#drawing him in a more cartoony way? god help my soul

[mikadll]

tf2 medic's chin and its consequences have made me suffer trying to find a consistent cartoony look for him

[soulmate-game]

Awesome, cool (on RE: Marivel). Caaaan we get... uh, Soulmate Game version of marvel/ml crossover? Marinette x Peter? Or just Marinette meeting Peter via Dr. Strange in your Lady Strange AU (post-endgame maybe??). Take your pick (or do both?) and thank you if you do write them!!

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Yes.

This is a crossover between my Lady Strange AU and my Soulmate-Game AU, but since this is a different pairing it receives a different bond. I hope you like it!

—*—*—*—*—*

“I think somebody drew on me in my sleep,” was the first thing he told his Aunt and Uncle, who just blinked at him for a long moment with their toothbrushes half in their mouths. Peter was supposed to be getting ready for school in his own room, but instead, well.

His guardians’ eyes landed on the two childish, but extremely clean doodles on the top of Peter’s shoulders. They were ladybugs, one in red ink and the other blue. Only the outline was colored at all.

The little boy was tearing up.

“I don’t know how they e-ended up here. Why would s-somebody draw on me? It’s mean. Is this the boogeyman? Does…”

He was interrupted by May and Ben’s laughter, shrinking into himself as the adults tried to get ahold of themselves. Ben was the first to sober up, sinking to his knees and carefully laying a gentle hand on Peter’s naked arm, making sure not to come close to the new mark on his shoulder. The poor boy had stopped putting on a shirt altogether in favor of worrying over the doodles.

“No, no,” Ben soothed, running his other hand through Peter’s cinnamon hair. “No boogeyman. This is a good thing, Petey.”

He sniffled, looking up at his father figure warily, a hopeful spark in his eye. “It is?”

“Yeah. Do you remember what we told you about soul marks?” He asked his nephew, who was starting to calm down. The boy nodded, pushing his thick glasses back up his nose from where they had started to slip.

“Almost everyone has one,” he started to recite, furrowing his brows to try and remember what he had been told.

“And they can come in hundreds of different ways,” May filled in, kneeling beside her husband. “Some people have a picture or a name on them to represent their Destined. Some people are colorblind, or missing just one color until they meet their other half.”

“Some people can switch bodies or hear a song in their head that tells them how their soulmate is feeling,” Ben agreed. “There are tons of Bonds. Not everyone has a physical mark. But you,” he nodded to the ladybugs on his nephew’s shoulders. “You do.”

Peter started panicking again. “Oh no, I have two soulmates? What am I gonna do? What if they don’t like me, how can I love two people, I—“

“Relax, honey,” May rustled Peter’s hair with a soft smile. “I don’t think you have two, I think your mark is more complicated than that. Look, the ladybugs are exactly the same except for the color. The mark will probably do something exciting later, when you meet them.”

“Something exciting?” Peter parroted, making Ben chuckle.

“Yeah, but for now they are just cute pictures. Pictures which better be covered up by a shirt soon, or you’ll be late to school bud.”

“Ack!” He had forgotten he was still shirtless. “Sorry Uncle Ben!” Peter Benjamin Parker dashed back to his room as fast as his seven-year-old legs would carry him.

—*—*—*—*—*

Seven years later.

Marinette hummed, analyzing her reflection. Her halter top looked nice, a new design of hers. Tikki hovered near her, similarly happy with the clothing. And then the Kwami squeaked in dismay when her holder reached for foundation.

“Woah woah woah, what are you doing Marinette?!” The little god asked, tempted to take the makeup away. “The shirt makes your soul marks stand out so beautifully! I’m not a huge fan of spiders, but yours are so cute!”

The pigtailed girl blushed bright red, looking into the mirror to see both of the little doodles on her shoulders at the same time. They really were adorable, one cartoony spider on the top of each shoulder, one red and one blue. She didn’t wear the crop top to show them off though. She wore it because she needed to feel confident, and her usual blouses weren’t cutting it. She wanted to feel powerful, free, anything to escape the feeling of water droplets on her skin and the sight of people pinned by buildings, drowning. Blue skin, glassy eyes—

Marinette’s shook her head, taking a deep breath. The halter top she was wearing was a carefully, artistically dyed swirl of baby blue and baby pink. Strategic gathers in the cloth swirled the two colors around one another, bringing them to a small pinpoint of pale purple at the very point where the cloth had first been pinched and curled.

It was whimsical, it was childish and mature all at once. It was what Hope felt like to Marinette. The very thing she needed to try and heal from the whole Syren disaster a few weeks earlier.

“I like them too,” Marinette finally responded to her Kwami, running her fingers over the blue spider, the one on her right shoulder. It had completely vanished when she got home after the Syren attack, proving her father right from when he had told her all those years ago that her Bond was likely more than just a few doodles. “But only my parents know about them. I know the Miraculous suits are pretty much indestructible, but I don’t want to take any chances with this crazy world. If my shoulders ever get exposed while I’m Ladybug, I don’t want anyone to be able to connect that to Marinette,” she explained, slowly and regretfully spreading foundation over both marks and spritzing setting spray over it so that the makeup wouldn’t move anytime soon.

She knew why her blue spider had temporarily vanished. She had thought maybe she had just been imagining it before, when she would occasionally be in the middle of an anxiety attack and think that her blue spider was a little paler than usual. Or on the few occasions when she was going days without sleep, or overextending herself for her friends and her red spider would look a little dull.

She wondered what that meant for the person on the other end of their connection.

—*—*—*—*—*

And then she found out. She was fifteen, and it was about five in the morning. Marinette jolted out of bed, feeling a searing heat on her right shoulder. Throwing her shirt off, she saw it— her red spider was glowing. She felt herself trembling, but she didn’t know why. Tears were raining down her face, but she wasn’t sad. Her hands felt oddly wet and sticky, but they were completely clean.

The teenager shared a long, bewildered look with Tikki before carefully letting her fingers brush over the red spider. And she understood.

Anger. Guilt. He’s blaming himself. He’s dead. My fault. My fault. Blood. Is she feeling this? I’m making her feel this. Stupid. Worthless. Mistake. Mistake.

Marinette pried her hand away from the mark, gasping from the influx of emotions. She didn’t know details, probably to protect the identity of the person on the other end of the Bond, but she got the gist of it. The longer she had stayed on the connection, the more lucid thoughts she got straight from the boy himself. None of it had been promising.

She was able to surmise this; someone close to him died, or was dying. Her hands probably felt sticky because of the literal blood on his. Oh Kwami, he probably saw them die right in front of him. Probably held them.

And there was no Cure to reverse it for him.

But the most important part was that he was blaming himself for it, and Marinette couldn’t stand it. She ground her teeth, and touched the mark again with full intention of making sure he knew it wasn’t his fault. That he wasn’t worthless, and that she wasn’t mad at him for this.

But nothing happened. She tried touching the blue spider, but nothing happened. She tried meditating, hoping they had a mental connection—nothing. Absolutely. Nothing.

The heat was gone from her shoulder, the connection over.

Marinette raged at her inability to help a boy she never met.

—*—*—*—*—*

Four months later, she knew the situation was about to be reversed. She stared down at the old man in front of her, frail and weak but forcing himself to stand and hold the heavy box in the air in front of him. The weight made his twig-thin arms shake, and the pigtailed girl quickly snatched the item before it or the man holding it dropped.

“Master,” she whispered, her eyes frantically searching his. “Don’t. The magic, Tikki’s magic, can help. I’ve been practicing. Don’t—“

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of Sabine Cheng and biological daughter of Steven Strange,” the old man started, making Marinette snap her mouth shut with the force of his words. She didn’t know how he found out about her biological father, but didn’t bother asking. It wasn’t important, and he had too many possible ways of finding out through magic. No, his words right now were the only things she found worth focusing on in that moment. “I, Wang Fu, find myself too old to carry on my duties as Grand Guardian. But you are the best student I could have ever asked for. A True Ladybug with a soul of creation, a disciplined mind, and an open heart. I name you as my heir, and as the new Grand Guardian. Do you accept the transference of my title?”

Marinette didn’t want to. The wise eyes boring back into hers said that he knew, that he would understand if she refused. But Marinette also knew that refusing would not grant her the happy ending she wanted from this situation, only regret. His eyes said that he knew that, too.

“I accept,” she didn’t know how she was able to croak that out, but she managed somehow. “Wang Fu, I will gladly take on the title of Lady Strange, the new Grand Guardian. I vow to protect as you have protected, to guard the innocent and punish those who try to upset balance with the Miraculous. To keep the Universe as peaceful as possible with my power.”

“Then let my wisdom become yours,” Fu finished the sacred speech, closing his eyes as a bright green mist was born from his feet. It grew, sliding up his body until it exited his head in a giant luminous cloud like a swarm of fireflies on a misty night. Marinette refused to close her eyes, stubbornly keeping her gaze on Master Fu as the magical green fog covered her own body and sank into her skin. The knowledge of the Guardian’s language and traditions appeared in her mind, along with the rest of Fu’s wisdom and experience with the Miraculous.

“Young lady? Are you alright, you’re crying.”

Marinette took a deep breath, her eyes still locked onto the brown orbs that no longer recognized her. Slowly, she put the miracle box down on his bedside table.

“Yes, I’m fine. How do you feel?”

The old man wobbled, and the young girl had to catch him before he fell. “Let’s get you into bed,” she decided for him, getting a nod and a grateful smile in return. It was after he was in his bed and his eyes were starting to droop that he spoke again, this time in Mandarin.

Which Marinette now spoke, like a final gift from him to her.

“Are you my granddaughter?”

Marinette bit her lip, placing a gentle hand on Fu’s shoulder before responding in the same language;

“That’s right.”

She didn’t need a heart monitor to know when his pulse stopped. She could feel the magic of life drain from him, the Creation that made him who he was disappearing from his form. She dropped, her legs no longer able to support her weight, and sobbed into his comforter.

It happened then, she could feel a phantom hand on her right shoulder. Trying to provide comfort but not able to speak.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I want you here. But thank you. For everything. Thank you.

She didn’t know if she was trying to send those thoughts to Fu or to the boy trying to help her despite never having met her.

—*—*—*—*—*

This is part 1, because Tumblr doesn’t allow me to post the whole thing. Stupid word limits >:[ part 2 right here 

[lairde-lampblack]

Framed

A snippet I wrote based on an ask my friend @halfusek got a little while ago.  Hope you like it buddy!

Everything is red.

Joey sets the knife to the side, trying to avoid the ruby of fresh blood dripping onto the floor like spilled paint, working fast before he runs out of time.

Henry had tried to leave him.  Henry was going to betray all of their hard work.  He had no other choice.  He had to, he needed to, there were no other options.  He repeats the mantra to himself as he completes the ritual to seal the soul to a substance.  A bit of blood in the inkwell, a few lighted candles, a short chant.  The process is too easy.  Aside from the murder.  And even that was easy, trivially so for a man fueled by raw desperation.  But he can't lose his best animator.  His best friend.  

Henry's not allowed to leave him.  They put too much into this together.

His hands are shaking.  They're so red.

He douses the candles and rushes out of the room, locking the door behind himself.  He needs to work fast or else the mind will be lost and this all will have been for nothing.

He has to be careful not to get the blood on the paper he grabs.  He grabs the nearest clean pen, dips it in the soul bound ink, and begins to draw.  He is careful with his strokes, keeping them as clean as possible as he painstakingly copies Henry's art style.

As the minutes go on, a cartoony looking Henry takes shape on the page, grinning up almost blandly at Joey.  Henry was - is a bit of a bland person.  It's perfect.  With a completed line and a colored in shoe, the drawing is done.  

He's out of time.  No fixing it if he screwed up.

Anxiously, he drops the pen into the tainted inkwell and sits back to watch and wait.

It takes about thirty seconds, a little longer than it takes for the ink to dry, for the drawing to begin moving as predicted by the ritual.  Joey can't help but smile with a toothy, hysterical grin as the little Henry blinks and begins to look around in confusion.

“Where am I?” Henry asks, tinny and thin as if it were playing on the radio. “Joey? Where are-” He cuts himself off with a screechy scream, finally noticing Joey, who giggles with no small amount of madness.

“It worked!” he cheers, spreading his arms in show out of habit.

“What worked, what did you do?!”

“I made it so you can't ever leave me again.”

Henry stares up at Joey almost blankly, hand clutching at his chest.  “You… You killed me.” he mumbles, voice almost lost to the crackle of static.  Joey shakes his head in lament.  “I had to, Henry.  It was the only way to make you stay.”

Henry continues to stare accusingly up at Joey, saying nothing more.  The red-handed man’s brow crimps a bit as his elation deflates some.  “But don't worry! We'll still get work done!”

No response.

“Henry?”

Nothing but a blank glare.

Joey picks up the pen and messily scratches in a rather comfortable armchair.  “I gave you a chair.  Does that make it better?”

Henry rolls his eyes, prompting Joey to add an animation desk with a matching stool.  “How about now?” he probes.  Henry turns his back on Joey, who throws his hands in the air.  “Oh, stop being so goddamned childish!”

“Says the man that trapped me on a piece of paper for God knows how long!” The cartoon man retorts finally, face turning grey with anger.  Joey deadpans.  

“Do I need to put you in time out?”

“Fuck you!”

Joey flips the page over with a scoff and gets up to leave his office.  He needs to wash his hands.  And to think.

He should have expected Henry to be ungrateful at first.  After all, he had thought he had wanted to leave.

He'll be grateful eventually.  Joey just needs to give him time, is all.

The pink of the water is fascinating to watch, the bloom of color as it drains away almost hypnotic and leaving sickly pale flesh twigs unmarred by the scar of death that was caked on them.  He snaps from his reverie to start scrubbing under his fingernails to erase every trace of Henry from his skin.

He was careful to wear a red dress shirt today.

Leaving the bathroom, he runs into the janitor. Wally smiles sheepishly up at Joey.  “Heya, Joey! Have ya seen Henry anywhere today? He wasn't at his desk when I swept around it.”

“He quit.” the businessman lies easily.  Wally blinks in surprise.

“Really? He did? Even with the next short so far behind?”

“The stress just got to him.” Joey sighs sadly, parroting one of Henry’s excuses for trying to leave.   The janitor gives him a sad look.  

“Well, that's a shame.  I'll miss him!”

With that, Wally is gone along with the unspoken assurance that everyone will know before that Henry has ‘quit’ before the day is up.

Joey straightens his dress shirt with a huff and returns to his office.  He sits at his desk with a heavy sigh, resting his head on his hands and his elbows to the sides of Henry's new home.

So… he has Henry forever.

What now?

=♤=

“What are you doing?”

Joey doesn't answer Henry, too busy fiddling with the back of the picture frame and cursing the unintuitiveness of the back fasteners.

“Joey.”

The lanky man makes a small noise of triumph as the back of the frame comes off.  With the first task completed, he sets the back to the side and picks up Henry's little slice of living to place it in the frame.  He closes up the back again and turns to the wall behind his desk thoughtfully.

Where he wants to hang Henry is already covered in other picture frames of photographs and certificates.  And sticking him anywhere else just won't do…

An idea coming to him, he snaps his fingers and reaches up to take down the drawing of Bendy, Boris, and Alice all holding hands that Henry had drawn when they'd started the company, hanging Henry's frame its place and caressing the corner lovingly.  Henry gives Joey an incredulous look, but the businessman ignores it with a self-proud little pose.  “There we go, much better!” he chirps.

“What are you going to do with that?” Henry asks accusingly, pointing down at the other drawing.  Joey shrugs.

“I'll find somewhere else to put it.”

=♤=

Decades have passed.  In that office, Henry saw everything.  Years of sacrifices, murders, and miracles.

Joey's success with Henry had lead to his dreams running wild, and he had reached out for them with splintered fingers and a greedy heart.

And everyone careened into hell.

Instead of interns, groaning monsters wound through the halls as ink seeped into every crack and board of the building.  

And Henry still saw it all.

It's of no surprise he saw the creeping shades of a passing demon entering the room, crawling along the walls like a poisonous rot setting in.  A shivering, rattling eternal smile stares at him blankly, an inky hand caressing the corner of the frame.

A pair of weary, unsleeping and unchanging eyes look up at the melting demon with cold, emberous anger and accusation as their owner sits in his sketchy armchair, slightly faded from age.

He's waited years longer than he had any right to, dead and back one too many times.  This entire time, he'd had no say, no agency in what his former friend says and does.  He's suffered needlessly from the day he'd been put to the page, and he knew he was only the first.

And look where it got them all.

He gets up with a grunting sigh to return to the spot he was first drawn, his stride colored by an atrophied limp on the short trek, laborious and painful.  He feels like the old man he'd never live to be. With a hollow, static-marred voice, he creaks out a single sentence.

“I hope you're happy with yourself, Joey.”

[millennium-thejiaqiverse]

Chapter 2: Past, Present and Future

Summary: This chapter is possibly the longest and most challenging to write in the Millennium series (I hope), because there are not one but THREE different time travelers each on their own merry way, one of them being a god. I tried my best to organize all the stuff from the past, present and future (no pun intended) for this to be easy to read. Hint hint, the main focus is still on Miles, main events are in the same universe on the same timeline, and the main points in time are one cool summer day (Miles’s past), then the day before Orientation Day (present), and a cold winter night (further in the past). Let’s see how the present shapes the past, which shapes the future thereafter (ties to Chapter 0’s cancerous plane of existence).

This is the last part of the 9th personal assignment, after more than a month’s hard work, Miles is more than ready for this stage.

Doing a last check then taking off when instructed with his small self-built aircraft, Miles relaxes a bit and smoothly makes the journey to the finish line—a small nearby airport. His class tutor is already waiting for him there. “I knew you would excel on this assignment,” the tutor says, “your results and feedback will be in on the 2nd day of next week. Good luck with your midterms!” “Thank you for the extra day of good weather conditions Ms. Sonmi, thank you so much for your help and understanding.” Miles goes to the tutor after parking his aircraft. “Of course, you were on sick leave Miles,” she says, “everyone has one of those days.” “Yep, one of those days...” to battle a parasite fungus that could kill you. Miles can’t help but think to himself as he replies.

It is around 18 in the VR simulation when Miles finished but in fact 22:26 in real life (he had also spent lots of time with his team to complete their group assignment). Miles goes to the toilet to freshen up and prepare to take the shuttle home.

“Heyyy...” Jason Finn Lee was looking into the mirror above the sinks when Miles enters the toilet, he quickly turns to greet him (but things get awkward fast because this guy can’t remember Miles’s name to save his life). “Hey Jason,” Miles breaks the awkward silence, walking to a sink to wash his hands. “There’s my favorite redhead! How was you day?” Jason inquires. Miles answers while washing his hands, “Well, I’ve finally got everything done. It was fun flying an aircraft for my PA (personal assignment), over some fields, and some red maple trees...” “You’re so organized man, my assignments are a mess, and I’m so stressed over midterms!” Jason just starts rambling on.

Miles’s mind wonders off. He thinks of the red maple trees around his parents’ house—well, it’s just his dad’s house now; Miles has a tent he would bring out to the maple trees every now and then, he remembers he used to carry this tent out there everyday when he was about 4 or 5, and hang out there for hours. Miles again recalls that one day, that day he had the strange encounters when he was 5.

That summer day started as normal, little Miles finished doodling some cartoony multicolored trains in his tent, he was walking up to the front door of the house to bring in his drawings when he just had this feeling he had to see something. He looked, only to see someone almost identical to his 5-year-old self, a little Miles #2 but with torn up cloth, leaves in his messy hair and an unexplained look of sudden realization in his eyes; he looked on as little Miles #2 ran to hide in the tent, pulling the zipper shut. He was about to go to the tent to confront this strange kid...

Right now, Miles’s recollection is semi-interrupted with utter silence and a feeling of dread his 5-year-old self had experienced at that very moment back then on that fateful day. “Jason?” Noticing that Jason has abruptly stopped making a sound, Miles looks over to him, only to see an apparition grabbing onto the nose and mouth of his struggling schoolmate.

“... The ghost!” Miles stammers, “not again!” Distorted frozen face, hateful eyes, it is the same apparition little Miles’d seen moments after seeing little Miles #2 that day! “You! I know what it means to see your doppelgänger!” What they said as they charged his younger self echos through his mind, “you are going to die!”

Miles is in shock. This apparition is very dangerous! Jason cannot breathe, he tries to fight back, but the apparition isn’t effected at all. Seeing the apparition hurting his schoolmate, Miles immediately snaps out of it and throws the apparition off of Jason then keeps them at bay, and as soon as Jason caught his breath, Miles pushes him out of the room, taking his memory of the attack and planting a sense that he’s done his bathroom trip on autopilot. “Ah, you’re stronger than I thought,” the apparition speaks. “I’m taking you off this plane of existence!” Miles says as he restrains them.

On that cool summer day, after little Miles was jumped by the apparition blocking his way home, he gave up on confronting little Miles #2, dropped his drawings and darted off running away from them. “Why would it turn out like this?! Everything is horrible!” The apparition screeched and chased after him with a machete, “why must I suffer? Why must we part? The love towards her was so much yet you’d never get to spend a life with her! Never even said ‘I love you’ before leaving!!” “Leave me alone!” Little Miles was very scared, he went off the neighborhood roads and ran into the red maple woods—bumping into low branches and tearing his clothes—straight to a cliff. “Stop this futile attempt to get away child, die for me!” Waving the machete, the apparition taunted him, slowly passing through the trees, “you are horrible, let me end this.” Running a little ahead of the apparition, little Miles’s legs were giving out, at that moment he wished so much that all this wasn’t happening and he was back at the front door, going back into the safety of his home—

—Suddenly, there he was, out of the woods, but at this strange train station, not at home. Parked at the platform he stood on was one of the cartoony trains he doodled whilst imagining it making a stop in the yard of his home some day. With no idea where else to go and this train being the relatively more comprehensible option, little Miles boarded it to test his luck. And before he knew it, he was there in the yard of his home again, and he saw “little Miles #2” going to the front door with some drawings, except he didn’t have torn cloth and... little Miles suddenly realized there was no doppelgänger little Miles #2 at all, it was just himself all along—somehow he time travelled through that strange train station! Remembering this was when the apparition would charge his past self, little Miles ducked into the tent and shut himself in, hugging his legs to wait it all out.

Right now, Miles is once more traveling with a train through the Junction—his strange train station—to the past. The apparition gave up on fighting him (they decided they are powerful enough and didn’t need to hunt to gain more power at that moment), escaped his grip and went on a volatile plane to crawl their way back in time to quote on quote “end their suffering from its beginning” (despite Miles telling them this is not how time travel works after he realized the apparition didn’t recognize him at the moment), so Miles now needs to track them down and make sure they don’t cause a ruckus for nothing.

Boom, the train shakes as it enters a field of light, Miles stops by to see what that was about.

This is a freezing snowy winter night. Miles meets a gang of robed sorcerers maintaining an intricate puzzle box of their design—a cluster of volatile planes of existence piled at one spot, like an invisible labyrinth, imprisoning a sacrificial lamb, a girl, pleading for her release. The sorcerers are repeatedly chanting something in Latin, something along the lines of “take this innocent sacrifice and bring forth the apocalypse”, classic stuff. Miles enters the puzzle box attempting to free the girl, it is clear this puzzle is not just a day’s work: Each plane there is built by the ghost who haunts it, judging from their robes they are from the same society of sorcerers, Miles has to fight constantly to survive their attacks. Miles plans to pull the girl out of the puzzle box before she is sacrificed, but after going through some layers of this puzzle, he realized this whole thing has to be torn down in order to free her—she would somehow always be on a different plane than Miles, and Miles’s magic is limited by the structure of this puzzle box therefore cannot reach through to her. Time is running out, her organs are bleeding, Miles blows the puzzle box apart, weakening the sorcerers around it tremendously; he heals the girl, she runs off screaming as soon as her feet touches the ground, scared out of her mind.

“You fool! You thought we didn’t know there would be time traveling fools like you who’d try to stop us?” Says the one who seems to be the head sorcerer with a weak but stern voice, “the apocalypse will be upon us regardless of you efforts. My daughter’s innocent soul is just one of many sources of the energy we’d use to grow our cancerous dimension, the energy you supplied to our labyrinth before destroying it was needless to say far more than what a few souls can provide, the cancer will now root on our universe and thanks to your little retaliation you kickstarted this process! You have achieved nothing! Oh well, another pawn of the Court will cease to exist in our hands!!” Miles has to think about this, meanwhile he’s just looking at the sorcerer. “Be surprise you idiot!” The sorcerer gets angry at Miles’s lack of proper reaction. Miles carefully words his sentence, “I can tell you first hand that your efforts here are not in vain.” “Hah,” the sorcerer lays his head down, “people will thank us for doing this.”

Just what kind of maniac would sacrificing his own daughter? Walking in the winter snow, Miles thinks to himself after he’s a distance away from the scene, “at least I saved the daughter and she’d be alright, that wasn’t all for nothing... wait, that reminds me—the thing, the real idiot I’m here to watch!”

A gust of summer wind blows through the air. Making sure the apparition wasn’t in sight anymore, little Miles ran through the front door, slamming it behind him. “Miles? Is that you?” It was his mom coming to the door. Little Miles panicked, he wrecked his clothes and he was a mess, mom would be so mad! That was when everything stopped, leaving little Miles puzzled. “This is quite an unconventional first meeting.” a voice came from the living room, “Don’t be alarmed Miles,” the words brought a sense of calmness, little Miles walked into the living room to see a man looking out of the floor to ceiling windows, “I’m Atlas, some guy who carries the cosmos. Good job throwing that thing off your trail.” Everything around them was frozen in time, little Miles saw his mom on the stairs, about to turn the corner to the living room. “Atlas? A titan?” Little Miles asked. “Yes, that’s me,” Atlas turned to face him, “furthermore, the information about me you downloaded into your head is quite correct—I must admit that’s a pretty handy way to acquire knowledge.” “But what about that angry man who chased me?” Little Miles wanted to know more, “he is strange.” “The apparition you encountered breached the veil which separates your plane of existence and another volatile one, and I’m here to capture them.” Atlas gave him an answer, “however, that’s not the purpose of our meeting. Miles Millward, you have a unique talent with magic. A long journey of self discovery and learning lies ahead of you, this journey wouldn’t be easy. I cannot tell you you’ll have no worries or fears in the future, but I will be there for you when and only when you need my help. You know where to find me, in here.” He gestured to his head. The next thing little Miles knew was that everything was back to normal, his mom greeted him with a raised eyebrow and a “what were you up to?” regarding his clothes and hair, Atlas was nowhere to be seen.

The snow is falling. “This is my chance,” the apparition bursts through the redwood gates of a mansion. “Stop it right there!” Miles yells. “There you are child, having fun lost in your thoughts?” The apparition takes notice of him. “For the last time, you can’t change what you wanted to change no matter what you do here! Think about it!” Miles tries to reason with them. “I’m not listening!” The apparition taunts him. “What in the world?” A maid has rushed to the broken down gates. Miles quickly shrouds himself and the apparition from her sight, not wanting to scare her. “I don’t know why, but you think of me again and again,” the apparition roars to Miles, “the more you think, the more you wonder about me you’d feed my power! I just never thought we’ll be here this soon. Now I’ll finally get what I want no matter what!”

“Eric?” A voice from the landing facing the gate, “Eric where have you been?! You can’t keep chasing after some ‘supernatural’ nonsense and running off disappearing like that, I worry!” That’s when Miles noticed a lady rushing down to a figure that appeared at the gate during this mayhem. “Yes, there she is,” the apparition cheers. Miles looks at the figure at the gate then at the apparition, then it hits him. That figure is actually the ghost of this Eric guy, while the apparition he’s been dealing with isn’t any ghost as he initially believed, but a mindless manifestation of a burning desire, they certainly have very little reason in them. “Don’t do that ever again!” She is crying with joy. “Come to us and be united!” The manifestation demands. Apparently this powerful manifestation worked a deal with Eric in Miles’s absence. Eric is lured back from the dead and made visible to the living, probably on the promise he could join his love forever, this manifestation possibly planned on binding this lady Melanie and Eric for eternity which will certainly fail at some point and further harm all that are involved! It is clear the apparition sees joining them together as their purpose and not completing this job as their torment.

“This is sick!” Miles is really close to just annihilating that manifestation at this point, but he was stopped. “Calm down Miles,” it’s Atlas, putting a hand on his shoulder. “They’re... Melanie and Eric are in a very bad situation!” Miles is confused. “You have a drive to help and save people, this is good, but you have to keep this in mind,” Atlas explains, “we learnt that history runs on cause and effect, the cause and effect that we’re not always a part of. This couple don’t really need any help you know?” “Huh?” Miles questions his mentor. Atlas points to Eric and Melanie to tell him to watch on. “I’m leaving you Melanie,” Eric says unexpectedly. “What?” Melanie’s jaw drops, “but after all that we’ve been through?” “We’ll never see each other again,” Eric keeps the now agitated apparition away from Melanie with all his might, “this is for the best! You shouldn’t have had faith in me!” “What are you doing?” The apparition is ready to pounce on everyone here, “we end this now!” Eric notices and runs out through the gates, leaving Melanie behind, now crying with heartbreak and anger. “What ever did I see in him?” Melanie shakes her head. The apparition of course chases him outside. “You know you love her! You wanted to say you love her, you wanted to be with her!” The apparition screams, “you wanted this so much you created me!! And I’ll never let you off with that! Even in death, I’ll make sure you never rest until you man up and fulfill your desires!”

Through the snow, Miles and Atlas chase after them. “The manifestation is distorting even more,” Miles refers to the apparition who’s growing increasingly grotesque, “the more this guy suppresses his feelings the more this manifestation has a reason to grow...” “Although it doesn’t look like it but Eric will prevail,” Atlas isn’t very worried, “marriage at this day and age is hardly about love, it is a union of two families. He’s done the right thing letting her go, all he has to do now is accept his sacrifice.” “Then I’ll tell him that!” Miles teleports in front of Eric, stopping him in his track. “Miles! He has to do this by himself!” Atlas informs Miles.

“This is all my fault...” Eric sighs, “you know, in fact I couldn’t give her the life she deserves in the first place, I’m just a nobody with no status. She is to be wedded to the Brickdales tomorrow, and that’s probably for the best.” “We’re not done, you are coming with me,” the apparition catches up with Eric. “I feel the most difficult thing isn’t the goodbye to my love, but to let go of the fact that we will part forever.” Eric continues. “But you don’t have to, it was a mistake, we’ll go back and fix...” the apparition is then cut off by Eric. “I know Melanie,” Eric stands against them, “she will moved on, and William loves her no less than I do, I would only have one last gift to her now that I’m dead. If this fiend is truly just my longing for Melanie, then I set it free.” “Well this is a load of crap,” although much weaker since Eric punched them by letting it go, the apparition isn’t finished, “but I’m not giving up on the reason I exist! I still suffer! I’ll just have to regain my strength and try again!”

The apparition disappears onto a volatile plane. “Unnatural! The manifestation survived being cut off, and now they’re traveling through time again!?” Miles jumps. “This is indeed unnatural. I’ll handle this Miles,” Atlas goes after the apparition. “Ahh, I’ve never been so at peace,” Eric finally relaxes.

Miles follows his mentor, “Atlas, I can help!” Hearing that, Atlas turns around to him, “Settle down Miles, you’ve had quite a long day, I came to your aid earlier because I sensed you’re already exhausted. I’ve got this. Here, you’ll be at home right on time if you exit the plane now.” “You’re right, my mind’s getting jumpy,” Miles agrees, “and it’s in my favor to take a break before midterms.” Atlas sees Miles off then continues after the apparition.

Arriving at the cool summer day, Atlas comforts little Miles who’s just been jumped at the front door of his home, and thereafter goes on to capture the apparition his after.

“So, Atlas, you’ve got another one.” Atropos greets Atlas, her eyes focused on her freshly completed tapestry, “know that the Court will be happy to take over this matter.”

@cadewrites

[meloncity]

Ok I’m not a writer at all and this is an art blog but here’s some AkiRei because

She’d been there a few too many times before. The first time was to see what all the hype about this new “Snake Pit” club was about. Every visit after that was to get another chance to stare longingly at the mysterious DJ bouncing up on stage. He was handsome and energetic so of course he always had people hanging around him. Rei wasn’t the type to just start up a conversation with someone she didn’t know either, and for the time being she was perfectly content watching from afar.

“Why are you going back again, stupid?” She mumbled as she examined herself in the black dress. It was a little short and stopped about mid-thigh. It was in great shape considering it was an old hand-me-down from her exuberant friend and neighbor, Nina, who had bright pink hair and legs for days. She didn’t wear dresses often, or ever really, but these past few weekends she had wanted to look nice just in case. 

Rei frowned at herself in the mirror. He had better people than her to spend his time with than her. God, she didn’t even know what she’d say to him if she had the chance. “Hey, you’re really hot, I kinda might be in love with you.” She said jokingly, making finger guns at her reflection. No, that would be weird. Rei didn’t even know him but…he was always smiling and someone that friendly couldn’t be bad, right? Either way, she was already dressed up so why not? Slipping on her worn out flats she swung the front door of her apartment open, only to find herself face to face with a fluff of cotton candy like hair.

“Nina!” She all but screamed.

“Rei!”

Rei took a moment to try and regain her composure, “Uh, what’s up? Did you need something?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah!” Nina replied, peppy as always, “I was actually just about to knock! I wanted to see if you wanted to go out with me tonight, but I can see now you’ve already got plans.” She eyed the smaller girl with a grin on her pink lips. “And you look amazing in that outfit, by the way. Gorgeous! Do I have the best taste or what?”

Rei felt her face heat up and turned away to play with her hair, “R-really? You think so? It’s not too, uh, extravagant for me?”

Nina gasped in an almost theatrical way, “Babe! Oh my god, you’re so pretty I’m literally going to die right now!” That got a giggle out of Rei and Nina looked pleased with herself. “So, where are you going all dolled up? Got a hot date?”

“No, no, no nonono.” Rei dismissed the idea with a few quick waves of her hand. “I was just going…out…”

“To?”

“The……the...Snake Pit……”

Nina’s eyes lit up and her expression portrayed the human equivalent of “!!!”.

“OMG, no way!! I’ve never been and am totally dying to check it out, can I come?!”

Rei was surprised but quickly agreed, relieved to finally have some company, “Yeah, yeah of course! I’d love to go together! But, didn’t you already have something in mind you wanted to do?”

“Oh, pff, forget a movie night, I wanna go party with you!” Nina grabbed Rei’s hand and dragged her off to her car.

Once they arrived Nina was overjoyed with the music that blared through the walls and neon lights that bounced off every surface. She made her way to the bar, Rei in tow, and ordered the fruitiest concoction on the menu. “Y’know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a place only card for 18-year-olds when they’ve got a whole bar, like, right here,” Nina said after a few sips of her drink.

Rei half-heartedly nodded in agreement, her eyes already scanning the room for that familiar messy black hair.

“Of course, then you wouldn’t be allowed in and that would so suck.” Nina continued, “You’re only 19, right?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” Rei murmured, attention now obviously elsewhere. She jumped in her seat when Nina’s glass hit the bar with a loud thunk.

“All right girl, you’re acting way suspicious. What are you looking for?”

Rei cursed herself for being so easy to read. She didn’t even know his name, Nina would totally judge her for being so obsessed with a guy whose name she didn’t even know. The poster said Killin’ it with DJ Sidewinder! was that him? She had no idea, plus they had a few DJs here. What an odd name for a DJ. DJ. What a weird word. Like that one kid from Total D-

“Rei!” Nina snapped the dark-haired girl out of her mental spiral. “Well? What’s up with you?”

Ah screw it, she might as well tell her.

“Uh…w-well…there’s like...this guy…” she slowly stammered out, getting more and more nervous with each word. “He’s...here all the time…cuz he’s a DJ and…stuff…”

“Aaaand you like him.” Nina finished for her, a sly smile creeping up on her face. Rei opened her mouth to reply but just covered it with her hand instead and blushed. “Alright, alright, I get it.” Nina laughed, “So what’s his name?” Rei pause for a moment then shook her head with a dejected look. “Oh, honey, it’s ok, it’s ok. Uh, what’s he look like?”

Rei thought about what to say but words were failing her, so she grabbed a napkin by her and a pen from Nina’s purse and quickly scribbled out a drawing of the man. It was even accompanied by sparkles to emphasize the size of his smile and coolness level. She handed it shyly to Nina who took it and giggled at how adorable her friend was.

As Nina looked over the tiny napkin man, Rei scanned the dance floor once again, only to freeze with anxiety as a pair of sunglass covered eyes met her own from the middle of the room.

Crap, was that him? Oh god, it was. Maybe not? No, yeah, it’s him. But why would he be looking at her? Probably just a coincidence. The girl’s head went into disarray as the man started to walk in their direction. He must’ve been looking at someone behind her, yeah, that was it. Oh god, he was looking straight at her.

She watched in exhilaration and dread as the object of her affection stopped right before her and began a conversation. He was so much taller than she’d thought. At least a whole head taller than her.

“Hey there, haven’t I seen you around here before?” The man asked, his voice was deeper than she expected.

Rei tried to respond but could only stutter out unintelligible sounds. She glanced nervously to Nina for help, only to see the woman making a poor attempt to hide a huge smile. Rei silently begged her for help and she eventually got the message.

“Oh, totally!” Nina said, “She comes here all the time just to get a good look at the hot DJs here.” she winked back at Rei who was too stunned to move.

“Really now?” He said with a smirk, obviously enjoying this. “Any one in particular catch your eye?”

Rei could feel her soul leaving her body as Nina tapped him on the shoulder and showed him the napkin. To her utter horror he smiled at the cartoony rendition of himself.

“Damn,” He let out a chuckle, “It looks just like me.” He moved closer and leaned on the counter, Y’know there’s no need to be shy.”

“Oh, that’s just how she is with new people.” Nina replied, “She’ll open up plenty once you get to know each other.”

Rei knew her face must be as red as his shirt by now and it took all her strength to not bury her head in her hands and run away that very moment.

“Oho, I like the sound of that. Name’s Akira by the way.” He said in a heart-stoppingly seductive manner. At least that’s how she heard it.

Nina, wingman of the hour, spoke up, “This adorable little mess is Rei, and I’m her currently unavailable friend, Nina.”

Akira let out a laugh and Rei’s heart fluttered. “Well then Rei, I’m working the rest of the night, but I get off early tomorrow. Maybe we can play then.” Akira brushed his hand under her chin and licked his lip. Her body felt like lead at this point yet she somehow managed to give him a tiny nod in response. He winked at her and turned around to give Nina a quick nod before heading back to his station.

Rei’s body finally gave way and she collapsed, Nina clambering out of her chair to catch her in time. Rei buried her face in the other girl’s shirt and was moments away from crying tears of anxiety and joy.

“Heeeyyy, hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong? I got you a date with DJ McHottie!” Nina received a soft punch to her stomach and a low, muffled scream in response. “Do you hate me now?”

Rei shook her head.

“Are you excited?”

Another shake.

“Are you lying?”

Rei nodded and Nina patted her on the back.

“All right then, we better get home so you can get ready for your big date soon!” She helped her wobbly friend up and the two stumbled home.