elenawamp

[hinamie]

binding vow

[ghostiezone]

"....Ashe?"

"Who's that?"

short-ish fic under the cut because I had to be in the tranches about this :)

The Wards received the invitation only an hour before they arrived.

i know where to find your friend :)

The crumpled piece of paper looked like it had been drawn in crayon. It was stapled to the front door of their home. Their civilian home.

"Aux-" Failsafe started immediately, but Imprint's hand over his mouth cut off the name before he could finish. The boy wasn't in costume.

Imprint addressed him instead, cautious. "Ashe...?" He lowered his gloved hand from Failsafe's face and stepped forward between his two teammates, slowly, like he was approaching a cornered animal.

Wraith had been a stoic, silent presence since they entered the room, but Failsafe could feel the tension rolling off of him in waves.

The boy sitting on the edge of the desk looked.... young. Younger than he should. The shirt he had been put in was too big for him. Not in the same way his dad's jacket was too big for him- he used that like a turtle shell, something to retreat into, pull over himself like a shield. It was safe, warm, all-encompassing. Despite the issues they knew Ashe and his father had with each other, the love was still there. No, these clothes... they hung loose on his already skinny frame, making him look exposed. Vulnerable. They were monochrome, pale in a way that made him look washed-out, almost ghostly. He sat with his legs crossed, hands holding his ankles. He wasn't wearing shoes. One of the sleeves threatened to slip off his shoulder.

He tilted his head as they entered the room. The movement made Failsafe think of the stray puppies he used to feed in the alley behind their house.

His hair had been washed recently.

Something was very wrong here.

Ashe's face was devoid of all emotion. Though he was looking at the three of them, making eye contact, something seemed... distant. Failsafe reached out with his power and found... nothing.

He felt his heart seize in his chest. He frantically grabbed Imprint's hand before he could take another step forward, and tore his gaze away from Ashe to lock eyes with Wraith He hissed under his breath, he didn't trust his voice not to shake "guys, hes-"

"Breaker state, yeah. I know." Wraith finally broke his silence, voice stony and cold. "Don't get any closer to him."

At the sound of Wraith's voice, Ashe's eyes locked onto him. They were burning with an orange glow.

His head bent further to one side, and his face split into a wide grin that looked almost painful. Failsafe felt Imprint tense, fingers twitching like he was getting ready to reach for a weapon. He squeezed the wrist he was already holding. "Don't. We can't. That's still Ashe."

In that brief moment of distraction, the boy on the desk began to laugh. It was a broken sound, distorted, not like anything they had heard from him before. That deep orange glow in his eyes shone even through his closed eyelids. Wraith's cape billowed as he stepped in front of the other two, barking a clipped "Incoming!" as the space behind the desk began to distort.

Wraith's own warping powers sprang up in response, a translucent blue barrier forming in the air between the wards and their friend. As they watched, unsure of how to act, a rectangular shape began to appear in the air behind where Ashe was sitting, growing clearer and sharper as it eventually formed a sort of doorway. It was hard to look at directly, the light in the room seeming to bend toward the corners. The walls and floor buldged and sank in response to the tear in reality. The door itself was more like a window- a vague, distorted cityscape slowly coming into focus on the other side. The barrier began to ripple, as if it was made of water, as a figure stepped through it into the room.

Ashe's laughing was suddenly doubled as it became clear that whoever had just entered was cackling as well. It was an eerie echo- they were taking the same pauses for breath and short hiccups between giggles. Their shoulders bounced in matching tempo and their heads tilted back toward the ceiling at the exact same time.

The new figure was dressed in a long purple-grey patchwork coat, sleeves torn off and bottom hem ripped to shreds. He wore a darker purple scarf up to his chin, which flared out behind him into a tattered cape. The coat was sinched at the waist with a faded green belt, the end of which swung loose around his legs to give the appearance of a long tail. He wore some sort of blood-red bodysuit which concealed every bit of skin that would otherwise be showing. His darkened silver hair flared out around his head in wild spikes. Over his face, a circular mask concealed any distinguishing features. The mask may have been white once, but was now more of a tarnished brown. Two horns curled upward on either side of the face, which consisted of a cudely painted-on cartoonish black smile with squinted eyes.

"Why, if it isn't the Wards of New Haven!" The figure exclaimed, suddenly dropping into a deep bow. "You can call me the Trickster. Oh, I've been waiting so long to meet you!" There was a sort of childlike excitement in his voice, but there was a strain to it as well, as if holding back the laughter was causing him mental pain.

He turned his head toward Ashe, who was sitting motionless again on the desk. The figure cleared his throat, then in a harsh voice, snapped "You'd best show some respect in the face of such powerful heroes!"

As if dragged down by force, Ashe bent forward, nearly losing his balance and falling face first off of his perch. When he sat back again, his deadpan expression broke into a wide grin again. The smile didn't reach his eyes.

"What are you doing to him?!" Failsafe snapped, voice cracking with the panic of seeing his friend so vulnerable.

"Who, me?" The villain straightened back up, bouncing on his toes as he did. He flung a hand up to his chest in an overdramatic show of offense... and Ashe's hand made the same motion. In a cheap imitation of Ashe's voice, the Trickster echoed "I wouldn't hurt a fly!" As he did, Ashe muttered the same words.

"He's some sort of Master." Imprint's eyes were locked onto the figure, tracing his every move. The subtle shift in his posture put the image of a panther in Failsafe's mind. His next words were directed at the villain. "What do you want with Ashe?"

"Better yet, what do you want with us?" Wraith added. The strain of holding up a constant shield for this long was starting to take its toll on him, hands starting to shake. Even though the Trickster wasn't outright attacking them, knowing he was a Master with this kind of power was enough to keep them all on edge. They didnt know his limitations yet. "You were the one that sent us the note, right? Why bring us here just to stand there and laugh at us?"

The villain started cackling again, bending at the waist with the sheer force of his laughter. "Ashe?!" He straightened back up, mimed wiping a tear from the corner of the eye of the mask. "Who's that? Never heard of them!" As he stood up to his full height, he ran a hand gingerly through Ashe's hair. The boy didn't move, didn't react, despite Failsafe's immediate short burst of anger at the action. The Trickster clicked his tongue, continued to run his hands through Ashe's silvery-purple hair. As his hands moved, a glow began to spread from them. The same orange glow emanating from Ashe's eyes was surrounding the Trickster's fingertips. As he waggled the fingers on his free hand, little orange strings no thicker than spider silk extended upwards from them, seeming to disappear into thin air. The strings reappeared, wound around Ashe's arms. There was a loop around his neck as well, giving the sickening illusion of a collar.

"I just wanted to introduce the three of you to my Muse." He put an odd emphasis on that final word.

It was a name.

"And, to let you know he's mine now, and you can't have him back!" The static smile on the mask somehow looked devilish. It was such a childish statement, as if they were fighting over a toy on the playground, but it sent chills down all three of the heroes' spines. "Finders keepers, he came to me first! That means I get dibs." His voice dropped an octave on that last sentence, suddenly becoming threatening and deadpan. "Try to take him from me if you can. It'll be fun."

Suddenly, he spun on his heel, facing the doorway he came from. The rippling effect was starting to get more pronounced, more unpredictable. "Ah! But it seems like playtime's over for now. We'll see you soon, Wards."

Before he stepped back through the door, the strings around Ashe's limbs tightened, and he was dragged by some nearly-invisible force toward the doorway. He moved stiffly, as if the puppetmaster hadn't gotten used to moving him yet, but eventually he was pulled through the fading doorway.

The Trickster gave them one last mock solute before ducking through as well. The lingering echo of laughter hung in the room around them.

And Ashe- Muse- was gone with him.

[romaritimeharbor]

me when venti has like 50 million death flags

[cxpperhead]

When stealing things for his employers, it's not unknown for Copperhead to simply swallow them, especially if they are valuables like gemstones. It's easier and more convenient to carry them this way than waste time stuffing them into a bag that's likely to get snagged on something or get snatched away by a pesky vigilante.

[oculusxcaro]

Khare had not experienced fear like this since her time in the underground facility almost a year ago, her heart damn near stopping in terror at the sound of her door getting kicked in. She'd just gotten home from work not even an hour ago, getting ready to soak in the bath for a few hour's sleep when a pair of black-clad thugs with mean faces and even meaner eyes suddenly forced their way into her apartment, immediately grabbing and trashing every object within the vicinity. "Get out! Go on, all of you get out of here! Go!" Loud voices could be heard echoing throughout the complex amidst shouts, cries and yells as other tenants found themselves experiencing the same situation as Khare, looking on in horror as they were forcibly turfed out of the only place they could call home. Khare blinked slowly, struggling to comprehend exactly what was happening when one of the two men in her apartment growled, grabbing her by her good arm and dragging her out into the corridor. She thrashed, mind suddenly suddenly catching up to the very real awful situation she had suddenly found herself in but before she could bite the guy manhandling her, he had already gotten her to the stairs, pushing her down them without so much as a word. A 3DS soon followed after, her 3DS clattering wildly down the steps along with other objects and items of clothing, leaving Khare unable to do anything but whimper as she tried to grab what she could amidst the confusion. Other people's possessions soon joined the growing heap at the bottom of the stairs, tenants grabbing anything and everything they could even if it wasn't theirs, too afraid to stay even a minute longer as the thugs began screaming at them to get the fuck out now, or else bullets would start flying if any of them were so much as seen near the building. With shaking hands, Khare managed to grab her work uniform (still dirty from last night's shift), her broken 3DS, some odds and ends that weren't hers and a bag to put it all in. It was a miracle she'd even managed to grab that much, scrambling amidst a surge of grabbing hands fighting to grab whatever they could carry upon their impromptu eviction. "Now get the fuck out! This place is under new management and you lot ain't welcome!" One of the thugs sneered, kicking an old threadbare teddy down to the group. Khare recognized the bear - it was often carried around by the girl of the family living down from her, probably having already been kicked out. She went to pick it up, only just managing to grab it before a heavy boot stomped on where it had been just second agos. Narrowly dodging that same boot aiming a kick at her head, Khare quickly joined the throng, once again falling down the steps outside and getting tripped over a few times by other people. What the hell had just happened? Khare found she could breathe again, if somewhat raggedly from the stress of everything that had just happened and getting trod on once or twice. Shaken, battered and bruises, she scrambled to her feet, holding both bag and bear close while avoiding the glances of people at their windows watching the eviction go down. Khare couldn't see the nice family with the little girl anywhere, glancing back and forth at people, the people she'd once lived amongst until just yesterday hurrying to leave, now having to find somewhere else to live...

"Oh God..." Khare mumbled, feeling like she was about to pass out. Her initial fear had been that they'd found her, had come back to drag her back to the facility again but in another way this was almost worse, for she had found herself out on the streets once again with nowhere to go. Where was she going to go now?

[teddybeartoji]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh i just get so upset sometimes bc i don't know how to express my love and adoration in a way that isn't just "omg i love that" or "omg that's so cool" THAT'S NOT ENOUGHH IT ISN'TTTTTTTTT THIS GOES FOR ALL OF MY BELOVED WRITES AND ARTISTS AND FILMS AND DIRECTORS AND COMPOSERS AND CINEMATOGRAPHERS AND SOUND DESIGNERS AND FICTIONAL CHARACTERS AND POEMS AND STUNTMEN AND JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[tenebriism]

draikoeques : He might kick his ass later... But first, kisses-

Ah, so, kisses... and then the wedding. Got it.

[jackdup]

anyway i feel like in the ripe year of 2024, i shouldn't have to say this, but it's tumblr, so . . . yeah, i have to say it:

if my muse catches the FeelingsTM for your muse, that does not equal force-shipping

i just want my character to feel his feelings authentically (and vice versa regarding yours). it goes both ways, my dudes (◕⍸ ◕✿) relationships are complicated like that; our muses don't need to feel the same way about each other and honestly ??? love to see dynamics like that

nothing spurred this btw – just the endless struggles of writing on a public platform instead of privately with my friends where we let our characters just go off without any worries or restrictions, really (respecting each other, ofc)

. . . other than the fact that writing timmy has alerted me to his knack for having two (2) reactions to people being nice to him: suspicion or heart-eyes. sometimes at the same time. but please omg please i promise you i am never trying to shove a ship down your throat. it's literally just me letting my muse feel what he's feeling. yeah? yeh. happy friday ~♡

[rozengrotto]

oogh getting SSRs based on the characters titles would be fucking wild, imagine the possibility of having a Tactician Azul card with him and a sick chess game where the pieces all resemble the other characters that Azul just toys with to his heart’s content??

Knight of Lightning Sebek in full battle armor on a horse, I WISH

[starlitwishes]

Yes, indeed--Wrenn has been using his new Kamera quite well. He often finds himself taking pictures of animals playing together, of plants he wants to identify in his text books later, and other things of the natural world. He seems to have a knack for it, and he can't help but to smile whenever he gets a decent shot...

Maybe once he develops them, he can show Tighnari the sorts of adventures he'd been on.

@starscrxssed

[ofgentleresolve]

me: i am on hiatus

also me: i will adding one muse on here when i get back and another blog to mi roster ( which i will be informally introducing below bc i'm TOO EXCITED about them both to keep it in :'D )

kang aeri: hunger games muse aka bratty socialite get demoted to an avox but f*ck the system if snow's gonna use her to blackmail her gf ( it's deva- ily lynnie )

ballister boldheart: canon character from nimona!! but i'm giving him a modern verse too- without too many spoilers, he was falsely accused of killing the queen, now he's considered the biggest villain in the kingdom...oh and his arm got chopped off so that's been a thing :)

[dragonji]

@llycaons tagged me to post 4 comfort characters thank youuu mwah !!

1. Lan Wangji (CQL/MDZS. character of all time and just like. assuredly most guy I unceasingly point to in wordless agreement/overwhelmed Emotion out of anything ever if Im being honest♡)

2. Wolfwood (Trigun- specifically the mix of maximum/stampede/tiny bits of '98 that ive concocted in my head :]. He is just So Special to me)

3. Quan Yizhen (TGCF. my partner in autism [grins peacefully])

4. Tang Fan and Sui Zhou (TSOMD. sorry for double entry but Do Not Separate Them,,, watching tsomd is like realtime heart regeneration for me even when Events that cause me much pain are happening ㅠwㅠ)

Tagging @demasc @trans-xianxian @charlatanesque @qujianglin @neixins if yall want to! And anyone else who wld like to say I tagged them~

[roleplay-abiogenesis2]

@game-weaver || Continued from here~

He blinked, startled when he saw the card held out to him. "Oh god, thank you! I was looking all over for it." He smiled brightly, pulling out his deck to slide the card back in with the rest, finally all back together. "Really, these cards mean a lot to me." Yugi's smile was fond. Honestly, the card he had lost wasn't one of the ones he couldn't easily replace, but still. These cards had seen him through a lot of tight places.

"I'm Yugi by the way. Nice to meet you!"

The card had caught his eye near instantly the moment he'd found it, nearly invisible to the patrons of the cafe or its staff where it was pinned by an angle under a table's leg. The twinkle in Cyno's eye had only intensified the moment the owner he'd successfully tracked down exhibited a much wider collection of them. Not Genius Invokation TCG cards, but a seemingly older, yet similar variant.

There was a strange feeling when looking at this individual. A stranger by all accounts, and still felt so oddly familiar. Had Cyno seen him somewhere else before? Maybe met a relative or lookalike?

It'd tease his mind for a while.

"I'm Cyno." He returned the greeting, and words of gratitude with a simple acknowledging nod. No need to fuss about his good deed. "I'm glad I was able to find the owner. It is always a pitiful sight to see a card all on its own. Is that deck for a Trading Card Game?"

[marinehero-a]

thinking ab the scene where Dadan beats up Garp <3

[strxnged]

me a year ago would be freaking out

[shadxw-assault]

Talon was minding his own business walking through the streets. A strange, and somehow a very familiar figure caught his attention. The assassin stopped dead in his tracks to look them over: steel grey and blue cloak with hanging daggers, armored boots, a hood covering their face? What was this? Looking in a god damn mirror?

@mercless