#too bad hes not a great nano target.....

[stealthrockdamage]

übercharge and nanoboost are the two best fratures of their respective games. the fundamental human need to give your friend a powerup and cackle like an evil little mastermind beast as they go apeshit on the other team

[buckys-broody-muffin]

Your Protector

Summary: You're a shy person but the best at your job on Stark's tech team. A certain soldier joins the team and you stick close to him.

Pairing: Beefy!Bucky x Shy!reader

Warnings: None, fluff :)

Words: 1,392

A/N: written for @the-ss-horniest-book-club ♥️ hope you all enjoy it :) I really didn’t intend on writing so much but this really got away from me. 

You don't really know why you were so smitten with the newest member of the team. There was just something about the quiet man that lured you in. His beefy figure making you feel nothing but safe in his presence. If he wasn't in the room, you would find yourself searching for him and feeling calmer.

You would often watch him sitting on the couch reading a book. His hair would be tied back in a low bun and you were pretty sure he slept, showered and lived in that red Henley of his.

It was so unlike you since you're the shyest member of the tech team. But you're also very anxious and it doesn't take much to scare you. Even a simple thing can make you tremble for hours. You do your job very well and the team of superheroes absolutely adore you. You were more comfortable being open and talkative with Natasha more than the boys. And if Bucky was near, your throat would close up.

Your anxiety and shyness meant you are yet to say a word to Bucky. The things you've learnt about him, such as how he likes his coffee, or what food he likes to eat, you've learnt from conversations from other members.

You've also learnt what movies he enjoys watching. What flavor popcorn he likes the best. The team has also noticed you like to be near Bucky at all times. So it didn't come as a surprise when you asked Natasha if she could talk to Tony about moving rooms so you were closer to Bucky. Which he of course did.

And none of this escaped Bucky's attention. He's also become aware of your quiet presence around him. Sitting next to him during movie nights, at the dinner table, everywhere he was, you would be too. And Steve couldn't keep the shit eating grin off his face when he told him that you had asked to move rooms.

It didn't annoy Bucky at all. He was actually flattered but he failed to understand why. Why did you want to be around him so much? He knew from his observations you were very shy and timid. Was it because he was also quiet? He didn't know.

"Pal, I'm telling you. Watch Y/N sit next to you tonight during movie night." Steve said with a chuckle and a pat on his back. Bucky shook his head, he must be thinking too much into this.

So the members decided to test something, to prove their theory.

Natasha sat next to Bucky on the smaller couch. Tony, Pepper and Sam sat on the larger one opposite. Steve, Clint, Wanda and Vision took the reclining chairs. Which meant there was just the soft large memory foam bean bag to sit on, a seat Sam usually occupied.

Everyone was in their comfy position with their popcorn and snacks. A few minutes later you arrived with your bag of chips to share.

You looked around the room and noticed all the seats were occupied. Especially your favorite seat next to Bucky. Your face dropped and tried not to think too much into it. But thanks to your anxiety, you were wondering if Bucky had specifically asked Natasha to sit there so you couldn't.

Your anxiety was building up and you started to bite on your nail. You stood there, not knowing what to do. Steve's eyes landed on your uncomfortable form and he was worried this was a bad idea. You were trembling and your eyes were glossy.

"Hey Y/N. Come and sit down." Steve motioned to the bean bag. You didn't like the attention, you felt everyone burning holes in your face. But nevertheless, your feet moved on their own accord. You were still biting your nail and you looked down at Natasha and she smiled up at you.

"Hey sweetie." She mouthed and you relaxed slightly. Your eyes flickered over to Bucky and noticed he was staring at the TV, you assumed he wasn't paying any attention but he was. He was waiting to see what you were going to do.

"Can I... Can I sit here please?" You whispered. Your face turning a new shade of red as you felt incredibly uncomfortable in the spotlight all of a sudden.

Natasha gave a knowing smirk and nodded her head. She sat down on the bean bag and sighed, sharing a look with Steve as you took a seat quite close to Bucky.

"Guys! I totally forgot. Should we go and get some pizza to bring back?" Tony suggested as he pointed to the others except you and Bucky.

He needed 8 Avengers to go and get some pizza?

"Great idea. We'll be back in 20!" Sam spoke up.

"Oh and kids. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. It's a new couch." Tony warned and your face heated up at the suggestion. You could barely talk to the man next to you, let alone anything sexy.

When the others left. You and Bucky were sitting in silence. It felt awkward and you didn't know what to do.

You were about to get up and leave when he finally spoke.

"Why are you always near me?"

You blushed and stumbled over your own words. You bit on your nail again and your eyes darted around the room.

"I mean... Why ME exactly?" He pressed. Turning his body so he could face you directly. He noticed your anxiety was going crazy and he felt bad for not wording it lighter.

"I uh... I...uhh..." You were close to crying. You weren't good at forming words and your heart beating itself out of your chest wasn't helping the situation.

"Hey. Calm down, it's alright. I'm not mad okay? It's just me. I'm just curious s'all." His flesh fingers pulled your finger away from your mouth and he noticed the bit of blood pooling on the corner of your nail where you had bitten it so badly. He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear and offered a soft smile. It unfortunately did nothing to calm your nerves though.

“I just feel...safe...with...you.” You blushed and kept your gaze in your lap. Your voice was so quiet that you weren’t sure he heard you. 

But he heard you perfectly. Bucky was taken aback by your confession. You felt safe with him? How was that even possible? Had you not heard about the carnage he was responsible for during his Winter Soldier days? The pain he caused hundreds of families when he was sent to assassinate a target? How could you feel safe next to someone like that?

“I.. know it’s weird... I’m weird... I’m sorry.” You whispered and went to stand up. His large hand wrapped around your smaller wrist to keep you next to him. His brows were furrowed as he tried to make sense from all of this. 

“You feel safe with me?” He asked. He needed to be sure you didn’t use the wrong words. But by his furrowed eyebrows and straight lips. You were worried you went too far. 

“I do.” 

“But why?” He asked almost immediately. You licked your lips and gathered your thoughts. 

“You’re a big strong man. Quiet, don’t... let harm...come to others.” You were having a hard time finding your quiet voice. “I just feel safe near you.” You offered him a sweet smile, which eventually he returned. 

Bucky pulled you into a tight hug and your nose brushed against the stubble that was growing on his throat area. His cologne was strong, but gorgeous. Your hands fisted his henley as he held you. Bucky would never know what made him transition. He had so many questions, but there was just something about you that made him want to protect you at all times. For now, those questions didn’t matter. You were innocent, timid and shy and if you felt safe with him, then he was going to make sure he wrapped you up in bubble wrap to protect you from the evilness of the world. 

“I’ll always protect you, doll.” You grinned into his chest at the pet name and you were thankful he couldn’t see the new blush on your cheeks. 

He would be your protector. And there was absolutely nothing you could do in the world now, to make him stop protecting you. 

My teensy-weensy taglist: @jobean12-blog​ @nano--raptor​ @finleyjayne​ @marvelgirl7​

[nanaminsonyfans]

✨Birds of a Feather✨

Masterlist ✨ Requesting Rules

Request; Could I request a YJs1 Dick x reader with the reader being new to the team and a protege of black canary? He’s my favourite 🥰

A/N; honestly, if one robin is AT LEAST one of your favorites, if they aren’t in the top three, i don’t trust you. also, i really like the way i wrote this a stuff, if anyone wants i can make this a thing. I fucking grew up on young justice i love these characters. rock and roll buckeroo!

Pairing; Dick Grayson(Robin) x Fem!Reader

Warnings; fluff, slight cursing

Your upbringing wasn’t pleasant, for a short backstory, Black Canary found you when she did a raid on an illegal Meta-Human fighting ring. Your parents sold you to the leader of the ring. Your power was similar to Canary’s, in which your voice was a power. You could mimic sounds around you like a mockingbird, but you had similarities with an owl in the fact that your neck could turn all the way around and you had night vision. Black Canary found you when you were ten, taking you in as her own. She took you under her wing. *dad jokehehuheh*

She had taken care of you for four years, you ever really made you debut as a hero, until Batman started the underground team of sidekicks. Robin of course knew of you, as did Batman because, duh. Well, Roy did too but that was mainly because Green Arrow was dating Canary. He was like a big brother, and he deeply cared for you. 

“And this is Black Canary’s protégé, Mockingbird.” You walked out from the shadows, a black hoodie and red jeans on. Your hoodie had your favorite band one it, whatever it may be. “Sup.” You nod your head at the boys, your hood covered your face since it was dark but you also had glasses on, kinda like Robin’s but they were reading glasses. The glasses could profile anyone and bring up their history, if it’s in the web or files on the cloud, you gotem.

Kid Flash was easy, he didn’t both with covering his face, everyone else was open with you, but not Robin. You glasses always got glitched out when you tried to activate them while looking at him. He knew this and did it on purpose. He didn’t know much about you, only you hero name, you also did that on purpose, it was a fun little battle. You were closer to Robin anyways, being close in age but that didn’t stop Wally from flirting. “Hey babe~ Wanna spar~?” The redhead would ask, before you could speak he would go pale. “Nevermind.” Then he’d run away, you guessed it was Robin, he had mastered the infamous bat-glare.

When Artemis joined the team, you were happy. Another human girl on the team, no offense to M’gann but you felt more comfortable with another human female around. Plus, she was funny. You lived in Star City with Diane and Oliver, and you met her first, it was awesome when you came with her to the Cave and saw all of them shocked.

“What’s up, birdy?” You smile as you trotted over to Robin, you didn’t really have a superhero suit, you kinda took after Black Canary, civilian clothes were your hero clothes. It was usually blood stained black leggings, a navy blue crop top hoodie and black paint around your eyes and bridge of your nose rather than a regular mask because those were itchy. “Do NOT call me that.” Boy Wonder grumbled and elbowed you playfully. You gave him a smirk and batted you eyelashes at him. “You love me.” “No I don’t.” He snorted.

“The Wallman is here!” A redhead yelled through the zeta-tubes as he entered, the loud noise made you yelp and grab onto the nearest person, which was Robin. When you both realized that you both turned red. “Yeesh...stay whelmed Mockingbird.” He finally got out after being frozen. You both had completely ignored the situation going on around you, until...

“Recognize: Speedy, B06.” The computer spoke, making you grinning like an idiot and turn towards the tubes. “Well for starters, he doesn’t go by speedy anymore. Call me Red Arrow.” Your eyes lit up at your brother, well not really brother but you both looked at each other as such. “Roy-” Oliver started but you cut him off. “Roy!” You yelled happily and ran towards your redhead. “Wa to ruin his moment...” Wally grumbled but you flipped him off as you hugged Roy. “Why don’t you call anymore? I’ve been worried. So was Olly, and I guess Robin, Kaldur, and Wally, but I’m your sister!” You whined and teared up, your tears mixing with the paint you used as a mask causing black tears.

“Oh birdie...you know why.” Roy soothed causing you to sniffle and rub your tears away. “Right, sorry.” You mumble and pull away, “Sorry.” You mumbled again and walked back to your spot by Robin, the taller boy put a hand on your shoulder. “Roy, you look-” Oliver started, “Replaceable.” Roy hissed and walked over. “You know it’s not like that.” “Then why bother with a sub? Can she even use that bow?” He gestured angrily to the blonde archer. “Yes she can.” Artemis hissed back. “Who are you?!” Wally whined. “I’m his niece.” “She’s his niece.” “She’s my niece.” Artemis, you, and Green Arrow stated in a matter-of-fact like tone. “Another niece?” Robin snorted, earning an elbow from you.

“But he’s not your replacement!” You chimed in, walking over to the arrows. “We have always wanted you on the team.” Aqualad said, walking over to the now, Red Arrow. “And we have no quota on archers.” The leader continued. “And if we did, you know who we’d pick!” Wally chimed, glaring over at Artemis. “Whatever Baywatch,” Artemis glared, “I’m here to stay.” You stifled a chuckle and looked away. “Baywatch...” You snorted. “But you came here for a reason, right Roy?” You asked when you finally calmed down. “Yeah, a reason named Dr. Sterling Roquette.”

Both yours and Robin’s eyes widened before you both pulled up a file with the holographic computer. “Nano-robotics genius-” Robin started as he began typing. “And claytronics expert at Royal University in Star City! I love her!” You finished and gushed the last part. “Vanished two weeks ago.” Robin continued, earning a frown on your face. “Abducted two weeks ago, by the League of Shadows.” “Woah, you want us to rescue her from The Shadows?” Boy wonder said in a hopeful tone. “Hardcore.” Wally said in awe and fist bumped the other boy. “Dumbasses.” You scoffed and hit them both in the back of the neck. “Roy probably already did that.” You pointed out and walked over to him with a big smile. Roy smiled back and ruffled your hair. “She’s right, I already rescued her. There’s only one problem, the shadows already got her to make a weapon, ‘Doc call it the Fog.” Roy pulled up an image of a dark cylinder looking object with red buttons.

“It’s comprised of millions of microscopic robots, nanotech infiltrators, capable of disintegrating anything in their path- concrete, steel, flesh, bone.- but it’s true purpose isn’t mere destruction. It’s theft. The infiltrators eat and story raw data from any computer system and deliver the stolen data to the Shadows. Providing them access to weapons, strategic defense, cutting edge science and tech.” “Perfect for extortion, manipulation, and power broking.” Artemis starts, earning a groan from Wally, an admiring look from you, and a knowing look from Robin. “Yep. Sounds like The Shadows.” She finishes. “Oh like you know anything about The Shadows.” Wally groans and glares at the blonde, who just smirks. “Who ARE you?!” Wally yells obviously irritated, both you and Robin chuckled a little.

“Roquette’s working on a virus to render the Fog inert.” Roy says, ignoring the childish behavior. “But if The Shadows know she can do that...” Robin started quietly, you gasped softly. “They’ll target her.” You whisper in shock. “It’s okay, right now she’s off the grid. I stashed her in a local highschool computer lab.” Roy shrugs, opening his mouth to speak again. “You left her alone?” Green Arrow asks in shock and mild disappointment. ‘Oh great, here we go again.’ You think as you roll  you eyes. “She’s safe enough for now.” Roy spits and glares at Oliver. “Then let’s you and I take care of that together.” “You and I? Don’t you want to take your new protogé.” The redhead spits again, earning a groan from you. “Roy, you brought this to the team, we’ll talk care of it okay?” You say softly, putting your hand on his shoulder. “And she is part of the team. I promise nothing bad will happen. Trust me, big bro.” You smile, a child like glint in you e/c eyes. “Fine, Y/n. I trust you.” Roy whispered, kissing your forehead before leaving. “Speedy-” The computer started, “Change that to Red Arrow.” You spoke up before Roy could, you winked at him before he left.

Robin knew it was a platonic gesture, you both looked at each other like siblings, he knew that. He fucking knew but a piece of him was jealous. He didn’t know why, maybe he like you? No, he wouldn’t, doesn’t matter anyways. The team had a mission to do. But god damnit he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He wished he could be the one kissing your forehead, holding you, knowing your actual name like Roy did. Damn, being a teenager with feelings fucking SUCKS. 

All of a sudden you all were linked up by Miss Martian telepathy. “Everyone online?” Her voice rung inside your head, causing a giggle. “Mhm.”  You hummed in your head while you sat on a table between Kid Flash and Robin. “Woah, this is weird.” Artemis said, in her head of course, and you just giggled in response. “I know right? Prepare for a killer headache when Megan cuts it off!” You giggled more as you popped some of Wally’s fruit snacks in your mouth. Then the doctor started complaining. “Lady, I’m not really diggin your attitude right now.” You say while rolling your eyes. “You literally look like some random kid they got from the street!” The doctor replied earning a huff from you as you sat up straight. 

“You literally look like some random kid they got from the street.” You said, using your mocking power, you spoke in her exact voice, earning a shocked look from her. “Now shut the fuck up.” You hissed in your normal voice, earning a stern look from Aqualad. “Oh don’t judge my language fish boy.” You grumbled and crossed your arms, looking through a blind. “Do you always act like this when people try to help you?” Wally’s voice rung in your head. “Pot, kettle, you’ve met?” Artemis replied, you snickered slightly. “Great, now I want kettle corn. Thanks Art.” You whined and then ignored them arguing until Robin spoke. “You should give her some more credit. It was /her/ arrow that saved you from Amazo.” Robin said with a smirk, in which you practically swooned. “No, it was Spee-Red Arrow’s arrow, right?” “Not so much.” Robin snickered and you did as well. 

“God I love his voice.” You thought and then you realized that everyone was connected, SHIT. Your eyes widened and your face turned red. “I mean haha, I was thinking of something else.” You got up. “I’ll...I’ll go an patrol the halls...hall monitor duties.” You got up. “Oh god oh god. This is so embarrassing.” You though as you messed with your fingerless gloves. “Should we tell her?” Wally’s voice rang in your head, you could feel him smirking. “THEN DON’T LISTEN!” You screamed from the hallway and you could hear his laughs. Everyone basically knew you had a crush on Robin, it was obvious to everyone but him. He felt the same, it was also obvious to everyone but you. This was not the TIME.

You were walking down the hall, until you heard footsteps behind you. You turned around, punching the figure and wrapping you legs around the person’s waist as you pinned them down. “Woah woah, stay whelmed, Mockingbird.” You squeezes you legs tighter when you realized it was Robin. “What do you want?” You whisper-shouted. “You seemed to be distraught. You really should get traught.” He gave you a smirk that you always melted over. “Mind not squeezing me to death?” He asked and you flushed as you let him go from you thighs crushing him. 

“Your wordplay is so stupid...” You smiled softly and tucked a piece of hair behind your ear. “So what? You said you love my voice.” Robin teased. “I do.” You sighed and then covered your mouth in shock. “I-I mean...shut up!” Robin bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck. “I have to head out with Superboy.” He mumbled in which you sighed and grabbed his wrist before he could leave. “Be safe okay?” You whisper softly, getting closer to him. His lips were inches away from your. Robin smiled and kissed your forehead. “I’ll try.” He smiled in which you turned so red you were sure you would’ve been glowing. “It’s Y/n...Y/n L/n.” You spoke up as he started to walk away. “That’s my name.” You mumble. He turned around, wide eyed. 

“Y/n L/n eh? That’s a pretty name.” Robin teased before running off.

[dracoqueen22]

I'm in the mood for something dark so for Flash Fic Weekend, could I have the Decepticons trying to get important information out of Ratchet by threatening to torture and rape First Aid (or someone else Ratchet cares a lot about) right in front of him?

**dark fic, bits of torture, implied intent to rape, proceed with caution

The Lesser of Two Evils

Ratchet knows how to withstand all manner of torture. 

It’s not the first time he’s been captured by the Decepticons; he doubts it will be the last. He’s a high-value target -- so close to Optimus’ confidence, so high in the chain of command, with a processor full of knowledge about so many Autobot weaknesses. Logically, he should never be on the battlefield, but it’s been a long war, and Ratchet goes where he’s needed. 

Jazz has taught him how to withstand torture in all it’s shapes and forms. 

First Aid has received none of this training. He’s rarely far from his brothers, and is not at great risk for capture. 

It’s a stroke of very bad luck that put both of them behind enemy lines at the same time. That put Ratchet in need of repair, First Aid keeping him conscious and mobile, only for the Decepticons to come down like a hammer, and retreat with two Autobot medics in their grasp. 

Ratchet expects the torture. 

He is not prepared for it to be First Aid they plan to hurt. 

“It’s pretty simple,” drawls Vortex, his field a rasping delight that curdles the energon in Ratchet’s tanks. “I ask; you answer.” His blades wriggle excitedly. “You don’t; he hurts.” He tilts his head toward First Aid. 

Ratchet doesn’t know the right answer. He doesn’t know if he’s strong enough to sit here, chained within an inch of his life, sluggishly bleeding from a snapped peripheral line, while First Aid screams in agony. 

“If what you give me isn’t useful, he hurts,” Vortex continues, circling around First Aid’s bound form. He’s chained to an upright table, cuffed at the wrists, ankles, waist, intake. There’s terror in the gleam of his visor, but he’s silent, save for hiccuping vents. 

By now, the Autobots know they are missing. Ratchet knows they are mounting a rescue. He and First Aid are too valuable to be left to die. 

How long can either of them endure this?

“If I think you are lying, he hurts,” Vortex says, standing beside First Aid and resting a hand on top of First Aid’s head like he’s a pet. “So you might want to work really hard on convincing me of your honesty.” 

Ratchet keeps his silence. 

Vortex, however, isn’t finished. 

A single finger drags down the side of First Aid’s face. It traces along his intake. “You’re probably thinking, oh it’s just pain. I can repair pain,” Vortex says as his finger continues to drag along transformation seams, down the long line of First Aid’s central seam, and further still. “Maybe you can. But we both know mental scars can’t be fixed with a scalpel and some nano gel.” 

Vortex’s hand finally stops moving, but that’s because it’s cupping First Aid’s pelvic array. His fingers rat-tat-tat over First Aid’s interface panel. He looks at Ratchet, not First Aid, as he drums his fingers again. 

“It’s pretty simple, doc,” Vortex says as he holds Ratchet’s gaze. “But I’m not giving you long to decide. I ask; you answer. You don’t…” He trails off, cocks his head to the side, and digs the edge of his fingers into the seam of First Aid’s panel. 

“He hurts,” Vortex finishes, and yanks upward, ripping away the protective panel over First Aid’s interface panel with a loud, tearing skreel. 

First Aid jerks, a thin scream eking out of his throat, his interface bare to both Ratchet’s gaze and Vortex’s touch. 

Ratchet’s spark shrinks into a tiny ball. 

Vortex stands there, eying the small panel, the torn edges, turns it back and forth in his hand. “So,” he says. “What’ll it be?” 

And Ratchet. 

Ratchet has not been trained for this. 

***

[hereandqueerandfulloffear]

Apex plays OW part 3: Elliott “Mirage” Witt

Thank you again to @yaboihack for requesting, I love doing these :3

Elliott started playing OW when Octavio suggested it to him, but he didn’t start playing regularly until he realized Tae-Joon played too and was way more skilled than him. From then on he made it a personal mission to be better at the game than his “rival” (Tae-Joon isn’t threatened though, if the other man’s constant flux between Silver and Gold is anything to go by)

TANK:Bva Dva

Elliott comes out the gate in his attempt to beat Tae-Joon by picking Dva as his main tank too. He tries so hard to load in first and snatch Dva so he can show off, which leads a rule to be established that Tae-Joon and Elliott aren’t allowed to be in the same class due to the arguments that have arisen. Elliott plays Dva way more offensively, choosing to blast Dva’s Micro Missiles when he gets the chance and using Boosters to dive into a fight. Self-Destruct is used for kills when in comes to Elliott, often waiting for another ult to aid him with his ult. He doesn’t play Dva bad, but he flails around like a chicken with his head come off once he gets out of mech.

DPS: Incendio Sombra

Another one of Tae-Joon’s mains that Elliott tries to be better at. But also, Elliott and Sombra share the same cockiness and sneakiness which made it a good choice for our resident trickster. Elliott uses Translocator and Stealth so much more than Tae-Joon, opting to sneak behind enemy lines and shoot without hacking, picking of an enemy before teleporting back to safety. Elliott likes to use EMP to actively stop enemy ults and screw them over. Again, not bad, but very different than how Tae-Joon plays. And the hacker has to admit, Elliott makes for great bait when the entire team is focused on him and not on the rest of the team.

Bilgerat Junkrat

Rat’s skin is almost a dead ringer to one of Mirage’s skin called Captain Bamboozle. This is Elliott’s fuckin around hero, when he isn’t teamed up with Tae-Joon and everyone else isn’t focused on winning. Pure cockiness comes out when he’s able to Trap and Concussion Mine an enemy. Riptire is used to scare the enemy into shooting wildly and giving his teammates advantage.

Vigilante Mccree

Now THIS is Elliott Witt’s main DPS. Not only because of the flashy as hell banana costume, but because they both have the suave charm that makes them both so lovable. Mccree also carries a high powered revolver that reminds the trickster of his beloved Wingman. His favorite way to “bamboozle” a flanking enemy is the ol Flashbang and Hammer. He doesn’t like to use Deadeye much because it makes him a big target, but if he has Hound to back him up with a Nano, he’ll pop em off.

SUPPORT: Nutcracker Zenyatta

Elliott isn’t much of a healer player, but he saw Zenny with that Nutcracker skin and immediately adopted the omnic as his healer main. He mostly spends time healing than flinging fire since he’s so squishy and Transcendence is his saving grace against people who try to flank him. He’s certainly a better support than Tae-Joon, which he smugly mentions every time he heals the hacker.

That’s it for Elliott! Definitely a heavy DPS main who is a little too big for his britches. He does like to play for fun with the other Legends and he’s getting better at Competitive...slowly but surely lol Hope you enjoyed this and message me for more! My askbox is always open :)

[tracle0]

hello hi hey! happy storyteller, uh, monday? I'm very late this week. anyway. question time! what were some of the inspirations for your DIAS worldbuilding? I was reminded recently about how cool it all is, what with all the tech blackout stuff and Spin City? n I really dig the whole split-down-the-middle deal Spin City's got going on with the two opposing sides :D so ye, where did the premise for this setting stem from? I request the worldbuilding inspo rambles if you care to share c:

Hi hello welcome to Monday I hope you had a good weekend and slept proper and well ‘nd all that

Ahhhh yes worldbuilding for DIAS, the one thing that DIAS is actually missing in the draft right now. I got stuff! But it might not be what you’re looking for. However; I will share anyway. I will also share that a lot of these ideas came from a note I made on my phone during the long drive to Cardiff.

The whole idea for lacking tech came from... a video called ‘Grazed by the Apocalypse’ which looked into a number of ways humanity almost died. One of these ways was a coronal mass ejection, which is basically where the sun yeets out a bunch of radiation which has the potential, should it hit earth, to really fuck up our way of living - specifically by targeting tech. When I researched it, I learned it best affected radios, but for plot, I went ‘what if it affected EVERYTHING’ 

Whilst brewing up the world, I decided I didn’t want a disaster story, but a story of the politics of recovery; how would people be divided in this world? What about over this specific issue? Why would people chose one side over another? What drives the theory behind stuff? I found that some of the ideas that I came up with were kinda extreme. Unrelated note, but that’s about the time I decided to set it in America. 

Split down the middle is basically so you can Stay In Your Zone - if you’re pro-tech, you can stay in the more technical part of Spin City, with working lights and all that jazz. It’s decided by the river that runs through the middle of the city, and the centre, more undecided part, is not a great place to live due to constant fights over what should happen. It’s also where Leon lives because it’s cheap and he is poor.

In case you’re curious, Ant lives in the anti-tech side because their parents believe that.

So far, we have a world that’s dead to tech, two sides who are unwilling to co-operate and confusion everywhere. What we need is something to kinda... direct the mob towards progress. 

Enter Spin City!!!!

So, Spin City is a Big Deal. It was the first town to start to recover after tech died, the first place where electricity started to work again after four years in the dark (a district of SC is called Beacon, due to it being where the first lightbulb started to work) and where the disputes are most strongly heard. Other cities draw on Spin City’s progress and ideas to decide what to do themselves. 

For a while, they did great! Then uhhh s o m e o n e got into a position of leadership who was against tech and slowed things down hugely. Only recently did that same position open up to someone who was pro-tech, but not open to other peoples ideas. He was forcing things ahead and would’ve gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for two meddling kids and their dumb factory explosion. 

Because the pro/anti tech is not really the conflict of the story, I try and stay neutral about it in the book itself. Ant and Leon blow up a factory to stop tech productions, but it’s strongly in the question as to whether that was the intention of the mission or whether it was a mistake in their information, whether Leon only made said mistake due t forced rushing, plus Leon is also hugely into building things and fiddling with everything, and Ant enjoys seeing developments made in the city. Pro/anti tech is a debate for their parents. They don’t give a fuck.

It’s also never clear if what Simon is doing is really bad, only that his way of getting what he wants is. 

Other ideas did not make it through, like... the idea that the first leader person who drew Spin City back together was going to be a Silvertongue as well, and was assassinated for various reasons. I mentioned it in the draft, but it was never relevant to the story, so I scrapped it. 

The name ‘Spin City’ came about whilst we were trying to think of a name for our media team during college last year; someone suggested it as a name, and no-one liked it, but I thought it’d be cool for an actual location, so stole it. I also used college name suggestions for newspaper companies that are mentioned during a brief conference c;

Another dumb name origin is ‘Lansea’ where Ant’s sister lives - during NaNo, I forgot to name it, so just combined the words ‘land’ and ‘sea’ together, because it’s a beach town. It’s obvious and dumb but I like it. 

I can say that pro-tech wins out in the end and the world recovers quite quickly after that; in a matter of a few generations, the world looks a lot like we know just with a smaller population, and a population that’s able to use various supernatural abilities. Enter the world of wip4

Hey ho there you go 

[wgsphoenix]

messy tldw on the current meta. this is just first thoughts and i havent reviewed vods yet so i cant go over the interactions in detail. 

the base comp is sigma/ball, echo/tracer/ashe/sometimes mccree, zen/brig/mercy. orisa/sigma is also sometimes played but is only viable in limited situations

this comp is not dive so much as it is spam. the backline is too tanky to make diving useful, so it usually comes down to breaking sigma shield and forcing his cooldowns

theoretically a rush comp could mess with them, but after losing one fight it would be pretty easy to play around it (+ rein sucks). double shield has its moments on certain maps but losing one fight w/ it makes it hard to ever set back up and makes it hard to get value out of the dps that r strong rn

more in depth stuff under the cut

why ball/sigma is played

ball is the foundation of this comp. his speed, shield, disruption, and area denial w/ mines means he can literally spin circles around the other main tanks. winston has less of a capacity to survive cc than him and rein just is bad bc shatter sucks, limited mobility, he cant do anything when shielding, etc. orisa IS sometimes viable as a counter bc of fortify and supercharger, but she has no mobility and running anything but sigma with her is ineffective. hog/zarya doesnt work either but ill get to that later

its sorta a chicken or egg type thing but to me the rest of this comp is focused around denying the enemy ball value/capitalizing on your ball’s value. for this reason, sigma is the other tank paired with ball. his rock is a useful bit of cc, his shield can block burst and piledrive damage and destroy mines, and his grasp helps defend his supports from burst damage. his ultimate is also very good at isolating targets for a kill and also gives him high ground

none of the other main tanks are able to do everything that sigma does. winston can’t protect the backline and can’t poke at enemy shields, rein is bad, and orisa could protect her backline but this comp also focuses around shield break a lot so it’s easy to force her cooldowns and kill her

zarya isn’t played because she’s basically a free kill once her bubbles are used, she doesn’t have as much survivability as sigma does and she’s unable to do damage as she can’t get close enough to the other team’s backline to be effective. her ult is just worse flux specifically bc it doesnt give her high ground and it takes eons to charge. hog has good survivability, but can’t protect his backline during a push. hooking anything vs this comp would be very hard. his ult is comparatively shitty area control and he’s pretty helpless during it so he does fast. dva gets chewed up pretty fast by the dps and again this comp is very tanky so she can’t get much value out of dives. in terms of defending the backline, she’s just worse sigma. she might be playable on certain maps with lots of high ground, but i wouldn’t risk it. 

the mobility + burst dmg of the dps mean that hog/zarya isn’t viable anymore bc they just get burst down so fast, and neither of their ults/abilities do much compared to ball/sigma bc the comp is so spread out. also neither of them are able to protect the supports at all

runaway tried zarya/sigma for like 2 minutes and it sucked because they dont really have a frontline in this case and neither can begin an engage vs a dive

why tracer/echo/ashe is played

what makes dps strong in this meta is their ability to counter and synergize with ball. dps have to be able to chase him down, deal enough damage to force him away, and have the mobility to quickly switch targets to the enemy backline as soon as the ball is forced back. they also can’t be dps that he can feasibly 1v1. in terms of synergy, ball’s disruption makes for quick picks on out of position heroes, which means you need a LOT of focused damage, speed, and (vertical) mobility. on those qualifiers, widow, reaper, hanzo, junkrat, and doom are out. sombra and reaper can’t easily get assassinations so theyre out as well. sym torb and mei output a lot of damage and counter ball, but have no mobility and generally don’t synergize well with ball. bastion is (imo) always debatably playable in some kinda weird bunker setup, but usually not worth the risk and only works on certain maps

out of the heroes we’re left with (ashe, echo, genji, mccree, pharah, s76, and tracer), echo ashe tracer and mccree emerge as just. better versions of the others. echo has great mobility and her beam is essential for dealing w/ ball and enemy shields. her ult also fucks. pharah is just a worse version of her and can’t get as much value. tracer has a lot of survivability and mobility, and her kit allows her to get quick picks by sheer spam and force ults. genji has mobility but can’t survive as well as tracer and you have to invest a lot more into making his ult get value. ashe outputs a lot of damage, charges her ult fast w/ dynamite, and also has vertical mobility with her coach gun. her ult is good for area control. mccree is more or less the same, but you trade mobility for cc and slightly more tankiness. s76 has none of those and just sucks

i’ve only seen the cree played in APAC a bit as a replacement for the tracer, i think to give more stability to the backline and to make it easier to handle the echo. that feels more like a playstyle thing than anything else. 

the sigma pick is mostly a reaction to these dps. echo absolutely chews up tanks (minus sigma), and sigma can eat pulse and echo right click on top of having a shield + cc so hes kinda a must pick

tracer/echo is the most common duo, with tracer/ashe, ashe/echo, mccree/echo, and ashe/mccree being played on certain maps/by certain teams. NA/EU hasnt played anything with mccree so far. i dont have a complete handle on how they stack up yet but i think i like mccree/echo and tracer/echo best so far

you Could try to run a more divey dps duo i guess, but that’s more easily counterable than sticking with meta

why zen/brig/mercy is played

lucio and moira can’t be played because they have extremely limited range. dive is easily countered right now, so your backline isn’t going to have any easy escapes. zen is the most played support in this comp bc he does tons of damage to shields + discord is great for quick kills (havent made specific notes of it but itll be interesting to see where his harmony/discord usually go). trance is good for surviving flux + surviving spam in general. ana has more heals, but less value bc her nade is pretty easily blocked/eaten and bc nano is single target

brig + mercy are viable in different situations. brig is still sorta tanky + can defend against ball w/ cc and has rally as a backup while also doing pretty good heals. mercy is played on maps with good vertical mobility, usually alongside the ashe. balls have to play more carefully in that circumstance to not die. mercy also allows for echo to go hyper aggro, + valk is a good tempo ult. im not sure which i prefer, and id need to vod review to look at the interactions in detail

misc notes/interactions off the top of my head

echo and tracer end up chasing the ball off a lot and/or killing him, especially w/ beam. ball has to play REALLY careful in this comp and will still take a lot of damage regardless. ults charge fast

tracers duel each other sometimes, but i dont think ive seen many echo fights

echo beam also is good against sigma shield and uses her right click to force grasp so tracer can pulse (ive seen that like once but i think its happening more than that)

in this meta piledriving as ball into more than one target can be a death sentence. jihun did this a lot and was punished harshly for it, but his team also was always Right There when he did (kalios shielded right in front of him so he’d take less damage), but i think it just ended up burning more cooldowns than getting value

individual teams are centering different players, and running different dps/supports to do so. i don’t think there’s an optimal playstyle when it comes to revolving around different dps and that its based on player comfort. the one thing you absolutely should not do is make your ball the playmaker cough cough abang cough

if i have to see one more team pull out the genji i’m gonna scream

[pengychan]

A while ago you mentioned you had an idea for a HP fic where Riddle Sr. escaped from Merope with baby Tom. I was really intrigued with the story because I’ve always thought that Riddle Sr was unfairly considered a bad guy due leaving her and his child, but he was basically a victim of the most powerful date rape drug in existence so he had every right to escape. What kind of father did you think he’d be if he had raised his wizard son?

Oh yeah, Tom Riddle Sr. got a lot of shit for being… basically a rape victim? I get the pity for Merope, I pity her as well (she was so deeply damaged by her upbringing and never got a chance to learn what love is really about), but that in no way changes the fact what she did to Tom Sr. was terrible. And I really don’t like how it’s framed, with even Dumbledore going on about how he abandoned Merope as opposed to running away from a forced relationship after the effects of a magical drug wore off. Even the narration goes out of its way to remark on the fact he was an Unpleasant Stuck-up Guy, as though being an unpleasant stuck-up rich kid (he was like 20, he was young) somehow means you deserve to be basically robbed of your free will, taken from home and be magically coerced into a relationship. 

… Okay rant over sorry on to the story idea.

Basically my idea was that Merope would only wean Tom Sr. off the love potion after their child was born, hoping as per canon that he would be in love with her regardless. Of course he wasn’t, and of course he was absolutely horrified when she admitted what she’d done and how. Horrified enough to kill her out of anger and fear she might bewitch him again (with her too stunned and pained to react with any magic). As I said, I pity her, but let’s be honest - to Tom, she was a terrifying being who had enslaved him and could do it again if he allowed it.

Anyway, he’s now left with a dead body and a baby. He gets rid of the dead body somehow, and almost smothers the baby because what if it’s like its mother, but Tom Jr. starts wailing when he looks down in his crib (unusual, that, he was usually a very quiet baby) aaaaand no, he can’t do it. So he takes the baby, and gets to the nearest station. The plan is to hand the baby over to a bobby claiming he found him in a rubbish bin or something before hopping on the first train home. Only that he… doesn’t. He can’t. And so he gets home, trying to explain he was somehow bewitched (he is fully aware no one would believe the full story about a love potion, I mean, come on) and with a baby in tow, claiming Merope left him and the baby and he has no idea where she is now (the bottom of the Thames, probably) and anyway, he’d really like his old life back. 

And the return home… sucks. A lot. His parents don’t believe him being bewitched for a second, of course, and are furious at him. His fiancee, well, she wants to hear no more of him since he just up and left her to elope with the crazy gal. The village as a whole is having a laugh at his expenses. His parents full-on pressing for him to give the baby up for adoption or something aren’t helping, but at this point Tom Sr. is so angry with his lot in life, he decides to keep the child mostly out of spite. He lost nearly everything, his reputation and the woman he wanted to marry, but this child? He’s his. He’s keeping him. His parents can swallow their dentures. Not that he’s going to look after him much, they can hire a nanny to do it and that’s exactly what happens.  

But time passes and the baby grows, and to everyone’s relief he looks nothing like his mother, or anyone from that weird family. He looks like his father and he seems so normal, and little by little, his grandparents are won over. He becomes the apple of their eye, and of course they set upon spoiling him. The boy wants a pony to learn how to ride? Then by God, the boy is getting the damn pony, and new clothes, and just about anything he asks for. What Tom Jr wants, Tom Jr gets. He leads a sheltered life in the manor, his every whim satisfied.

And soon enough he wants to spend more time with his father, who has become increasingly withdrawn and spends a lot of time having long horse rides across the countryside, though never anywhere near the shack where she used to live. And little by little he lets him. He’s still guarded, anxiously waits to see if his son does anything strange, but he does not. There is a certain distance between them, and Tom’s mother is a subject to never bring up, but they… get along well. Tom Sr becomes more interested in what his son is up to, and he does give him whatever he wants because why not, that’s how he was raised, too. And the kid loves his life as it is, the spoiled only child in a big mansion with rich grandparents, long horse rides with his father, and not a care in the world. His mother? Why would he care to know who she was?

Until of course something happens. During one of their rides, they are ambushed by a raving Morfin Gaunt, who spooks the horses, makes Tom Sr fall off it, and tries to hex him - only to be thrown back by a sudden explosion of uncontrolled magic by Tom who is, understandably, kinda angry at this guy who went and threatened them. Morfin becomes unable to breathe and Tom almost, almost kills him before his father grabs him and snaps out of it and takes him away, back home, leaving Morfin to gasp. 

Suddenly Tom Sr finds himself with weirdly dressed men in his living room, his parents’ memories being erased, and his child chasing around a moving chocolate frog while this Dumbledore fellow talks nonsense about a school of magic what the hell is going on.

What is going on is that this is basically his nightmare, his son is like his mother and will apparently go be educated among other people like his mother whether Tom Sr wants it or not. And ten years earlier, the day he broke free, he would have smothered the boy in the crib if he’s known that - but then was then and now is now, this is his son, and he wants him safe. It takes a long time to convince him Tom Jr will be fine learning magic, that everyone else will think he’s going to a really fancy boarding school, and he’ll be back every Christmas and summer, but he finally relents. 

Of course Tom Jr is enthusiastic, a ten year old kid who was just told he’s gonna learn MAGIC, who wouldn’t be? It takes some effort for him not to blurt out too much in the presence of his grandparents. This is gonna be great, he thinks, and oh boy is he wrong. He is sorted in Slytherin, and he finds out at his expenses that being Muggleborn (of course he thinks his mother was a muggle, too, his father surely would have told him if his mother was a witch?) is looked down to. He goes from being a spoiled rich kid to being an easy target, the kind other classmates turn their nose up to. He tries the Draco Malfoy “when my father hears of this” talk, only to be laughed at because literally nobody fears or respects a muggle. You could say it’s one hell of a culture shock. 

And he hates it. A lot. He loves learning magic, but he hates the way he’s treated and how his family is looked down to. Even once his achievements earn him some respect, he still hates it. So he looks forward to vacations at home, when he can be the spoiled rich boy again and spend time with his father - who knows all that well what it is like to be a pariah over something you had no control over. He almost tells him about his mother, but he can’t bring himself to. Instead he uses that time to teach him about Muggle things, about science and mathematics and literature and muggle history, a whole wealth of knowledge wizards discard but oh are they wrong to do it. The older Tom grows, the closer they get. People seeing them side by side could almost think they’re brothers. 

Little by little, Tom becomes certain that Purebloods are deluded - it’s Muggleborns like him that really the best, because they have access to the knowledge of both worlds. And he eventually guesses, as he grows - as he hears whispers about his parents’ eloping - that his mother perhaps was a witch; he can guess what she did. But at this point he doesn’t care, and never bothers to look into her lineage. He’s Tom Riddle, he’s son of a muggle, and he’s going to show everyone what he can do. Instead of throwing away his father’s name to embrace his mother’s legacy, he throws away hers to remain his father’s son. 

And… that’s the long and the short of it. I would need to check my notes to see what was meant to happen at this point, but I think Grindelwald’s war was involved, with Tom taking the opposite side because oh no, he’s not going to trample Muggles underfoot, no sir, not on his watch. All while his father knows vaguely what is going on, and is worried for his son, the way parents are, as Tom tells him and his grandparents to move for their safety. At some point, Tom Sr would have probably told him the whole truth about what his mother did to him and how she ended up. 

I don’t remember if they all made it through to see the end of 1945 - I think I had Tom Sr and Morfin Gaunt dying in the same incident, and Tom visiting the Gaunt shack afterwards to set it on fire, letting it burn with Salazar’s locket inside while he rode back to Riddle Manor, but I’m not 100% sure.

… I was pretty close to making this my NaNo project a few years ago, really. I kinda wish I had gone for it, but oh well. XD

[elisaphoenix13]

Protecting Midtown

"Is there a new Avenger?"

Peter pauses at the top of a sit-up and frowns. "I don't think so. Why?"

"There was some guy in a black suit that saved you from that robot! Don't you remember?! The battle was on the news!"

A sharp laugh escapes from Peter as he continues his sit-ups. "First of all the suit is dark blue. Second, that was Mom."

Ned's eyes widen. "Doctor Strange has a suit? I thought he had robes and that cape."

Peter finishes and sits up fully. "Cloak. Dad made him a suit. It's nano technology like his and mine. The other Avengers didn't know it was Mom and thought it was a rogue suit."

"I just want to thank you for being my friend and allowing me to live vicariously through you." Ned helps Peter to his feet when he stands up.

"You come to the Tower almost every weekend." The vigilante replies dryly.

"I was talking about times that I can't be there. Like missions."

"I would rate getting my throat crushed a 0/10. Would not-"

The ground trembles beneath them and both teens brace themselves as other students scream. The hairs on Peter's arms stand on end and he looks up when the sound of cracking fills the gym. A patch of ceiling above a group of students begins to crumble and Peter races over and catches it just as it falls. His classmates stare at him in surprise and wonderment as he grunts under the weight and he throw the cement to the side.

"Everyone behind the bleachers!"

The gym teacher directs the frightened students just as a hole is blown through the wall and the concrete from the blast flies into Peter's chest and knocks him backwards. He slides against the floor, groans when his head hits the bleachers, and Ned grabs him and drags him to safety.

"Peter! Are you okay?!"

Peter coughs. "I'm good. Did anything come in?"

Ned shakes his head and whispers. "Are you gonna suit up?"

That was the million dollar question wasn't it? He didn't want to if he didn't have to, he was already getting curious looks from his classmates after catching the ceiling. "Not if I don't have to."

Peter lifts his arm and presses a button on his bracelet and it starts flashing. It was his panic button. Hopefully his parents would be able to get to them before whatever was destroying the city decided to wreak havoc on the school. He'd play it by ear for now.

_______________

"Boss, I'm receiving an emergency signal from Spiderman. Some of the aliens are close to Midtown High and have already destroyed some of the gymnasium." FRIDAY pulls up an external video of the school and Peter's vitals on Tony's screen.

Tony curses. "Mama Bear-"

"I see it." Stephen lands next to him in his suit after wrapping an alien with his whip and throwing him toward Thor to deal with.

"Hey Capsicle. There's a situation at Peter's school."

"We got these guys. You two go help your kid."

Tony and Stephen immediately take off for the high school and Tony fires his repulsor at some aliens surrounding a giant hole. He could only assume it led to the gymnasium so he points Stephen to it and the sorcerer clears the way with a blast of magic before entering. He wraps his whip around an alien dangerously close to shooting the group of students, and tosses it back to Tony who he can hear fire repulsors at the flailing target.

Peter's vitals on Stephen's screen begin to drop and he looks through the students until he finds a couple of them hovering over a familiar body. The sorcerer conjures a shield around the group as he rushes to his son's side, and then one he recognizes as Ned moves aside to give the doctor room.

Even though blood was beginning to puddle around Peter's limp form and he was paling by the minute, Stephen would not freeze this time. He couldn't get Peter to the tower until Tony cleared the area because he had other people to worry about this time around. If he left now, his shield would fall and the students and their teacher would be vulnerable.

He hoped Peter's wounds weren't as bad as they looked.

"Ned, do you know what happened?"

To his credit, Ned didn't stammer. "He caught some of the ceiling, but I think what hurt him was the blast. He was fine until a couple of minutes ago."

"Victor."

He didn't even have to ask. His AI already scanning for injuries and showing internal bleeding as well as two broken ribs and a minor concussion. Magic would have to be used this time. Peter didn't have time to wait for Tony to kill the remaining aliens.

Stephen begins the healing process and occasionally looks up to watch for any foes that might have managed to slip by his boyfriend, but otherwise keeps his focus on Peter's wounds and keeping the shield around the students.

"Stephen, FRIDAY is showing me something I don't want to see." Nanites form a blade on Tony's hand and he cuts through a couple of enemies.

"I'm healing him right now. How many aliens?"

"I don't know. They're like cockroaches."

Peter jolts into a sitting position with a gasp when the sorcerer finishes healing him and Stephen immediately pushes him back down. The girl that had been on the boy's opposite side watching in silence takes off her sweater and places it under Peter's head. Likely MJ. She was supposed to come to the Tower this weekend with Ned.

"Keep him warm." Stephen whispers to his cloak, and Levi slips off his shoulders and covers Peter.

"Doctor Strange, will Peter be okay?" Ned asks with a little uncertainty in his voice.

Stephen nods and allows the boy to return to his original spot as he exits the shield.

"Mama Bear, be a dear and open a portal."

The sorcerer raises an eyebrow but does as the engineer asks and almost scoffs when Tony practically herds the last of the aliens into the portal. Typical Stark move.

"Figures that Parker would be lame enough to get hurt." Flash mutters.

What?

Surely this student wasn't stupid enough to insult Peter in front of one of his parents. Stephen turns to Flash as his armor disengages and glares icily at the cowering bully. Ned and MJ watch with open interest.

"Remind me how my son got hurt." The sorcerer says darkly.

"H-He was hit by the blast-"

"That only he could survive!" Stephen snaps. "Were you one he saved from the collapsing ceiling too?"

"How did he even do that?" Peter's teacher asks. "That would have weighed at least a couple tons!"

Stephen rubs his eyes as Tony joins him with his armor absent as well. Saving his classmates' lives was raising questions and they really couldn't come up with a lie to explain.

"Shit" Tony obviously came to the same conclusion he did. "FRIDAY...have Karen activate Protocol Peter Screwed The Pooch."

Ned snickers at the name and then immediately freezes when the Spiderman suit engages and covers Peter's unconscious body. The reaction was absolute silence. At least until the teen woke up again, and he must have been completely disoriented because he jumped to his feet after throwing Levi off, and then promptly groaned and keeled over.

"Ow. Ribs. Karen call Mom. He's gonna kill me."

A moment of silence passes and Stephen and Tony watch (both on the verge of laughing) as Peter freezes up. Karen probably told him a phone call wasn't necessary because Stephen was three feet away.

Sure enough, Spiderman glances to the right at his parents, and his eyes widen when he notices the gawking group of students. Things must have come back to Peter because he immediately turned on Tony and pointed at him.

"You put my suit on in front of my class?!"

"Pete. We couldn't lie about how you caught the ceiling."

Peter's gym teacher actually laughs. "This actually explains quite a bit."

MJ looks over at Flash. "How does it feel to know that Parker could have kicked your ass into next week?"

Flash for once in his life kept his mouth shut.

"Okay. Now that that whole ordeal is over with, can we trust you to keep his secret or do I need to get my lawyers?" Tony motions toward the group of students. "Mama Bear is pretty scary too."

Peter moans into his hands. "Oh my god." The teen yells out in surprise when Levi affectionately wraps around him.

"We'll keep his secret."

Peter halts his struggling. That sounded suspiciously like Flash. His other classmates voice their agreement and Tony smiles before smacking Stephen's shoulder.

"Great! Stephanie you can get rid of the shield now. The building won't fall on them."

"Right. Of course."

The shield around the students falls away into harmless sparks and Levi finally releases Peter to return to it's master's shoulders. When Peter finally returned his suit to his bracelet, he was swarmed by his class, and they were all talking so fast that the teen was almost overwhelmed. Ned eventually came to his rescue and pushed them all to a distance so that Peter could breathe again, with the very legitimate excuse that his senses were better than everyone else's.

He was also still suffering from broken ribs and that didn't escape Stephen's notice for very long. "Spiderling. I think it's best we take you home so you can let your ribs heal."

Tony looks at his phone. "School is dismissed anyway until repairs are made. The gym wasn't the only place hit but thankfully no one got hurt." After he sends a few quick texts, he pockets his phone and looks up at Ned and MJ. "Thanks for taking care of our kid until we got here. We'll see you this weekend."

Ned bounces on his heels. "Can we order Chinese?"

Peter groans. "Ned."

Tony laughs. "Sure thing kid." He throws an arm around Peter and they follow Stephen out of the school. "That was relatively painless."

"Tell that to my ribs."

Stephen barks out a laugh. "I think he was talking about your identity."

"Painless for him either way." Peter replies dully.

"This is payback for leaving me to tear the city apart while you ate dinner I made."

"That was Mom's fault. He's the one that forgot to call you."

Stephen stops and allows Levi to smack the back of Peter's head.

"Ow...dude...way to hit a man while he's down."

[messinwitheddie]

So I know your 18 years later au has gaz married with a kid. As somebody who made a post about having future gaz be a mom and receive a bunch of anonymous harassment over it I was wondering if you got any harassment from anons.

I'm sorry you were harassed about marrying Gaz in your AU. The IZ fandom is frustrating.

Honestly, I rarely get any comments on my au in general.

I'm surprised no one has harassed me about marrying Gaz. I'm honestly surprised no one has harassed me about giving her and Dib children or making Gaz a lesbian, or giving Dib a cigarette addiction or high functioning depression, or 70 % of the other things I have going on in this AU.

I don't think anyone in the fandom knows I exist and my contribution to the fandom thus far is a lot of bad sketches and random dialogues.

So, my obscurity is probably a good thing.

My goal isn't to upset anyone. This is just how I interpret Dib and Gaz growing up over an 18 year span with no contact with Zim.

My Gaz is happy with her new baby of unassigned gender and big beautiful Aussi biker wife with half a brain cell, vortian neuro implant in her head and a heart of gold.

I'm just a working slob with 8 rats and a poodle that really wants to see character development in a kids cartoon I was obsessed with when I was 12 and cringy ^^ (still cringy. Sorry, not sorry)

I hope you don't get too discouraged. People suck sometimes. :(

Dib "ZIM!! I told you to--"

Zim "Experiment 2-536?! I didn't recognize you in all those boring wedding photos! It's me, ZIM!"

Isla "--'Ey!! You're that little green whacker what snatched me off my dad's ranch when I was 11!"

Gaz "Zim!!"

Reg "You know my aunt Isla?"

Zim "Isla? NO! That isn't her name; that name is hideous. What was the better name I gave you, 2-536?"

Isla "Izzy."

Zim "Right! Izzy was part of a neurological experiment I was working on to destroy your father. I had to abandon the project when the tallest hailed the invaders to rescue Tenn on Meekrob. Wow, look at you! You're almost as tall as the Dib! Congratulations on surviving the labor! You've done your species a great service by birthing a human child with Membrane DNA."

Isla "That's pretty much what her dad said."

Dib "Zim, hold up! What experiment?! What did you do to Isla?"

Zim "I got the idea after I noticed how easily Tak's human female disguise clouded your jugment-- and watched the entire anime series of Gunslinger Girl with Gir...I selected Izzy while doing recon in the voot--"

Reg "So you've been to Austrailia?"

Zim "Rrr Dab, the interrupting thing-- Yes! I researched every continent on this planet at one point in time. I didn't just spend all my energy on my rivalry with Dib! You people really think I'm some kind of hack, don't you?"

Dib "Zim, the expwriment?!"

Zim "I implanted a vortian nano device in her brain that would instantly convert her DNA into an energy weapon locked on YOU as her target."

Dib/Gaz/Reg "What?!"

Isla "Ooooh, that explains the blurred vision and headaches."

Zim "Relax, it can only be detonated by a certain Irken codeword. I just don't remember which word I set the detonator to...:

Gaz "Is it "kloinky"?

Zim "It was something LIKE that."

Dib "Don't try to guess the word!!"

Reg "So, you were really gonna murder my dad in cold blood when he was MY age?"

Dib "That was just ONE of dozens of stupid STUPID ways he tried to murder me and/or destroy our planet! SEE?! Your old man ISN'T always a mean, cynical asshole! Zim is actually a little sadistic pile of green goblin shit!"

Gaz "SHH!! Dib, seriously. Holding a 3 month old here--"

Isla "Zim, you think you could carve that chip out of my brain folds since I'm here... and you're here--?"

Zim "Sure, sure; after dinner. It'll take 20 minutes. Consider it my Christmas present."

Gaz "Was it "ikkloinx?"

Isla "Ace!! Thanks, mate!!"

Zim "You were always my second favorite."

Dib "This is my family. This is my life...."

[purplesurveys]

868

Favorite beverage: Just your good ol’ cold water. If I wanna treat myself I’ll get milk tea. When was the last time you had ketchup? Ooh I don’t remember...it would probably be 3-4 weeks ago. Or whenever the last time we had lumpia was, because I like drowning that shit in ketchup. Have you ever had a red hotdog? Yeah frozen hotdogs is a favorite snack here and they’re usually red. We usually have them for breakfast, it’s served in parties, it’s in every school caf, etc. What is the most recent gift you've been given? So my uncle has his budding cooking business and sells different dishes everyday. His most recent bestseller is burnt basque cheesecake and while I’ve always wanted my own because it looks SO good, I just haven’t had the money to allot for it. I was really surprised when my grandma called me up today and told me she had ordered an entire cake for me as a graduation gift :) I asked my dad to pick it up from her place this afternoon and it’s crazy delicious.

Is what you're wearing comfortable? Yeup, now that it’s cooler. I sweated through my top when it was hot earlier though, and that wasn’t a comfortable situation at. all.

Did you leave the house today? Nah. I did step out to help my dad with the groceries, but that was it for today’s adventure. Are there bumper stickers on your car? No. If I wanna put stickers on my car I would rather have them on my rear window, and not directly on my car. Are you watching tv right now? What? The dining room TV is turned on but I’m not watching; my dad likes to have it on to listen to the evening news while he cooks dinner. Are you wearing anything blue? Nope, it’s all black for me today. Do you have a job? Not yet. Is your car messy? No. There’s really no reason for it to be, I’ve only driven out once since March. When did you last have whipped cream? I...can’t recall, actually. We don’t have whipped cream at home and I don’t think I ever ordered anything with whipped cream on it shortly before lockdown. How far away is the closest house? 10-20 steps away, depending on how big your stride is. What street do you live on? I’m not dropping that on here. The most I’ll tell you is that our streets are named after tropical cities, haha.

What is your favorite flavor of smoothie? Used to not like smoothies 100% because of the presence of fruits in them, but thanks to my friends Apple and Ed introducing me to Go Salads I’ve come to really like their Breakfast Smoothie – which, after looking up their menu just now, has apple, banana, cinnamon, oats, coco sugar, chia seeds, greens, and soy milk. Are you dating anyone? Yes ma’am. What color is you computer? Silver. Do you own an iPod? What color is it? Technically I still do but only because I haven’t thrown it out. It’s a blue iPod Nano. What is the most recent picture on your phone/camera of: A photo of the aforementioned burnt basque cheesecake. I was planning to post a Facebook status to promote my tito’s business and show my support, so I asked my sister to take a few aesthetic shots of the cake for my post to look presentable. Have you ever shot a gun? No. I’ve shot a fake one that belonged to Athenna’s dad, which he used for like target practice or something. What temperature is it? 31C.

Do you know anyone with a third nipple? No but Harry Styles has four, HAHAHA. There’s your random fact for the day. What do your parents do for a living? My dad’s an executive sous chef and my mom’s a secretary in her specific department in the hotel she works in. Both have always been in the hotel and restaurant industry. Have you ever had a pet that had babies? No. We’ve avoided female dogs because we know we’re not capable of caring for newborn puppies, so instead of potentially being reckless owners we’ve just not had female pets altogether. Which grocery store is closest to you? A local mall chain that has their own grocery, SM. Do you have a hamper in your room? Nah, my parents prefer a general hamper in the bathroom. Do you know anyone that's a nurse? Yes, I have several aunts and as far as I know, one cousin :) I feel really bad for them especially in these times, but they’re such strong people and they just keep powering through and powering through. Do you know someone with the name Alaina? Not that I can recall. What color is the blanket on your bed? Off-white. What are your parent's middle names? No thank you. Have you ever broken a bone? Never. Do you wear braces or glasses? I wore braces in high school, and I’ve had glasses since Grade 5. What color are they? I picked a different color for my braces for every monthly visit cause it made me feel quirkly; my glasses’ frame is dark brown. Are you currently reading a book? Not currently, no. When did you last get your blood drawn? Ughhhhh, cringed reading this haha. Last May when I needed to get a blood test done. Have you ever done hard drugs? Nopes. How many contacts are in your phone? I just know I have a lot, but Apple doesn’t tell you exactly how many and I don’t feel like counting all of them right now. Does your toilet have a seat cover? It has a lid cover, but not a seat cover. What's currently on your grocery list? My dad did the groceries today so we’re pretty stocked rn. What things do you take with you everywhere? My glasses, car and house keys, phone, wallet. Do you know someone that is/was over 100 years old? Gab’s great-grandma was like 106 or 107 by the time she passed. Was your HS principal a girl or a boy? Girl. I went to an all-girls school so it would honestly be a little peculiar if we had a male principal. Have you ever eaten a raw egg? Nah. I wanna try it out though, just for funsies. Do you own any rings? Gab got me this cheap ring for the shits and giggles, but I stopped wearing it when it started turning pink and smelling weird. So no.

If you were to get a new puppy what would you name her? We did get a new puppy! ;) But should we get another, the name will depend on the puppy’s attitude and overall vibe. That’s what we did with Cooper, who was named after Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory because he had been a smartass from the very first minute we played with him. Have you eaten fruit today? No. What about milk? Even more nope haha. I can’t have it all the time. What letter does your state start with? We don’t have states. My province starts with the letter R. Could you list all 50 states? I’ve listed them down on countlesssssss occasions but I always only come up with 35-45 states. I’ve observed that the ones I always forget about are the states in the middle of the map/country-ish states hahaha. What about their capitals? I know a good number of the states’ capitals, but I’ll still undoubtedly do worse. What internet browser do you use? I’ve been on Chrome for the longest time. Do you know anyone that lives in Wyoming? I don’t think so. Do you smoke cigarettes? Yes, starting this year lol. Which person you know has the most unique name? I’m sure I know more unique ones out there but the first names that came to mind are friends of mine named Bernadean, Jeuel (pronounced Jay-well), and Jabes. Oh and I also have an aunt named Marheedoll. Do you know someone that's missing a limb? I don’t think so, no. Do you have facial hair? I do not. Are you a bad person? Not when it comes down to it. I have my petty moments though. What was the last swear you said? I almost yelled the word puta in front of my dad earlier, but I slurred the word and made random noises to avoid saying the full thing haha so it kinda went like puuuuutehshahjskhf. Have you ever called the police on someone? No. What is the most amount of pets you've had at one time? Three – one dog and two birds. When did you last check your email? Last night. I wanted to check if I received any email from the college. Have you ever had a 3rd degree burn? Nope and that sounds so painful, I never want to sustain one. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? I haven’t. How long is your hair? Right now it reaches only my collarbones. I had it cut fairly recently, so it’s still on the shorter side. Do you lock your doors at night? The doors on the first floor. Does your bedroom have a lock? It does but my mom is such a big sissy about locks and says that “there’s nothing to hide/be private about” since we’re all relatives. She really shouldn’t have gotten a lock for my room if I wasn’t allowed to use it anyway... What do you have at your bedside? I have a rattan trunk that stores all my childhood knickknacks like board games and encyclopedias; then on the other side is a drawer with my home clothes and other knickknacks on the lower drawers. I got some hoarding tendencies from my grandma, so a lot of the stuff I keep in the drawer really has no reason behind my keeping them until today. How big is your bed? Not big at all, it’s just twin-sized. I am so investing on a big-ass bed when I have my own place. Do you know someone that was murdered? I didn’t know her personally but an alumna from my old school got stabbed to death. I don’t know the details but I think she got stabbed because she had gadgets on her, which makes you an easy target for criminals here. The only reason I know her is because my school would do tributes for her from time to time, so I really can’t tell you anything more other than she was stabbed. Do you know someone who's pregnant? I don’t think so. Do you wear a watch? Used to, but I kept losing them. What was your first pet? A pair of goldfish. How much jewelry do you own? Not a lot. The ones I do wear are technically my mom’s too; she just likes sharing them with me. What is the closest purple thing? Probably the ube halaya in the fridge. Green? A piece of Cooper’s toy. What time is it? It isssss 8:43 PM. What is your ideal profession? Lawyer. How tall are you? A little over 5 feet. Have you ever gotten x-rays? Probably once when I was a kid, then around two or three times before I started college. Do you wear gloves in the winter? I imagine I would but we don’t get winter. Do you consider yourself smart? Academic-wise, yep. I’m good at tests and memorizing and I generally enjoy reading educational content. Are you good at algebra? Yeah but I wanna keep it at algebra and geometry lol, I don’t have the patience for calculus and trig. What color eyes are the prettiest? I’ve always loved green/olive green eyes. Are your teeth straight? One of my front teeth protrudes a bit, but that’s all my fault because I lost my retainers back when I still had to use them. My teeth are otherwise fine. Do you like chocolate milk? LOVE IT Do you own a bike? We own a family bike and I’m free to use it, I just don’t because I don’t know how lmao Are you taller than your mom? No. I thought I’d grow taller than her because I had an intense growth spurt at one point, but it never happened. Have you ever been engaged? No. What, in your opinion, is the ugliest name? I’m not a fan of names that end in -leigh, but I don’t think they’re ugly names.

[freykugel]

I’m partying like it’s 2006 and I’m sixteen again. They recently released Togainu no Chi officially in English and even though I played through the fan translation I was on it like yellow on a banana. And honestly? I don’t give it enough credit. Probably because when I was a teenybopper I didn’t particularly care enough about the world building and the story. I largely was trying to get to the... well, dating aspects of it, if you will. LMAO.

There were a lot of things I skipped through that I really, really shouldn’t have. Like Takeru’s story arc. That thing is IMPORTANT and I didn’t really care at the time. And I think the plot point that Motomi and Arbitro used to be coworkers just... didn’t hit me at all. GOD guess who was a dumbass kid. I’m still a dumbass, but at least I’m a dumbass adult.

It’s also kind of funny how in the beginning Akira was celebrated as a badass undefeated fighter and once he gets dropped off in Igura/Igra it’s just curb stomp battle after curb stomp battle. But I guess that’s what Line/Rein does to ya. Also speaking of which, these translation differences are hilarious. It makes me wonder if they were trying to distance themselves from the fan translation.

Also Akira’s magical healing butthole. This boy is masochistic to the core, dude.

Definitely a great debut for Nitro+Chiral. I mean, the sexy times were... largely awkward, but nice world building for a BL game.

[Shiki]: God, as a tween I was one of the billions that squeed and hollered for this fucking jackass. Playing his route as an adult is like pulling teeth. There is NO value in this character other than him being a hot bishounen and even that’s debatable. (Definitely not my type as an adult, lmao.) I want to make an excuse for myself that I totally dug the mindfucking back then. Anyways, this guy just waltzes in, kidnaps you for a flimsy reason of “YOU DIDN’T LOOK AWAY FROM ME,” locks you in a room, and rapes you repeatedly. Akira, Akira, my boy, treat yourself kindly. Well, running away probably would have led to some flavor of a bad end, but I would have liked an option for it. His tyrant end is boring. His fuckdoll end is boring. His good end isn’t even a good end. Akira is now responsible for this massive man baby who decided there’s nothing to live for now that he skewered a dude who let him. Meh. When I say he’s overrated, he’s fucking overrated.

[Rin]: Ah, the resident shota route. Well, I guess he’d be 18 with Akira being 19? I dunno, what a late bloomer. He’s alright I guess, but his fighting abilities are also overstated. I don’t really have anything to say about him other than I’m kind of disappointed that in the option where you have to choose between turning around and not turning around in the beginning, I was hoping that this guy would shank you in the back. Like... I thought that was a thing? That it would lead to a nonstandard game over because when you turn around he’d see that Akira reminds him of Kazui. But if he continued to show his vulnerable back, Rin would just go YOINK FREE DOG TAG REAL ESTATE. Poor dude, though, he gets forgotten or stabbed to death in most of the routes. He grows up nice though, I’ll give him that.

[Motomi]: Lemme tell ya, if it weren’t for the fact that Akira’s probably a teenager and Motomi just continuously treats him as a child (even purposefully as he admitted) I’d be on this old man. Like... if Akira was not in the picture and I had to choose between photos of all the targets, MOTOMI IS 100% SELECTED. I LOVE OLD MEN, GIVE ME SPICY OLD MAN DATING SIM. He brings up his son way too often for this to be a palatable relationship though. Because, uh, yikes? Whatever, his sex scene could be cut out and nothing would change. Actually to be honest most of the sex scenes could be cut out and it’d be alright I think. The relationship aspect was important, but ain’t no time to be sexy in post apocalyptic Tokyo. Anyhoo, like I said, I don’t think the fact that he used to be a scientist clicked in me back in 2006 because I was like ??? Uhwhat?

[Nano]: I guess I feel for him. He was experimented on and abused for most of his life. He’s mostly just chilling and being the end game signal for the routes. I dunno, his haiku-esque speech is kind of grating and I still don’t know why he just... straight up fucked Akira in the greenhouse. Did I miss something? Like I mentioned in the Motomi bit, the sex scene could be cut out and the route would fare alright. I just don’t get it. I do like the CG where he smiles softly to tell Akira his true name. Them two being fugitives is fun. All in all, he’s just okay. 

[Keisuke]: NOW Y’ALL SIT HERE AND LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT BEST GIRL KEISUKE. He’s my favorite target character in this series and I would travel back in time to punch my teen self for even remotely thinking Shiki could ever hope to compare to my boy Keisuke. Poor kid, he just wants so desperately to help Akira even though he’s largely... well, useless and a liability. To the point that he turns to Rein to soup himself up! And... go full on yandere. I’ll be the first to admit his rape scene in the cafe is totally shit (and also ouch??? Akira how can you function after two screwdrivers???? hello??????), but you can just... ignore that hardcore. Now, he has a couple great aspects. First. His second bad end. If you have Akira admit he doesn’t understand then Keisuke just full on goes apeshit and drinks a couple more vials of Rein. Then RIPS OUT AKIRA’S INTESTINES AND QUIETLY SAYS I LOVE YOU. LIKE FULL ON  愛してる. As opposed to the  好き he uses in the Good End. This is *chef’s kiss* perfection. This is the sort of bad ends visual novels should strive to achieve because IT’S MY SHIT AND I LIVE FOR IT. Second. His death scene in Nano’s end. Also, *chef’s kiss* that tragedy. Not as good as his second bad end, but HOT DIGGITY I love that sacrifice. He died as he lived, for Akira. Third. My boy loves Akira so much. Please. He gets barely any dignity in the other routes. I think Keisuke’s popular in Japan, so Japan you got good taste. I’m annoyed that Shiki gets more then one technical endings, but at least Keisuke gets delicious delicious bad ends. Also, MOTHERFUCKING SUGITA TOMOKAZU VOICES HIM??? I don’t even hear the Gin-san very well until Keisuke gets drugged up. Once he’s full on yandere I’m like, ah, there he is. Sugita is one of my fave VAs, I’m pleasantly surprised he did this.

All in all, I think it’d definitely worth revisiting this if you were anything like me and basically skimmed the fan translation. But anyways I just really wanted to talk about Keisuke.

[brooklynislandgirl]

{I probably shouldn't and of course you may ignore the fuck out of me, but...BUT randomize me lady} Make Me Feel

Make Me Feel || Accepting

3. My muse is forcefully taken from yours{ @nolegacies for honourable mention}

Dreams in the Witch House

The cream for her coffee is curdled.Drops into the cup in sullen little plops that instinctively turn her stomach and she pours the whole thing into the sink. Rinses it out, trying not to cringe, and fixes a new cup.It’s fine. It’s Monday. She’s barely out of bed and the sun hasn’t broken through the cloud cover. She doesn’t know how Anakin can sit at the little kitchen table, wrapped up in his coat and scarves when there’s already a single bead of sweat racing down her spine and she was born on a tropical island.

“The Old Ways,” she yawns and takes a sip of her cup, “are dying, Anakin. An’ wheddah or no ya wan be…ya…ya conscripted into a war t’ save it. Ya choices, ones ya gonna have t’ make…dey gonna rest squarely in ya hands. No can tell ya f’ do, jus’ here as a…guide. A…mentor.”She glances down at the mangled one that sits cradled close to the warmth of his cup. There’s something nagging about the fact that he’s drinking chicory coffee. Something about it sparks a shiver up her spine and she can’t quite put a finger on it.

She doesn’t even remember buying any, but there it is, the smell distinct. Her gaze slides away from him for a moment, maybe two and surreptitiously glances around the kitchen. Nothing else seems odd, or out of place. The air is still, though there’s an underlying hum of electricity to it, the calm before the storm. She doesn’t like it, and starts to prowl behind him.

A knife, long and wicked and slightly curved in the blade, comes into her hand from parts unknown, there’s no way she should have been able to hide it in the next to nothing she’s wearing. Her other hand rests on the back of his neck, slides down to his shoulder because…that feels a little off too. He’s in no danger from her, something he needs to understand, and all of this…the conversation without preamble, the weapon in hand, it’s all part of the greater mystery and yet there’s an undefined urgency.

The explanation is not long in coming, happens before he even gets a chance to use that Southern Boy charm on her.The light in the kitchen dims. A shadow falls on both of them from behind. Almost in slow motion, she turns, still protectively hanging onto the young man at the table.“You.”The surprise in her voice holds an edge when the single-word hisses out. She gets no reply. An arm, nearly as thick as Anakin is wide, snakes around her throat. The dagger clatters to the ground as she’s yanked back from him, off her feet. Dragged up by several inches.By the time Anakin turns around, her feet dangle uselessly, her wide eyes show a remarkable spark of fear in their depths as her fingers glance off flesh, leaving bloody rents in the wake of her nails. Exposing a hint of metal and wiring that is impossible for a human being to possess, unlike his own haphazardly attended injury of pins and wire. Tattoos or something of the sort cover a lot of the skin she’s clawing at.The man holding her is incredibly tall, taller than Anakin by a bit, and nearly twice his breadth. Face like hewn granite, close-cropped blonde hair. Mirror-shade sunglasses cover his eyes but can’t hide the minute and occasional flash of red.She gets one breath.“RUN!”The sickening crunch that follows….was her neck.~*~

She knows the clothes are stiff and bother him. She can see out of the corner of her eyes that he’s picking at seams, fidgeting in them, avoiding eye-contact with most of the patrons here. He stands by her side, maybe a little behind, his damaged hand either in his pocket, or carefully concealed at the small of her back between the lace barrier her dress makes between her skin and his, and the chiffon scarf that glides down the back of the dress from her shoulders, a Vera Wang signature. She doesn’t want to be here any more than he does, but the future of her clinic rests not only on her financial contributions but also that of the elite Society of the city, and their generous natures. So she makes nice. Makes small talk. She introduces Anakin as a friend and every so often one can catch the pursed lips or raised eyebrows at just what they take that to mean. He’s clearly younger than she is, and as a single woman…

“Le’em talk stink. Mos’ of dem don’ wanna be wid deir wives or husband anyway, an’ I can tell ya dat dat blonde in da blue dress? No’ da real Missus Senator Chevalier.”She smiles at him brighter than the chandeliers, and occasionally presses a champagne cocktail into his empty hand. She much prefers sazeracs or straight up vodka and cranberry juice. The rented out riverboat is full of people, too close, too loud, too everything. They are pressed in on all sides, and after a while the thrill of gambling loses its appeal.

It’s his turn to throw, and she watches him look at the dice in his hand. There’s something decidedly un-Beth-like the way she blows over them for ‘luck’, and she looks up at him with a feline gaze.They never find out if Anakin wins or loses.

The doors of the salon break come splintering inward with a deafening roar, and five armoured paramilitaries carrying standard issue weapons step in. 

Implanted HUDs in their eyes, inserted in the growth tank at the same time their entire circulatory system was replaced with advanced ‘wet’ nano-machinery glint in the confusion. Men in Black. Tactical clones. A man steps out in front of them, weapon raised, wearing an armoured vest over a black business suit. For a moment there’s shocked silence as the Union agents and certain patrons glare at each other. Everyone stops, slack-jawed and frozen, before the screaming starts.All hell breaks loose.Beth doesn’t explain to him when the fangs and claws come out. Or the shooting starts. Certain members of security ~she knows they’re leeches, but you sometimes make deals with the devils you know~ use illegal arms, and she drags Anakin down behind the craps table for cover. But the technocrats are faster by milliseconds and a round goes right through her shoulder.

“Fuck!” The first actual swear word he’s ever heard come out of her mouth.Primium flechettes miraculously miss panicking businessmen, government officials, trophy wives and husbands by millimetres even as they seek to use the crowd as cover. Others, like Beth, are not so lucky, being targeted by precisely engineered Technocratic hardware, and trigger-happy undead monsters. She lifts her hand up to her shoulder, bright red blood pouring out of the wound and ruining the delicate dress, and she smears her fingers with it, warm and coagulating. Her hand comes onto the wood of the table where she draws some kind of arcane sigil that seems to pry at the edges of his sanity, and mutters words in her native tongue.Soft features edged with excruciating pain turn to him as Beth grabs him by the shoulders. Shakes him not kindly, not gently. “WAKE UP!”

But it’s a little too late when she explodes in a mist of red, chunks of bone and brain tissue and other viscera showering his face.The man with the granite-jaw and close cropped hair smiles at him from across the room and chambers another round.

~*~

The cream for her coffee is curdled.Drops into the cup in sullen little plops that instinctively turn her stomach and she pours the whole thing into the sink. Rinses it out, trying not to cringe, and fixes a new cup.It’s fine. It’s Monday.

She’s barely out of bed and the sun hasn’t broken through the cloud cover. She doesn’t know how Anakin can sit at the little kitchen table, wrapped up in his coat and scarves when there’s already a single bead of sweat racing down her spine and she was born on a tropical island.

“Anakin? You…you okay? Look like some kine cat drag in an’ hork up all over da carpet. Mebbe sleep bad?”

Before he can quite answer her if he was inclined, there’s a tap at the kitchen door, a shadow falling on the small curtained window in it. Her brows knit leaving little worry lines in her forehead. Clearly she isn’t expecting company, or patients, today. Right now.Barefoot, she pads toward the door, and opens it.The man in the doorway easily clears over six and a half feet. Almost half that wide judging by the way the black suit crosses his shoulder. Mirrored sunglasses sit on the bridge of a straight nose surrounded by sharp cheeks and a jaw like stone and below close-cropped blonde hair. Piercing blue eyes look right Anakin for too long a moment before everything softens.She makes a sharp sound, the bastard child of a gasp and a shriek and she bodily rushes at him.No…No. No knives, no claws that she can’t possibly have. No bullet wounds. Her arms wrap around the man’s neck and his around her waist. Anakin is treated to a vision of her tiny body lifted almost a foot off the ground in all of this, the hem of her nightgown flirting with the backs of her thighs, and the hideous shark bite that she takes great pains to hide exposed to his view.

“You!”

The man finally says something, a painfully proper British accent on his lips.“Hey, Izzy. How’s my favourite sister?”

[alphawave-writes]

After the latest chapter of my Sigrold fic, I think I can now finally tell you all how I imagine Harold Winston to behave as an Overwatch hero.

To sum up his abilities, he’s what I call a ‘healing blood knight’.  Every ability (with the exception of his primary fire) is rather powerful in either healing or utility at the cost of making him more vulnerable, usually by using up his health. To counter this, he’s got 50 health and 150 shields, which regenerate over time when he doesn’t take damage.

Primary fire: Jet injector  A lightning rod, similar in appearance to Winston’s tesla cannon. Basically Symmetra’s old beam with the lock-on. It can go through barriers, but can only lock on one hero and does really bad damage. Harold’s only damage ability.

Secondary fire: The healing variant. Like Moira it doesn’t use ammo, but instead has a ‘cooldown’ mechanic. For every second Harold uses the ability, Harold takes a percentage of damage from his shields. The healing is the highest base healing per second in the game, but it’s single target and comes at high risk. To make sure people don’t kill themselves on the ability, Harold can no longer heal when his shields are fully depleted (AKA when he’s down to 50 hp), however Harold’s passive. The healing also lingers. It’s recommended to tap this ability and alternate through multiple heroes to maximise healing output while reducing damage taken. A very high risk high reward healing ability. 

Ability 1: Nanoheal A single target heal that acts similar to Brigitte’s old armour pack, but also has a cleanse ability. People that are frozen, on fire, anti-healed and discorded have their debuffs removed. It’s Harold’s only burst heal ability but is super powerful in saving allies, such as a friendly tank getting frozen by Mei, or a member on the brink of death about to die from Ashe’s fire. It does NOT however remove things like stuns. 

Ability 2: Genetic therapy Harold injects a substance into his arm. It’s basically Torbjorn’s Overload but a little bit better. Harold gains 50 armour and can move faster for the duration of the ability, after which his speed and shields revert to normal. While the ability is active, Harold’s healing fire does not do any damage to him. While you CAN use it to chase after enemies and kill them, it’s better used as an escape option, or as a way to maximise your healing output and survivability during a big team fight. It also has a long cooldown, so be wary, as you are an easier target after you use this ability.

Passive: Augmented To make up for Harold relying on his shields for healing, his recharge rate is increased. After one second of not taking damage (including his secondary fire), he regenerates his shields. Basically the same as Mercy’s passive, but for shields. 

Ultimate: Blood bound. “My life is yours”  A channeled ultimate, Harold’s blood vessels and eyes begin to glow. All allies, excluding himself, within a certain radius gain a 50% damage reduction and are healed slowly, about 40hp per second. Damage reduction doesn’t stack with things like nano and fortify. During the ult, Harold cannot use his other abilities and is rather vulnerable. If not protected, he can easily be stunned, slept, or killed during his ult, cancelling its effects. Allies need to be in line of sight to get the benefits. Because of the short radius, this is more of a defensive ult than an offensive one, capable of protecting allies from ults such as death blossom and barrag. It’s also a great initiation ult for a big push. Best way to use it is use the genetic therapy ability for the speed boost and bonus shields before using the ult, giving you added survivability. 

And that's Harold Winston’s abilities. Let me know what you think about it, because trust me, I put WAY TOO MUCH thought into this.

[ecto-american]

Like Father Like Daughter P2

On AO3 here || First Part Here

Summary: "Dawn, would you like to help Grandma and Grandpa figure out some things in the lab?" Dawn's eyes immediately flickered from that ominous glowing green back to baby blue in excitement over the idea of finally being allowed in the lab. She nodded eagerly.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

Danny openly stared at the clock, the voices of his coworkers muffled and blending together in his mind as they were contributing. He didn't care, quite honestly, about the meeting. About the subject matter, about the business contract being negotiated, the budget cuts and additions. He wasn't even sure what the meeting was about to begin with, just that he had to be there.

He tore his gaze away to observe the man who was talking at the moment. Some older woman, he could never remember her name, but he knew that she had a husband and three grandchildren that she gushed often about. The woman was going on and on and on for what felt like forever, about things Danny could have just read in ten minutes in an email. But then it would result in the dreaded "reply all" loop of technology illiterate businessfolk trying to communicate private matters. It drove Danny nuts.

He picked up the pen and glanced at the notebook in front of him. Everybody around him had been scribbling notes like crazy, numbers and key words covering pages of the pad they were supplied with, or even on the devices or within notebooks they brought themselves. Danny had doodled a spaceship with a dog astronaut that was exploring Pluto in his. He never bothered taking notes, he didn't see the purpose. The administrative assistant always emailed everybody a copy of what happened during the meeting anyway. He sighed, bored as he began to doodle a cat alien for the dog to battle against.

Wednesdays were Danny's least favorite day. In the morning, while good old CEO Vlad Masters was out golfing with his dad, of all people (Danny could never understand how that regular meetup even began, especially considering his Dad, in his neverending grace, always lost horrifically), while all the department heads had a meeting. It lasted all morning. And was followed by an all afternoon meeting with Vlad himself. Meaning, he couldn't slip away to go ghost to deal with a problem, leaving Team Phantom to pick up his unintentional slack. He did use a duplicate often, but it still left him very unable to focus properly on PowerPoint presentations about who knows what.

Danny wasn't even sure what he really did at the job half the time. Hell, if he didn't have a family, regardless of how much the other halfa had changed, he wouldn't have accepted the job offer. Damn, did it have pay beyond Danny could ever imagine making though, a generous amount of vacation time and benefits so good that even Jazz said he'd be an absolute fool for turning it down, especially since Dawn was still just on the way when Vlad had made the offer. Probably partly out of pity. The couple were making ends meet fine, but they definitely weren't living the high life in their old apartment in the not-so-great side of town. Not their fault that the town needed protecting, and that this cut deeply into work and sleeping hours.

But, especially considering the billionaire's weird midlife crisis of sorts some years back and all the therapy business he gave Jazz, Danny supposed working there wasn't so bad. Job was easy enough. He suspected Vlad just made up his job as an excuse to give him one. Danny couldn't even recall the name of his position. But in a half hour, catered lunch would be here, the only good part of the day. Then Vlad would drone for a while, and he could go home to his family.

He was already getting himself excited with his plans for the night. He was going to take Dawn to the park so they could play on Dawn's new favorite playground attraction: the jungle gym (something Danny, of course, also played on). Afterwards they were going to pick up pizza for dinner and meet her mom at home. Once Dawn was tucked in bed and a duplicate watching over her, the couple would go on their normal nightly patrol together. Dawn had surprisingly never woken up to her parents coming home, injured or walking in on them while they were bandaging up. Danny considered themselves lucky. Both of them wanted to keep the entire Team Phantom part of their lives a secret from her. There was no reason for her to have to know or understand.

Yet, despite this, despite the occasional tantrums, the exhausting pregnancy itself and the long nights of back to back ghosts with a colicky newborn, Danny was thrilled. They never thought that they could have a child. Well, meaning, they could, but the details always never added up to where it could be a reality.

He remembered that one night, a particularly bad one. The night had been full to the brim of ghosts, leaving the halfa absolutely exhausted. Even with the full support of a Team Phantom, whose membership had expanded since that first ghost fight in freshman year, he was still bloodied and bruised, barely able to stay awake when home. His new wife, the two having only been married for five months at the time, had to unlock the door to their shared apartment for him, her own body sore from the rough night. His hands were shaking so badly from exhaustion and pain.

"Sit," she told him, and she pointed to the couch. Danny didn't have the energy to complain. He sat, and she fetched the kit for them.

 Together, they began to slowly clean themselves and each other up. Occasional quiet requests to pass burn cream or to inquire if stitches were needed. To help with an injury that was out of their own reach. Once done, neither could bother cleaning up from their first aid. Danny just shifted to lean into her, and she wrapped her arms around him in a light hug. Soon, they were laying on the couch together, silent before they began to idly chat. The subject of Jazz and her growing family came up, and a thought hit them both.

"You know, I think I'm content with being an auntie," his wife said softly, and Danny nodded best he could. She sounded incredibly hurt, and Danny didn't blame her. Even though neither had really had their heart dead-set on children and a family of their own, it never being their biggest wish or desire, it still hurt to know that it was something they couldn't have.

"I'd worry too much," was all he said in response. Her loose hug around him tightened. "It's too risky."

It was unofficially decided that night, later confirmed in the following evening's conversation. The ghost fighting while pregnant, the reality that one of them may not come home one night at least half-alive, the child being a target for their enemies, and Danny's biggest concern, the inheritance of powers. Danny had the reputation for years now that he was clumsy, and he had time to master his powers and rehearse the lies and excuses.

Of course, it could never be truly confirmed unless a child came into play, but the possibilities scared Danny. Their childhood would never be normal, constantly struggling with this incredible power and all the intimate influences of ghosts and ghost hunting, saddled with the moral obligation to eventually begin protecting the city like their parents did. They could never have a truly normal life. The couple had their on and off days when it came to how they felt about the responsibility, but it would be awful to unintentionally pressure a child into accepting such a big commitment.

So they remained childless for years, until there was an accident. That's how almost all of Danny's biggest life changing events seemed to happen.

His wife had given him a small, sly but anxious smile when she had slipped an envelope across the table towards him at their little breakfast table. It was early in the morning, but the two were still awake. Danny from ghost hunting, her from a night shift job. Danny raised an eyebrow at it, picking it up as he sipped coffee.

"What's this?" he asked. He got a small smirk in response.

"Open it," she encouraged him. So Danny did, and it was a father's day card. He stared at her, absolutely baffled by it.

"Did you get me the wrong envelope?" he asked. She shook her head no.

"Nope. I just found out a few days ago. I figured we could go ahead and celebrate now."

 Danny's chair practically flew as he burst out of his seat. His wife was soon in his arms, both laughing as they hugged excitedly. At the time, they let themselves not worry about the questions that always plagued them. The couple decided to just enjoy the moment.

With the announcement came a whole new assortment of life changes. His wife ended up getting a new job, a better one. Vlad made his offer to Danny. That offer led them to move out of their apartment and into their first real house.

Danny watched another man contribute, droning on in the absolute most boring as fuck voice. How the man's family could stand to listen to it, he could never guess. Maybe he actually had some sort of life in his voice then though? Danny was now curious. While he was watching intently, putting up a good facade that he was paying any sort of attention, the man's voice was just muffled in his ears. God, this meeting was boring as hell. What was going on?

He stole a glance over at his neighbor's paper. Oh, they were discussing more budget stuff, numbers about increasing budgeting to more researching nano-whatevers with cutbacks they were making to uniforms because they changed sweatshops in China or something. Woooohooo.

"Mr. Fenton, you've been quiet. What are your thoughts on the matter?" Fuck, he was caught. All eyes were on him as the boring-voiced man stared at him, almost accusatory. While he did not fear for his job at all, Vlad made sure of his job security, he still squirmed a bit under the gaze. He sat up straight.

"You often know my stance. I think that we should put money towards raises," Danny pulled an answer out of his ass, giving a sheepish grin. "Money always encourages people to work harder, less motivation to leave."

The boring-voiced man still looked at him sketchily, but nodded.

"Yes, I suppose that's always an option," he said, tone a bit huffily. "So what you're thinking is when it comes to the new research budget, paying the scientists more as opposed to buying new lab equipment?" Danny felt a small bit of relief at his bullshit answer apparently being close enough to the topic to reasonably seem fitting.

"Well, depends on the need. I'd assume those scientists could give a proper answer better than I could. I don't really deal with the lab much. I think they'd also like their voice being heard and would appreciate being able to weigh the options for themselves," Danny replied. Boring-voiced man nodded in approval before beginning to drone on and on again before he was cut off by another man, who began a counter argument. Danny leaned back in his seat, sighing softly to himself as his eyes darted to the clock.

Danny noticed several other of his coworkers steal a glance at the clock, and thankfully, somebody else brought up the suggestion of taking the remaining five minutes before lunch came for everybody to sort out their notes. Danny glanced at his "notes". Maybe he should just buy a sketchbook instead of wasting Vlad's paper. Eh, who cared.

Everybody agreed, and people fell into a small explosion of shuffling and light conversation as his coworkers began to relax. Danny whipped his phone out. He scrolled to check his messages. Facebook telling him that Tucker had posted a photo of his son, Tucker Jr., a text from Jazz asking about if he and his wife wanted to do a double-date with her and her husband, a few other misc things. He ignored most of them for now in favor of going to his conversation history with his mom, sending a text.

 Hey mom, love you. How's Dawn?

Once sent, he replied to Jazz and liked Tucker's photo. It was a simple photo of Tucker with his son, posing together at one of his son's school events. He checked his other apps before he got a reply.

 Hey sweetie, Dawn's doing good. Love you too, have a good day.

He gave a soft sigh of relief. He was just constantly waiting, worried, for the day he'd get a text asking all sorts of questions. Why is Dawn glowing? Why are her eyes glowing? Why is she flickering invisible? A part of him secretly wished Dawn did have powers. Like father, like daughter. But with great power comes great responsibility. She didn't need to be pressured into taking on such a responsibility like protecting the town. However, Dawn was growing up, and she seemed perfectly human.

Of course, Danny watched her like a hawk for any signs the second Dawn was born, constantly hovering over her (figuratively and literally) for anything. Nothing, but Tucker had pointed out that it may be a while before they began showing up, assuming Dawn had any. Jazz agreed. Vlad had suggested that Danny did a few power demonstrations in front of her, including going ghost, to see if she'd copy him. Danny did go ghost, and he flashed his eyes, turned invisible (turns out it made for the ultimate game of peek-a-boo), made her icicles and showed off glowing concentrated green energy in his hands. All it resulted in was wide, delighted and fascinated eyes, an occasional soft baby coo and, later on, eager demands for him to teach her how to do that. But of course, he couldn't if she didn't have anything to work with.

Danny broke from his thoughts as he was handed lunch. Fancy sandwich and chips, with a drink. He smiled and gave a brief thanks as he accepted it, and he began to unwrap and eat it. People around him continued to talk, but Danny tuned them out. He wasn't actively trying to be unfriendly. Just that most people around him were so much older, outside of his daughter, there wasn't much for him to really talk with them. They were borderline retirement age, often talking of grandchildren and the weather being too cold here. Another reason Danny suspected Vlad just flat out made up his job. Everybody around him was easily in their sixties, and Danny was turning forty-four soon. To his delight though, due to all the ghost fighting, he was in pretty good shape compared to the coworkers within the office around his age. When he first started, people had assumed he was younger than he really was. It was flattering.

A thought hit him, and he paused. If Dawn even had powers, would she truly be delighted in having them? Would they just be a novelty to her? Danny always feared her constantly losing control of her powers, much like he did. Jazz had thankfully been so helpful through those negative thoughts.

"Danny, you've been a half-ghost for well over half your life now. You can teach her, assuming she even inherits ghost powers, how to control them. She'll grow up with parents who know about her powers and who will love and accept her no matter what, and even if something were to happen, would and could protect her at all costs, grow up knowing how to use and control these powers. You're also so good with the boys, Danny. Both of you are, I know you'll be great parents. You have very little to worry about. What children need more than anything is a loving and safe environment that nurtures and cares for what they need most. I have no doubt you can provide that. You save Amity Park every day."

But tricky obstacle to also overcome was not just the unknowing, but the very realistic possibility of Dawn getting powers when at a day care and absolutely freaking everybody there. Ghost powers were a huge deal, and it wasn't worth the risk if they were discovered. Dani suggested that he stay at home with a duplicate, but Danny reminded her that this would drain him completely very quickly if he was constantly duplicated to be with Dawn and at work full time, especially since he often duplicated to go and fight ghosts when he couldn't slip away for a while. Vlad had offered, but while Danny did truly believe that Vlad had his weird little redemption arc and was practically a new man, he was still not about to trust him alone with his little girl all day. His wife would have absolutely never stood for it either. She'd actually probably kill him if he even brought up the idea as a serious suggestion.

As they were still debating what to do, his parents had come to visit the couple. Maddie had taken a seat in the living room, in the armchair. Danny was already sprawled out on the couch, his little girl snoozing happily on his chest on her stomach. He had a hand on her back, protectively, to assure that she wouldn't wiggle off, or, god forbid, this be the time she used ghost powers and floated off.

Danny had casually brought up that they had looked into local daycares when Maddie had offered,

"Oh Danny, that's just silly. Dawn can come stay with us during the day."

 Danny immediately tensed up.

"Mom, I'm just not sure," he replied, and he knew that he sounded defensive. The idea immediately made him uncomfortable.

 Of course, he trusted his parents. His parents would never do anything to hurt Dawn. They absolutely adored and treasured their grandchildren, and they took great pride in the little crowd of "future ghost-hunters" as they put it. But his parents also didn't know his secret.

 "She wants to go back to work in the future, and we already keep the boys," Maddie replied with a frown. "Danny, it's not any problem to leave Dawn with us while you two work. We don't mind."

"It's not that," Danny replied, and it really wasn't that. What if her ghost powers activated, assuming they existed? What if they thought she was a ghost or being possessed? What if... His eyes flickered to the infant on his chest. She was making precious little noises in her sleep, oblivious to her dad's worries. "I-I-I, just, you know. It may not be safe for her. You and dad are so active in the lab, what if you accidentally spill something on her?"

 His mom looked a bit hurt, and Danny winced. He didn't know why he didn't just tell them. There was nothing stopping him. He knew his parents would love and accept him no matter what. He had confirmation of this multiple times. But how do you even begin to bring it up? After everything they had been through as Phantom vs FentonWorks? They never dissected or destroyed him, but they had come pretty damn close on multiple occasions. How could he look at his parents, who spent so much of his life, well over half by this point, hunting his other half down, and tell them who he really was? He wasn't sure. He wasn't ready. By now, he figured he never truly would be ready.

"We wash our hands religiously, and what would it matter anyway? She's human, even if, somehow, something got onto her, she'd be perfectly fine. Any and all chemicals and liquids and gadgets we have only target and harm ghosts," Maddie lightly argued. He flinched, and he gripped onto Dawn's onesie in worry. "Danny, we'd never let her into the lab anyway, and we've been keeping everything down there anyway. You know how nosy the boys are. They get into everything."

 "Uh...just...let me think about it. And we both have to talk about it, ya know?"

His grip around his drink tightened. He was...oddly very accustomed to lying to his parents. There had been many times that he had debated coming clean, from situations ranging from being so close to being dissected or experimented on while under their capture to just a heat of the moment feeling after a hard day and wanting their full comfort.

But now? How do you come clean to your parents after lying to them for over thirty years now? So much of his relationship with them was now built on a lie, how could you ever come clean from that? Recover from that? His parents could never look at him the same way again. Of course, Danny knew they'd still love him, but they'd be crushed to know how close they had been to destroying their only son, devastated at the decades of lies. Danny planned on taking his secret to the grave.

Soon, the door opened, and a familiar white-haired billionaire strolled in.

"Afternoon," he greeted the room, and everybody, even Danny, returned the light greeting. The billionaire gestured to the table still full of food. "Feel free to continue eating, I just wanted to get a small head start, see if I can end a bit earlier today."

Everybody murmured in agreement, and Vlad began to drone on and on. Annnnd now was time for Danny to completely tune out. He saw his phone screen light up on the table in front of him. It was on completely silent, no vibration, so thankfully nobody paid attention to it but him. He noticed it was a new photo message from his mother.

A smile broke, and he went to check it. He expected a cute photo of Dawn sitting in front of the TV, staring at Crash Nebula. What he got instead made his heart drop into his stomach.

A device screen's reading. While the device wasn't familiar, he recognized the general software. A ghost detector, and the words lit up on the display read:

 Name: Unknown

 Age: Unknown, est existence: 1wk

 Pwr lvl: ERROR 412

 Misc: ERROR 412

Another message came in.

Honey something's wrong with Dawn. Ghostly wrong.

Danny's heart pounded like crazy as he frantically typed back.

I'm on my way home. Don't do anything.

We're pros, Danny. Dad and I are going to check her out in the lab to figure out what's wrong. Don't worry, she'll be safe.

Danny's hands were shaking uncontrollably, but he still managed to response.

DONT DO ANYTHING IM ON MY WAY

"Daniel, would you like to rejoin us today?"

Vlad's annoyed voice caused Danny to jump to his feet, his chair flying backwards and his coworkers staring at him.

"Vlad, there'sanemergencyIgottagoit'sDawn," was half-screamed in a blurred sentence, but Vlad seemed to catch it.

"You owe me an explanation by tomorrow morning!" his voice shouted back. To Danny's coworkers, it was a threat. To Danny, he knew Vlad probably caught on exactly what had happened, it not, was close, and that he would let it slide. But he had to keep up a face at work.

Danny zoomed down the hallways, ignoring startled gasps and concerned questions. He managed to avoid everybody as he ran out to the front door of the building. Practically slamming the door open, he made a mad run for the parking garage. He ignored his car though, instead using the isolated building as a safe place to go ghost before flying at top speed towards FentonWorks.

Maddie had stared, dumbfound at the readings until Jack had come inside. Despite rescanning over and over and over again, the device would report the same information.

"Hey Mads!" his voice boomed, and he heard it accompanied with an excited "Hi Grandma!"

Jack stepped into the living room, along with her grandson, who immediately plopped down next to Dawn to watch the cartoon. They began an eager conversation/light argument about the cooler villain in the series. Jack came over, leaning over to give his wife a kiss. She happily returned it, smiling weakly as he took a seat next to her.

"Did you get the Fenton Finder 4.0 going?" he asked curiously, snatching the invention up before Maddie could even reply. He stared at the readings given, and his face fell into an immediate pout. "Aww, you and Dawn went ghost-hunting without me?" His eyes widened a bit. "Danny's not gonna be pleased about that. He doesn't even like the idea of Dawn going into the lab."

"Jack, can I talk to you in the kitchen," Maddie asked, her voice hushed as she glanced at Dawn skeptically. Jack gave her an odd look, but nodded.

She spared another glance at Dawn, who was oblivious to the situation as she and her cousin hummed the Crash Nebula theme song together as a new episode began to play. In the kitchen, Maddie glanced once more at Dawn.

"Mads, is everything okay?" Jack snapped her out of her trance.

"Jack, that reading...," she said slowly. Maddie was slowly connecting everything that happened that day in her mind. The eyes, the sudden disappearance while she was making lunch, the glowing. The revelation was slowly making her feel sick to her stomach. "It was reading Dawn."

Jack stared at her in bewilderment before glancing over at Dawn as well. She was pumping her fists to and from the TV, imitating Crash Nebula's hand laser noises as her cousin had begun to stand up, jumping up and down excitedly as he zoomed around the living room, pretending to fly.

"Are you sure?" he questioned. Maddie reached over to push the button to rescan, adjusting Jack's hand so that he was pointing the device towards Dawn.

Within moments, the reading came back. Same as before, reporting that the ghost was barely ten feet from them, in the exact same position Dawn was sitting. Jack swallowed hard, and he watched the little girl throw her hands up in the air, making an explosion noise to copy the TV.

"Maybe it's just like Danny," he tried to reason. "He set off everything. She is a spitting image of him." Maddie shook her head, biting her lip as she put a hand to her chest, watching Dawn.

"That's not it, Jack," she whispered. "Earlier, she...she seemed to be glowing. And, when I was making lunch, she was in time out, and she...she just vanished and reappeared, Jack. Out of thin air." Maddie took a deep breath. "And...her eyes. They...they glowed green. And..."

Maddie didn't know how to continue. Jack didn't speak. Both of the Fenton adults had their eyes locked on Dawn. Her cousin had lost interest in the show, having gone to get a toy from the toy box. Dawn was still glued to the screen, looking exactly like Danny did when he used to sit and watch cartoons. Baby blue eyes widely shining as she watched the spaceship take off, black hair fluffed up and fists clenched in excitement.

"Go Crash!" she squealed. Maddie exhaled deeply.

"Jack, she looked exactly like Phantom when her eyes glowed."

The statement clearly startled Jack, who broke his stare to gawk at Maddie. She tore her gaze away too to stare back at him. He was clearly disturbed by her announcement.

"Mads, that's crazy," he suddenly blurted out.

"I'm serious! The way she looked at me, she..." Maddie stole another glance at Dawn. "I'd know that face anywhere."

Silence fell over them for a while before Jack finally broke it.

"Where do we go from here then?" he asked. Maddie shrugged.

"I don't even fully understand what's going on. I don't know where to do if I don't understand," she confessed, rubbing the back of her neck as she cracked it. "I mean, to my memory, Danny never did anything like glow or have his eyes change or the like. It can't just be something that she inherited from Danny. So...what is this?"

Jack glanced anxiously towards Dawn.

"Do you think...she's a ghost?" he dared to ask. Maddie didn't answer. She didn't know herself. "We need to take her to the lab and just...check. She could be in danger." He quickly clarified, "of course, nothing dangerous. It's just...there's so many questions. Maybe we need a different scanner."

"I agree. I'm going to let Danny know," Maddie replied. She motioned for Jack to hand her the reading, and she took a picture of the reading before sending a message.

Honey something's wrong with Dawn. Ghostly wrong.

She slipped the phone into her pocket. Jack followed her into the living room. Maddie glanced at Jack, telling him silently to pay attention as her head lightly jerked to Dawn. She reached over and turned the TV off. Dawn's face immediately fell into a scowl, and she glared up at her grandparents. Jack gasped as he saw exactly what Maddie was talking about. Glowing green eyes glared at them, and Phantom's familiar scowl was on her face.

"Grandma! Stop that!"

"Dawn, would you like to help Grandma and Grandpa figure out some things in the lab?"

Dawn's eyes immediately flickered from that ominous glowing green back to baby blue in excitement over the idea of finally being allowed in the lab. She nodded eagerly.

"Yeah!"

Jack smiled, reaching out his arms for her. She eagerly jumped up and into his arms, and he picked her up, pecking her cheek. She gave an excited giggle. Maddie felt her phone vibrate, and she checked it.

I'm on my way home. Don't do anything.

In this instance, Maddie understood Danny's worry. He always seemed so fearful of ghosts. He seemed to always vanish and hide when ghosts came around. Great when he was a kid, and Maddie herself was fearful of his and Jazz's safety. But now, he still seemed to hold that fear and tended to run when ghosts came about.

We're pros, Danny. Dad and I are going to check her out in the lab to figure out what's wrong. Don't worry, she'll be safe.

Maddie was startled when she got a reply almost instantly. DONT DO ANYTHING IM ON MY WAY He was terrified of the situation. Not that she blamed him. She decided to not reply.

"Honey, do you want to come into the lab too?" Maddie asked her grandson, who was occupied with his toy. He shook his head.

"I wanna watch Little Einstein," he replied. Maddie nodded, and she handed him the TV remote. The boy immediately plopped to the ground in front of the TV. She pecked the top of his head.

"Stay out of trouble, if you need us just yell down, okay?" He nodded.

Jack carried Dawn into the lab behind Maddie.

Please be okay, please be okay.

Danny prayed to himself as FentonWorks came into view. He forced himself to go faster. Despite not needing to breathe, he felt like he was choking on his anxiety as he phased in. He completely ignored the entire home, going straight for the lab.

"STOP!" he shouted, coming into view as he skidded himself to a stop in the air of the lab. As expected, within moments, both Fenton adults had an ectoblaster in their hands and pointed at him.

To his odd relief, despite his parents apparent suspicions, they still had immediately put themselves in front of Dawn, who had been previously sitting on a lab table. She had moved to stand on the table when he shouted, peeking curiously over her grandfather's shoulder and smiling brightly at him. She knew who he was, but he looked at her desperately, shaking his head slightly no. She looked confused.

"What are you doing here spook?" Jack snapped accusingly. A free hand had moved back to place a protective hand on Dawn, assuring himself that she was out of harm's way.

"What are you doing?" he demanded to know. He mentally slapped himself in the face. Stupid, stupid Fenton. Would have been a much better move to come in as Fenton, not Phantom. The Fenton adults glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes.

"Phantom possessing her's out of the question," Jack murmured to Maddie, but it was loud enough that Danny could catch it.

"I'd never do such a thing to her!" Danny immediately blurted out. Maddie narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why do you care? You're a ghost." Danny had no clue how to answer that. Why would a ghost care about a Fenton kid? He had no explanation.

"Grandma?" Dawn's voice spoke up quietly.

"Not now honey," Maddie quickly dismissed her, and she pressed into Jack to better shield the girl from the ghost, but she never took her eyes off of the enemy.

Danny's eyes were trained on Dawn as he saw tiny fingers grab Maddie's shoulder so she could use her grandmother as leverage so she could look over at the ghost. Maddie used a hand to lightly push her face down a bit, protectively trying to shield her. Danny's mouth felt dry, and a strange rush of excitement ran through him as he noticed Dawn's blue eyes flash green in annoyance.

Dawn stepped back, huffing annoyingly. She sat back down on the lab table, stretching her leg out wobbly as she tested if she wanted to jump the long distance (for a kid anyway) to the floor. Soon, she decided it was worth the risk, and she hopped down. The noise made Maddie jump, and she spun around to see Dawn standing on the ground. Before she could do anything, the girl darted for the ghost.

"Dawn!" Maddie cried out. To her horror, Phantom held his arms out for her, and Dawn was eagerly running to him. No, no, no! She knew that Dawn was too trusting of ghosts.

Jack opened fire. Phantom yelped as it hit him square in the chest, sending him back into the wall. Dawn stopped in her steps, staring wide-eyed. Maddie reached out to grab Dawn by the arm, to pull her back. The girl jumped in surprise, but allowed herself to be pulled out.

"Honey, that ghost is dangerous!" Maddie scolded her, pulling her close to her chest as she knelt close to the girl's level. She took note of Dawn's confusion.

"But-" she began.

"No buts!" Dawn's lower lip quivered, and Maddie pulled her into a tight, protective hug. She must be scared.

Phantom was quick to recover from the blast, already on his feet and standing on the lab floor, eyes darting from adult to adult. His hand was on his chest, some smoke and a light burn forming from where he was hit. He was half-surprised that Jack even hit him.

"Look," he began, but he stopped upon hearing the ectogun in Jack's hand began to whine as it charged.

"Jack Fenton will not allow any harm to come to this family while he is alive!" he declared, narrowing his eyes. "Take your leave, spook."

"No!" Dawn yelled, and Jack spared a slight glance to his granddaughter. The child was distressed, wiggling in Maddie's arms.

"Dawn, it's not safe!" Maddie scolded her, and she let out a gasp when Dawn slipped through her grasp. Literally.

Maddie reached out to grab at her again, but Dawn was already running for Phantom. The ghost immediately scooped her into his arms, holding her tightly, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He shifted to move so an arm was supporting her, his other resting on her back.

"PUT HER DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Maddie yelled, holding her ectogun up to him.

Dawn looked at her with an expression she had never seen before on her. Pure fear. Her fists had begun to clutch Phantom's jumpsuit, and Phantom had shifted his stance so that if either Fenton shot at him, it wouldn't hit Dawn. Dawn was mostly hidden from view, but she could see twin glowing green eyes belonging to her peeking from behind Phantom. Phantom looked worried more than anything else, to her surprise. The resemblance was uncanny, and it unnerved her greatly.

Maddie's confident demeanor faltered, and her lowered the ectogun a bit. Jack glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Jack, we can't," she whispered to her husband. "It only harms ghosts, but..." Her eyes flickered to Dawn and Phantom. Jack returned his focus to them, and he glared.

"You better explain yourself," he demanded.

Phantom looked at Dawn, who had begun to tear up.

"Daddy, I'm scared."

Maddie nearly dropped her ectogun, and Jack looked baffled. Phantom's hold on Dawn, tightened.

"I know, baby boo." Phantom's tone became eerily familiar as he comforted the girl. "I'm sorry it had to happen this way."

Phantom locked eyes with the Fenton adults. A flash of bright light appeared at his waist, and twin rings moved opposite of each other, leaving their son in Phantom's place.

[tauriatalksmonkeys]

Shadows

So I’ve been wanting to introduce you guys to Bow for some time now, but I just... haven’t. (Mostly because I was busy with Camp NaNo, but!) I finally decided to sit down and write this, and I hope you guys enjoy this insight into Arrow’s little brother.... 

This was written in one sitting, at midnight, when I was already kind of tired and should have been in bed. Then it was barely edited, so I’m sorry for any mistakes, or for places where it feels rushed. Maybe one day I’ll rewrite it. In the meantime… I hope you enjoy!

Summary: 5 times Bow is overshadowed by his older sister, and 1 time he wasn’t. 

1

Bow feels the weight of the weapon in his hands. The wood is smooth under his fingertips, sanded down and coated in varnish so it gleams. The string is new, with no signs of fraying or wear. It’s a beautiful piece—and it’s all his. And today, he gets to use it.

It’s not the first time—pretty far from the first time, actually. Part of getting a new bow is wearing it in. Bow had done so enthusiastically, until the target was a mess with practice arrows. His sister had beamed and he’d felt high on her pride.

Today, though, today was his first day of marksman training. If he passed, he was going to get to prove himself to the hunters, and join his family among their ranks.

The sun shines high overhead, creating a dappled pattern on the ground as the leaves sway in the breeze. It’s warm. The perfect day for shooting. Today is just the testing phase, so they can assign you a training group. Bow’s determined to do his best. He wants to beat Arrow’s record, though he knows that’s a hard feat to do.

It’ll be something to brag about during dinner, though. Even something to tease Arrow about, if he’s feeling particularly mischievous.

Bow bounces up on his toes before settling back down. He takes a deep breath. He needs to be calm for this, so he can do his best.

The instructor, a blue-furred monkey with streaks of gray shot through, waves his hand.

Bow knocks an arrow, and watches it fly. Over and over again.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk thunk thunk.

All ten arrows hit the target, close to the center. Two bullseyes. Not a bad score—not at all. He’s done better at home, but with the nerves singing in his veins, he’s pleased. At least all of his arrows hit the target, which is more than he can say for some of his classmates. The monkey next to him—a rose colored girl who’s parents are both herbalists—had half of them in a distant tree.

The instructor comes ‘round, and Bow fights not to fidget.

The rose colored girl most notice his nervousness, because she leans over. “You did great! Definitely the best out of all of us.” She grins at him, and her eyes—lilac colored, he notices, like her father’s—sparkle. “Not that I’d expect anything less from you.”

Bow puffs up with pride before he can stop himself. “It’s no big deal, really,” he says, bashful even despite the way his chest has swelled up.

She laughs lightly. “If you say so. Everybody knows your family has the corner on hunting.” She nudges him lightly. “My name’s Orchid.”

“I’m Bow,” he replies, though he’s sure she already knew.

The instructor claps a hand to Bow’s shoulder, and he almost jumps. He’d forgotten, for a moment, what he was supposed to be doing. “Not bad, not bad at all,” he says, and his voice is gruff but his eyes are warm. Bow beams. “Keep this up, and you’ll rival your sister one day.” He claps him on the back, and slides over to Orchid.

Bow feels himself deflate, a bit; a sour taste on his tongue. He doesn’t know why—he did well! The instructor told him so! But something about his words… they don’t sit right, with him.

He shakes it off.

His parents will be proud. Arrow will be too… though suddenly, he almost hopes she’ll have to stay late on patrol.

2

Training is over. Tomorrow will be Bow’s first official day with the hunters, and he can’t keep the grin on his face. He’s left his class with the highest marks, and though he’s still several points shy of Arrow’s final score, he did well. He beat both of his parents, from their training days—his father has retired for the herb trade, and his mother mainly plays lookout these days.

Dinner that night tastes extra good, though his father’s cooking is always the best. Arrow grins at him across the table.

“You get to find out your team assignment tomorrow,” she says, like he doesn’t already know that. “Are you excited?”

“Um, duh?” Bow sticks his tongue out, and she rolls her eyes at him. There was a time when she probably would have thrown her vegetables at him, but her time with the hunters has made her more responsible. He kind of misses it—even if their mother always yelled at them and made them clean up their mess, the food fights were kind of fun. So was jumping in the lake to clean the food from their fur.

Arrow is a bit of a stick in the mud now. Bow’s heard her teammates complain about it. No one ever gets to slack off. She certainly doesn’t sneak out to hang out with her friends anymore. She still sneaks Bow extra helpings of dessert, though, even though their mother tells her not to. So she’s not so bad. But she could be better. More like her old self, anyway.

Arrow laughs at him. “Maybe we’ll be on a team together,” she says, and her eyes light up.

Bow squirms in his seat. His stomach twists at the thought. “Maybe,” he says. And either he’s a better liar than he used to be, or Arrow’s so excited she doesn’t notice, because she doesn’t say anything about it. His parents don’t either, so it must be the first thing. “Wouldn’t it be awkward, though, to have your baby brother hangin’ out with you all the time?”

Arrow snorts. “You know I love having you around,” she says, and the honesty in her words makes him feel guilty. “C’mon, don’t tell me you’re too embarrassed to have your big sister working with you, yeah?”

Bow makes a face at her. “Of course I am,” he says, and his tone is just teasing enough that Arrow laughs. “You nag me enough at home! I don’t need it at work too!” Arrow only laughs more, and doesn’t hear just how much he actually means that, deep down inside.

#

#

Bow gets Arrow’s team. He kind of saw it coming. Why wouldn’t they pair them together, when Arrow is such a good influence?

Bow’s kind of glad, because he knows his sister’s team is the best entry level team. He knows that. But it still feels bittersweet. Because yeah, they’ve acknowledged his ability, but… Arrow is Arrow. She’s a great shot. She’s got a “good head on her shoulders” as all the adults like to say, and her future is bright, and even though her teammates complain about her they still respect her a lot.

How’s Bow supposed to make a name for himself surrounded by that?

Bow shakes his head.

He’s going to find a way. Either Arrow will get reassigned, or he will. This isn’t forever. It’s just… for now. A bit of a setback.

3

They have a pest problem.

To tell the truth, they’ve kind of always had one. The forest is full of predators that would love to sink their teeth in soft monkey flesh, and while the hunters do a really good job of keeping them out, sometimes things get through the cracks.

The Rangers say that they were probably part of a pack, but that their pack got attacked. These aren’t their normal stomping grounds, but they’re here now—and they’re making nuisances of themselves. From getting into people’s gardens at night to picking off unfortunate monkeys who wander too far into their new territory. It’s getting bad.

The hunters are doing everything they can to stop them—but it’s not easy. At all. And the lower ranked teams, like Bow and Arrow’s, aren’t allowed to help. Because they’re too young, probably, though they say that they’re leaving them there to secure the home front.

Arrow goes with it, because of course she does. Arrow always goes with it, because she’s the boss, and she has to be responsible. But Bow knows that she’s a better shot than most of their leaders and could absolutely go take down one of these things on her own.

When he points that out, though, Arrow doesn’t agree with him.

“Accuracy isn’t everything, Bow,” Arrow says. She crosses her arms and tries to look stern. It only makes Bow madder, and he scowls at her to illustrate that. “They have plenty of things that I don’t. Experience, for instance.”

Bow rolls his eyes, which he knows irritates her. She always says it makes him look like a bratty teenager, and that he’s supposed to be better than that, now that he’s so close to adulthood. Arrow holds everybody to a higher standard, though, and Bow is sick of it. Especially when she does things like this.

“Because their experience is coming in so handy right now,” he says flatly. “I mean, come on, Arrow. Maybe you haven’t been around since the trees were seeds, but you’re really, really good at your job! Everyone says so. They say you’re gonna be the next Head Ranger.” Bow always feels the stupid urge to punch people that say that, or lock himself in his room until the end of forever. He doesn’t, because despite what Arrow thinks sometimes, he does have some self-control. “Nobody shoots like you do, and nobody tracks like you do, and you could totally take these things out! You wouldn’t even have to leave the tree.”

Arrow shakes her head. “No,” she says. “We were asked to stay back and make sure those things don’t enter the village, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Bow grits his teeth. His jaw grinds. “Come on, Arrow.”

“No!”

Bow’s eyes widen, because Arrow shouted, and Arrow never shouts.

She pinches her nose. “Look,” she says, calmer now. “I know that this whole… situation… is frustrating. I know that you have a high opinion of my abilities—and I appreciate that. I do. It’s sweet.” She gives him a smile he thinks is supposed to be reassuring. It comes off as condescending instead. “But if the Rangers wanted my help, if they thought my skills would be useful out there, they would have said something. They didn’t. They told me to watch the homefront, to lead you guys and make sure our people stay safe and keep out of those things reach. And that’s what I’m going to do, okay? Because that’s the right thing to do.”

Bow scowls. “No, that’s the easy thing to do,” he snaps. “You always do what you’re told, even when what you’re told is stupid. The right thing to do would be to go out there and do something about it instead of staying here like a coward.”

Arrow narrows her eyes. Bow knows he should walk away, because whatever comes out of her mouth next is going to be something she’ll regret—but he can’t. He can’t walk away, because Arrow needs to see sense.

“Grow up, Bow. We’re not kids anymore, and you have to stop acting like it.” Her voice is hard. “Maybe in the stories, people disobeying orders works out great—but this isn’t a story. This is real life, and sometimes real life means accepting responsibility. And sometimes responsibility isn’t fun. It’s not about glory. It’s not about showing off. It’s about doing what your told, even if you don’t like it, and if you can’t accept that, maybe you’re not ready to be a hunter.”

Bow snarls. “You don’t get to decide if I’m ready or not!”

Arrow draws herself up. “I’m the captain of this team,” she says. “And if you don’t shape up, I’m going to tell the commander that you’re unfit for duty.”

His snarl is louder, this time, and it sounds like it’s been ripped from his chest. He almost lunges at her—almost tears at her the way he used to tear at the boys in his class when they insulted him one too many times. Arrow had been so mad at him for it, but not nearly as mad as his parents. He knows how to control it now, how to bite down that anger—but it nearly consumes him, this time.

Instead he turns tail and walks away. There’s red at the corner of his vision, and he knows, he knows that if Arrow isn’t going to do something—he will.

#

#

It goes badly. It goes really, really badly.

Not at first.

At first it’s easy. Bow’s a good tracker. It’s the one area he beats Arrow at. Maybe he can’t match her for marksmanship, or for stealth, or even for treeclimbing… but he can track better than anyone else he knows. So finding the beast isn’t hard. It’s a walk in the park, actually.

It’s once he enters the cave that everything blows up in his face.

The beast is strong. It catches his back. The marks are deep. He can feel the blood coating his fur, making him even redder than he already was. It stands over him, and he knows, he knows that this is it. This is how he goes out. Trying to protect his people—doing the thing his sister could not.

Just before its jaws clamp down on his neck, though, an arrow pierces its skull. It convulses, shuddering and swaying on its feet, before collapsing. A pool of red coats the stone, mingling with Bow’s own blood, and he lifts his head to see Arrow standing there.

He can’t see her—the sunset is at her back, and leaves her front a black silhouette. But he knows it’s her.

His vision fades out. The last thing he hears is soft footfalls racing towards him; his name on his sister’s lips.

#

#

When he wakes up, he’s at Orchid’s house. He’s in the extra room, the one reserved for the injured and sick. There are bandages wrapped around his middle, and he can feel the poultice wet on his back. His parents are there, curled together on the bed next to his. Arrow is awake, though, and she’s pacing, her tail lashing in a way that tells him the second she notices him, he’s in for it.

He isn’t wrong.

Her eyes catch on his, and a flurry of emotion crosses her face—shock, worry, relief, anger. She stalks over to his bed like a proper huntress. Her eyes flick towards their parents, before she whispers, “What the hell were you thinking?” Her voice is sharp, and he winces to hear it.

“I wanted to help,” he says, and he hates how petulant he sounds.

“You—you almost got yourself killed,” she snaps. “If you weren’t injured right now, I’d smack you.” She pauses. “No, I’d string you up and use you for target practice, you stubborn, reckless, dolt of a monkey!” Her hands are curled into fists. “Do you know what it would do to us if we lost you?” She’s still whispering, but somehow, she makes it sound like she’s yelling.

Bow winces, and sinks further back into the pillows. “I just… No one was doing anything.”

“The Rangers were! They tracked down the bulk of the pack and took them out—like I told you they would. The stragglers could be picked off after. Everything was fine. But no, you had to go play big damn hero, didn’t you?”

“It wasn’t like anyone told us anything! They just said—stay at home, like good little children, and let us handle the grown-up jobs.”

“That is not what they said.”

“That’s what they meant!” Bow crosses his arms, ignoring the way it strains his wounds. “You know that’s what they meant.”

“Is it really so bad that they wanted to keep us safe, Bow?”

“When they’re ignoring potential resources? Yes!” Bow shakes his head. “We could have been out there, helping them, so we’d know what to do if something like this happened again—but instead, we were stuck at home, twiddling our thumbs. Mom and all the other older rangers had it covered. They didn’t need us to watch the homefront—they just didn’t think we could handle it!”

“Well they were right,” Arrow snaps, and Bow reels back like she slapped him. “The thing you found was old. Injured. Sick. It was dying, and it still got the drop on you, because we’re not ready for that yet!”

“Says the monkey who killed it!”

Neither of them realize they’re no longer whispering, until their mother says, “Bow?”

Both of them fall silent.

“Honey, are you awake?” He can hear the shifting of the blankets as their mother sits up. “Oh, Bow, we were so worried about you!” She sweeps out of bed to wrap him in a hug, and their father isn’t far behind.

“Never do that again,” his father says, into the fur on the top of his head. “Please. I don’t think my heart could take it. Let alone my tail. I think I about pulled the thing off.” He laughs, but it’s strained, and Bow’s heart squeezes.

Arrow studies them, standing a distance away. Bow half expects her to join in the group hug, despite their argument.

Instead, she turns around and walks away.

Their mother watches her with soft eyes, before turning back to Bow. “She was very worried for you, you know,” she said softly. “Hasn’t eaten since you disappeared.”

Bow looks away.

He refuses to feel bad for trying to do the right thing.

#

#

When Bow is healed, a ceremony is held. Arrow is promoted—accepted into the entry level of the Rangers.

Bow, though. Bow is told that he’s being temporarily suspended from the hunters program. He can rejoin next year, with a new set of recruits.

Bow seethes. He doesn’t talk to Arrow for a week—not that she seems to notice, so caught up in her new duties.

4

The village is attacked.

It’s been nearly a year since Bow tried tracking down that beast. He’s an adult, now, and once again a member of the hunters. Arrow’s moving through the ranks of the Rangers, the youngest Commander that the village has ever seen. Everyone respects her, looks up to her. Bow can hardly look at her, some days.

Today isn’t one of those days.

“I’m not staying here,” he says, sharp.

“Yes. You are.” Arrow’s tone brooks no argument—the tone of a proper commander. Bow scowls. “It’s too dangerous out there. We don’t even know what these… creatures are. Or what they want.”

Only that they’re monkeynapping villagers, left and right. Orchid disappeared a week ago, when the flying-thing first appeared over their village. Since then, so many of them have gone to ground—but in the scramble, several were lost. Teams have been sent to retrieve them, and Arrow’s been working hard to do so. Her team is one of the most successful, actually—not a day goes by that she doesn’t bring someone home. Usually children.

Bow is tired of sitting around and doing nothing. All he does is watch to make sure none of the little ones get out. The ones who are too young to understand, who miss the sunshine and the fresh air.

“I can help!” he insists.

Arrow shakes her head. “You are helping,” she tells him.

“No, I’m doing children’s work. Again.”

Arrow frowns. He can tell she’s biting back what she really wants to say—probably to call him a child, again. Like she’s so superior to him. “You’re keeping more monkeys from being lost,” she says. “That’s important, Bow.”

Bow scoffs. “If it’s so important, then why aren’t you doing it?”

“Because that’s not what I was asked to do,” Arrow says. “If it was, I’d be doing it—and you know that.”

“Do I?” Bow crosses his arms. “’Cause as much as you call me a gloryhound, our people sure do sing your praises. Everywhere I go, it’s all, Arrow-this. Arrow-that. You’d think you were a local superhero, the way they go on about you. Sure you’re not just soaking up more of that praise?”

Arrow frowns. “I’m not doing this for the praise.”

The worst part is, Bow knows that’s true. He’s seen people yell at her, accuse her of not doing her best. Arrow never seems to let it bother her. She keeps doing her thing anyway, keeps helping people. But those people are such a small group. Everyone else waxes poetic about how amazing she is, about what she’s going to be in a few years, about how responsible and good she is.

He wishes she would make a mistake. He wants Arrow to fail. Just once. Just one time, he wants her to misstep. Like he does. Like her teammates do. Like every other monkey in the world does, because the way you hear the village tell it, Arrow is perfect. She can do no wrong, and he hates it.

“Whatever,” Bow dismisses. “You’re still getting it.”

Arrow frowns. “It doesn’t matter,” she says. “I’m doing what needs to be done. You should be too. Even if you don’t like it.”

Bow snarls. “There are plenty of people to watch the doors! But the more monkeys we have combing the surface, the better. Otherwise, who knows how many monkeys are going to slip through the cracks! There are kids up there, Arrow. Kids. Little ones who have no idea what’s going on. You know that. Why won’t you let me help?”

“Because I don’t want you to be one of them!” Arrow snaps. “Sometimes it seems like we lose people every time we go up top. We bring home kids, and elders, and teens, and adults, and so many others, but we also lose people, and I will not lose you!”

“So you’re being selfish! Like always. I’m so surprised.” He sneers. “Arrow, the great and good and wonderful, who never ever risks anything to do the right thing.”

Arrow’s face does something interesting—twisting and pulling. In the end she stomps her foot, and he feels triumph in his blood because now who’s acting like a child?

“You’re not going,” she says. “End of discussion.” And then she turns away, and leaves him standing there, feeling like he wants to punch something.

#

#

Bow goes to the surface anyway. Maybe this will end as badly as before, when he got the scars on his back, but maybe it won’t. Maybe he’ll finally prove to Arrow that he’s not something she needs to lock away and protect. Maybe he’ll prove to his people that Arrow isn’t the only one of his parent’s children who’s worth anything. Maybe he’ll finally be someone.

He finds a midnight blue monkey struggling with one of the creatures. He leaps into the fray without a second thought, lending the midnight monkey a spear, and using his hunting knife to slash and the alien’s legs.

They’re doing well for themselves—until the alien’s friends join them.

The spear breaks. Bow loses his hunting knife. It’s too close for him to get out his bow, so instead he brandishes an arrow like a spear, because he’s not going down without a fight.

One of the aliens drops. There’s an arrow through it’s chest, and Bow glances up to see his sister in the trees. She looks furious, but her hands don’t waver as she takes the other two down just as cleanly. She drops to the ground, and approaches Bow with all the grace of a predator. His heart leaps into his throat without permission, and he finds his palms clammy. He holds his tail perfectly still, unwilling to let it give him away.

“I told you to stay behind,” she says, and her voice is dangerous.

Bow draws up his chin. “And I told you I was going to help.” He will not let his sister cow him. Not today, not ever.

Arrow opens her mouth to respond. She’s cut off by a loud humming noise, as a shadow darkens them. It’s one of their flying machines.

“Run.”

Bow’s never heard his sister sound so afraid.

#

#

Running doesn’t do them any good. They’re caught in a beam of light, hovering off the ground as they’re sucked into the bowels of the thing. Inside, they put up a fight—but darts pierce their skin, and their vision goes dark.

When they wake up, everything has changed.

5

Bow moves through the training simulator. It took a long time to get used to his new body. His vision is different, for one thing. Information is displayed across his eyes—the time and the temperature, most prominently. He can run all sorts of scans. His hearing, too, is different—more enhanced. He can pick up radio frequencies, adjust to different languages, and even control how far his hearing stretches. He can fly now, too, though he has to watch the fuel in his jetpack. His is a bit faulty—it runs through fuel quicker than anyone else’s. The scientists say it has to do with the scars on his back. They couldn’t integrate it properly, because of the nerve damage.

That wasn’t the weirdest part, though. Sure, it was weird, but it was harder getting adjusted to the fact that every time he looked down, he was met with the shine of metal. His feet, his arms, his hands. The top of his skull had been replaced with a helmet. His eyes were protected by large orbs. He was part circuitry, part skin now.

So was Arrow.

So were a lot of the monkeys that got abducted.

(But not all of them, because not all of them made it through the surgery.)

Bow’s been here for almost four months now.

In that time, he’s gotten to know a lot of the other monkeys. Orchid, for instance, is stuck in a cell with him and Arrow. So’s Midnight, the midnight-blue monkey they tried to rescue. Then, there’s a cream-colored monkey named Thalia, who lived in the desert.

Every day, they’re taken out for training. The cybernetics came with other upgrades too—weapons. Arrow got arrows, a twist of irony that almost made Bow laugh. He got guns, himself. Midnight shot darts from his fingers. Thalia had a sword and shield, while Orchid got an energy whip.

Today, though, the training course is different. It’s all been combined. The scientists have been whispering about a test. All the other teams to go through it have been moved around, resorted. Some of them have been shuttled off to new facilities.

Bow does his best. Maybe if he’s shipped off, he can make his great escape—and rescue all the other monkeys held in captivity, forced to endure the scientist’s poking and prodding and near-torturous training sessions. Orchid had been forced to run through an obstacle course on a broken leg, just a few months ago. Midnight had one of his arms ripped off, and they still made him complete the course. It sucked.

They were always put back together—but only after they performed.

Bow completes the course. He glances at his results. Better than usual—he’s definitely improving. He hasn’t beaten the record, though.

He has a sneaking suspicion he knows who holds the record.

#

#

He isn’t wrong. As usual, Arrow outperforms everyone.

They could hear the scientists talking about moving her. “She needs to be transferred to Base Alpha,” the boss said, low enough that Bow couldn’t have heard him without the enhancements they gave him. “She’ll do well, there, I think. Pretty sure they’ve got a good team lined up she could lead.”

Bow scowls.

Arrow does too, but hers is worried—Bow’s is angry.

“You just can’t resist, can you?” he mutters. “You always have to show off!”

Arrow frowns. “I wasn’t trying to show off,” she says. He knows she wasn’t. It doesn’t really matter.

“I had a plan!” Bow snaps. “I was gonna get us out of here, and now they’re going to take you away—and there’s nothing either of us can do about it.” Because he knows Arrow won’t try to escape in transit. None of them have been taught how to fly the ships yet. She won’t risk getting stuck.

Bow thinks it’s worth learning on the go—but Arrow always wants to play it safe.

“Let me guess,” Arrow says. “This plan was something reckless, wasn’t it?”

“Hey.” Midnight interrupts. “Lay off of him, okay? At least he has a plan. That’s better than you can say for the rest of us.”

Bow gives her a triumphant look, but Midnight continues.

“Bow, chill for a minute. Your sister just wants to look out for you.”

Bow rolls his eyes.

Thalia kicks him. “Stop acting like a brat,” she says, sharply. Not that she says anything any other way. She’s prickly. “Your plan was probably something dumb anyway.”

Midnight frowns. “Thalia…”

“Don’t ‘Thalia’ me,” she snaps. “You know it’s true.” She looks at Bow. “I don’t know what you spend all your time thinkin’ with, but it sure as hell isn’t your head.”

Bow scowls, but before he can say anything, Arrow is the one snapping, “Leave him alone, Thalia.”

Thalia sneers. “Don’t start with me. You’re always putting him down, so don’t get pissy when I do it.”

“Guys, stop.” It’s Orchid this time, trying to be the voice of reason. “If we want to get out of here, we have to work together,” she says.

Thalia snorts. “You really think these two can pull their heads out of their asses long enough to do that?” She points at Arrow and Bow. “Arrow’s gonna try to boss us around, Bow will argue with her, and nothing will get done. ‘Cause these two can’t be in the same room without bein’ at each other’s throats, which I think the last four months have proved.” She narrows her eyes at him. “Honestly, we’ll have a better chance of escaping if she’s gone.”

“Thalia!” Midnight and Orchid snap at the same time.

“It’s true, and I’m not going to apologize for saying it.” Thalia stands her ground, lifting her chin and daring them to try and make her.

Arrow watches her, eyes narrowed.

The two of them haven’t gotten along from day one—and to be honest, despite her rough edges, Bow kind of likes her. If only because she wasn’t sucked into Arrow’s orbit like everyone else who ever met her.

Thalia holds her stare.

Midnight and Orchid shuffle uncomfortably, but Bow scoots closer to Thalia.

Arrow’s eyes tighten—and she looks away. Thalia smirks.

#

#

They take Arrow the next day.

Midnight goes next. He gets moved to another team on the same station. It’s not long before Orchid follows him—and Thalia is left alone with Bow.

He doesn’t mind all that much, and he doesn’t think that she does either. Maybe she rushes in a little too quickly, and maybe his plans aren’t always well thought out, but they work well together. Better than he and Arrow ever did.

+1

It’s been almost a year since they were taken.

Bow and Thalia aren’t alone anymore. They were joined by a fully robotic monkey—Arcturus. He’s quiet, usually, but he kicks tail and has insightful opinions. He argues with Thalia a lot, but everyone argues with Thalia, so he can’t really fault Arc for that.

Then there’s Melody. She’s tiny—a kind of monkey from a different continent. Her tail is about twice as long as her body. She’s a cute little cream colored thing, and she makes up for her small stature with her loud and aggressive personality. And her penchant for making things go boom. She likes Arc a lot, always sitting on his shoulders. She never shuts up, but surprisingly, Thalia doesn’t seem to mind much.

They’re playing a game on the floor, using a marker Mel swiped from one of the guards. She’s winning, and gloating about it in a way that makes Arc smile fondly and Thalia complain about her. It’s kind of nice. Bow looks at them and he feels like he belongs.

He’s just about to say that, too, even though he knows Thalia and Mel will rib him for it, when the ship is rocked by a loud—BOOM.

Melody’s ears perk up, and she scampers up on top of Arc’s head. “That didn’t sound good,” she says, but instead of sounding upset about it, she just sounds excited.

Thalia climbs to her feet, and Bow does too. Arc stands as well.

“You guys thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” Thalia says.

Bow smirks. “It’s time to get outta here.”

#

#

Arc uses his superior strength to bend the bars of their cell. Mel gets her hands on a stray tablet, and uses it to hack into the servers. Thalia takes the lead, brandishing her sword and shield. Bow brings up the rear, guns at the ready.

Between the attackers and the monkeys they manage to free, it doesn’t take much to escape. They sit in a pod together, the wreckage of the station floating behind them, unnoticed by whatever enemy the scientists had made.

Thalia plucks the tablet from Mel’s hands.

“Hey! I was using that!”

Thalia ignores her. Instead, she offers it to Bow.

“You wanna find your sister?” she asks, and there’s nothing judging in her gaze.

Bow takes the tablet. He looks at the information Mel downloaded, the lines of text blurring together as his eyes unfocus. Did he want to find Arrow?

He looks up. Thalia holds his eyes, and he knows that whatever he decides, she’s not going to care. She may not like Arrow, but she won’t stop him from going after her. She’ll do all she can to help him, actually.

He looks at Arc and Mel.

He’s struck, suddenly, by the fact that these are his people. These people like him. They don’t care that he’s reckless. They don’t care that sometimes his desire to do impress sometimes outweighs everything else—that it makes him make mistakes, mistakes he can’t always walk away from. They don’t care that he’s impulsive, and rash. They don’t hold his loss of temper against him, because they’d all be hypocrites.

He looks at them, and he knows that Arc would adore Arrow. He’d love how responsible she was. He’d consider her someone to admire, someone worth following. He’d abandon Bow for her—like everyone else. Everyone but Thalia.

Mel would like her too. She’d be a big sister figure who didn’t argue with her, or put her down, and Bow…

Bow can’t lose them.

Arrow, he decides, can rescue herself.

He gives the tablet back to Mel.

“Arrow will be fine,” he says.

Thalia smiles. “Damn right. She’s probably out there already, lecturing people about responsibility and thinking things through.”

Bow snorts—and it doesn’t hurt, to think that Arrow escaped before him. She probably did. But it doesn’t matter.

He has his people now, and he doesn’t need her anymore. He’s going to go somewhere new, somewhere untouched by Arrow’s presence, and he’s going to make something of himself.

And he’s not going to do it alone, either.