like, it’s not like Dib wants to be executed by the state for the crime of free thought… but it’ll be nice to know that he’s seen as a real threat.

And of course while he’s better than most Irkens at the whole ‘Space Imperialism is Bad Actually’ thing, he still hasn’t unlearned all of the Irken propaganda about their own superiority (he’s got a Green Savior Complex basically) … and also he's got his own complex about his own superiority. Like, yeah, he’s infuriated by his people’s obsession with height because it’s a stupid illogical prejudice… but also specifically because it makes people disrespect him. When his two lazy and stupid smeethood bullies were made supreme leaders of the empire that was kinda the last straw for him.

Oh, in this AU the Tallests are basically the Same except their colors are switched. So now Red is the sillier and dumber one and Purple is the relatively more competent one. And on one hand Dib is the only Irken who seems to understand how thoroughly unfit to rule these two clowns are but he is also kinda obsessed with making them acknowledge his superiority even though he knows their opinion shouldn’t matter and thus making him the biggest clown of them all, in a way.

I’m still ironing out the details of how he gets to Earth. Something about using his hacking skills to infiltrate Operation Impending Doom 2 to try and sabotage it from within. Then, like, maybe the Earth ‘assignment’ was a trap laid by the Control Brains to get him out of the way. Or maybe he picked Earth because although the Empire sees it as unimportant - Dib thinks it has powerful arcane significance that makes it the perfect foundation for his resistance against the Empire or something like that.

I’m mostly thinking which of these is the snappiest and easiest to explain, but I do enjoy the idea of it being a trap cause it creates the possibility of a “the Alien discovers their plan is a big fat lie” scenario like in ETF, but rather than being utterly despondent and depressed like Canon Zim - Alien!Dib will be joyous and jubilantly validated at the idea that he was considered a notable enough threat to get out of the way with such an elaborate trick.

And Zim as the son of Professor Membrane is also a fun concept to consider. It’s very funny to think of him as still a megalomaniac trying to take over the world while also being just a human kid. He wants to defeat Dib because he sees him as a threat for his world domination plans (maybe not even understanding that Dib is not actually a world-conquering rival) and cause he believes that if he exposes or kills Dib he can get his hands on the advanced alien tech, which is the edge he needs in order to take over the world.

You can justify his world-conquering-obsession as, like, him growing up under the pressure of living up to his father’s legacy and he figured the only way to escape Membrane’s shadow is to go totally against everything he stands for, or that he’s subconsciously seeking revenge against the world and humanity for taking away his father's love and attention, or that he’s hoping that if he becomes an Actual Threat to the world, his dad will have to pay attention to him for a change ,or maybe it’s just ‘Zim is Just Weird Like That’. Or probably some combination of all of the above.

GIR and Gaz slot pretty effortlessly into their new roles. Sibling!GIR could be literally Zim’s little brother, or like, some genetically engineered dog monster Professor Membrane made in an afternoon. But personality-wise there’s no need to change much outside of maybe needing to tone a human version of GIR down just a tad because a human child has some biological, legal and physical limitations that GIR would otherwise lack.

Robot Gaz is basically like ‘Dib stole and reprogrammed a SIR Unit to have Free Will, still somehow struggles with the idea that Free Will means she can disobey him as well’. Pretty much as soon as they landed on Earth she acclimated better than Dib did and developed a fondness for Earth’s junk food and video games. She generally does her own thing and doesn’t really listen to Dib’s schemes to develop Earth’s defenses or harness some sort of supernatural forces against the Irken Empire or foil Zim’s plans or whatever - but mostly because disagrees with Dib’s methods and attitude rather than his goals.

She does prefer the Earth over the Irken Empire and she does have some affection for Dib despite also finding him so annoying. She just refuses to cooperate with plans she thinks are frivolous or stupid or plainly just for Dib’s ego. When push really comes to shove, when she actually believes Dib and/or the Earth is in danger, she would come to help… usually.

So yeah, that Roleswap works pretty smoothly, but the problem starts if I try to do the two other sides of this Roleswap cube. the 'Invader GIR' and 'Invader Gaz' scenarios. This is where I get stuck... And the thing isn’t that the characters aren’t complex and versatile enough - I actually think the IZ characters are pretty multidimensional in their ridiculousness.

It’s just that Dib and Zim’s psychology are really designed for them to play the roles of Protagonist and Antagonist - they’re very much defined to their very core by how driven and motivated they are and how much they want to take center stage. Zim's so self-obsessed he pretty much has to take over any narrative you place him in. And like 50% of Dib’s psyche can be summarized as a terminal case of Main Character Syndrome. Meanwhile, while GIR and Gaz have their own motivations - but GIR’s are generally too wild, capricious and frivolous to actually motivate a Plot, while Gaz’s very much defined by how mundane all of her motivations are. So you really have to work extra hard to make sure Zim and Dib, even when relegated to the sidekick role, don’t still find a way to steal the show.

Honestly, doing Zim as the Robot is actually something I think I can make work. If you just play up a few of Zim’s wackier elements - and especially his blind obedience and dedication to his superiors (which in this case would be Alien GIR), I think you can get a version of Zim that is recognizably Zim while still sticking mainly to the Wacky Comic Relief role.

(And for the record, Robot Zim is a modified SIM Unit, which is a Standard Issue Minion. What does the Z stand for? The Z stands for ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM, obviously!)

Sibling Dib was kind of a weird journey for me because at first I thought I had an easy solution for it - just Bill-fy Dib! Keep all of Dib’s bolster and UFO obsession stuff, but minus the fact that he can actually recognize an alien standing in front of his face. Probably because he just doesn’t want to admit his sister found an alien before he did - he just refuses to believe GIR is an alien and going off his wild-goose chases against his own phony conspiracy theories.

But… I think that idea is, like, too effective at keeping Dib away from the limelight? I mean, that would basically relegate him exclusively to Comic Relief and someone Gaz could have conversations with and very little plot relevancy. And I think we should be able to do better by Sibling Dib. Some way to keep him away from the Main Character Role, but still have him as a relevant and useful character from time-to-time?

Putting GIR in any sort of lead role is the much bigger problem. Like I said - GIR just too deranged and too uncontrollable to hold most plotlines, even on Invader Zim. And I can imagine grounding him just a tad, you can do, like ‘alien Invader comes to earth in order to conquer it - realizes he likes junk food and stupid TV so much that he doesn’t want to do it anymore, but still lacks any real concerns for human life or morality’. You know, I’m imagining wacky misadventures that are basically in the spirit of ‘what if SpongeBob SquarePants lacked any sense of right and wrong’ - and that will be a viable narrative, but I’m worried it’s getting too far away from the sheer id-like essence of GIR.

On the Kid corner, obviously you can make narratives in which Gaz and her motivations move the story along - Invader Zim Canon did it multiple times. It’s more of a question of how much we can keep this up. Like, okay, this is purely me and my stupid personal hang-ups. But what I’m looking for is an AU that really feels like it could be its own standalone show, and obviously it’s not going to be the same as Canon IZ - like the Invader Dib roleswap is going to have a slightly more standard heroic narrative compared to the total Villain Protagonist setup of the canon - but I want to make sure everyone fulfill their new Narrative Roles to the level you can imagine a Variety of Episode Plots that fit the 11-minutes-and-occasional-double-length format of IZ.

And with Gaz being really defined by the fact that she cares more for being left alone or the mundane things in life or enacting terrible revenge in the name of the mundane things in life than for any of the sci-fi shit or saving the world- it kinda limits the amount of plots she should be willing to participate in and/or requires a lot of extra Set-Up to explain why she’s emotionally involved in the plot.

I mean, I can certainly imagine a story about a hedonistic would-be Invader making a bizarre harebrained scheme to get his hands on a ridiculous amount of tacos which somehow spirals into attracting the ire of some scarily competent and spiteful little girl by, like, interrupting her Super Mario Odyssey speedrun or something and so she causally takes down his whole operation. But that sort of setup works better for a sort of hyperformulastic show like ‘Phineas and Ferb’- and ‘Phineas and Ferb’ is lovely, but Invader Zim really benefits from a wide variation of plots and episode structure.

(That’s also the problem with a Tallests-Zim Membrane-Dib roleswap. Although the idea of an P&F style sketch starring the two lazy goofball Invaders who are just trying to get their incredibly obnoxious and megalomaniac boss off their back and are repeatedly accidently foiled by a brilliant hypercompetent child genius who also somehow remains consistently oblivious to the fact that they are aliens trying to take over the world is very Fun and I should probably do something Separate with it later)

And then there’s the idea of a Zim-Gaz GIR-Dib roleswap which is… I don’t even know where to start. That’s pretty much what that one body-switch-themed guest issue of the IZ Comics used basically because it’s the one that breaks the show’s premise the most thoroughly. The show’s most ambitious and least competent character swapped with its least ambitious and most competent and the most grounded character is swapped with the most unhinged. I am still really stuck on how to make it work?

The only real idea I have for now is maybe taking inspiration from Alien Gaz from that aforementioned comic issue’s characterization - not of Gaz-as-Zim, but of Zim-as-Gaz. Something about an Alien Invader who is genuinely invested in conquering the planet but also she keeps getting distracted? It’s hard to really say when, like I said, that’s really the only thing I have right now.

Perhaps I need to think about all of this a bit more, or perhaps the real lesson of this Character Exploration Thingy is just that those kinda roleswaps just don’t work with the Invader Zim cast?

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midsummer-semantics · 10 months

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Character Study: Tommy Hagan as Iago from Othello

To begin with, there’s just not enough analysis of Tommy, which is probably mostly due to his complete disappearance in S2. We (fic writers) use him a lot as a plot device for Steve’s King persona or the beginning of his bi-awakening, but Tommy’s presence in the show alone is arguably more sinister than most people give him credit for. He’s still a plot device for Steve, but the same way that Iago is a plot device for Othello.

For those who hear “Iago” and think of the bird in Aladdin, that’s totally valid because the Shakespeare character is 100% the influence for that bird, so if that connection helps the rest of this make sense, hang on to it.

Iago (the character and the bird) gets by on feeding Othello information. His job at the beginning of the play is the banner holder, he follows Othello around with his flag. He wanted second in command, but that job went to Cassio instead. This is kind of where Iago’s character development begins: he was snubbed for second in command, and decides quickly that he needs to do away with Cassio, feeding Othello lies until he believes Iago is a better choice.

In the same vein, Tommy has inserted himself as Steve’s right-hand man. That’s what we see from the literal beginning, Tommy following along with Steve as this second-in-command type of person. We don’t really know if there was a Cassio-esque change over with Steve since he just kind of “pops up out of the pool fully formed” (thank you @peter-pantomime for that), but Iago traveled to Venice with Othello to begin with, was always kind of there regardless, so it’s safe to say that Tommy was too. However, like with Iago, Tommy seems to be the real thoughts behind the operation while Steve is the voice that everyone hears. Tommy is, for all intents and purposes, the bird on Steve’s shoulder. Tommy is the puppet master that gives Steve just enough leeway to think he’s the one calling the shots. This is seen in particular with the spray paint incident, since it’s Tommy who’s literally shown with the spray paint can in his hand in the alley, and can be assumed to be the one who tagged the marquee, but Steve is the one who (however unintentionally) takes responsibility for it by doubling down on the accusation.

On that note, the other person Iago goes after is Desdemona, Othello’s wife. Immediately after Othello and Des are married, Iago is the one who tells her father, painting it as this desecration of his pure (white) daughter by this dark (black) [for lack of a better word] creature. It’s Iago’s idea to frame Desdemona as an adultress that ultimately ends in her death.

If we look at those ideas with Tommy, from the get go he (and Carol) are rude and distancing of Nancy, and while Steve is walking this tightrope of wanting to be seen as the top dog while also being whatever Nancy needs him to be, Tommy (and Carol) are causing problems on purpose. Don’t get me wrong, Jonathan and the secret camera incident don’t help, but ultimately it’s Tommy who whispers the thoughts into Steve’s brain about Nancy being a cheater (she was, at least emotionally, but that’s neither here nor there for this comparison) that ultimately leads to the first big breakup. The “death” of Desdemona plays out in the S1 breakup of Steve and Nancy, especially since their reconciliation is never solidified given Nancy’s withdrawal quickly after.

But what the heck is the motive for any of it?

We (Shakespeare people) know Iago has this weird desire for power without seeming to want anything to do with actually wielding it at the forefront. He seems perfectly content to have power over others in the most conniving of ways, but never an “I want to be king” sort of way. Tommy has that same energy, following Steve until it stops being convenient and then moving on to Billy when he “usurps the throne.”

But it’s this weird, intentional isolating of Steve for Tommy’s benefit that mirrors Iago’s intentions with Othello so well. This whole “if I can’t have him, nobody can” sort of attitude that leads both Iago and Tommy to push back against anyone who gets too close to their focus of attention. It’s a jealousy aspect, not in the sense that Tommy/Iago want to be Steve/Othello, but that they’re the only one allowed to be in that position of proximity to them. Tommy/Iago’s entire thing is shifting attention away from themselves while maintaining all of the power. Iago does it with Cassio, using him as the scapegoat in his plan against Desdemona, two birds with one stone. Tommy does it with Jonathan, using him to convince Steve that Nancy really is the slut he accuses her of being. Basically, the moment Steve sees (or thinks he sees) Jonathan with Nancy in her bedroom and misreads the situation just enough to convince him of her cheating is the equivalent to the handkerchief in Othello.

It also sort of begs the question of whether Iago or Tommy have done this in the past. Is Nancy the first girl Tommy’s actively caused an issue with, or does he do this regularly? Is it because Nancy is the first person Tommy doesn’t feel like he can manipulate, thereby labeling her a threat to his power the same way Iago does with Desdemona?

There’s a surface-level (heterosexual) reading of Othello that makes it seem like Iago wants Desdemona for himself, which sure, the fact he’s already married to Emilia while contriving this entire scheme intended to break up Othello and Desdemona can be read as a parallel to Tommy’s relationship with Carol and focus on ending Steve and Nancy’s relationship. But going back to the “If I can’t have him, nobody can” idea, it’s more likely that Tommy and Iago are dealing with this unrequited love situation with their respective male subjects that results in not only a desire for power but this obsessive need to isolate them so that the only person they feel they can rely on is already perched on their shoulder at all times.

Spoiler alert, though, Iago dies, and while Tommy just kind of disappears into the ether, that final scene where Steve finally stands up for himself and cuts ties with Tommy is not entirely unlike Othello finally realizing who Iago really is and killing him himself. The death of the friendship reads like the death of the partnership in both cases. Tommy only just makes it one step further than Iago by attaching himself to the next person in line which is Billy, but there’s no telling if Tommy wouldn’t have done the same manipulative technique with him given the chance. It's also an interesting character development parallel for Steve since him standing up to Tommy can be viewed as the "death" of his King Steve persona more than Billy's introduction can, and Othello's last stand before his death is to make sure Iago goes down as well.

Obviously none of this is good, but Tommy doesn’t really get the credit he deserves for being, for all intents and purposes, a poster child for the Shakespearean villain. All of his sinisterness exists in the background, but it’s definitely there.

#stranger things #steve harrington #tommy hagan #othello #shakespeare #stommy

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mandos-mind-trick · 1 year

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Here's To The Future - Part 4: Rampage

Summary: The war’s over. That should be cause for celebration, except the wrong side won. Things begin to change quickly, and it doesn’t take long for Midnight to realize something’s not right among the clone army. She should be glad the war is over, but the threat of her losing her boys is all too real. She did swear she would do everything she could to keep them from being separated when the war ended.

She’s not going to give up on that promise. Even if it kills her.

Pairing: The Bad Batch x reader (no clonecest)

Warnings: Some violence, mentions of slavery, a brief mention of blood and injuries.

A/N: Takes place during episode 5. Not much plot wise, mostly just a filler to get to the next part which will be sort of the build up to the climax of the story. Also an excuse to have Midnight and Omega interact a bit more.

Also I am still looking for a beta reader for this one, so if you’re interested…

< Previous | Next > | SERIES MASTERLIST | MAIN MASTERLIST

“But she looks so peaceful! I don’t want to wake her up!”

“She’s been asleep almost sixteen standard hours. While she likely needs the rest to catch up on her missed sleep, oversleeping any more may inhibit her cognitive abilities, awareness, reaction time-”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever that means. I’ll wake her up.”

She’s already mostly awake by the time large, calloused fingers trail along her cheek. Though the noise in the ship isn’t anything new, it was usually dampened by her door. It’s a lot louder in the bunks with nothing but a privacy curtain to keep the sound out. Sure her room is now uninhabited, but she can’t bring herself to leave Crosshair’s bunk yet. Not while it still smells like him.

“It’s time to get up, cyare.” Wrecker says softly, a vast contrast to his previous volume.

She leans into his touch, groaning quietly. “Five more minutes.”

“Tech says you have to get up.” Wrecker counters, gently stroking her cheek. “Something about cognitive whatever.”

“He’s not my mom.” She pouts. “Lemme sleep till we land.”

“We have landed.” Tech says, appearing next to Wrecker.

“What?” Midnight sits straight up, narrowly avoiding smacking her head on the top of the bunk. “When? Where”

“We landed moments ago on Ord Mantell. We’re investigating the contact Echo knows about.” Tech says, offering a hand.

Midnight ignores it, sliding out of the bunk with a groan. Wrecker catches her easily, keeping her from falling face first onto the floor. She rubs her eyes, trying to blink life back into her body. “How long was I asleep?”

“Sixteen standard hours.” Tech answers. “Though you have caught up on some missed sleep, by my calculations you need at least five days of nonstop sleep to recover completely.”

Midnight blinks at him, her sleep drowsy brain trying to process his words. Had he been keeping track of how much she was sleeping? It’s not that unusual for him, he knew the ins and outs of every member of the squad down to weird little habits they didn’t even notice. The fact that he was paying so much attention to her is touching.

“Aw, Tech,” She wraps her arms around him, resting her cheek on the hard plastoid of his chestplate. “You’re so sweet. But I need a lot more than that to make up for a lifetime of poor sleep.”

“Hmm.” Tech adjusts his goggles. “Well, I’ll have to do more calculations...”

Midnight stands on her toes, kissing his cheek. “You do that, my sweet nerd.”

She makes to walk away, but a disappointed groan stops her. She turns back around, finding Wrecker standing there with a pout. “Well, what about me?” He asks.

“I can’t forget you, Wrecker!” She grins, stepping up to him. She stands up on her toes, cupping his face. She traces the scar on his cheek for a moment before she pulls him down, pressing her lips to his in a sweet kiss.

“Better?” She asks, pulling away.

He nods, sneaking back in for another kiss. “Better.”

****

Ord Mantell city reminds her a bit of home. Or, at least this part of it does. It’s brighter than the lower levels of Coruscant, and a lot cleaner, but if she hadn’t known better, she would have assumed they’d returned to Coruscant.

Despite their missing member, Midnight takes the spot in the middle between Tech and Echo once more. It’s still natural for them, even after all this time.

Omega walks in front with Hunter, their leader grilling her a bit on the rules he had laid out since their last mishap.

“Remember the rules?” Hunter asks Omega.

“Don’t wander off, keep my eyes and ears on my surroundings, and trust no one but my squad.” Omega says.

“And if you get into trouble?” Echo asks.

“Use my comm and give my location.” Omega says confidently.

They make their way down an alley, Echo taking the lead.

“This is the place.” He says, stopping at a flight of stairs leading down to the entrance of a bar.

“Charming.” Tech snarks.

“I’ve seen worse.” Midnight shrugs, following them down the steps.

The bar is dimly lit, and mostly empty aside from an Ithorian and a Weequay arguing over a gambling table, and a Trandoshan.

“Which one of them is Cid?” Hunter asks Echo.

“I couldn’t tell ya.” Echo answers. “I only heard about Cid. Never actually met him.”

“That would have been information to share earlier.” Tech says.

Hunter approaches the Trandoshan. “We’re looking for Cid. You know him?”

“Cid, huh?” The Trandoshan says. “Nope. Doesn't ring a bell.”

“What about them?” Hunter nods at the other two who were now getting into a physical fight over whatever they were arguing about.

“Was I not clear? You’re in the wrong place.” The Trandoshan taps Hunter with the wrench in her hand. “So unless you’re here to spend money, get lost.”

“Great plan, Echo.” Wrecker says.

Midnight watches the Trandoshan sit at the bar, narrowing her eyes. She moves closer, leaning up against the bar. Omega plays with the buttons on one of the dejarik tables as the others argue.

“You know, it’s a bit odd.” Midnight says. “This place is called Cid’s. So unless that name was picked at random...”

“You’re Cid.” Omega finishes for her, stepping up closer to them.

The Trandoshan turns, crossing her arms. “You’re both sharper than your friends over there.”

Omega activates her comm, the sound echoing in the close quarters. “I found Cid.”

The other four turn to look, Midnight leaning against the bar with a smirk on her face, Omega pointing up at the Trandoshan behind her.

***

“I had a good thing going with the Jedi.” Cid says as she leads them into her office. “They valued my insights. But now that they’re all dead, the demand for my services has declined. Thanks to this new Empire.”

Midnight leans against the wall near the door, the others looking around Cid’s office.

“Times have changed...for all of us.” Hunter says.

“No kidding. I never had clone deserters come to me before.”

“Yes, well, we separated due to a fundamental difference in ideology.” Tech says.

“That’s cute, you thinking I care.” Cid cuts him off. “Cut to it and tell me what you want.”

Echo plugs himself into the scomp, bringing up an image of the bounty hunter.

“We encountered this woman on Pantora.” Hunter says. “Do you know who she is?”

“No.” Cid shakes her head, staring at the holo of the woman. “But I know a bounty hunter when I see one.”

“Can you find out who hired her?” Echo asks.

“That depends on what you boys do for me.” Cid says.

Hunter and Tech share a look, Midnight rolling her eyes. They were still very new at this.

“Are you fresh outta the tube? You pull a job for me, and I get the information you want. That’s how this mercenary thing works.”

“Mercenary?” Echo asks.

“Not too quick, are ya?” Cid asks, moving behind her desk. “Clearly the kid and cover girl back there are the brains of your operation.”

“What kind of job?” Hunter sighs, asking exasperatedly.

“A rescue.” Cid says, sinking into her chair as they move closer. “There’s a nice bounty on a kid named Muchi. My sources say she was taken by Zygerrian slavers who are holed up on the other side of the planet. Bring me the kid and I’ll get you your intel.”

“Well, who collects the bounty?” Wrecker asks.

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

“Grab a kid from a few Zygerrians?” Wrecker says, moving towards the door. “We can do that in our sleep.”

“Looks like we have a deal.” Cid says, tossing the puck to Hunter as the others file out. “Details of the bounty are on that. Don’t screw it up.”

****

“What do you think?” Hunter asks as she leans up against the side of the pilot’s seat.

Midnight shrugs. “I don’t trust anyone. But, if she can make good on getting this information, she might be useful to have around.”

“And if she can provide us a way to make credits...”

Midnight sighs. “We don’t have to-”

“Keep your credits.” Hunter cuts her off, already knowing where this is headed.

“Why?” She presses. “I have more than enough.”

“I want you to keep them.” Hunter says, his tone telling her he’s done arguing this point.

Wrecker groans, clutching at his head, really finishing the conversation for them. Midnight moves to the empty seat, plopping herself down.

“You all right?” Hunter asks Wrecker, watching him.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s nothing.” Wrecker nods, getting up from the copilot’s seat, leaving the cockpit.

“According to Cid’s intel, the Zygerrian slave traders are hiding in the ruins of Old Ord Mantell city.” Tech says as Echo and Omega enter the cockpit.

“What’s a slave trader?” Omega asks, taking Wrecker’s abandoned seat.

“Someone who buys and sells people for credits.” Tech explains nonchalantly.

“People can be sold?” Omega asks in surprise.

“They don’t have a choice.” Echo says. “They’re captives treated like property.”

“That...doesn’t seem right.”

“It’s not. And we are going to stop it from happening to that kid.” Echo says.

“As well as earn a decent amount of credits once the job is complete.” Tech interjects.

“Yeah, that too.” Echo says before exiting the cockpit.

“Don’t worry, Muchi. We’ll rescue you.” Omega says, holding her trooper doll.

They land a distance away from the city, making their way to an overlooking cliff. Sure enough, there’s a ship sitting in the city, and several Zygerrians roaming around. Omega, Tech, and Wrecker scan the city with binocs, looking for the captives.

“I have a visual.” Tech says. “I only see one child.”

“Poor Muchi. She looks scared.” Omega says.

“I’m clocking two dozen hostels.” Tech continues. “Multiple entry points with minor fortification.”

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

“I’m in.” Omega says. “What are we waiting for?” She makes to move forward, but Hunter stops her.

“You get back to the ship.” He orders her.

“But-”

“That’s an order.”

They leave Omega behind, sneaking their way down into the city. Tech leads the way, all of them careful not to make too much noise.

“Echo, you’re the eyes in the sky.” Hunter says as they stop. “Wrecker, Midinght, draw the Zygerrian forces out. Tech and I will grab the kid.”

“Not a problem.” Wrecker says.

They move further into the city, waiting for Echo to get into place.

“Echo, sitrep.” Hunter asks, ducking behind a piece of rubble.

“Two roving patrols on speeders. First guard checkpoint dead ahead.” He goes quiet for a moment. “Hang on. I think I’ve got company.”

“Well, take care of it. Quietly.” Hunter says.

There’s a yell and Echo falls from the building, hitting the ground with a thud. A Brezak flies out of the sky, narrowly hitting them. It lands, hitting Wrecker with its tail, throwing him into a rock. Tech, Hunter and Midnight fire at the Brezak, but it flies off. They find themselves surrounded by Zygerrians, one of them firing an electric net at them, knocking them unconscious.

***

Midnight leans against the fountain, glaring down one of the Zygerrian guards. He’d been the one to chain her up, being a little too touchy for her liking. Once they get free, she’s going to smash his head in. Her arms are cuffed behind her, the position not exactly comfortable. She supposes it could be worse, though.

“It’s getting looser.” Wrecker says, tugging at his collar, trying to get it off discreetly.

His body suddenly jerks, being electrocuted by his collar.

“Do that one more time and you’ll be-” Echo is cut off in his threat by his own collar electrocuting him.

“Save your energy.” Tech says from next to her. “We are going to need it.”

The Brezak that had attacked them flies overhead, landing on one of the tallest buildings. Midnight can just make out a figure standing at the top, looking down at them. That must be their leader.

The Brezak roars, the three people that had been there before shrinking back in fear, the child whimpering.

“Relax, Muchi.” Wrecker says. “We’re the cavalry.”

“What are our odds out of this, Tech?” Hunter asks.

“I am not certain.” He replies.

“So much for being smart.” Wrecker snarks.

Tech sighs. “This is not a standard military operation, and seeing as how we’ve never been tasked with rescuing a child from slave traders before, there’s no data I can compare it to.”

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

“Except our comms are over there with our weapons.” Echo says, nodding at their pile of gear.

Tech looks up, eyes widening before he turns back to Hunter. “We won’t need a comm to signal her.”

Hunter turns, looking up at the roof of a building. Midnight glances over, seeing Omega there.

The door to the building slides open, the lead Zygerrian coming through. Midnight hates him immediately upon first sight. He walks with his hands behind his back, holding himself upright with an air of arrogance and self importance. He reminds her a bit of Admiral Tarkin.

“Look at what we have here.” He says, walking closer to them. “Five new slaves to add to my collection. “Strong ones too. You should fetch a nice price.” He steps in front of Midnight, grasping her chin in his hand. His grip is tight, his claws threatening to break her skin. “This one especially.” He smirks at her.

She’s not sure what possesses her, but she leans her head back, spitting right in his face. He releases her, wiping it off of his fur before rearing back and slapping her. Her head snaps to the side, her cheek burning. The others shift, rattling the chains. Midnight turns back to face him, glaring at him. She can feel the slow ooze of liquid sliding down her face. He’s caught her with his claws.

“You’re going to regret that.” She says, as threateningly as she can.

He smirks, chuckling. “Even the most defiant of slaves can be broken.”

“The Republic outlawed slavery.” Echo says angrily, trying to draw his attention from her.

“We’re not in the Republic anymore, skug.” He says, turning and walking away.

“You’re lucky we don’t have our gear, because this would go very differently for you.” Echo says, trying to direct Omega discreetly.

Midnight shifts slightly, wiping some of the oozing blood onto her armor. It would be easier to clean off that than if it gets into her clothes.

“Are you alright?” Tech asks her quietly.

Midnight rolls her eyes. “I’ve been hit by men before, Tech.” She turns to look at him, the look on his face cutting off her breath.

His brows are furrowed behind his goggles, eyes narrowed. There’s a dark look on his face, his eyes full of anger. She’s never seen him look like this before. At least, not up close.

Something falls off to their left, drawing everyone’s attention. Omega must have knocked something loose in her attempt to get down to them. A couple guards begin walking in that direction, but Wrecker kicks a rock, knocking the feet out from under a guard. Midnight bites back a laugh, but is quickly sobered as another guard ignites his electro-whip, whipping Wrecker with it.

“We can make do with one less slave.” The leader says, turning back to them. “Maybe I’ll feed you to my pet.” The Brezak roars in response. “As for the rest of you, you will be part of a new beginning. With the meddling Republic gone, we can return to Kadavo and rebuild what was taken from us. Under this new Empire, our operation will flourish once again. And if you do not comply... the person next to you will pay the price.”

Midnight resists the urge to roll her eyes. She hates monologues, especially given by assholes who think too highly of themselves. Thankfully the leader is distracted by something, one of the guards carrying over a struggling Omega.

“I found her sneaking around the cage.” The guard says.

“I wasn’t sneaking.” Omega says. “I was unlocking.” She holds up a bolt.

The large cage begins shaking as something snarls inside. The Zygerrians run to try and close it back up, but the doors fly open, a rancor bursting out. The Zygerrians fire at the Rancor, but only succeed in making it angrier.

“A rampaging adolescent rancor is not the distraction I was anticipating.” Tech says.

“That’s their problem.” Wrecker says, bracing himself against the fountain. “We’re getting out of here.” He snaps the chain holding all of them in place.

Echo works on removing their bonds, Omega coming up to the child.

“It’s okay, Muchi. We’re here to take you home.” She says.

The older Falleen points at the Rancor, speaking in Falleen, but none of them need to understand to know what he’s saying.

“The rancor is Muchi?” Echo asks.

The others grab their gear and weapons, Hunter tossing Echo his as the rancor runs through the city, tossing Zygerrians as it goes.

“Gear up. We have to go after Muchi.” He says. “If we don’t capture her, we don’t get our intel from Cid.”

They follow Hunter who tracks the Rancor, running through the city. The other captives follow, barely managing to keep up as they stop for a moment.

“What about them?” Omega asks, motioning to the Falleen and the human.

“Omega and I will get them to safety. You find Muchi.” Echo says.

“Right. Go for the speeders at the south entrance.” Hunter says.

Tech translates for them as they head off in their own direction. The others follow the path of bodies, finding Muchi surrounded, but easily taking out the Zygerrians.

“She’s doing fine on her own.” Wrecker says, impressed.

Midnight is impressed as well, silently cheering as the rancor takes out Zygerrian after Zygerrian. That excitement quickly ends, though, as Muchi turns on them, having taken care of the rest of the Zygerrians.

Of course. How exactly were they going to convince a rancor they’re the good guys?

Wrecker and Tech draw their weapons, but Hunter quickly puts his arms out to stop them. They need Muchi alive, and as unharmed as possible.

A roar sounds behind them, the brezak swooping out of the sky with the Zygerrian leader on its back. They turn and fire, barely missing getting taken out by it as it lands. The brezak turns on Muchi, the Zygerrian lifting his electro-whip, but Hunter tackles him off the brezak before he can hurt Muchi.

Muchi turns and runs, the brezak following after her.

“You’re going to pay for this, skug.” The leader says to Hunter.

“I’ll handle him.” Hunter says as Wrecker, Tech, and Midnight run up to him. “Go get Muchi.”

They run after the rancor, following the sound of the fight between the brezak and the rancor. Muchi must have won as the brezak flies off, leaving them facing down the angry rancor.

“Any ideas how to stop that thing?” Wrecker asks Tech.

Tech pulls out his datapad, typing away. “Rancors adhere to a social hierarchy. You have to challenge the alpha for authority.”

“Oh that I can do.” Wrecker says, tossing his blaster aside before he runs at Muchi.

Tech and Midnight watch as Wrecker and Muchi fight, beating the piss out of each other. Hunter joins them soon after, watching as they begin to slow down, getting tired.

Echo rides up on a scooter with Omega, Wrecker and Muchi barely swinging at each other now.

“How long’s he been at this?” Echo asks as they hop off the scooter.

“Too long.” Tech answers. “He’s losing his touch.”

They weakly swing at each other one more time before Muchi flops on her side, falling asleep. Wrecker leans against her, gently patting her head.

“Aw. She’s kinda cute up close.” Omega says, stepping up closer.

“Nicely handled, Wrecker.” Hunter says.

Wrecker grunts indistinctly, giving him a thumb’s up. He’s going to sleep really well tonight.

***

They eventually get Muchi and Wrecker roused again, transporting them back to the city. Omega rides happily on Muchi’s back as they make their way towards Cid’s.

“Aw. That’s a good rancor.” Wrecker says, patting Muchi’s head.

A male Twi’lek comes out of Cid’s, approaching Muchi happily. He speaks to Muchi in Huttese, hugging her face. Cid pushes past the two Gamorrean guards, looking at Hunter in disbelief for a moment.

“See, Bib? All is well.” She says. “Now, about the matter of payment.” The Twi’lek snaps at one of the Gamorreans and he hands over some credits.

Omega slides off the rancor, the Twi’lek and Gamorreans leading Muchi away.

“Bye, Muchi.” Wrecker says.

Muchi turns, roaring happily at them.

“Gotta say, fellas.” Cid says. “I wasn’t sure you could pull this job off.”

“You could have told us we were going after a rancor.” Echo says.

“Hmm. Must have slipped my mind.” Cid says. She points at Hunter. “You, dark and broody. My office.”

Tech turns on Midnight as Hunter makes his way into the bar with Cid. He tilts her head back, looking at the scratch marks on her cheek. They’ve stopped bleeding, but the skin is still burning.

“They’re not very deep.” He says, studying them. “But they need to be cleaned.”

“I’m fine.” She says, trying to push his hands away. “What’s the worst that could happen? My skin falls off?”

“Yes.” Tech deadpans.

Midnight gives him a horrified look. “Okay. When we get back to the ship you can clean them.”

“Good.” He takes her face again, poking at the cuts. “They shouldn’t scar. It doesn't appear to have broken too deeply into the dermis. Bacta should clear them up rather quickly.”

Midnight tries to bat his hand away, but he’s insistent on poking her face.

“Do they hurt?” Hunter asks, appearing out of nowhere as he steps up to her.

“They do when someone’s touching them.” She tries to push Tech’s hand away, but he’s insistent.

Something comes over Hunter’s face as he stares at her, his eyes hardening and the look darkening. She looks up at Tech, finding a similar look behind his goggles. She looks past Tech at Echo, his eyes narrowed.

“Oh.” She says lamely, letting her hands drop to her sides.

“I hope you gave him what he deserved.” Wrecker says, stepping closer.

“I did.” Hunter says, his voice dark. “Come on.” He puts a hand on her back. “Let’s get back to the ship.”

***

Midnight changes clothes, stretching out her limbs now that they’re free of the armor. Her skin itches a bit, the bacta gel having absorbed quickly after Tech applied it. The cuts are already healing, hardly more than raised bumps. By tonight, there’d be no sign of them even being there.

She had protested the use of bacta on them, seeing as how they weren’t that bad and they’d probably heal well on their own, but after seeing the looks on their faces, she had quickly given up. She hasn’t seen them that protective in a long time.

It makes sense, though.

They’re entirely on their own now. They don’t have the GAR to fall back on. If something happens to one of them, they only have each other to fix it.

She slips some credits into her bag before tossing it over her shoulder. She leaves her room, making her way towards the ramp.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Hunter asks, stepping in her way.

“Supply run.” She answers simply.

“By yourself?”

She gives him a look. “Uh, yeah. That was the plan.”

“You’re going to wander around an unknown city by yourself.” Hunter lifts an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah.” She shrugs. “We need to stock up on some things.”

“She is right.” Tech says, stepping up behind her. “We are running low on medical supplies, as well as hygiene products.”

“Not that any of you use them.” She murmurs. “Plus if we’re going to be spending time here, I’d like to get to know the city a bit better.”

“Let one of us go.” Hunter says.

“Uh, no.” Midnight says, Hunter giving her a taken-aback look at her outward defiance. “I’m going. I am the least recognizable of all of us.”

“She has a point.” Tech says from behind her.

Hunter stares at her for a moment before his shoulders slump and he sighs. “Don’t wander too long.”

“Can I go?” Omega asks, all of them turning to look at her.

Midnight looks to Hunter, shrugging. Hunter looks down at Omega before sighing. “Fine. But stick close to Midnight and don’t wander-”

“Keep a close eye on my surroundings and trust no one but my squad. And I’ll use my comm and give my location if I get into trouble, I know.” She says.

“Quick learner.” Midnight smirks.

“Be careful.” Hunter says, wrapping an arm around Midnight’s waist.

“Usually am.” She murmurs as he leans down, kissing her softly.

“Keep an eye on her.” He murmurs, kissing her again.

“Two eyes.” Midnight says. “Don’t worry. Think of this as a learning opportunity.”

She kisses Hunter one more time before slipping past him and heading for the ramp. She heads down the steps, Omega skipping happily after her.

“What was that you were doing?” She asks before they even make it out of the landing bay.

“What was what?” Midnight asks.

“You and Hunter. I saw you and Wrecker doing it earlier too.” She says.

“Oh.” Midnight blinks, trying to figure out how to explain it. “We were kissing.”

“What’s that?”

Midnight lets out a long breath. “Well, it’s something you do when you love someone. It’s one way to show it.”

“Oh.” She says, going quiet for a moment. “What’s love?”

Midnight laughs. “That’s a complex conversation for another time.” Midnight puts a hand on Omega’s shoulder, stopping her at an intersection. “Keep close. Don’t stare at anyone too long, and try not to make eye contact. We’re trying to be discreet.”

Omega nods. “Right.”

Midnight pats her shoulder. “Come on. This way.”

She leads Omega down a street, walking slowly as she looks up at the sky. It’s visible between the buildings, starting to go yellow with the setting sun. Midnight smiles softly, dropping her gaze back to the street in front of her. “Reminds me a bit of home.” She says, skirting around a drunk weequay on the street.

“Where are you from?” Omega asks, looking up at her.

“I’m from Coruscant. Born and raised there.”

“Is it a nice place?” Omega asks.

Midnight laughs. “Well, depends on how you look at it. The entire planet is one big city.”

“Wow.” Omega breathes. “There must be a lot of people there.”

Midnight nods. “Close to three trillion, it’s estimated. Though, most of them are very poor and live in the lower levels. There’s lots of crime down there, since the police can’t and don’t bother to help. I grew up so far down, I didn’t see the sky until I joined the GAR. Spent my whole life in artificial sunlight. I’d never seen dirt or a real tree until I got off Coruscant, either.”

“You’re like me.” Omega says. “I spent my whole life in a lab on Kamino. I didn’t get to wander often. I didn’t really want to, either.”

Midnight snorts. “I don’t blame you. Some of those regs had some nasty attitudes.”

“Yeah they did.” She laughs.

They walk in silence for a few moments. “How did you know about me? When you approached us on Kamino, you knew my name.”

“Well, you’re sort of famous.” Omega says sheepishly.

“I am?” Midnight asks in disbelief.

“Yeah. You’re a member of Clone Force 99 and you’re not a clone.” Omega shrugs. “They talked about you all the time. Tarkin asked about you too.”

Midnight grimaces. “I’m sure he did. He really wanted me to join his squad.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” Omega says. “They really care about you a lot.”

Midnight nods. “Well, we’ve been through a lot together.” She nods. “I care a lot about them too.” She nudges Omega gently. “And you.”

“Me?” She asks in disbelief.

Midnight nods. “Of course. You’re part of the squad too.”

Omega smiles. “I’ve never had a sister before.”

Midnight blinks in surprise. Of course, the boys would technically be her brothers, as they were all clones. Even though Midnight’s not a clone, she had integrated herself into the squad rather successfully it seemed, to the point Omega had known who she was.

“I haven’t had one either.” She says, slowing as they reach the shop selling medical supplies.

She leads Omega inside, making quick work of grabbing what they need. They head on to the next store, picking up more personal items and some hygiene products, not that the guys would use them regularly.

“We should get some food.” Midnight says as they pass by a few food vendors. “I know the guys have to be hungry.”

Omega stares wide eyed at all the choices. “These look so much better than rations.”

Midnight smiles. “They are.” She wraps an arm around Omega’s shoulders, leading her towards one of the stalls. “Maybe someday we’ll get to eat food like this all the time.”

“Really?” Omega asks, blinking up at her.

Midnight nods. “Someday when we can put this bounty hunter business behind us and find somewhere nice to settle down.”

“That sounds fantastic.” Omega says dreamily.

Midnight nods. “It does. It really does.”

Taglist:

@amyroswell, @dangraccoon, @hunnythebee, @lokigirlszendaya, @kriffingmeshla, @storm-breaker7

#star wars #star wars fic #the bad batch #the bad batch fic #the bad batch x reader #poly bad batch #tbb x reader

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