#phoenix likes explosives

[science-lings]

Dialogue from TGAA that tickles my brain in the context of my Actual Phoenix!Naruhodo's AU

Not-very-local man is totally normal about fire:

It's just stated too many times to be normal, I don't have a screenshot but I remember Susato warning Ryunosuke against getting too close to the fireplace so he doesn't set himself on fire and I like to think she said that bc he does hang out way too close to the flames with Wagahai, let the little guys get warm...

Discussions of the reoccurring mentions of humanity and bird symbolism under the cut

'Only Human' but is he? (and other discussions about mortality)

This would just be so funny for Kazuma to think if Ryunosuke wasn't quite human

Ryunosuke is less skeptical when it comes to things like ghosts and curses, so I could see him believing in the reaper's curse in the context that Barok has something otherworldly going on bc Ryunosuke knows exactly what it's like to have something going on, maybe he was looking for some form of comradery but unfortunately, he didn't get it. Turns out it's just a myth he uses to batman his way through London. Use other's fear of him against them and all that.

Even if each discussion of humanity isn't targeted at Ryunosuke specifically, he's still included in the 'like everyone else' and I find that funny with the Phoenix AU in mind. It keeps being brought up and he has to be like 'haha... yeah... i get that...' while he's sitting on the knowledge that he isn't human, he isn't normal, no matter how much he's trying to be 'just some guy' he's fated to be drawn towards situations where he's actually so important. Every time the phrase 'we're only human' comes up he's reminded that that's exactly what he isn't but no one else can know.

bird guy talks about bird without being suspicious

Also on what Ryunosuke could've meant by this I found some info on the symbolism of sparrows:

In Japanese culture, sparrows hold special symbolism. They are seen as messengers of joy and happiness, bringing good fortune to those who encounter them. Sparrows also represent resilience and adaptability, as they can thrive in different environments and overcome challenges. In Japan, sparrows are often associated with the arrival of spring, symbolizing new beginnings and hope for the future. Their cheerful presence is believed to bring harmony into people’s lives and foster a sense of community.

and I interpret that into Ryunosuke seeing Kazuma as this resilient idealistic figure and as the hope to make a difference (his goal to make japans legal system better), but also he is the person that brings Ryunosuke the most joy.

also...

spotting a sparrow on your windowsill was considered the presence of a deceased loved one watching over you.

Which tracks as Ryunosuke copes by believing that Kazuma resides within Karuma and is 'with' him throughout his whole journey. He takes comfort in the idea that some part of Kazuma is watching over him and regularly addresses him as such.

anyway bird tangent over, He's also got the thing when you realize that it's a miracle that he is even alive (ie. swallowing all his pills at once, making an enemy of the british government, like they really just let him reveal government secrets and only put him in a time-out, like those were Stronghart's secrets and he was still like 'I guess you can just go to detention idc')

this was actually mostly just for me to compilate relevant screenshots, but if anyone else finds this interesting that's pretty cool too ig.

[heres-to-all-that-is-mine]

It was love at first sight… you never really forget your first :)

[quillirio]

This is @cl0ckworkpuppet’s character Tamaki (he/it) (pony name pending). These doodles came into being while were talking on vc about how it would illegally obtain a phoenix and keep it as a pet.

[blazevillains]

the aa series ONLY consists of punchingbag characters 😭

[littlestpersimmon]

Guy with cataracts and scarred from an explosion has a fail toymaking shop in front of a rundown temple and he has a crush on a disfigured lowly priestess whom he suspects is a stealth trans guy because she always picks the boy option when they play board games (he’s right btw)

He's from Kalantiaw, but his mom is diaspora, and I thought her to be half "Japanese" (coded) - still trying to figure out how japanese ethnicities come to play.

She was a sailor turned pirate. She didn't know the language spoken in Kalantiaw (more akin to Khmer), and she spoke a different language (more austronesian), and she named him Kahilingan, which means "wish". But in Kalantiaw, where she settled, his name means "curse" or "bad omen" 💀 it doesn't help that her life ended with the beginning of his. So.

Kahi spends much of his life chasing the image of his mom and trying to.... live up to her- because sailing is the most esteemed occupation in their world. Only very very very very very few people have managed to work on "dragonships".

Basically, their world is physically broken (like living on an asteroid belt) and they sail to and fro each sundering / country on specialized stone ships called "dragonships" / "bakunawa"- and the ships themselves are semi-alive? They're like.. Stone ships laminated with the spirits of devas and dragons and other great beings who have all died because of (redacted).

Anyway, his mom, Maaya, was a renowned sailor- she tamed a dragonship that was imbued with an infamously wild dragon called Duksa- Dragonships are Sponsored, but those who sponsor the ships are almost never in command, and they also easily lose ownership to their hired captains- because the ships themselves are sentient, and they never obey anyone who they deem are incapable of commanding them. Only Maaya could control Duksa hehe. So she became known throughout all their world as this wild woman who loved fast boats and only accepted voyage commissions "if they are very fun". Anyways blah blah blah she fell in love w Kahi's other parent (who is nonbinary) and she got pregnet with him. And they eventually settled in Kalantiaw, in it's countryside near the subterranean capital (Kamharik).

Kahi always annoyed his other parent abt his mom because he too wanted to meet Duksa, but his parent kept warning him not to go near the ship because after Maaya died, it went even more mad with grief. Kahi more of an engineer than a captain like his mom, but his goal was simply to acquaintance with Duksa rather than actually captain her. But Duksa did not accept anyone, not even anyone who was part of Maaya's original crew.. Kahi went to an apprenticeship on shipbuilding-

he became somewhat popular for being clever with his hands, and all around Kalantiaw, everyone thought of him as reliable and very creative when it came to problem solving. So he went from normal ships to fixing dragonships.. ..

The Greatest dragonships are ones that are imbued with the spirits of actual ancient dragons and qilin, bc some are imbued with "lesser" dragons or false dragons, and some are with non-dragon albeit great spirits- like minor gods, wind spirits, phoenix,naga, etc etc..

Duksa was a true and great dragon, and Kahi knew that she was suffering from severe neglect, so all he wanted was to patch her up-

Everyone, every single one of Kahi's peers discouraged him, bc it is known that anyone who even approaches her is immediately kilIed by her; but Kahi, he is different. When he approaches Duksa, she was a shadow of herself, a ghost ship- She senses Maaya, and she even thought that Kahi was her at first- so she lets Kahi patch her big crabclaw sails, fixed her boilers and really tried to replicate how she used to look when Maaya lived.. and Duksa didn't know it wasn't her, because her eyes were covered in barnacles.. The "eyes" of a dragonship is its lodestar, and Kahi was purposefully saving it for last because he is frightened of what Duksa could do to him;;

But before that, Duksa spoke to him, joked like "ah beauty, what happened to you?! Your voice sounds like you swallowed a frog.. are you ill? Why did you abandon me?" Fhjsjs

"Why are your hands so gentle now? I want you to be rough!! Stop this at once! I am not old!"

But when Kahi started scraping finally at the lodestar, and he opened Duksa's eyes to the world once more, she cried in great anger because who tf was this intruder! And why did he carry Maaya's spirit with him !!!

Her entire deck creaked so hard the floorboards broke again, and she swayed her whole body so Kahi nearly fell from the lodestar;; he tried to reason with her, and it sort of mirrors how his mom tamed Duksa. She barrelled in head on and confidently, but Kahi was meek and gentle.

Eitherway.. an angry dragonship is like highly radioactive, its like being in a storm in a contained environment, and she started puffing steam- it's like microdosing being in fukushima; And she called Kahi a fool, he'll never measure up to Maaya, he will never be her- aaaah, but she didn't kiIl him. Maybe because she knew he was Maaya's boy. She warned him never to return, and tossed him into the open shallows. So, he was absolutely brokenhearted. He was 19.

~intense lonely lovestory between him and a closeted trans guy raised by mean transphobic priestesses in a cult the antithesis of a loving and wise lesbian death goddess occurs.~

There she is.. her name is Viharana Magayarin

Names-

Maaya's name is spelled a certain way in kanji, I want it to mean "True"

Duksa's name is Tagalog, it means "grief"

Kahilingan's name is tagalog- and it means "wish". Inspired from.. in tagalog, "curse" is a contronym of sorts- "curse" and "promise" is the same word ("sumpa")

Kahi's trans boyfriend's name is Tala, and it means "star" 😌

[ghost-bxrd]

Saw the Phoenix!Jason possibility mentioned... Thought of a more hilarious/traumatizing version.

Phoenix Tim. Dick's Baby Bird.

As in, if he dies, he'll just come back to life in a few minutes, all former injuries healed.

Tim being Tim, he's gonna use the resurrection ability to skip having to stay in bed and recuperate, giving the Batfam multiple panic attacks.

They are still trying to talk him out of it when Hood turns up...

The Titans Tower attack happens.

As in canon, Tim loses the initial round and flee to another room, injured.

Well. His hand is broken, he can't fight a crime lord with a broken arm. Plus, come on, that's gonna be a major hazzle, Dick and Bruce will fuzz over him for a month!

He knows how to fix this, right?

Jason, following him in dramatic slow motion, is just in time to see Tim shoot/stab himself dead.

The revival takes a few minutes... And Jason has absolutely no idea about the Phoenix Part.

Fun times : )

G A S P

Counter offer, they’re both phoenixes but none of them knew that about Jason because he was always terrified of dying! (No clue how the Ethiopia part works but hear me out on further angst first!)

and when he comes back to confront Tim he obviously doesn’t know just how good he was replaced.

And then Tim stabs himself and Jason just blanks, all his rage forgotten because he just wanted to beat the kid up a little. He never wanted him to die.

So we have Jason frantically trying to staunch the blood flow, trying and failing to shift enough to grab even a single feather that might save the kid (*gestures because phoenix magic*), asking Tim again and again “Why would you do that!?” without waiting for an answer because the kid is bleeding out.

And Tim is just so confused because… isn’t this what Hood wanted? Why is he panicking? And also, shit, he should have stabbed somewhere else because this hurts like a bitch.

And then Jason can’t breathe because he thinks he’s the cause a teenager felt scared enough to commit suicide rather than face him, and he can’t get the bleeding to stop, and being a phoenix is useless if he can’t even shift to save him. But- but he can give the kid some comfort in his last moments. He can do that much.

And Tim totally thinks his brain is going bye-bye when Hood takes off the helmet and it’s Jason Todd cradling and crying over him, apologizing over and over and— oh no, ohhhh no, Tim screwed up big time. This is bad. He needs to let Jason know it will be okay. That Tim will be okay. That it was a mistake!

But Jason isn’t listening and Tim is doomed to die for a couple minutes and good gods does he hope Jason will stick around until he wakes back up because if Tim gets this one chance to give the Batfam their happy ending only to have it slip through his fingers because he chose to ignore Batman’s “Do NOT kill yourself over every minor inconvenience!”, he’s going to… he doesn’t even know.

Please, gods, please let Jason stick around…

(Honestly this works even without Jason being a phoenix but look I’m attached to the image of Jason deliberately walking into explosions after the whole Ethiopia thing and making everyone have several hundred flashbacks)

[hisui-dreamer]

where the light is dim

Pairing: Malleus Draconia x gn!reader

Synopsis: everyone's wandered off in the festival, and you can't even find a familiar face

Tags: poetic themes, fluff, diasomnia shenanigans

Word count: 436

Notes: happy chinese new year everyone🧧🏮🎆!! this was heavily inspired by a chinese poem that takes place on new years (which i attempted a translation of below hehe), and plus it's the year of the dragon, so now we have mal mal festival time (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

Masterlist

The east wind blows breezes a thousand blossoming trees,

The stars, like rain, descend like a gentle breeze.

Bejewelled carriages and fine horses leave a fragrant trail on the road,

Phoenix flutes resound in the wind, the jade lantern’s light flows,

All night, the fish and dragon lanterns dance.

Maidens adorned with gold, extravagant pins in their hair,

Smiling shyly, fragrance lingering in the air.

In the crowd, searching countless times,

Suddenly, turning my head,

There stands the one, where the light is dim.

―青玉案・元夕 辛棄疾

The street pulses with energy, vibrant and bustling beneath a canopy of scarlet lanterns that sway gently in the evening breeze. Each lantern, adorned with intricate designs and tassels, casts a warm, inviting glow that bathes the cobblestone pavement below in a rich crimson hue.

The air is alive with the hum of chatter and laughter, as locals and visitors alike meander through the thoroughfare, their footsteps echoing against the ancient brick walls that line the street. Vendors peddle their wares from colourful stalls, their voices competing with the lively strains of traditional music that drift from nearby taverns and teahouses.

'Where is he?' you thought to yourself, tired from the heavy ornaments painstakingly styled into your hair as you turned and turned your head to catch even a glimpse of him amidst the bustling crowd.

Malleus had invited you to a short trip to the Far East, prompted by Silver's longing to explore the lands of his childhood hero, and swiftly organized by Lilia's enthusiastic urging. You're not sure whether Lilia was aware of it or not, your travels happened to coincide with a grand local festival.

The street offers a multitude of intrigue, from mouth-watering scents from the food skewers to the delicate souvenirs hand-crafted by merchants, and it's not long before you find yourselves gradually becoming separated from the group amidst the bustling crowd. The allure of the vibrant surroundings pulls each person in a different direction, until eventually, you can no longer spot any familiar faces amidst the sea of glamorous outfits adorning the local ladies.

A whirring noise catches your attention, and you turn to the direction of the sound. Your gaze is met with the spectacle of fireworks illuminating the night sky, their explosions of brilliance painting the heavens with vibrant hues, scattering glittering sparks like diamonds. Brilliant reds, dazzling blues, and alluring golds intertwine and collide, creating a breathtaking tapestry of colour that captivates all who gaze upon it.

It's a view you want to share with him.

You weave through the crowd once again, deftly sidestepping opulent carriages and elegant ladies. Their alluring perfume mingles with the joyous melodies of the flutes, enveloping you in a whirlwind of sensation that leaves you momentarily dizzy.

A glance down a narrow alley catches your attention, and in the distance, a lone lantern flickers. Squinting to sharpen your focus, you realise you've found the very person you're looking for.

Malleus, tucked away in the shadowy corner, his focus fixed solely upon a weathered lion stone statue.

You can't help the exasperated smile that graces your lips.

Maybe you should've expected that.

Masterlist

if you liked this post, don't forget to reblog!

[stevieschrodinger]

Dustin’s crying so loud, Steve can barely hear when Eddie speaks, “trust me, Stevie?”

Eddie’s never called him that before. Eddie coughs again, bloody, and it spatters his lips and stains in between his teeth, mutely, Steve nods.

Eddie grabs Steve by the collar of his own denim jacket, pulling himself up and Steve down. He’s surprisingly strong considering Steve is absolutely certain that Eddie’s about to die. That’s what makes Steve close his eyes and open his mouth; lets Eddie have whatever he wants. Invites it when Eddie invades with a wet and bloody tongue. It’s a battle of a kiss, and Steve soaks it up.

Eddie disappears from under Steve’s hands, and he almost falls forward, Eddie disintegrating into a cloud of fiery ash. It settles, and in the middle, there’s an egg.

It’s shocking enough that Dustin stops crying, “what the fuuuuuck?” Dustin reaches for the egg, pulls his hand back, hissing, sucking his fingers.

Steve reaches for it next, “it’s too hot,” Dustin tries to warn him...but it isn’t. It’s pleasantly warm in Steve’s hand and he lifts it comfortably.

They take it with them.

They have absolutely no fucking explanation for what the hell just happened. Steve, instinctively, refuses to put the egg down anywhere. He sits, staring at it, cataloguing the slightly speckled pattern, watching how it catches the light as he turns it in his palms, pale and diffuse in the lamplight of the lounge.

He doesn’t really like other people touching it, but allows Robin to brush it with her fingertips; she draws them back sharply, hissing, blisters already forming. He carries it with him, even going so far as to showering one handed so he can hold it. He curls around it that night in bed and isn’t even worried that he might accidentally break it; he knows he won’t.

They have a day to recuperate, the party all together again, and safe; Vecna is defeated.

Eddie has one living relative that everyone knows about; Wayne Munson. It’s the only possible place they may get some answers; the trailer is just...gone. They contact Hopper, who contacts Owens, and an hour later he calls Steve back. The trailer was impounded by Owens team to study the damage and now closed gate inside; Wayne Munson is in a Motel.

Everyone piles into the beemer.

Wayne looks sallow when he opens the door, distraught, but in a kind of worn in way. Like he’s already accepted it. No one speaks, they just watch as Steve produces the egg, cupped carefully in his hands. Wayne’s face crumples, his eyes well up, and he pulls Steve into a hug, “thank you. I thought I’d lost him, thank you.”

“Okay,” Steve replies, “but we have no idea what’s going on.”

Wayne shoos them into the room. There’s two doubles, Dustin, Robin, Nancy and Jonathan climb onto the still made bed; not the one that’s clearly been slept in. Wayne sits at the foot of his bed, Steve remains standing, carefully cradling the egg.

“He never told you what he is?”

Everyone on the bed is staring at Wayne wide eyed, Steve almost laughs at them, but he’s too busy shaking his head at Wayne.

Wayne nods, scratching his head, “so how long have you and my Eddie been seeing each other?”

Everyone on the bed turns to look at Steve instead, eyes, if anything, even wider, “we...aren’t. That’s not. We’re not…” The egg pulses hotly in Steve’s hands; for a brief moment, it’s unpleasant.

“You must be something, or you wouldn’t be able to touch his egg. Bound in blood?”

“There was blood, he was coughing up blood...when he was dying and he…”

“They kissed,” Dustin interjects, super unhelpful, “right before Eddie…” Dustin makes the form of an explosion with his hands, “you know, went poof.”

Wayne nods, “it’s enough, this time, for Eddie to come back. But if you don’t complete the bond, he won’t last long. Eddie must love you a hell of a lot.”

“Love me?” Steve asks weakly.

“Yeah,” Wayne says, “phoenix’s mate for life, and they won’t come back for anything less.”

There’s a long, drawn out silence, before Steve, finally offers a weak, “we hardly even know each other.”

“Eddie knows. A phoenix always knows. And you have to complete the bond, or he won’t be able to stay.”

“What?” Dustin asks, panicked, “what do you mean, stay?”

Wayne shrugs, “a phoenix, rejected by their mate, will burn up from the inside. He’ll wither and die unless Steve...reciprocates.”

Steve, weak limbed, just gives up and sits on the floor.

“What about you, Mr. Munson, are you a phoenix?” Dustin’s going to start in with fifty million questions. Steve’s kind of glad, gives him a moment to sit here and...stroke Eddie’s egg.

“Nah, I’m his dad’s brother. Him mom was the phoenix; that’s how she died. My brother wasn’t the best of guys and when he fucked it up...she died. Didn’t take long. Eddie’s a half breed, they can see it on sight, so the other phoenix, they rejected him. He’s been with me ever since. Not human enough to fit in here, not...good enough for them.”

Dustin looks affronted on Eddie’s behalf, “that’s not fair, Eddie’s a great guy. They’re...prejudiced, Eddie’s better off without them, anyway.”

Wayne hums agreeable, “they put a lot of stock in their feathers, what they look like. His mom knew at birth he’d never be accepted, but we had to try after she died. I’d hoped that they would take pity on him but...no. They said his colors were an ill omen.”

“What’s wrong with his colors? What colors? Eddie doesn’t even have feathers.”

“He will when he hatches, and they’ll be black as night.”

Steve figures it’s been around seventy nine ish hours when the first crack appears in the shell. He has no idea if there’s a significance to the amount of time, but he doesn’t interfere. He just turns the volume of the television down low and sits and watches, fascinated, as the crack widens and little, damp, black chick gets itself free. The inside of the shell shines like dark mother of pearl; like an oil slick.

Steve already knows he will hide the egg away and treasure it forever. He had sworn again and again to Dustin that the second Eddie showed signs of hatching, Steve would call him. He couldn’t though. He just couldn’t. Something in him screamed loudly that it would be wrong. It would be so wrong for someone else to be here.

He decides to let them have one night together, just him and the tiny, feather light ball of blackness sitting on his thighs. He’ll call Dustin in the morning.

Steve tries to put Eddie down to go to the bathroom before bed; Eddie chirps miserably the whole time. He walks around on top of the comforter once Steve is in bed, and Steve watches in the lamplight as the tiny chick negotiates the mountains and valleys of Steve's bedding. He falls asleep finally, bored of exploring, nestled against the side of Steve’s neck.

“You said you’d call!”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry, it’s just it was late and-”

“He’s so big!”

“Yeah,” Steve replies. Nothing else to say really. Eddie seemed to have quadrupled in size overnight. He’s now the size of a chicken, covered in long, sleek black feathers. He has a long neck for his size, and his tail feathers sweep along the ground as he follows at Steve’s heels.

“Are you going to go and see Wayne?”

Eddie tilts his head at the sound of his uncles name, watching from his perch on the kitchen counter. Steve had tried him with a bowl of dry cereal, but Eddie had merely pecked at it a couple of times before ignoring it. Steve had added milk and eaten it himself.

“Nah,” Steve replies absently. The thought of leaving the house is...well. Steve doesn’t like it.

The next day, Eddie is the size of a very large turkey and his head, thanks to the long neck, can almost stretch to the height of Steve’s shoulder. When Steve sits on the couch, Eddie flaps up to sit on Steve’s lap, long neck winding around Steve’s, his head looping around to rest on Steve’s chest. His eyes are warm brown, just like Eddie’s human eyes, and Steve isn’t even a little worried about the huge talons or wickedly sharp beak.

On the seventh day, Steve wakes to find a man in his bed with him. He sighs with relief, pulling Eddie closer and whispering, “hello sweetheart,” into his fluffy hair.

Steve assumed they had time, he had hoped they could get to know each other; that Steve could do this properly, but by lunch Eddie is looking tired and has gray hairs at his temples so Steve simply says, “I love you, too,” over coffee and toast and hopes that it’s enough.

[rendevok]

how do you feel about bratfeen??

I like them!

Though there aren’t any canon interactions (that i know of..?) to go off of, I imagine they’ve got a volatile dynamic, which i find fun and full of potential. Taking a moment to Recall Them As They Are:

Edgeworth is probably at the top of his cunt game. This man is fresh off 10+ years of Von Karma’s teachings and certain he’s hot shit. Also he’s fucking 20. So. Repressed, stuffed full of twisted dogmas, sporting a fucked up ego, and equipped with an unhealthy conviction and ability to send wrongdoers directly into the fires of hell. He is an Experience and most probably not a good one, but one you will never forget.

>Enter Player 2: Phoenix f*cking Wright, also a bitch, but WORSE- he is a bitch BABY. No, he’s not a child or a sweet little baby boy. His emotions are still on full display while also being just about the most stubborn fucker you could ever meet. If Dahlia- DAHLIA -couldn’t gasboss gatelight girlkeep a goddamn necklace off his neck, then there is no hope for the rest of us. He saw a picture of Edgeworth at his Peak Cuntliness and a headline accurately describing said cuntitude and more or less said “I can fix him anyway”.

So basically to me they have the delightful dynamic of immovable object vs unstoppable force. I want to see them clash and cause comical chemistry lab explosions that singe their eyebrows and come out of it furiously making out.

[ohtobeleah]

Sixth Sense // Mickey Garcia

Summary: A freak accident occurs at the Hard Deck and Fanboy is faced with the challenge of being left to care for you, his not so official girlfriend.

Warnings: Mickey Garcia x F!reader. Hurt/Comfort. Gas explosion resulting in hearing and vision loss.

Word Count: 1.7k

Author Note: Day Three of Whumptober. Prompt I chose: Sensory Deprivation. Thank you to @ailesswhumptober for the prompt list.

Whumptober Masterlist | Main Masterlist

“Holy shit, what the hell was that?” It all happened so fast, so fast in fact that the explosion that ricocheted through the Hard Deck didn’t register a sound until a few seconds after the fact. 

Patrons laid strewn across the bar, ducking for cover under tables and bars. Glass from the windows had sliced unsuspecting patrons as it blew apart from the force of the blast. Food and beverages littered the floor, thrown in the panic of the moment as all inside ducked. 

“Everybody okay?” Jake Seresin stayed shielding Natasha Trace with his entire body. “Is anyone hurt?” His arms pinned her down against the hardwood floor at either side of her head. Seconds ago—they’d been arguing over a long standing disagreement over who could tie more Cherry stems with just their tongue in three minutes. Now, Phoenix had never been this close to a man she could hardly stand. 

“Yeah—we’re good!” Rooster replied as he looked around, he’d been knocked on his ass by the bast. Coyote was right beside him, as was Payback. The three of them had been indulging in a game of darts to see who could knock Hangman down a peg or two on the leaderboard. “Bob? Fanboy? You guys okay?” 

“I think we’re alright?” Bob groaned as he pushed himself up off the ground—peanuts were crushed all over the ground around him. Mickey sat back on his knees scanning the Hard Deck. He couldn’t see you. There was a small cut on the side of Mickey's face but other than an artificial flesh wound, he was relatively unscathed from the unsuspecting blast that had pummeled through the Hard Deck. 

“Anyone seen Y/n?” Fanboys eyes continued to scour the entire expanse of the Hard Deck as he rose to his feet and dusted himself off. “Yo, guys—anyone see Miss Barkeep?” 

“She was heading out back to help the gas guy change out the—“ Bob didn’t even need to finish his sentence before he’d connected the dots. “Oh god, Y/n.”

A gas explosion. 

Mickey took a few seconds to register where his best friend's mind had gone, but then he realised. In those few seconds where Fanboy couldn’t breathe he knew he couldn’t live without you before he had a chance to really have you. 

Sure, the two of you were friendly. Probably more than most friends would be. Sure, you sometimes spent the night in Mickey's bed after he’d stay back and help you shut the Hard Deck up. Sure, he spent lazy Sunday mornings with you in the kitchen making breakfast and drinking coffee more often than not. And sure, the two of you enjoyed each other’s company, blatantly flirted beyond belief and made sure to always text each other when you got home, finished work, and stole secret kisses here and there when it was just the two of you. But. You weren’t official. 

And that may have been Mickey Garcia's biggest mistake. 

“Y/n!?” There you were. “Oh my god!” Lying unconscious on the ground a few meters away from where the gas bottles were kept behind the Hard Deck. Penny kept a tight ship—they were locked behind a wire cage that made sure patrons couldn’t fuck around. Something must have gone wrong during the change over, because the gas man wasn’t too far away from you. 

“Hey—hey!?” Mickey was by your side in an instant, the second his eyes caught your body lying there—thrown away and discarded like you weren’t the most important person to him, he was by your side. “Amor? Can you hear me?” 

Rooster had already called for paramedics to attend the scene while Hangman and Phoenix had begun to do whatever they could with their advanced first aid training—using the Hard Decks first aid kit to fix small cuts and abrasions on patrons from lying shards of glass. 

“Y/n?” You had a pulse, Mickey knew that much. But you weren’t waking up. “Please—come on Amor, you gotta wake up for me.” 

“This guys dead—“ Payback calls out. Mickey's mind fills with worst case scenarios the longer you were down for. “He’s got no pulse and the back of his head’s cracked.” He’s an ex paramedic, he knows. “I'm gonna start chest compressions, see if I can bring him back, how’s the kid?” 

You weren’t just shy of Fanboys age, he was the youngest in the group after all. Top of his class, intellectually gifted enough to graduate highschool three years earlier than most ever would. But to Paybacks forty one? You were still a child, in his mind anyway. 

“She’s breathing.” Is all he says before your stirrings. “Hold on! I think she’s waking up!” There’s nothing but a ringing in your ear. A sharp high pitched buzzing that’s incessant and ear piercing. You groan at the sound as you try to blink away the clouded vision that’s plaguing your eyes. But nothing can get rid of the thick fog like blur. “Y/n—it’s me, you’re okay, I’ve got you—“  But you can’t make out who it is. You can’t hear anything but that annoying ringing that won’t go away. Your head hurts, holy shit what the hell happened? 

“I—“ You stutter out. “I can’t see.” It sends Mickey's heart racing inside his chest, even more so than it already was. “I—I can’t see—“ You can't even hear yourself talking so you just assume you’re talking far too quiet. But in reality you're screaming, screaming so loud you’re straining your neck. “I CAN'T HEAR!” 

“Hey—I’ve got you.” Mickey doesn’t know what else to do besides try and calm you while medics make their way around the Hard Deck. “I love you, yeah?” Payback hears Mickey say it before you ever do and his heart breaks. You don’t deserve this. Neither does Fanboy. “You’re gonna be alright Amor, I’m right here.” 

But all you do is cry. You can’t hear a single thing being spoken or see a single thing in front of you. All there is before you are shadows of light and darkness. Mickey's hands squeeze yours and you feel it. His signet ring—the one his Abuela brought him many moons ago. But you know in the darkness and uncertainty that it’s Mickey at your side. 

“If she’s lost senses, Mick, it's gonna be a head trauma of some sort.” Payback keeps going with his chest compressions. “Is there any sign of blood?” You squeeze Mickey's hand a little harder as he goes to pull away to check. You squeeze so hard that he can’t let go, you’re far too afraid of being left alone in the dark. “Fanboy?”

“I—I dunno, probably! She probably hit her head on the ground!” Mickey manages to wiggle free just one of his hands so he can push your hair out of your face. “Shhh—I’m right here.” He tries to soothe you once again, but your cries are just too heartbreaking. “Amor, I am right here with you—I’ve got you.” 

“Please don’t let me die here alone.” Was all you mumbled out. You didn’t know what Mickey was saying or if he was saying anything at all. The ringing was all too deafening. But when you begged him to stay, to not leave your side. Mickey's heart shattered into a million different pieces. “Please don’t leave me.” 

“I’m not going anywhere, I’m right here.” He traced your face with his fingers, just letting you know he was there with you. Your grip on his hand began to falter as you slipped into unconsciousness again, just trying to find some shelter from the ringing. “I’m right here with you.” 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

“Without the surgery your daughter might regain her vision but it’s only a slim chance Mrs Y/l/n—“ Doctor Perry spoke to the woman on the other end of your phone. Mickey had called her on your behalf from the other side of the country, she was already packing her things for the flight she’d booked to be by your side. “I’d say it’s barely twenty percent.” 

“What about with the surgery?” Mickey asked as his eyes looked over you. You looked too peaceful to be in this situation. You knew he was there just by his touch alone. He made sure you knew it was him by his ring as he ran his thumb across your palm. “What’s the odds of her getting her vision back with the surgery?” 

“Almost one hundred percent—if the surgery were to go well. If it doesn’t then she runs the risk of being permanently incapacitated for the rest of her life.” Doctor Perry was a little too blunt for Mickey's liking, but he appreciated the direct route. “She’ll regain her hearing, hopefully, her ear drums were significantly damaged in the blast but they should recover.” 

“Do the surgery.” Your mother barked on the other side of the phone. “My daughter can’t be deaf and blind—what type of future would she have then? What kind of quality of life would she have?” Mickey couldn’t take his eyes off you as you slept. It was better this way, to keep you sedated. That way you couldn’t panic. But he thought about it while the doctor droned on to your mother about the surgery, that no matter the outcome you’d have a life with him. He’d take care of you—learn how to adapt, help you with anything you ever needed. Do anything you ever needed him to do. 

A freak accident that took away two of your six senses shouldn’t be the reason your life ends. You were still alive and oh how Mickey Garcia was grateful to whatever God was on duty that day. 

“Mrs Y/ln?” Mickey interrupted as he turned the phone back his way. Your mother silenced herself mid sentence to listen to what Mickey had to say. “I know we haven’t formally met before but I just want you to know that I’ve been head over heels in love with your daughter since she served me for the first time.” He explained all the while his eyes never left your perfect face. A face he really wouldn’t mind waking up to every day. “And I know there’s a hell of a lot of uncertainty about what may come, but I just want you to know that her quality of life doesn’t diminish if her sight can’t be restored or her hearing doesn’t improve.” Mickey could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks as he squeezed your hand, and as much as he wished none of this ever happened, he knew he couldn’t leave you know. Not ever. 

“I’ve got her ma’am—“ 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***

Whumptober Tags 🏷️ @xoxabs88xox @oldermenaremyreligion @slut-f0r-u @emma-is-cool @armydrcamers @topguncortez @topgun-imagines @kmc1989 @els-marvelvsp @blindedbythelightt

[krypticcafe]

How do you feel about CoD boys in a monster au? Whether they’re the monster or their s/o is the monster, I just think it would be neat. I’m partial towards werewolves but honestly I love anything that goes bump in the night. I LOVE the idea of a monster being afraid of hurting their partner but their partner knows that they could never hurt them. If you’re open to monster requests, I have so many ideas. Just… monsters, man

oooo are we spitballing bc I love throwing around ideas!!

I absolutely love monster AUs, one of my faves is @/bluegiragi's and I'm sure you all know that iconic one. I'm totally open to monster/hybrid requests, and a detailed list of what other things I write can be found in the cafe's Customer Service Policy aka rules :]

And monster-related plots? I'm a sucker for that shit, need more of that and monster!reader.

If I were to make a Monster Hybrid AU with my own specific ideas though, hmm...

Powerful and stoic, Price would make a great minotaur (lower half of a bull). Sure, maybe his back isn't what it used to be, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the strength to send you back to your maker. Every step he takes on base acknowledges his presence, a posture that demands respect from its witnesses. The horns on his head aren't something to mess with either, though it takes him ages to scrape out the dried blood from the cracks and tailor his bucket hats.

On the other hand, the canine hybrid for Soap is oddly charming. Similarly to a werewolf, he would have the senses of one, but as a just hybrid, he's unable to fully transform. Instead, he's equipped with features like ears, tail, fangs, some fur on his arms and legs, and a longer tongue. I can see him being a border collie, the Scottish sheepdog just makes sense. But a kelpie/merfolk would also work with his callsign. Soap, a mischievous water spirit known for "cleaning out" rooms of enemies? A body with slick scales, gills, and a frilled mohawk when in monster form? Yeah, I can definitely see that.

For someone with a Queen's honor, a phoenix feels right for Gaz. Bright and burning wings and tail—a light that feels regal and elegant, yet so youthful and lively at the same time. With him in the sky, you're guaranteed to be safe under his watch. Or maybe a cervitaur with those doe eyes of his, gorgeous as ever. Yet equipped with a kick that's sure to shatter the ribs of those who mock him for being just a faun with a pretty face.

Undeniably, with such a specific callsign, Ghost can't be anything other than a wraith. Maybe mix in a bit of demonic blood, soul-eater tendencies, or even marks of an incubus for a little extra kick. His scars look more like shadowy cracks in his skin, smoke pours from the concerningly realistic skull he wears, he looks more like a reaper than a spirit. Regardless, this man is a shadowy phantom that provokes the fear of gods in whoever he sets his target as.

Roach, sure maybe his energy is fitting of a satyr or something more fitting and urban for our token American, like a roach version of Mothman. Bug wings and scales similar to the structure of an exoskeleton, But Roach came to be for being nearly indestructible, like the bug. In fact, it would be more accurate to call Roach, Roaches, as a bogeyman with a human body that can crumble into a swarm of those insects would explain why gunshots and explosions can hardly stop him.

Like Ghost, we can't deny who Hound is, either. Werewolf. Anything less would be criminal. For fun, mix it in with a bit of hellhound hybrid biology, so that he has to either go as a full hellhound or a human with hellhound features. Eyes that burn like Tartarus and a fanged snarl that even Cerberus would shudder at. Maybe even make him in charge of a hellhound K-9 unit, forced to face the very thing he fears.

As for the Reader? Well, that's up to you. Personally, I'm a little fond of shapeshifters. Might need to draw some of these ideas sometime...

Ah well, just some thoughts I had. Any other spitballs you guys have?

[helloheyhihowdyheya]

Ruffling Feathers

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x gn!pilot!reader

Masterlist

Summary: "It’s not my fault that your callsign is a flightless bird, dumbass." OR You hated Rooster. And his mustache. ...Until he made it hard to.

Word Count: ~4.6k

Warnings: Enemies to lovers. Arguing. Quite a bit of swearing. Flirting. Jealousy. Depictions of a plane crash and hospital room. Some angst, some comfort, some suggestiveness, and lots of fluff.

*Reader's callsign is Spider

A/n: Guess I just love writing angry!Rooster lol. This one took me a little bit, but I'd love to hear what you think! Thank you for reading <3

--

Stomping through the corridor, your flight suit pushed down to your waist, you tried calculating how hard you’d have to punch Rooster to knock that ugly mustache off his face —- or at least the stupid smug grin he always wore. Maybe Cyclone would only give you a lecture since you’re doing everyone a favor by shutting Rooster up.

The pain from digging your fingernails into your palm did nothing to distract you from the anger rising through your body. Just when you’d get the fastest time on the team, there he’d be climbing from his plane with a time just barely beating yours. You’d answer one of Cyclone’s questions in class only for Rooster to correct you on the most insignificant detail — all with that shit-eating smile.

He was a careful pilot, one that didn’t always act on impulse. But he threw all of that out the window when it came to you, clogging the comms with his amused comments to throw you off concentration. You didn’t take that lying down, either. 

But today, the back-and-forth bickering came with a cost. He’d been in the middle of throwing an insult your way, even though you were on the same team, when Coyote shouted through the comms at him.

“You’re down.”

His only response came with a string of swears.

Phoenix quickly followed with, “Got you too, Spider” as she locked onto your jet too. Her words had you dropping your head back against the seat, realizing Rooster came last with you just barely above him.

All that fighting had thrown you off, making both of your flying sloppy. You told him as much on the tarmac as you both completed 100 push ups for coming out at the bottom. As a burn bled through your arms, you considered strangling Rooster. Maybe when he wasn’t looking, like in the shower. Not that you often thought of him showering.

But now, walking toward the locker room, your anger began to subside — despite the sweat dripping along the side of your face and your aching arms. But any hope for peace shattered when you rounded the corner, nearly bumping into Rooster. 

A scowl immediately overtook your expression as you stepped back, taking in his form — already clean and sweat-free. It only fueled the explosive fire inside you. “Watch where you’re going, Bradshaw,” you told him.

“You should’ve listened to that advice in the air today, sweetheart,” Rooster shot back, his gaze locked on you. He had slicked back his hair, the ends of it still dripping wet.

You crossed your arms, accidentally making your slick skin stick together. “Oh, eat shit. You sabotaged me on purpose today.”

“Oh, so trying to save your ass is sabotage now?” He lifted an eyebrow, that frustrating glint in his eyes.

“God, you just never shut up, do you? Clearly, ‘saving my ass’ didn’t work, did it? And maybe if you stopped talking for one minute, I could actually focus on flying instead of wishing my plane would ram into yours.”

“Me?” Rooster nearly shouted, his jaw ticking. He stepped just an inch closer when you nodded as if it were obvious. “You’re the one that kept saying I couldn’t fly for shit, and look who actually can’t.”

“It’s not my fault that your callsign is a flightless bird, dumbass. And that was only because you kept calling me an asshole,” you told him, now pointing a finger right into his chest.

He scoffed at you. “Oh, and I wonder why I’d ever say something like that, Spider.”

With how close his face was to yours now, you could pick out the pool of colors in his eyes or count the freckles across his tanned cheeks. And before another retort could come to mind, the sound of someone coming toward the two of you echoed from the other end of the hall.

You broke away from him, telling yourself that your quickened pulse came from how infuriated Rooster made you. “Whatever,” you muttered, sidestepping him and making the rest of the walk to the locker room, your heart in your throat the entire way.

Ripping your flight suit off and finally getting clean, even with shaky arms, you finally took a slow breath. Your fingers rubbed down your face as water from the showerhead dripped along your body. You scrubbed until your skin grew angry with you — but you just let the water wash away the day, the setbacks, and any thoughts of Rooster, promising yourself that you wouldn’t let him get the better of you again.

And you’d kept your word for a little bit, biting your tongue when he tried to get under your skin. Turning the other way when Hangman joined it to revel in the teasing. Instead, you let Phoenix rip him to shreds when they got on her nerves too. Things quieted down even — hallway spats became silent head nods as you passed one another. You’d call that a win, especially since his mouth stayed shut.

It certainly became easier to tune him out when flying, just focusing on you and the plane speeding through the air. Hangman gave an instigating laugh, but all you saw was the course to run. Breathe in, breathe out. You were a good pilot.

And when you came back down, Cyclone congratulated you on getting the fastest time of the day. You nearly waited for the inevitable “But…” that followed after Rooster, but it never came. Instead, you were met with a pat on the back from Bob and Phoenix and no extra push ups for the day. 

Your body felt lighter as you walked to the locker room, back to your room, and even all the way to The Hard Deck. Fresh and wearing clothes that actually fit well, you entered arm-in-arm with Phoenix to the bar.

You two ordered drinks, chatting with Penny as the place grew busier as the night passed along. She quickly became too distracted to keep talking, but you just sipped on your drink, enjoying the good mood. More pilots arrived, giving you the chance to talk with them in between turns at the pool table. 

Coyote even convinced Bob to a game, goading the rest of you into placing bets. The laughter and smiles between everyone brought a glow to your vision. You and Phoenix were the only ones to bet on Bob winning, but it was worth it for his wide grin.

And despite Rooster also showing up, in that horrible Hawaiian shirt of his, you still managed to avoid him and keep civil. He didn’t even try to instigate anything — though that didn’t stop you from looking away any time he caught your eyes on him. But the competitive game going on proved distraction enough.

Coming down to the final shot, the game had every pilot leaning in. Several of them threw comments out to distract Bob as he lined up his shot. But a smile broke out on your face as Bob sunk the 8 ball, beating Coyote, and leaving both of them with looks of complete disbelief. 

You threw up your hands, clapping louder than all the booing. Others eventually joined in despite their losing bets, cheering for Bob’s unexpected victory. The way Coyote shook his head had you giggling until your stomach hurt. 

You gave a congratulatory pat on Bob’s shoulder as you thanked him for the money he won you. Collecting the pool of cash along with Phoenix, you told her, “Going to head to the bar, spend my winnings on another drink.”

She gave you a smile before you weaved through the crowd. Over the cheers and music, you asked Penny for another drink as you counted up your winnings. Plenty happy with the amount, you waited, turning around and resting your body back against the bar’s edge. The bubbling warmth never left your body when you hung out like this. Though a voice to your side broke you from the moment.

“You can put that drink on my tab, actually. Thanks.”

Turning, you were met with a handsome man you hadn’t seen here before. As Penny handed you your drink, you gave her a gracious nod. 

“Thank you, um…”

“Will,” he answered for you with a smile. And he certainly did have a nice smile. “To celebrate your victory.” He nodded toward the pool table, raising a beer to your drink.

“Well, he did all the work,” you laughed, leaning forward just an inch, though it was enough to pick up on the comforting scent coming from Will. You happily took a sip along with him.

“But you were smart enough to bet on him.”

A smile broke out on your face, gesturing out a hand as you said, “See! Finally, someone recognizes my gambling prowess.”

He bit back a grin of his own as he leaned his head in closer. His finger pointed toward the pool table again as he asked, “Alright, so since you’re an expert, who’s going to win the next one?”

You felt the heat of his body radiating onto you. The waves of it proved slightly distracting as you saw Hangman and Fanboy racking up the pool balls. Still staring at them, trying to hold back the warmth rushing to your cheeks, you said, “Tall, blond one definitely. He’ll cheat if he has to.”

“Okay, I won’t be going up against him then,” he laughed.

You turned back to Will, watching him run a hand through his dark hair. Did you wish your hand was going through his hair? Probably. 

He then asked, “Since you know how to pick winners, what are the odds of you beating me in pool?”

Raising your eyebrows, you told him, “Never seen you play, but I’d have to guess that you’d sink two in before I win.”

Lifting up his hands in surrender, Will shook his head. “Fair enough. I won’t put money on the line for that game. But…” he said, dragging his eyes across you, “what are the odds, then, of me taking you out sometime?”

You tried fighting the grin etching along your face at his cheesiness, not that you minded all that much when it came with that smile. As you were about to respond, the last person you wanted to see snuggled right up to your side.

“Hey Spider, Phoenix’s been asking for you,” Rooster said. His arm rested against the bar right behind your back, the weight of it along your spine.

You looked between him and Will, your teeth grinding together. “I’m sure she can wait a minute, Bradshaw.”

“Said it was important,” he insisted, smiling the entire time at the two of you. 

“Fine,” you muttered, offering a fake grin to Rooster. “I’ll be right back,” you told Will.

You pushed past Rooster, weaving through the crowd once again with your fist clenched. Of course he had to show up. You shook your head, willing yourself to keep him from getting to you.

Back with the team, you came back to find Hangman in the lead against Fanboy and quickly returned to Phoenix.

“Hey, what’s up? What’s going on?” you asked, hoping something terrible wasn’t happening.

But she sat there, beer in hand and a wide smile until she processed your words. “Just watching them play. What’s wrong?” Her eyebrows furrowed together. “Does it have to do with that hunk chatting you up over there… Oh, where’d he go?”

Your face twisted as you turned, standing on the tips of your toes and straining your neck to see over everyone. Right where you and Will had been was now occupied by strangers, the man nowhere to be seen. But you did find Rooster as he walked back toward your team.

“No goddamn way.” You muttered it under your breath, your face dropping in disbelief. “Hold this, I’m going to kick Bradshaw’s ass,” you told Phoenix. The blood rushing through you pounded in your ears, blocking out anything she might’ve said.

“Where is he?” you asked, venom laced in your voice as you walked up to Rooster. The laidback hang of his shoulders and that dumb fucking mustache nearly made you scream your words at him.

But Rooster just raised an eyebrow at you, holding his beer. “Where’s who?”

You squeezed your eyes shut, forcing yourself to take a breath. “Will. The man I was talking with before you interrupted, remember?”

“Ah, right. He left, had to go somewhere.”

“God, Rooster. What did you say to him?” you asked, shoving a finger into his chest. “Though I don’t know why I’m asking since you’ll probably lie like you did about Phoenix.” You crossed your arms, squeezing them against your body.

Rooster sighed, bringing his beer up to his mouth to take a sip. 

“Look, I’ve seen him around here before. Goes home with someone different every time.”

Scoffing at him, you stared daggers through his eyes. “You’re so full of bullshit. Even if that is true, I can find that out for myself, okay? You’re not my dad or something.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to save you from getting your feelings hurt,” he said, pretending to put his hands in the air like he was innocent. “God knows how bad we’d crash and burn if your heartbroken ass did worse up there.” 

You stepped back, feeling like he knocked the air from your lungs. Pushing past him, your shoulder hitting his, you left The Hard Deck — not even to find Will. You couldn’t handle either of them right now, not when you had to deal with Rooster ruining your night while pretending to care about you.

After that, for your sake, you’d made it your mission to stay away from him as much as possible. You refused to acknowledge his comments or even look his way. Classes were quieter, and insults were no longer thrown across the halls at each other. At least you wouldn’t be misplacing your trust again.

You had other teammates you could rely on, could trust with your life. But either fate hated you or Cyclone loved drama because he paired you up with Bradley Bradshaw once again — as if the universe and the class had to have another laugh at your misery. You just nodded your head at Cyclone as he named the two of you off, standing so still as if it could help you disappear.

Talking rose again as duos came together to discuss the practice exercise. But not the two of you. Your hard stare just fixated on the horizon. Even hearing him clear his throat set your body on edge.

“I’m, uh, sorry for how last weekend went,” Rooster offered, rocking back and forth on his heels.

You fought the urge to roll your eyes, not needing it to cause a lecture from Cyclone on how to work with your teammates. Your refusal to give an answer left a space of buzzing silence, one that Rooster filled again. “Didn’t mean to sabotage it, but I’m not letting a dickhead mess with my friends, alright?”

“Friends?” you asked, finally turning to look at him. “Is that what we are, Rooster?”

“Look, we’re on a team. We watch each other’s backs.”

A scoff escaped under your breath. “Oh, like when you got the both of us killed the last time we were on a team?”

As the words left your lips, Rooster placed his hand on your shoulder. The grip made you look at him straight, the sound of everyone else drifting to the background. “I never tried to sabotage you up there. I really tried to save your life. Okay?” His fingers squeezed when you didn’t answer. “Okay?”

With scrunched eyebrows, you said, “Okay, fine. Doesn’t mean you don’t flood the comms with useless talking to distract me, though.”

As his hand dropped back to his side, he raised an eyebrow at you. “Oh, so I’m distracting to you?” And there it was, that Bradshaw smug grin back in place. A small part of you in the back of your mind, or the left side of your chest, had missed it.

You weakly pushed against his arm, shaking your head. “I’m going to rip your mustache off.”

Cyclone called you all to start the exercise, the two of you among the first up. As you walked to your jets, Rooster said, “Oh, so you’re thinking about my mustache now? I understand, she is a beauty.”

You let out a long groan while fighting back a smile, which he absolutely saw through, before pulling on your helmets. Climbing into the plane and strapping in, you let the few moments of silence before flying into the sky center yourself again — to not let Rooster, good or bad, get in your head.

It was a regular dogfighting exercise, one that’d become part of the curriculum since Maverick came through. But it’d be you and Rooster against Hangman and Payback.

In the air, before it even began, in the buzzing quiet before it all descended into chaos, Hangman flew past you much too close for comfort. It shook your jet, making you let out a long sigh. You looked to your side, watching Rooster give you a thumbs up before Cyclone appeared in the comms. 

“First team to get a lock on both members of the other team wins. That easy,” he told you all.

That easy. They were good pilots, you all were. It’d be a long fight.

Immediately, you and Rooster split off in opposite directions. He climbed higher toward Hangman as you dropped, aiming for Payback’s jet.

Payback broke left, rolling his plane to the side as he evaded you. The world around you, the wispy clouds and landscape below, blurred past. Each time you came close to locking on, he’d pitch up or hit the throttle — always keeping you just out of reach.

“Spider, Hangman’s closing in on your six,” Rooster said through the comms.

In an instant, all of your focus on trying to eliminate Payback now switched to evading in any way you could.

“Almost got you now, Spider…” you could hear Hangman say. Your jaw clenched, your muscles squeezing harder with each passing second.

Braking hard, you rolled right toward the nearby cliffs, trying to keep him from locking on. You gained altitude with the little time you had of shaking Hangman for just a second, flying back around until you saw Payback in your view again.

If you went for him, Hangman would certainly be back on you in an instant.

But Rooster’s voice hit your ears. “Go for it.”

With those three little words, you threw your trust into Rooster. You sped up, diving for Payback and leaving Rooster to cover you. And he did. Without a second thought.

“Got lock.”

“You’re down!”

Your voice mixed with Hangman’s, two simultaneous kills. Hangman left Payback at your mercy. Rooster sacrificed himself to Hangman.

“See you back at base, Spider. Give him hell,” Rooster said, his jet peeling off and heading in the opposite direction alongside Payback’s.

You pulled up, looking all around for Hangman — until he showed up on your radar just below you.

“It’s almost too easy,” he drawled with that lazy laugh. 

Hitting the brakes, you pulled behind him. Just as you angled down, close to locking on, he rolled left, pitching the plane up and trying to loop behind you.

The two of you switched back and forth, the unrelenting sun piercing through the glass. Sweat began to bead along your forehead, dripping down to your neck.

Only once you’d chased Hangman toward the cliffs did you gain any sort of hope of taking him down. His flying became just a bit more reckless, giving you a chance to counter his maneuvers. Your lock grew closer and closer to his jet, your victory on the tip of your tongue.

The lock sound began to buzz as you said, “Got y-”

Your plane shook as something rammed into your plane. Only once Hangman’s voice shouting “Bird strike!” did you register what happened. 

The damage done to your jet’s engines appeared at once, the jerking of your jet ate down to your core.

 “Left engine out,” you panted, pressing the button to cut fuel to it as you tried gaining altitude. Your body felt heavy, falling back into the seat with panicked breaths. The right engine quickly caught too, leaving your dashboard blinking every warning light it could manage. Your stomach climbed into your throat as you lost control, the plane beginning to spin out.

Your hands shakily wrapped around the ejection handle, your lungs feeling squeezed tight. Pulling as hard as you could, your seat flew from the jet. Between the jerk of your body as the parachute released and the fiery crash of your plane into the ground a few moments later, you barely saw anything before hitting the desert all too fast.

You vaguely remembered rolling, or maybe the world was spinning, before you were consumed by darkness.

–

In flashes of memories, you caught the intense whirring of a helicopter, vague shapes of people rushing around you, and… was that Rooster? You couldn’t be sure, not when the pain took hold of your body, pulling you down under again.

–

The echoing emergency alarms of your jet slowly bled into the beeping of medical machines, the light of the sun into bright fluorescents above, and the lingering voice of your team… stayed.

As your eyes fought to open, the world came into focus in bits and pieces. Your throat felt so dry and painful — but it left your mind when the aching of the rest of your body rose to the surface. The groan tumbling from your mouth only fueled the sting.

But he did help, ready at your side and telling you to take it easy.

“Hey, Spider. Slow down. Hey,” Rooster pleaded, his voice desperate against your ears. But only once his hand gingerly wrapped around yours did you finally stop fighting.

You turned to look at him, mind still fuzzy. But it wasn’t hard to focus on him, your gaze unable to rip away from the dark honey of his eyes. 

“Hi.” His whisper entwined around each curve of you, settling onto your skin like a blanket you never wanted to take off.

You grabbed the cup of water he handed you, gulping it down until it soothed your throat.

“Hi,” you finally returned, offering a slight smile. Laying back in the bed, feeling the slight pull of the tubes attached to your body, you asked, “So, what’s my damage?”

Your head lulled to the side, watching Rooster slightly relax at last. The clench of his jaw eased, his shoulders fell.

“Nothing that could stop you. Fractured bone here, internal bleeding there…” he joked, but his grin didn’t reach his eyes. “But you’re alive. You’ll be just fine.”

That eased your nagging thoughts, though you guessed he said it for himself as much as he said it for you.

You squeezed his hand, loving the weight of it on yours. “Thank you.”

He nearly rolled his eyes, as if to say that he didn’t deserve it. “For what?” he asked, the taste of bitterness dripping from his words.

“For having my back, Rooster.”

You said it like it was the most obvious thing. It was to you. Even though he didn’t always show it in the way you’d expect, or even like for that manner, he was there.

He nodded. “You’d do the same for me.”

You would. In a heartbeat.

He whispered, “We all heard you on the radio as it happened. I made them let me on the helicopter to rescue you… Thought you were gone. Couldn’t handle it.” His hand rested over his mouth, his eyes fixed on the ground.

“I’m here, okay? You said it, I’ll be just fine,” you told him, wanting to pull him in if you weren’t stuck in this bed. But then his words registered. “Wait, you forced yourself onto the rescue helicopter? Are you insane?”

You smacked his arm, scoffing at him. You teased him, but it brought a smile to his face.

“That’s what you got from that? Okay, this is the last time I admit to caring about you,” he said behind a wave of laughter bubbling out.

Though all it did was further fuel you, bringing a disbelieving look to your face. “Oh my god, Rooster. I get it now. You were totally jealous of Will.”

“Oh god, why would I be jealous of that tool?” he groaned, pulling away from you. “I think your pain meds are too strong.”

“Calling him a tool like that is such a jealous thing to say!”

“Not if he’s actually a tool.”

You brought your hands to your lap, playing with the sheet as you said, “Wow, who would’ve thought that Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw actually cared abou-”

“I know you didn’t have to do those push ups with me, Spider,” he interrupted. He looked straight at you then, not even fighting his kind smile. “That punishment was only for last place, and you didn’t get last.”

You pursed your lips, feeling a heat rise to your cheeks under his gaze. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you said, trying to give him an innocent look. But you did, and you knew that he had gotten last trying to save you, even when the two of you bickered, so you paid the price with him.

His eyes softened. “I think you do. And I think that you also care more than you let on.”

Goosebumps erupted across your skin as Rooster grabbed your hand again, his thumb rubbing along the backs of your fingers. You stared down at where your bodies intertwined as you asked, “Did you really wait here for me the whole time?”

He nodded, his swept-back hair falling forward. But at your growing smile, he warned, “Spider, don’t ruin this.”

“You’re just a big ol’ softy, aren’t you? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you like like me.” You laughed despite the ache that came with it. It meant you were alive, after all.

Rubbing a hand down his face, he said, “I think that’s enough. You’ve ruined it. Happy now?”

“Quite.”

After a comfortable silence spread through the room, just the sounds of your breathing and the machines beeping, Rooster said, “I do like you. Hope you know that.”

The flutter in your chest spread through your body, pushing the pain to the back to be replaced by a floating feeling. You didn’t think it would take so much for Rooster to admit his feelings, but you supposed it didn’t surprise you. 

He looked to you, worry etched into the curves of his face as he waited for your response. It barely looked like he breathed, sitting frozen still until you answered.

Shaking your head, you told him, “Rooster, if you don’t kiss me right now, I’m really going to rip off your mustache this time.”

A wide, toothy grin overtook his face. “There you go again about my mustache… You’re obsessed, aren’t you?” he said, his hand moving to rest on your cheek.

Rooster inched closer, careful to not put any weight on you or cause any pain. “Is this okay?” he whispered against your lips.

But impatience ran through you, making you twist your fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck and pull him against you. Melting into him, you thought this felt better than any painkillers the doctors could prescribe you. It made you dizzy and craving more, until you were broken apart by Phoenix obnoxiously clearing her throat from the doorway.

As he kissed you one more time, the rest of the world drifting away, you couldn’t quite say you hated his mustache anymore.

--

@reidslovely

[heres-to-all-that-is-mine]

As one might expect… their career starts in a fiery explosion :)

[dev-mars]

More Rewrite headcanons!

• She’s 23 in the beginning

• Irene is more commonly called The Matron out of respect for her

• Aphmau is unknowingly very charismatic

• She has a gentle sweetness and extremely strong empathy

• She was found in the forest by Visher and he brought her to Phoenix Drop

• Visher became a father figure to her like he does in rebirth they just have more actual time to together

• Visher encourages her kindness and empathy because much of the world lacks this but didn’t have time to teach her that her kindness needs to have its limits

• Visher names her Aphmau after a story he heard in his youth

• Aphmau experiences déjà vu all the time

• Aphmau had hopes finding out her past based on her markings that she believed were tattoos

• She has nightmares but can never remember them when she wakes up

• This means she goes on walks around the village a lot at night

• When Garroth can’t sleep either he joins her and pretends he simply needs to patrol the village

• Aphmau’s first thought when she saw Garroth’s face was that he had kind eyes

• Visher planned to take Aphmau back to Bright Port once he felt she was well enough to travel

• He had also begun to think of her as family and he was excited to introduce her to his wife and son

• Aphmau was near the dock when it happened and the explosion was meant to kill both of them

• Gene felt that Aphmau had been causing too much progression and hope in the village but her survival seemed to be supernatural in nature and he sensed that he had magicks that might be useful to him

• Animals are naturally drawn to her and Kiki noticed this immediately she thought at first this meant she might’ve had magicks similar to her until she realized it also applied to people. Her presence/energy is very bright leading people or animals to want to be near her.

• Once they moved past their initial bad impressions of each other Emmalyn started to teach Aphmau to read when she realized Aphmau couldn’t. Emmalyn taught her the basics but not enough for her to be able to read super well. Aphmau had more serious problems to deal with in the village so didn’t have time to keep learning.

• Once Aphmau officially becomes the lord she has to read official documents. She had trouble reading the formal language of the papers and tried hiding it because she didn’t want to ask for help. Garroth figured out she was struggling and began reading them to her and slowly teaching her.

• Way later in the story Aphmau will realize that she can read an ancient form of their common language from when Irene was alive

• Visher taught her about sailing and wanted her to sail to Brightport with his supervision when they left Phoenix Drop . He planned this so Aphmau would gain another skill and eventually if she took up as merchant like him she would be able to travel.

• Aphmau ended up making the journey to Brightport alone. She volunteered to deliver his remains while still grieving his death. Once she made it Brightport she was struggling to tie up her boat and was nearly in tears over it due to being overwhelmed and grieving Visher’s death.

• Laurance noticed this and without saying anything helped her tie up her ship. Then he asks if she’s alright. He cracks a joke that’s kind of flirty that makes her laugh distracting her briefly from Visher’s death. He doesn’t immediately full on flirt with Aphmau because she was clearly distressed. He compliment her before he’s interrupted by the ladies at Brightport throwing small rock because they think shamelessly flirting with another girl.

• They finally introduce themselves and Laurance might comment on the story she’s named after before pointing her in the right direction and saying goodbye. He says something like, “goodbye my dear Aphmau.” instead of calling her “love.” (idk man i just want their first meeting to be less cringe as much as I love flirty Laurance in the series his dialogue can be awkward and cringe at times. I just want him to be more charming in a natural way in their first meeting.)

• Once Laurance meets her again in Meteli “my dear” and other forms of it becomes what he calls her. At that time Aphmau realizes he’s been flirting with her and gets embarrassed but secretly doesn’t mind the pet name. Laurance does it out of affection and to annoy her until Garroth and Laurance have their bro talk™️ where Garroth admits his feelings for Aphmau. Aphmau feels disappointed that it stops but doesn’t question it too much.

• Laurance calls her dear or love one last time before making her leave him in the nether probably saying something like “Don’t worry about me, dear. I’ll be right behind you.”

Anyway more story ideas! Hopefully one day I’ll do something with them. Also I know that the reason Aphmau first goes to Brightport is for Brendon but I felt like that event is too similar to Garroth getting injured later and Visher has just died so to me personally it fits better for Aphmau to be delivering Visher’s remains. Plus I think the werewolf plot line can still happen without the moon herb thing.

[solqrays]

obsessed with the idea that due to the flower valley wall being burnt down by joel, and the events that followed it, jimmy is afraid of fire, or more specifically he believes fire to be a root cause of their destruction, the dare to flare game with lava, the flower valley wall being burnt down, the fact that in empires and xornoth and everything- jimmy believes that fire is a bad omen to destruction and death, the prelude to the canary curse. (thats why in lim life, he knew he would be the first out, because of the fact that the bread bridge was destroyed). flash forward to double life, and jimmy is paired up with tango, a blazeborn with fire for hair. he's the reason they lost their first life and even if jimmy doesnt blame him for it he knows he wouldnt last long in this season. but when he meets tango and he feels like his world has been shifted upside down, because before fire reminded him of death and destruction, of unhappiness and eternal doom. now it reminds him of home, a sanctuary in the death game, he thinks he's finally safe from the eyes of the watchers and that perhaps, just perhaps fire could mean something more than a curse. but alas nothing ever seems to go his way as fire comes back again, messing with his life when scar comes back and burns the ranch- a physical reminder that fire will destroy everything that comes in the watcher's way of torturing jimmy. but little do they know how much the ranch and tango has affected him, when he walks up to tango who is in his rage, flaming hair and hands and everything, he knows rationally that he will get hurt, thanks to his avian heritage and his curse, but at that moment he finds himself not caring, he holds tango's hands, and even if the fire burns his own hands he finds himself not caring. because he was sick and tired of fire getting in the way of things he loved (with scott distancing him after the walls burnt down and then leaving him after he died and joel who used to be his loving and caring brother-in-law betraying him and after the grimlands explosion- forgetting him and turning into a cruel shadow of his former self)- but jimmy couldnt let that happen to him and tango's relationship. he wanted to break the phoenix's cycle, burning up and then reincarnating to lose a small part of himself. he couldnt let that happen and so when jimmy took tango's hands into his own, he wanted to change the watcher's plans, and to pay for that he died again, sooner than expected- but to him it didnt matter anymore, because he finally had someone who would be there for him. his relationship with fire was still shaky, not trusting it completely, but he knew he could trust tango, and he knew that he wouldnt hurt him or leave him be- and even when they returned to empires and jimmy was faced with the cruel remarks of the other emperors and their meaningless insults, he longed to be with tango, to be with his fire. sure he may not be doing the best on empires, but he had someone to live for, someone who would help him break free from the cold clasps of the watchers, and thats what mattered. no amount of fire would break this bond, for it was forged in the brightest flames of love and understanding.

[radiance1]

Rearing all the way back to my I think first eastern dragon Danny au post? Yea the first one.

So, we'll say that Clockwork never reversed the Nasty Burger explosion, leaving Danny devastated. The Observants feared he would turn into Dark Danny, but he doesn't, instead he throws his all in everything that's been going on in the ghost zone under Pariah's absence.

There was nothing tying him to humanity anymore, so he shed his identity as Daniel Phantom, and was reborn anew as Danny Phantom.

The Eternal Prince of the Ghost Zone.

He threw himself into everything there was to know about being a prince, etiquette training, learning the history of the Ghost Zone (which isn't really that important since there was only ever one ruler for a long, long time.), connecting with the high society of the ghost, etc, etc.

So he's shed his time as a child and forced his way into adulthood, face cold and regal like the ice he controls, and endless majesty with his draconic features, multiplied even further when he transforms.

Surprisingly, Vlad easily and willingly submitted to him (not through combat) after Danny made the phoenix his Duke, the Nasty Burger explosion must've hit him hard as it did Danny, then.

Then he's summoned to another dimension, a ritual meant to summon the Ghost King, and usually it wouldn't work, since Pariah Dark is sleeping. But since he came into power as Prince, it decided to do the next best thing and pull him along.

Unfortunately, however, he couldn't go back for some reason. So he just, had to stay here until he found a way to go back, and the cult wasn't anything that great, just wanted the usual power and riches in exchange for the souls of others and the like.

Then a group of humans broke in, fought the cult, and whatever being they were expecting was probably not him, and yes, he gets it. Pariah Dark is a terrifying man, so he wouldn't do anything to the ones that did a double take at seeing him in the circle. Then he just, left.

There was a lot of differences between this world and the world he remembered back where he came from and before he cut out humanity. For one, there were Superheroes and Supervillains, another was that magic was apparently a common thing (mostly in heroes or villains) and that there was people called 'Metas' walking around living day to day lives.

So having to hide his draconic features wasn't something he had to do, so he didn't. Though he did, for the first time in a while, become human again, first thing he noticed?

He was hungry.

Second thing he noticed?

He was very exhausted.

Third thing he noticed?

He had no money.

Well he had some, but he didn't think that other dimensional currency would work well here. So he'll admit, he did steal a few food items here and there with his ghostly abilities, and was enjoying human food when he ran into a kid.

Literally.

He was eating his last burger and walking around, looking at the city around- Fawcett if he remembered correctly from overhearing- and ran into the kid. Who looked similar to him with the black hair and blue eyes, really, someone was chasing the kid and he didn't ask any questions before grabbing him by the arm and phasing them through a few walls to get away.

Unfortunately, such things left him even further exhausted than he already was. It seemed that never sleeping in the Zone finally caught up with him, and he feel asleep on the kid.

That child was Billy, who was questioning who this Meta was and currently panicking before realizing that they just fell asleep.