#still struggle to draw shadow but i think i did okay

[bigthecatirl]

i have this whole joke thing where big and omega swap places for a week so they can pick who the better team is

its probably not original but i think its funny ahcdhcnj

(part 2|bonus)

i dont do comics that much pls be kind to me</3

[sonknuxadow]

^ guy who has to draw funny hedgehogs or else they will die

[scarletlizzard]

Part 4: Cat and Mouse

Sessions Series

Parings: dark Wanda x female reader

Tags Minors DNI: smut, mentions of gun/knife, choking, strap on usage (R receiving), major manipulation, toxic, stalker

Masterlist

A/N: Thank you, everyone, for reading my first series! It's been so fun to write. If you have any questions, let me know! I'm thinking of writing an epilogue for it if yall are interested? To show where they are now. Let me know what y'all think 🩷

Early Spring 2016

Wanda tilts her head to the side, a smile on her face as she looks at the painting on the wall.

It's a Renaissance-style painting. A woman draped in elegant attire is depicted running gracefully across a grandiose landscape. Her flowing garments billow behind her as she glances over her shoulder with a mix of fear and excitement in her wide eyes.

Behind her, a single shadow looms ominously, its form elongated and exaggerated. The scene is bathed in soft, golden light, casting long shadows and creating a sense of darkness.

The woman's delicate features and intricate clothing are painted with meticulous detail, while the surrounding scenery showcases the artist's mastery of perspective and depth. The painting seems to capture the eternal struggle between light and darkness.

Wanda felt drawn to it. Something about it was pulling her in. This was her fourth time coming to see it, the gallery being just down the block from her office.

"Haunting, isn't it?" A voice, possibly the most alluring voice she had ever heard, speaks from next to her.

"It's breathtaking," Wanda mutters. Her eyes focus on the woman in the painting, then to the dark shadow behind her.

"The shadow, it never stops chasing her. She's constantly looking back over her shoulder, wondering.." The voice speaks again.

"Wondering what?" Wanda asks.

"Wondering when she'll be caught. It's all a game, see?" A finger points to the small plaque underneath the painting. The title of it read:

Cat and Mouse

***

Current Winter 2018

You felt a sense of deja vu as you ran throughout the house. A sense of unexpected excitement flows through you as your feet carry you to the front door - locked.

As you run down the hallway, your breathing picks up. You hear Wandas loud steps stalking behind you at an even pace. The back door - locked.

Down another hall, door after door - locked.

Running up the stairs you take in Wandas words,

"When I find you, I will fuck you."

You couldn't ignore the ache between your legs or the partial truth to her reasoning.

Had you gone and sought out for a stalker? No, but once your shadow appeared, your life became more interesting. You felt a spark inside of you, and you felt it last night, too.

You find an open door and shut it behind you, quickly locking it. With your back against the hard wood, you take a second to catch your breath. When you hear footsteps from the end of the hall, you also hear Wandas voice.

"Don't forget what I said, darling.." A door opens and closes, the footsteps draw nearer.

A small smile plays on your lips.

You were just as fucked up as she was.

***

Early Spring 2016

Wanda turns to the woman next to her, taking in her bewitching appearance.

"Did you paint this?" Wanda asks. You nod, smiling as you stare at your art.

"I did. I still can't believe it's here," you chuckle to yourself. She watches curiously as you tap your leg 4 times with your finger.

"It's amazing. You are truly talented.." Wanda continues to stare at you.

"Thank you, it's... it's very personal," you say with a nod, turning to the stranger. "She needs the shadow to keep pushing forward, but she'll never admit it to herself."

Before either of you can say anything else, your phone rings. "Excuse me for a moment," you say with a smile, answering the call.

"Hey mom, is everything okay?" Wanda hears you ask as you walk away from her.

She looks at the painting, then to you standing on the other side of the room. A smile slid into a crooked grin on her face, and Wanda knew it was fate.

***

Current Winter 2018

You look around the room you entered, some sort of a guest bedroom. You needed a way out.. Right?

Yes, you needed to get out.

You move around the room, looking for some type of makeshift weapon, but find no such thing. Wandas footsteps stop outside the door, you stand still near the neatly made bed.

"I know you're in there, pretty girl.." The door knob wiggles as she tries to open it, finding it locked. Wanda chuckles darkly.

"Dear Shadow," her voice carries through the door, your eyes widen. There was no way she knew the next words.

"You scare me.. You frighten me.."

"Stop it!" You scream, putting your hands over your ears.

"You scare me because I'm afraid I'll never be able to live a normal life. You frighten me because I like being chased.." Wanda quotes the note you left, the one you thought was locked away in a box underneath a pile of clothes in your closet. The door handle wiggles again.

"You make me feel something, something I know isn't right. I won't play your game.." She finishes talking. And you feel your hands shaking.

"H-How did you get that note?" You ask, fists balled up at your sides. You think back to a session where Wanda even asked you about the note. A note she apparently had, for how long you weren't sure.

"Do you really think I've only been inside of your house the once? You're smarter than that little mouse."

Your stomach dropped again, a sick feeling in your gut at the realization of her words. Wanda had been more a part of your life than you had even realized.

***

Late Summer 2016

Wanda watches from across the street, hidden in the shadows as you unpack boxes in your new home. It had been two months since your mother's funeral, 4 months since she began watching you. She dropped the cigarette she was smoking onto the ground, kicking it out with her foot. She watches as a red-headed woman helps you hang up a painting on the wall. Wanda smiles. It was almost time to begin the game.

***

Fall 2016

"Natasha? Hey!" Wanda says with a perfect smile, a hand runs through her hair.

"Oh my god, hey! We just keep running into each other." Natasha smiles warmly.

Happenstance, right ... Wanda thinks to herself as the red head reaches out her hand. She shakes Natashas' hand with a friendly grip.

"I know it's so crazy! Hey, do you want to grab a coffee sometime? Might as well if we're going to keep seeing each other around," Wanda laughs and looks around the grocery store she's never shopped at before.

"That would be so great, I know a great cafe just down the block.."

***

Winter 2016

Wanda stands outside in the shadows. The same red wine is poured into a glass as you stir a pot on the stove. She watches as you look through the window, squinting your eyes. You shake your head and gulp the rest of the wine down, not knowing you were staring right at her.

A vibrate from her pocket pulls her attention, and she looks at the text she received:

Natasha- Hey Wanda! Throwing a Christmas party next Saturday. You in?

Wanda- I'll be there.

You saw in the corner of the room a woman, standing alone. Her eyes watch over the room as she sips out of a red solo cup. She looks.. familiar, you can't quite place it. With the confidence of Rum on your tongue, you walk over to the angelic looking woman. She has a crooked smile on her face as you approach her.

"Wanda," she says after you introduce yourself. It wasn't long after that you were screaming the name for hours in your bedroom.

***

Current Winter 2018

"Now open the door, darling.." Wanda says. You hear 4 taps on the door, not from her hand. You can only assume it was by the knife you saw her unsheathe downstairs.

"And then what? What's the endgame, Wanda?" You ignore her command, standing in front of the door as you question her. She's silent for a while, so quiet you began to wonder if she had disappeared.

"Tell me you don't like the chase. Tell me you hate the way I make you feel. Tell me you want me to stop," she speaks calmly, voice unwavering. You can practically hear the smile on her face as she says, "Tell me all of those things, pretty girl. And if you say it, if you mean it.. I will leave you alone. You can go back to your regular, boring life. The same routine every day. No one chasing after you, pushing you forward. No more shadows."

You swallow hard at her words, mouth open to speak, but no words come out. Wanda will leave you alone, just tell her you're done. Back to reality. Back to...

Wanda stands outside the door, waiting for too long. She reaches into her pocket and takes out a key, unlocking the door. When she opens it all the way, she feels a cool air blowing strands of her hair back. Wanda looks around once. You were nowhere to be found. She laughs and shakes her head, walking to the open window where the breeze flows into the room. Snow floating in gently.

You couldn't say those words to her and mean it. Wanda had run into your life and caused chaos, but you wouldn't be truthful if you said it was already fucked up. With Wanda you felt alive. You felt important. You couldn't live without the dangerous chase.

With windswept hair and an exhilarated look on your face, you dash through a pristine blanket of snow, your bare feet leaving delicate imprints behind you. With each step, a mix of excitement and trepidation dances across your features, your heart racing with the thrill of the moment. The feeling of the snow sticking to your hair and the flakes underneath you heightens the sense of vulnerability and adrenaline coursing through your veins.

It didn't take long for you to hear the familiar pace of Wandas stride coming from behind you.

You make for the trees.

***

Summer 2017

Wanda unscrews another bolt, wiping the sweat that dripped down to her brow. She stands from the AC unit on the side of your house, the mechanical noise coming to a halt. The birds in the trees above her chirped loudly, signaling the sun rising from a distance. She walks away, with each step assuring her imminent return.

****

Current Winter 2018

You find solace behind a tree. Gasping for air, your chest heaving with each breath. As you glance around, all you see are dark trees speckled white with snow. The treetops covered the forest that stood behind Wandas house, the sun peaking through its leaves and branches to light a golden path on the mossy ground.

A branch breaks from behind you. Your hands move to cover your mouth as you hear the steps of your shadow.

****

Summer 2017

"Such a pretty little mouse..."

Wanda sat on top of you, relishing in how easy it was to sneak in. How your body barely fought her off.

"Leave me alone!" You whimper, shaking your head to remove her hand off of your lip.

"Why? We've only just begun pretty girl," her voice makes your chest tighten. You watch with careful eyes as she reaches behind her back, pulling out a gun.

Wanda slides the barrel against your cheek, watching the fear in your eyes. The gun slides down your rapidly moving chest...

And then she sets it down on the floor beside your head.

"You can use it any time you like.. but I know you won't, little mouse," she husks down at you. "You want me here.. you like the idea of a shadow watching over you every day. The feeling I can just walk in at any time.." Wanda chuckles darkly.

Before you can say anything or wonder where her hands are going, you feel a sharp needle prick your neck. You immediately feel your eyes become heavy, your vision blurring as your shadow removes her mask. Features blurry enough that you can't make her out.

"Sweet dreams, Y/N.."

You awake the next morning on the couch with a start, gasping as you look around the room with wide eyes. The pounding in your head and the nauseous feeling in your stomach convinced you that you must have had too much to drink. It was just a bad dream.

But then your eyes catch sight, on the coffee table in front of you, a small black gun.

One that you would wave down the street looking for your shadow, screaming to no one that if they didn't come out, you would kill yourself.

One that you would lie to the police about, saying you bought it off a junkie at the docks to protect your shadow.

The shadow was yours, after all, to deal with.

****

Current Winter 2018

As you stand still like prey avoiding your predator, you hear a subtle sound of a bell ringing. A bell you knew to be followed by a blow of a deep horn as a boat leaves the dock. You wait a second... two... three...

A deep horn sounds from in the direction straight ahead of you.

Excitement sparks in your chest as you mentally prepare yourself to do what you do best, run.

You don't look back once, but you know Wanda is following. Your ears twitch as you hear her pace quicken behind you, branches and twigs snapping around the two of you as you make for the dock. The trees begin to clear, and you spot the water, a dock spanning so far you can't see the end of it, along the shore. You run towards a wooden boathouse attached to the dock that didn't look too far, hoping you could make it before Wanda emerges from the trees.

You sit low on the ground of the wood surface, and water splashes below you. A small boat floated inside, covered with a tarp, along with random tables and boxes filled with fishing supplies. As you look out the window, you see Wanda at the edge of the woods, her eyes searching the many places you could be. You duck down, not willing to risk being spotted.

***

Late Summer 2017

"I really fucked up, Wanda.." Pietro sighs into the phone.

Wanda shakes her head, watching from afar as you pace the living room.

"Shit, Pietro," she sighs loudly and walks away, around the corner. "I'll book a flight in the morning."

****

Spring 2018

"I'm so happy you're back.." Natasha smiles at her friend, sipping the coffee she held in her hands, the smiling not quite reaching her eyes.

"What's wrong, Nat?" Wanda says, resting her hand on top of Natasha.

"It's my friend, Y/N. I've told you about her," she says, Wanda nods thoughtfully. "She really needs some help, I just don't know what to do.."

Wanda reaches in her pocket and takes a business card out, sliding it across the table. "Give her this. I know a lot of people that could help her, but I also know you really care about her... I could take care of her. She would be brand new by the time we finished our Sessions."

Natasha takes the card wearily. "I don't know if I can just suggest this right now to her.. I'll think about it. Wait a little bit, and see if she gets better on her own." She smiles at Wanda gratefully.

"Of course.. maybe she'll get better," Wanda says, smiling at the thought of her spot in the shadows just outside your house.

****

Current Winter 2018

"Little mouse.." Her voice sounds from outside the window. You move quietly and quickly underneath a table that is in the corner covered by a tarp.

Wanda steps inside, the floor creaking underneath her weight, the door shutting with a snap. You listen to her footsteps as she walks around the small boathouse, rustling around in boxes. Your fingers twitch, absendmidetly tapping your leg 4 times.

Your shadow loomed over you.

It was quick, the pulling of the tarp, the exasperated scream as Wanda grabbed you from the back of your neck, pressing the blade to the front of your throat. She pulls you close to her, knowing you were going nowhere in her strong grip. The knife she held to your neck presses harder, drawing the smallest bit of blood as you attempt to scratch at her arms.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Wanda sighs into your ear, pressing her lips to the sensitive skin just below. "Looks like I've caught you, pretty girl. What now, hm?" She chuckles darkly and continues to kiss your neck.

The ache between your legs grows as she presses her hips into you, feeling the strap beneath her jeans. "I told you if you ran, I would punish you.." Wanda removes one hand, keeping the knife to your throat. You don't have time to wonder before you hear the sound of her unbuckling her belt.

Cool metal is replaced with warm leather as she ties the belt around your neck, pushing you down roughly face first onto the table in front of you. "Wanda.." You whimper out. She tugs on the end of the belt, your whimpering cut short by lack of air. With the sharp blade, she cuts the shirt that clung to your body right down the middle, exposing your back.

"I told you, Y/N. I warned you what would happen when I found you." Her free hand slides down the shorts you wore. You blush, knowing she was about to find out how wet you were for her. Wanda frees the strap from her pants, sliding the tip along your ass. Your hips move back towards her as she teases you, causing Wanda to smirk.

She knew how badly you wanted her. Wanda would show you, over time, how you belonged to her and only her. And that she, belonged to you, only you.

She slides in easily, wasting no time in fucking herself into you. The table moves with every thrust, scratching the wooden dock below. Wanda holds in one strong grip, the belt, the other one holding your hip to meet hers. The knife had dropped to the ground. You both knew it wasn't needed.

"Fuck pretty girl, I'm going to fuck you every chance I get.." She moans loudly, pulling the belt. Your hands grip onto the leather as she pounds into you mercilessly, moaning at the thought of her having her way with you whenever she felt like it. Her powerful thrust sending shocks into your body. A hard smack across your ass makes you yelp. You feel a singing sensation. Another. More stinging. And another. Surely a bruise.

"Tell me, Y/N.." Wanda grunts in between thrusts. You knew what she wanted to hear. You had no problem telling her the truth.

"I need you!" You rasp out, her grip on the belt loosens.

"That's right, baby. I won't let you forget it," she pulls the belt to pull you up, your back flush against her. Wanda kisses your cheek, surprisingly softly. "Fuck you feel so good." Wanda groans, her breathing becoming ragged. She gropes your breasts as the cut shirt slips off of your body, pinching your nipples hard between her fingers.

The pleasure was overstimulating, your body still sore and tired from the night before. You feel your legs tremble under your weight, but Wanda easily holds you up.

"Are you gonna cum, little mouse? Hm?" Wanda groans against your skin, you nod quickly. "You better beg for it then.." She chuckles, making you whine.

"Wanda.." Your word barely comes out, unable to think and physically trapped by the belt. "Baby.." You try, feeling her body tense behind you.

"Please let me cum, please I'm begging you!"

"I need you to let me cum!"

"Baby please!"

"Cum for me, pretty girl.." She finally gives in.

Before you know it, you were coming, your orgasm crashing over your body in sync with the waves crashing below. Wanda continues to fuck you through your orgasm, letting herself enjoy the sight of you falling apart in her arms.

You hear her moan loudly, thrusts slowing as she releases with you. Wanda holds onto you tightly, the grip on her belt gone as you stand breathing heavily, your hearts beating together as you catch your breath. She gives you a minute before sliding out of you carefully and sitting you on the table.

You can barely sit up, freezing, and now even more sore than you already were. You watch with half lidded eyes as Wanda does her pants up, buckling her belt. She takes the knife and puts it behind her before taking off her hoodie. You could see a red shirt on her.

The hoodie is warm and smells like her as she slides it over your head, putting your arms in the holes. She pulls up the shorts and puts the hood over your head, tucking your hair behind your ears. You close your eyes as she lifts you up bridal style, carrying you out of the wooden structure.

You remember resting your head against her neck, thinking you had never felt softer skin before. You remember the warm sun shining through the trees as she carried you through the woods to her house. You remember the sound of hot water running. The feeling of her hands scrubbing your body clean. The sound of a match flicking. The smell of Wanda as warm clothes were put on your body.

Wanda slides in front of you in the bed, holding you tightly in her embrace. You grab onto her. She pulls the blanket over you both. 4 kisses on your head. The feeling of sleep taking over. The thought that nothing was going to be the same.

Your shadow whispering in your ear,

"Sweet dreams, little mouse.."

[ladykailitha]

The Magic of Christmas Part 3/8

Just an extra long chapter here because they didn't want to shut up. They're getting closer and their best friends are slowly coming on board to the idea.

Part 1 Part 2

***

Eddie was vibrating. Chrissy had done a total deep dive into this guy and other then being a bratty teenager and having shit parents there was nothing in Steve’s closet that would set off alarm bells.

Steve Harrington just knew how to deal with people to get what he wanted. He knew when to back off, too. In fact, Eddie was trying to get the dude stop backing off so much.

He was a people pleaser with eroded boundaries. And while that was certainly a problem, it wasn’t a ‘might be a serial killer’ problem like Chrissy thought.

So yeah, Eddie was vibrating because he was going to show Steve his first set of sketches for him to okay the design.

Steve was late. He had called to let him know he would be late. A meeting had gone over and he would be there as soon as he could.

Eddie pulled out his drawing pad and flipped through the designs he had come up with. He itched to pull out a pencil and “fix” a line or seven. But he had to refrain. If he started on it he would be so far down the rabbit hole that he would have three new designs before Steve got here.

A shadow crossed over him and he looked up to see Steve standing there.

“Steve!” he greeted warmly, getting to his feet.

They shook hands and then sat down.

“So what have you got for me?” Steve asked eagerly, leaning on his forearms to see Eddie’s drawing pad.

Eddie grinned at him. “I’ve got loads, big boy.” He turned the drawing pad around and Steve paid diligent attention to each piece.

He went back to the third design and turned it back to face Eddie. “I like this one. But I have one suggestion, if I may?”

Eddie shrugged. “Sure.”

“What if the dragon’s wings spread out over the four other pieces connecting them?” Steve asked, biting on his lip.

Eddie began to sketch furiously while Steve watched in fascination.

“Have you ever thought about streaming your process?” Steve asked. “It’s very enthralling.”

Eddie’s head jerked up like he’d forgotten Steve was there at all. He looked down at his pad and blushed. “I never thought I’d have the patience for it, you know? The whole explaining it while I’m doing it.”

Steve nodded. “I can see why that might deter you. But if you just drew or painted and put music over the top, I think it would do very well.”

“And would you be my first subscriber?” Eddie teased.

“Hell yeah!” Steve said with a grin. “And I would tell everyone I know to subscribe too.”

“I’ll think about it.”

He slid the drawing back over to Steve, who grinned.

“Perfect.”

*

“Edward Allen Munson!” Chrissy hissed as she threw open the door to their loft. “You tell me right now: are you joking about the YouTube channel?”

Eddie looked up from his sketching and blinked at her. “I thought you’d be pleased.”

She walked over to where he had sprawled out in front of the five canvasses and flopped down across from him. “I am pleased but only if you aren’t trying to butter me up to leave you alone about your ridiculous crush.”

Eddie opened and closed his mouth, licking and smacking his lips as he struggled for words.

“It’s about the crush but not in the way you mean…?” he said with a grimace.

She crossed her legs and put her elbows on her knees. She rested her head on her knuckles to stare him down. He wiggled and squirmed under her gaze.

“Explain.”

So Eddie did.

Chrissy rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “So no talking but what if I convinced you to let me write words to put up on the screen while you paint talking about the subject matter and why you chose it?”

“Oh!” he said brightly. “Even better! Why don’t I talk about D&D or music while I paint? That way I can babble to my hearts content without out having to drone on about the process.”

She blinked at him. “Eddie Munson you are a genius.” She rose up on her still crossed legs and kissed him soundly on the forehead. “I love it and you.”

Eddie blushed and went back to his sketching.

*

“Steve!” Dustin screamed into his ear when he picked up the phone mere days after his last meeting with Eddie.

“God, kid,” Steve groaned. “Tone it down. I don’t want to go deaf please.”

He could practically feel the eye roll from here.

“Eddie Munson has a YouTube channel!” Dustin continued to scream. “Oh my god do you know how big this is?!”

“One, I need to you to breath before you pass out from lack of oxygen to your brain,” Steve said. “You like your brain, don’t abuse it like this.”

Dustin let out a slow shuddering breath. “Right. I’m breathing.”

“Good,” Steve said slowly. “And two, I know about the channel because he told me about it.”

“You already know?” Dustin squawked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Steve sighed. “Look at the clock and tell me what time it is?”

“2:37pm. Why?”

“What time did the channel go live?” Steve asked, pinch the bridge of his nose.

“About one.”

“And where would you have been at one?” he asked, his eyes fluttering shut against the audacity of this kid.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, bud,” Steve said. “Oh. You were in class. Which I still don’t understand why you are taking summer classes. You’re young, you should enjoy your life.” He tilted his head. “How did you find out so fast anyway?”

“I follow Eddie on twitter, Facebook, Instragram, and his fan Discord server.” This was said as though it was obvious.

“Well now you have one more place to follow him,” Steve said ignoring the tone.

“Steve…” Dustin said, his voice low and dangerous. “Why are you his first subscriber?”

“Look, Dustin,” he said trying to keep the giggle in his throat from bursting through, “I’ve got to run. I have a meeting.”

“Stev–”

Steve sighed as he held the phone against his forehead, grateful they weren’t in person.

“Yeah, Steve,” Robin said from the doorway, “why were you his first subscriber?”

He blushed a dark red. “Because I promised I would be when I suggested the channel three days ago?”

Robin narrowed her eyes. “I see.”

Steve wasn’t sure what she saw, but he knew he would find out soon enough.

*

Eddie was working on Dustin’s first because he felt like it was the most important to get right. Wizards were usually portrayed as dusty old men and it appeared that this kid had done the same. But then the character was created ten years ago.

But Eddie decided to avoid a Gandolf/Dumbledore looking dude and went more for a Jafar that had gotten the time to grow old. A neat goatee, a sharp piercing gaze and weather-beaten skin.

His robe had stars on it according to Will the Wise’s picture of them. So he decided to make the robe look it was filled with swirling galaxies and nebulae.

Eddie was working on the cave background when his phone chirped. He tucked his paintbrush behind his ear and pulled it out.

Rich Pretty Boy: I got ahold of a couple of friends of mine that are going to help promote your charity. Nancy Wheeler is an investigative journalist most of the time but she owes me a favor and is willing to interview you about the charity to get it seen on a national platform. I’ll email you the details.

Eddie blinked at his phone in shock. Nancy Wheeler was the new and improved Barbara Walters (improved as in she wasn’t an ass to the people she was interviewing.) That must be a huge fucking favor she owed Steve if he got her for this.

EM: Holy shit! What kind of blackmail do you have on her for this?

RPB: LOL! I’m sworn to secrecy, sorry. :(

EM: All right, keep your secrets.

RPB: That’s LotR, right?

EM: Correct. I know you keep telling me you aren’t a nerd, but dude every time we talk I gather more and more evidence to the contrary.

RPB: I blame Dustin. He wore me down.

EM: Then I take it upon myself to complete the education that Sir Dustin has begun!

EM: Meet me at my loft on Friday at 8pm. We are going to start with the animated classics of the 80s!

RPB: Beer or wine?

EM: Beer.

EM: I’ll see you later, pretty boy. I have this huge project I’m working on that is on a deadline.

RPB: Curse the bastard that’s taking up all your time. ;)

Eddie laughed out loud.

EM: He’s the worst. ;)

RPB: See you on Friday, Eds.

EM: Laters!

Eddie put his phone down with a fond smile on his face. It was absolutely ridiculous how much he loved this beautiful idiot that had come in and swept him off his feet.

*

“Tell me again why I have to be here for this?” Chrissy complained for the fifth time that hour.

“Because fair Christine,” Eddie said through gritted teeth, “it’s not a date and he’s bringing his best friend.”

“How is his secretary his best friend anyway?” she groused, folding her arms and burying herself into the big fluffy sofa.

Eddie rolled his eyes and flopped down next to her. “They were friends before he took over the business. They had worked together in every job they’ve ever had so when he took over he put the one person he could trust in front of his office to shield himself from the assholes who make his life a living hell.”

Chrissy pursed her lips. “Fine.”

He kissed her cheek and went to go get the popcorn and candy.

“You ever going to tell this Steve you have a hard on for him?” she asked as he kept swapping bowls around for best placement.

“No,” Eddie said firmly. “Not while he’s paying me, anyway.”

She shrugged. “I guess that’s fair. It’s just...”

“That I have it so bad my only two thoughts are painting and Steve?” he finished for her.

“And me,” she agreed. “But pretty much.”

He put his head on her shoulder. “I’ve never fallen this hard for a person before. He’s sweet and funny and an absolute dork.”

Chrissy kissed the top of his head. “I’ll be good tonight. No bitching or being mean.”

Eddie snorted. “He’s also a queen bitch. So you can be you all you want. Just...”

She turned on the sofa, bringing her knees up to her chest. “But what?”

“When he starts gushing about something don’t...” he floundered for the right words. “Just don’t make him feel small about it.”

Chrissy tilted her head to side. “Has people made him feel small about his interests?”

Eddie nodded. “I think his parents were like yours, if I’m honest.”

“Rich, entitled assholes who wanted a doll and not a child?” she asked bitterly. He nodded. She sighed heavily. “Yeah okay. You got me. I know the signs and will adjust accordingly.”

He threw his arms around her and gave her a wet sloppy kiss on the cheek.

Just then the doorbell rang.

“They’re here,” Eddie said nervously.

Chrissy leaned down to look at him. “Do you want me to answer the door to give you a second to prepare?”

He nodded.

She gave his hands a squeeze and gracefully slid off the couch to do just that. She bounded over to the door and threw it open. And yeah, objectively she knew what Steve looked like, but seeing him out of his trademark blue power suit was a revelation. And immediately she got why Eddie fell hard for this guy.

He was wearing a David Bowie t-shirt from his Ziggy Stardust era and tight, light blue jeans. His sneakers were Nike’s, and his watch was Schwartz but those were the only major shows of wealth.

Next to him was not what she was expecting either. Chrissy was expecting someone more bookish. Glasses, frumpy. Or even the extreme opposite, a fashion plate. Someone who fit the sexy secretary stereotype. But nope.

She was fashionable, Chrissy had to give her that, but not in the way she thought. Billowy pants with a long-sleeved button up with sleeves rolled up to her elbows and pair of colorful suspenders. Her blonde hair was artfully tousled and she had freckles on her nose and cheeks.

In short, Chrissy was in love.

“Hi!” she greeted as though her heart wasn’t going to leap out of her chest to prostrate itself before this lovely maiden, only for her stomp all over it.

“Hey,” Steve smiled back. “You must be the agent/best friend, Chrissy I’ve been hearing so much about. It’s nice to put a name to the face.”

The woman elbows him. “Face to the name, dingus.”

Steve flushed. “I’m so glad I have you here to correct me.”

“Come on in,” Chrissy said warmly, moving out of the way for them to enter the loft. Inwardly she briefly wondered if maybe the best friend was the cause of the “limiting” as Eddie called it.

“Thanks!” he said and then pointed to the woman next to him. “This is Robin my platonic soulmate, best friend, and all around Stevie wrangler. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

“Aww,” Robin said with a smile and hip check.

Steve stumbled but laughed, too.

By the time they reach the living area Chrissy still wasn’t sure what to think about these two.

Eddie leapt to his feet at the sight of them.

“Stevie! Robin!” he greeted brightly. “You found the place okay?”

Robin nodded. “I’m glad you gave us directions on top of the whole GPS otherwise we would have ended up in some cemetery.”

Chrissy grimaced. “Yeah. But that cemetery was here before the condos and high rises so I can’t complain. Even though I really, really want to.”

“How old is the cemetery?” Steve asked eagerly.

She looked over at Eddie for help. “I don’t actually know.”

“Uh...” Eddie said unhelpfully. “I don’t know exactly but I know it’s over a century old.”

Steve lit up. “That’s so cool.”

“You like old graveyards, Steve?” Chrissy asked. She sat down on the sofa and grabbed the bag of popcorn.

“Steve is obsessed with them,” Robin said playfully.

“Am not,” he said and then turned to Chrissy and Eddie. “I’m really not. I just think it’s super neat.”

“What makes them so neat?” Eddie asked, taking the beer from Steve and setting it on the table with the array of goodies.

“Like seeing a bunch of people with similar death years knowing that it was because of a pandemic,” Steve said. “Or on Memorial Day going to see all the American flags for those that died during war time. It’s all just endlessly fascinating.”

“I could take you some time,” Eddie said. “Have a picnic lunch, make a day out of it.”

“You’d do that?” he asked eagerly.

Chrissy bumped Eddie’s shoulder. “Eddie here likes graveyards because they’re spooky.”

Steve laughed. “That’s a great reason to like graveyards.”

They settled down to watch the movies Eddie had picked out for them. A double feature of “The Hobbit” and “The Return of the King”.

“Holy shit!” Steve said afterwards. “How did they get more faithful to the books in less time than Peter Jackson?”

Eddie laughed. “Good story telling.”

They finally left for the night and Eddie closed the door behind them.

“Thoughts?” Eddie asked.

“And prayers,” Chrissy said. “Holy fuck do you have it bad. And I’ll swear under oath that if there is a god, he made Steve especially for you.”

He blushed. “Fuck, you can’t say that.”

“Why not?” she asked raising an eyebrow.

“Because it feels that way for me, too,” he whined, “and if you think that too, then I’m royally fucked.”

Chrissy sighed. “Yeah.”

***

Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

@spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @vecnuthy @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @littlewildflowerkitten @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @genderless-spoon @anne-bennett-cosplayer @irregular-child @carlprocastinator1000 @mogami13 @samsoble

[0rb0t]

Don't mind me, just talking about Shadow as being on the autistic spectrum, and how his portrayal in the games and anime (before 2010s era) reflected this even if it was never outright stated.

(TIME FOR A CHARACTER ANALYSIS ABOUT SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG)

    When I was in high school, I struggled a lot in social situations, I'd go completely stiff and just watch people. I had a "resting bitch face", I never really could have conversations and seemed to just fixate on things. I'd make observations that irritated people. I'd ask "why" a lot. (Asking why or even asking 'obvious' questions seemed to make people think I was questioning their judgment, or that I was challenging them. But no, I just didn't understand and wanted clarification. I still run into this a lot and I wish people would stop assuming I have ulterior motives. I just wanna understand stuff better cause it doesn't connect for me. Even if it seems obvious. I'm the genius that asked my mom why she was crying at her dad's funeral when I was 11. It's not that I didn't understand why Grandpa was gone, I knew he passed away, but it hadn't really landed for me, and my brain registered my mom's sadness before it registered the why.)

    I didn't like small talk (still don't) and would rather every interaction have a specific purpose. You'd never catch me at a party and I didn't think drinking or drugs looked fun or interesting. The act of rebelling didn't interest me either. The few interests I did have were something I'd always go back to, and I couldn't function without them. (For me, drawing has always been a huge part of my life and if I didn't have a pencil or pen and paper, then I couldn't hear. I know, very weird. If I were doodling or just even had my sketchbook open, I could study a lot easier. In High school, my teachers started telling me to put the sketchbook away, and my grades plummeted because my attention did, too. Trying to tell them just kind of led to the same old "well everyone else can't doodle so you can't either". I wasn't in any of the special ed stuff because I guess I masked too well.)

    Sonic 06 and Sonic X have the same characterization for Shadow, especially in Japanese, and I think that's honestly the best he'd ever been-- he's quiet, he's reserved, he observes and he doesn't like to "waste time". Not because he's edgy, not because he's a jerk or too serious, but because he struggles in social situations and he's more introverted. He doesn't want to be the centre of attention, he doesn't enjoy any of that. Shadow also behaves like an adult, and I'm sure a ton of us on the spectrum have heard that before, that we're very mature for our age. In reality, we can't relate with our peers and have very fixated interests that don't really expand to other things. Limited interests and we just wanna do stuff tied to that. We know so much about that one thing or those things, but those things won't get you ahead in school. Unless you're LUCKY and your fixation is math, oy vey! (My fixation was etymology. I loved learning and knowing where words came from. Useful for 2 seconds in English class, quickly loses its usefulness in a skill-oriented world.)

    I don't even think he's naturally boastful, at least he wasn't since SA2 (when he was an antagonist), but Sonic brings out a competitive side in him. Sonic brings out the childhood-self that he lost to trauma and being sealed away. Shadow never got to be a normal kid/adult. He has always had expectations placed on him. I think Sonic really brings out a side of him that even surprises himself. It's why he will even say very often "What am I doing?" or "This is such a waste of time!" but he won't STOP… Because he's having fun and doesn't know how to describe his own feelings. Shadow's the type who'll say "I'm fine" no matter what state he's in when you ask if he's okay. My spouse is like this actually-- I can often tell when he's feeling down, but he doesn't know how to describe emotions beyond functional things like "i'm healthy" or "i'm unhealthy", so he'll say he's fine even if he's having a melancholy day. I struggle with understanding my emotional responses, but not necessarily identifying them. A lot of people on the spectrum do struggle with identifying their emotions beyond empirical things. "Do I feel sick? No? then I'm fine" Shadow is exactly like this. And because his expression is so neutral, sometimes intense, he gets mistaken as being angry or too serious. In reality, he's just standing there. He's not gonna expend energy smiling when he's got nothing to smile about. Why force yourself to emote for people? Especially if it feels unnatural.

    Another thing about Shadow being autistic is if he's got nothing to say, then he won't say it. If he wants to leave, he'll leave. Good luck stopping him! But for many actual people it's not an option to leave. We can't just teleport out or skate at lightning speeds like he can, so we have to just sit there and do little coping or self soothing methods to keep ourselves in the moment and calm. We don't often see Shadow stimming in traditionally understood ways, like lip biting or rubbing his arms or fidgeting with his fingers-- but he often stands with his arms crossed. This CAN BE a stim. Feeling the weight of your arms on top of each other, it allows for you to be aware of your own body. I fold my arms a lot in public, because I'm usually playing with the hem of my sleeves, or I'm rubbing my arms or squeezing them. Shadow doesn't seem to do any of that but he's rarely seen without his arms folded.

    When his arms aren't folded, he stands so still and just stares at people. He looks completely out of his element. He doesn't seem to have a relaxed stance--until the anime, where he's shown standing with his hand on his hip. Rouge also does this, leading to the popular headcanons that Shadow is unintentionally imitating Rouge-- his masking leads him to identify the most 'normal' person in the room and copy their behavior in order to blend in better. Unfortunately it rarely, in my experience, leads to people NOT thinking I'm weird. Sometimes I'll even start imitating speech patterns or accents and BOY. I don't even realize I'm doing it until it HAPPENS. So embarrassing. But Shadow absolutely imitates everyone around him. We can see him do this even as far back as Sonic Heroes--that scene where he's nodding or shaking his head to whatever Rouge is saying. The scene where Sonic starts getting competitive and Shadow starts kind of imitating his posture and his way of speaking to become competitive with them-- I don't even think he realizes he's doing it. But it also makes sense with his NAME.

    His name is Shadow. I think of Peter Pan, where Peter's Shadow can sometimes get away from him. Usually it does everything he does, but sometimes it gets away and does its own things, and Peter has to catch it. Wendy sews the shadow back on in Hook. I think Shadow's name is referencing that as well, that just like a shadow, he mimics those around him. He's watching over them, but also copying them. Learning to blend in.

    Another moment I adore is in SA2 (and Sonic X) when Amy Rose hugs him from behind. According to the 2010s era and early IDW, you'd have expected Shadow to push her away or yell DONT TOUCH ME or whatever. But no, he actually just goes REALLY RIGID and doesn't even say anything. It isn't until Amy realizes her mistake that Shadow turns around to look at her, smiling like 'What are you doing???' But in Sonic X, they changed this scene further into autistic territory--

    Shadow doesn't even TURN to her. He goes rigid, yes, and his eyes widen and he just stands there looking towards the audience like 8| He's completely OUT OF HIS ELEMENT. He prepared for the mission, NOT to deal with random people HUGGING HIM. He's probably not been hugged since Maria over 50 years ago. We don't even know if Maria hugged him much because Shadow has always seemed pretty touch-averse. I love GIVING hugs and I love receiving hugs but only from people I'm REALLY close to. I don't even like getting hugs from extended family. My spouse? VERY touch averse. He'll get hugs from me but hugging and touch are just not his thing. Shadow is not a huggy person, but he does tend to hold hands.

    We know he grabbed and held Maria's hand, running with her-- but we never actually saw that until Sonic X (2003) he can be seen running with her away from the military, and he's holding her hand as he leads her. In Shadow the Hedgehog, Maria often grabs Shadow's hand when telling him things. This is also a grounding method to bring the person into the moment. For me, I feel like I can focus better on what my spouse is saying to me when he holds my hand and it's crowded or busy. Even in our home, if he wants to tell me something, I recommend that he hold my hand or touch my arm so I can focus on him better. This happens with Shadow.

    Sonic doesn't tend to hold peoples' hands. In Sonic X he usually just picks people up, but we do see him grab Elise's arm in 06 and run with her. But holding hands? Not really his thing! Shadow does do it more often though. In Sonic X S3, in the episode, Molly's Dream, Shadow's immediate way of leading Molly away from danger is to grab and hold her hand. He even keeps holding her hand until she lets go. It speaks to me the sort of childlike behavior he may still be exhibiting, but not that I'm trying to say that autistic people are more like children. From my experience on the spectrum, I am more childish than my peers. I still react like a kid might to things, and I don't really think like an adult is expected to. I am mentally behind my peers as well, I think my emotional maturity is lower? But it's hard to measure that without a doctor. It's not just about laughing at fart jokes or knowing to pay bills, it's like, how I problem solve is more creatively aligned with kids than it is adults. This is both great and terrible, depending on the situation. A situation that requires math and stuff cannot be solved my way. A situation that involves encouraging kids to try again or be nice to each other, well it's very useful because I can communicate with them on their level (I was a teacher in South Korea for over half a decade, my brain was great for being a teacher but not great for other things).

    I think Shadow really gets misread as a mean guy a lot, but he really isn't. I also don't really enjoy the headcanons that imagine him as very outgoing and whimsical when he was on the ARK, and I especially don't like headcanons that infantilize him-- I really don't like headcanons where people infantilize autistic people. We've seen Shadow when he loses his memories a few times. In Heroes, but also in S3 of Sonic X-- his personality is still the same. He's still reserved, he's still quiet, he still struggles in social situations and prefers getting to the point rather than dilly-dallying. I'd argue that he was exactly like that before the incident on the ARK, too. It's just that the incident caused his inner peace to be destroyed. His precious person, Maria, was no longer around and he lost everything all at once. He doubled down on the one thing that made sense: Revenge. But even after all of that was sorted out, he's not gonna just magically be a different person. He's still reserved, he's still serious, he's still "get to the point". If he played FFXIV, he'd only focus on main quests, and never do side quests. He'd never spend money on cosmetics, probably. He's likely a person who values gameplay over story. If the game is broken or the mechanics aren't utilized well, that's probably more what he'd be fixated on than whether the story was good or not. He'd skip through dialogue because he reads fast, even if the dialogue is voiced (my spouse does this and it drives me nuts. SHADOW I BEG OF YOU PLEASE DO IT FOR ME, DISABLE THE VOICE ACTING IN OPTIONS SO I STOP HEARING THE FIRST UTTERANCE OF A WORD EVERY TIME U MASH THROUGH THE DIALOGUE)

    Trauma affects people in all kinds of ways. I don't think all autistic people are like Shadow, because autism is a spectrum and no two people present exactly the same, although there will be similarities. Shadow's trauma happened at a time where he barely knew himself already, so that's why it was so easy for him to fixate on revenge, and then he'd be content with dying afterwards because he figured he had nothing left to live for. Finding out he was wrong was the best thing that could have happened to him.

    I was really saddened when SEGA decided he was an edgelord who hated everything and had no friends because that's such a horrible read of this nuanced character. In my personal headcanons for Shadow, he's actually very into plants and flowers, because Maria loved the planet so much. And eventually he learns to love the planet because of nature. Shadow's never going to be a people person, in fact he probably still doesn't care much for people as a whole, but that doesn't mean he won't step up when they need his help. Which is why his line in Sonic 06 is still so poignant. "If the world chooses to become my enemy, then I'll fight like I always have." Basically, it really doesn't matter, I've made my choice, I know who I am now and I get to make those decisions. No one else will shake the foundations of who I am.

    And because he knows who he is, he doesn't feel the need to repeat it and boast about himself. He's confident, not arrogant. He can be smug and competitive, but that's playfulness, not cruelty. He's quiet and may just straight up walk away while someone is mid-sentence, but that's not because he's evil or intentionally being a jerk-- it's just how he is. He needs to work on it if he wants to have friends, but his friends already understand him very well. They know that he's like that, and from what we saw in The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, occasionally they forget it's not personal. I'm happy to see them admitting "oh no, I completely misjudged you, I'm so sorry!" because it's been way too long since we've heard the main cast apologize to Shadow for assuming he was a big jerk on purpose.

    Knowing the restrictions on how Shadow is written have been lifted, I'm really hoping we can get more of how he's meant to be, the reserved, socially awkward but well-meaning hedgehog we love. Autistic Shadow FTW!

    

(our experiences and headcanons

may differ, that's okay.)

[nextinline-if]

i'll love you forever if you do that short "fake make-out" thingy but with Felix

Okay, I was going to do another one last night but I got tired and went to bed early. I did try to think of a scenario though. I'm really bad at those so sorry this one isn't the best? lmao

Felix (Felix initiated)

Someone taps your shoulder and you turn to see a group of three. You take a sip of your mug before placing it down. "Hmm?"

One of them leans in close, "Hey, you're that royal, aren't ya?"

You shrug, trying to stay calm but more people are turning to look. And it's not concern in their eyes. They're glaring at you, they've got disgust in their gazes. As if you need to be held accountable for things you haven't done.

The person sitting next to you slams their mug down before standing up. Felix.

He draws you up from your seat while continuing to glare at the people who interrupted you. "Turn around and go back to your seat," his icy voice commands.

The one who spoke previously steps closer to Felix. "I dare ya to repeat that."

Felix glances over at you and before you know it, he's pushed you toward the door. Your brows furrow. "What are you - "

Felix's right hand smashes into the guy's face, sending the man reeling. It all happens in only a few seconds and then Felix is running toward you, grabbing your hand and guiding you out of the door.

"Felix - "

"No time, just run."

Your legs burn as they beat down on the ground again and again. Shouts fill the streets and torches dim the darkness. You don't dare look behind. You swallow, nervousness causing you to stumble. Felix notices and stops, pulling you into an alcove. The voices inch closer, the shadows of the light winding their way to you.

"You okay?" Felix holds your head in his hands, looking over you.

"Fine," you whisper, unsure if that will be true in a few minutes. "Why did you punch him?" You can't help but glare at him, annoyance coursing through you.

Felix runs a hand through his hair. "I saw him reaching for his knife. I thought he might..." He struggles to finish his sentence.

You suck in a breath. "Oh," you mumble, thinking back to the way they seemed to be looking for a fight.

Footsteps come closer and your gaze flits to the street.

"Hey," Felix draws your attention. "Don't worry, I have a plan."

"What is it?"

He bites his lip. "Don't get mad," he replies.

"Why would I get mad?" you ask, narrowing your eyes.

He gently pushes you against the wall and you stare at him with wide eyes. "Felix, why would I get mad?"

"Because I need to kiss you." He doesn't break eye contact but he seems to be waiting for your response.

"Kiss me?" you're not sure why but your heart speeds up.

He leans closer, breath tickling your face. "Will you let me?"

"You're asking?"

He tilts his head. "Of course. I'll figure something else out if you're really that opposed..."

You can hear the mob turning the corner.

"Shut up and kiss me then!" you hiss.

Felix doesn't hesitate any longer, shifting so you are hidden from the opening behind him. Your eyes flit closed as his lips meet yours. The way he kisses you is somehow soft but urgent. Your hand moves to his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss. You don't miss the quiet moan from his lips.

You can feel the warmth of the mob's torches but you don't dare open your eyes. Your heart is racing and you can't decipher whether it's from Felix's stupidly perfect plan or because you aren't sure it's actually going to work.

A moment later, Felix brushes his thumb across your cheek before pulling away. "They're gone," he whispers, still close.

You open your eyes and take a breath. "What now?"

Felix starts to smirk but it somehow only ends up as a soft smile. You watch him with hesitation. His usual flirtatious demeanor is nowhere in sight.

"Now, I get you back to the safety of the castle. After all, I'm sure you're already plotting some way to make me pay for this." He chuckles to himself.

You don't respond as you follow him. Too many conflicting thoughts.

[kradogsrats]

So in the final part of Chasing Shadows, we see a very interesting moment regarding Rayla's moral framework and understanding. Generally we discuss that in terms of, y'know, assassinating people, since that's the major factor of what's going on with her—she believes she is supposed to be able to kill people, and it is a failure on her part to not do so.

But in Chasing Shadows, we have something we see pretty rarely: her interacting with dark magic and the way her views on it (and humanity as a result) are shaped... and how, in some ways, they haven't changed from s1.

Rayla spares Marcos because she—against her training—sees him as a person, and a person who hasn't done her any harm. Later, she sees the inside of Viren's dark magic workshop and is horrified by the shelves of ingredients, and declares that there is "nothing in humans worth sparing." So early on, she's essentially equating humanity and dark magic, and then has this cognitive dissonance where she swings back and forth between seeing humans as sympathetic or as monstrous. When she does settle on sympathetic, it's to the point that she offers to go with Callum to confront her entire squad (immediately after Runaan refused to listen to her) and potentially fight for Harrow's life. Even though, sure, the egg is still alive... but Harrow did still kill Avizandum.

Basically, Rayla has this ongoing conflict between her own nuanced moral compass and a very black-and-white framework she has been trained to use, and really struggles to land anywhere other than an extreme. In Chasing Shadows, we see her have the same experience she had early on with Marcos, but with Tressal, a dark mage.

Now, Rayla's overall experience with dark magic is mostly Claudia using it to attack her and what she has been taught regarding its history and poaching of Xadian inhabitants for materials, so we can't respect a particularly nuanced view... but it's very interesting that what gives her pause in this situation is this:

“Blood coral,” spat the dark mage, tide frothing over his mouth. “For—” “For dark magic,” Rayla said. “For many things, elf!” he snarled, defiant. “To warm a cold hearth. To draw plague from poisoned water. To heal the sick and bleeding—”

She hesitates, deliberately comparing him to Viren and literally trying to see Viren in him to condemn him, but then:

But what if it was true? A plague, an illness, a wound—

She apparently literally didn't know that dark magic can be used for purposes that she would consider noble? And then, similar to her rapid oscillating early in s1, she's immediately discarding that thought when Tressal defends himself. (It's unclear whether the coral growth would have hurt Rayla, appearing to have been primarily a defensive spell to armor himself and potentially disarm her.) He then escapes with the coral, which Rayla considers a failure comparable to her failure to kill Marcos:

Rayla looked at the driftwood floor. “Because I messed up. He got away with the rest.” Redfeather sighed. “You hesitated. Like in the Bone Pit.” It stung. She was right, of course. Rayla caught a glimpse of her own reflection in a glass bottle and scowled at herself: the face glowering back at her was not the face of an assassin, and it never would be.

So... she was supposed to, what, kill him? Even though he's not the target she thought she was hunting? Then return to Redfeather with the coral, which she has openly admitted she'll probably just sell to another dark mage? Okay, then... there's some pretty wild moral gymnastics going on, there.

Like, is she justified in feeling tricked by Tressal? Sure. I'd be pissed, if I were her. But I don't think he was lying. Whatever he is personally planning to use the blood coral for, what he listed are almost definitely legitimate uses for it—but it definitely feels implied that Rayla assumes it was all a trick that she was naive to fall for, in that she'd... apparently prefer to bring this coral that could surely only ever be used for evil purposes back to Redfeather and the black market, rather than let it go with this kid who rattled off a list of uses that made her genuinely pause in concern that she was taking something from someone who desperately needed it to save lives, and then defended himself without harming her.

So basically what's going on here is that, even though Rayla is now on team cool-with-humans (and was before it was... cool), she's still heavily affected by the toxic morality framework she was at the beginning of s1, in ways beyond just always feeling shitty about herself when she shouldn't.

[crappyyuki]

Bryan with lava eyes :DDD

It’s been a while since I fully colored smth :,)

Here’s the Sketch and the one with a background!

I attempted to make lava. I’m not sure if it went well lmao.

I also don’t know how to draw or render muscles but BUFF BRYAN SUPREMACY!

HE IS SLIGHTLY TONED BUT HE CAN FLATTEN A STONE FUCKING COUNTER THATS CANON FIGHT ME

Honestly, I’m not sure if I can write this AU. With confidence I mean. I already got like a 15k word outline going on and it’s still going and it’s been like that for the past 3 years. Yeah. Pretty crazy. But if I can’t write this then I might resort into posting a bulleted list on what I should’ve written in the betterment of those 3 years instead of making a long ass outline to get it out into the world.

I love this AU, you have no idea, but it is so hard to write. So bear with me. I’ll give a bit of insight into it.

• This is a canon divergence of the canon timeline where instead of Bryan taking the hit, it’s Molten taking the hit. (My guy is not having a great time. Both of them.)

• This AU is canon defiant to the actual lore in Bryan’s series. A lot actually. This is a bit more canon compliant to the Fnaf storyline. Focusing more on spirits and souls than portals and portal magic. Soul juice produced from murdered children. All that good stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I love the series but I wish it focused on the souls of the kids and their stories if only a little.

• Let’s say there are a lot of hidden secrets in the old pizzeria that Bryan would carry to his grave. Most of them is guilt. The other is shame borderlining to self loathing.

• “No one would ever believe you.” :)

• This AU’s pov is also on the animatronics side. Mostly Freddy, Helpy (the old one), and maybe probably Foxy (the Rockstar one) I miss them, okay?

• Pat is around too. Watching over the animatronics while getting deathly afraid of them for a definite period of time before making friends with them because wow, those robots aren’t actually gonna force them into a Freddy Fazbear suit. Why did they listen to a pre-recorded message anyway?

• Jon is the one that stumbles onto the secret. But its not complete. He wonders where he should find the other pieces.

• You know OG Freddy? How he was repaired? Yeah. That part wasn’t the only thing that brought him back to life.

• And the monitor Lefty stole from the pizzeria? Maybe Egg Baby? Wonder whats that for?

• The book that Bryan gave to Twisted Bonnie also changed. Still has the blueprints of the animatronics but of different animatronics.

• “Hmmmm, I wonder what I can do for Baby’s birthday? How can I make it her happiest day of her shortlived li—wait, can I even say that?????”

• Also, does anyone know what happened to Twisted Freddy? Did he just become the wind or what? We’ll see.

• Since Lefty didn’t die, let’s say Shadow Freddy had other places to be. And Twisted Wolf? Honestly forgot about that guy hahaha I’ll think of something.

• Oh! EB (Evil Bryan) is there too! Like actually.

• It’s quite funny to have two short humans going on offense while literal monsters go on support and defense lmao. What a bunch of losers.

• “See you on the flipside!”

• Hey. What’s up with Bryan’s eyes?

That’s all for now. Maybe I’ll post another one or work on a chapter? Who knows…

I can’t promise anything. I can only promise that the next will take a whileeeeeeee, a post or a chapter.

I still have not named this AU and marked it as INSERT TITLE HERE.

And to those that recognize that title, I am so sorry. I literally redid the first 5 chapters, finished 4, then dropped it off at chapter 7-8. Chapter 1-4 are finished but 5-8 is a land mine. I don’t know how to keep it going lmao. No really, it’s a struggle writing this dang thing and I want it out of my head too. I can’t promise any chapters or that I’m working on it because I’m so busy but I did not forget it if thats what you’re thinking. It’s just hard to write. Like really hard. That’s why I focused a bit on oneshots.

One things for sure though. It’s either chapter 5, 6, or 7 BUT—

Minigames. Plus Springtrap.

ITH!Bryan: Oh joy.

Feel free to ask questions about this AU! I’d be happy to answer! (Most of them anyway. Can’t reveal everything.)

[obsidiancreates]

Out Of The Shadows and Into The Neon (Part 6)

"I don't know about this," Leo whispers as Raph struggles with the manhole cover.

"You're the one who said we're basically already ninjas," Raph grunts. "Mikey, help me with this!"

"Plus, I need stuff to start building, and Dad still won't let me use the stuff in the lab unless he's watching." Donnie holds out a drawing. "You want a go-kart, right?"

"Yeah. But, we've only been training for a year-"

"We're six years old, bro! Basically adults!" Mikey shouts. Everyone covers their ears and glares at him, and he giggles. "Sorry."

"Adults can move covers," Leo points out, crossing his arms. Ha! That should get them to give up on this.

It doesn't.

"So all four of us make one adult." Raph pushes at it again.

Donnie nods. "He's right. Six plus six is twelve, and twelve plus twelve is twenty-four. So all together we're old enough to do whatever we want."

Leo thinks over Donnie's logic. That does track...

"Okay." He climbs up higher. "Donnie?"

They all four shove!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The... buildings... are... taller... than... I... thought," Donnie pants as they finally pulls themselves up to the rooftop. "How.... how do... our Dads... do this?"

"Maybe... they're short... sometimes," Mikey huffs, laying on his back. "Uuuuuhhhhgggggg..."

"Come on." Raph sucks in a breath. "We... are... big kids!"

"We're... two.. feet... tall," Leo pants.

They all take a long time to catch their breath, and once they do, finally move to peer over the side of the roof.

"So which way to the scrapyard, D?" Mikey whispers as they all stare in awe at the rushing traffic and neon lights.

"Um..." Donnie looks around. "I thought we'd see it from up here..."

"Oh, no!" Leo throws his hands up. "We're lost! I knew it!"

"No!" Donnie pulls on Leo's mask tails. "We're not lost! We just- we just need to find it! And... and we can find it by finding mutants!"

"We aren't supposed to talk to other mutants though," Mikey says. "Except like, Todd."

"So we'll find Todd." Donnie nods to himself. "It won't be hard, I grabbed this!" He reaches into his little backpack and pulls out a small device. "It's some kind of tracker! So it finds things!"

"Like Todd?" Raph looks at it. "It looks old."

"Yeah... I found it in Dad's old stuff. But look!"" Donnie holds it up. "A blip!"

"Is it Todd?" Mikey yanks it back down.

"Maybe! Whatever it is, it'll be cool!"

"Let's go then!"

"Wait-"

But his brothers are already off, so Leo just follows. They fumble their way down the fire escape and then sneak through the streets, hiding in alleyways and avoiding crowds.

"I don't like crowds," Raph decides after a while. "I hate them."

"So let's go home," Leo whispers.

"But we're on an adventure, bro!" Mikey holds up his little plywood and foam nunchucks. "And we've got weapons!"

"Not really." Leo pulls a dull wooden shuriken out of his own bag.

"I do." Donnie pats his backpack without looking up from the screen. "I brought real ones."

"LEMME SEE!" Mikey yanks the bag, making Donnie yelp and fall over. Mikey gasps and pulls out the weapons. "Where did you get these, dude?!"

"Pop-pop's room." Donnie dusts himself off. "After he had his milk and cake."

"Whoa..."

"Real ones..." Leo holds his hand out and Mikey hands it over. He's never held a real weapon before... it's so heavy! And cold, and smooth... and... "Awesome!"

"See? This is fun!" Raph punches his shoulder. "And look! Donnie's thing says we're close!"

They keep following, Leo keeping the shuriken in hand as they go. They weave through the streets, Stealth and Paying Attention To Surroundings the thing they've gone over the absolute most in training. Finally they reach-"

"A hotel?" Donnie scratches his head. "But... this isn't a junkyard."

"Or Todd's place." Mikey pouts. "Aw, man. I wanted to play with the puppies..."

"Maybe it finds lost stuff?" Leo looks at the screen, but he can't figure it out at all. "Maybe Auntie April stayed here and lost something."

"Then we should go in and get it for her," Raph says.

"But-but we're not in dis-dis-guys-says," Donnie argues. "We can't!"

"I got it!" Mikey runs into the alleyway, and then comes back with four giant hoodies. "Someone just left these one some string!"

"That's stealing!" Leo shakes his head. "We can't!"

"If we give them back after, it's borrowing. Right, Donnie?"

"Mikey's right..." Donnie grabs one of the hoodies and wiggles into it. It's so big that it completely covers his whole body all the way down to his feet, and more, completely bunched up on the ground. "Perfect!"

"We have our buttons, right?" Leo checks, hesitantly putting another hoodie on.

"Duh," Raph says, pulling the hood over his face. "There! Just like human kids!"

And so they find themselves waddling in, trying very hard not to trip on the fabric under their feet. They reach the front desk, but it's far too tall for them. So Raph does his best to pick Donnie up, but they both fall over. So Mikey gets on his hands and knees, and Donnie stands on his back.

"Excuse me," Donnie squeaks. "We think our auntie left something here. Or someone did."

"Someone?" The receptionist raises an eyebrow. "I'm not an idiot, kid."

"We have this-" Donnie puts it on the desk, "-and it um, it said something is here."

The receptionist examines it. "Oooooh. One second." She dials a number on her phone. "Hello? Yes, please inform- no, this is important, you remember when those four came in with the warnings- yes, yes, exactly. Okay, thank you." She puts the phone back and smiles at Donnie. "My boss will be down in a moment. Please come with me."

"Okay!" Donnie chirps. He climbs down, and the four follow the lady. Leo rubs the shuriken in his hand, hidden in the giant sleeve. They have this, so everything will be okay!

They sit on the fancy couch and wait. Mikey kicks his feet, laughing and flapping the long sleeves around. Donnie pulls his mask tails forward and chews on them, looking around the room and humming to himself. Raph pouts as they wait, and Leo keeps his eyes on the door.

It feels like forever to their child minds. Finally they hear a clicky sound like when Auntie April wears her tall shoes when she's being fancy, and-

"OH! The tiny turtley-boos, why I never thought I'd see you in person!" The woman sweeps all four of them up into her arms. "Look at you, no wonder your dear daddums were all so tiffed up about you! You're as teeny-weeny as nibblets!"

"We're not teeny!" Raph tries to squirm out of the woman's shockingly strong grip. "We're big kids!"

"You know our dads?" Donnie asks, pushing away a little too look up at her with wide eyes.

"Oh, of course I do, little snookie-bookums! I was nearly your grandma-ma!" She laughs, and it sounds nothing like Auntie April's or Auntie Cass's laughs. It's high-pitched and quick, and strange, like her funny accent.

"You WERE?!" Mikey shouts. "HOW?!"

"I dated your delicious little grandfather," she says with a dreamy sigh. "But! I was warned very intensely about this." She practically sings her sentence. "And I have called your fathers."

"Awww! Nooo! We're on an adventure!" Mikey pushes away harder. "I don't like you anymore!"

"Oh, if it was my choice I'd keep you little shelly-coos and let you run around my Battle Nexus to your hearts content! But, your fathers made it quite clear that I wasn't to do anything to you, and I don't need them ruining my business yet again." She finally sets them down. "What about you, little boo-blue? You haven't said a word, and your Papa is so very chatty!"

"Um." Leo shuffles his feet. "Are we in trouble?"

"With me? No, not a bit," the woman promises with a grin. "Big Mama adores little sweetie-beanies like you! Your daddumses, however..."

"I told you!" Leo shoves Raph. "I told you we'd be in trouble!"

"Hey!" Raph shoves him back. "You thought it was fun too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Donnie pulls Mikey closer to him as Leo and Raph keep shoving.

"Now now!" Big Mama tuts. She picks both tots up by the backs of their hoodies. "No roughhousing in the lobby! Not to worry, Big Mama knows exactly what'll make you boys feel better!"

And suddenly they find themselves riding in an elevator.

Donnie tugs on the hem of Big Mama's dress as they wait to reach their floor. "Big Mama? Did you know Pop-Pop when he was human?"

"I did." She smiles. "Why?"

"Did you stop liking him because he wasn't human anymore?"

Big Mama laughs. "Not at all! He's even more scrumpity-yumptious now than he was before! In fact, Big Mama isn't human either."

"You aren't?!"

She taps her brooch. "This lets me look like one. I can show you how I look without it when we get to the viewing lobby."

"Wow..." Donnie looks at the brooch with sparkling eyes. "How does it work?"

"Why, it's mystic, little toddly-tot."

"Oh." Donnie frowns. "I like science."

"Just like your father," she hums. "He built me something once, you know. Maybe you'd like to build for me too one day?"

Donnie thinks. "I have to ask him."

"So a no," she sighs. "Ah well. We'll speak again when you're older about it. Here we are!" The elevator dings, and she ushers them out.

All around them are Yokai and mutants sitting at fancy tables eating fancy foods, watching something on big crystals hanging from the ceilings. Leo looks at the screens, and frowns.

"HEY!" He puts his hands on his hips like he's seen Uncle Raphie do. "Those people are fighting! Why isn't anyone helping?"

"They're fighting on purpose," Big Mama says, smiling again. "To entertain! It's a deliferiously swonderfull event, isn't it?"

"So who's the bad guy?" Raph stands on his tippy-toes trying to see the screens better.

"No-one! They're just seeing who's better!"

"Like training!" Mikey grins up at her. "We do that!"

"Oh, how perfuddily-tastic! Let's get a better seat, then!"

She leads them to a table behind some ropes, and four other people quickly bring over tall chairs and plop the boys into them. Just as quickly food is placed on the table in front of Big Mama, while four waiters all stand at the ready beside the boys.

"PIZZA!" Mikey cheers. "Pizza with every topping you have!"

"Can I just have cheese?" Donnie asks.

"Pepperoni!" Raph demands with a grin.

"I want mushrooms, please," Leo says with a polite smile. Tío Hueso told him how important being polite in restaurants is once when he had to babysit during a big mission one day, and Leo has been waiting eagerly to use his perfect manners!

It seems like the waiters have barely left when perfect pizza slices are brought out, along with glasses of chocolate milk and soda! The four boys cheer and dig in!

"So, little buddily-boos," Big Mama says, watching them over her glasses. "Are you going into the same business as your fathers?"

"Yeah!" Raph doesn't bother swallowing his mouthful to say it, which makes Big Mama make a disgusted face.

"We've been training a whole year!" Mikey informs her, bouncing in his seat. "And we're really good!"

"Really?" Her eyes sparkle, and Leo doesn't know why, but he doesn't like it. "Do you enjoy fighting?"

"I do!" Raph grins at her. "I'm really good at it!"

"We all are!" Donnie pipes up, glaring at Raph.

"I'm the best!"

"No, I am," Mikey says.

Leo wants to say he is, but something about this makes him feel small. Small and scared. He nibbles on his pizza quietly and looks up at the crystal.

The guys aren't fighting like in training. They're fighting like they're actually trying to hurt each other. ... That doesn't seem fun like she said it is.

"Well, that's just delifittle to hear!" Big Mama praises as Mikey and Raph go on about their skills and Donnie interrupts to talk about all the things he wants to make. "I'd love to see you all in action someday!"

"I'm sure you would."

Leo relaxes when he hears his dad's voice. It's his angry-cheery voice, but he doesn't use that on Leo, so he's not in trouble yet. His dad and uncles appear in complete silence, like the awesome ninjas they are, and Leo can't help but grin about it when Big Mama startles.

"Well, turtley-"

"Save it," Donald says flatly, scooping Donnie up out of his chair. "Thank you for calling us, but we heard you. You are on thin ice right now."

"Our boys are not joining your Nexus," Raphie says firmly, picking Raph up (and allowing Raph to keep hold of his fancy plate with his pizza on it). "Ever. Got it?"

"I was just making small talk."

"Yeah, sure." Angelo narrows his eyes at her as he puts Mikey on his shoulders. "We're watchin' you, Mama. I'm still waiting on that full turnaround from you."

"You'll never see that, dearums." Big Mama keeps smiling, and Leo only feels safe once he's picked up and in his dad's arms. "But tell-"

"We will not tell him you say Hi," Donald cuts her off again. "But we will let him know you called us right away and did not hurt them, which is the best you can hope for from us." He looks at Donnie. "She did call right away, didn't she?"

Donnie nods. "She said she did before we met her."

"Good."

"Well, it's been tense and creepy as always!" Leon says. "Hope we won't have to see you anytime soon!"

And then they're in the elevator. And Leon holds Leo out in front of him. "And what do you have to say for yourself?"

Leo points at Raph. "He asked me to come!"

Raph points at Donnie. "He wanted to find the junkyard!"

Donnie points at Mikey. "He said we should actually do it!"

Mikey tries to point at someone, but there's no-one left to accuse. "Um, well- well, Pop-Pop fell asleep!"

"Really?" Donald's eyebrow raises. Uh-oh. "So who's idea was it to turn off the door's child lock?"

All eyes slide to Donnie, who sinks his head into his shell until only his eyes peek out.

"I'll be upgrading the system when we get home, and you are no longer allowed to watch me when I work on it."

"But-!"

"Would you rather be grounded?"

"... No..." Donnie pops entirely into his shell. Leo knows he's sulking.

"And you!" Raphie shakes his head at Raph. "Blaming your brother and sneaking out? I know you better than that, little man!"

"We've been doing all the training! We can handle it!" Raph says, pouting again. "We're not babies!"

"You're still little," Raphie says, sighing. "Look, if you guys are that antsy, we'll think about taking you out sometimes to look around close to the lair. But you went really far into the city! What if it wasn't someone we'd talked to who found you?"

"We have our buttons," Leo says softly, holding it out to his dad.

"But that's not always enough," Leon says, keeping his own voice soft too.

"We were just trying to have an adventure," Mikey sniffs. "I'm sorry, daddy."

"We just need you guys to understand that it's not safe," Angelo says, reaching up to hold Mikey's hand. "We've got a lotta people who don't like us much, and there's also just mean people everywhere."

"Big Mama was nice," Mikey says.

"Because we've told her she has to be. She wasn't always nice."

"But mean people turn nice all the time. Like Papa Draxum and-and Auntie Cass, right?"

"Sometimes they don't." Leon shakes his head. "We'll talk about this more at home, but... look, it turned out okay today, but it won't always. We don't want you guys to get hurt, alright? Because sometimes it hurts for a long, long time."

"... Like your nightmares?" Leo whispers.

His dad sags. "... Yeah. Like my nightmares." He pulls leo close again, and Leo hugs his dad.

"I'm sorry," Leo says with a sniffle, starting to cry. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know." His dad sounds like he's about to cry too. "You now better now, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I'm sorry too," Leo hears Raph mumble. "I just wanna be strong already."

"I know. But this isn't how to do it," Raphie says. He kisses the top of Raph's head. "Like your Uncle Leon said, we'll talk more when we get home. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I said I'm sorry, right?" Mikey whispers.

"Yes, you did."

"Okay. ... Can I finish my pizza?"

"You can."

"Okay."

Leo hears his dad and uncles all laugh a little, and he hugs his dad tighter.

He doesn't want to give his dad nightmares. Ever.

He promises himself he'll never get hurt bad enough to scare his dad that bad. Ever.

[sleepdeprivedsimp234]

So I made a little fic based off of my new headcanon about NY having heat-intolerance. As in, he doesn't do heat well. Also the reason that he doesn't go outside. So um I'll just leave this here: @literallyjustexistinghere cuz they helped come up with ideas for the fic <3

Also I'm a firm believer in Alaska/New York both as a ship and platonic relationship, but here this is going to be just platonic.

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

NY was sitting in the corner of the living room listening to music and reading when he saw a shadow looming over him. He looked up and rolled his eyes. It was Illinois. Of course it was. What did he want now...

"The f*ck do you want, Chicago?" York asked, already done with this conversation.

"Damn, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, huh Yorkie?" Illinois said with a teasy smirk. "Also it's Illinois, not Chicago."

"No difference. And don't call me that. Now leave me alone." York snapped before turning back to his music and book. He glared up at Illinois when his book was suddenly snatched from his hands. "What the hell??"

"Do ya ever do anything besides read and listen to your sh*tty music all day?" Illinois teased.

"Well- yea I draw and a few other things like terrorize my siblings. Also don't disrespect Green Day like that." York responded, still glaring at the slightly taller state.

"Yea well I guess I can't really disrespect Green Day... But still. Why don't you go outside or something? Like goddamn you're like a friggin' vampire." said the Prairie State.

"I do go in the sun, thank you very much." sassed the Empire State.

"How?? You never go outside!"

"I sit in the sunlight coming from the window in the library." NY answered, rolling his eyes again.

"So you bathe in the sunlight like a cat? And here you keep saying that ya ain't a cat." Illinois laughed.

NY rolled his eyes once more and tried to reach for his book, but Illinois just held it out of his reach. "Will ya just shut the f*ck up, give me the book, and leave me alone?"

"Why don't you just come outside?" asked the slightly taller state.

"Cuz I can't. I have really bad heat intolerance that makes me incapable of going outside with air-dropping my conscience elsewhere." Answered the Empire State before trying to reach for his book again.

"Pfft- yea- okay. I dont think ya have heat intolerance, you have 'actually-doing-anything' intolerance. Cmon. You're comin' outside, you can have this later." Illinois said before putting York's book down and gently-but-roughly grabbing his York's hand. He managed to drag NY towards the door, but halfway through he had to pick him up and throw him over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes due to how much he was struggling. He carried the struggling Empire State out to the backyard and back towards where there was a forest. After about 8 minutes of walking he lowered the smaller state down and pulled him to his feet. Except he didn't let go of York's hand after and he completely ignored the slightly dazed and dizzy look in his eyes and how much he was sweating and shaking already.

"See? It's not that bad." He said, before letting go of York's hand and walking a little further into the forest. He thought York was following him til he heard York say in a small voice:

"I-Il (pronounced "El")... I don't f-feel good."

"Quick bein' dramatic. I'm sure yer- oh sh*t!" Illinois turned around just in time to see the slightly smaller state collapse with a small thud. He rushed over to York's side and shook his shoulder a bit, and he started to panic when he got no response. He went to go check for NY's pulse around his neck, but instantly pulled away when he felt the heat radiating off of his skin, which was not normal, seeing as York naturally ran cold almost like a snake. "Holy sh*t you're burning up... What did I do..." Mumbled the Prairie State as he took off the smaller's jacket.

'Has he always been this thin...?' Illinois started to think to himself. 'Nevermind that's not the point.... Uh where's my phone.... F*ck I left it in the house.' Illinois's mind raced on and on as he tried to find out what he could do. He looked around and nearly sighed in relief when he saw someone walking into the forest. He looked a little closer and noticed that it was Florida. Why him...? Whatever, it'll have to do.

"Florida!! C'mere a sec!!" Illinois shouted, gaining the attention of the Sunshine State, who sauntered over with a teasing smirk.

"Hey Chicago~ How can I be of ser- Holy hell what happened to New York??" Florida asked, teasing attitude set aside for a rather concerned one.

"I-I dont know!!! He just passed out randomly! Just- go get one of the OG13, preferably Mass!!!" Illinois answered quickly.

Florida nodded and started running back to the statehouse. Illinois looked back to the unconscious state in front of him. Maybe York wasn't lying??

About five minutes later, he heard footsteps running towards them and looked up to see Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and surprisingly Alaska running towards them.

"The f*ck happened ere'??" Penn shouted, kneeling down next to York. He pulled the Empire State into his lap and checked for a pulse, completely ignoring the heat. "Well he's alive at least. What the hell happened?"

"I-" Illinois started to try to answer but suddenly out of nowhere somebody came and gripped him by the throat and threw him against a nearby tree and punched him in the gut. Once he recovered from that blow, he looked down to see Mass glaring at him with a dangerous look in his eyes.

"What the actual f*ck did you do to my little brother?!" shouted the Bay State, his voice sounding a lot like there was two people speaking.

"I-i-i don't know- I just wanted to get him outside for once instead of him being lazy and sitting inside with a book all day!! Like goddangit your a doctor, even you would agree that he needs to be outside more!" That earned him another punch, this time to his nose, which was most certainly broken now. "Jesus can ya stop punchin' me already?!" Another punch to the gut. Ouch.

"He can't go outside, Illinois!!! He has really bad heat intolerance, didn't he tell ya?!" Maryland said, his voice full of worry for the younger.

"I mean yeah,- but I thought he was just makin' sh*t up! I didn't think it would actually hurt im'!!" Answered the Prairie State. He felt someone slap him across the face. Again, ouch.

"Aight Mass you can take it easy on him Jesus Christ!" Alaska said as he picked up NY and held him close to him so he could cool off, seeing as Alaska was naturally freezing cold.

Mass turned back to Illinois and made a noise that sounded a lot like a lion's growl. "Fine... Ya got lucky." Mass said before releasing the taller state and throwing him to the ground. He turned around and walked away with Alaska, who was holding NY in his arms, and Maryland who worriedly walked beside them.

Penn walked over to Illinois, pulled him up onto his feet and dusted him off. "Cmon kid. Suppose someone's gotta patch you up."

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

(in the statehouse)

Massachusetts, Maryland, and Alaska were all relaxing in the garage and waiting for the Empire State to wake up. Alaska had the smaller state in his lap and held him close to help speed up the cooling-off process. After a few more minutes, Alaska felt York stir a bit in his arms.

"W-what the hell happened..." York mumbled, his voice a bit more quiet and raspy than usual due to lack of use.

"Illinois dragged ya out into the heat and ya passed out accordin' to him. He got lucky, cuz Laska' stopped me before I could beat the crap outta im'." Mass said, reaching over to the side of his brother's face and using the back of his hand to check his temperature.

"Yea well you still broke the guy's nose." Alaska snorted.

"And I would do it again in a heartbeat." Mass said proudly with a wild smile on his face. He sent a playful glare York's way when the younger laughed a bit. "What're you laughin' at huh?"

"You claiming that youre not overprotective of me but then giving us reasons to believe that you are." York said, laughing again.

"Oh haha. Shut yer lil' mouth before I give you a reason to laugh." Mass teased, reaching over and playfully squeezing NY's side, making the smaller shriek slightly and push his hand away.

"Okahahahay okay-" said the younger.

"Good." said the older before ruffling York's hair.

Alaska and Maryland exchanged looks that said "Hehe. Free blackmail.", before turning back to the two siblings.

[seanfalco]

welcome to hell | part three.

[ masterlist ]

When you win VIP passes to Scream Fest, a traveling horror  carnival, you convince your fellow ASBO-mates to join you for a night of  fun and harmless scares, but the horrors turn all too real when a  masked serial killer begins to target you and your friends.   Luckily at least one of you is immortal.

Word Count: 3.2k   Tags/Warnings: slight nathan x reader, violence, stalking, blood/gore, eye horror, character death (mostly nathan lol) a/n: Part of @sheehalloween​​!  Posting this chapter today, for Day Three: Scary Movie, as the entire fic is based off the movie Hell Fest.

Paralyzed, all you could do was watch in horror as the masked stranger moved closer, his slow tread only drawing out your terror until he was right at the edge of your car.  Even with Kelly’s strength combined, the bar in your lap wouldn’t budge and yet you struggled anyway, even as the man climbed atop the front of your car.  Shrinking back from him, you threw your arms around Kelly as she did the same, trembling next to you as suddenly the ride started up again.

Your own terrified screams echoed in your ears as you squeezed your eyes shut, waiting for him to strike, your entire body pumping with adrenaline.

“y/n!  Kelly!”

The sound of your friends’ voices made you pause and cracked your eye open.  Your car had come through the other side and though the masked man was still perched right ahead of you, you were unharmed.

“Are you guys okay?  You were screaming like crazy!” Alisha cried and to your surprise the car came to a stop, the lap bar lifting.

Turning to gape at Kelly, you found her wide eyed gaze staring back at you, just as confused.  Before you could answer, another man in the same mask stepped out of the shadows behind Curtis and then another and another, until nearly ten actors in identical masks surrounded your friends.

“It was just part of the ride,” Simon observed shakily and you reluctantly took the man’s hand as he climbed down from your car and stepped aside to help you out.  It was then that you realized the dark jacket he wore was different from earlier.  Simon was right, this was a completely different person.

“You fuckers!  You scared th’shit out of us!” Kelly exclaimed, anger in her voice, but you merely let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh my God, they got you good!” Curtis laughed, holding his sides.  

“Shut up!” you cried, punching his arm as you passed, trying to shake off your fear.

“You gotta admit, that was pretty funny,” Alisha agreed, giggling along with Curtis until out of nowhere a costumed actor ran by and picked her up, hoisting her over his shoulder and taking off.

“Curtissss!”

“ALISHA!” Curtis bellowed, taking off after her.

“I get bein’ able t’touch you, but grabbin’ someone and takin’ ‘em away from their group is kinda fucked up!” Kelly exclaimed as the rest of you followed after, trying to keep up.

“Oh my God, that guy smelled so disgusting!” Alisha cried disgustedly as you rounded the corner, finding her running back toward you, having escaped from her would be “kidnapper”.

“Oh thank goodness,” Curtis breathed, pulling her into his arms, careful not to touch any exposed skin.

“I think he was trying to lead us somewhere,” Simon guessed, giving a start as he noticed several small figures emerging from the fog behind them.

“What th’fuck?” Curtis muttered, flinching back as the children dressed as faceless dolls reached out to you.

“I guess we follow them?” you murmured, the first to take one of their hands, letting them pull you toward the wide plank bridge they’d come from.

You were almost glad for the guide; seeing more than a few kilometers in front of you was nearly impossible in the thick fog.  When the faceless children finally let go of your hands, you were through the fog and standing in front of the entrance to another maze, the sound of screams and laughter once more surrounding you.

“Thank you–” you turned to say, but the children were already retreating back into the fog. 

“Well that was creepy,” Alisha huffed, finally letting go of Curtis’s shirt and stepping away from his side.

“Have y’heard anythin’ from Nathan?” Kelly asked and you frowned, pulling your phone from your pocket.

“Before we got on th’ride he said he was on his way.”

Opening the message thread, you fired off another text to let him know which maze you were at.  “There, hopefully by th’time we get back out, he’ll be here.”

“Right.  It looks like there are three entrances,” Alisha pointed out and you read the signs overhead—scary, very scary, and your worst nightmare. 

“There’s no way I’m goin’ into that one,” Alisha exclaimed, pointing to the your worst nightmare door.

“Me either,” Kelly agreed and you had to admit you were more than a little shaken still, not wanting to go on your own.

“Let’s do th’least scary one then,” you suggested, but Curtis scoffed.

“That one we did earlier was so lame though!  I’m goin’ into this one,” he exclaimed, heading for the middle door.

“Simon?” Alisha asked and the three of you looked to him expectantly.

“I-I think I’ll go with Curtis,” he said, awkwardly following him.

“Whatever!  Girls versus guys, I guess,” Kelly shrugged, leading the way.  

Inside, a fine mist illuminated by a thin sheen of green light swirled over your head, the only light in the otherwise pitch black room.

“Check it out,” you gasped, reaching up over your head to let your fingers trail through the mist.

“That’s so cool,” Alisha whispered, following suit along with Kelly who laughed delightedly.  

“Wonder how they get it t’do that…”

Before you could field a guess you felt something grab your hand and you shrieked in surprise, quickly yanking your hand back down.

“Oh, no way!  Do not touch me!” Alisha squealed and you hurried to the next room, ducking your heads as you half ran for the door.

The next room was a long hall, flanked with what looked like prison doors and every few meters an arm reached between the bars.

“Are they all real?” Alisha hissed, pulling Curtis’s jacket tighter around herself and covering her hands in the overlong sleeves.  

“I don’t think so,” you murmured, shrewdly examining each hand as you neared them.  “Look, you can tell the real from the fake pretty easily,” you pointed out, noticing the trembling of fingers up ahead.

Alisha quickly shuffled behind Kelly as you passed, squeezing closer to the opposite side to avoid the actor’s hand as it suddenly snatched at you.  Even though you knew it was coming, it still made you jump.

“Is it just me, or is this hallway growing more narrow?” you mumbled, grimacing at how many hands up ahead looked quite real.

“Let’s just make a run for it,” Kelly suggested and Alisha nodded in agreement, practically pushing her forward while you ended up behind them. 

As soon as you began to run, the arms came alive and you felt hands grab at you, catching your sleeves and snaring you in place as Kelly and Alisha ran off without you, screaming and laughing, not even noticing you weren’t there.

“Guys!  Guys wait!” you cried, desperately struggling in the grasp of your faceless captors.  “Guys!”  With one final sharp tug, you managed to tear yourself from the hands’ clutches and stumble forward, trying to catch up.  

However, when you rounded the next corner, Kelly and Alisha were nowhere to be seen.  “Shit,” you swore under your breath.  No way to go but forward.

The next room was fashioned into some sort of makeshift horror clinic, the tables littered with rusty looking medical equipment while a skeleton slumped over a dingy cot in the corner.  Hurrying to the door on the opposite wall, you yanked at the doorknob, only to find it locked.  A recorded message looped over a hidden speaker and you listened to the clue, realizing you needed to find the key in order to escape the room.

“To illuminate the way out, leave no bone unturned.  To illuminate—”

Tuning the message out, you scrabbled to the nearby table, searching through a stack of fake bones for the hidden key.  A faint blinking light in your periphery caught your attention and you turned as it grew stronger, illuminating a hidden room behind a large panel of plexiglass.  A dark figure stood still in the window and your heart filled with fear as you recognized the mask that stared back at you.  Frozen in place, you knew this was the same one, the same man that had been following you since the very first maze.

The sound of muted humming hung in the air as the masked stranger continued to stare at you.  When he raised his hands to pound against the glass you gave a frightened jerk, instinctively stepping back and your back hit the still locked door as he began to pound harder, intent to break the barrier separating you.

On the verge of panic, fear clouded your thoughts for a moment, distracting you, and you frantically turned to tug at the door once more in vain, crying out before remembering what you needed to do.

Running back to the table, several plastic bones scattered to the floor in your haste and your stomach gave a hopeful lurch as your fingers wrapped round the large metal skeleton key hidden beneath them.  Fumbling to get it in the keyhole, you felt tears gather in your lashes until the latch clicked and the door sprung open. 

Sprinting toward the exit, your lungs burning, you didn’t feel safe until you saw the others, practically bowling into Curtis.

“Whoa, whoa!  What’s th’matter?” he exclaimed, grabbing your arms to steady you as you gasped for breath.

“The masked guy was in there!  He was following me!” 

“What?  Where?!” Alisha exclaimed, peering past you worriedly.

“After we got separated, he was trying to get me!” you cried, wishing Nathan was there.

“Okay, okay, it’s gunna be okay,” Curtis assured, trying to calm you.  “Once Simon gets out, we’ll find Nathan and go somewhere else.

Until Curtis had said that, you hadn’t even realized Simon was missing and you chewed your lip, silently urging him to hurry up as you watched the exit with bated breath.

——

Nathan awoke in the dark, sprawled atop something hard.  Blinking blearily, he groaned, trying to remember what had happened through the pounding in his skull.  As he shifted, he realized he was laying in a pool of something warm and sticky.

“Ugh, what th’fuck?” he moaned, instantly regretting it as he sat up and held his head.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he looked around, trying to regain his bearings.  When his gaze fell on the shape next to him, the stuffed skeleton he’d been after, soaked in what looked like blood, it all came back to him.

“y/n!” he yelped, scrambling to his feet.  Patting down his pockets, he searched for his phone, finding it missing.  “Shit shit shit!” he muttered, nearly slipping on his own blood in his haste to find you before the killer did. 

Knowing you were headed to the Badlands, he hurried that way, glad that the blood matting his curls and staining his t-shirt would draw no extra attention in the crowd while his stomach churned and his pulse pounded in his ears.

Every second of the stupid ride to the VIP section of the park dragged like an hour and Nathan was nearly vibrating in his seat as his car arrived at the exit.  Taking off sprinting through the swirling fog, he skidded to a halt in front of the next maze he came across.

Swearing under his breath as he read the signs above the three entrances, he decided to chance the second one, thinking it the most likely you’d choose.  Barely noticing the jumpscares, he hurried through the maze desperately searching for you, his heart in his throat.

If that freak had his phone, then he not only had a head start, but he probably knew exactly where to find you, if you sent him your location. 

Suddenly, a faint voice ahead caught his attention, halting him in his tracks as he stopped to listen.

“Curtis?  Curtis, where are you?”

“Barry?” Nathan called, hope surging through him.

“...Nathan?”

Turning the corner ahead, Nathan was momentarily blinded by a torch beam pointing directly at his face.

“Yes, it’s me!  Now can y’stop shinin’ that bloody torch in my eyes or are yeh tryin’ t’blind me?” he hissed and the beam suddenly jerked downward.

“Sorry,” Simon muttered sheepishly.  “Where’ve you been?  And why are you covered in blood?”

“Newsflash, I’ve been dead!” Nathan cried, throwing his hands up.  “That psycho stalker killed me!  Bashed my head in!” he exclaimed, pointing to the dried blood at his temple, his voice raising as he tried not to panic.  “Where’s everyone else?  We gotta warn ‘em before he finds ‘em!”

“They went in through a different entrance and I got separated from Curtis,” Simon explained and both men gave a jump at the abrupt blast of what sounded like a train horn.  

Turning toward the sound, Simon and Nathan’s eyes widened in alarm as a pair of giant headlights flooded the room, revealing a set of fake train tracks beneath their feet and an incredibly realistic looking front of a train coming toward them slowly, but picking up speed, forcing them to run in the opposite direction.

“What th’fuck!” Nathan yelped, grabbing Simon by the arm and yanking him with him.  “If I weren’t so freaked out, what with bein’ stalked by some deranged killer, I’d be seriously impressed by th’production value of this shit!” he panted, running to the far wall to desperately search for the door while the train whistled deafeningly again.

Finding no exit, the two pressed their backs to the wall, screaming madly as they blindly reached for each other, squeezing their eyes shut in dread.  When several seconds elapsed and nothing happened, Nathan cracked an eye open.  The front of the train had come to a harmless stop in front of them, leaving only a few meters space between them and it.

Letting out a heavy sigh of relief, Nathan suddenly realized he was still holding onto Simon and quickly sprang away from him.

“You tryin’ t’get fresh with me?” he cried, disgust warping his expression.

“You’re the one who grabbed me,” Simon pointed out, looking nearly as uncomfortable.

Nathan’s mouth pressed into a line as he pointed at Simon, his thick brows furrowing.  “If you ever breathe a word of this, I’ll—I’ll—!”

“Kill me?” Simon asked wryly, a tiny grin playing at his lips.

Disarmed by the joke, Nathan gaped at him a moment longer, jabbing his finger in Simon’s face pointedly, though still at a loss for words.

“I’m th’funny one!” he finally muttered, brushing past Simon as the hidden door swung open.  “What’re yeh waitin’ for?  Let’s get th’fuck outta here and find th’others!” he called over his shoulder.

Not looking where he was going, as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he ran into something hard, knocking him on his arse.

“Ow, what th—?”

“Nathan, watch out!”

At Simon’s words, he looked up at what had sent him sprawling and his snarky comeback died on his tongue, fear once more flooding him as his killer loomed over him, knife in hand.

For a moment the man in the mask tilted his head, as if studying Nathan in confusion, certain their last run in should have killed him.  His hesitance only lasted a few seconds however, before he was kneeling over Nathan, knife raised.

Grabbing the man’s wrist, Nathan tried to push the knife away from his face, the killer clearly aiming to bury the blade in his eye socket.

“Save me, Barry!” he cried, his muscles trembling with the effort and failing, the tip of the blade inching closer.

“BARRY!”

But Simon was nowhere to be seen.

As the knife plunged through his eye with a disgusting squelch, Nathan’s body went limp, his scream turning to a gurgled death rattle and Simon held his breath, clapping a hand over his mouth to keep from gagging, his blue eyes nearly popping out of his head.  Though he was invisible, he still pressed his back to the wall, sinking deeper into the shadows as the killer pulled his knife free with a soft grunt and stood, his masked and hooded head swiveling, searching for him.

As soon as his heavy footsteps disappeared down the corridor, Simon crouched at Nathan’s side, hoping he’d come back to life soon.

——

“Ugh, what’s takin’ ‘im so long?” Kelly groaned, tapping her foot in impatience.

“You don’t think anything happened to Simon in there, do you?” Alisha asked, an unusual amount of concern in her voice.

Before you could answer, a large crustacean-like alien waddled up to you, shooting a glob of green slime at you, covering the front of your shirt before taking off again and running away to assault someone else.

“Are you bloody serious?!” you cried, gaping down at the sticky mess covering your shirt in disgust, frustrated tears in your eyes.

“Oh shit,” Curtis winced and you let out a tremulous breath, trying not to lose it.

“OI!  FUCK YOU!” Kelly yelled after him, but it made no difference.

“C’mon, we can wash it off in th’bathroom,” Alisha offered, taking your arm to lead you to the brightly lit restrooms nearby, Kelly flanking your other side and leaving Curtis to wait for Simon.

“Great, just great,” you muttered, grabbing a fistful of paper towels and furiously scrubbing at your shirt under the faucet.

“y/n… you alright?” Kelly asked as you sniffled, quickly wiping at your watering eyes with the back of your arm.

“Yeah,” you answered quickly, furiously pumping some hand soap on the paper towels in your hand.  “Tonight’s just… not exactly goin’ the way I’d hoped,” you admitted softly.

“It’s not your fault,” Alisha said, trying to comfort you.

“Maybe when we find the others we should just call it quits and head home,” you suggested with a defeated shrug.  

“What?  No way!” Kelly exclaimed, taking you by surprise.  You expected them to jump on the offer to get out of there.  “You won those tickets and y’still haven’t been through th’scariest maze yet, we can’t leave till y’get t’do that,” she insisted.

“Okay, alright,” you chuckled.  “Just let me dry my shirt off and I’ll be right out, okay?”

“Okay, don’t take too long,” Alisha called as they pushed open the door.

Finding a hand dryer around the corner, you awkwardly leaned in closer to stretch your damp shirt under the warm air.  When it was finally dry, you slipped into one of the stalls, the bathroom completely empty.  As you emptied your bladder, you pulled your phone out to text Nathan again.

Where r u?  Hope ur ok.

As you hit send, you pulled your pants up and froze as moments later a text notification echoed loudly through the empty bathroom.  

You’d thought you’d been alone, but maybe someone had come in while you were texting and you didn’t hear.

Your phone chimed with a response—I’m close.

Hesitating a moment, you decided to respond.  It could have been merely a coincidence that another person’s phone went off just as your message to Nathan had sent.

How close?

Once again, seconds later, the same ringtone sounded, this time from the stall next to you and for some reason your blood went cold as if you’d been doused in a bucket of ice water.

“Hello?  Nathan?  Is that you?” you called, getting no answer.  As much as you hoped it was just Nathan trying to mess with you, you couldn’t help but feel it was... someone else.    “Nathan, if you’re tryin’ t’scare me… it’s working–”

Your words cut off as a pair of worn boots stopped in front of your stall, the toes just visible beneath the door and you flinched back, afraid of what you might see if you peered through the crack.  Those were definitely not Nathan’s shoes.

Before you could say anything else, the door began to shake as if whoever was out there, wanted to get in.

Taglist: @santacarlahorrorshow​ @super-unpredictable98​ @salvador-daley​ @firstpersonnarrator​

[ma-tsu-the-male-goddess]

No okay but @venjamin-kingdomhearts ‘s joke/idea about Ventus and Repliku as a ship hit me like a train wreck.

Because now that everything is fixed, they’re all together and happy, the trios are together — what’s going on with these two?

As much as Ventus loves Aqua and Terra, they treat him more like a kid than an equal. It’s hard to hang out with Twilight kids bc he feels either like a stand in for Roxas or an awkward shadow. Sora would always welcome him, but regardless of how close they are in heart, Sora is lighthearted and free in a way that he just can’t make himself be. Being on Destiny islands is like trying to look in on a normal life that Ven never got. It’s hard, and it feels lonely. Even trying to travel with the Destiny trio makes him feel like a 4th wheel; there’s so many inside jokes he just doesn’t know how to laugh at.

And Repliku. The only people he knows are Namine and Riku and Sora. He tried to kill the Destiny island kids and it’s still awkward interacting with them at all. Even with his memories of the island, it’s not like he’s a real person right? How could he ever build connections with someone who has no memories of who you are, and tons of expectations of who you should be like? Namine is happy to talk with him, but the memories and struggles in the Organization still put a strain in their relationship. Namine more than anything wants to have a happy normal life, and even if she will never quite be just an average kid, she really gets people in a way that Repliku just doesn’t. She can’t be there just to entertain him, and he can see her struggle to get him to fit in with friendly gatherings.

So they both find themselves alone a lot. Walking through cities and towns, watching sunsets and starts, wandering the worlds to fill up their days. Maybe trying to pick up a hobby like astronomy or drawing, but always finding themselves back to training. It’s what they’ve always known, as far along as their real memories exist.

So why couldn’t they notice each other training? Outside Disney castle, or Yen Sid’s tower, or around the Land of Departure, and step in to say hi?

‘Would you like a sparring partner?’ Repliku would say.

‘Can you show me how you did that move?’ Ventus would ask.

An opening here and there, hesitant questions and banter slowly becoming more confident:

‘You know it’s funny, but I feel like we only ever meet up at these bright sunny places, you ever been to Halloweentown?’

Or

“You think those guys ever eat anything but paopu fruit?” Repliku.

“Nah, but at least it’s better than Twilight Town, I swear everyone of them is just obsessed.” Ventus.

A glance from Repliku, smirk on his face,

“You know based on the company we keep, you might say we’re the only ones with taste.”

And Ventus’s ugly snort makes Repliku’s smile turn real.

And slowly it would turn into other conversations:

‘Sometimes it’s hard, you know? Seeing them move on? I feel like I’m always just on the edge of the next threat.’

‘I don’t know how to get back to a normal I never had.’

And conversations turn to invitations turn to planning meeting ups turn to suddenly always being by their side, or at least just a text away.

And one day, Ventus tries to deal Riku a shovel talk for Sora and just fails spectacularly. Repliku, ‘happening to be by’ just starts cackling at the scene, and Riku looks concerned and confused more than anything.

So Ventus snags him arm in a fit of pique and says something like ‘if you date my brother I’m gonna date yours!’ It had been meant as a threat, Ventus thinks, but Riku is looking worried for his sanity, and Repliku’s face has gone blank. And so he drops his arm and falls awkwardly silent. He leaves.

Repliku and Riku share a confused glance and a nod: ‘we’re going to just pretend this never happened, and spare us all the embarrassment’ is what they say without words. But Repliku doesn’t drop it.

He go out and finds Ventus, where he always goes to brood, and sits down next to him.

“Did you mean that?” Repliku asks, staring forward. “I know you speak before you think, sometimes, but you sounded serious for a moment.”

It’s quiet for a long moment, and Ventus is tense beside him.

Repliku swallows and his voice is weaker with his next words, “For you to have said that at all, means you must have been thinking about it, right?”

Another moment passes, and Repliku has run out of steam. If something is going to change here, it’s going to have to be at Ventus’s behest.

Finally, he speaks, “Would you still treat me the same, if I said yes?” His voice sounds rough, like he’s been crying.

“No,” Repliku says, and Venus startles, head snapping to the side. As Repliku turns to meet his shocked expression, he can feel a grin on his face, so beyond relieved, “I’m not sure I should treat a boyfriend the same as just a friend. Though I don’t think we’ve ever really just been friends, hmm?”

He nudges Ventus’s frozen shoulder, and suddenly find himself half on the ground. He’s near tackled them both, arms wrapped tight around Repliku. It’s uncomfortable and he feels trapped, but he can’t bring himself to push him away just yet.

“Is that a yes from you, then?”

Ventus nods against his shoulder, and once his frees his arms, they sit there together for a long time, just watching the stars.

[hopeful-hugz]

♔

Get to know the RPer || Accepting

Send me a ♔ for me to describe a favorite rp character of mine.

🕯️ Okay so I'm sticking to this blog's muses for now and since I don't play favourites in general. I'll just talk about one of the muses that has had my braincell lately.

So, Leah! A muse I have yet to draw a reference for. His original iteration was made on Discord cause I wanted to expand more on the aethers' opposite species, nagete. That soon evolved into my wanting to test aether-nagete hybrids as well and expand on that.

I tend to test a lot of storylines with close friends on Discord so I can bring a more fine-tuned version of things here for you. I did that with Maria and Leah is another example of that.

Leah in particular I've struggled developing beyond him being a permanent antagonist on the blog.

His goals are horrific and terrible (something I'm not spoiling) and has accepted playing the role as the villain for the sake of that. But he really is just a guy who wants to run his radio, tv and online shows with his cast. He's a gameshow host mainly, but he's got some other things he films for the air too, more often than not having a live show or three every night when his shows are available.

Currently he's got a small group of four that make up his main cast!

Amygdala is one of them! Leah made her shortly after he ended up self-corrupting into a mix breed hybrid. Mixing nagete shadow manifestation and Hope's own DNA, she is to epitome of a stoic mad scientist and is responsible for making any beasts and creatures that are used for security and the games Leah hosts. Treats every creation like they're her pets.

The other two I can't go into much since they aren't officially debuted here yet and are written by a friend, but they are Leah's co-host and his best friend. Folks he originally thought would be interesting to save from a "bad end" timeline of their universe.

Originally he was gonna be "just the bad guy for this episode." Now he's attached and has lowkey started to make the amusement park grounds, the tower at it's centre where shows are filmed and the living spaces at the top of the tower a home he and his cast can use even after his plans come to fruition.

Lost Now Found from HOAAR is a good song for him regarding his Cast.

As far as his relationship with Cam, Hope and Teal, it's not a good one.

Leah originally tracked the two siblings down in regards to his investigations regarding Maria and the interest he took in her life, story and legacy. Things didn't exactly work out and he put them in a state of distress instead.

Naturally this got Chamyle's attention and made Leah pay dearly for even laying a metaphorical hand on them. [He's still salty about that and Cam's job as The Archivist having meant she was keeping an eye on him. Now he's more than aware of her "passing" and has instead directed that Pettiness towards Melody.]

Despite this, Hope still gave him another chance. The two talked for a while after that incident, exchanging questions on their views and goals. Until Hope gave him- a purebred nagete at the time- an answer to a question that made him start thinking. Too much logic can start turning an aether into a nagete or completely hybrid them; something that is considered the worst fate for any aether and nagete and something incredibly taboo.

In reaction to this, Leah snapped and had a breakdown. In the midst of said breakdown, he not only kidnapped Hope- having blamed her for the change- and demanded she fix him. When she couldn't, he decided if he was going down he'd take multiple universes with him. He really wasn't in his right mind at the time and even he will admit that if you ask.

Teal was the one to solve this issue and get back Hope. Still bears an aggressive view on the host; believing him to be a heartless monster who's only true goal is destruction.

Hope is terrified of Leah and tries her best to avoid him when possible. Though she doesn't hate him. If anything she feels sorry for him.

Leah still blames Hope for his hybrid state and hates her for it. Heavily dislikes Teal because of him being one of Maria's experiments among other petty things. He won't hesitate to actively mess with either sibling and will often do elaborate things to them just out of that hate and because he finds it amusing and interesting.

As far as the rest of the multiverse?

He's a heavy believer in people being free to do whatever they want or they should be given the power to wield autonomy. It's the main motivator behind his current overarching plan.

He takes freedom very seriously and treats his usual contestants and guests with that. Picking on a volunteer basis and making sure people know what they are getting into (and that they may not leave the studio ever again should they participate in certain games.)

But he can't tell the multiverse this. Doesn't care to with how bored and tired of everything he truly is. It has to stay all behind-the-scenes. He's their enemy of the multiverse; the Big Bad Evil Guy! The Villain!!

People need to believe he's such so they can come up with their own reasoning behind his actions.

He knows the path he's taking, but he's taking it of his own free will.

[starl1t-vo1d]

Where home lies

Revalink prompt, Keep breathing / home - general rating

---------------------

I struggled with this one not gonna lie, I actually scrapped my first draft bc I had started to write one of them having a nightmare and the other reassuring that they were okay and just at home but it didn't work out. I don't love the ending of this but it's okay. As per usual better description on ao3 and the rest is under the read more.

"Keep breathing."

Link was trying but it was growing increasingly hard to focus on anything but the nearness of his trainer.

"You shouldn't be holding your breath when you draw or fire, you'll be too tense as a result." 

There was a push on his shoulders coaxing him to relax them. 

"And it'll make your shoulders rise."

He felt his face heat up as very soft feathers brushed against him.

"Link!"

Link jumped accidentally letting loose the arrow he was supposed to be aiming. It stuck into the edge of the target, two points.

"-I understand that you need your hands free to respond properly but it seemed like you weren't paying attention at all! Honestly, I go out of my way to help you and you can't even be bothered to focus," Revali was looking at him and Link came to the conclusion that he was probably waiting for a response.

"Sorry," Link set the bow on the ground making Revali wince, that was mostly to get back at him for scolding him otherwise Link would have put it on his back. 

Revali clicked his beak shaking his head. "Whatever is going on in that tiny head of yours please do try to put it aside, the sun is setting." 

"So?" Link looked around, and yeah shadows were quickly overtaking the Flight Range as the sun dipped lower.

"What? What do you mean 'So?' I would like to go home at one point." 

"But it has to be before nightfall?" Link asked, "What are you afraid of the dark?" 

"That's ridiculous of course I'm not," Revali replied with a scoff.

"So then?"

"Will this information make you get back to training faster?"

Link shrugged, and gestured for Revali to continue.

"If you must know," Revali rolled his eyes. "Rito by nature can't not see well in dim lighting and unfortunately I've yet to train enough that I would feel comfortable displaying what I have learned in front of anyone." 

Link wanted to laugh, leave it to Revali to want to train pass genetics. Still, the end of what he said seemed sincere and that wasn't something Link would laugh at so he simply nodded.

"Understandable, this will be the last round of arrows then." 

“And you’re going to focus this time?”

This time Link did laugh. “Yes, I’ll focus.”

---------------------

Link didn’t focus. As the training continued he found it hard to between growing tired and Revali taking it upon himself to physically fix Link’s form.

“Your shoulders.”

Revali once again settled his wings on Link’s shoulders applying gentle pressure so that Link relaxed them. 

“Take a deep breath and re-adjust your aim, fire on the exhale.”

As the arrow lodges itself into the target Link thinks that it should have hit Bullseye, but Revali’s hands are still on his shoulders and it ends up slightly left of center. Link yawns and lowers his bow.

“You are doing a passable job,” Revali says, finally stepping away.

That’s a compliment coming from him, and as Link heads back into the Flight Range hut to put his things away Revali falls into step next to him.

“Did your elixir wear off?” He suddenly asks, making Link turn to him.

“No? Why?”

Revali only squints at him before shaking his head, “Nevermind. Do you have a moment to come collect something? I have a book that while you certainly don’t have the time to read through it all, looking through a few pages might do you well.”

Link feels his face heat up under the Rito’s scrutiny and he prays to Hylia that the dim lighting keeps him from seeing the pink that dusts his cheeks. “Do you mean… like at your house?”

“No, I mean from the Flight Range, yes the book is at my house otherwise I wouldn’t have asked if you were willing to make the detour.” 

Link stifles another yawn and nods, “Yeah that’s fine, it’s not like super out of the way is it?”

“No, hardly it’s towards the top of the village.”

---------------------

The trek back to Rito Village is filled with yawns from Link and idle chatter that the Hylian is only half paying attention to from Revali. Link is mostly only paying attention to the sound of Revali’s voice versus what he is actually saying and it isn’t until it’s suddenly gone that Link tunes back in entirely.

“Sorry, did you ask me something?”

“Are you sure you can collect the book tonight? You seem… distracted and tired. I can pass it off to you tomorrow morning before you leave if you’d rather.” Revali asks, and again he’s looking at Link too closely.

“It’s fine,” Link waves a dismissive hand.

“Do all Hylians grow tired this quickly? Or is it just you?”

Link shrugs, “Do all Rito act like they’re better than everyone else?” Link might be a bit too tired, his usual reserve gone. 

“I am in a lot of aspects, did you already forget who just spent the last several hours training you?”

Link definitely did not forget the last several hours and he felt his face heat up again.

“Thank you for taking the time.”

“It’s only right you learn from the best, besides if I’m meant to go into battle with you I’d prefer you be well-trained.”

---------------------

Revali’s house is… neat for lack of a better word. But neat in a way that’s less like the occupant takes the time to make it so and more in a way that implies it’s rarely used. Link stands very awkwardly to the side as Revali looks for the book he had mentioned. Revali trills to himself as he scans a small bookshelf and Link tries very hard not to fall asleep on his feet. 

“Ah here it is,” Revali’s voice snaps Link’s eyes back open.

Link is presented with… a book? Honestly, in Link’s opinion, it looks more like papers haphazardly still held together. It’s so worn with either age, use, or some combination of both that the cover is faded beyond being able to read it.

“What is it about?” Link asks, before taking it.

“A bit of everything really, it has a glossary of archery terms and techniques, and there are chapters on different equipment and how to care for it…” Revali trails off his feathers fluffing in what Link now recognizes is embarrassment. “Please feel free to ignore the notes in the margins.”

Link immediately flips the book open to look for them. 

The book is immediately closed by Revali’s hands over his own.

“You were just falling asleep on your feet, you surely can’t focus enough to read it now.”

There’s a stand-off for a moment as Revali doesn’t step away and with Link’s hands held under his wings, Link can’t respond. Finally, Revali seems to realize what he’s doing and quickly draws his hands away. 

“You should go rest. Return the book whenever I hardly need it now.” Revali takes several steps back and Link notes that his feathers haven’t settled. 

“Thank you, I will make sure I take care of it.”

“Please do.”

Later when Link is squinting at the book in lantern light, dimmed as much as possible so as to not disturb the others in the inn he realizes that the reason Revali’s house didn’t seem much like a home is because his true home lay in whoever he was allowed to share his love for archery with. 

[knightofhylia]

Reading: Spiritual Growth with Alleyman's Tarot

original blog postAugust 10 2022

Lately I've been feeling hella wack spiritually! I've been having incredibly powerful dreams (like getting a card from my teen self full of drawings?? Hello???)but have felt SO unfocused and scattered I haven't gotten shit done so I decided to just buckle down and ask big mama (Alleyman's Tarot) what's going on. I've been feeling like there's just SOMETHING I'm missing so I went with the spiritual growth spread.

1. Message you have been ignoring

The Magician

the multitudes within us (spiritual selves, work selves, home selves) and balancing them, having the energy to see a project through

2. Shadow Work to focus on

Frost (Reversed)

frost is a blessing and a curse. the blanket of white snow covers old wounds and makes memories soft again but in reversal this card talks of the fear of what is going to be revealed once it melts

3. How to deepen connection to craft

The Bogeyman

the fears and anxieties are all in your head and whatever failure you are afraid of will be better than sitting in the dark when the door is right in front of you

4. Next Steps

The Queen of Strays (Reversed)

the queen of strays is about found family and finding your place in the world. in reversal, this card talks about what the loneliness of being an outsider feels like and that even when we say that family and support isn't important, it's still a need that requires filling, there are always people like you out there 

Interpretation:

Pretty obvious that she agrees that I am very scattered and juggling too many things. The message I seem to be missing is balance myself so that I don't burn out on my projects (lmao art block anyone?) Inspiration can be drawn from all parts of myself, which having BPD and autism I struggle a LOT with self imagery and identity, which I have definitely been slipping on as I try and find my artistic niche. The shadow work to focus on is pretty basic, I have been avoiding doing a lot of shadow work because not only am I worried about what I'll find (and how to process it) I'm also worried about what I WON'T find (what if I made everything up?) and Tmikh is basically like 'ok so do nothing and suffer then? you're making up your own misery again'. 

Application:

I guess if I want to deepen my craft I have to actually do magic instead of just researching huh :\ bummer. Next steps is pretty simple as well, I need to connect with people more. I talked a lot in therapy recently about how spiritual awakening and social isolation really do go hand in hand and I understand why all the spiritual people are found in caves! I think it is going to be be time to go and visit my spiritual family again soon. It's been MONTHS since I last did proper trance and i can't get good at something I don't practice!

This is very helpful, as it mostly reassures me that no matter what I see or don't see, i'll be okay and it will make sense in time. 

[sweatandwoe]

For the fandom asks, I'd love to hear your answers to 21, 28, and 40 <3

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

Oh god.

Like I wrote Mando to start off this blog, which was bad Mando fics and I might edit and re-post them someday, but the actual first fanfic was probably when I was a tween, I don't the age, I don't if it's still up, I don't know the title.

What I do know it was Shadow the Hedgehog x Amy the hedgehog fic, and it probably was not very good. And I know did a Scourge the Hedgehog fic too, cause I was a Sonic fanatic as a child (I bought the comics with my Christmas money)

but it was a shadow the hedgehog x Amy the hedgehog fic. I don't know what the plot was, I think they might've gone out for a date, it might still exist on ff.net (I should check to see if my older, very tween cringe username is on there), but I'm not linking it if I do even find it. That shit stays buried.

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

Secret Ingredient hands down.

I've gotten a lot, a lot of fanart for SI. And like, each one has been my phone background at some point. They make me so happy and warm my heart.

I'd say Timeless would be nice too, but honestly, I don't think we're far enough into it, to get some Timeless fanart. (Chapter 5 I can see some visually interesting scenes happening that may catch someone's eye but right now, the fun hasn't started yet)

Also if anyone drew porn of my smut fics, you'd win my heart in a second.

40. What do you struggle with the most within your writing?

writing well lmao

I struggle a lot with like describing situations? I think last time I did asks like these I was like 'man I suck at dialogue' and now I've realized I'm really having fun with dialogue since I've relaxed about it, and descriptions are more like hmmmmm

like cowboy fic I was going over to try and make sure the descriptions were okay cause I realized halfway through there was a movement that shouldn't have happened and why his hat tumbles off halfway through (spoilers whoops)

but I think I struggle the most with editing. It's very hard for me to stay focused. I usually have to get high if I want to edit well, and I've been greening out more when I do, resulting in me being more depressed and not editing.

so it's me just trying to stay focused and edit and trying my bestest, but I wanna learn how to edit good so it's good practice?