#oh queue are a villain alright just not a super one

[starry-night-author]

Can you continue prompt #20? I'm a sucker for some fluff and want villain to surviveeee

Okay okay, fluff for you :3

Prompt #20 (Part 2)

(Part 1)

Villain was terrified.

They were trapped and injured, no way to get out and the only person available to help was also trapped with them.

They knew Hero was trying their best to get them out of there, but for a moment, Villain didn't want them to. They just wanted someone next to them, a reminder that they weren't here alone.

That they wouldn't die alone.

"H-Hero?" Their voice was shaky, Villain felt it was barely audible. They hoped Hero had heard them, even though their foe stood only a few feet away.

"I'm right here." That wonderful response, the reassurance feeling like a cool breeze on a boiling hot summer day. Villain closed their eyes, swallowed painfully.

"You can get us out, right?"

Hero let out a breath. Villain didn't know if they were unsure, or just tired of Villain asking. "Yeah, we'll get out."

"You're sure?" Villain couldn't help but ask.

"Mm-hm."

That wasn't enough. Villain shifted slightly, trying to face the hero. "Can-" they moved too much, they gasped in pain. "-can you come sit by me again? Just for a minute?"

Hero didn't answer, but Villain heard them approach, saw them crouch down next them, felt their arms reach out to hold them close. Villain collapsed against them, their tears falling freely as Hero squeezed them tightly.

This was it. They were really going to die down here, bleeding out in Hero's arms. Now that the hero was holding them, they found it harder to stay awake, harder to keep their eyes open. They knew giving in would be signing themself over to oblivion, but now that sounded nice.

That meant no more pain, no more fear, no more darkness. Drifting off next to Hero felt like heaven, in several different meanings.

They could finally be peaceful.

Villain was distantly aware of Hero sitting up, saying something. But they were too far gone, they couldn't hear it.

They only really wanted to protest when they felt Hero moving, their hand tightening feebly in the hero's clothes. They didn't want to stay here by themself, they didn't want to die alone.

But by now the oblivion had gotten too close, and Hero was gone.

With one last shuddering breath,

Villain was too.

They woke blearily to a faint beeping noise. For a moment, that was all they could register.

They were floating on a soft, warm cloud, not quite awake, but they weren't asleep anymore. Faint warm shapes moved beyond their half-lidded fuzzy vision, and all Villain could do at first was watch the colors go by. They listened quietly to the beeping, and to the gentle thudding of their own heart.

Finally, the rest of their senses caught up, and they slowly opened their eyes fully, taking in their surroundings.

They were lying on their back in a hospital bed, tucked beneath the blankets with their hands resting at their sides. The window to their right let in a warm glow from the sunrise, casting the room in a beautiful peach color. Another thing Villain noticed was the slight resistance around their chest as they inhaled, and it took them a moment to realize it was from a bandage.

They lifted their hand, staring at their IV for a moment.

That's when everything else sank in.

They were alive.

But where was Hero? How had they made it out? Had Hero not made it out? Were they okay? Had they been hurt? Where were they?

Villain wanted to get up, go find them. But they were too exhausted to move, too sore, to weak. Clearly still recovering, all they could do was lay there, useless.

A few minutes went by before anything happened.

A nurse slipped in, their eyebrows rising in surprise as they saw Villain awake. As they moved away from the door, someone else came in behind them.

"Hero!" Villain exclaimed. They made it! They were alright!

"Villain!" Hero rushed past the nurse to Villain's bedside, leaning down to hold the side of their face. "You're awake! Are you alright?"

A bit of Villain's usual smug and teasing tone snuck in. "What, worried about me?"

"Of course I was," Hero leaned forward, gently touching their forehead against Villain's. "I was so worried, Villain."

"Thanks for getting me out of there," Villain's hand lifted to gently cup Hero's, still pressed against the side of their face. They'd never seen the crime stopper this relieved for them, so previously concerned about them. "Thank you for... everything."

It was because of Hero that Supervillain was now gone, and Villain could finally be free.

"Of course," Hero smiled, their face illuminated in loving warm tones from the light outside.

With one last forehead touch, they stood up and backed away, letting the nurse approach Villain to check on them. They asked the criminal a few questions, adjusting things and making sure they were stable and comfortable. Then they left, telling the two they'd be back soon to bring Villain some food.

As soon as the door to Villain's hospital room was shut Hero wasted no time in settling down on the bed next to them, reclined back like Villain was with their shoulders pressed against one another.

Hero was quick to fill them in on what had happened, about how the team combing the rubble had found the two of them, and Hero had first hauled Villain up to them. The villain had been whisked away, and it'd been hours before Hero found out if they were even alive or not.

As Hero described their relief in finding that Villain was alive, Villain quietly slipped their hand into Hero's, both resting against each other on the bed. Hero gripped it tightly, but otherwise didn't acknowledge the action as they continued with their story.

Despite having been unconscious for over twenty-four hours, Villain was still exhausted. They were achingly hungry and wanted to hear Hero's story, but it wasn't long before they felt themself drifting off, their head drooping down to rest on Hero's shoulder.

They were safe with Hero, they were safe with Supervillain gone. Now that the oblivion no longer threatened to kill them, they welcomed it as they let themself finally drift off to sleep next to Hero.

[patchworkpuzzle]

Thank you for answering my questions, I will now participate!

Camie is one of my favorites, and I love staying in underneath my blanket and watching YouTube! So could I get me and her cuddled up, big blanket wrapped around us and hot chocolate on the table, as we watch random YouTube videos? (Jenna Marbles, Danny Gonzalez, Drew Gooden, Izzzyzzz, etc...comedy and commentary youtubers are our favorite) Also, lots of cuddles and running our fingers through each other's hair

Camie's nickname for me is babe, and my nickname for her is princess

I'm nonbinary and use they/he

Alright! The last of the winter drabbles, I want to thank everyone who wanted to participate! I love making these little things for you all 💛💛💛 And this is super duper cute! I love little lazy days! Where I cuddle up and get all warm and just watch Let's Plays! Hope you like this!

"Ooo can we watch this next, babe?"

Camie asked, pulling on your arm to bring you closer, showing you her phone screen for you to read the title of the youtube video she was showing. It made you laugh as you nodded your head in agreement.

"Sure thing Princess, we'll queue it up after this one, okay?"

"Ooo yay, okay!"

She smiled as she placed a kiss on your cheek; pressing a few buttons on her phone to set it all up. When she was done, she leaned back into the couch, taking some of your blanket from you as she snuggled into your side; her hand coming up to gently scratch as the hairs on the base of your neck.

"You know, I'm glad we did this." she whispered, trying not to be too loud so you could still listen to the video "We haven't had a chill day like this in forever."

"Well, we've been busy." You countered, a hum escaping you and you leaned into her "Work this time of year is especially rough for you."

"Tell me about it!" Camie groaned, eyes rolling to add to the dramatics "I'm just glad no villain decided to act up today, or else I would be called in!"

"Same here, I missed you."

You smiled at her, taking her hand in yours and giving it a lingering kiss; holding it still when you set it down. Enjoy the natural silence that came after that. enjoying all the fun videos she would queue up for you to watch with her; a catch up in a sense of all her favourite creators videos she had missed.

It was what you were doing all afternoon, being all snuggled up together as you shut the world around you out; sometimes breaking out of your cuddle pile to refill your snacks or hot chocolate. It was what you both needed, just alone time with each other.

"Oh, you're empty!" Camie noted, making her way to stand up, placing a quick peck on your lips as she did so "I'll go get us a refill, okay babe? Be right back!"

"Okay, princess! I'll pick the next video then!"

[luci-cunt]

Tell me about Magneto🤭

MAY YOU CAN’T SEE IT BUT IM KISSING YOU SO PASSIONATELY RIGHT NOW

Ok so listeeennnn tooooo meeeee, okokokok, so a while ago I went on this James McAvoy bender--don’t ask--and I saw he was in the X-Men movies, whic hi haven’t watched since the Wolverine movies/ Last Stand when I was like, actually a baby. So anyways I flipped them on thinking “yeah what could go wrong?” except I watched them in the wrong order

Anyways here’s an essay on why neither Erik or Prof X was right and the actual answer would be to compromise and these movies how how because they’re both too stubborn and couldn’t it destroyed their friendship and fucked everything up. 

Also the fact that X-Men: First Class is the best Villain origin story to ever cross the screen.

Ok so spoilers ahead for X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: First Class

Now, it should be noted that I’m no an X-Men expert I just love these two movies. 

So for some context: First Class and Days of Future Past are both kind of prequels, except DoFP is a prequel-sequel?? becuase of time travel?? I’ll explain don’t worry. The point is, they take place in the past where all the characters are younger. James McAvoy plays Professor X (who I’ll just be calling X for this whole thing), Michael Fassbender plays Magneto (aka Erik), oh and Jennifer Lawrence plays Mystic--who will be appearing in this essay XDD. 

Alright so first of all have a plot summary: DoFP is about Wolverine getting sent back in time so he can convince a younger Prof X to stop Raven (aka Mystic) from getting caught by this guy Trask who then uses her DNA to create super weapons that irradiate all mutants. The current future Wolverine is in, he, prof X, Magneto, and a few other mutants are trying their best to survive but it’s a losing battle and their only hope is to literally change the past. 

This one takes place after the events of First Class, which I will now explain. 

So in First Class a younger Prof X and Magneto team up to find and recruit bb mutants to X’s school because the government wants to use Mutants to help fight the Russians (oh head this takes placee in the 1960′s right before the Cuban Missile Crisis). This is essentially a Magneto origin story and also--in my opinion--the best villain origin story to ever cross the screen. 

OK so now some details on our main characters: 

Magneto/ Erik Lehnsherr: a literal holocaust survivor who’s only goal in the begining of the story is hunting/ killing nazi’s, specifically one nazi who tortured him specifically and I will get into him later don’t worry. 

Professor X: super smart rich white boy with a heart of gold but also enough naivete to make a lamb look like a Stephen King character. 

Already you can see very stark differences between the two of them. Erik is set up as being a staunch pessimist while X is a vivid optimist, and that makes sense. X’s grown up sheltered and never wanting for anythign while Erik suffered a trainwreck of the greatest traumas in human existence hitting him over and over and over again from like age fucking 9. 

Ok also tehre’s J-Law’s character Raven, who is a mutant that can change her skin to look like anythign she wants it to but her actual form is blue/ scaly/ “not pretty” (bullshit but ok). She met X when she broke into his house one night to steal some food and then they became friends, their relationship will become important later but for now that’s all u need to know. 

ok so anyways, in the begining of First Class Erik is hunting + killing Nazi’s, specifically looking for this one called Schmidt because when Erik was little he and his family were carted away to a concentration camp where Schmidt witness Erik use his metal bending powers and decided to “train” him. aka physically/ mentally abuse him for years. The whole thing starts with Schmidt trying to get Erik to lift a metal coin with his mind, when he can’t (because he’s a child who didn’t even know he had his powers until literally hours ago) Schmidt puts his mother’s life on the line and when he still can’t Schmidt kills her. This sends Erik it’s a rage and he crushes some nazi heads but then Schmidt is still standing and mentions how “oh gotcha, so it’s rage and pain that’s the key to your powers huh?” anyways this tidbit and the coin will become important later trust me--

Meanwhile Prof X is graduating from Oxford/ generally being an idiot pretty boy. He’s a telepath who knows about his powers and has used them from an early age. He also wrote some big paper on mutants, which gets the attention of an FBI agent who witnesses the villains being mutants and wants his advice

However, the villains just so happen to be Schmidt, who’s going by “Shaw” now, so when X and the agents catch up to him Erik is already there and on a mission to murder his ass. Some bs happens, Erik tries to pull a submarine out of the water but can’t (T-T this will be important) and X jumps into the water to stop him because the mental stress is literally killing him. 

That’s how they meet. 

It’s important to note: up until this point, Erik didn’t know there were other mutants, so meeting X, who’s friends with Raven, is kind of a big deal for him. He and X become very fast friends and also have a very homoerotic montage where they become dads for a bunch of mutant teenagers, because they realize they can use X to track all these baby mutants, collect them, and train them so they don’t grow up fearing their powers. 

Anyways, the other thing about this is that now that Erik has this newfound group of people that are just like him, he’s opening up, and X is helping him realize he’s actually so much more powerful when he taps into happy memories rather than fueling himself on pain and rage. This scene always makes me sob oh my god--

Also, fellas--is it gay to “access the brightest cortex” of your homies memories and remind him that hate and pain are not good motivators before reminding him that he has good memories he can draw on and showing him that his life has not been entirely painful?

YEs, the answer is yes are u shitting me??

ok so anyways--something to note about this is that X and Erik are both very protective of all their new kids, but Erik is especially so. I’m going to be getting into this more but just tab thsi thought for later :)

Now, the plot’s kicking up a bit, because it’s at this point that Erik and X capture one of Shaw’s (aka the nazi’s) main lackies and they question her until she gives them the info that Shaw’s planning on using the Cuban Missile Crisis tensions to start a nuclear war to wipe out all humans so that only mutants survive in the new world. 

Obviously they want to stop him, but also, you can kind of tell that Erik is not totally against this plan, which only gets to be more later but that’s for later. 

Right now I wanna take a quick break to talk about Raven--aka Mystic, aka J-Law. She and X were childhood friends and she kind of clung to him because she doesn’t have family/ anyone she can really be herself around besides him. 

X insistently says throughout the movie he sees her as a sister, but it’s kinda obvious she’d be down to fuck. She has this big plotline where she keeps trying to get X to understand why it’s so frustrating for her to have to be using energy to look “human.” Because her natural form is the one with the blue skin. X doesn’t understand this because his power is easy to hide, it’s simple for him to just fake-human and have no one be any wiser, Raven, however, doesn’t have that luxury and when she tries to explain this to X it just flies over his head, insisting she hide her natural self to better fit in if that’s what she really wants. 

Queue Erik, who comes in as a king of self love. He’s pretty blunt about it, but his point is basically “you’re wasting energy by constantly pretending you’re something you’re not--stop” and she responds essentially with “yeah but then no one will like me” to which he responds “then make them.”  

Raven’s relationship with both the boys is used through both First Class and DoFP to really highlight their faults. X believes humans and mutants can coexist but he thinks we go about doign that by completely ignoring the pages of history of abuse mutants have suffered--and it’s mostly because he hasn’t experienced it. 

Erik on the other hand will do everything and anything he possibly can to protect his new family/ people, and in his head that means exterminating any and all threats. By the end of the movie--humans become one of those threats. 

The point of this whole ramble is that: they both represent utter opposites, BUT, X’s blind optimism and Erik’s blind pessimism are equally bad.

Ok so back to plot for a second to prove this. 

Shaw is revealed to be a mutant himself and he also has a helmet that can block telepathy. (yes it’s the magneto helmetjasjd;fkjaskl;dfjasldkj jsut wait).

His plan’s complicated but basically: he’s going to poke America and Russia until they pop and incite a nuclear war. And it works. The whole pre-climax of the film sees X, Erik, Raven, and the other mutants all working double time to stop Shaw’s plan (AND IT INVOLVES ERIK SUCCESSFULLY PULING A SUBMARINE OUT OF THE WATER!!! BECAUSE NOW HE’S USING HAPPINESS INSTEAD OF ANGER/ PAIN!!!). 

Anywho, they’re doing all this, but then some bullshit happens, the plane they’re on crashes oh and -- yeah there’s this part where Erik uses himself as a seatbelt for X it’s fantastic but anyways--

This is finally the climax of the film. 

Also possibly the greatest scene in film history in my humble opinion. 

Because listen--in order to stop Shaw they need the helmet off of him so that X can telepathically freeze his ass and they can arrest him or whatever. So they split up--Erik rushes into the wreckage to find Shaw and X stays behind ready to freeze the guy as soon as the helmet comes off but--

Well, vengence is just too tempting. 

So when Erik gets Shaws helmet off, X freezes the guy, and he’s ecstatic, at least until he realizes Erik plans on killing Shaw. 

He’s pleading with Erik because this is vengence and he can’t chose that but Erik just puts on the helmet and--taunts Shaw, pulling out the coin Shaw taunted him with all those years ago and in a mimickry of the game Shaw forced him to play as a child and killed his mother over--he slowly floats the coin at Shaws head, telling him “I’m going to count to ten, and all you have to do is move.” 

But he can’t--because X is holding him--and that’s the point, Erik wants him as helpless as he was, and X can’t let his hold on Shaw go because that would mean putting Erik in danger but he’s also in Shaws head so he feels the coin go through his head as though Erik was doing it to him and the fucking cinematography in this scene is so fuaksdjf;laksjd;fjasd;lkfjadsl;asdjf;ljL:DKJFL:SDKJFL:D KFUCKKKKK

This scene is cinematic perfection don’t fucking lOOK at me unless you agree.

T-T and then, it only gets worse, because now Erik’s finally finished his original purpose--killing the man who killed his mother and ruined his life--and now he’s got a new one, aka protecting his new family aka the mutants. 

AND HE’S ONLY PROVEN RIGHT THAT HUMANS ARE A THREAT BECAUSE THEY TURN AND TRY TO KILL ALL THE MUTANTS IN THE PLANE CRASH AND JSUT--

And so he stops all the missiles flying their way, and turns them around on the humans and X has to stop him but he’s not listening and the rawest fucking line in the whole movie comes when X says

“There’s hundreds of men on those ships--innocent men. They’re just following orders!” 

And Erik simply replies, “I’ve been at the mercy of men ‘just following orders’--never again.” 

And then he goes to blow up the shipsthen one of the other characters goes to shoot Erik and he deflects the bullet wtihout thinking right. into. X’s. back. 

Paralysing him. 

And just akjd;fjasdflkjasd;lfkj this scene speaks for itself

Listen just--akjdsf;ljasdlk jguys this movie has no right being this good.

And then the movie closes off with X and Erik literally begging one another to just see it their way--because they both want so badly to be on the same side but they’re too stubborn and they refuse to see compromise and just ajkdf;lja;sdkfja;sdljkfsadlkf

Ok I realize now that I barely talked about DoFP but this is already so long. The major things I was going to bring up was teh absolutely fantastic bitter exes energy that McAvoy and Fassbender bring to that movie it’s excellent but also the fact that X is literally the only person Erik goes out of his way not to kill despite standing directly in the way of Erik’s goal. 

Like, you remember my whole deal with Raven??? yeah that’s x10 in DoFP (which takes place quickly after this movie) yeah so her and Erik are close, and shown to be close, but the second he thinks she endangers his fam he literally 180′s so quick and tries to straight up murder her. 

BUT HE FUCKING BENDS THE BULLET AROUND X’s HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! X!!!!!!!!!! WHO’S LITERALLY 100% AGAINST HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST

Ok, that’s all. By the way I don’t want to like, up your expecations too much because I actually kind of hate X-Men: First Class almost as much as I love it?? it’s very..... of it’s era, and cheesy, and dumb--but fucking magneto you guys holy SHIT

[spookilyfingergunsoutofexistence]

I’m feline fine (Sanders sides)

Sanders sides spiderverse au fic based on @sugarglider9603’s au. Hope you enjoy!

Tw: kind of sensory overload, fear of a loved one getting hurt.

It’s a thing??? Not much plot just an idea that became a lead up to a fight.

____________________

"Alright. Last thing! Remember that grammatical mistakes do not make someone a villain and you cannot punch them for it." All eyes trail to Logan, "And! If a villain is already down and they make a grammatical mistake it is not okay to punch the correct usage out of them." All eyes stare at Logan, "And finally! For god sakes Logan. If someone insults Patton you cannot punch them! You have super strength. That hurts!" Thomas finishes off his speech, all eyes staring at Logan.

"It was one time!"

Swiftly ignoring Logan's outburst, Virgil raises his hand, "What if the bad guy insults Patton?"

"Then by all means. Punch them in the face. Now are you ready kids?" Thomas grins, "Aye aye captain!" Patton cheers, a bright smile taking over his face after spending quite some time frowning and concerned for his friends and their seemingly violent natures. "I can't hear yooou-"

"We're not doing this." Virgil hastily interrupted. "You're no fuuuuuuuuun!" Thomas groaned before finally pulling down his mask. "Aw Virgil! You ruined dad's fun!" Roman complained, poking his side. Virgil yelped and jumped back sticking to the wall not as gracefully as he would have hoped. Logan stifled a laugh at his best friends antics whilst Patton giggled softly. Thomas fondly rolled his eyes, an action hidden by his rainbow weaver mask before climbing out of his attics window and onto the roof, "Alright! Patrolling time."

Soon all the kids had popped up wearing their costumes, "Can you say that again but in your story time voice?" Roman pleaded and god- Thomas was so weak for these kids. They were like his family and he knew behind that mask Roman was doing his best attempt at puppy dog eyes. He always caved for his kiddos. "Alright buddy, Patro—"

"Patrolling time!" Roman exclaimed dramatically, his body posed as such to create a movie like effect. His hands on his hips and his anime-like scarf blowing gently in the autumn wind. "Ok, elasti-hurl. We get it. Now can we go?" Roman gasped in mock offence and turned a suit covered finger towards Virgil, "That's my thing! Tho- Rainbow Weaver! Tell him! That's my thing!" Roman stomped his foot down, Virgil was certain he would be pouting if that mask wasn't covering his annoyingly perfect face. "Ok. So I have a plan. We're going to split up to patrol different parts of the city. I would go alone. Roman would be with Virgil and Logan would be with Patton. Sound good?" Virgil scoffed, "Yeah like that's not how every horror movie starts." He continues in a mocking voice, "Let's split up to find the dangerous people!" He raised an eyebrow at Thomas, daring him to say Virgil was wrong. Logan snickered in the background, purely here for the show- plus working with Patton all evening sounded satisfactory. "What's the worst that could happen? ("Oh he's done it now.") I mean really. You're all trained. You'll be fine."

"That's awfully ominous of you. Really setting us up for some bad karma here Thomas." Virgil was not backing down apparently. Sure, this was technically their first ever patrol without Thomas by their sides but really, what could go wrong? Eventually after a little (a lot of) coaxing from Thomas, they all set off to patrol. All going different directions. Thomas loved the spider-kids, don't get him wrong, but sometimes it was nice to have a bit of peace and quiet. Readying up his web slinger he walked to the back of his roof before running across the tiles, feeling the air whipping against his face as he leapt off of the roof to go do what he loves. The web latched on to a tall building and his arm grabbed the strong matter. He swung with ease towards an unknown location. Just him and the city he loved. Each swing increased in momentum. Each leap, grab and roll left a searing pain in his muscles that was both burning and yet exhilarating. A feeling he had felt so much through the years and had grown to love. Screw working out when the entire work was your jungle gym. He perched atop stark tower with a massive grin, the view never got old. The experience never got old. It filled him with a thrill he never before knew he was craving. His line of work was dangerous but it was also an escape from reality. It was freedom and power. It was like flying, or walking on the clouds- the stuff of dreams. He gently pulled up his mask and let his senses flood him. His eyes slowly shut and by doing so his mind opened. He could hear every noise in the city. Children's laughter, the clinking of glasses, the beeping of cars, the whirring of expresso machines late into the evening rush. Soon his mind was absorbed with MJ. The beautiful ginger locks flowing gently across snowy white skin. The assortment of freckles dotted far and wide- showstopping sprinkles scattered on top of the perfect cupcake. Each unique and beautiful like snowflakes. Geez, Thomas was hopelessly gay for that man. His boyfriend. His boyfriend! He could here the coffee pouring, trickling like a river stream. A soothing melody that only Thomas could really hear. Flowing and flowing until it stopped. Abruptly.

And Thomas opened his eyes, only for a second but his black and white world was in technicolour now. Bright lights blaring and that one thought in his head screaming. Something is wrong. Something is very very wrong. Suddenly, the swings weren't as graceful, the city wasn't as beautiful and the world was too bright. Too loud. His aching muscles couldn't get him to MJ fast enough and he needed to check. He needed to see that his world was fine.

It wasn't long until he was swinging to a lamppost, perched on the top watching over the coffee shop with hawk like eyes. He scanned every inch of that shop for abnormalities. Watched each customer, each member of staff. Thomas locked eyes with MJ from across the street. An unreadable expression crossing his face. Thomas knows he hadn't revealed his identity to MJ so he just didn't understand the look at all. He'd never seen MJ with such an expression. Was it shock? Fear maybe? Thomas didn't know until the door to the shop opened. Thomas could hear the familiar chime. He could hear the sharp intake of breath from MJ and the realisation hit him like a flood. That look was a plea. 'Danger' it screamed. A word Thomas was all too acquainted with. MJ was in danger. That person entering the shop was dangerous.

Now of course there was no proof of this at all. This person seemed harmless. The hood covering their face was quite strange but it was raining outside so it made sense in a way. He had no proof. No proof but MJ's intuition. Thomas trusted MJ. He was incredibly smart and had a sort of sixth sense about these things. He also always managed to get himself into tricky situations. His bombshell barista. Thomas (Or Rainbow Weaver) hopped down from the lamppost and walked into the coffee shop as casually as he could in his costume. MJ was serving the hooded customer with his normal fiery eyes and bold smile but below the protective shell Thomas could see the shaking, he could hear the slightly higher frequency. This person was definitely the thing MJ feared. Thomas stood behind them in the queue and waited. Eventually, the person slowly turned. He had the face of a man Thomas was well acquainted with. A man Thomas greeted every day in the mirror. It was himself. Of course Thomas knew this was a fake but how did MJ know? Just from a glance how could MJ tell? He stepped toward the front and whispered, "Are you ok, sir?" to MJ.

"Easy tiger. I'm feline fine, thanks babe."

Did MJ flirt with everyone?

"I can see those cogs whirring behind the mask hun. That's not you over there. He's a fantastic copy- really must of studied your mannerisms from your videos.”

“H-How did you..?”

“Same height, same size, same smell.” MJ listed off with a grin, “Plus I’ve watched the interviews. You talk to me like no one else. You talk to me like Thomas does.” MJ gives a toothy grin and pops a chocolate chip in his mouth, “Now go get that imposter, tiger.”

Thomas grins, turning to go take down Thomas Slanders but first he takes a long look at MJ.

“I love you.” Thomas whispers, smiling warmly.

“I love you too.. Rainbow Weaver.”

[justkeeptrekkin]

For a ficlet prompt: masquerade! Today, I passed some really simple understated masks next to some hella gaudy bedazzled ones and started giggling.

This concept is amazing, thank you! It made me instantly think of a flamboyant Villain Mic. I hope you like, my friend. 

Shouta stands at the club door, music thudding through his body. Inside is one of the most exclusive gathering of villains in the city. It hosts his target, a highly dangerous criminal suspected to be liaising with the League of Villains. And whilst he absolutely hates that he’s the one who’s been chosen to track him, he admits that the fact he isn’t recognisable means he’s the most apt for undercover missions.

Not that he’d be all that recognisable anyway, with the mask. A simple black one that Nemuri lent to him- he really doesn’t want to know why she has it. And now he’s here, in front of a sleazy club, and he’s wearing it. Because this villain is dangerous and as much as he hates this kind of work, he’s got to be here.

Trouble is, the bouncer won’t fucking let him in.

He figures there’s little reason arguing. Clearly their intel is wrong. He’s got the wrong password to let him through past the public dancefloor and to the backroom, where his target is located. But breaking in isn’t an option. As it is, Shouta finds himself pursing his lips in frustration, feeling the eyes of drunk club-goers in gaudy masks- and possibly a handful of villains- watching him.

He’s formulating plan- the bouncer is about to remove him, by the looks of it- when he hears a familiar, shrill voice drifting from over everyone’s heads.

“OI! SHOUTA! IS THAT YOU?”

For a moment, he bristles, refuses to turn towards the voice. Present Mic is no stranger to him. He��s worked with him plenty of times as a source of information on other villains. He gives tidbits to the police, and as a reward, he isn’t arrested for his petty crimes. Nothing more than theft, defamation of wealthy public figures that probably deserve it. But he’s enough of a nuisance.

There’s something about him that sets Shouta entirely on edge, and he doesn’t really want to consider what that thing might be.

“SHOUUTTTAAA!”

He can no longer ignore him. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath to prepare himself, and peers around the bouncer.

Mic is grinning at him and waving enthusiastically from the top step of the club entrance, the neon lights lighting up the edge of his silhouette.  For the first time that Shouta’s ever known him, he’s not wearing sunglasses. Instead, he’s wearing the most absurdly flamboyant mask of anyone in the queue- it’s gold and bedazzled and has feathers sprouting here there and everywhere. Usually, it would probably blend into the ridiculous hairstyle he likes to don. Now, it seems he’s slicked back his hair, so it falls down his back in a cascade.

“Yo yo yo, it’s been forever my dude!”He saunters down the steps, lays a hand on the shoulder of the troublingly large bouncer- who narrows his eyes at Mic warningly. Mic, of course, either doesn’t pick up on the signal or ignores it entirely. Considering how intelligent Shouta knows he is, it’s probably the latter.

“Hey man, this is a buddy of mine, my plus one if you will- did you forget the password, Shou? You can be such a scatterbrain sometimes, am I right?”  

The bouncer heaves a huge sigh before stepping aside and letting Shouta pass. Before he has a chance to move, Mic has his arm linked with Shouta’s and is dragging him into the club like an excited schoolkid. And a part of him wants to argue at being manhandled like this, but he’s also happy to allow Mic to lead him to where he needs to be.

Although, in this case, he has no idea why he’s helping him. Shouta has nothing to offer him in return.

The public area of the club is already messy, floor sticky with spilled booze and masks abandoned in boothes. When Mic opens a back door, manned by another bouncer with a rather threatening rhino quirk, the atmosphere changes entirely. The room is half-lit, no flashing lights to be seen. There’s still music- fairly loud, but it’s slow and heavy. Some people are talking. Some people are dancing. Some people are doing a little more than that, by the looks of things, but it’s dark and Shouta can’t tell. It’s not nearly as frantic as the dance-floor next door, and yet there’s also a palpable feeling of unease in the room. The feeling that every movement is being watched by every single person occupying this room.

This is a writhing, dingy lair of villains, alright.

Mic pulls tighter on his arm. “Come on, Shouta, let’s dance.”“Absolutely not. And I’ve told you not to call me that.”“Would you rather I called you by your other name? Here? Are you super sure about that?”

He has a point, forcing him to call him Eraserhead, or even Aizawa here might be a bit stupid. But there’s something about them being on first name terms that makes Shouta uncomfortable. They may have been working together for a while now, but there’s no way he’d ever call Mic Hizashi. Because that would imply-

“So. We’re not dancing?”Mic pouts. Shouta stares at him.

“I’m here for a reason. Don’t get in my way.”

Mic’s eyes widen slightly behind the mask, calculating. He’s led them to the middle of the dance floor, and bodies are pressing up against him until they’re standing close, too close. There’s some low, throbbing song playing that Shouta doesn’t know and it’s far too warm in here, he realises. And he’s being pushed even closer to Mic, who merely stands there and watches Shouta with interest. And now that he can see him properly, he’s noticed the outfit he’s wearing. A sheer, mesh black top with an absurdly low plunging neckline. A shirt like that doesn’t even have a right to exist. And tight leather trousers- because it wouldn’t be Mic if he wasn’t wearing tight leather trousers.

He notices Shouta’s wondering eyes. “You like the outfit?”“It’s totally unnecessary.”“What, scared it’ll turn you on?”Shouta rolls his eyes and doesn’t deign that with a response. He’s far too close to the truth than Shouta would like to admit.

“Who is it you’re tracking?”“I’m not telling you.”

Mic grabs him by the upper arms, and Shouta stiffens at the contact. “Oh come on, I could help you!”“Not this time.”

For a moment, Mic pauses, and Shouta knows that the clever bastard is figuring something out.

“Why are you here, Mic. What are you doing somewhere like this.”He scoffs, a hand flies to his chest. “What is that supposed to mean?”“You’re a thief, Mic. Everyone here is-”

“I’m an amazing thief.”

“I don’t care.”“Yeah you do,” he says, stepping closer. “I know you care, deep down.”Shouta doesn’t appreciate the joke.

“You still haven’t answered my question.”Those eyes behind the mask flutter, as if he’s remembering that Shouta had asked a question in the first place. Then, he groans theatrically. “You’re so boring. Fine, let’s go over there.”And so Shouta finds himself being manhandled again, towards the edge of the dark room. Mic pushes him, and when Shouta comes to a stop and turns around to question him again, he finds himself trapped against the wall. Mic isn’t touching him- but he’s leaning close, head cocked and lips curled into a smirk.

“You want to know what I’m doing here? You still haven’t told me your side. What’s a place like you doing in a guy like this?”

“And I told you, I’m not telling you.”He sticks out his tongue. “Then I’m not telling you, either.”

“That’s not how this works.”“We’re on my turf now, Shouta.” Mic moves in closer, hand against the wall at Shouta’s side. Shouta tips his head back, keeps his gaze fixed on those green eyes behind the mask.

Mic isn’t touching him. But Shouta swears he can feel him. Can imagine his hands on him.

“This relationship only works because I’m the one in charge,” Shouta says, and even as he says it, he becomes less convinced. Mic snorts- apparently he isn’t convinced either.

“Are you sure about that?”“Tell me why you’re here, Mic.”“Tell me why you’re here, Aizawa Shouta.”

He says it in a low purr. Considering how grating his voice usually is, this new tone is… surprising. It’s interesting. And Shouta can’t help but be distracted by it all; his voice, his lips, the look in his eyes.

“I can tell you’re into this too, Shouta.”“I told you to stop calling me that.”

“You can call me Hizashi, you know. I think we’re at that point now, don’t you?”“No,” he says, a little too quickly. Has he been reading his mind?

“Ooo, defensive,” he sings like a teenager.

“Mic.”

Shouta lays his hands on his shoulders. And he’s just as surprised by the action as Mic appears to be- eyes widening and lips parting.

“Mic,” he tries again. “What are you doing somewhere like this.”And this time, he seems to have debate with himself, because he hesitates. Those brows pull together and raise to his hairline.

“I can’t tell you,” he says quietly.

Shouta feels something in him sink.

“You’re in trouble, aren’t you.”

He blinks at him, looks away. And then he grimaces, rolls out of Shouta’s space and leans his back against the wall beside him. Shouta watches as he props one foot against the wall, knee jutting out, and thrusts his hands in his pockets. He turns his head away.

“It’s complicated.”The words come out of his mouth before he registers them. “I can help.”

Mic snorts, but it’s not a real laugh. He shakes his head, picks at his nails. The music continues to hum through the floor and up Shouta’s body. He hasn’t even tried looking for his target yet. What is he doing?

Before he can consider, Mic adds, “You really do care, don’t you?”

There’s a light-heartedness to Mic’s voice that sounds like a joke. But Shouta knows that’s just a facade.

He doesn’t answer him.

“How did you get sucked into this? This is bigger than you can imagine, Mic.”He sighs, gesticulates vaguely but vigorously. “It’s complicated.”

“You said. But these people are really bad, Mic.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, you think I don’t realise that?” He demands, lips pulling into an angry snarl. “And, by the way, what makes you think that heroes are exempt from being ‘really bad’? What makes you think that you can trust the shitty capitalist regime you fight for? And what about the police forces? Your fellow heroes?”

Mic glares at him, eyes frighteningly wide and shining, and Shouta realises then that Mic knows something. He must know something about the Yuuei traitor.

He opens his mouth to speak, but Mic interrupts him. Naturally.

“You know it’s never as simple as just good and bad. Not everyone in here is evil. Some people… are. And sometimes you end up mixed up in that shit. It’s never black and white.” He pauses, and Shouta waits. Watches the way his slicked back hair pours down his back. Wishes he could see his face. Neither one of them seem to register that there are other people in the room. “You know, a lot of people mistake me for a hero. Since I’m more the, steal from the rich, give to the poor, type. But that still makes me a villain in the government’s eyes, doesn’t it? And then there’s you. Everyone assuming you’re a villain, first glance.”

Shouta frowns. “Nobody even knows who I am.”

Mic tuts. “Right, but I know for a fact that the people you’ve caught and had arrested thought you were a bad guy at first. I mean come on, man. The tired, red eyes? The scars? The outfit? It screams villaine extravaganza.”

Shouta snorts, shakes his head to himself. And then he looks back at Mic. Because this is a real conversation. This is the most vulnerable he’s seen him.

This is Hizashi.

“Point is,” he continues, “I know you know this world’s not so simplistic. You and I, we’re on the same page, when it comes to heroes and villains, you know? We’re neither. We’re in between the goodies, and the… really bad guys.”

Mic turns to him. He smiles. It’s painfully unguarded, and Shouta wishes things were different.

“I can help,” he says again.

Mic’s smile wobbles, and he shakes his head decisively. Shouta finds himself laying a hand on his arm, and Mic looks at him again.

And then, out of nowhere, Mic leans in and kisses him. Gentle and filled with emotions that Shouta can’t parse right now. He pulls away too soon, rests his hand on Shouta’s cheek for a moment.

“No, you can’t.”

He pushes himself off the wall. Shouta watches Hizashi disappear into the crowd, and feels everything he knows about himself crumble and break.

[thatrhen]

Shadowbringers, thoughts...

This will likely get rather long winded, so I’ll put it under a cut. This will be all off the dome, so expect it to be a mess and potentially full of holes. (There will be spoilers, obviously)

I went into this expansion without any expectations. That’s not to say I had any expectations going into Heavensward or Stormblood, more that both of those expansions didn’t really give me what I wanted. I was expecting even less this time around, and that might have made things seem better as a result.

The story, this time around, was more enjoyable for me... aside from some glaring issues. I think I’ll touch on those first since they mar an otherwise enjoyable experience (especially in comparison to the last two expansions). Things start out simply enough, but I couldn’t help but feel like the explanations for things we were given, even in the end, were just a little too contrived and formulaic. I’m sure I’m missing some stuff, but given the way the story has gone thus far I’m feeling as though it won’t make much of a difference. The broad strokes are generally well thought out, but the small, more intricate details, tend to get muddled. 

I knew who the Exarch was from the moment I saw art of him. I knew it had to be him due to his lineage, ties to the Crystal Tower, and his face, build, and height. He might as well have just shown up as he had before. It’s like when people in movies go undercover and toss on a hat and sunglasses. The other new character, Ryne, was actually pretty great. I have no complaints about her, aside from her manner of dress. She’s like, what, 15-16 max? Also, while on the subject of Ryne; the whole time she is running about as Minfillia she’s got blonde hair and glowing blue eyes. This reads like the whole Super Saiyajin thing. Like, I don’t really need to get into that, because y’all should understand why and how that’s an issue. The other characters were either two dimensional or just plain uninteresting. I could maybe recall them if I looked at them, but otherwise I’m drawing a blank.

The Scions just felt like, well, the Scions. Despite all the time that they have spent on The First, they don’t really seem to have changed much. Yes, a few of them changed Jobs, but they are still the same uninteresting people. Sure, they have their moments where I find myself actually caring... but often times they’d do something stupid, like yeet themselves into the Lifestream for no good reason and brush it off like it was nothing. Typical fare as far as that lot goes. At least I didn’t have to deal with Lyse.

The first big issue was Eulmore. All of it. The whole thing. The whole place couldn’t possibly function in the manner in which it is presented, first and foremost. Then the whole thing where people live in squalor dreaming of a life of servitude for people who blindly follow a clearly evil tyrant. Said Tyrant is, of course, the atypical fat man child villain trope. You know, because of course he has to be fat, you know. Speaking of fat characters, we have one... But she is, for the most part, also a villain. Just because she was willfully ignorant of what was going on and apologized for it doesn’t really make up for the fact that she was, and presumably still is, benefiting from a system that runs on slavery. I’, all for having fat characters, but could they, for once, be out and out good guys? Oh, and let’s not forget the transformation, because when they reach “god hood”, they then become an aesthetically built, fit, dude. If that doesn’t have connotations, what does?

The second big issue is Emmet-Selch (Or, as I liked to call him: Felch). I’m getting really tired of villains being humanized. He has no room to ask for sympathy. He is, by design, a racist zealot bent on mass genocide. He’s literally Space Hitler, and while it’s nice to not hear people drone on and on and on about Zenos for a change... this isn’t better. It’s worse. I’m so glad we got to actually kill this piece of shit. The Ascians have been fucking with us since 1.0 and we haven’t really done jack shit in terms of retaliation until this moment. Maybe now we can finally go fight the Empire too? Like, we’ve had two goals since go; destroy the Garleans and destroy the Ascians. We’ve been doing a piss poor job of both. It’s almost like we are looking for any excuse not to do it at this point. Like, taking both of them out won’t solve all our issues. We’d still have a lot of stuff that could be done, as shown by Heavensward. Like, shit, we haven’t even been to half of the places on the Source.

There were a lot of enjoyable moments, but there were also a lot of moments where I felt like all the momentum the story had built up came to a screeching halt in favor of fetch quests or exposition that didn’t amount to much. I would have much preferred to just been fast tracked through the story, with each leg of the quests keeping me properly geared and leveled (especially leveled) so that I could enjoy the parts in which I was an active participant in a steady stream. That’s not to say that I didn’t like a lot of the story and details that were revealed over the course of 30 some odd hours of play time. But a lot of it either fell flat for me, personally, or directly contradicted things we’ve been told. Things written in the “lore books” that we have, until now, been able to tote as “word of god”. I feel like I know more and, at the same time, less than I did before. It’s like being at square one, despite all that time that’s passed. That sucks a lot of enjoyment out of it for me.

Gameplay has been a bit of mixed bag. Dark Knight feels simplified, but at the same time I now feel like I have way more to do and not enough ways to do it. It’s about how Bard was feeling for me in 4.0; just too much that can be going all at once and any moment not doing something is wasted. It’s exhilarating, but also draining. I haven’t had a chance to really play anything else, but the time I have managed to put into Ninja, Bard, White Mage, Gunbreaker and Samurai has been alright, but definitely not to the level of enjoyment I have with Dark Knight. Maybe that’ll change once I get one of the other Jobs to 80. I feel like Samurai changed the least with Bard and Ninja following just after. White Mage has, seemingly, been pretty ok but I need more time with it. 

I enjoyed all the dungeons and I especially enjoyed the Trust system. I would enjoy it even more if it didn’t go tits up at 80... While they were definitely slower than an actual party, I could be at the first boss by the time the queue actually popped. Added bonus; I didn’t have to deal with assholes.

I don’t think I’m going to bother with crafting. I spent so much money and so much time working on Gathering and Crafting throughout both 3.0 and 4.0 with little to no reward. The way in which the systems have been changed for them definitely killed whatever vestige of caring I had left in me. As long as I can repair in combat, I’m good. It’ll be nice to have extra money for once as well.

All in all, I feel like I did back in 2.0. Love and hate, but a good mix of the two. Despite all the bullshit, despite all the issues, despite it all I’m back on board.

[stammeringwhitemage]

Alright, now that the spoiler embargo has been lifted, time to post some of my thoughts. Cut for length and spoilers!

It’s been an emotional rollercoaster. There’s been a lot of punches to my feels, with Kasumi becoming a Sin Eater at level 79 absolutely breaking her as well, but there’s also been a lot of sweet, wholesome, and even funny content.

I absolutely love the writing and usage of NPCs in Shadowbringers. In past installments they felt more like questgivers because their activity was in the background, but in this one I don’t think Kasumi has ever acted alone after picking up the twins at level 70. It’s been great, really made the Scions feel like a team- and it peaked in the resolution of the final battle, from which I’m STILL reeling.

The Scions going right back to Chaotic Stupid as soon as the credits start rolling, tho. Please never change, everyone.

I was fully prepared to hate Ryne, but she’s actually one of my favourites in this. I expected to have to bail her out every time we split up when it was just the two of us, but she handled herself every time. The only thing I’ve had to save her from was Thancred’s scorn! Definitely an improvement over the old Minfilia; Kasumi now has a little sister, I do not make the rules.

Speaking of Thancred, HE SCARED THE BEJESUS OUT OF ME. I know some people are gonna be angry that his death scene was a fakeout, but I for one can only attest to the relief that followed the double-take at seeing him sitting up at the quest marker. It would have been a phenomenal death, but I’m glad they kept him around for a while longer. He was great in general- seeing him open up about and process some of the things that have been going on since ARR -hell, since well before ARR- has been wonderful.

Emet-Selch was an amazing villain. He had a point. I could see where he was coming from. He and his are literally trying to do the same thing we are- except that in order for one group to succeed, the other has to die. Personally, I feel that the Ascians have had their time, and now it is ours. But I understand him wanting to bring back everything he once had.

This makes going back to Zenos Yae Blandface and his creepy obsession with Baby Girl even more of a slap in the face, though.

Trusts were surprisingly fun! In the light of the Scions constantly being with you, it felt wrong to me to queue normally for my first run of every MSQ dungeon, and thus I did them all with Trusts. Thancred, Alisaie, and Ryne quickly became my go-to team, and they taught me basically all mechanics in the MSQ dungeons. The AI is impressively competent, if not the most effective because Thancred only pulls one group and the DPS isn’t optimised, and just being able to do these dungeons with my Scion colleagues has been great.

LILIES. OH MY GOD. LILIES. Instant-cast, high-potency, no MP, GCD heals that get replenished every 30 seconds and can be stockpiled up to three uses. And then Afflatus Misery. It is SO satisfying to cast that on a group of mobs and see a good chunk of HP disappear.

Temperance on cooldown. I have no idea if it’s as much of a lifesaver as I think it is, but the wings sprouting from Baby Girl’s back alone make me want to use it as often as possible.

10k MP is not as bad as I thought it would be. Throughout the game I’ve been forced to use my entire kit consistently -apart from Fluid Aura and Surecast- and with copious use of Assize, Lucid Dreaming, and Thin Air, it’s actually manageable. The only problem is that it’s nowhere NEAR enough to save a run that’s gone entirely to shit, which is a little painful because it always felt good to do that.

I have hit every single freaking levelwall in this expac. Damn you, writers, for keeping me so at the edge of my seat I didn’t even think to do my roulettes for EXP.

Dancer is super fun and might become my main DPS class on Kasumi.

Music’s been hit or miss. There’s definitely tracks I don’t care for, like Titania’s theme, but the tracks that were good were very good. If anyone has the vocal version of the Shadowbringers main theme, please link it to me.

Who would have thought that not just Aqua’s, but canon Thancred of all people would embrace the life of a single dad?

I’ve forgotten a LOT of things here, but the takeaway is: SHB is my favourite expansion so far. It’s been a trip, and while difficult to reconcile with my multiWoL headcanon, I look forward to writing in the timeframe with the things the story has prompted.

[swanslieutenant]

from the sea - chapter two

Summary: When Emma becomes sheriff, the pressure of running a department with a dwindling budget becomes nothing but an exercise in frustration. That is, until she finds an unlikely ally in the town treasurer, a man who her kid Henry is convinced is not an ally at all, but rather a villainous enemy. Season 1 AU, Cursed!Killian.

Rating and Warnings: Teen.

Catch up: ch1

Read on AO3

Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter! I’m glad people are enjoying this :) 

A couple of days after her meeting with Newport, Emma heads over to Granny’s for her morning coffee. She’s already received a call from a little old lady complaining that someone keeps stealing her lawn gnomes and is planning to get the coffee to-go when instead, to her great delight, Henry is at one of the little tables. He’s seated by himself, a half-eaten plate of waffles to his left and his storybook propped open to his right.

“Emma!” he exclaims, eagerly waving her over.

It only takes a fraction of a second for Emma to decide that the old woman can wait. “Hey, kid,” she says, sitting down opposite him. “You here on your own?”

He nods. “My mom had to go to work early this morning. Granny’s watching me until my bus gets here.”

Ruby swings past, pouring Emma a cup of coffee before flitting away with hardly a word to her. Granny’s diner is busy this morning, people at every table, a line forming out the door. There’s a cold chill to the air from a storm that drifted in from the Atlantic last night, wafting in every time the door opens again. It seems everyone in Storybrooke is out searching for a hot beverage to warm them up in its wake, and the line had made her hesitate about getting the coffee at all, but now, seated with Henry, she’s glad she didn’t just keep on walking.

“So, what’s the story today?” Emma asks, sipping from her mug and peering down at the book. It’s upside down to her, but it looks like a scene in a dark, stony castle. A figure, features obscured by a black cloak, is exchanging blows with two guards Emma recognizes from other tales as the Evil Queen’s Black Knights.

Henry shrugs, and flips the book shut. “Just doing some fact checking.”

Emma looks at him, torn between amusement and concern, but simply nods at his serious expression. “Okay.”

He leans closer to her over the table and says, in a low voice, “Too many people here for Operation Cobra talk. My mom’s got spies everywhere.”

Emma nods seriously, and takes another drink of her coffee. Of course, she does.

The conversation turns to Henry telling her about his day at school yesterday. She nods along, thinking carefully for the right words to respond with when its her turn to speak. She always finds it a bit challenging to know what to say to Henry, always hovering on the edge of uncomfortable unfamiliarity that comes with each interaction with him. She never thought she’d be seated across from the child she felt growing within her for nine long, lonely months, the child she gave up and never expected to see again, and now here she is ... and she never knows quite what to say.

But at the same time, that unfamiliarity and uncertainty appears to be lessening with each and every moment she spends with him, the words come easier and easier; Emma’s not sure if she feels comforted or terrified by that just yet.

He’s talking about his classes, chattering excitedly about the recent English project. It is clear Henry shines in his English classes, and Mary Margaret has even commented on his proficiency in it. Emma feels a small bubble of pride grow in her chest, hearing him talk so proudly about his recent book report that earned top marks, and she asks, “Is English your favourite subject?”

He nods eagerly. “Yeah, for sure. What was your favourite in school?”

Emma opens her mouth, but then closes it again. It had been pretty hard for her to really focus on school when she’d been younger, having been uprooted and moved between schools as she shuffled from one foster family to the other. She’d tried her hardest, striving to do as good as she possibly could, but still. It had been tough.

“I guess my favourite was science,” she says, finally. When she had stayed in once place long enough to actually get invested in her classes, she’d always loved learning anything science-related and she’d especially excelled at human biology. If things had been different, she might have even considered going into a career in that field. She’d daydreamed about being a doctor one day: treating people, helping people, saving people. “Yeah, science.”

But Henry clearly doesn’t share her fondness for the subject: he makes a face at the mere mention of the word science.

“Science is hard,” he says, and his voice rings with dejection.

Emma’s heart sinks a little at his expression. “What do you find hard about it?”

“I don’t know. It’s just … complicated.”

Emma hesitates, the feeling of unfamiliar territory once more flushing over her, but she swallows it down. “Uh – do you need any help with it?”

He glances up at her, looking taken aback. “Really?”

Emma almost backs out of her offer, but she swallows back the fear of the unknown with a quick nod and smile. Henry returns her smile and immediately pulls out a bright green binder from the backpack beside him. He flips it open, undoing the rings, and hands Emma the worksheet. The current unit appears to be basic geology, mostly on ways to differentiate between different types of rocks and minerals. Emma feels like she hasn’t looked at this stuff in a thousand years, but she just smiles positively back at Henry. “Okay, kid. Let’s go through this together, yeah? Tell me about the different types of characteristics of rocks and minerals.”

They continue on for several minutes. Henry is tentative at first with his answers, but grows more confident as they work at it; by the time Emma has moved on from the general characteristics to the specifics of each identifier, Henry is much more assured in his answers. She is quizzing him on the Mohs hardness scale when Granny bustles up to their table, looking frazzled and at her wits’ end.

“Henry, it’s almost 8:15; your bus will be here soon, but I’ve got this huge order for the sailing guys that I need to get to them before they pack up and leave –”

“I’ll walk him out,” Emma volunteers immediately. “You get back to work.”

Granny shoots her a grateful look. “Thanks, Emma. Coffee’s on the house.”  

Henry stuffs his school stuff away, while Emma rises and swipes a paper coffee cup from the edge of the counter, pouring her half-full mug into it. They head out the main doors together, and it is perfect timing too, as the old, rattling school bus is just creaking to a stop down the road as they exit.

Henry yelps and takes off running, backpack nearly flapping up and over his head.

“Oh, okay, bye!” Emma calls as he swivels around the corner of the fence. She jogs forward to watch him take the last few steps towards the bus, and adds, “Have a good day at school!”

“Thanks! Bye, Emma!”

For a single, wild moment that seems to last an eternity, watching Henry clamber aboard, waving merrily at her as he steps on, she imagines this is an ordinary day. An everyday routine. Having breakfast while she helps her son with his homework, and walking him to the bus. Such normal things that she’d never even imagined doing with that small little baby she’d given up so many years ago.

Thoughts of the ‘big things’ had crept into her mind through the years, no matter how hard she’d tried to harden her heart against it. She’d spent countless hours wondering what his first words were, when he would have started walking, what he wore to his first day at school, whether he was nervous or excited or both. But stuff like this? Something so normal? She’d never even given it a thought.

If things had been different, she’d –

She clenches her jaw and stops the thought in its track. No use wondering about that, she thinks firmly, steeling herself against the tightness in her heart as the bus pulls away from the curb, Henry waving from the window.

There’s no way to change what really happened, what her life really is.

And she has to live with that.

Emma stares after the bus until it disappears around the corner, lost in her thoughts. She’s so distracted she doesn’t even notice when someone speaks right beside her.

“Alright there, Swan?”

She jumps, swiveling around to see Wes Newport standing there. He’s dressed in a black pea coat today, the collar popped rather dramatically in a way that makes his appearance even more striking than the first time she’d met him.

“Oh,” Emma says, hoping her voice doesn’t reveal that she was getting emotional over a goddamn school bus. “I’m fine, I just – um – what are you doing here?”

He gestures to Granny’s behind them. “I was going to get a coffee and some breakfast, but the queue inside is just ridiculous. I’ll have to suffer that old machine we have at town hall instead.” His tone is light and jovial, and Emma feels a strange rush of relief that he seems to have no intention of turning the conversation back around on why she was staring longingly after a school bus.

She makes sure of it, saying, “Yeah, it’s super busy in there today. And, uh, not to put any pressure on you just yet, but speaking of town hall … have you talked to Regina yet about my budget?”

“I haven’t,” he confesses. “Friday was full of meetings, and she was already in a foul mood by the time I ran into her at the end of the afternoon. I figured I’d let her cool down over the weekend, and ask her today. I’m just heading into the office right now, actually.” He looks up to the dark, gloomy sky, and frowns. “Hopefully the rain will hold off until I get there.”

Emma raises an eyebrow; town hall is across town, at least a twenty-minute walk. “You’re walking all that way?”

He nods, and his eyes drift out across the street, towards the harbour and the waters of the ocean, turned choppy and grey by the cool weather. “I like walking along the boardwalk.” But then he frowns again. “Although, I’ve left it a little late this morning. Another reason to forgo the coffee, I suppose.”

He waves in departure, heading towards the boardwalk. Emma hesitates for a moment; the address of the little old lady and her lawn gnomes is just across from town hall, and before she can talk herself out of it, calls after him, “I could give you a ride.”

He pauses, turning back to face her, brows rising in surprise. “To town hall? Isn’t that out of your way?”

“I’ve got a call on Apple Avenue to get to, and town hall is right there.”

He looks taken aback for another moment, but then smiles. “That would be great. Thanks.”

Emma leads Newport to her little yellow Bug. Though he is perfectly polite the entire way over to her car, which is still parked a couple blocks down near the loft, and her lie detector doesn’t go off once in their entire conversation, but she can’t help her feeling of distrust and suspicion. Henry’s words of caution still niggling in the back of her mind don’t help either, nor Mary Margaret’s assertion of his nasty relationship with Mr. Gold. She may not believe he’s the living and breathing version of Captain Hook (especially with how he looks; has Henry ever even seen that Disney movie? Young and handsome and with no twirly mustache doesn’t exactly fit the bill of Captain Hook in her mind) but the allies with Regina bit? That’s an actual possibility.

She kind of feels like an idiot for offering him a ride – he is a stranger and one that works for Regina at that – but she figures that in spending a bit more time with him, even if it is only the fifteen or so minute drive, she can get to know him a little bit better and decide whether he’s just another of Regina’s pawns or not. And honestly, she tells herself firmly, she’s just being neighbourly, offering a man a ride so he doesn’t get rained on before the day has even begun. It also doesn’t hurt, she rationalizes again as they turn the final corner to her car, that this particular man is in charge of her department’s budget and endearing herself to him is probably something she should be doing anyways.

When they reach Emma’s car, Newport makes a comment about how its bright colour lights up the streets of Storybrooke, especially on a gloomy day such as this, and it sends an unexpected thrill of delight through Emma.

Okay, so maybe this won’t be too bad.

He tells her about last year’s sailing races as they drive by the harbour, where at least a dozen sailboats are berthed, thick, white sails billowing in the cold Atlantic wind as their sailors work tirelessly to reel them in safely. Emma feels a heavy pang looking at the boats, remembering a particular time when she’d watched similar races in the warm ocean in a small town just outside Tallahassee, waiting and waiting for a man who never showed up. She chances a glance at Newport, hoping he hasn’t noticed that she’s gripping the steering wheel tighter than normal, but he is completely preoccupied, gazing out at the sailboats as if he wished nothing more to be out there himself.

Emma remembers him mentioning that he’d lost his hand during a sailing accident, and feels a twinge of empathy for him. She’s never known quite what to say to someone else who has suffered a tragedy, even though she’s sure she’s one of the world’s leading experts. Talking about anyone else’s personal disasters tends to bring up her own, and those are raw wounds she’s never healed from.

Instead, she settles on a much more neutral topic, or at least attempts to. “You still sail?”

He turns back to her as they round the corner, the harbour and sailboats disappearing behind them, his eyes darker and shuttered. “No. I haven’t in many years.”

Even though she’d angled for ‘no tragedy-talk’, there is a hollow, painful wistfulness in his tone, and they descend into silence for several minutes. Her own thoughts have drifted back into the past in their silence, as she’s sure Newport has too. But, a few minutes he starts chattering again as if nothing had happened, pointing out Frediano’s Gelato, a small ice cream parlor run by a father and his daughter as Emma turns down another avenue. When Emma admits she hasn’t been there yet, he places a hand across his heart as if he is personally offended.

“They have the best spiced pear gelato I’ve ever tasted,” he says, as the car rumbles past. “You wouldn’t even think that would taste good as an ice cream, but it does. They also have one where they mix rum in with cinnamon and chocolate with a sprinkle of sea salt, and trust me, Swan, that is something you have to try. I’ve never tasted anything like it.”

“Rum,” Emma repeats, laughing. “Rum and ice cream?”

“You think it would be bad, Swan, but it isn’t. It tastes more like cinnamon and chocolate than anything, but the rum adds a little kick.”

“I’ll say,” she says, shaking her head with a chuckle. “I guess I’ll have to add the gelato shop to my rounds when I’m checking for drunk drivers.”

He laughs again. “How about you? What’s your favourite ice cream?”

“Rocky road,” Emma says automatically. “Henry’s favourite place is Any Given Sundae, right near Granny’s. Have you ever tried that place?”

He nods, and they continue exchanging favourite spots for the rest of the drive. Emma hasn’t been in Storybrooke long enough to have tried everywhere, and she’s surprisingly interested to hear about Wes’s preferred places. His favourite fish and chips place is a family owned establishment on the main street called Dave’s Fish and Chips, and he scolds her for not having gotten fish and chips yet – “You live in a seaside town, Swan!” – and he loves the Italian place simply called Tony’s Restaurant across from the Storybrooke cannery, which has Emma joking about The Lady & The Tramp. Internally, she’s rolling her eyes – leave it to Storybrooke, fairy tale capital of the world according to Henry, to have a restaurant literally named after an iconic Disney scene.

They lapse into a companionable silence for the last few minutes of the drive, and when Emma pulls to a stop in front of the bright yellow town hall and Newport gathers his briefcase from the floor, a strange sense of disappointment that the drive is over settles onto her.

“Thanks for the ride, Swan,” he says, propping the door open. “I really do appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

He turns to her before he hops out, shaking his head. “I forgot to ask – have you made that list of points for the budget that I can give Regina yet?”

She nods. “It’s at the station though.”

“That’s okay. I’ll try to see if I can convince Regina without them, but if not, I’ll swing by tomorrow morning and fetch them.”

Emma almost points out she could fax him a copy, but Newport is gone before she gets the chance. She watches as he jogs up to the doors and disappears within with another wave of departure.

After a morning filled with meetings and a late lunch date with some new property developers, Regina has been steadily at work for at least an hour and half when a knock on her door interrupts her pace.

“Come in,” she calls, not bothering to keep the irritation from her tone.

The door opens, revealing Wes Newport, briefcase in hand. He’s frowning and looks apprehensive, an unusual expression for him. He’s usually coolly confident, the glimmer of his former life still showing through, and this trepidation intrigues her.

“Wes,” she greets, beckoning him in, pushing the pages of work aside. “How are those tax forms coming along?”

“Fine,” he replies, closing the door firmly behind him, the latch loud in her wide, echoing office. “I’ll have them done by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.” He pauses, lifting his fake hand and scratching absently behind the back of his ear. “I actually came to discuss something else with you, Madam Mayor.”

Her mouth curls into a frown, not liking the tone to his voice. “By all means,” she says, and gestures to the empty seat in front of her desk. “Take a seat.”

He remains standing, bending down to set his briefcase down at his feet, and clasps his hands in front of him, his real one fiddling anxiously with the glove covering his prosthetic. He appears to be having some sort of internal struggle – a side effect of his life here – and he nearly stumbles over his words as he finally spits out, “I informed Sheriff Swan about the budget cuts, and she wasn’t happy.”

Regina’s lips thin into a grimace. Here it is. She’d known this was coming, sooner or later, as it always is these days. Sending Emma Swan out of the town limits with the woodcutter’s two brats had failed, and this subtler approach of telling her she wasn’t wanted in town had been her next gamble on getting the woman to leave Storybrooke. It had been just that – a gamble, and she’s not surprised that Emma would fight back.

“Oh?” she says, the single word slipping out in a hiss.

Newport narrows his eyes at her, and his voice is sharper as he says, “I did mention how this would create problems when you first brought up the idea, and I still stand by my thoughts. There is simply not enough money allotted to the sheriff’s department and Em-Sheriff Swan agrees with me. She’s put together some points as to why she thinks it needs restoring, and I’ll have that to you by tomorrow, but I wanted to see if there was any need for that. I still believe a respectable budget for her is of more use to the town than some of the other allocations. It’s not too late for me to make some changes without the sheriff having to come in at all.”

Regina leans back in her chair, surveying Newport, her eyes narrowed. She’d expected Emma to put up a fight, yes, but she hadn’t thought her treasurer would be on Emma’s side.

When she’d cast the curse, she’d kept Captain Hook close to her for the simple reason that he is useful. He had been the only one to succeed where all others had failed: killing her mother in Wonderland where Cora had taken up shop. And even though he was almost entirely focused on his vain search for vengeance, his soul darkened by the impossible task, it hadn’t dampened his resourcefulness - a perfect trait in an ally.

True, he had been of questionable loyalty in their old land, serving only himself and his own demented end; that had been the first thing she’d changed that when casting the curse, redirecting his devotion to the memory of his dead lover into obedience and allegiance to her. His fake memories provide him with a good enough reason for the loyalty, and sure, that irritating honourable streak she’d never even known him to have hasn’t been suffocated out entirely – he still likes to disagree with anything he finds to be ‘bad form’ – but in the end, he always bows to her requests.

But not, apparently, anymore.

Newport is waiting patiently for her to respond, watching her closely as trying to read her mind. She smiles coolly at him, and says, “And where do you think the money will come from? You yourself said at the last meeting that the budget is stretched thin.”

“It is,” he agrees, picking the briefcase up to just set it down on her desk, popping it open to rifle through the papers within, and she glares at him, which he ignores. “But it can still do with some reshuffling. I’ve already drawn up some plans for it, here –”

She snatches it from his grip, nearly ripping the page in half. It’s perfectly balanced in the way he wants it - a couple of local events, especially the bi-monthly Seaside Market, have suffered the worst cuts in order to restore a nearly full budget to the sheriff’s department. And, true enough, it is much more manageable and reasonable than what she had requested at the last meeting. More equally balanced and fair across the board.

Regina hates it.

But Regina is learning from her mistakes when it comes to Emma Swan. She has to be delicate. Cutting the department’s budget was another mistake, fueling Emma’s fire instead of quenching it. And, if Emma has already been able to manipulate Newport into fighting for her on this issue, Regina knows that pushing back against it will only cause more trouble for her with her never-ending Emma Swan Problem.

Time to cut my losses, she thinks grimly and hands the papers back to Newport. “Fine.”

His mouth drops open in shock. He begins to say an enthusiastic thank you, but she holds up a hand for silence, and he shuts his mouth instantly.

There is still something to be gained from this. First Graham and Henry, and now Newport. With apparently little to no effort, Emma Swan is able to twist the people around Regina into being hers instead. With Graham, it had escalated too far without her knowledge, and she has no intention of letting that happen this time.

Newport is her treasurer.

“It’s up to her, not you. If Ms. Swan can make a case for herself, I’ll consider it.” She glances at her watch. “Tell her to come in for three o’clock.”

Newport quickly agrees, gathering his things and departing under the space of ten seconds. Regina waits a few moments, listening to his footsteps fade before pulling out her own phone and dialing.

“There is something I want your opinion on,” she says once the line has been picked up on the other end. “Be here at ten after three and not a moment later.” And before she even receives a response, she disconnects the call.

Note: I thought I'd explain the references for Killian's cursed name too, in case some of you are wondering. I think some of you got the reference of Wes, which is after Westley from The Princess Bride. Newport is more of a niche reference; there was a real English captain named Christopher Newport who is believed to be one of the inspirations for J.M. Barrie's Captain Hook. He reportedly lost a hand in a battle and replaced it with a hook, and there's even accounts of him presenting crocodiles to the king of England at the time!

[xradiationed]

[Tag reference under the cut.]

General tags:

[Ⓧ] ||  I’M A NINJA !  || • (ooc.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  IMMA GHOOSST !  || • (anonymous.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  XRAY & VAV RESCUE HOTLINE !  || • (asks.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  I FEEL LIKE I’M THE WORST ; SO I ACT LIKE I’M THE BEST !  || • (about.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  START NEW GAME ?  || • (ooc.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  I MEAN ; YOLO RIGHT ?  || • (mentality.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  SICK BEATS !  || • (radio.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  I’VE GOT TROUBLED THOUGHTS !  || • (musings.)  

[Ⓧ] ||  INCREDIBLY HANDSOME SUPER COOL GUY !  || • (visage.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  GOTTA GET ME ONE OF THOSE !  || • (wishlist tag.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  THE HEIGHT OF FASHION !  || • (wardrobe.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  BADASS ! I’D RISK SERIOUS INJURY FOR ONE OF THOSE !  || • (likes & interests.)   

[Ⓧ] ||  AND I’M A PARKOUR MASTER !  || • (capabilities.)      

[Ⓧ] ||  OH GOD I’M GUNNA DIE A VIRGIN !  || • (desires.)  

[Ⓧ] ||  IT’S OK ; I WOULDN’T REMEMBER ME EITHER ..  || • (fears.)

[Ⓧ] ||  I PUT THE ‘’PRO’’ IN PROCRASTINATION !  || • (mun.)

[Ⓧ] ||  DOG OF WISDOM !  || • (munday.)

[Ⓧ] ||  THE COSTUME FITS JUST A LITTLE TOO TIGHT !  || • (ic.)  

[Ⓧ] ||  YOINK ! FINDERS KEEPERS !  || • (keepsake.)    

[Ⓧ] ||  SPOTLIGHT STEALING JERK !  || • (self promo.)

[Ⓧ] ||  WE’RE SUPERHEROS !  || • (promo.)

[Ⓧ] ||  SOUNDS LIKE JUST MY LUCK !  || • (dash commentary.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  HOW DARE QUEUE ; I’LL NEVER GROW UP !  || • (q.)

[Ⓧ] ||  GET A REAL JOB BOY ; DON’T BE A FOOL !  || • (char. study.)  

Character Tags

[Ⓧ] ||  PARTNER IN JUSTICE !  || • (vav.)

[Ⓧ] ||  STOCKS & BARRELS BE PLUMMETING & ALL THAT BULLSHIT !  || • (corpirate.)

[Ⓧ] ||  ROYAL DICKHEAD !  || • (mad king.)

[Ⓧ] ||  PROBABLY A SECRET AGENT !  || • (rusty.)

[Ⓧ] ||  THE REAL MVP !  || • (dwayne.)

[Ⓧ] ||  MOTHER DEAREST ; I LOVE YOU SO !  || • (mamá.)

[Ⓧ] ||  IF YOU LOVED ME ; WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME ?  || • (papá.)   

[Ⓧ] ||  KAZOO NOISES INTENSIFY !  || • (dragonface.)

Verse Tags

[Ⓧ] ||  WE COULD BE HEROES !  || • (v; main.) 

[Ⓧ] ||  YOU’RE NEVER GUNNA FIT IN MUCH KID !  || • (v; childhood.)

[Ⓧ] ||  YOUR DAYS CALLING ME ‘FREAK’ ARE NUMBERED !  || • (v; villain.)

[Ⓧ] ||  I’M DOUBLE SIDED ; I JUST CAN’T HIDE !  || • (v; gta.)

[Ⓧ] ||  LEAP BEFORE YOU THINK !  || • (v; undecided.)

Relationship Tags

[Ⓧ] ||  ODDS ARE WE’RE GUNNA BE ALRIGHT !  || • (xvav💚)

[Ⓧ] ||  VEGAS LIGHTS ; THE LIES AND & AFFECTATIONS !  || • (edgarocalypse💚)

[starry-night-author]

Prompt #12

Superhero smiled as Supervillain kissed their jaw, letting out a small hum. They were held close by the hand on their waist and the other on their cheek, and didn't have the willpower to pull away.

"Supervillain," they whispered into the dark, voice full of longing. "I have to go."

"What if I don't want you to?" Supervillain whispered back, kissing them again.

Superhero sighed. "I'm sorry, but I have to. You know I can only spend so much time away before-"

"I know, I know, they get suspicious." Supervillain kissed them one last time before drawing back. "They don't even let you in your house for an extended period of time?"

Superhero grinned sheepishly. "You know me, I was married to my work before we were together. It's normal for me to spend most of the day at the agency, and if I don't..."

"...They ask questions." Supervillain said with a sigh. "I get it." They leaned in for one last kiss against Superhero's lips. "Come back to me though, okay?"

"Of course," Superhero grinned. "As soon as I can get away."

They ran their hands down Supervillain’s sides before pulling them away, and Supervillain squirmed. “That tickles!”

Superhero grinned at them, and Supervillain quickly backtracked. “Oh no don’t you d-“

But it was too late. Superhero’s hands shot out, tickling their way down Supervillain’s sides.

Supervillain burst out laughing, squirming away from their partner. “Ack- stop- you’re evil! Stop stop stop!”

Superhero’s hands stalled on Supervillain’s hips, grinning at them. Supervillain scowled at them, catching their breath. “I hate you,” they grumbled. “You’re evil.”

Superhero touched their nose to their partner's. “You love me.”

The villain sighed, smiling. “I love you.”

Their peaceful moment was shattered by the sound of sirens just outside, and the two nearly jumped out of their skin. Red and blue lights flashed off of the walls, and Superhero and Supervillain shared a look of absolute dread.

Superhero kissed their forehead one last time. "You see if you get out the back, I'll go figure out what they want."

Supervillain nodded, and Superhero pulled away walking to the door. After taking a deep breath they opened it, squinting in the bright cop lights. "What is going on?"

A voice over a megaphone. Hero. "Superhero, step out of the house, now."

Hands raised, Superhero took a few steps forward. "What is going on? Why are you-"

A shot rang out. Loud and unexpected, Superhero flinched instinctively.

Something whizzed past them, violently disturbing the air.

There came a cry from behind them.

Something hit the floor.

Supervillain.

In their shock Superhero had no idea if they'd said the name aloud or not, their ears were still ringing from the sound of the gunshot, and they were too shaky with fear.

They moved to twist around, to check on their partner, when they were interrupted by Hero's megaphone again.

Hero was lowering a smoking gun. "Superhero, step out of the house. Now."

Shaking, Superhero turned to face them, hands raised. They took a trembling step forward, tears running down their face. Their earlier moment of loving laughter had evaporated in an instant, completely cleared up at the sound of the gun. Now Superhero was left feeling both hollow and full of fear. "Hero," they whispered. "What did you do?"

Hero grinned and lowered their megaphone as officers rushed forward to restrain Superhero, forcing them to their knees and pinning their arms behind their back.

"What's going on? I-"

Hero cut them off, shaking their head. "Oh don't play dumb. You know what you did. There are strict rules against relationships like this, and you of all people should know."

Superhero was too shocked to deny it. This had all happened so fast.

Hero took a step forward.

"Did you really think you could get away with it?"

[bemorecronch]

You Should Ask Him Out (Jared Kleinman X Gender Neutral Reader)

WARNINGS: Fluffy fluff. Swearing, Jared being awkward and weird. INCLUDING: Michael Mell from Be More Chill An anon asked for one where you worked in a nerdy store and he comes in to see you, so here it is! Every day at Hitchhiker’s Comic Books was the same. You thought it would be awesome working where you loved to shop, but all you got were parents who didn't know what they were looking for; kids who tried to steal shit; or neckbeards who thought they knew more than you. You didn't hate it, you got to read comics in your spare time and the people who you worked with were sweet. “just this.” You looked up. He was chubby with glasses and a nervous grin. In his hands was the new Saga. You smile back, “sure!” You take it from him. He looked shy and actually a little cute. You glance at the comic and notice some rips, “ah, crap. It's tore. Some kids that come in here are assholes- I'll get you a different one.” He nodded, “oh yeah, uh, OK.” You turn and step up the small ladder to reach for the spare comics. You can feel Michael; your co-worker, watching and smirking. You find what you're looking for and hand it to him, “$2.99.” You smile and he scrapes around his pocket for the money, giving it to you with a shaking hand, “here. Thanks.” He was blushing as he left the store, and you glanced over at Michael who was chuckling. “What?” You ask, he shakes his head and smiles, “he was kinda cute.” He moved closer and you rolled your eyes, “I guess.” He wriggled his eyebrows, “he was staring at your ass on that ladder.” He laughed in a sing-song voice. You smacked his shoulder, “no he wasn't!” Michael raised his hands up in surrender, “whatever. But you couldn't see him. I thought his eyes were going to bust out of his head.” You throw one of the d20’s at him and he bats it away. -- A week had past before you saw him again. He was buying a Rick and Morty issued comic. He looked up and smiled, “hi, just this one please.” He wasn't making eye contact with you and you scanned it, “it's a good one. This issue, I mean.” You comment, he nods “yeah- they're sort of getting me through the hiatus.” You smile at each other and hand him the comic. He stares at you for a second longer before someone in the queue coughed. He looked panicked, “alright, later.” He left the store and you served the next person. After the rush died down and you and Michael were alone you could here him chuckling. “You're so into that nerdy kid who comes in here.” “We work in a comic book shop Mell; you're gonna have to be more specific.” But you can feel yourself turning pink. He mimics your posture, batting his eyes, “it's a really good one. The issue, I mean.” His is voice is really high and he suddenly snaps back to himself, “that's you. That's what you sounded like.” Your eyes are wide, “no I don't!” He leans against the bench, “you should ask him out.” You scoff, maybe a little too theatrically, “I don’t even know his name.” Michael shrugged, “so ask.” - You were stocking up Pop! Figures when you see the guy walk through the door. He browsed the ones you were stocking and you look over at him, “oh, hi.” You smile. He smiles back, “these are so lame.” He commented. You glance at him, “I know. I have some at home.” You laugh. There's alarm in his eyes, “oh- no I mean- like they're cool! Whatever.” He coughed and you shook your head, “oh I'm super aware how dumb they are, don't worry.” “You were right. The Rick and Morty issue was really good.” He wasn't looking at you, but he seemed really nervous, “I know right? It's airing on Netflix in a week and I'm so ready.” God he really is cute. Nerdy and a little awkward. Your eyes drift to Michael; who's holding up a piece of paper with the words “GET SOME.” Written in sharpie. You're whole face heads up and you look away. “You ok? You look like you saw a ghost.” Jared turns behind him and Michael slams the paper on the desk before he can read it, “no! That's just my face, that's my- that's what I look like.” You babble and he cocks an eyebrow, “OK.” “So- uh, are you looking for something?” You try to change the subject and he looks away, “no I- I'm just looking.” He stumbles. You finish stocking and nod, “OK, come get me if you need me.” You go to walk back to the counter to smack Michael for the sign. “JARED!” You turn, “what?” The guy was blushing, “I said Jared. That's my name, so I… So I said it.” He stumbles out his words and you nod, “I'm (Y/N).” When he leaves without buying anything you feel yourself grinning. When Michael gives you a quizzical look you shrug, “his names Jared.” He rolled his eyes, “just know I'm not covering shifts so you can fuck in the stock room.” - The third time you saw him he buying the second issue of Saga, but you weren't serving him. You were looking for an issue of Monstress for a parent. Michael was serving him. He took one look at Jared, “you want me to go get her/him?” “What? No. Who? What?” He stammered, leaning against the counter and instantly losing his balance, trying to steady himself. Michael chuckled, “Jesus you're perfect for each other.” “What?” “Nothing.” He shakes his head and scans the comic, “but like… Is (Y/N)… Seeing anyone? Like…” “Totally single. Completely single.” Michael cut Jared off and they watch you stock up shelves, Jared glanced at him, “and you're not…” Michael shook his head, “my boyfriend might have an issue with it, so no.” Jared nodded, “not that I'm interested.” He backed away grabbing his comic, “oh sure.” Michael nodded. Jared left, blushing and smiling a little. After stocking you move back to the counter as Michael leans against the counter, “why do you look so smug?” You ask. He shrugged, “your boyfriend was asking about you.” You spin to look at him, “what? No. Who? What?” He's grinning and you have no idea why, “asking if you were single.” You browse nonchalantly through the pokèmon cards, “what did you say?” “I told him we were dating.” “WHAT?” “I'm kidding! I told him you were totally completely single.” Your eyes widen, “really dude? I sound desperate.” You place your head in your hands, “yeah well, you are. He's nice and interested. Ask him out.” You bit your lip, “yeah. Yeah. I will.” - Jared walked into the shop, greeted by Michael shouting his name to obviously let you know he was there. You slammed into the manga section in a panic and heard Michael laugh in the distance. You walk up, adjusting yourself, “hey Jared.” He smiled at you and you tried to buck up the courage. Michael took it as his queue to grab his phone and go to the back of the store. You feel your phone buzz with an alert: Text from Michael: GET SOME!!! You close your phone and look up, “I uh- and this isn't like an obligation. I don't know. I was just wondering if you wanted to go for a coffee?” You're trying so hard to sound casual, and his eyes are wide. You can feel heat rising to your face and your brain goes into over drive. He looks worried, “I uh… I can't.” He whispered, leaving and shutting the door. You want to die. You want the ground to swallow you up. You want every villain in every comic to jump off the pages and beat the shit out of you because it would be less painful. Goddamn it. Goddamn it! You put your head in your hands. Michael looked out from behind the comic stand, “shit. I… Fuck I'm so sorry. I thought…” You lean against the desk, “no it's, it's fine. I thought so too.” You looked up, “like- shit. I really… Really thought he liked me… Am I stupid?” You ask, Michael shakes his head and squeezes your arm. - Three sulky days had passed as you were over-corrected by guys in duster jackets and yellow sunglasses. Michael had cheered you up as much as he could, but you couldn't help but feel cheated. “Hi.” You look up at who had addressed you to see Jared. He doesn't have anything in his hands and he's not making eye contact. You lean back in your heels, “hi.” There's a moment of silence and you watched him take in a deep breath, “look,” he started and you held up a hand to interrupt, “it's fine. Don't- don't speak. You don't have to make it awkward. I thought there was some sort of thing between us and I was wrong. It's ok, no hard…” You were cut off when he kissed you. Leaning over the counter to get closer. His lips were a little chapped but he smelt amazing. You pulled away, “I'm so confused.” He looked down, “I am a wreck. I can't communicate and I substitute actual emotional progress for sarcasm.” He rambled off, “the only reason I can even say this is because I've been standing outside that door for 40 minutes trying to psych myself up. Nobody hot ever really looks at me… Saying no was a panic move and… And I'm sorry.” “Oh.” He looked around, “sorry for kissing you.” You smile lightly, “it's ok… So, coffee?” You ask. He's turned pink, “even after that neurotic breakdown?” You nod, “no ones perfect. Plus I can't just go around kissing customers. I think you owe me a coffee now.” You smiled and he rested on his elbows, “cool. Good. Ok. Whatever. Sure.” You lean forward, “you're being neurotic again.” “Sorry.” “I won't tell anyone. I finish at 5 if you want?” You ask, he stands up straight, “yeah. 5 sounds good.” He walked directly into a stack of comics, adjusted his glasses and walked out. After a second Michael scooted next to you, “you like a boy.” You feel like your cheeks are on fire, “shut up.” You chuckle and he nudges you, “you kissed a boy too.” You hit his shoulder, “stop.” He starts laughing, “you want to fuck the b…” “MICHAEL.” - Bonus: Michael was right, you did end up in the stock room. Michael was scarred for life.

[astroellipse]

Finally continuing with the msq, need to note some things

ended up putting many screenshots in here by the end

I... have not been quite so sure on what the Final Days actually were for a while now. It all seemed vague, but apparently it was explained in some detail and I just forgot.

“Though yet confined to the lands across the sea, a terrible phenomenon afflicts our star. They are calling it the “Final Days.”

"Once that happens, all is lost. Fear, pain, despair...every dread impulse is siphoned from our minds and given substance: an eternal fall of fiery rain; an incessant spawning of nightmarish beasts...”

“ ...Yet oh how the star had suffered. So many species lost. The land was blighted, the waters poisoned, and even the wind had ceased to blow.“

Alright I got completely sidetracked 1. because good story 2. I was sorta racing this other guy bc I’m like that but also helped him at one part so it’s all good. I’m now sitting waiting in queue for the final boss. I hope he manages to catch up with that last dungeon and queues for this in time to be in my party that would be fun.

This whole sequence still gets me so giddy, man. That last cutscene was funny because I was in my dancer outfit which. This doesn’t show much but look at his cute lil flowers.

oh damn that’s what the actual screenshots are like, the one saved by the game. slaps the title right on it huh. Anyways this was such a serious scene, the WoL challenging Emet-Selch for the fate of the world, and for hurting their friends. And Doran’s making his stand in a loose top and short shorts. I’m doing the final boss as DRG cause cannon class and I prefer it in solo fights over DNC... it at least looks a bit cooler. The light here isn’t exactly flattering but impromptu picture:

I think I’ve mentioned before how goofy his face looks at times. This is one. Catch him in the wrong lighting and he looks so so so weird. Actually this image is still bad cause it doesn’t show his claws, or his pants very well but whatever. Oh, and you can’t see his horns very well at all... I’ll have to take better pictures later.

Huh, the weather here is called “Termination”. That’s a fun detail. I’ve been sitting in this queue for 20 minutes. Just me and this other DPS so far it’s sad. I don’t wanna leave cause THE song is playing. And I wanna see if the catboy I was racing with before shows up... assuming they can. I know you can see other players in the-

oh here we go!

oh my god. we skipped an entire mechanic that was fun. and i got 2 comms :) i uhhhh didn’t actually play well like, at all? probably should have done something else to try and remember how to play DRG lol. forgot to use my dragon eye for so long. and after the phase change i didn’t use blood of the dragon in time to get off my full combo the first time. butttttt it’s fine there were plenty of others with probably capped gear to carry me.

OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD I LOVE THIS GAAAAMEEFMEKMkfb just. god. this is so good. here are some screenshots from the last cutscene.

Anyways it’s official I’d die for Doran. Love this dude who is debatably also me but not really. There’s a positive message about self love there I think. Something freeing about taking a character you project onto and making them cute as shit and putting them in stupid also debatably sexy outfits. I have not taken a picture of my taking outfit yet. I’ll have to do that soon I am quite proud of it it’s funny.

oh fuck it brought me straight to the ocular hell yeah. picture time.

he is also wearing claws in this outfit, this time in red to go with the horns. also realized you can see his DRG outfit pretty much in full in the previous screenshots so no need for that. oh my god. I swung my camera around and all the scions are just standing there... but Urianger is the nearest and his head is snapped to Doran lmao.. just.

Very cute. Very unfitting for that one cutscene. Nice to have him mistaken for a girl. I’m glad that my level 80 relic weapon goes well with my outfit. The same cannot be said for some others. Why are SMN and DRG’s weapons so ugly? It’s unfair. AST’s is really pretty and I’m using it now.

Oh and here’s another one to show ANOTHER effect of funny lighting.

Look at his eyes. They look ghastly it’s so funny. This happens in the Adder’s Nest whenever I stand at the desk to do stuff. anyways more msq

I’m glad this is the last time I have to hear Varis speak. Oh my god I love Zenos he makes no goddamn sense. His dedication to the WoL is adorable.

I’m glad I managed to get all the role quests done before I finished the ShB msq but. Jesus fucking christ is this the same paladin lady from all those flashbacks??? The one that did that devious smirk in the healer role quest???? Has she been here this ENTIRE TIME?????????????? Hm. she wants. To speak in private. uhhhhh...... UH. THE TRUE VILLAIN OF THEIR STORY??? MEET HER ALONE ON THE ROOF??????? REPAY ME?????????????? Wait is she... confessing? To something? And wants me to kill her? She orchestrated this. From the very beginning before the WoL was really known? Huh? Oh and now we’re putting the timeline together. I played them super out of order I think but I have a rough idea. Alright I know that Cyella here is Cylva. But. She sounded repentant in the beginning, and... is smirking every time she talks about how everything went according to plan. What, is she just explaining all this before she kills me or finishes whatever she started or... I don’t even know. The... transformation... was intentional... what the fuck is the timeline here I’m lost. Like,t he world was meant to end with the flood why and how was she planning shit for after that.

Hydaelyn... made each party member a Warrior of Light in turn, only after they had made a suitably heroic sacrifice. What of our WoL, then? They received their first crystal after- actually no this line of thinking is stupid. The WoL was obviously chosen for a very specific reason. That’s why they were able to collect more than one crystal of light. Probably them being Azem, and... whatever they did during the time of the Final Days.

Oh is she *the* Shadowkeeper? Huh. She’s kinda cute tho? Why do I like elezen so much I’m fucking cursed. uh. sword? flashback? HUH? Alright she is it. But she really did like them?

OH. And Ardbert didn’t sacrifice anything either. But he’s also Azem!

From a world shrouded in dark... she’s from the VOID?????????????? WHAT.

Oh she was just inducing a flashback okay.

Oh she’s a WoL from the Thirteenth. A friend of Unukalhai?? Oh she was tricked too. Ardbert spared her, thus averting Calamity at that moment. Then he went after the Ascians and caused it anyways. Oh okay the transformation to sin eaters was not the goal, I think her words were purposefully meant to lead you astray. Oh. Ew. Vauthry did that to them. Fuck that guy.

Okay. She does want me to kill her. Honestly I think the WoL should kill her, not really as retribution but just to grant her rest. Atonement, instead. “You would have been good friends, you and Ardbert” fuck you game he sacrificed himself for me just a couple of hours ago.

Aw sick I got the cool title. “Living Memory”. And now I have to get to Reflections in Crystal to do the next one.

hghhggh. FUCK. HE BLINKED. I tried taking a screenshot of Urianger and Doran in the buggy ont he way to the empty but in the first one he’s stillt alking and the second blinking. goddammit. Anyways I will not lie to you I don’t care for the Eden raid questline. Lets me see Urianger more but that’s it. I don’t care about Gaia. Like Ryne and Gaia are cute but the WoL is at any given point a 3rd wheel to either Urianger/Thancred of Ryne/Gaia and it’s annoying. Time to skip some cutscenes babeyyyyyyy. also. there’s something wrong with me look at them.

he’s so goddamn tall... why is he nearly my platonic ideal of a character this is ridiculous.

it’s been hours since I last typed anything here it’s time to sleeeep

[starry-night-author]

June of Doom Day #30

"Are you scared yet?" | Failed Escape |

June of Doom Prompt List

"Oh Suuuupervillaaaiiin..."

Supervillain covered their mouth as they gasped from their hiding place, listening to the sound of Superhero's footsteps.

"Come on out, Supervillain!" The click of their heels on the wooden floor, the sound of a tarp being ripped away as the hero searched. "I only want to talk!"

Hand still over their mouth, Supervillain slowly lifted themself to their feet, crouching and peering around the crate they were hiding behind. They'd come to confront the new superhero at the docks, but things had quickly taken a turn.

This new Superhero wasn't like the others.

Their foot scraped against the ground as they shifted, and Supervillain froze, praying Superhero hadn't heard.

A laugh, low and echoing. One that sent shivers up Supervillain's spine. "I heeeeeaaar yooooou, little mouse..."

It was most definitely time to leave.

Risking one last glance around the crate, they saw Superhero approaching their hiding place, their gleaming eyes trained on a spot to Supervillain's right. They hadn't seen them yet.

Quiet as a cautious, hunted animal Supervillain stole to another set of crates, taking a moment to lean back against it and catch their breath.

A frustrated growl as Superhero failed to find them once more, the sound of a crate being kicked out of anger. "Come out come out wherever you are, Supervillain."

They growled Supervillain's name in a way that put the villain even further on edge, knowing they were absolutely dead if they were caught. They crept to another crate, their feet light as feathers on the wooden boards.

Beneath them they heard the swirling and sucking of the water below the docks, the splashing of the waves against the posts.

It was a risky way out, but it was the only one that might work.

They slowly backed away from the crates, ultimately losing their cover if Superhero were to spot them. They glanced back as they neared the edge, and didn't stop until their back hit the railing.

Supervillain could still hear the hero on the other side of the wall of crates, their footsteps and taunting coos carried by the night air. "Liiittle moooouse...You sure are being naughty today, you won't come and talk to me?"

The easiest way into the water would be to jump, but that risked Superhero hearing the splash. So instead they slowly crouched down until their knees were against their chest, then extended one leg out over the empty blackness.

Supervillain was a strong swimmer, but they'd never attempted anything like this before. They couldn't help their additional stab of fear as they slowly lowered themself into the frigid black water. Taking a deep breath to mask the shock of the cold, they let go of the dock and slid beneath the waves without a sound.

They emerged quickly, taking a large but quiet breath before kicking themself forward, their clothes, now heavy with water, weighing them down. They ducked beneath the wooden dock, holding tightly to one of its supporting beams.

Success. Now they could either find their way out of here, or simply wait until Superhero left.

They froze as there came several thuds from above, looking up they could just make out the shadow of Superhero's feet through the boards.

Their voice from above. "Where'd you go, little mouse? Leaving without a goodbye? That really is naughty."

Supervillain squeezed their eyes shut, taking another deep breath. Praying with everything they had that Superhero would leave.

Opening their eyes once more, shivering with cold, Supervillain let out a breath as they heard Superhero's footsteps retreat, moving further down the dock. Their shadow moved too, making its way over Supervillain's head and towards the next row of crates.

Supervillain took a deep breath. They had to get out of here, they wouldn't last long in the cold water.

A sudden thud, a creak, a head appearing over the edge of the dock. Supervillain couldn't help their scream, glancing up in terror at Superhero's upside down face.

Their eyes flashed wildly in the darkness, their mouth grinned malignly to show sharp teeth.

"There you are little mouse! Are you scared yet?"