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marlynnofmany · 1 month

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Not Special, Part Two

(Part One is here)

Oscar Tennyson grabbed his purchases and hurried after the rest of his crew. As usual, they were walking quickly on their longer legs and bellowing for him to keep up. The teeth-and-scales Mighty had no patience for human weaknesses. Of which there were many.

But, as Oscar had just learned, there were some strengths as well. And he couldn’t wait to show them.

He scampered onboard before the door shut, wondering if they would actually leave without him if he dawdled too long. Probably not — who would handle their finances and hunting permits? They’d have to hire someone else, because they certainly didn’t want to do it themselves. But he didn’t want to test that.

He had much better things to test. While the stark metal walls vibrated with the engine’s revs, Oscar wove between scaled biceps and tails to his own quarters. He pressed the panel by the door, which was oversized and cracked like all of them on this ship. The Mighty were not fans of fiddly little buttons or keys. Not when they could have panels big enough to punch, which only broke sometimes.

When Oscar stepped through and closed the door behind him, he felt immediately relieved. This was his private space to decorate as he chose, without worrying that someone would take things down or make fun of him. Ship rules were clear about personal quarters. Oscar’s fake orchids and real cactus made the room homey, along with more posters than the walls could hold. They spilled onto the ceiling, lining it with nature scenes from Earth, sports figures he admired, media announcements, and a good number of fluffy kittens. This was the one spot on the ship where he could feel comfortable, and he was making the most of it.

The bag of refueling station supplies crinkled as he set it on his small table to remove the contents. A high-end store might have had Waterwill bags that evaporated after a day, but this place used regular old plastic. Inside were food cubes, bottled water, and the purchase he was most excited about: six cans of very weak caffeine.

He scanned the label. It was just like the other human had said. Tall cans in dramatic colors, but not much of substance inside. At least, not as far as the average human was concerned.

Oscar couldn’t wait until dinner time.

Before then, he had a permit to submit and several other things to check. The ship should be on the way to Argosha, which was notorious for welcoming outsiders in to hunt the Dagger Birds that were giving everyone so much trouble, but he had better get their paperwork in order anyway.

He grabbed his tablet and left his safe haven, heading back into the public parts of the ship where he could face taunts from any direction. Really, these guys were just like his cousins. At least it was familiar.

Fending off tiresome conversation — “How’s the weather down there?” “Why don’t you ask your mother?” —he reached the bridge and found a corner to stand in. The captain and the pilot were arguing about where to land when they reached Argosha.

“The main site will have more people to admire our ship!”

“The new one is closer to the hunting grounds!”

“Dagger Birds are overrunning the place; everywhere is a hunting ground!”

“Do you want to pay the damages for shooting a building instead of a bird? We can take it all out of your pay, if you want!”

“Fine, but if we land on some overgrown hedge and the ship is scratched, you get to pay for that!”

“Fine!”

The pair of them stopped yelling and sat back in their seats as if nothing at all was the matter, because it wasn’t. Polite disagreements were always held at that volume.

In the brief lull while the pilot manipulated the controls with more force than a lesser console could withstand, Oscar spoke up. “I’d like to come too.”

Both dinosaurian heads turned to stare at him in surprise. “Why?” the captain demanded. “One kick from a bird, and you’re useless to us.”

“Thanks,” Oscar said flatly. “I’ll keep out of the way. I want to take photos of your fighting prowess; I should be able to sell them.”

Both of the Mighty preened at that, as he’d known they would. Ego was big here. The captain agreed, and Oscar didn’t let slip any hints of his secret plan. He just finished working on his tablet, then retreated to his quarters to practice Dagger Bird mating calls.

The air on Argosha was breathable but hot, at least this part of it. Oscar was ready with his Tool in his pocket. (He’d gotten out of the habit of calling it a phone, since the Mighty were right in that it did a near-infinite number of things.) (He still smirked quietly at the potential innuendo, but it was a conversation he didn’t really want to have with giant dinosaur aliens, so he kept that to himself.)

“This way,” announced the captain, pointing in what looked like an arbitrary direction into the wilderness. Whooping with the alien equivalent of testosterone, the crew raised their blasters and tromped off the landing pad with Oscar following close behind.

True to his word, he did take some pictures as he went. But he was waiting for his moment.

It didn’t take long to come. The shouting scared off all the wildlife, then the Mighty found a boulder to crouch behind and wait for the creatures to come back. They played a silent counting game to see who was best at guessing when they’d spot something worth killing.

Distant footsteps on leaves made them smack each other in excitement, but nothing appeared between the trees.

Now or never, Oscar thought. Knowing better than to startled his crewmates, he whispered, “Here, let me.” Then he took a deep breath and let loose with his best imitation of a Dagger Bird seeking a mate. “Woarrrrrrk!”

While the Mighty shushed him and wondered what he was doing and started to figure it out, an answering woarrk sounded from nearby.

Then another, then, three.

Oscar wondered if he’d overplayed his hand.

No less than five large and eager Dagger Birds crashed through the undergrowth at once, croaking and flapping, taking offense at each other’s presence. The Mighty all roared and leapt out, firing in every direction.

Oscar dashed for a tree he’d been eyeing, the one with lots of branches, and didn’t stop climbing until he was out of beak-stabbing range. He held tight to the trunk, catching his breath and watching the chaos. Belatedly, he remembered to take out his Tool and snap some photos.

This was actually a good angle. He got a great shot of the captain aiming down the throat of a wide-open beak, then another a split second later when the beak snapped shut inches from his head. Another of the engineer shooting one from beneath. Two of the pilot tackling the largest bird and sinking teeth into the back of its neck where it couldn’t reach to stab.

Other species did their trophy hunting from a distance. The Mighty liked the fight as much as the kill. Their blasters were set on a deliberately low setting, and their teeth were sharp.

Safe up in his tree, Oscar grimaced at how bloody things were getting down below. He yelled another bird call to distract the one about to spear the crewmate who’d been knocked to the ground, and he got a cheerful “Nice save by the little guy!” which was as close to a thank you as he was going to get. The crewmate scrambled up and bit off a chunk while the bird was distracted. A couple of the crew looked like they were bleeding their own blood, but most of it was coming from the Dagger Birds, which were just as stubborn as the stories had said. Not one of them ran off. The last to die fell on top of somebody, which just added laughter from the rest of the crew to the triumphant cheers.

Oscar took a picture of the bird being dragged off his disgraced crewmate. That photo he wouldn’t sell, but would keep as minor blackmail if he ever needed it. Sticking it up on the wall to remind everyone of this moment could be a valuable strategic move.

“We are the MIGHTY!” bellowed the captain, and the whole crew joined in with a deep-voiced cheer. Oscar climbed down to more approval than he’d gotten in the last month.

“Good work by our human here! Who knew you could do that?”

“That’s sure an efficient way to hunt!”

“We should bring you out every time. That was great.”

Oscar took the praise with pride, not bothering with modesty. That was just another word for weakness as far as these guys were concerned.

He managed to dodge when one of them made to slap him on the back with a large bloodstained hand, which just made them laugh more. Luckily the captain directed everybody to gather their kills for dragging back to the ship, rather than chasing the human and messing up his clothes.

Oscar took a position on the lowest branch of his tree, taking a couple more photos as the victorious hunters figured out how to get it all home. If anyone had asked Oscar, which they never would, he’d have suggested going back for a hovercart, or taking them one at a time. But of course they did neither.

Definitely the type to insist on carrying all the groceries in at once, Oscar thought as his crewmates strained to drag the giant carcasses through the undergrowth. He hopped down and kept pace out to the side where there was no blood on the leaves.

They finally made it back to the ship, doing nothing to clean up the smears of blood they left on the landing pad. Oscar darted off to his quarters as soon as the door opened. The rest of them could handle getting the birds into cryo storage, or chopped up right away, whichever they saw fit to do. The lowest-ranking one without significant injuries would be in charge of clearing the blood from the hallways, but only after they’d all taken a walk through the water-and-air blast chamber that passed for a shower here. It had always reminded Oscar of a car wash.

He kept to himself until dinner, sorting his photos while everyone else dealt with the catch and the mess and the injuries. The mechanical medsystem on this ship was just as efficient as the shower. They’d all be in decent shape by mealtime.

And mealtime after a successful hunt was also drinking time.

Oscar usually ate in his room, wanting nothing to do with the raucous meat-tearing and drunkenness. But today was different, because he’d learned something valuable about the liquid they were getting drunk off.

Oscar considered the cans he’d bought, then decided it would have more of an impact if he just took one of the communal supply. So instead he grabbed his new food cubes and a premade tin of spaghetti from his mini-cryo, and followed the sound of laughter.

They were already a little drunk when he got there. Sprawled across chairs with a table full of meat slabs spilling over the edges of the plates. And as expected, there were tall purple cans everywhere.

“Heyyyy, it’s the little guy! Let’s hear it for the human with the surprise talent! Maybe you’re not useless after all!”

“Thanks,” Oscar said as they pounded fists against anything in reach as a form of applause. He leaned against the open doorway and shuffled his belongings so he could get a fork in a meatball without setting down the food cubes. “That was pretty easy where I’m from. You guys really can’t do that?” He popped the meatball into his mouth, casual as you please.

The Mighty of course, thought this was funny, and took it in stride. More gulps from their drinks, more savage mouthfuls of food, and a few questions about the surely-excellent photos he’d gotten, which would make them all look amazing.

Oscar said he’d share the best ones. These would make fine decorations in their own quarters, and would probably be appreciated by the right paying audience.

Then came the moment he’d been waiting for. The captain raised his drink in another cheer, and somebody noticed that the human was the only one without a can in his hand.

“Get the human a warrior’s drink!”

“Bet you he passes out after one sip.”

“Nah, he can take at least two.”

Oscar smiled quietly. If they’d been paying attention, they might have changed their bets at that smile. He set his food down in the hallway to free his hands. When one muscular, taloned arm offered him a can of their most potent intoxicant, he took it. Oh so casually.

Then he whipped his head back and chugged the whole thing.

“Oh! Human’s gonna die!”

“I’m not cleaning up the puke!”

“What the supernova! There are better ways to go than that!”

“Somebody drag him to medical so we don’t have to find somebody else to do the boring stuff.”

“Yeah, he was just getting interesting.”

Oscar ignored all of them, giving the empty can a thoughtful look. It felt like the same thin aluminum he remembered from Earth. And if there was anything his cousins had taught him, it was the proper way to dispose of a beer can.

He dug his fingertips in and crushed it against his forehead. Then while the room reacted to that, he wiped off the drips and threw the can across the room. When it went into the trash on the first try, he was internally very glad, but he didn’t let it show. Instead he picked up his food and resumed eating. “What’s the big deal?” he said. “Is that what you guys have been getting drunk off? How quaint.”

“How in all the black holes—”

“No, he’s gonna fall over any second; just watch.”

“Quaint, that’s hilarious.”

“He’s totally bluffing. Just wait and see.”

Oscar was enjoying being the center of the crew’s attention today. He made a show of sweeping his eyes across the various cans in the room. “None of you has finished a can yet, I see. Was that supposed to be strong?”

There was widespread laughing and elbowing of each other, most of them still clearly convinced that the silly little human was going to throw up and die any second now.

So Oscar set down his food, walked over to the table, and chugged a second one. It was a bit more liquid than his stomach was really happy with, but that was a small price to pay for the uproar that followed.

They exclaimed; they renewed their bets; they drank from their own cans; they got visibly drunker and abandoned their bets.

Oscar leaned against the doorframe, eating spaghetti and food cubes.

After one particularly unsteady crewmate tripped onto the table full of meat, and someone pointed out that the human wasn’t wobbling at all, Oscar said, “You guys don’t know much about my species, do you? Half of what I eat would liquify your insides.” He held up a food cube, eyeing the different colored specks of all the ingredients that made it balanced for an omnivorous digestive system. He laughed. “You guys just eat meat. How boring!”

They only got drunker after that. Oscar was pretty sure that the nearest two wanted to pat him on the back, but the floor was moving too much for them to make it all the way to the doorway. Somebody offered him a raw slab of Dagger Bird. He turned it down with casual scorn.

“Nah, meat isn’t worth eating unless it’s passed through fire. That’s weakling meat you’ve got there. Get back to me when it’s cooked brown.”

They loved that. The party was an epic one, only winding down when most of the crew was too drunk to reach more drinks. Oscar demonstrated his steadiness by picking through the mess to drop his food containers in the trash, then move back to the door.

“Well, it’s been fun,” he said. “I’ll send in the med-drone to make sure nobody’s going to wake up dead. Let me know if you want to get your tails handed to you by any more Dagger Birds. I’ll call ‘em in close for you again.”

He got groggy approval to that.

Oscar left with a smile on his face, and a mild amount of caffeine in his blood. Maybe after stopping by the medcenter, he’d use that energy on some exercise. Thoughts of the run to the hunting grounds, and the way his crewmates had paced themselves, suggested that it wouldn’t take much practice for him to out-endurance the Mighty on the VR treadmill.

I wonder what else I can do?

~~~~~~~~~

By popular request, this is the sequel to the story I posted last week, which is part of the ongoing series of backstory for the main character in this book. (It started that way, at any rate, and turned into a sprawling series in its own right. Fun stuff.)

Patreon opens the day after tomorrow, on May 1st! There's a free tier and everything if you want to keep up without strings attached! And you can even request more delightful nonsense like this.

Onward!

#multiple people wanted to see what happened next #and who am I to say no to that?#this is twice as long as the first story #because I had to cover everything #three cheers for this guy and his newfound respect #not to mention self-confidence #I imagine the dynamic will be different the next time he visits home and interacts with his cousins #noogies from a frat bro is nothing when you've dealt with macho space dinosaurs #anyways; other tags:#humans are weird #hfy #haso #eiad #humans are space orcs #my writing #The Token Human #writeblr #looking forward to the Patreon you guys #it's gonna be great

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cherry-blossomtea · 21 days

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Unfortunately for Federico there is something so sibling-coded about the way that Arturia always calls him little brother vs how he always emphasizes they are distant cousins. She will find every way in every universe to be his obnoxious older sister.

#which is funny bc I think they’re littlerally second cousins #it’s not even that bad i have a second cousin I cherish #their relationship is so good #the end of the story made me Feel Emotions about them #arknights #zwillingstürme im herbst

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violent138 · 1 month

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The last time Tim was really nice to Damian because Alfred asked, Damian snuck up on him, splashed him with Zamzam, and recited Surah Al-Fatiha.

#followed by ayatul kursi #it has never happened again (Tim being nice)#No matter what Jason does to try and set it up #Sorry I was telling my baby cousins Jinn stories and I thought of this #Please carry on #batfamily #batfam headcanons #tim drake #damian wayne #batman #dc comics #alfred pennyworth #batbros #textpost #batposting

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help-im-a-gay-fish · 8 months

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Coffee creamer is on babysitting duty

Thought about this for a while!! and Creamer's bday was the 8th! and I missed it again so here you go.

Just a cute interaction I thought of, trying to get back into regular drawing again.

And yeah, to lazy for backgrounds, but it's the coffee house okeyyyy

"No I'm not an octopus and please don't ask any more questions about the tentacles please"

Coffee Creamer is by me

Aim is by @zu-is-here

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ghost-bxrd · 4 months

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I’ve been getting really into magical stuff recently and also DC so I’m just gonna drop this here:

Fae Dick Grayson

F A E

okay so fae stories are special to me because I grew up on hearing pagan folklore and fairytales about fae and fae adjacent creatures as good night stories so hooo boy yes I adore that trope! (I mean, I made Dick a Banshee in my fic Shuck so… hehe)

Anyway, Fae Dick Grayson! There’s just so many things you can do with it ✨

Robin appears from one day to the next, following in Batman’s shadow like a mischievous sprite, so honestly rumors have been going wild about him since day one. Robin actually being something non-human doesn’t really come as a surprise!

The fae folk are known for being awfully good at blending in with regular humans when they put their mind to it, the only thing that puts them apart (in most stories) is their otherworldly beauty, and Dick Grayson? Well, he’s definitely got that in abundance.

Just sometimes, when the light reflects off a surface in just the right way, when someone pours a glass of water and you happen to look right through the spray, or when you think you catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye and you spin around— but there’s only Dick Grayson, even if a second ago you could have sworn you saw eyes where there weren’t supposed to be any; colors that aren’t supposed to exist; feathers where only skin has any right to be.

And, gods, all the talking. Dick is terrifyingly good at talking to people without actually saying anything, to the point where you walk away from the conversation feeling utterly drained after spilling your entire life story but when you think back on it— you can’t remember him ever telling you anything about himself. You know there were the usual pleasantries of “hi” and “nice to meet you” and “how are you doing?” but anything beyond that just kinda… seemed to spill out of you? It’s very strange. It’s very unnerving. By the end of the evening you other convince yourself you’re overreacting or you simply push the incident out of your mind altogether.

And there’s another thing about Dick. His name.

He only ever introduces himself as Dick Grayson/Robin. Never Richard. Never. Especially not Richard John. Names are sacred for the fae folk, names have power, so while Richard John Grayson may not be Dick’s true name, he treats it as such to honor his parents. None are allowed to use it. None except Bruce or Alfred on special occasion.

Of course, Dick’s “true” name isn’t exactly a secret so when someone does happen to use it… well, Dick may be… other… but he’s still intrinsically good in a way many of his kind don’t have the patience to be. Dick judges on a case by case basis, just like his parents and Bruce taught him. And usually people do not mean it maliciously when they use his name so he kindly corrects them and that’s that. But oh man, if they still insist on calling him “Richard”? Well..

“Oh no, it seems your credit card is being declined, sir!”

“Sheesh, you tripped over a root? In Gotham?!”

“What do you mean ten birds flew into your window last night? You live on floor level!”

“Dude I’m telling you that rash doesn’t look normal.”

“I… don’t think crows are supposed to follow you like that.”

It’s little things (most of the time, unless you really pissed Dick off) but they keep piling up, slowly driving you insane. You feel like you’re being watched, but it’s just a bird sitting on the window sill again. You feel like someone moved all your furniture just slightly to the right even tho you checked all the cameras.

The fae are kind, but they are also vindictive when crossed.

(Thanks to Bruce, however, I think Dick’s bouts of “vengeance” rarely go much farther than that though.)

Dang ok that ended up being an entire rant… wow. Anyway, yeah. Fae.

#look growing up in the middle of the woods just does something to you #my entire family told us tales about the creatures in the woods #looking back on it now a lot of them were fairly creepy #but my cousin and I always went looking for the one who ‘swayed the trees’#there’s not a good translation for it but it sounds pretty cool in my language #and also slightly gruesome #double meaning and all that #then again our idea of fun was traipsing into the moors and finding ways through it without getting stuck so idk #wow ok that reads like a bit of a horror story but I swear it was great #anyway #ghost talks #fae dick Grayson #dick grayson #nightwing #Robin

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cringefail-clown · 2 months

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when you create a character and want to give them a nickname, it might sound ideal to call them something cute or cool like nightshade or candy or other stuff, but i think its inherently more realistic and way more funnier if you have in mind that most of the times nicknames come from other people, like your friends or family, and they can be straight up violating

from what ive gathered throughout the years of living amongst people, there are a few "nickname categories", and they are as follows:

your surname has a somehow funny word in it and its now your nickname for forever

youve had a misfortune of reminding someone of some fictional character and now you are called by that characters name

actually, youve had a misfortune of reminding someone of anything, be it a plant or an animal or an inanimated object, and it is now your nickname

youve misspelled/mispronounced a word and everyone collectively agreed that its how they will call you from now on

(the last one is personal bc i legit didnt know how "auchan" is pronounced and i said it wrong in front of my friends (rookie mistake). ive been auchan (the mispronounced way) for a long, long time)

obviously do what you want with your characters, but i highly encourage the funny nicknames. they can add so much to the oc, both in the dynamic they have with their friends/family, and also in terms of a backstory for them

#writing #oc #ive been remaking my old hs ocs and the nicknames thing came to my mind #its just so funny meeting other people and learning the history behind their nicknames lmfao #i aint talking about the shortened names btw thats some basic stuff #more examples: weve called our friend “speed” because one other friend said he looked like meth impersonated once #my bro has a nickname woody bc my cousin said he looked like the guy from toy story when they were kids. its been 20+ years since then

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martlet-my-beloved · 2 months

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ran out of comic ideas so *gestures* take a doodle dump instead

First - Previous - Next - Masterpost

#oh my god tagging stuff for this au is a nightmare #undertale bluebird #martlet #undertale yellow #martlet undertale yellow #martlet uty #undertale au #frisk dreemurr #toriel dreemurr #chara dreemurr #chara: *points at martlet* excuse me who the fuck is this #i wanna escalate the story a bit further but i feel like the goofy vibes are gonna be ruined for a bit after i finally post that comic :/#so i wanna like throw out a few more goofy ones before shit gets real for a bit #cause like a lotta jokes i wanna pull can only happen AFTER i set the scene #and unfortunately setting the scene requires a bit of seriousness(TM)#anyways im very much a momlet fan but only if shes extremely confused and very much Not Ready to be a mom #like girl is a what 21 year old who wanted to be a guard so she could slack off HER ASS AINT MOM MATERIAL #but like its really fucking funny so she gets to be a mom. for my entertainment #born to be fun older cousin forced to be a mother 😔

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fallstaticexit · 9 days

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Previously on COTF

Chapter Seven Adie - Previous // Next // Beginning

🌕 It's Adie's fall break which means it's time to run wild with the wolves this chapter! Noa leaves the restaurant in Orion and Ezra's care (which has him in a bit of a mood) while he spends some much needed father-daughter time with Adie. Meanwhile, Adie tests out her latest magic trick in order to say her goodbyes to her mentor.

Link to Transcript

#cotf #children of the forest #dont worry adie they can't get a divorce since technically they never got married #ellie and adie's cousin beef is the highlight of day #sims 4 stories #ts4 simblr #sims 4 screenshots #sims 4 legacy #sims 4

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raayllum · 7 months

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*takes your face in my hands* listen to me. listen. sir sparklepuff was created as a christ figure. listen. he was born to die. made to be sacrificed. aaravos is god. a mostly jewish team of protags are fighting against god and pre-determinism. viren is called to sacrifice his son on a hill and it's their subsequent breaking point. aaravos is willing to sacrifice his son. soren is a judas who made the right choice. viren is literally entombed in a cave. listen to me. *crying* what father makes a son just to kill him?

#fic: twice as many stars #somewhat canon tho #aaravos #tdp #the dragon prince #mine #sir sparklepuff #bc someone already made assumptions on this post:#i was born and raised christian for 16+ years. i went to catholic school for 10+ years. one of my cousins is a jesuit priest #if yall can't handle other ppl discussing and examining various lens through which to explore #the christ story / structure / meaning as christians #you're never gonna be able to handle the reality of jewish ppl good g-d

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jesncin · 6 months

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Does J'onn's beloved bartender have any relatives in Gotham that make family dinners incredibly, incredibly awkward... or is the last name just an unfortunate coincidence?

I'm pretty sure both martians would have that same doubt, but while J'onn tries to avoid the subject in order for it not to get weird, Ma'al doesn't hesitate

Jonathan Crane and Al Crane are distant cousins! Jonathan is a child of an affair, and was raised by his grandmother on his mom's side. He went by his maiden name "Keeny" until college where he switched his surname to "Crane". While they both grew up in Georgia, Al and Jonathan didn't get to actually meet each other until they both studied in Gotham College as roommates. People give them weird looks because they don't look related.

They get along! Al is one of the few family members Jonathan tolerates. Al eventually moves to Denver to be a bartender while Jonathan becomes a psychology professor in Gotham. They stay in touch. Al doesn't know anything about the Scarecrow stuff.

Ma'al jumped to an entirely different conclusion about their relationship.

#askjesncin #scarecrow #jonathan crane #martian manhunter #j'onn j'onzz #ma'alefa'ak #al crane #martian bartender #i was originally gonna say “no they're not related. idk why supergirl writers gave Al the 'Crane' surname”#but the more I thought about it the more fun it would be if Al was related to Scarecrow of all people? He'd make a great MM guest villain #super neat writing challenge haha ty friends who recc'd scarecrow comics to me for research on this #I'm attached to these distant cousins now their dynamic and story is!! special i think #jl remix

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skyward-floored · 11 days

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For the incredibles au fic requests (I think you’re still doing those? Unless I’m an idiot and can’t read 😭) could you do Legend being sick? <:3

I’m incapable of keeping fics short when they’re sickfics so here’s over 2k of Legend being sick <3 I hope you enjoy plink (and that if you’re still feeling sick you feel better! 💖)

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Malon woke up feeling that something was wrong.

She opened her eyes into the darkness of her bedroom, lit only by a thin shaft of moonlight, and simply laid there for a moment, listening to Time breathe beside her.

No noise had woken her up, as far as she could tell. The street outside was silent, Time was deeply asleep beside her, for once, and she didn’t feel in danger or anything like that.

Something just... didn’t feel right.

Malon waited to see if it would fade, wondering if it was just leftover feelings from a forgotten dream, but the niggling feeling refused to abate. If anything, it got stronger.

Finally it got to be too much, and Malon slipped out of bed, pulling on her bathrobe and creeping out of her bedroom and down the hall to where her kids slept.

She checked on the younger three first, Four, Wind, and Hyrule all appearing okay. Wind had crawled into Four’s bed, the two of them snuggled together, and Hyrule’s face was peaceful where he was sleeping under his own blankets. They all seemed content, and Malon simply adjusted a few blankets before leaving them be.

The older boys’ room was next, and Malon was glad she’d put on her slippers as she crept inside, hoping they would be enough not to wake Twilight. He was fast asleep when she checked on him though, and Wild was as well, shockingly enough.

Something still felt wrong though, so Malon quietly climbed the ladder to the top bunk where Legend slept to check on him as well. She peered over the side, and frowned at the sight that met her.

Legend’s face was deeply creased, his blankets partially thrown off, the rest twisted around him. A faint sheen of sweat shone on his face, and Malon quickly put a hand to his forehead, her worry spiking.

Legend was absolutely burning up.

“Legend, honey, are you awake?” Malon whispered as she ran a hand along his cheek. A low moan came from him, Legend turning into her hand, and the wrong feeling she’d had ever since she’d been woken up suddenly sharpened. “Link, I think you need to wake up.”

He mumbled something, but finally his eyes cracked open, the blue unusually bright.

“Mom..?” Legend mumbled dizzily, and Malon ran a soothing hand over his forehead.

“It’s okay, hon. I think you’re sick. I’m going to take your temperature, all right?” she said, and Legend merely gave her a bleary hum in response.

Malon quickly slid back down the ladder, and went to the bathroom to grab their thermometer. It took her a minute to find it, but when she finally returned, Legend hadn’t moved an inch.

The small glass device went under Legend’s tongue, and Malon ran her hand through his sweaty hair while she waited for it to register. Legend remained almost completely still while the thermometer sat in his mouth, his eyes half-lidded while Malon watched him, and she tried her best not worry.

Legend had been a little sniffly when he’d gone to bed, but it hadn’t been anything worrying then. And now he had a fever...

Malon sighed, and rubbed her eyes. Why did kids always have to get sick in the middle of the night?

Those few minutes while the thermometer worked seemed to last forever, Legend staying still except for a few shivers, Malon gently petting his head. But finally the time was up, and Malon pulled the thermometer out to check the red line.

And stared, her blood going cold.

104.

That can’t be right.

Malon held the little red line closer to the window, hoping she’d read it wrong, but it was the same as the first time she’d read it, the measurement unmistakable.

Legend had a fever of 104.

Malon swallowed, then ran her hand over Legend’s forehead again, wiping some of the sweat away.

“I’ll be right back honey, sit tight,” she whispered, and Legend didn’t even reply this time, merely closing his eyes.

Malon tried to be quiet as she hurried down the hallway, going back to her own bedroom and giving Time a gentle but firm shake.

“Link,” she whispered, then leaned back to avoid the split-second of alarm that always showed itself when her husband was woken up.

“Malon?” he asked once his eye focused, and she bit her lip at his sleepy voice, wondering if she’d really needed to wake him. Then she remembered Legend, how horrible he’d looked and how red the thermometer had been, and she exhaled.

“Legend has a fever.”

“...Really?” Time asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

“Yes. I woke up and felt like something was wrong, so I checked on all the boys, and Legend... the thermometer registered him at 104.”

“That’s not good,” Time murmured, moving to get out of bed. Then he blanched, and stared at her. “A hundred and four?”

“That’s what it said, I... should we take him to the hospital?” Malon asked, and Time put a hand to his chin, face deeply creased.

Hospitals always got messy when their family was involved, too many probing questions and exams, not enough protection. And if Legend wasn’t thinking straight, then he might not even think to hide his powers, which would be disastrous in more than one way.

But between that, and letting a high fever get even worse...

“...Only if it gets any higher,” Time murmured finally. “We can watch him for a bit first, see if we can lower it at all. Then we... we’ll see.”

“Okay,” Malon agreed quietly, and Time gave her hand a tight squeeze.

They headed back to the older boys’s room and up to Legend’s bed, Malon letting Time climb up this time, since the ladder was too small for the both of them. Time felt Legend’s forehead, their son watching him dizzily, and Time breathed out as he felt the heat Malon was so worried about.

“How are you feeling, Legend?” Time asked softly, and Legend slowly blinked, only appearing half-conscious.

“Hot... c-cold? M’ head... hurts,” he murmured, and Time ran a hand over his head.

“Okay. I think we’re going to put you somewhere else so we can reach you better,” Time said, Malon nodding when he looked back at her. “Can you climb down?”

Legend stared at him, and a shiver wracked his body.

“I ca... can’t,” he said dizzily, not moving. Some sweat beaded on his face, and Legend squeezed his eyes shut, voice upset. “I can’t. It’s too d... dizzy. M-my head, ‘s spinny.”

“Okay. You don’t have to climb down yourself, you just have to scoot over here a little so I can help you,” Time encouraged, and Legend’s lip wobbled.

“I can’t. I can’t, I-I’ll fall,” he stuttered, a tear slipping down his cheek. “I don’t...”

Malon saw Time’s face further crease as Legend sniffled, and the room got a little brighter as her husband drew on his powers, leaning over and tugging Legend closer to the edge. Legend didn’t resist, and Time scooped him into his arms.

He lifted him out of his bed, carefully stepping down the ladder as he did so, and Legend buried his face in Time’s shoulder with a soft whine. Malon exchanged looks with Time, and he held Legend a little tighter to his chest.

“Let’s get you settled on the couch, bun,” Time said softly.

Legend only shivered.

Malon grabbed the only blanket of Legend’s that didn’t seem soaked in sweat, and followed Time out of the room and downstairs, putting the couch into order for Legend to sleep on. Legend stayed silent where he was clinging to Time, only letting out the occasional soft moan, and barely reacted when Time set him down, face creased with pain.

Time left to go see what medicine they had, and Malon fixed up a damp cloth, setting it over Legend’s forehead with a thick swallow.

She’d dealt with fevers plenty over the years; kids were germ magnets after all, and she had six of them. But none of her sons had ever registered such a high fever before, and her worry felt like a ball of ice in her stomach.

104 was dangerous, or right on the verge of it at least. If Legend got any warmer they would truly have no choice but to take him to the hospital. Which Malon and Time would both do without hesitation if the need arose, but both of them were hoping desperately it wouldn’t get that bad.

Legend moaned again, and Malon squeezed his hand, rubbing her thumb over his palm.

“It’s all right, honey,” she soothed, and his eyes flickered as she knelt beside him.

“M-Mama..?” he whispered. “I... I feel really... bad.”

“I know. Try and rest, honey. It’ll be alright,” she murmured, sweeping his bangs from his face. “We’ll have some medicine for you in a second.”

Legend only groaned, closing his eyes again.

A creak came from the other side of the room, and Malon turned around to see Twilight peering around the corner, his eyes shining just a little. Obviously despite their efforts, they hadn’t succeeded in keeping him asleep through all of their noise.

“Mom?” Twilight whispered as he crept to her side, looking down at Legend, “what’s wrong?”

“It’s okay, Twilight. Legend is sick, we just moved him out here so we could reach him a bit better,” she reassured.

“...How sick?”

Malon swallowed. “He’s got a fever. But he’ll be all right. It’s okay.”

104.

Malon exhaled, and refused to think further about it. Worrying would do no good.

Twilight’s eyes glimmered a little in the lamplight as he looked at Legend, his gaze flickering to the thermometer on the table. “Can I stay up with him?”

“I... suppose so,” Malon sighed, knowing Twilight wouldn’t sleep even if they sent him back to bed. “Just make sure you let him rest.”

Twilight nodded, then sat himself down at Legend’s side, watching him in silence.

Time came back with a pill bottle in hand, and they gave Legend the medicine, hoping it would kick in quickly and help lower his fever. Malon and Time consulted, and they decided to check Legend’s temperature every half hour, or fifteen minutes if it seemed to be getting worse. They’d watch it as closely as possible.

Twilight stayed silent beside Legend through most of their discussion, and though they hadn’t told him, Malon knew he’d caught on to the seriousness of the situation.

He didn’t say anything about it though. Just kept watch over his little brother, curled into a ball, shivering and pale.

The night dragged on, dark and slow. Legend went between being extremely restless, moaning and pressing his face into the pillows, and staying eerily still, so quiet that Malon couldn’t help but keep a hand near his chest to be sure he was still breathing.

The temperature checks went on, every half hour, Time keeping track. Malon dozed off for two of them, and startled awake in a mild panic when she realized, but Time and Twilight had handled them. And when she asked if there was any change, they both shook their heads.

Still 104.

So it went the rest of the night. Checking Legend’s temperature, making sure he drank water. Calming him down when the fever gripped him, and he became strangely emotional. Malon trying not to fret herself to pieces.

104.

No change.

...

The first rays of dawn roused Malon from the doze she’d fallen into.

She blinked sleepily, looking around the room. Time was sitting quietly beside her, awake as ever (she never understood how he could stay up so long), and Twilight was curled up on the floor in wolf form, softly snoring.

Malon yawned, and Time squeezed her hand as she grabbed the thermometer, letting her get up and do her check. Legend had fallen into a somewhat deeper sleep, face shiny with sweat, and Malon kissed his forehead as she tucked the thermometer in his mouth yet again.

“He’s out?” Time whispered, joining her side, and Malon nodded.

“Like a light. He needs it,” she murmured, fixing the cloth over his forehead. Malon was unable to stop her yawn as she finished speaking, and Time gave her hand another squeeze.

She looked at him, worry still bright in his eyes, shadows lining the skin underneath, knowing she looked much the same. The silence stretched, both of them just looking at each other, and somehow Time knew she needed it when he pulled her into his arms, giving her a quick hug.

“I’ll go make some coffee,” he offered softly, and Malon nearly started crying on the spot for some reason.

“Thanks honey,” she said in a mostly not-shaky voice, and Time kissed her before going to the kitchen.

Malon took a deep breath, calming herself down while she waited for the thermometer to finish its work. Time clattered softly in the kitchen, and Malon pulled the glass instrument out, prepared to see the same 104 it had been reading all night.

Then she stopped, and looked at it closer, her heart speeding up.

102.

Her hand shook as she held it up to the light, just to be sure she wasn’t imagining it, but sure enough, it still read the same 102.

Legend’s fever was finally going down.

Malon exhaled, leaning her head back against the armrest of the couch, a couple tears pricking at her eyes.

They weren’t out of the woods yet, but it was a start. A fever of 102 wasn’t anything to scoff at, but so long as it kept going down... they wouldn’t have to take Legend to the hospital. He was out of the danger zone.

He’d be all right.

“...Mom?”

Malon raised her head, and saw Legend looking at her, eyes still bright with fever, expression bleary.

“‘r... you okay?” he murmured, and Malon nodded, kissing his cheek.

“I’m fine, honey. You just focus on feeling better.”

“‘kay,” Legend sighed, and his eyes slipped closed again.

Malon took his hand in hers as he drifted back off, and Twilight rolled over in his sleep, ending up pressed against her side. She used her other hand to lightly pet Twilight’s head, and he let out a contented growl in his sleep.

Time came back a few minutes later to find Malon smiling brightly, and the relief on his face when she showed him the thermometer was worth its weight in gold. He sat himself down next to her, and Malon quickly dozed off on his shoulder, Twilight still snuggled at her side, Legend’s hand tight in hers.

Time watched all three of them in silence, content to keep an eye on things while they slept.

#haven’t written a good sickfic in a while this was fun #incredibles au #Incredibles au fic #linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu legend #lu Malon #answers from the floor #lovely plink #writing from the floor #based off a true story #my poor aunt #she woke up with a weird feeling and found my cousin with a fever of 104 #wasn’t a fun night #and my poor cousin ended up having a fever for like a week

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