#guess when I realized I need a cover... XD

[zu-is-here]

☆ Happy 2nd anniversary to Trapped ☆

(In case someone would want to play this :D)

[spinningwebsandtales]

Imagine Going On Patrol With Optimus

Optimus Prime X Human FemReader

Rating: G

Warnings: None

Word Count: 831

(A/N:) I am totally not going to apologize for the fangirl I will become after this weekend! XD I am so dang excited for Transformers Rise of the Beasts it’s not even funny! I had to write a little doodad for my favorite Autobot/Transformer ever. So this is complete and utter self indulgence! Join me in my indulgence for an alien transforming robot from the planet Cybertron! XD Until next time happy reading! ~Countess

Your life had been completely normal and mundane until gigantic robotic aliens from space crashed into your life, literally. Now you were a part of the team, helping in anyway you can against the Decepticons. The Autobots had been skeptical on what you could possibly offer in terms of help, when you finally proved yourself time and time again. You had gained Optimus Prime’s trust and friendship and you couldn’t say that you were mad about that. He quickly became your favorite and you always felt safe in his presence. Every day that passed you grew closer and closer to the prime, until you found yourself spending majority of your day with him.  You found his presence soothing and he felt the same about you.

It had been a long day as the Autobots once again had to fight off several Decepticons. In the middle of the battle you were growing concerned as many of your team were falling injured. Now that the battle was over your body and mind were completely exhausted. But no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t go to sleep. Giving up you slung the covers off and started to walk around the base. Several soldiers saluted you as you passed by, you saluted them back while mindlessly walking around. Your thoughts kept going back to the large Autobot that you cared so deeply for. You shook your head trying to banish the thoughts when you noticed that your mindless walking brought you to the Transformer side of the base. Even spaced out you found yourself drawn to the large mechanical beings. You spotted a flash of blue and red as Optimus was transforming into his alt mode for a round of patrol. Before the mech could leave you sprinted across the lot, waving franticly for attention. Optimus stopped his tires squealing in protest.

“Can I go,” you asked breathlessly looking expectedly at the soldiers. They shrugged before looking back towards the semi truck. Without a word Optimus popped open the passenger door giving his permission, wordlessly. You didn’t waste time with formalities and just jumped in. The door shut while you buckled yourself in. All was quiet between you and Optimus as the scenery went by and the sound of tires rolling down the road sounded through the cab. 

“I thought you would be asleep by now,” Optimus finally spoke, causing you to jump in your seat. “After the battle today you must be exhausted.”

You sighed tapping at the glass of the window. “I guess I’m too exhausted to sleep. So many of my men were injured today and I guess I am too worried to sleep. I much rather go on a drive with you than just lay there and stare at the ceiling.”

Optimus chuckled, “Happy to help.”

Silence overtook the cab before the radio flicked on. Optimus scanned the channels, going straight to your favorite station. He had the uncanny ability to know when you just needed silence instead of mindless chatter. The music began to soothe you as the scenery passed by. First you began to hum, enjoying the different tunes flowing through the speaker, until your favorite song entered the airwaves. You lost yourself, singing lowly before you were belting out the lyrics, completely forgetting where you were. Music always had a way with helping you forget your troubles and though you liked to sing, you never did in front of others. When the song ended, the radio lowered and you jumped in the seat when Optimus spoke.

“You have a beautiful voice,” he said. 

The compliment made your cheeks flush at the realization on what you just did. You began to realize just how exhausted you were, it was causing your guard to be down. You were relieved it was Optimus and not anyone else that heard you. You couldn’t imagine the Autobot leader ratting you out to the others or teasing you about your impromptu concert.

“Thank you,” you whispered. Staring back out of the window, Optimus raised the volume of the next song playing. An idea suddenly popping in your head and a mischievous smile pulling at your lips. You tapped his dash, gaining the Autobot’s attention.

“It’s your turn this time,” you teased.

The rest of the patrol went smoothly as you and Optimus talked more. With no sight of Deceptions anywhere, Optimus pulled back into base and let you out before transforming. You stared up at the Autobot, a yawn keeping you from saying what you wanted to. He pointed towards the barracks, in a silent but gentle order. You nodded, too tired to even argue. The drive had lulled you and Optimus had soothed all the thoughts that were plaguing you. All it took was his strong presence to make your world right again. As soon as your head hit the pillow you could finally go to sleep and your dreams were filled with a red and blue Autobot that you love dearly.

[tongue-like-a-razor]

Faking It | Part V

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x F!Reader

And thus continues my ode to all the tropes that ever troped XD Wanna hear something funny? I have this story saved in my one-shots folder. Like, what was I thinking??

Anyway, thank you so much for following this meandering tale. I still can't believe the epic support and love you guys have given me and this story <3 I appreciate you more than you know!

Summary: Fake dating your friend, Bradley Bradshaw - what could possibly go wrong? Your sister is getting married and you need a date. You enlist Bradley's help and the rest is history.

CW: swearing, some angst (y'all knew it was coming)

Start from the beginning: Part I

You open your eyes the following morning to find Bradley’s arm draped over your body, his fingers wrapped around your hand near your chest. You hold your breath, lest you wake him before you can fully appreciate the moment. You close your eyes for a minute, imagining that all of it is real.

Before the minute is up, however, Bradley begins to stir. You decide to keep your eyes closed, curious as to how he will react upon waking in an embrace with you. You feel his body shift behind you, his head lifting slowly off the pillow. He doesn’t withdraw his arm just yet and you can feel his breath warming the tip of your ear as he rests his head briefly over yours. His fingers tighten around your hand for a split second before he releases it and drags his arm away, his hand lightly skimming the exposed skin under the hem of your shirt as he rolls onto his back. Meanwhile, you nearly convulse at the absolute upheaval of your entire nervous system as your body grapples with the chaos ignited by his fleeting touch.

You turn around slowly to see him covering his face with his hands and your heart sinks. He’s clearly mortified and possibly regretting the entire endeavor. He must know that you like him. He must see right through you. And then it hits you. You were drunk last night. Had you done something that might have given you away? Other than convincing him to share a bed with you and cuddle you to sleep? You think you might be sick.

You sit straight up, wincing at the pounding in your head, and slip out of the bed without so much as uttering a good morning to the man who’s been spooning you all night. You rush into the bathroom, hurriedly locking the door behind you, as if Bradley might try to barge in. You start running cold water over your face, trying desperately to remember every single thing that happened the previous night.

Bradley had seemed fed up with Steven, but that was likely for show. Bradley had helped remove your shoes, but that was likely because you would’ve otherwise ended up with your face in the sand. Similarly, carrying you when you had expressed some ridiculous phobia of crocodiles? That was likely an attempt to get you home before you did something stupid. You cringe, looking up at your grimace in the mirror.

When you step out of the bathroom, Bradley is already dressed. He looks over at you with an apprehensive expression. “You up for some breakfast?” he asks.

“Uh, I’m actually going to head over to my sister’s chalet,” you say quickly, gathering your things. “All the bridesmaids are getting ready there.”

“You should eat something,” he says.

Your eyes meet his across the room. “I’m sure they’re going to have a platter of sandwiches or something.”

Bradley looks like he might have something else to add but ultimately seems to reconsider. “I guess I’ll see you later,” he says.

You give him a tight smile. “That’s the plan,” you respond, heading for the door.

…

You spend the morning in a daze. Your sister is getting married and you can hardly think of anything other than Bradley Bradshaw. Once or twice, this realization infuriates you, but then you blissfully revert to daydreaming about his captivating grin and his expressive eyes and his beautifully sculpted shoulders.

By the time the ceremony rolls around, you’re frighteningly untethered from reality, and you desperately try to focus on the task at hand. You take a deep breath, grounding yourself before taking the final step off the stone staircase onto the perfectly manicured lawn, clutching your bridesmaid’s bouquet to your chest. You haven’t seen Bradley since that morning and your nerves are shot with the anticipation of what the day might have in store. Your thoughts that morning may have all revolved around Bradley’s shoulders but, if you’re going to make it through the rest of the weekend, you’ll have to feign indifference toward him, romantically speaking – while pretending that he is the love of your life. It can’t be as complicated as it sounds. You take several more breaths, concentrating all your efforts on your walk toward the altar without letting your heels sink into the soft ground.

Your eyes scan the chairs briefly but you see no sign of Bradley’s wavy, brown hair. You take your place next to the other bridesmaids, turning to the collection of lawn chairs in front of the flowered trellis. You’re still searching for Bradley in the crowd when the flower girl skips up the aisle sprinkling handfuls of rose petals over the freshly cut turf. When you can’t locate him, you start to worry that perhaps he’s changed his mind about attending. The thought upsets you because the least he could have done was talk to you beforehand so that his absence wouldn’t catch you off guard.

You’re still annoyed when your gaze lands on a particularly handsome face that’s smirking up at you from the assembled guests. You stare at him for a moment, shocked that you didn’t recognize him sooner. He’s wearing a light-colored suit and his hair is slightly more gelled than usual but, other than that, he’s the same old Bradley. Except, you’ve never seen him in formal attire before. And he looks good.

You give him a smile, playing the part of the enamored girlfriend despite the turmoil in your gut at having left things unsettled that morning. You look away from him so as not to give him an opportunity to perceive the discomfort on your face. In doing so, however, your eyes settle on Steven instead. He grins at you broadly, wiggling his eyebrows. You feel sick to your stomach and promptly look away just as your sister makes her way down the aisle in her blindingly white gown. Behind her slender form, you notice that Bradley is glaring at Steven.

You smile inwardly at Bradley’s transparent animosity toward him. Your ex-boyfriend certainly deserves it but, what’s more, it’s a pleasant feeling having Bradley in your corner against enemy number one.

When the ceremony comes to an end and all the guests rise as the wedding party heads back up the aisle, Bradley gives you a slight nod as you walk by which sends a fluttering sensation throughout your insides. You quicken your pace, racing after the happy couple as if you plan to outrun them, completely forgetting about the grass versus heels situation. Your left foot sinks into the ground and you nearly lose a shoe as you stumble forward.

Just as you’re about to fall face first into the greenest grass you’ve ever seen, Bradley hops out of his row and grabs your arm, sliding his hand around your waist to steady you. It all happens so quickly that you’re still visibly shaken as you straighten your back.

“You okay?” he asks, his face hovering far too close to yours as he leans forward to look at you.

“I think so,” you breathe. “Good catch,” you add.

He smirks with one side of his mouth. “You are too, babe,” he replies.

You stare at him for a moment, trying to decipher how much of the current scenario is an act, and you decide that Bradley Bradshaw has missed his chance at a seriously successful career in acting.

“Shall we?” he asks, holding his arm out for you. “I hear it’s cocktail hour.”

You try to calm your overwrought nerves and glance up at him with a guarded smile. After all, you need to convince your mother – and Steven – that you’re in a happy relationship, and you can’t do that by avoiding poor Bradley’s gaze all evening. It’s not his fault he’s hot as fuck. “Let’s do this,” you say, sliding your arm through his as the rest of the guests begin to make their way toward the patio where the servers are already walking around with platters brimming with ridiculously small, and unnervingly unrecognizable, food.

…

“You look good,” Bradley says casually as he reaches to take a miniscule quiche off a circulating platter.

You swallow a large chunk of stuffed mushroom, praying you don’t choke on it before you could respond. “You’re not so bad yourself, Bradshaw.”

He grins, popping the quiche into his mouth.

You meet his gaze and nearly lose yourself in his eyes when you feel a violent tug on your dress. You look down to see your niece smiling up at you. She continues pulling on your dress even though she’s already captured your attention and you have to pry her little hands off the chiffon skirt before the material disintegrates in her iron grip. “Aly, Aly, what’s up?” you ask hurriedly.

“Is this the pilot?” she asks with a sly smile on her face as she turns to look up at Bradley.

Bradley grins at the little girl. “Hey, how’d you know?” he exclaims.

Aly giggles. “I guessed,” she admits.

“Good guess,” Bradley says, winking at her.

“How big is your airplane?” Aly asks excitedly.

Bradley lifts his eyes to look at you as you bite into your bottom lip to keep from laughing.

“Size doesn’t really matter, little girl,” Bradley says.

A small chuckle escapes your mouth despite your efforts to contain it and Bradley shoots you a pointed look.

“What matters,” Bradley continues, “is how you use it.”

“Use it?” Aly looks at him with furrowed brows.

“Fly it!” Bradley corrects himself. “How you fly it.”

You put a hand to your mouth, trying to hold in your laughter.

“In any case,” Bradley says. “My plane is quite large as far as planes go.”

You squeeze your eyes shut and turn away, because looking at Bradley will certainly compromise your poker face.

“What’s so funny, auntie?” Aly yanks on your dress again.

You turn to look at her with tears in your eyes from the strain of withholding your laughter.

“Yeah, auntie,” Bradley chimes in. “What’s so funny?”

“I am not laughing,” you say with a giant smile.

Bradley chuckles, shaking his head. “Get your mind out of the gutter, auntie,” he says, and the rough quality of his deep voice makes the statement sound ridiculously sexy, nudging your mind in precisely the opposite direction.

“Yeah, auntie,” Aly agrees. “Get your mind out of the udder.”

At that, you burst out laughing. Grabbing Bradley’s shoulder – the very one you’d been fantasizing about for the better part of the day – you try to steady yourself while attempting to stifle your own amusement. Bradley chuckles while his hand slides around you and rubs your arm absently as you try to breathe through your hysterics.

Aly squeezes in between the two of you, peeking up at you with a grimace. “You’re really happy today, auntie,” she says.

Bradley’s hand stops stroking your arm and his embrace briefly tightens around you.

“Well,” you say, wiping your eyes and straightening your back. “It is my sister’s wedding day. Happiest day of my life.”

Aly eyes you skeptically while Bradley’s hand falls back to his side as you slowly move away.

Bradley looks down at the girl. “You ever heard of the Super-Hornet, Aly?” he asks.

Aly glances up at him with wide eyes and shakes her head.

“Tell you what,” he says, crouching down so that his face is level with hers. “You tell your auntie that she’s going to have to let you borrow me for a dance so that I can tell you all about it.”

You chuckle lightly as Aly glances up at you with a couple of round, excited eyes. “I suppose I can lend him for one dance,” you say.

The girl runs off cheerfully and Bradley rises, his eyes settling on yours as a smile spreads on his face. “Look at you being so generous,” he says.

You shrug. “What kind of person would I be if I refused to share with a child?”

He laughs, his eyes still holding your gaze as he licks his lips. “So,” he says after a moment. “You left in a hurry this morning.”

Your giddy mood instantly deflates and, as you contend with a sudden and rather debilitating panic attack that derails your plans for an uneventful evening, the space between the two of you becomes fraught with tension. “I was running late,” you say dismissively, turning away from him to try and locate another server distributing appetizers.

“I saw your sister at breakfast,” he says.

You shoot him a horrified look. “Oh no!” you exclaim. “Was she wondering why we weren’t together?”

 “Probably,” he says. “But that wasn’t really my point.”

“Fuck,” you groan. “She’s going to tell my mom. And my mom’s already on my case. And” –

“Why’d you lie?” he asks.

You glance up at him. “I didn’t lie. I had no idea my sister would still be having breakfast.”

“Your sister said you weren’t supposed to show up till noon.”

You narrow your eyes at him. “Why are you interrogating my sister?” you ask crossly.

Bradley watches you levelly. “My bad,” he says after a short period of silence. “I thought we could be adults about this.” He pushes off the banister and heads across the terrace toward the bar.

You let out a frustrated sigh and shake your head. Of course, Bradley would choose the most crucial event of the entire weekend to pick a fight with you. You stomp off in the opposite direction, grabbing a flute of champagne from one of the trays as you go.

…

“Trouble in paradise?”

You look up from your drink to see Steven eyeing Bradley, who is standing on his own at the stone barrier separating the terrace and the grassy slope that slants toward the lake below. He’s looking out at the water with an impassive expression on his face. “Not now, Steven,” you say tiredly.

Steven leans into the high-top table you’re standing at. “I think now is the perfect time, baby,” he says.

You roll your eyes. “Please don’t call me that.”

“Look,” Steven says, sliding closer to you along the curve of the table. “It’s clear to me that this Bradley guy – that he’s just a rebound…”

Steven continues talking but you’ve stopped listening. You’re watching Bradley finally turn around and look at you. Even from a distance, you can see the subtle shift in his features when he notices whom you’re conversing with. Bradley sets his jaw and starts towards you.

“…but I’m here now,” you hear Steven’s voice frighteningly close to your ear and you flinch, backing away.

Steven is giving you a smirk that he probably thinks is irresistible and perhaps, once upon a time, it had been for you. You’re about to tell him off when Bradley walks around the table from behind, forcing his way in between you and Steven. “I’m getting tired of finding you near my girlfriend,” he says, the antagonism palpable in his tone.

Steven appears annoyed that his advances have been cut short. “We were just having a chat,” he replies.

Bradley gives his head a slight shake. “Plenty of other people here to chat with,” he says tersely.

Steven lets out a scathing laugh and glances at you. “Y/N, since when do you let your boyfriends decide who you get to talk to?”

You’re about to bite back when Bradley takes a step toward Steven, lowering his face so that he could stare him down at close proximity. “I’ll tell you what,” he says in a low voice. “I see you bothering her again, and you and I? We’re going to have a chat. And, believe me, you’re not going to like what I have to say.”

Steven takes a step back uncomfortably, glancing between you and Bradley with a begrudging expression. “I’ll see you later, Y/N,” he calls to you before turning and walking away.

Bradley shakes his head at him heatedly before turning to face you. You don’t meet his gaze, still upset with him for losing his temper and stalking off earlier, leaving you to navigate cocktail hour on your own.

Bradley doesn’t say anything either, so the two of you just stand in silence, refusing to look at one another.

Then, Bradley says, “Your mother’s on her way over.”

“Great,” you grumble, letting out an irritated sigh. You look up at Bradley with a sour expression. “Can you just pretend to be happy to be here?” you say, although the acidity in your voice is a far cry from the pleading and begging you’d done only a couple of days ago. You realize that you’re taking him and the favor he’s doing you for granted, but you’re far too mad to apologize for it now.

Bradley gives you a stony look and shifts his jaw. “Can you?” he asks flatly.

You bring a hand to your face and close your eyes, trying to reset your emotions. But it’s too late; your mother’s condescending tone makes you bristle. “You two seem to be enjoying the party,” she says with a hint of irony.

You glance up at Bradley worriedly to find that he’s already watching you. You wish you’d never asked him to come. There is no way the two of you could convince your extremely attentive mother that you are in love when you can barely stand to look at one another. At the same time, it’s not like you can come clean about the whole thing now; you’ll appear even more unhinged than your mother has already deemed you to be.

“Your gracious daughter here was just trying to convince me not to throw Steven into the lake,” Bradley says, apparently channeling his anger toward you into a jealous boyfriend persona.

You mother visibly stiffens. “This is a formal event,” she says sternly, giving him a horrified look. “There will be no such altercations.”

Bradley lets out a contemptuous chuckle, sticking his hands into his pockets before balling them up into fists. “That’ll be up to Steven, ma’am.”

Read Part VI

Tag List:

The rest of the tag list is in the comments!

@lonelywitchv2

@fanboyluvr

@marrianena

@anotherr-fine-mess

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@living-in-my-imagination88

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[celestiarambles]

Hitmen Have Feelings Too

Hii this is my contribution to JoMarina Week 2024! I'm posting this now because it's actually January 6 here in my country xD

Just a disclaimer, I have never been to a bar nor to India, so what happens in this one-shot may or may not be accurate

I apologize for any mistakes in the chapter. I hope you enjoy! (I actually enjoyed writing this lmao)

JoMarina Week 2024 Day 6 - Bonds

Summary: When Carmen takes some of the Bureau members out for a much-needed break after the disasters in India, Marina and Jonah drunkenly bond with each other, making Marina realize that Jonah wasn’t as bad as she thought he’d be.

Also cross-posted on Ao3: Hitmen Have Feelings Too - celestiamirasol - Criminal Case (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

Marina knows how beautiful she is. Her coworkers tell her that everyday, and men would immediately tell her how smitten they are with her even when they just met.

However whenever she looks at the huge scar on her neck caused by the assassination attempt she survived years ago, she would constantly think otherwise.

It’s the only thing that catches her attention whenever she would look at herself in the mirror. No kind of concealer could even cover it up. Screw it. Once she finishes up her makeup, she grabs one of her scarves on her dresser and wraps it around her neck, adjusting every fold to make sure no inch of the scar could be seen.

“Marina!” Carmen knocks on her door. “You ready to go?”

“Just a second!”

After solving a murder in Bollywood, India, Carmen and Athena invited the Bureau for some drinks for them to finally relax after the previous events that transpired recently, but only her, Angela, and Jonah decided to come along with them. Jack wanted to hang out with Lars (even though Lars was busy with his book, The Flashing Light), Ingrid declined due to work, Ripley just simply didn’t want to and Dupont was trying to learn how to play cricket. Elliot wanted to come along, but Carmen didn’t allow him to since he was underage.

When they arrived at a bar in Mumbai (whose people were able to quickly pick themselves up due to the recent flooding), the place was decently packed with people, with performers playing Bollywood music, making its nightlife alive even though the sun was only about to set.

Occasions like this are rare for the Bureau due to the demands of their job, so Marina rarely gets to drink. She doesn’t like drinking on the job, for it makes her even more stressed. But once she gets the chance to, she immediately seizes it. 

“We deserve this, guys.” Athena says as she comes back with Carmen, both setting down various bottles of alcohol on the table. “When I was still a cop in Pacific Bay, we would usually go out and bond with drinks after a major case.”

“I guess we just don’t do it after what happened with the chief back then in Spain…” Carmen sighed, pouring a drink. She then slides it over to Angela. “So Angela, what’s the deal with Lars and that book? Has he finally found that spiritual enlightenment?”

Angela accepts the shot glass. The golden wedding ring shimmering in her finger caught Marina’s attention. “I don’t know, I still haven’t been able to talk any sense into him. Ever since he started reading that book, he’s been raving about the flashing light. At first, I just thought that he meant the bulb in his lab was broken. But then I realized it was the name of the guru’s book!” She quickly downs the shot. “It’s like he’s been indoctrinated!”

Being the psychologist of the team, Marina would usually help and offer advice to her teammates as a friend. However, she couldn’t think of any sensible advice to give somehow. There’s a reason why she chose to specialize in criminal psychology instead of marriage counseling, after all. All she could say was, “Maybe it’s his way of coping after his near death experience?”

“Oh. definitely.”

As the coroner continued to rant about her husband (with the agents trying to butt in with some advice along the way), she noticed how Jonah, the only guy in the group, was only simply intently listening. Or he was probably trying to. His ice cold eyes stared off at the distance, swirling the liquor in his glass before downing it, then would occasionally pour himself another one. He probably doesn’t understand the topic at hand. Why would he? Marina thought. Based on her psychoanalysis back then, hitmen like him aren’t capable of basic human empathy. Would he even be able to understand the concept of love? To her, they’re all psychopaths.

“Well, maybe we can leave early and you and Lars could have a date night together. We have the night off, after all.” Carmen suggested, smiling at her.

 To Marina’s surprise, Jonah suddenly spoke up after being silent the whole time. “Yeah… maybe this time, you can properly communicate your feelings with him. It’s best for you two to open up to each other as a married couple, after all.”

“Well, I understand that the recent occurrences were traumatic to both of us… but I’ve tried my best to communicate with him. He’s been only focusing on that book he’s been reading. He wouldn’t even look at me.” Angela downed another shot. “I just want him to at least talk to me, tell me how he’s feeling…”

“We were all so busy with the recent disasters here in India, he probably hasn't fully understood what he’s feeling, so like what Marina said, turning to the guru is his way of trying to process things. At least try to understand that, and Lars should understand that you’re trying to reach out to him. Understanding’s the key to forgiveness, after all.`` Somehow, Marina could feel that Jonah’s gaze has shifted to her for a different reason. And whatever reason it may be, she didn’t like it.

“Wow Jonah, are you drunk already?” Athena laughed. “I didn’t know you could get so philosophical like that.”

“He has a side like that.” Carmen smirked, taking a sip of her drink.

She didn’t know that Jonah’s presence could annoy her even more. Why the hell did this blockhead decide to even come with us? She downed her drink and grimaced at how the liquor permeated in her throat.

After a few shots with the group, Marina decides that she had enough of Jonah’s existence and separates from them, heading straight to the bar. She called the bartender over, unconsciously twirling her hair. “Could you give me… a drink that could best describe how you think of me?”

During the rare occasions that they get to visit bars, this was Marina’s favorite game to play. She was enthralled by the raw, authentic atmosphere in bars, especially on how people wear their heart on their sleeves after getting drunk, in which they begin to show their real selves. She believes that everyone hides in a facade. And she was interested to know what bartenders would think of her so-called facade.

With a blush on his face, the bartender agreed and got to work, with Marina watching. After mixing and shaking the contents, he then poured a colorful liquid onto a shot glass, then he grabbed a lighter and set the alcohol aflame. “Sweet and feisty, just like you. And with a hint of vodka, too.”

Amused, Marina took a spoon to diffuse the flame. “Is it that obvious?”

“Your Russian accent? Definitely. It makes you hotter, may I add.”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Oldest trick in the book. Once the flame was smothered, she downed the drink. She could taste the heat in her mouth, but there was definitely a hint of sweetness to it.

“How is it?” “Do we have a problem, buddy?” Like a menacing guard dog, Jonah approached the bar and glared at the bartender, holding a bottle of whiskey. Intimidated by his rugged look, the bartender immediately scurried over to the next customer.

Great. The psychologist frowned as the weapons expert sat next to her. She looked away from him, refusing any contact with him as possible.

But he insisted. “Hey.”

“Otyebis.” She muttered in Russian.

“So uh… why did you leave us?” His intimidating aura somehow dissipated, like this time he’s the one intimidated by Marina.

“Because I hate your face.” Jonah frowned and set down the bottle of whiskey on the bar counter.  “Well, you never accepted the amulet I tried to give you…”

“That’s because an amulet won’t fix anything.”

“Well… could a drink at least fix something?” He grabbed Marina’s shot glass and filled it with liquor.

“Most definitely not.” She rolled her eyes. “You could’ve poisoned that.”

“Why would I even do that?” “You tried to do it once, maybe you’re here in the Bureau because you’re still out to get me!”

He chuckled in response. “You have quite the creative imagination, sweetheart. I shoot my targets, I don’t poison them. And I told you, I never miss a shot.”

“I remember that. And I also remember you telling me you purposely missed because you thought I was beautiful. What, were your previous targets hideous?”

“I-it’s not that, I swear!” Jonah blushed. “Normally, my targets are ordered to be killed because they’re threats. A danger to society. Take Omar Bahir for example, if I hadn’t killed him, Carmen and Athena would’ve been the ones dead. But you Marina… from the moment I saw you, I had a feeling you didn’t deserve to die. And I was right. You shouldn’t be the one to pay for exposing their crimes.” Unconsciously, Marina picked up the glass of whiskey and took a swig, the memory of her assassination attempt still fresh in her mind. How the bullet flew in the air in less than a second, giving her no time to dodge, and the color of the wintry blue sky in Russia as she laid helpless and bleeding on the Russian snow, too weak to call out for help.

As a psychologist and a criminal profiler, she would know whether a suspect was lying or not, the inner machinations of her mind, and a higher level of understanding and empathy. The Bureau only hires the best, and she is deemed the best in their eyes. But Jonah… she couldn’t see through him. Or maybe it’s because she refuses to.

Are hitmen really capable of having human empathy?

The funky and exotic Bollywood music overpowered the silence of the two as they took turns pouring and drinking their glasses of whiskey. Both of them didn’t know what to say, nor what to do.

Feeling awkward, Jonah scratched his neck. “I know sorry won’t fix what’s done… but I truly am sorry, Marina. I don’t know how to make it up to you.”

Then as if the alcohol began to take complete control of her body, Marina grabbed Jonah’s shot glass and she almost overflowed it with whiskey as she poured it. “You can start by taking a shot for me.”

“What?”

Her lips formed a playful smirk. “Hit or miss.” Jonah shook his head and downed it, some of the liquid spilling on his shirt. “Is that… all you want me to do?” His words were slurring.

“Ha!” The psychologist laughed loudly. “You’re already drunk!” “So are you.” He chuckled lightly to himself.

Suddenly, the alcohol made Marina forget her previous animosity towards Jonah. She didn’t know how long they stayed chatting drunkenly in the bar, but she was surprised at how similar they actually were.

“You actually took Psychology too?!” She was shocked, but her drooping eyes prevented her from expressing it.

Jonah nodded. “I actually planned to go to med school, but then I got enlisted in the army and then my focus just shifted. It actually comes in handy during hostage situations, I was glad I was at least able to finish it.”

Another conversation then opened up once Marina offered to check out the amulet that Jonah wanted to give her so badly. “So this thing symbolizes forgiveness?”

“Uh yeah, just like what that Dupont said.” She smiled. “I’m actually quite interested in cultural trinkets like these. It’s one of the things that I look forward to whenever we go to different places for missions.” “So… does that mean you forgive me?”

The amulet glimmered in her hands as Marina contemplated his question. “...Not until we dance first.” “Wha - hey!” Jonah had little time to process what the psychologist said as she pulled him to the dance floor of the club. She then broke away to shimmy along to the smooth tunes of the trumpets and drums. “C’mon… don’t tell me you don’t know how to dance?”

A smile slowly spread across his face as he awkwardly stepped side to side and bobbed his head to the beat, watching Marina drunkenly dance. Catching his lack of dance moves, Marina shook her head and took his hand once again. “That’s not how you dance…”

She attempted to spin him. Jonah twirled regardless of their height difference, laughing at Marina’s enthusiasm. “...that’s how you dance!” She yelled.

The two then laughed, jumped and swayed along to the music, their playful dance moves drastically clashing with the dramatic and funky mood of the music. Jonah then pulled Marina closer to him. 

While the blood orange sun sunk on the horizon, the air became hot yet invigorating at the same time. Something seemingly put them on a high they can’t back down, and it wasn’t the alcohol.

Then like a magnet touching a metal surface, the two kissed.

It was like they were the only ones there at the bar. Marina closed her eyes, lost in the moment, while Jonah placed his hand on her shoulder, longing to get closer to her. But by accident, he made her scarf slip and her huge scar was now then exposed to the world. To Jonah.

Feeling the hot air turn chilly and breezy, Marina then pulled away to see her scarf on the floor. It made her snap out of the drunken trance she was in.. 

Jonah’s eyes widened at the huge scar, realizing where she got it. “Marina…”

“Get away from me!” She picked up her scarf and then ran away, stumbling a bit. Jonah didn’t know whether to chase after her or not, but he still did, worried that something might happen to her if she got away from his sight.

“Marina, I’m sorry!” “No!” Marina ran outside, where she accidentally bumped into Athena, whose phone was in her ear, looking a bit confused.

Athena lowered her phone and ended the call. “Marina, I was trying to call you -” “Marina, please, I didn’t mean to -” “NO!” Marina grabbed Athena’s hand. “Stay away from me, and never talk to me again!” He then turned to Athena for help, who just sighed. “Carmen and Angela headed out earlier, Angela wanted to try and talk some sense into Lars again… I suggest you sit in the front of the cab later, Jonah.”

Once they were able to haul a cab, Marina was the first to go inside the back seat, trying to distance herself from Jonah as far as possible inside a small cab. Frowning, Jonah did what Athena said and sat in front. 

“So… what did Jonah do?” Athena asked once she was sure that the weapons expert was asleep after a few minutes.

Staring out the window, Marina contemplated how to respond. Both of them were drunk, so she didn’t know whether both of them mutually consented to that kiss or not. She didn’t know (or maybe remember) if they actually enjoyed the kiss. Marina wanted to hate it, but the foggy memories of the things Jonah told her about him, his interests, the guilt in his eyes when he saw her scar…

Is there really something more to Jonah than assassinations and murder?

For a whole week, she’d been thinking about it. Ever since the kiss, Jonah never attempted to approach her again. He would avoid her gaze whenever they’re both in the breakroom while Marina reaches for a bag of tea. He wouldn’t look at her during briefings or emergency meetings with the Bureau either. Whatever eagerness was first there trying to make up with her before was now replaced with hesitance and fright.

A cup of tea in her hand, Marina sighed once again while thinking about Jonah. It felt embarrassing for her to admit he has been on her mind ever since they kissed.

She knew she wasn’t overreacting, so she didn’t need to apologize. Any person would react like that if they ever survived an assassination attempt before. She’d even think it was Stockholm Syndrome given that he held her captive before, but no, she wasn’t like that… 

Her previous animosity towards him turned into curiosity. The previous psychological analysis she conducted towards him was on her desk. It indicated her perception towards him as an aggressive, dangerous individual with volatile instability… previously, she’d immediately thought he wasn’t to be trusted. Her instincts were never wrong, after all… 

However, he refused to kill her. He had principles, he wasn’t easily blinded by the money nor the task at hand. He could’ve chosen to kill her without any further questions, but he chose not to. And somehow, he brought along the guilt of almost killing her all this time.

Maybe there’s a chance I was wrong about him.

Knock, knock. Marina turned to her office door. “Come in!”

The door opened to reveal Athena. It made Marina a bit disappointed, hoping it was Jonah. “Hey, Lars is inviting us to the monastery since he’s going to renew his vows with Angela there. Wanna come?”

“Uh, sure, definitely.” Maybe it’d help her take her mind off of Jonah for a bit.

But it didn’t. As the Bureau watched the happy couple kiss amidst the orange rays of the sunset, it only reminded Marina of their own kiss. And why she chose criminal psychology instead of marriage counseling.

“I am so happy that Angela and Lars have made it through all these hard times, Athena…” She whispered to the agent beside her.

“Definitely. I hope their marriage will keep staying strong.”

“Me too…” She heard Jonah say, who was on Athena’s other side. “Marriage is hard work. It takes guts to forgive…”

“Speaking of forgiveness…” Marina spoke up and turned to Jonah’s direction. This time, there was no alcohol influencing her. It’s simply her own conscience. “Jonah, I've had time to think... about how you disobeyed your orders to kill me… Maybe I should get a better understanding of your side of the story... over some tea?”

“Tea? With me?” Jonah’s eyes widened, the blush evident in his face. “Uh, sure! Just say when.”

She laughed in response, hoping to bond with Jonah, their hearts finally on their sleeves. Without any liquor. “...When.”

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Taking Care of Business

A JSE Fanfic

SepticHeroes AU: Part 27

First Part | Previous Part

I'm starting to realize I tend to write longer chapters for this series XD I guess I just really can't help myself from going off with character interactions with these guys. In this chapter, Jackie goes back to SepTech to ask McLoughlin some more questions. Meanwhile, Marvin drops by Schneep's office, and Jameson gets to know this new guy he's met. Maybe they could be friends? Heheh :D

===============

Jackie landed outside the North SepTech location. He took a deep breath to prepare himself before heading in. Everything would be fine. Dr. McLoughlin said that he could stop by whenever he wanted without even needing to make an appointment. It would be fine. But as he walked through the doors, he still couldn’t help but be a little nervous. Was it just the natural anxiety of walking in somewhere like he owned the place? Or was it something more? Was he... suspicious of McLoughlin? Marvin had brought up some good points, after all.

No, no. He refused to judge the man before he even had a chance to talk to him. That would taint their entire encounter. For all he knew, McLoughlin just made a mistake when analyzing the Puppeteer’s mask. That’s all.

He got a visitor’s pass from the receptionist and then asked for directions again. He couldn’t remember the exact way to McLoughlin’s lab. She told him the way, and he managed to get to the lab pretty quickly. It was still a shock to see how different this futuristic basement was from the office building above. Everything white and metal. Jackie walked up to the double doors to the lab, and they slid open automatically. Cool.

The lab was just as crowded and messy as it was the first time he was here. Jackie’s eyes flicked over the robotic arms dangling from the ceiling, the monitors around the walls and standing in the middle of the floor, the wires and metal scraps and weird mechanical parts covering every inch of every surface. No sign of any people in here. “Hello?” he called. “Dr. McLoughlin? Are you in here?”

A moment passed. Then one of the monitors nearby turned on, its screen showing the words INTERCOM SYSTEM ACTIVATED. “Hey, Windstorm!” McLoughlin’s voice said excitedly. Coming from the speakers by the monitor. “I didn’t know you were stopping by!”

“Uh—y-yeah, last time I was here you said I could pop in whenever,” Jackie said.

“I did, didn’t I? Right. Sorry, my memory sucks sometimes—which I think I’ve also told you.” McLoughlin laughed. “I’m all the way at the very back. Come on over.”

“Sure.” Jackie hopped into the air, flying over the mess taking up the floor and towards the back of the lab. It’s a pretty big room. You could probably fit a handful of tennis courts in here end-to-end.

Most of the back wall was one massive monitor, but there were smaller monitors surrounding it. They were all turned off except for a couple right below the big screen. Jackie saw McLoughlin’s special SAM rise into the air and flew over there, dropping to the ground nearby. “Hey!” McLoughlin was working at some sort of console, sitting in a swivel chair that he spun around to face Jackie. “Good to see you! Welcome back to the lab.”

“Uh, nice to be back,” Jackie said, looking around. “What’re you working on now?”

“Theory and blueprints,” McLoughlin said, gesturing at the screen. “Trying to come up with new stuff. But I feel like I’ve hit a block, you know? It’s not really ‘artist’s block,’ but if you know what that is, it feels the same, I think. I’ve maybe got an idea for something to supercharge supers’ powers? But it might be dangerous so I’m not sure if I want to go through with it, lord knows the League would leap on it if they heard I was even thinking about that.”

“Uh... huh.” Jackie nodded slowly. “What do you mean? How would it work?”

“Well, it’d be most helpful for Type E, I think, supers who draw power from energy,” McLoughlin explained. “Basically it would give them a bigger dose of energy, but I dunno, there might be side effects from that. Might shock their systems. And I can’t exactly test that on myself like I did with the interface.”

“Right. I forget you have a fucking... chip in your head,” Jackie muttered.

McLoughlin laughed. “I’m a fucking cyborg, and I’m proud of it. Do you know how hard it was to work on an advanced prosthetic while you only have one arm and one eye?” He flexed the fingers on his right hand.

“Couldn’t you have gotten a less advanced prosthetic to help while you worked on the one you were making?”

“Well... yeah, I guess, but then I’d have to remove it—and that’s a whole can of worms. I figured it was easier to just wait until I was done.” McLoughlin shrugged. “Wasn’t so bad. I had the robots to help with a lot of it.”

“Speaking of, uh, your robots.” Jackie reached down, unhooking the Puppeteer mask from his belt. “Remember this?”

“Oh yeah, the mask!” McLoughlin nodded.

“Did you, uh, have your robots do the scan on this?” Jackie asked. “Or did you... How much... Were you heavily involved, or did you just leave it to the machines?”

McLoughlin chuckled. “I pretty much ‘left it to the machines,’ as you said. That’s a fun way of putting it, I’ll have to remember that.” His expression suddenly became serious. “Why? Is there something wrong with it?”

“Um... yeah.”

“Set it down there, then.” McLoughlin pointed at the nearest table. “Face-up. Tell me what this is about.”

Jackie set the mask down. The SAM flew down. Part of its metal casing slid open—specifically, the bottom part of the blue ring around its central camera—and a wave of blue light came out, scanning the mask slowly. “I took it to someone else about the mask—they, uh, asked to see it—and they said that it had been tampered with, that its LEDs were being controlled externally and so was the voice synthesizer. And they said there were cameras and microphones, and those were also being controlled externally.”

“Hmm.” McLoughlin frowned. “That’s a lot of modification. Huh.” He stood up and walked over to the mask, flipping it over as soon as his SAM was done scanning. Once it finished scanning the back side as well, McLoughlin took out that remote with the red button. “Importing scans from SAM-0 to the internal network. Display them on the nearest blank monitor.”

One of the screens turned on, displaying the scan the SAM made, a bunch of complicated white lines on a black background. Jackie didn’t understand it at all, but McLoughlin nodded thoughtfully. “Do you see them now?” Jackie asked.

“Yeah. That’s weird.” McLoughlin spoke into the remote again. “Compare these scans to the last scan of the Puppeteer mask.” A second set of scans showed up underneath the first, which shrunk in size so all four images could be displayed at once. Red circles popped up on the new SAM scans, highlighting the differences. “How did we miss this before?” McLoughlin muttered into the remote.

“It is likely that the differences are a result of modification done after the previous scan,” said a robotic voice from the computer speakers.

“No they’re not,” Jackie said. “How would that be possible? The mask was with me the whole time after you gave it to me.”

McLoughlin nodded. “Assume that the differences were there during the previous scan,” he said to the remote—clearly connected to the computer. “How could we have missed them?”

“It is possible that the damage inflicted to the mask caused errors during the initial scanning process,” the computer replied. “It is possible that the scanning equipment may need to be repaired or updated. It is possible that the scanning equipment or the recorded scans were modified by an outside party. It is possible that SAM-0 may have more advanced scanning equipment. It is possible that human error—”

“Thank you, you may stop listing possibilities,” McLoughlin interrupted. He glanced at Jackie. “You really have to stop it early, or it keeps iterating on problems and getting absurd.”

Jackie frowned. “It said... that the scans might’ve been modified by someone else?”

“Yeah, that was one of the possibilities.”

“That... might be likely.” Jackie hesitated for a moment. Should he tell McLoughlin about the new developments? Well, he’d already told the police. “Dr. McLoughlin... there’s someone else involved in the Puppeteer case.”

“Hmm? Oh, well, I guess that’d make sense,” McLoughlin said. “If there are cameras in the mask, and the lights and voice were being controlled externally, that just makes sense. Cause who would they be controlled by?”

“Exactly!” Jackie nodded. “This other person—this Anti-Virus, I’ve been calling them—”

“Anti-Virus?” McLoughlin raised an eyebrow.

“—they might be a technopath,” Jackie said. “I-I have evidence that they can see through cameras and send messages and emails and stuff.”

“That doesn’t mean they can get into SepTech’s system, though,” McLoughlin pointed out. “We have very high digital security.”

“Okay, but—but the Puppeteer was controlling people in SepTech, right?” Jackie said, his mind whirling. “If he got a hold on someone who worked with your system, like an IT guy, maybe, o-or even someone with a very high security clearance, he could’ve made them open up a path for Anti-Virus.”

“...oh.” McLoughlin went pale. “Well... shit.”

“Shit.” Jackie nodded in agreement.

“I-I can flush our system again,” McLoughlin said. “That should be able to drive out anything currently—but does it work the same for a technopath? Well, I guess if there are any viruses they planted or anything, it’ll get rid of that, at least. I’ll see if we can increase security, too, do a quick check on everything, make it harder for this Anti-Virus to get in.” He shook his head. “Can’t fucking believe it. The Puppeteer had a partner.”

“Um... no, actually,” Jackie said. “All signs point to the Puppeteer being blackmailed to do all this by Anti-Virus.”

“What?!” McLoughlin’s head snapped to Jackie.

“I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s true.”

“How the fuck do you know? You sound so sure.”

“I-I found proof,” Jackie said. He’d spent an hour yesterday making sure he’d copied the video tape JJ had left for them to find. But he only copied the part about JJ, electing to keep Dahlia’s involvement—Timekeeper’s part of the video—out of it. It might make a bit less sense, but he didn’t want to willingly tell the police a super’s secret identity. Not when Anti-Virus probably had her in their clutches. That felt like a violation.

“Must be some good proof, then,” McLoughlin muttered.

“Hopefully, combined with the mask, it’ll be enough to get—get Jameson Jackson out of the Vault,” Jackie said. “He doesn’t deserve to be in there.”

“I mean... the guy did mind control people,” McLoughlin said. “He’ll probably still be in jail, even if he was blackmailed.”

“But it’ll be a normal prison,” Jackie insisted.

“Hmm. True,” McLoughlin said slowly. “I’m just saying. The memories of people trying to get into my lab while I sealed up the one entrance will be in my nightmares.”

Jackie winced. “Um... sorry?”

“Why are you apologizing? You weren’t the one who did it.”

“Yeah, but... I-I don’t know, he’s not here to apologize, so I might as well.” Jackie laughed a little. And then his mind processed something. “Wait, one entrance? I saw a couple doors around the sides of the room, though.”

“Yeah, those only lead to storage rooms,” McLoughlin said. “All sorts of shit in there. I don’t even keep track of it all. I swear some of those doors I haven’t opened in years.” He shook his head. “Not the best organizer.”

“Oh I feel that,” Jackie chuckled. “Well. Anyway. Can you maybe print out those scans or something? So I can use them as evidence for the police?”

“Of course.” McLoughlin spoke to the computer again. “Print out all scans of the Puppeteer’s mask, including the ones with the highlighted differences.”

“Yes, Dr. McLoughlin.” A little tray popped out of the side of the console. There were several mechanical noises, and papers slid out of a slit in the console, landing in the tray.

Jackie walked over and picked them up. Yep, those were the scans. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll be taking these with me. Oh, and the mask, of course.” He made sure to pick it up.

“No problem,” McLoughlin said. “And, uh, Windstorm? I’m so sorry about the scan from before. That it wasn’t accurate, I mean.” He looked down at the ground, embarrassment on his face. “I-I swear my stuff is better than that, usually.”

Jackie’s heart softened. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “You probably got hacked, not your fault.”

“Still.” McLoughlin sighed, then looked up again. “If there’s anything you need, let me know. Though, uh, the system flush will probably cripple my ability to do much for a while.”

“No I get it, that’s fine, really.” Jackie smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Thanks for stopping by,” McLoughlin said. “Again, feel free anytime.”

“Will do.” Jackie gave him a little salute, then jumped into the air. “Goodbye.”

“Bye!” McLoughlin waved him off.

Now all Jackie needed to do was fly home and get that tape copy he made. He could deliver it and the mask with its scans to the police station today. They could look into it and start the process of getting JJ a proper trial. The sooner they started, the sooner they could finish, and the sooner JJ would be out of the Vault.

This would be enough. It had to be.

===============

Schneep was just getting ready to leave work when he heard a knock at his office door. He quickly clocked out on the computer—he could always clock in again if this turned out to be an emergency and not more paperwork—and called out, “Yes, come in.”

An unexpected face walked through the door. “So, this is your office, then?” Marvin said, looking around. “Not exactly what I expected. Then again, not sure what I was expecting.”

“Marvin?” Schneep blinked. “What are you doing here? Wait, I never told you where I work!”

“Sorry about that,” Marvin said, closing the door behind him. “I realized I didn’t have any way of contacting you. But I did remember JJ telling me where you worked once, so I figured I’d stop by.”

Schneep sighed. “Well, I suppose it does not matter that much.” He started shutting down the computer. “So I repeat my question. What are you doing here?”

Marvin glanced around the room. “Are there any... cameras in your office?”

“Security cameras? No, there are none in the offices at all. Only the places where actual important things are stored.”

“Do you have like... patient information in here or something? Wouldn’t that be important?”

Schneep stood up and walked over to the filing cabinet, tugging on the drawer. It didn’t open. “Locked. I suppose that is good enough for the hospital.”

“And... what about the computer?” Marvin jerked his head towards the desktop monitor.

“No cameras on work computers,” Schneep said. “No microphones, either. If you need either of those, you need to borrow an external one from IT and plug it in. Besides, even if that was the case, I just shut the computer down.”

“In that case, shut your phone down, too,” Marvin insisted.

Schneep rolled his eyes, but he took out his phone and did so, showing the shutdown process to Marvin. “There. Is this about Anti-Virus? You are worried about them listening in?”

Marvin nodded. “Just in case.” He paused, then narrowed his eyes. “You’re not going to call me paranoid now, are you?”

“No, not paranoid. Perhaps a bit over-cautious, but I don’t think you’ve crossed into paranoia. Paranoia would mean you are unjustified. And after hearing the truth about Anti-Virus from that video... I’d say you are very, very justified indeed.” Schneep shuddered a little.

Marvin relaxed a little. “That’s what I think, too. About... Anti-Virus. God, we’re all really sticking with that, aren’t we?”

“It is what they called themself in that text message, that is the closest we’ll get to this villain naming themself,” Schneep said. And he always thought heroes—and even villains—should name themselves. Otherwise the public would do it, and they would come up with something generic like ‘the Specter.’ Schneep’s name had grown on him over time, but he remembered being very annoyed about it at first, thinking anything he could come up with would be better. 

“Right. I guess.” Marvin sighs. “I bet Windstorm’s told the police about them, using that name. It’s gonna stick now.”

“Okay, we have talked quite a lot, and you still haven’t answered my question,” Schneep said. “What are you doing here?”

Marvin gave the room another look-around. Then he walked up to Schneep, lowering his voice a little. “Have you ever infiltrated SepTech?”

Schneep nodded. “Yes, a couple times. That is how Jackie met the Specter, actually. In the East location.” He’d gone there because he heard they had chameleon cloth. If he was going to get back into the game, he wanted an updated suit, and one that blended into the environment seemed like a good fit for him.

“Oh.” Marvin blinked. “Right. Okay. Well.” He coughed awkwardly. “What if... what if I commissioned you to spy on them some more?”

“Commissioned me?” Schneep raised an eyebrow. “What, am I an artist?”

“Depends on if you think it’s an art to break into places.”

“A skill, more like it.” Schneep grinned. And one he very much enjoyed using. He’d be happy to infiltrate SepTech... but he wanted to know why Marvin wanted him to do this. “So... what is this about, then? Spying on them? Why?”

“Because of that Dr. McLoughlin guy,” Marvin said. “There’s something up with him. Something suspicious. I’m not sure what, but I can’t shake this feeling that he’s connected to Anti-Virus. He might even be Anti-Virus.”

“That is a serious accusation,” Schneep pointed out.

“I know. That’s why I haven’t brought it up to the police. Well, that, and my whole... villain persona,” Marvin admitted. “But Windstorm wouldn’t believe me when I told him that there’s a connection.”

“Really?”

“He admitted it was suspicious, but said it could be a coincidence and isn’t doing anything about it,” Marvin clarified. “I think he’s even taking the Puppeteer mask back to Dr. McLoughlin so he can look at it. The guy who probably deliberately hid details about it! Hell, he might even have given it to him today!” He shook his head, anger clouding his features. “I don’t blame him for being so trusting—but I think it’s a mistake.”

“So... you think I could spy on Dr. McLoughlin for you, then?” Schneep asked.

“I’d help, of course. But I think you’d be best for actually going into the SepTech locations.”

“That is true.” Schneep nodded. “With the word ‘commission’ thrown in, I wonder, will you pay me for this? Or is this a favor for friends?”

“I mean, I can pay you if you want,” Marvin considered. “Not that much, but I have some spare cash. But... I thought you would want to do this. For yourself. And... for your family. After all, if McLoughlin is connected to Anti-Virus, he might have information on where Dahlia is. He might even be the man who took her, the man who made JJ do all that Puppeteer shit.”

Schneep clenched his fists. “You are appealing to my revenge?”

“...No,” Marvin said quietly. “I’m appealing to your love for them.”

“Well... that is the right thing to do.” Schneep turned away, looking out the office window at the cityscape. “If there is a chance that this McLoughlin man is connected—the slightest chance—I will take it. I-I cannot leave them behind.” Especially after he couldn’t convince JJ to run. He could have gotten him out of there before he got sent to the Vault. He knew he could have. But JJ didn’t want that. Schneep now understood that it was because of Dahlia. He wasn’t sure of the details, but he was sure that JJ thought fleeing the police would just put her in danger. Well... if this McLoughlin guy turned out to be connected to Anti-Virus, Schneep had a lead on how to get Dahlia out of danger. And JJ too, by extension. Those two were the only real family he had left. He had to do whatever he could to help them.

Marvin nodded. “Yeah. I-I know.” His voice broke a little, so he cleared his throat and moved on. “I don’t know how your, uh, infiltrations work. So I’ll leave that up to you. Just keep me updated.”

“How? I don’t know any way to contact you,” Schneep pointed out.

“Stop by my work,” Marvin said. “Here, if you have a pen and paper I can write it down, and my hours.”

“Ah, yes, of course.” Schneep turned back to the desk and pulled out a scrap piece of paper and a pen. “I will write down my office hours as well.”

“What do you do most of the day here?” Marvin asked. “SDER is a pretty specialized department. You can’t possibly have that much to do.”

Schneep laughed. “Well, since there haven’t been many super fights lately, you are right. Windstorm is very careful, which I will always be happy for. When SDER personnel are not taking care of super-related injuries, we have secondary positions. I am also a neurologist, and I specialize in patients with injuries that affect the brain and nervous system. That is why Chase was assigned to be my patient—his injuries fell into both my areas. Ah, here.” He handed Marvin the paper and pen.

Marvin took it, wrote down his work address and shift hours, then tore the paper in half and took the half with Schneep’s details. “Thanks.”

“Do you want to talk over the details some more, or should I just show up at your work once I have completed my first heist?” Schneep asked.

“Well, it’s not really a heist, I’m not asking you to take anything,” Marvin said.

“Are you suuuuure?” Schneep prompted.

Marvin laughed. “I’m sure. For the first couple times, at least. If we find out there’s anything worth taking, we can talk about it more.”

“Heh.” Schneep grinned. “Well, I look forward to working with you, then.”

Marvin grinned back. “The same to you.”

===============

JJ woke up with a pounding headache. He might have brushed it off before, but not today. Not after he heard about the neutrinalin and its side effects. Was this the first sign that the constant doses were catching up to him?

Well, he couldn’t just lie in bed all day. If he missed role call, the prison guards would come over to his cell and drag him out anyway. He was pretty sure they would do that no matter what. Given the listless state of most of the other prisoners, he was pretty sure that the only thing that would prevent him from having to adhere to the schedule... would be if he literally could not walk at all. So he got up and staggered out of his cell once role call was announced.

The cafeteria of Byrthon Vault wasn’t anything to write home about. It was completely bland, with stainless steel tables and benches and blank off-white walls. JJ got his food as he had every day before, and was about to sit down—when he spotted a shock of red hair through the crowd and immediately diverted course.

Soren saw him coming. He gave him a little wave as he sat down across from him. “Looks like you almost missed me,” he said. “Did you forget about me already?” He winked playfully.

JJ smiled a little. I woke up with a headache, it must be clouding my thoughts.

“Hmm. It does do that, doesn’t it?” Soren tapped the edge of his tray with his spoon. Looked like he’d already finished eating before JJ even arrived. Which made sense, the lower floors got to the cafeteria first at meal times.

JJ looked down at his own food. It’s going to get worse, isn’t it?

“Slowly, but yes.” Soren shakes his head. “Maybe it’ll be especially slow for you. I’ve noticed that the more powerful you are, the longer it takes for the shitty side effects to take hold. And rumors say you’re pretty powerful.”

I suppose so, he said. It must run in the family. She was—is very powerful. And Schneep seemed able to hold his own, too.

“You’ll be fine,” Soren said quietly. “I can tell.”

How? You don’t know me that well.

“Intuition, I guess? I’m used to listening to my gut feelings. They can save you more often than you think.” Soren shrugged. “So. How have things been in Daindover while I’ve been gone? Did things fall to chaos?”

JJ shrugged back. I remember hearing about a crime spree after Pathos—you—were arrested. But it calmed down. Windstorm took care of it.

“Really?” Soren tilted his head, intrigued. 

I don’t know the details off the top of my head, though, JJ said. Sorry.

“No, it’s fine. Can’t expect you to remember everything.”

I know things were calm for a long time after that, JJ said. Relatively, I mean. Seems like things are never fully calm. He paused. Then I came along.

Soren’s eyes flicked up and down, examining JJ. “I’ve been thinking about this. And you don’t like what you did, do you? The guilt on your face is clear as a bell.”

A bell? JJ asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re dodging the subject. But that’s fine. It’s clearly very personal, no need to tell a guy you met yesterday about it.” Soren chuckled.

JJ glanced around the cafeteria. If this conversation happened when he first arrived at the Vault, he would’ve been worried about sharing. Scared that if rumor got out that he wasn’t a big tough villain, people would attack him. But clearly, most of the prisoners didn’t have the energy for that. So, really, why not? I didn’t like it at all, he admitted. If I had a choice in the matter, it never would have happened.

“Someone forced your hand,” Soren muttered. “Blackmail? Threats?”

JJ blinked. How did you figure that out? 

“Comes with my line of work. I know a lot about... persuasion.”

Right. Soren was Pathos, and Pathos had been head of the biggest organized crime family this side of the country. JJ almost forgot about that. He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking Soren over. Did YOU enjoy what you did? he asked.

Soren blinked, as if no one ever asked him that before. He leaned back, looking thoughtful. “Some of it was exciting,” he said slowly. “But most of it was simply... business. I did what I had to do.”

JJ wanted to protest that you never had to become a villain... but that seemed a bit hypocritical. So instead, he simply asked, Why?

“Why did I have to? Oh, a lot of reasons.” The spoon tapped against the edge of the tray again. “Mostly to prevent something like that chaotic crime spree you mentioned. The one that happened after I was arrested. But it’s not fully that. After all, sounds like the city recovered soon enough.” Soren paused. “What about you? Do you want to talk about why you had to do what you did?”

JJ slowly shook his head. Not now.

“Right.” Soren grinned a little. “I get it.”

The rest of the breakfast passed in mostly quiet, with JJ occasionally asking questions about the Vault or its prisoners that Soren answered. Then breakfast was over, and JJ went back to his cell to lie down for a while. Maybe he could nap off the headache.

...Nope. It was still there when lunch rolled around. It wasn’t a strong pain, he’d certainly had worse, but it still dragged on him. Still, he didn’t want to miss lunch. So he got up and headed to the cafeteria.

Just like at breakfast, he spotted Soren easily and sat down across from him. Soren looked up as he did so. “Again?”

If you want me to leave, I will, JJ said. But you’re the one who asked if I wanted to sit with you, Soren. And you’re the only person who’s done that.

Soren laughed. “You got me there. Wow, it really does feel biting when you go to the trouble of spelling out my name. I get we’re not close enough for you to give me a special sign, but still. Feels like you’re dragging out the tone.”

JJ decided to take that as a compliment. Soren certainly intended it that way. Do you talk to a lot of people in here? he asked. There was that Angela woman. Anyone else?

“I’m sure you noticed that there isn’t too much talking in here in the first place.” Soren jerked his head to the side, indicating the cafeteria at large.

JJ nodded slowly. It was the silence that had bothered him. The first thing that led him to notice all the other odd things about his fellow prisoners. 

“But I know what you mean. There do tend to be... groups.” Soren chose that word carefully. “Like in movies about high school, you get different cliques.”

What the— JJ couldn’t help but giggle a little. It seemed like such a childish comparison, and it certainly wasn’t something he expected Soren to say.

Soren raised an eyebrow. “Hey, that’s the best word for it, it really is. You’ll notice that someone will sit with the same small group of people over and over again. They don’t really open up to newcomers sitting with them. Which makes sense. In this place, everyone is dangerous. If you have a group you can trust, that’s probably enough. Why waste your limited energy on a stranger? Usually, people from the same sort of... geographical area tend to stick together.” He smiled. “Like how I asked you about Daindover.”

JJ nodded slowly. He understood that. And though he wanted to say something about how trust is good and people should open up more... again, it felt a bit hypocritical. He didn’t tell anyone about what happened to her. He didn’t tell anyone about the messages through the phone.

The rest of lunch was the same as breakfast, and then JJ again went back to his cell. The headache was still there. Still annoyingly persistent, sapping his will to do much of anything. It was even making it hard to sleep. Would it keep him up tonight?

Evening role call, and then dinner again. He found Soren for the third time and sat down. I was thinking about what you said at lunch, he said, starting the conversation this time.

“Oh? What?” Soren asked. “I said a lot.”

About me spelling out your name. If we’re going to talk a lot, and I think we are, it would be convenient to give you a name sign, even if we haven’t known each other for that long. This was very, very, very unusual. Names weren’t really a thing in BSL, using a specific sign for a person was usually reserved for friends and family. But... honestly, JJ didn’t care about that right now. His friends and family weren’t here, and they would never find their way in here. 

“...Really?” Soren raised an eyebrow. “Moving a bit fast, aren’t we?”

You’re the only person who’s been friendly to me, JJ said. I know it’s fast, but... He sighs. I think I better prepare to be in here for a while. Even if he hoped he wouldn’t be, it was better to act like he would. Just in case.

Soren stared at him for a moment. Then nodded slowly. “Alright. Can I choose my own?”

JJ raised an eyebrow. Do you have something in mind?

“Yeah. If I ever talk to someone in BSL and they need to refer to me, I’ve always asked to be called the same thing.” Soren made two signs: the letter S, and heart. “Or, if we’re being professional.” A similar set: heart, and the letter P.

S-heart, JJ repeated. Any meaning behind it?

“Well you know my powers. I manipulate emotions. Some say I manipulate hearts.” Soren flashed a smile. “You know, as opposed to thoughts and the mind. That’s why I adopted a heart motif whenever I dressed as Pathos.”

Makes sense, I suppose, JJ said. You know, people don’t normally ask to choose their own.

“Really? Most of the people I talk to who know BSL ask me to choose my own. Maybe I’m just special. Or maybe your experience is that different. Have you seriously never had that happen?”

JJ hesitated. Well... actually, my sister did. Just signing the word ‘sister’ tore open a wound in his chest. Did he really want to talk about this?

“Sister?” Soren looked intrigued. He leaned forward a bit... then back again. “You look... a bit pained, Jameson. Sore topic?”

A bit, JJ said.

Soren was quiet for a moment. “I... understand,” he said softly. “We don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to.”

JJ shook his head. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. I love her. But... she’s... She’s alive, but... He trailed off.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” Soren repeated, in an even quieter voice.

JJ took a deep breath. An explanation for the name thing, at least. Growing up, after I lost my voice, she was always D-twin. But then we got older, and she became more confident in who she was, and she asked if she could be flower-time instead. 

“Flower time?” Soren asked, failing to hide the amusement in his voice.

I know. JJ chuckled a little. I always picture an alarm going off, signaling flower petals to rain down from the ceiling.

Soren laughed too. “That’s such a vivid fucking image.”

I don’t usually have a very visual mind, either, which makes it even more vivid. That’s pretty much the only image I’m able to mentally picture. His smile faded slowly. Maybe because it always reminds me of her.

Soren stared at him, purple eyes like two deep wells of water. “It’s good that you two are so close,” he said quietly. “I have a sister too, y’know. Elena. She’s about fifteen years older than me, so we never really knew each other as siblings, if that makes sense.” He chuckled. “When I was ten she pretty much left the family so she could marry someone. So I didn’t see much of her.”

JJ blinked. I didn’t know that.

“Well, Elena was never much into the family business, so the news didn’t report on her to the public that much. Makes it all the stranger that the guy she married is an arms dealer, but the heart wants what it wants, yeah?” Soren shrugged. “Anyway. I always liked Elena, even if we weren’t too close. Liked her daughter, too. Wanted to be sure she was taken care of.” He stared at JJ for a moment. It seemed like he was... waiting for something? JJ stared back, confused. “Huh. Okay, either you’re more respectful than you are curious, or you never heard the rumors.”

Oh. You mean the ones about your brothers? JJ asked. 

“So it’s the first option, then.”

You were expecting me to ask about that?

“Seemed like it.” Soren leaned onto the table, propping his head in his hand. “I mean... if you hear a guy who’s rumored to have killed his father and brothers talk about how much he liked his family... most people would want to ask. Even if they were too afraid to.”

JJ shook his head. I know those rumors aren’t true.

Soren blinked. “You do, now? You seem very sure.”

He was sure because she found out the truth one day—and she told him when she came home from that fight. Well, why don’t you tell me about it, then? JJ said. If you were expecting me to ask.

Soren laughed. “That’s fair, that’s fair.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “Enzo and Nicolas were older than me, they should have gotten control of the family before me. But, after I developed my abilities, our father started seeing the... potential of them. They got jealous. And, in an effort to prove himself, Enzo got killed by that Razor Queen villain.” He laughed. “Who would’ve guessed a woman with knives on her hands would be deadly. Nicolas was a bit more cautious, but he still got angry and reckless. Died in an ordinary shootout... but not before he managed to poison our father and make it look like I did it. The man he got the poison from confessed to me, but said he’d rather die than share his involvement with the public. So, I decided to leave well enough alone... and figured I might as well use that rumor. People wouldn’t be eager to fuck with someone who did that.”

JJ nodded slowly. That lined up with what she’d told him that night. She managed to get the poison information from the very man—Hemlock, a villain known for poisons. And then said that Pathos told her the rest.

“Or... I could be lying about all this,” Soren grinned. “Maybe I really am that ruthless.”

Well, if you are, I still don’t have many options for people to talk to, JJ commented. So I’ll probably keep showing up for meals with you.

Soren laughed. It got overtaken by a cough halfway through, so he stopped. “God. Jameson. You’re really something.”

JJ blinked. Well... thank you? Oh. Oh no. Why was his stomach fluttering? This was not a good person for that to happen with, son of a bitch—

“But still, I have to ask,” Soren continued. “You didn’t seem surprised at all during that story.”

JJ froze. His mind whirled, considering what to do. Oh shit he was probably waiting too long wasn’t he? He had to say something. So he leaned forward. What if I told you... that my sister knew you?

Soren raised an eyebrow. “I know a lot of people. That wouldn’t narrow it down. If you’re comfortable with it... can you tell me her name? Spell it out, I mean.”

JJ hesitated. Then, slowly... sign by sign... Dahlia.

Saying her name felt like a knife being driven into his heart.

“Dahlia? Like the flower?” Soren asked.

JJ nodded. His vision was getting a bit blurry so he hurriedly blinked it clear again.

“That’s a nice name,” he said quietly. “I’m guessing she chose it, like how she chose her name sign? Good choice. The flower is often said to symbolize inner strength and elegance.”

Didn’t expect you to know that, JJ said.

A memory flashed through his mind. “Yeah, that way I get to keep my initials for the towels Mum monogrammed for us when we were kids. I want to keep that, you know? And more importantly, it’s a name with a strong meaning. But graceful, too. I think it really fits me. Or... I dunno, what do you think?”

He agreed, of course. It really did fit her.

“I know a lot of random trivia,” Soren said. He paused. “Are you... okay?”

Fine, Jameson signed shortly. He blinked some more.

“Do you want to keep talking?” Soren asked in a surprisingly gentle voice. “Or... should we stop?”

I’ll be fine in a minute, he said. Just give me a minute.

Soren nodded.

The rest of dinner passed quietly, and then they had to go back to their cells. But not before Jameson gave Soren a quick Thank you. It felt like a weight was lifted off his chest after that conversation. Maybe he needed that moment. Maybe he needed to remember her name.

===============

“Alright, I got everything,” Jackie muttered. “Tape, check. Mask and mask specs, check.” He put each item into his backpack as he listed it. A carefully discrete backpack. He was going to the police station as Windstorm, and he couldn’t have anything with him that would link Windstorm to Jackie Skye.

He was just about to leave his room when his phone vibrated. It was sitting on his dresser—he’d also planned to leave that behind—so he leaned over and picked it up.

A text message was on the screen, from a number labeled Unknown. You know who it is. Pick up the call.

Jackie’s blood ran cold. Was it—but how did they know—

His phone immediately started ringing, the same unknown number calling. After a moment of hesitation, he answered. “Hello?”

“Windstorm.” The word was spoken in a familiar inhuman voice. The robotic tones that he’d last heard coming from the Puppeteer. Or, more accurately, from the Puppeteer’s mask.

Jackie knew he had to deny this. “I-I think you have the wrong—”

“Don’t lie to me, Jackie Skye,” Anti-Virus interrupted. “I know the truth. That day, when you announced it to your roommate, my puppet was outside the door, and I was on a call with him. Listening. Making sure that everything went as I wanted. It didn’t, but it worked out eventually, and I learned something so, so interesting about you.”

Jackie felt his heart stop. He opened his mouth to say something more, but nothing came out.

“Not to mention that you are currently wearing your supersuit in full view of your phone camera.”

Jackie yelped, yanking the phone away from his head. His head darted around his room until his eyes landed on a stack of sticky notes. Quickly, he peeled one off and stuck it over the phone camera. It was at an awkward angle so it didn’t cover the speaker, but it worked. Reluctantly, he pressed the phone to his ear again. “What do you want? Are you going to threaten me? Big talk from someone still using a voice synthesizer. Afraid to reveal who you are?”

“Not afraid, but my identity is one of my greatest secrets, and I will take care to protect it,” Anti-Virus said. “As for what I want... I want you to stop this. Stop trying to free Jameson Jackson.”

Jackie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh? So you’re threatened by him?”

“Not at all. But if I understand correctly, you are trying to free him through proving I was there. And I cannot have that. You cannot look further into me.”

“I think I can, actually. And I will. Bitch.” Jackie growled. “You forced someone to turn a hundred people into puppets. Clearly, I can’t have you walking around.”

Anti-Virus laughed. Jackie held back a shiver; there was something menacing in its robotic tone. “It does not matter what you can and can’t have, Windstorm. You will not look further into me.”

“Or what?” Jackie asked. “I know what your powers are. You can spy on people, big whoop. You can’t do much else.”

“Oh? Are you sure?” Anti-Virus said. “Very well, then. I will show you what I’m capable of.” And abruptly, the call ended.

Jackie stared down at the phone. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he just made a terrible mistake.

But he couldn’t stop. He wouldn’t let this villain intimidate him into leaving his friend in jail. Taking a deep breath, he put the phone down and secured his backpack with the evidence inside. Then he opened the window to his room and leapt out into the evening air.

[leorawright]

so happy that requests are open again, yay!! :D

i have no idea if I already requested this (i am forgetful, sorry xD) but tf2 mercs with a cat owner s/o who has the friendliest, fluffiest and cutest cat? or even has multiple cute, fluffy friendly cats x3

You didn't and I got this!

Mercs with cat owner s/o

Scout

As soon as he sees them ge tries to pet them but they end up biting him

He's absolutely devastated so you have to tell him not to RUN directly at them

One day you come home from work and he's sitting on the floor with cats all over him and he's never looked so happy

He has his own personal nicknames for them and talks about how technically he's a dad

You don't have the heart to correct him it's too cute

Soldier

Tries to bring Lieutenant Bites to meet them

It doesn't work out well

He's pretty sad about that but he guesses he can make time for both of them

You leave him alone with them for a couple of minutes and you come back to find out he's trained them to sit, play dead, and shake

No one knows how but Soldier trained cats

He loves all of them and he loves to cuddle with you and them because it's extra warmth

Demoman

He loves to just kinda vibe with them

He'll very much just sit with them and chill like he's a cat

Sometimes you'll come home and he'll be dead asleep and covered in cats

It's an adorable site and it gets better when you realize he left an open spot next to him for you

Demo considers the cats to be his own children and he will spoil them no matter what you tell him

Pyro

They love cats so. much.

You don't even know

They'll make blankey forts for you and your cats

They loves it when you read to them and they have one of your cats cuddled in their arms

It's a very comforting warmth and when you're not home he'll turn to your cats for comfort unt your back

This leads to some very cute sites when you get home

Including Pyro curled in a ball by the door with several cats around them and on top of them.

Heavy

Like Demo he's very chill with your cats

He enjoys vibing with them

Its a nice time.to be cuddled on the couch with you and your cats

It's a nice calm compared to the chaos of the mercs base

He also enjoys trying to teach them tricks and rewarding them with treats

He doesn't teach them as fast as Solider but after a couple weeks he's got it down

Engineer

He's definitely a cat person

He doesn't mind being covered in fur and he thinks it's a sign of love from the cats

He enjoys having them in his lab while he's working

It brings a little more life to the place in his opinion

He's one of the best people to have babysit your cats when your out

He loves them and they love him

But don't worry he loves you more

Medic

He was worried that your cats and his birds wouldn't get along

Cue Medic and you walking in to Archemides sitting on one of your cats heads

That was a pleasant surprise and a much needed stress reliever for Medic

Most cuddle sessions end up with you two stuck in a pile of fur and feathers

You two aren't complaining

Sniper

He and the cats have a mutal respect

Sometimes he'll fall asleep with one of the cats on his arms but that's a rare occurrence in and of itself

He does prefer cats over dogs but he prefers you over cats

He will cat sit if you need him to but he won't if he doesn't have to

Sometimes though when your gone he'll go and cuddle with your cats to make up for the loneliness

Spy

When they hiss he hisses back

He does not want cat hair on his clothes

One time you asked him to watch them and the entire time it was him sitting in a chair staring at them while they sat on the couch staring at him

Eventually him and the cats develop a mutual respect and agree to leave each other alone

Whenever you two are hanging out he'll make it know to the cats that they aren't welcome

You try to have them get along but it never works

I am very much a cat person🥰

[piracytheorist]

Hello! Basically, a thought came in my mind and i thought I'll share 🐱🐱

I absolutely LOVE spy x family and I'm desperately waiting for new manga chapters and anime adaptations frfr

But... is it just me or is the story progressing too slow?? I know you've seen only what the anime has covered so far, but pls do tell me what you think about it's pace! I think it's priority is to be this happy-happy(help is this even a word😭) anime and the story def gets sidelined due to that, ofc i love cute anya and everyone but I need more development!!

Hi!! Feel free to share any time!

I can't talk about the manga because even though I've gotten some spoilers here and there, I don't actually know how its pace has been. What I can say though is that I feel there was some sort of... "pause" between the Doggy Crisis Arc and the Campbelldon arc. Like episodes 16 to 20 (and the respective manga chapters) are undeniably fillers. If I dare to make an assumption about Endo's thought process for them, is that he had a solid idea of how to develop the story up to the Doggy Crisis arc, then saw how popular his manga was getting and went like "Oh shit people like this I have to prolong this. I need a bit to come up with the rest of the plot and development so have a few fillers for a few weeks thx."

I don't know a lot about the upcoming arc in the next anime season, but I have heard that it's pretty packed with action and development. What I miss a lot, especially seeing Yor's screen time overall in the first season, is more focus on her. Like, it's almost criminal how little time and focus she's gotten, and I'm right here expecting much more of it in the second season 👀👀

All that said, I think one of the themes of the story is itself the slow progress. Operation Strix is a long-term mission, and the family dynamics need time to develop. When you see how disciplined Twilight is and how detached from his feelings he's become, it would seem a little rushed to just have him go like "Wow I love them I guess" from one arc to the other. It needs slow build-up and development. Fanfic can be as quick-paced as one wants it to be - like, I've written a time loop fic where Twilight realizes, accepts and embraces his feelings for his family by the tenth repeat of the same day. I'm not one to talk XD - but the theme of the canon story itself is to take things slow. We're meant to focus on the family moments because it's what humanity is build for. Sure, action and fight scenes look cool in fiction, but Spy x Family seems to be the kind of story that goes like "Humans are meant to live in harmony with each other" and while war themes or action scenes can be used to show how war and violence can corrupt even the best of us, at the end we're humans and we're brought into this world for calm and peaceful moments with our loved ones.

I don't know if that's satisfying for you, it's perfectly fine if it isn't, but from what I've gathered from the anime episodes and the spoilers I've gotten here and there, heavy action and tension don't seem to be what Endo wants to make a note of. It's what we do in the between and how more of ourselves we are within a loving, peaceful environment. So in all my effort to not be patronizing, I'd say you should try to lower (or at least prolong) your expectations about a quicker pace in the story. For all we know developers have seen what a cash cow this story is and are pressuring Endo to prolong it so they can milk it for all it's worth. This can be either a good or a bad thing, depending on how it's handled. My one hope is that he won't get too tired of it before he has the chance to take it to the next stage (like bring on Identity RevealsTM and Feelings RealizationTM) and conclude the story. For his sake, if nothing else.

Thank you for sending in! I realize this can be a bit of a complicated matter, but I'm interested in talking about it :D

[sweetwhitechoco]

Golden Joinery

So my original plan for this was to write up some scenes for my fancomic about the start of season 3 of Sonic Prime, but it got a little longer over the week so it became a oneshot fanfic. Ha! xD

(Also I had some issues uploading this on AO3, so I'm gonna upload it here for now instead.)

Just a little bit of hurt/comfort. This one takes place after episode 16, Ghost of a Chance. Hope you enjoy!

--

"The only person I can trust is myself."

Shadow watched in silent rage as Nine carried the shards and walked away into a purple framed portal, leaving nothing behind. Sonic was standing below the cave entrance, he held his hands up to his face, hiding whatever expression he had.

Not that Shadow could see it from where he stood, but he guessed the blue hedgehog was pretty dejected about Nine's betrayal.

So much for that trust.

-

Harrowed by what just happened, Sonic repeated what Nine told him over and over in his mind.

"You just assumed I'd go along with you, no matter what."

"Did you even consider what I wanted?!"

"I am real!"

"Just.. not your real friend."

"Trust you? The only person I can trust is--"

".. you listening?"

He briefly snapped out of his thoughts when Shadow's voice broke through, who stepped directly in front of him. Sonic didn't even realize he already slumped down against the wall, didn't realize his darker counterpart was addressing him.

His hands lowered as he looked up in worry, expecting a seething Shadow with clenched fists at the ready. But there was none of that, Shadow simply crouched down to face him, mahogany eyes were now piercing into emerald ones.

"What happened here?"

".. You're really gonna ask me that?"

"Yes."

Sonic sighed. Where could he even begin explaining this mess to him?

"You were right about Nine, Shadow. He refused to fix Green Hill," he paused briefly to study Shadow's expression, then continued when he saw him nodding, "and he took the shards away."

Sonic's ears were lowered, remembering what he told Shadow right before the battle. "I really thought we could.." he trailed off as soon as his voice cracked.

"That we could trust him.." His throat felt too tight, it was hard to form words at this point. This was too painful, the previous mistakes he caused rushed back into his memory. His eyes were wide with shock and sorrow like never before, realized how much he really messed up.

"Sonic?"

Tears welled up in his eyes, he covered his face again and shifted away from his rival. How could Sonic ever fix this, it was lost on him. He could never face Shadow, not after he warned him about Nine for more than once.

By now they lost the shards, their only way to getting back home, because of him. He lost Nine, a friend he thought- no, believed- trusted him as much as he did Tails.

He was wrong. Again.

This is all his fault.

-

"Sonic?"

Shadow called out to Sonic, a hint of concern in his voice. His rival didn't respond, only shifted away as he covered his face again.

Just as he slowly reached his hand out, Shadow was caught off guard when he heard the small sobs that escaped Sonic's mouth.

He lowered his arm, eyes wide at the blue hedgehog that broke down in tears. This was beyond what he imagined; Shadow never expected Sonic to take Nine's betrayal this badly. His face turned to the floor, the way his rival cried already becoming too much for the ultimate lifeform.

What can he do at times like this? Shadow can't just tell Sonic to stop crying in this state, he had to approach this.. odd situation differently.

However, with little knowledge and experience on comforting others he found himself lost on solutions.

Well, there was one way he could think of. He had to swallow his pride to act on it, but for what its worth Sonic needed someone to be there for him.

Shadow sighed again as he held out his arms, wrapped them firmly around Sonic. He pulled him into a gentle embrace, knowing that he would definitely regret this one later.

"What am I going to do with you?"

-

Sonic suddenly felt something- or rather, someone- pressing against him, like he's being pulled into a hug. He opened his eyes to see the familiar quills of black and red, it took him by surprise as he realized it was Shadow who held him.

"What am I going to do with you?"

The blue blur's crying came to a brief halt, he refocused his vision to make sure it wasn't a trick of the mind. Yep, it was his broody rival who hugged him.

"S- Shadow?"

The dark hedgehog remained silent for a moment.

"I know you're not okay with what Nine did."

He paused at Shadow's words, and tears threatened to fall again. Sonic lowered his arms to hold him in return, chose to hide his tears by burying his face into the dark hedgehog's shoulder.

He slowly regained his breathing into a more stable pattern, taking his time to recover himself. The sobs have subsided after a minute or two, although his eyes grew tired from letting it all out of his system.

"You.. said you didn't trust him."

"I still don't," Shadow said this with absolute resolve, then he continued with a calmer tone, "but you did. You.. gave him a chance, and I'm not sure why, but I wanted to do the same."

Sonic didn't know how to respond to that, now that he was proven wrong. He let out a nervous chuckle at himself in defeat.

"I guess that makes two of us with trust issues."

Shadow looked at him briefly before a sad smile rested on his face. "Yeah, you can say that again."

They both held each other through the silence in the cave, an unexpected turn yet most welcome on Sonic's case. He didn't realize how much he needed this until now, it made him appreciate Shadow being there more than ever before.

"Thanks, Shadow."

-

He knew he was taking his time with calming Sonic down, but the contact felt also comforting to the dark hedgehog. The reason he decided to let go was Sonic being too sentimental about it. Or that he realized he might regret letting go after all.

"Um, anyway.. what I'm trying to say is;" Shadow pulled Sonic away as he cleared his throat, "you shouldn't give up because of this."

The blue hedgehog scoffed at him with a confused pair of eyes, appearing offended.

"I wasn't going to give up on our home."

"Good. Because we're still in this," his rival stood up when he said this, held out his hand to him with a smirk, "together?"

Sonic felt a surge of new hope rushing into him when he saw the confidence that Shadow's smile gave off. He grinned back at him before taking his offered hand, the hedgehogs faced each other with stronger, newfound bond.

"Together."

-

"Where did the shards go?!" Mr. Dr. Eggman shouted at the screen which scanned the area for prism energy. There were no energy spikes like it showed him before, which means..

"They moved the shards elsewhere.."

He grumbled to himself and moved back to his control panel, pressed a button to activate a video call.

"Members of the Chaos Council, fall back to the Mothership! The hedgehogs were a distraction; they took the shards away to another location!"

He didn't even bother waiting for a response from the rest of his team and cut the call shortly. There was another problem at their plate, as Mr. Dr. Eggman checked their ship's energy storage.

They barely have enough leftover energy from the shards, it could only track them through at least one or two more gateway.

"Curse these hedgehogs!"

He slammed the control board down in rage. They wasted too much of their time and effort into this chase game, when they could have used all that prism energy to build their empire and destroy the rebellion!

In that moment, the evil genius' brain remembered something. And it brought him a newer idea, that these two rodents might be the key to more than just restoring the lost shards. Mr. Dr. Eggman allowed himself a grin at his new revelation, and quickly began preparing the Mothership to retrieve the rest of the Chaos Council.

Should this plan work as intended, the power to dominate the multiverse will be immediately at their grasp.

--

Well, that's about it. Thanks for reading! ^^

[trashyswitch]

Day 19: Arms Up

Roman and Remus are playing a game of 'Arms Up'. Everytime Roman lowers his arms, Remus has to tickle him anywhere, mercilessly for 5 minutes. It doesn't take long for Roman to quickly realize how much of a brutal tickler his brother is...

God...when your own teases in your own fics start to effect you too...That's when you know you may have made a mistake...XD Regardless...I hope you enjoy!

Remus had placed down a tiny collection of tools to help him get the job done. He had an old fashioned timer, and plenty of energy to let out. “Okay. You ready?” Remus asked. Roman had looked at the tools for only 2 seconds…and was already a giggling, blushing mess. “Ohoho nohoho…Cohome on, why did you have to bring those into the game?!” Roman asked. 

“Because it’s funny! And I need a way to win too.” Remus argued playfully back to him. 

“Buhut you do! For heaven's sake, you have nails!” Roman reminded him. “...Well yeeaah…” Remus mumbled, blowing on his nails playfully. “But you know me. Tools are a good addition to a game like this!” Remus told him. 

Roman bit his lip. “Ihi guess…” he muttered. 

“Alright.” Remus slammed his hands onto either side of the carpet. “Your goal is to keep your arms up for as long as possible. If you drop your arms for any reason, then you get 5 minutes of additional tickles.” Remus told him. Roman tensed up, and covered his mouth. “Ohono…” He mumbled. 

Remus smirked and wiggled his fingers at him. “Does that mean you’re ready?” Remus asked. 

Roman let out a sigh to calm down, and lifted his hands up above his own hand. “Okay. Ready.” Roman replied. 

Remus nodded and started the stopwatch. “Go!” Remus touched his fingers down on Roman’s armpits the moment the stopwatch began. Roman jumped and froze in place, his surprise evident on his face. “OH-” Roman gasped and squeaked helplessly as he felt both sets of fingers gliding down his armpits to his ribs. “eeEEEEHEHEHEEEEK!” Roman shouted. 

“Kiiitchy kitchy koooo~” Remus teased, bringing his fingers uuuup and doooown his ribs. “Let the tiiiickles completely destroooy yoooouu.” Remus teased. 

Roman clenched his fists and shook his head. “Sssstahahahap!” Roman reacted. 

“Are you going to keep going for a while longer?” Remus lowered his fingers down the armpits to his middle ribs. “Or…Are you going to give up and lower those arms for me?” Remus asked with a big, evil smirk as he raised his fingers back up to his armpits. Roman’s arms finally fell down, crushing Remus’s hands under his armpits as Roman giggled helplessly on the ground. “Hehehehehehe- Dahahahang ihihihihit.” Roman yelled. 

Remus gasped as he removed his hands and stopped the stopwatch. “Success!” he exclaimed, before cracking his knuckles. “34 seconds!” Remus declared. “Now for the most ticklish 5 minutes of your life~!” Remus declared next, before turning on the timer. “5 minutes starts NOW!” Remus shouted as he started skittering his fingers all over Roman’s belly and sides. Roman wheezed rolled onto his side, laughing and cackling loudly as he tried to cover up his ticklish spots. “WAHAHAHA! COHOHOHOME OHOHOHOHON!” Roman shouted. 

Remus smiled. “Coochy coochy coochy coo, Ro-Ro~!” Remus teased. “Which side tickles more? Left side?” Remus squeezed the left side.

Roman gasped and squealed, shaking his head as he snorted and giggled. “PLEHEHEHEHEASE!” Roman pleaded. 

“Oooor the right side?” Remus asked next, squeezing his right side. 

Roman snorted and giggled, covering his mouth with his hands. “MMMM! MMMHMHMHMHMMM!” He screamed, all muffled. 

Remus smiled and turned Roman onto his back before taking in a deep breath. “Raspberry incoming!” Remus yelled before blowing a raspberry. 

Roman screeched. “WaitWAITWAAHAHAHAHA! NAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Roman screamed, unable to stop Remus no matter what he tried. “PLEEHEEHEEHEEHEASE! HEHEEHEEHEEHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Roman cackled super loudly. 

Remus giggled and looked at the timer, right as it went off. 

[BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP!]

Remus turned off the timer and rubbed his hands together. “Now: Another round of ‘arms up’?” Remus asked him. 

Roman was too busy giggling and holding his knees in fetal position, to answer Remus’s question. “Hehehe…Hohohohold ohohon…” Roman muttered. 

“Still alive?” Remus asked. “I didn’t kill you, did I?” He asked. 

“Nohoho. Yohou didn’t.” Roman replied. 

“Aww fuck…I failed my one mission in life.” Remus muttered, annoyed. 

Roman giggled a little more and rolled himself over onto his back. “Alright. Another round!” Roman declared, placing his hands above his head. 

Remus chuckled and readied his hands. “Round 2?” Remus clarified. 

Roman nodded. “Go for it.” 

Remus clicked the start button on the stopwatch before touching his hands into his armpits again. “Tickle-tickle-tickle-tickle-tickle~!” Remus teased, fluttering his fingers in the hollows of his armpits. 

“OhoHOHO NAHAHAHAHA! HEHEHEHEHEEE!” Roman laughed, struggling to keep his arms up. 

“You struggling yet, Romulus?” Remus teased. 

Roman nodded his head while clenching his fists. “Yehehes! Whahahat doho yohohou thihihihink?!” He asked. 

“I think you’re too ticklish to survive this game.” Remus admitted. 

“FIHIHIGHT MEHEEEE!” Roman shouted back. 

“Okay!” Remus removed his fingers for a moment, and started moving his index fingers closer and closer to the hollows of Roman’s armpits. Roman widened his eyes and looked back and forth at the fingers. He could see them visibly getting closer to his armpits, knowing he would have to make a choice to either risk getting destroyed with tickles and being unable to cover up his armpits, or lower his arms down and get another 5 minutes of tickles. 

Roman held his breath and tensed up, awaiting the fingers in his armpits. Remus noticed his moment of bravery, and decided to have a little fun. He brought his fingers back and grabbed a tool from the tiny collection. Adjusting it, Remus brought the tool up to Roman’s belly button, and clicked the button. 

BzzzZZZZZ! 

“GAH!! HAHAhahahAHAHA!” Roman cackled, clenching his fists again and shaking his head left and right helplessly. “NOOOHOHOHO FAHAHAHAIRRR!” Roman shouted at him. 

“All is fair in a game of ‘Arms up’!” Remus replied with a smirk. 

Roman finally threw his arms down to cover up his armpits. Remus pulled his fingers out and stopped the stopwatch. “45 seconds! You beat your first record by 11 seconds!” Remus reacted. 

Roman was hugging his arms, unable to contain his giggles as he kicked his feet like a ballerina. 

Seeing Roman’s feet kicking like this, gave Remus an idea. He grabbed the hairbrush from his collection and brought his foot into a headlock. “5 minutes of tickles, starts NOW!” Remus started the timer and spun the hairbrush in his finger before ‘brushing’ his foot. 

“Wait, WHAT?! eeEEEHEHEHEEEK!” Roman yelled, kicking Remus’s back with his other free foot. 

“Goodness, I forgot how ticklish your feet are!” Remus reacted, continuing to brush the arch of his foot. 

Roman pulled on his foot desperately as he struggled to overcome the tickles. It was usually really, really difficult to get out of Remus’s grip when he’s overcome with motivation. And this time was no different. He held his head with his hands and shook his head wildly, unable to explain just how ticklish his foot was. Remus knew this very well, and happily exploited this fact often. 

But as if it couldn’t get worse…Remus pulled out a blending pencil and started poking it right in between his toes. And OOOOOH MY GOD, did that ruin the man! Roman had gone completely silent after only a couple pokes! His toes were just way too ticklish to be touched, let alone tickled! 

[BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP!] 

Roman went completely limp the moment he heard the alarm go off. He could not be more thankful to hear such a sound. The most annoying sound in the world…was like beautiful piano music in his ears. He thanked the stars he hadn’t died at the hands of his brother on this blessed day. 

“Another round of arms up?” Remus asked him. 

Roman shook his head persistently. “Nohoho. Nohoway. No way…” Roman replied. “Not again.” 

Remus tilted his head. “R-Really?” He asked. “Not even a little?” He clarified. Roman shook his head. “Nuh uh! You’re brutal as a tickler.” Roman replied. 

Remus’s face began to soften slightly. It began to dawn on him that maaaaybe he was tickling him a little too harshly. He began to think of ways to make it up to his twin brother…Maybe…

Maybe some revenge is in order? 

Remus switched out the electric toothbrush head and placed it down in the pile. He pushed the tools over to Roman with a big smile, before laying himself down close by and placing his arms above his own head. “Okay. Your turn!” Remus told him. 

Roman blinked in surprise and was taken aback. Was…Was Remus…giving him the tools…to tickle him? Roman looked down at the tools, before looking back up at Remus. “R-Really?” Roman asked. 

“Yeah! I wanna play too.” Remus admitted. 

Roman narrowed his eyes at him, before crossing his arms. “How do I know you won’t attack me the moment I tickle you?” Roman asked, well aware of Remus’s usual methods of cheating. 

Remus summoned a red ribbon around his wrists and placed them above his head. “There. No tickle-backs.” Remus replied. 

Roman rolled his eyes. “I know you too well…you’re perfectly capable of tickling me, even if your hands are tied.” Roman reminded him. “Well…” Remus thought for a moment…before letting out an awkward chuckle. “Okay, maybe that’s true. But…give me a chance.” Remus told him. “This is your one time to get me back. Take it, or you may lose that chance.” Remus told him. 

Roman hesitantly scooted himself up to Remus. He slowly picked up the feather duster that was hidden amidst the collection, and fluttered it on his belly with great uncertainty. Remus’s giggles filled the room for a little bit. This was his attempt to show Roman that he wasn’t playing him. He was going to let him tickle him. 

Remus’s laughter was enough to convince Roman to keep going. He slowly grew a smile as he fluttered the feather duster on his belly and sides more, before moving up to his armpit. The moment Remus guffawed at the armpit tickles, Roman was fully confident. He picked up the stopwatch, and clicked the start button. Roman was going to take advantage, and completely wreck this man with every tickle tool he had at his disposal. 

And he was going to enjoy every single second of it. 

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals: Frozen 2 Medley

I really love Frozen 2 (i like it more than the original actually), the animation is great, and the soundtrack is 10/10 awesome, and Voiceplay's medley video for it is just as good! This video features Adriana Arellano, not just in her first appearance in a Voiceplay video, but her first video performance ever? And she was only 15 when this was released?? Man

This video was actually a Christmas Day upload for Voiceplay (for my timezone anyway) back in 2019, and it's a rare case of having 6 vocalists in a video instead of the average 5 (but it you're gonna do a Frozen Medley, you're almost definitely gonna need a female singer). But anyway, let's get into this!

So obviously Adriana is taking dual roles of both Anna and Elsa (in white pants and a cute periwinkle(?) top), Eli is "Disneybounding" as Olaf, Layne is being just a little bit Extra with his Sven outfit, and Earl, J, and Geoff are sharing the role of Kristoff (also Geoff in a scarf again, which he also wears in Baby Its Cold Outside, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, and his cover of White Christmas (different scarves though))

Also neat background! I'm guessing this was filmed at Pattycake Productions, but the description doesn't say

"Yes the wind blows a little bit colder, and we're all getting older!" "hey!"

Geoff (and Layne): "Okay Rude"

(Layne would've turned 39 in December that year, with Geoff having turned 39 a few months beforehand in August)

Geoff's hair by this point has reached the length/style that it's by and large stayed in since (though Wicked Game has me questioning if it's grown and subtly changed a little bit again)

Geoff: "Maybe you should leave all the romantic stuff to meeeeeee"

Adriana: "Oh brother"

"Some things stay the same, like how reindeer are easier!"

(cool necklace by the way, J!)

"what was that?"

"da da dum"

(Also there's a video on Youtube featuring vocal ranges of different bass singers or something like that, featuring Avi Kaplan and Tim Foust and others I believe as well as Geoff, and the thumbnail has got pictures of them all from like performances and stuff, but for Geoff they used pretty much this picture 😂 Like damn why you gotta do him like that 🤣)

At first I was only pausing to see what Geoff was doing with his hands (air bass again? or some other air-instrument?) but uhh there's a lot going on in this picture 😂

Layne back at it again with the carrots! (Seriously him chopping and peeling carrots and using it as actual percussion/foley is honestly iconic and will never not be the funniest thing to me)

Making this post and looking for screencaps has really elevated the hilarity of this video for me honestly XD

Geoff has some lovely smiles in this video 💜 (I feel like I'm taking a lot of screencaps for this video already though, so you can go (re)watch the video yourself if you wanna see what I mean)

"Being watched by something with a creepy, creepy face!'

^ The "creepy creepy face" 😂

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

pfft 😝

Oh my god I literally only just noticed the carrot necklace!!! Layne I love you

Pretty Boy time!

(Don't just get yourself a man who can do both, get yourself a man who can do EVERYTHING)

THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING

I just realized Layne is doing air-drums and using carrots as drumsticks? (He does the same thing in the Butter video)

(Also love the lighting changes, both in light levels and colour! Shoutout to Eli!)

Adriana doing the phone-light thing is iconic and kind of hilarious honestly

<3

Also just noticed Adriana's cool chain-bracelet-ring accessory on her left hand! (Won't post a pic of it though because I'm worried about hitting the maximum image limit)

And that's all I have to say for this video! Man, what a freaking awesome medley. Really well done on all levels, and the enjoyment that Adriana and the guys had in making this is absolutely palpable (Also Geoff was very pretty in this video okay)

[anneimaginesundertale]

(🦄convince them of a new number they invented between 5 and 6. Jess with Aster. XD)

This drabble is a sequel to THIS ONE. (And I guess for a moment that link was an April Fool because I accidentally linked to a book I was thinking of getting my mom. Whoops!)

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

"Hey, Aster, you're a professor, right?"

Aster adjusted his glasses a bit and nodded. "Yes."

You pulled a folder out of your bag. "I need you to use your professor smarts on this," you said. "It's for a case that just came in. Some academic paper. I tried to read it but I fell asleep, and G's off on a trip this week. I was hoping you could help me make sense of it?"

"I can certainly try," Aster said. He took the folder from you and flipped through the pages. "I should be able to read this and summarize it for you in, perhaps, an hour?"

"Great! Thanks so much." You gave him a big hug. "How about we meet for lunch to talk about it? My treat, since you're doing me a favor."

Aster nodded, already engrossed in the paper. You stifled your laughter as you left the room. You texted G as you walked away.

You: He totally fell for it!

G: I knew he would.

You: We're meeting up in an hour. You want video?

G: I want a video call. I wanna see his face when he realizes it and hear him in real-time.

You: 👍 Call me in an hour.

G: Will do. Love you, angel. You're the best.

You: Turnabout is fair play. Even if it's two years later. 😘

An hour later, you and Aster met at Grillby's, with G on the phone "just to say hi".

"So," you said, twirling a french fry, "what's the paper about?"

Aster huffed. "It's the most ridiculous thing," he said. "Do you remember the trick we played on G a few years ago, about a new number between 5 and 6?"

"Yeah..." You tried really hard not to snicker. You could see G covering his mouth on the phone.

"Well, this paper is trying to prove that such a number really exists! It quotes other papers, references books, and even has proofs! But I went through all of them and they're all fake!"

"No, really?"

"Yes!" Aster smacked a hand on the table. "It's very well written, but it's all absolute bullshit! Er, if you'll pardon the academic term. I don't know what this has to do with your case, but whoever wrote this is both really clever and really stupid."

"Gee, thanks, bro," G deadpanned. "Good to know two years of work are just worthless now."

Aster looked at his brother on the screen. Then he looked at you. "You--you--" he spluttered.

"April Fool!" you said and burst into laughter.

[cookinary]

It’s about time!

I finally did Muta’s redesign!

And I realized I’ve never shared his full backstory so here it is, under the cut, it’s pretty long XD:

In this universe, Ophelia not only is the Internet Dictator but she also is a mad scientist who developed a mutagen formula that works on humans

And she needed a test subject

Guess who

So whenever Ophelia wants to experiment on him, she sedates him in any way that works, it can be darts, drugs in his coffee, you name it

And when he wakes up, Pedro (Imma call him Muta okay, bear with me) has to live with whatever she did to him while he was out cold

She gave him an electric collar that acts as a tracker: if he tries to remove it, it zaps him; if he leaves a certain perimeter, it zaps him strongly enough to knock him out

Only Ophelia can remove the collar and she only removes it during her experiments

Muta is not allowed to leave the house except when the family sends him on a hit

The window of his room has electrified bars 

He wags his tail when he's excited

And starts hissing when he gets too upset

Because he can't go outside, he picked up painting as a mean to calm down/let his feelings out

He also has a diary

Escape

Because Ophelia always uses the same anaesthetic, Muta's body had built up a resistance to it

So he woke up in the middle of an experiment before Ophelia could do anything

He broke his restraints and attacked her

She defended herself by stabbing him with a scalpel right over his ear

That made Muta go completely feral and he caused mayhem in the lab before escaping and passing out somewhere far away

After the escape

He woke up freaking out because of the memory loss, the mutations and the talking banana that just popped out of nowhere (he knew Pedro before all this, he just forgot about it)

Because he forgot everything, he rediscovers his mutations little by little

Blurry memories slowly came back to him over the course of the years, through flashbacks and nightmares

After remembering almost everything that happened, he decided to go on a revenge rampage —hence the game

Post game stuff

After killing Ophelia and the banana, Muta decides to leak all of her experiments logs online to show the world her real side

He doesn't leak her works though, as he is afraid that some people will use the mutagen formula for evil

In fact, he destroys the lab and the formula

But he secretly keeps one physical copy of the formula that he never talks about

Soon, pretty much the whole world knows about Ophelia's awful experiments on her own brother

Rumors start circulating about how said brother may have been the one who killed her and the rest of the family and leaked the logs

His favorite drink to relax is red fruits tea

After his escape, he still likes to paint, it helps him calm down (especially Bob Ross tutorials), but he also picked up cooking as a hobby

He posts pictures of his art and his dishes online without ever showing his body, and people keep begging him for a face reveal

He has a black sphynx cat!

He named her Josephine

He sometimes posts pictures of her too and people love her

Has an amazing singing voice???

He lives off assassination jobs

His therapist knows about him

Also the vets from the time where Josephine got hurt and he rushed to the vet clinic without thinking of covering himself up

And finally, the list of his powers/abilities:

Reptile-like eye (Night vision)

Retractable claws (his hands are much bigger than normal)

Prehensile tail (reptilian in appearance)

Focus

Gills (can breathe underwater) (located on his neck, but only appear when submerged)

Can regrow limbs/body parts like lizards/axolotls do, in minutes

Retractable bug wings (similar to a dragonfly's)

Thick bulletproof scales on his back

Hearing as good as a barn owl, if not better (tilts head when locating a sound)

Strong sense of smell (can smell blood like sharks)

Venomous fangs (Inland Taipan venom)

Forked tongue (like a snake's)

Extremely fast

Panther-like feet (he can walk around silently)

Extremely strong (can lift about 2 tons)

Thick bulletproof scales on forearms (similar to the one on his back)

Can stick to/crawl on any surfaces (walls, ceilings, etc.) like geckos

Immune to any type of toxic substance

Can stay upside down for an undefined period of time (like bats)

Second pair of eyelids to see underwater

Can regulate his body temperature

Woo, this boi has a very detailled backstory, huh

[caroll-in]

Happy 2 Year Tumblr Anniversary, Liv!!

I'm afraid I can't really express how much your friendship and your blog mean to me - you're one of the most lovely, caring and kind people in this fandom and you absolutely SPOIL us with the amount of recs you created along those years - the variety of which is astonishing! I think I already said that at some point, but you seem to have a superpower to sense when one might need a boost and your well timed tags come to the rescue exactly when they're most needed. You lifted my spirits more than once that way and I'm sure I'm not the only one - thank you so much for being the part of this fandom and for using your reading experience to guide us among the many fics that the super talented people of the Drarry Squad created.

For your blog anniversary I wish for you to always blog in a way that brings you the most joy and that our fandom will continue giving you as much love as you always have for others! 💖💖💖

Now, to get to the part announced in the banner of this post: my wee gift for you is to try doing a rec list myself - and without furter ado, here's a list of my 5+1 favorite rec lists that could be found on @sitp-recs - each of them featuring at least one, sometimes multiple, fics that I discovered thanks to you!

🐕 Pets (17 drarry recs)

Maybe that's because it's so close to how much I love animals irl, but I absolutely LOVE IT when Draco and Harry interact with various pets, creatures and fantastic beasts in fics - and this particular list covers all of those possibilities!

⏳ Time Travel (16 drarry recs)

One of my all-time-favorite-fic-tropes and thanks to this list I have a quick way of finding my fav time-travel!drarry stories (our tastes overlap here SO MUCH!). Also I endlessly appreciate you sorting your recs by the word count!

🐺 werewolf!Harry (10 drarry recs)

I know, I know, I so often say that I'm not a fan of a/b/o dynamics AND YET I can't help it, your werewolf!recs have a certain ability to lure me into reading them anyway AND enjoying the hell out of them! The only reason it's werewolf!Harry and not Draco is because I'm sentimental and one of the very first drarry fics I have read had werewolf!Harry in it.

1️⃣ 1st person POV (13 drarry recs)

This list is SO important to me because I used to be one of those people who would abandon fic as soon as I realized it's written in 1st person - and miss out on so many amazing stories! Here was my chance on finding them again and hopefully it encouraged many people like me to give this form of narration a chance.

🏖️ summer vibes (11 drarry recs)

For a person who can only tolerate summer in the smallest doses I have a super soft spot for fics written in this vibe - I guess it's just so much easier to enjoy hot weather when it's not me melting in the sun? xD And this list contains so many of my ultimate favs too - our overlapping tastes strike again!

+ 💕 Author/Artist reclists (so far 14 rec lists)

For the +1 I'm gonna cheat a little and link a list of recs instead of fics. I'm one of those readers who when they enjoy a fic A LOT will then go on a wild binge read of other stuff by the same author - and those lists give me similar vibe to that absolute need to appreciate a creator as much as possible. Also, I can't express how much it means that you also found a way to recs us artist and that my name features on that list as well - I will never forget the flood of emotions I felt when I first read that post... ;_;

(My list links only a very few examples of Liv's fantastic recs, so make sure to follow to her blog and check out all of them HERE!)

[hauntinghyrule]

Do you have a description you're willing to share of this upcoming fic?

Oh shoot, you've just reminded me I'm going to need to write a summary for AO3 before I can post it! *sudden fear* xD

(Somewhat rambling description under the read more:)

It's going to be a canon-divergence that breaks away from canon around chapter 8 of the manga, though the first few chapters will be missing scenes from Vio's time in the Fire Temple, leading up to the point where it breaks from canon.

(It's a very stressful time for Vio. Poor guy's having an anxiety attack basically throughout.)

The fic is pre-relationship for Vio and Shadow, focusing on the "enemies-to-friends" portion of the "enemies-to-friends-to-married-boyfriends" arc.

I'd like to write a lot more in this AU, potentially, but I've got the first little bit — covering the lead up to and the immediate consequences of the break from canon — chunked into something that I think can stand on its own as a short(ish) multi-chapter.

I'm being a little deliberately cagey about exactly how the fic eventually breaks from canon, because while it is, after all the premise of the fic, it's also technically a spoiler / plot twist? It's meant to be a point of tension for the first several chapters, at least. I'll have to think more about how much of that I want to give away in advance when I write that AO3 summary, I guess. Hmm...

My current planned title is Castles in the Air, although I realized after TotK came out that that probably sounds like a reference to the Zonai ^^;; It's not meant to be — it's playing off of the preexisting meaning of the phrase, as well as the fact that it takes place mainly at the Fire Temple and the Tower of Winds. I debated changing it to avoid confusion, buuuut... I have a hard enough time coming up with names for things. I like this one and I'm keeping it!

[luimagines]

so I took a break from tumblr for a ..while and I just remembered sending in a story where Time is Twi’s grandfather!! and I indeed did make some improvement in my writing so this is the remake XD (this time it’ll be focus on what really happened 🙃)

“I don’t know Wild- The old man just can’t assume I’m his son!” “Wait wait wait so what I’m getting is that the Old man recognized that the moves that you were doing in the last battle were very similar to his moves and you guys talked about it and you told him about a spirit or ghostly skeleton that had the exact same armor as him and talked like him taught you those moves and now he’s assuming you guys are related and your his son???” Wild said in confusion

“yes.” Twilight said

“Wolfie, I get it but I can kinda see why he assuming.” Wild said while facepalming himself and sighing out of exhaustion.

“This is too much for me Wild I need time from everyone.” Twilight sighed, getting up and walking towards epona.

“wait where are you going?” Wild raised his voice a bit.

“To that pond you told me about. Don’t worry I’ll just be gone for 3 days.” Twilight said like they didn’t just have the longest talk ever.

“What… fine. Go. I’ll cover for you I guess but if we start looking for you just know I was forced to say something ..” Wild said annoyed but worried for Twilight.

Twilight smiled ever-so-greatly and got on epona “Thank you.”

After 4 days Wild spoke up and he got the humbling experience after getting death stared by most- meaning all of the boys and then they sent out Wind, Legend, and Warriors since the 3 are best at finding people- following after Twilight of course.

“Wild said he should be here..Where the hell is he?” Legend said super frustrated.

“You do realize he could’ve just left? Are you that dumb legend?” War said wanting to slap legend for saying something that stupid.

“now you listen here you little-“

“GUYS! I think I found something!” Wind said stopping the two from arguing.

“What??” Both said at the same time. Following after wind following the footsteps of wolves.

“Do you think he got mauled by a wolf?” Wind said already thinking of negative things.

“No. He couldn’t have let’s keep on following these tracks.” Legend said as he pushed past the two boys.

they followed and followed and eventually found a cave and saw twilight- he was sleeping? Has he lost his mind? And he epona was just chilling there. War creeped up on him and screamed him to wake up as loud as he could.

“WAKE UP!” War screamed. And he almost got a sword across his face as twilight shot up from his sleep into his guard mode.

“What..? War? Legend? Wind?? What are yall doing here?” Twilight said in confusion

“We could ask you the same. Get up. Now.” Wars pulled him up he was obviously angry with the poor country boy.

now they’re back at camp and Twilight also the same humbling experience as Wild. So he learned his lesson not to just leave without saying anything to anyone else but he couldn’t just get those words off his mind. It was just stuck with him.

“It’d take years to wash down that red hair.”

Then twilight decided to man up and talk to the old man and surprisingly before he even had the chance to do that Time stopped him signaling everyone they’re monsters around and eventually a fight broke out and just like that a portal opened and when they went through they were just confused as day.

They were in Time’s Hyrule just more.. I don’t know old looking the first place they went to was Lon Lon Ranch and the place looked run down. Time was very confused and panicked calling for his wife’s name.

“Malon? Malon?? MALON???” Time screamed speed walking around the ranch looking for Malon and the boys following him also screaming her name.

“Yes?” A soft but hearty and old voice spoke up behind them all.

turning around they see Malon but older she looks like she was around her late 60’s or early 70’s all looked at eachother except Time and he walked up to her in a heart beat.

“Malon? What happened? Are you okay? Why do you look older than from when I saw you last time I did?” Time hounding her with questions.

“Link? No way.. How’d you.. follow me please we need to talk.” Malon staring into Times souls and softly grabbing his hands pulling him away from the others so they can have a talk.

Twi looked at them till they were far enough from everyone else and everyone was talking about how this is the future of Time’s Hyrule.

“I can’t believe it… so I died 20 years ago and we had a son.. naming him Akai? and he had a son..and him and his wife they’re building a village for farmers to continue your business and they named their son after..me?” Time was on the verge of tears.

“Yes. How do you feel about this..?” Malon crying while doing the sweet hearty smile that she would do all the time.

“I’m so happy for you and our son.. all of this is good news..well apart from the fact I died this is all so..great!” Time picked her up swung her around and gave a hug that both will never forget. .

.

.

3 hours later

“Pup, I need to tell you something” Time walked up to the boy so fast he didn’t even have the time to turn around.

“Yes?” Twilight turned around and seeing stoic eyes staring down on him. Twilight assumed that he was in Trouble and got nervous. But only a bit nervous.

“Listen if I’m in trouble-“

“I was wrong.”

“What?”

“I.was.wrong”

Time did the sweetest smile he could do and that calmed twilight but it didn’t hide his confusion.

“You aren’t my son..you’re my GRANDson me and Malon had a talk and the news she told me were..surprising..but all you need to know is that you are related to me regardless of looks you are my grandson.” Time said grabbing Twi’s shoulders and shaking them softly.

“Wow- I- Wow.” Twilight chuckled a bit “I don’t even know all the news but this is a lot to take in I- wow” Twilights chuckles turned into hearty laughs. Following by Time doing the same pulling him into a hug

That they will never forget.

Hoped you like this remake~ It’s so crazy how I’m just back on here and the first account I go to is yours and seeing your commentary made me wanna do this remake XD also I did some mathhhh so Malon and Time had a kid at 41 and Time died at 47.. so 20 years later that would mean Malon is 67 and Akai is 26 there age’s probably weren’t needed but I just hoped you like this-!

Woo! Sorry for the late reply. I like to give stories their own little moment to shine and I wanted to give a decent reply.

Welcome back by the way! You're all welcome here!

You improved for sure! It flows much better than before. I like how you expanded on how Twilight felt about it and how the others were dealing with his reactions as well, even if they lacked context.

Expanding on Time's and Malon's conversation was a nice touch as well. As I've been told before, and frankly, like to see "it's better to show than to tell."

Like having the characters give and react to the information instead of just saying it for the sake of the reader.

You did great! I can't wait to see how you improve further. Don't stop writing! <3

[shisui-uchiha-anon]

"Shisui? You're here for the vaccine? Alustriel sensei is busy with someone else at the moment. So I guess I can be the one to give you the vaccine in her place. If that's alright with you. And I'll let her know that you were here." He smiles as he's wearing the medical shrubs with the tag that says "Volunteer" on it. He knew where Alustriel sensei put the vaccines as she told him where they are in case if he needs to prepare one for her to give out.

Rubbing their arm with the wipe, he does inject the needle carefully to the point that they would hardly feel it other than the cold medicine that was injected into their skin.

After he is done, he places the bandage on it. And just as quick as he puts it on. He places a gentle light kiss on it.

"There you go. You're all set. Not bad huh?" A closed eyed smile is seen on his face.

( Mafia verse . XD)

He looks at Kabuto, with a complicated facial expression. Was Kabuto making fun of him? Or he was just teasing him a bit? Is he trying to play his mother? He sure does not need one now and not in the figure of his doctor and boyfriend. he scratched his nose lightly as if it itched. What he should do kiss him back and smile back? He can't fool around, this is not Kabuto's office he is just helping Alustriel with vaccination. If she catches them red-handed he will never see the end of it.

"Kabuto...I know this sounds strange but have you been drinking before coming to work?" It was not directed as an accusation more like confused half a question. Shisui hums soon after, half in thought. They've both been busy, and it's been a long time since he had the luxury of his lover's touch. The way Kabuto was able to melt away the tension of several stressful weeks in a matter of moments. Weeks spent in stress and panning and worrying over every single thing that could go wrong.

Kabuto tries to ignore the way Shisui's hand has made its way to the back of the neck and Shisui's thumb sweeping suggestive circles across the round bone and the skin back there.

"She will be back in twenty minutes and the waiting room is full of people." Now Kabut was the one who realized that somehow he messed up. How could one small kiss do this?

"A lot can happen in twenty minutes" Shisui's words are hot now on Kabuto's neck.

Shisui was actually pouting and sitting nearby like an obedient child. Promising to be good and just watch, he can be good for some short twenty minutes right? But when Kabuto was about to do the paper work and Alustriel texted him that she had an emergency....

Shisui straightens, coming to Kabuto's side, and holds out a hand for him to take. Kabuto looks at it, confused, but slowly puts his hand in Shisu's. Shisui pulled him to his feet, and Kabuto probably expected a kiss before the man went off with his evening...But!!!

But instead, Shisui takes Kabuto's seat. Shisui tugs Kabuto back down on his lap, pulling him back flush to his front. Shisui apparently isn't concerned with hiding his arousal from Kabuto. Kami helps Kabuto if he can now focus on doing the paperwork. Shisui props his chin back on Kabuto's shoulder. "I want to watch you work"

Soft lips press into the curve of a slender neck, lingering for a moment. Hands have made their way under the doctor's uniform. His nose is again tracing up and down Kabuto's neck. Shisui lets out a low sound in Kabuto's ear. The same sound he makes when Kabuto decides to reach for him under the covers. In the dead of night under the cover of darkness. When he feels safe and at ease in Shisu's bedroom.

Just like that, they are kissing each other tasting each other again, a kiss sweeter than the wine dancing across Shisui's tongue. The table groans in protest as Shisui nails Kabuto against it... And Kabuto desperately tries to hold onto something....on Shisui's hair or shoulders, tugging and having full fists of black curls made Shisui sing.....

"Kabuto next time you decide to give me a vaccine. You should come to my home visit and give it to me. Home care? Is that how you call it? This side effect that it has? It's better suited for a home environment"

@thatsneakymedic