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theysangastheyslew · 1 year

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Hey!!!

I want to share more suffering with you, homie haha *crying*

What do you think of the episode? Especially 132 part ofc!

Hi friend! :'))))))))) Ooooooh honey that gif is such a mood XD I’ve been trying to collect my thoughts and this is the best I can do atm. Sorry it’s kind of wordy but here we go 🥲

Ok! So ever-present pacing issues aside, the overarching story made for a solid episode and the animation was incredible. Hell, even the things I disliked objectively looked well-done out of context. Overall, that was no small feat to pull off, especially in such harsh working conditions. I truly do want to acknowledge that.

But in regards to 132, you guys already put into words how I feel better than I could. I may not have anything new to add, but I’ll say what I liked first and then put my issues under a cut.

As someone who actually really likes Yams’ art style, I loved that they consistently kept Hange’s face accurate to the manga. It was really inconsistent throughout the final season and they struggled to not make it too short a lot of times. Hange was always still stunning of course but the difference always stuck out to me. Here everyone was drawn well, but you can tell she got some extra attention.

The way they inched Levi closer to where Hange was sitting while talking with Yelena. Insignificant yeah but consistent with their past behavior. Also I’m glad they tweaked the position of his bandages so it looked less like they were painfully tugging upwards on his nose.

The pained expressions of the kids and Hange watching Levi struggle to even hold his gear

The “unrequited love” exchange. It had most of the softness and emotion from the manga even though the weight of that line will never be realized in non-written form. The camera lingered on each frame in a way that conveyed the sentiment. This is what got my hopes up that they would stay truer to the source material with DYH.

I'm so glad they left in Hange's lines to Flochroach about not giving up. Helps show—once again—that they wanted to live

The choked way Levi said “Devote your heart” + Hange’s widened eye and soft gasp at his words. Though not tearing up like in the manga, the shot still looked lovely for the half second it lasted. He doesn't pause halfway through saying it though so this one I'm still wrestling with.

Of course, the last stand. Onscreen, Hange took out at least 16 colossals (including the ones we see trip and get trampled) and definitely more offscreen (when they cut away to show other characters) and for the last few, did it while in the most pain a human body can feel. 7/10 for combat, my ass. Idk about y’all but I can’t stop hearing Romi Park’s screams in my head. I knew it would be nauseating and brutal but dear God. At the same time I cannot put into words how proud I am of them. That's my commander 💜

Ok “like” is definitely not the right word for this but I had wondered when I first read 132 how Hange’s gas tank was so well-insulated that it didn’t ignite, and.. well I got my answer.

I’m thankful that they didn’t show a glimpse of Hange’s bloody, crushed remains the way you see in the og panel. That at least felt respectful to me. This is wishful thinking I know but the defined charred outline makes me choose hope they fell more off to the side from where the titans were walking so at least there was maybe still a body left to recover someday.

The afterlife scene, the kids all sobbing their hearts out, Levi holding his own hand in the aftermath trying to process what just happened, and Onyankopon confirming the plane’s significance all really were appropriately gut-wrenching.

I really recommend taking a little break between The Rumbling and Sinners. It definitely makes the shift in emotion less jarring and less

When I did that with my rewatch it helped with the flow of things.

Ok, now twist me up and call me a pretzel bc here there be some salt :|

I’ll try to leave out my og issues with the manga chapter itself (like how painfully obvious it was all just to make Armin commander and how unnecessary Hange dying was IN THE FIRST PLACE and IF it had to happen at all how it could have been done at the final boss skelepalooza showdown, etc.) and just focus on the episode.

Goes without saying but it bears repeating: pacing. 75% of my issues with the execution of DYH would be gone if they just slowed down a bit. Just let the weight of it sink in a little. That this moment —all shreds of shipping aside— is the end of the line for these two heroes who have been supporting each other for ten years while bearing the weight of the world on their shoulders. But Mappa completely reversed the timing of the sequence of events. In the manga we had a longer, more intimate farewell followed by a last stand that was so short even when you knew it was coming it left you reeling from how fast it was from start to finish. Whereas here they hurried it along to get to the “main event”. Hell, it flows better in gif sets than it does in the actual show.

To me, it felt like Hange’s demeanor didn’t really change from talking with the kids to speaking with Levi, making their false bravado seem like less of a front. I know their tone was meant to sound like they were keeping up appearances, but with how often Hange just gets reduced solely to being a titan freak the way they had Romi say the lines made it sound like actual excitement, especially with the way they drew Hange's facial expressions (more on that next)

Hange’s little smirk after the salute. I kinda get what they were trying to do here but to me it came off as very flippant and dismissive of Levi’s choice of words, especially since they all but got rid of their lips trembling and eye beginning to well up with tears. I wish we’d gotten the big fake smile and laugh because that would have shown better that Hange was overcompensating by trying to put their brave face back on after starting to lose their composure. Their fear is obvious in the manga but it just simply didn’t come through as well throughout this entire exchange.

Sooo Hange almost tears up when Pieck said their words inspired her yet minutes later when their Best Friend tries to say goodbye there’s nowhere near that kind of reaction? Sure, Jan

Levi’s face. Ok look. It’s not a lack of emotion on his part that bothers me. It’s that it’s an entirely different one to begin with. He looks bummed at first yes, but then that changes to what I’m guessing is supposed to be determination which comes off as anger or annoyance (kinda like what changed with his scene with Armin on the stairs). They removed what made this parting different from previous ones, which was the sense of open vulnerability and the dawning realization that now he’s going to have to let Hans go too. See it's not like they were in the middle of the battle just yet. This situation came on suddenly and unexpectedly; it wasn't "supposed" to happen. One second they were on track and the next Hange is being torn away by fate. And yes, the highlights play a part in that transition. Anyone who draws eyes knows the importance of placement and intensity and the major impact they have over the final expression. And when drawing a comic you certainly don’t take up valuable page space with three panels focusing on the hope draining out of someone’s eyes if it wasn’t supposed to be the focus. I mean for fuck's sake, even the Final Season!Nendoroid Levi got it right. Plus, if they could make a point of getting Eren's eyes right during the raid on Liberio they could have gotten it here.

When the camera cuts to the kids watching the titans fall the angle doesn’t let you see that Levi can’t bring himself to watch for more than just a second

NOT MAPPA’s FAULT but since I’m being whiny right now I’m going to add that while ACWNR is a mixed bag to begin with, WIT’s adaptation not including Levihan’s introduction saddens me bc Levi asking Hange to keep watching loses a bit of extra oomph.

Really it just comes down to the fact that there was nothing wrong with the original page. It wasn’t overdone or dragged out by any means but considering many other scenes got shot-for-shot depictions I don’t think we were asking for anything outrageous by wanting a faithful adaptation. The couple frames we got that were almost perfect were so freakin fast you barely had time to process them before it cut away.

I wanted to like it, I really did. Especially since MAPPA did so many things so incredibly well as a whole. My expectations weren’t high, and I did want to give it the benefit of the doubt. But when it came to DYH, it felt both watered down and disjointed, like a completely different scene.

But so it goes. At the end of the day, Hange still dies a horrifying death for plot convenience, and Levi is left behind to suffer once again. It was always going to hurt and I was never going to be ready for it, no matter how it was done.

#gahhhh i keep seeing posts that better verbalize what im trying to say #words are hard #tldr: basically i agree with what you kleinzoe kachuusa warm starlight murdergiraffe nenithil glassesandswords and mcxynth all said #now imma go listen to voices carry by lights and the world is ugly on repeat bc if i see 1 more ‘hange was suicidal’ take ill eat my hand #le me #replies #ramblings #rantings #snk #levihan #analysis

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washipink · 1 year

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The Rain Review (Finale)

If you’ve been with my blog for the past week or so, You’ll know I’ve been reading a childhood favorite webcomic of mine, Rain by Jocelyn Samara. And you’d probably be wondering what happened to my review of the comic Year-by-Year. The answer? I went on a road trip for a few days and couldn’t help but read the whole rest of the comic. So today I’m here to talk about my overall thoughts.

For the uninitiated, Rain is a slice-of-life webcomic that started in 2010. It’s about a transgender teenage girl of the same name navigating her senior year at a Catholic high school. There’s a LOT of romantic and gender-related drama. Friends are made and lost. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll see yourself in the characters somewhere along the line.

My experience with Rain prior to this project only goes up to about 2014. I started reading it in middle school on Smackjeeves.com. Y’all remember Smackjeeves? I miss it every day. Apparently it redirects to a shitty webtoon clone now. IDK where I’m gonna find peoples’ sprite comics produced in 2013 now.

Anyway, I bring this up to say that I had stopped keeping up with Rain even though she was a major part of me accepting who I was. When I found out that her story had come to a close, I had a real need to find out how.

This time, there won’t be a plot summary because this comic ran for 11 years and it takes me long enough to do just 1. That and, if I may spoil my final opinion, I really want you to give it a read for yourself.

ART

I want to get this one out of the way because it’s a very common critique that even I hold to some extent. The art in Rain is a clear indicator of the era its artist hails from. In 2010, anime and manga had just hit the American mainstream. Everyone was reading those “How to Draw Anime” books and took a lot of notes from them. To showcase, here’s a page from Chapter 1, the first color page in fact.

This page is actually one of the busier pages in terms of art. Jocelyn doesn’t usually do background details much, if at all. Usually, backgrounds are depicted as solid colors that are associated with specific locations. Grey for the apartment, sky blue for outside, light green for school, etc. But the way Rain is drawn here bears a striking resemblance to the styles a LOT of people were using at the time.

While Jocelyn’s style stays rooted in, shall we say, American who got really into anime, her techniques evolve over time. Especially in terms of displaying what’s going on with limited background detail.

As an example, I really enjoy this scene. Rain and Emily are, in universe, speaking over the phone right now. But neither of them are holding their phones to their ears. They’re looking at each other as if they’re in the same room. Jocelyn uses a gradient background to signify that the two of them are NOT in the same room, but as they get closer during their conversation, they get physically closer in the panel as well.

This page is taken from 2014, about 4 years into the comic’s run. You can see that Jocelyn’s brush choices have changed. Everything is far smoother than it was toward the start. While the overall style is as simplistic as year 1, her technique has changed a lot.

That comfort with her work only continues to grow. Below is a panel from a bonus page that released after the comic’s conclusion. The line work is the cleanest its ever been.

STORY AND CHARACTERS

Now this right here is the REAL meat of the comic. Regardless of any feelings I had on the art, the characters really endeared me. And this being a slice-of-life teen drama, they had plenty of time to learn, grow, and clash against one another.

The majority of the conflict in Rain comes from people being set in their ways. Rain’s whole gaggle of queer friends is hiding from the school’s principal, who refuses to acknowledge that maybe there’s nothing wrong with being a little gay. One of the most compelling ongoing threads in the comic centers around Rain’s brother and sister trying to understand and accept her. These personal stakes were a really enjoyable break from the kind of thing I usually read. In Rain, there is no world to be saved or villain to defeat, but there IS a prom to go to. Sometimes, that’s all you need to tell a good story.

The comic has this small-town vibe I care for a lot. Sometimes, a character will exit another’s life and you’ll never expect to see them again. Then they’ll end up dating Rain’s aunt or something. Word spreads fast in Centerville. People are gossipy. Sometimes, you tell someone something and it reaches ears you didn’t want to hear it. That gossip is what makes things so dangerous for Rain. If the wrong person finds her out, then EVERYONE finds her out. The same goes for all her friends.

There’s all kinds of flavor of queer in this comic in a way that mirrors real life friend groups. We have a tendency to find each other like that.

With all kinds of queers being hormonal teens, things get messy FAST. There’s a lot of things that happen in this comic that I feel like baby gays need to see. There’s a point where a gay boy and a trans girl start going out because... this just happens sometimes. Nobody is “the villain” in this scenario. They both just tried to explore themselves and found mixed results.

That’s one of the big themes of Rain. Self-exploration. Every chapter, we’re learning more about these characters as they learn more about themselves. Nobody stays in the same headspace for too long. They’re constantly evolving.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Rain is ABSOLUTELY worth the read. It’s actually a really easy read. I was able to finish it in about 2 weeks, so I’m sure it won’t take up too much of your time. But, it’s a really heartwarming story that I’m sure a lot of us can relate to. Thanks for going on this journey with me. And be safe, Rain Beaus.

#Amy's Rain Review #Rain webcomic #Rain LGBT #Rain by Jocelyn Samara #Jocelyn Samara #lgbt webcomics

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tsuchinokoroyale · 1 year

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you mentioned you've been working on a webcomic, can you tell us what it's about? or is it still hush hush under wraps in development NDA ?

Haha, it’s nothing so secretive. I won’t go into it too much bc as much as I love oversharing, I feel like sharing too much of a story impacts how much I want to work at making it cuz it already feels like it’s out there. Luckily the premise is super generic so I don’t mind sharing that 🥳

My 100% unabashed self insert protagonist (( we have the same birthday I’m not subtle about it )) is living a boring, monotonous, and lonely life. This all changes when he ends up on a bus with a charming greek statue of a man and they both get pulled into a beautiful dream world together. It’s a double edged sword, however, because as lovely as the dreams may be, they can’t wake up unless they fulfill the wish that exists at the core of the dream.

It’s an episodic puzzle box mystery/dramedy as the two of them get pulled into various situations. Contrary to the sound of the premise and the self insert OC it’s not actually a story about personal wish fulfillment, but about learning the cost of fulfilling other peoples wishes above your own. I have like 50% of the story written, but translating it to comic format AND THEN actually drawing it is such a slow process 😮‍💨

It’s also my first serious foray into art and it DEFINITELY shows but I’m aiming for completion over perfection. Its very much about me learning to meet myself where I am as well as me engaging with myself creatively as well as me giving myself something to do to distract myself from The Horrors™ of unemployment.

I think I want to finish the first 4 chapters before I post ANYTHING since that’s when the story really starts to start (( king of pacing what can I say 🤭 )) and given the fact that I’ve been working on this comic every waking second for the past 3 weeks and have finished… a third of the first chapter, it’ll be a few months til anyone sees anything, especially if I land a job between now and then 😮‍💨

Until then you can have my favorite panel that I’ve drawn so far, a text message notification from our MC’s town’s Bus Schedule App:

#asked and answered babey!#I’ll probably set up a second account for posting it but again that’s a problem for FAR into the future

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findingyourrootscomic · 2 years

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do you have any tips for writing/making/maintaining a nuzlocke comic? i've always wanted to work on a complete run but it can be hard to do so, how do you update so consistently? btw i love your comic, it's an imaginative take on the hoenn games' storyline, the characters' designs are lovable and unique and the main team has great dynamics with each other!

I've got a few tips for this. This lil recipe is basically the secret to how I'm able to upload so often. (Also, thank you so much for the compliments aaaah!)

Simple art. Simple art, simple art, simple art. Do not overcomplicate it, don't draw in more details than you need to, don't use your comic art to try to one-up other artists. Your comic art should be good enough to not detract from the quality of the storytelling, and that's it. That should be as far as you go in a comic. Because FYR's art so so simple, I'm able to complete pages usually in about 2 hours of time. It's extremely clutch for getting a big backlog, it'll save your arm strength and help prevent injuries, and going faster tends to help me stay mentally motivated as well.

Build good habits. I habitually do some drawing every morning after breakfast. I'm a morning person so I have a lot of energy in the mornings, so it's a good time to sit down and try to crank out a page or two. Making comic art part of your regular routine is so important when you've got hundreds of pages to draw. You don't want it to be something you just get around to whenever you feel like it or have some extra energy. If you wanna upload consistently, like once a week or more, you've gotta keep drawing. And it's a lot better to steadily churn out pages on the regular as opposed to blasting through a bunch when you've got the energy and then cyclically burning yourself out.

Love your story. Love the story you're telling with your comic. Love your story so much your heart bleeds for it. Love your story so much you couldn't imagine not finishing it. When you do a comic, you wanna choose the project that is gonna draw the most passion, the most FIRE out of you. Trying to draw a comic for a story you're only lukewarm on is the reason most comic artists don't make it past chapter one. Love your story so fucking much that it grabs you by the collar and DEMANDS to be drawn. Draw the story that you couldn't possibly leave this earth without having brought into fruition. Love your work and it will breed loyalty for your work. Love everything you do. Cheer yourself on. Celebrate every panel, every page. They are all treasures. Love, love, love is the key to comicking.

#fyr ask #fyr ama

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iamthecomet · 8 months

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Hoot once again!

I‘m really glad to hear this. Our little ritual means a lot to me <3

I am so sorry for her, but very glad that she figured it out now. Growing up undiagnosed can be (and is most of the time) very traumatic

While I’m a bit younger, I still spent my entire childhood and half of my youth (I’m gonna pretend it has been only half of it so far cause whatever the fuck I had/have is most definitely not a joyful youth). So while I can‘t fully relate, I still kind of get it and can at least imagine how it must me for her

It‘s pretty hard to get an autism diagnosis, because it cannot be done by a regular psychiatrist (unlike ADHD for example, which is why I at least have that diagnosis already). In my area there is only one place where you can get a diagnosis and the waiting list is LONG (not the worst I‘ve seen so far but at least half a year, which is terrible if you need to get help as quickly as possible but you need a diagnosis to get any kind of help). But I’m working on it

Thank youuuu

I planned chapter 2 out yesterday

It ended up to be “only” 5 pages, but it has 39 panels (chapter 1 has 24 panels)

So I think I’ll still get more of the story across even though it seems to be one page shorter

I will most likely start working on it in November

Your day sounds pretty nice!

Today, I was really stressed and worried about something and I did it okay-ish, but I can‘t change shit anymore now anyways so I’ll have to stop worrying and just wait and see

I also had a doctors appointment to get blood drawn and tested (cause due to the meds I take I’m apparently at a higher risk of malnutrition/lack of some stuff) and it was literally the most pleasant doctors appointment I’ve ever had.

I was a too early (as always) and had to wait outside a bit because they were still on lunch break but I was let inside a few minutes earlier anyways and so I was alone in the waiting area. And the nurse was incredibly kind and nice (she had me lay down for it because she didn’t want to risk that I could pass out and then she let me take my time to get back up again). It was overall incredibly nice and I was done not even 15 minutes after my appointment (so none of that annoying waiting time that usually comes with doctors appointments)

I also wanted to mention this in the past days already but I somehow didn‘t haha:

So I saw Someone do OC-tober and I absolutely LOVED the idea! (I’m one of these people that just never really draws their OCs lmao)

So I put together a prompt list for myself and I’m really excited about it ^^

(I‘m also planning on participating in Ghosttober with my writing which is why I’m probably going to be a little stressed all throughout October which is why I’ll most likely start working on chapter 2 in November)

I once again truly hope that you had a pleasant day! ♥️

~ @owlishanon

I like our little ritual too! ♥ When my friend got her diagnosis she couldn't get it from a regular psychiatrist either. She also got her ADHD diagnosis a couple years earlier because that was much easier. Autism she had to take a handful of tests over a period of time to actually get the diagnosis. But she was 98% sure what it would be before she got it. So I guess it's a pain in the ass no matter where you try to get it. Hoping that you are able to get through that process soon and get the help that you need. I'm glad your doctor's appointment went well and was easy. That's such a rare thing. And that you had a nurse who was really accommodating and understood what you needed. I was wondering why you said you would work on chapter two in November, until I got to the end of your ask. There are A LOT of things going on in October. And it will be kind of nice to take a pause on working so hard on that and doing some other stuff. I'm really excited for kinktober/ghostober whatever we're calling it. I'm trying to get the first week written and ready this week so that it's less likely that I fall behind. We'll see how that goes. Day one is written and ready to go--so that's something at least. And OC-tober sounds SO cool. I'm excited to see what you end up doing with that. I'm sure that will be a lot of fun too!

#comet comments #comet's anons #owlish

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subqtaneoussmut · 1 year

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The Tea Girl's Gambit, Chapter Four

Mila opened the door to her room and was immediately confronted by a smooth expanse of skin rippling with well-defined muscle. Her gaze was immediately drawn to sunlit naked buttocks, with a fascinating play of taut lines that had her eyes skimming hips and thighs. After a wonderful, long moment Mila remembered to look up and found Roxa looking over her shoulder with a little smirk of mischievous—was that glee?

Mila blushed but didn’t look away. “Good morning.��

“Good morning!” Roxa smiled at her. “Did you sleep well?”

Mila shrugged and moved to her desk. “Not especially. You?”

“Yeah. I had...some dreams. Hey, want to go to the dining hall together before class?”

Mila felt a rush of real gratitude. She fought to keep it out of her voice. “Yes, thank you.”

There. She’d spoken in a perfectly neutral, casual tone that did not betray her relief. A few days ago, some boy in a beret had loudly jeered at her from across the crowded dining hall, prompting everyone around to stare, and she hadn’t relished being caught at the center of so many unfriendly gazes, alone.

Roxa donned some clothes, finally. Mila carefully slung her bookbag over her shoulder and turned to find Roxa holding the door open for her, which sent a flush of pleasant warmth through her chest despite her best efforts to not be charmed. They joined the morning rush of girls going to class. Soon enough the rich, glossy wood-paneled hallways of Stormcroft House gave way to the wide, stone honeycombed passages of older buildings and they began to hear hoots and catcalls as more and more male students joined the fray.

Harmine University had only begun admitting girls a decade ago, and Stormcroft and Fairhollow were the newly-created Houses that were intended for them. Of the other twelve Houses, the youngest and smallest was five times older and three times the size. The University was the quintessential old boys club, older and richer than most nations.

The cold stare of a young man wearing the gold tassels of a Prefect made Mila glad for the presence of her tall roommate beside her as the crowd carried them to a massive pair of oak doors and spilled out into a sunlit courtyard.

As they crossed the flagstones to the other side, where broad, shallow steps led up to the dining hall, Mila noticed something familiar about one of the students perched there. And yet, she didn’t recognize them...at all?

But there was something...the oversize, shapeless garment swathed around their hunched frame, their slender limbs emerging from the bulky pullover—it almost made them look like a storm-ruffled raven, except for the way they were curled in around their center, which reminded Mila of a shyer, less swaggering animal. A newly-hatched petrel chick, perhaps.

As Mila drew closer she saw the person sigh and turn their face up, eyes closed, as if scenting the wind. She scanned their pale, heart-shaped face—well, as much of their face as she could see under that mess of dark curls—

Then Mila realized what was familiar about this person and her eyes widened. The way they were holding themselves struck a deep chord in her own body. They were holding themselves so small and cramped—like someone trying to fold their body into negative space, to actual escape this dimension and slide sideways into another one, to disappear entirely.

Mila breathed in sharply. She was remembering—years and years and thousands of miles ago, and just a small taste—the anxiety of her days before she’d changed her own body. The tea had helped, of course, but if that medicine even existed here it must be deep, deep underground. Growing up here must have been far, far worse—impossibly bleak. The Imperial Democracy tolerated no witches, no herbalists, and certainly no medical sorcerers outside of its own licensed and tightly regulated corps of social hygienists and eugenicists.

They would walk right past this person in only a moment. Thoughts darted through Mila’s head like tiny minnows in a tide-rock pool. She could stop and say something—say what, exactly? ‘Hello, d’you ever think you might be a girl, actually?’—but what conceivable reason would she give to Roxa for why her guarded, introvert roommate had suddenly struck up a conversation with a random boy-looking student on their way to breakfast?

Mila was acutely aware of how many assumptions she was making, based on not-very-much. Literally just a hunch, actually. There were hundreds of other possible reasons someone would instinctively shrink themselves down. This made no sense, and yet here she was, waiting for this stranger’s eyes to open, searching for something, though she couldn’t say what.

They would be past in five steps.

Four steps. She knew her face was too open, too readable. Mila fought to shut it again. It would be smart to look away, to stare straight ahead.

Three. She was too damn curious. She couldn’t look away.

Their eyes opened—mossy, tawny, softer than she could ever have expected or believed was possible in this place of hard, nationalist might and cruel pride. For a split second Mila felt as if an ache of understanding flowed between them. Then they looked stricken, clearly not expecting to find her own gaze boring back at them, and looked away, blushing.

Mila herself didn’t blink or look away. She was used to the disconcerting effect that her gaze could have on people. She only wished they would look back up so she could find out if they really were—Ah! The stranger glanced back up, shyly, and Mila drank in this eye contact like clear well water.

And then, from one step to the next, Mila was past them, plunging out of the brisk sunlight into the crowded press of the dining hall. She could tell Roxa was looking at her, curious.

Mila mastered her face, closing it safely behind a neutral expression, before she let herself look over at her roommate. Questions would come later but for now, she needed to change the subject.

“Would you like to eat inside or outside?”

this story is posted up to chapter, like, twenty two or three on scribble hub!

#tumblr writers #writers on tumblr #trans writers #writing #queer #transgender #writerblr #lgbtq #trans #queer fiction #queer romance #queer fantasy #queer smut #mtf trans

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bugmangaka · 2 years

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Kingdoms of Seasons Book Print in Progress!!

Mae and the Kingdoms of Seasons is getting its first book! It’s going to be a different start than originally planned! Instead of printing the main story or the zine first, I’ve decided to print the Draft Comic!

If you do not know what I’m referring to, you may have seen me post pieces of it here under the tag #panel dump! They were individual panels drawn in pencil, for example, these:

(Pictured, 5 separate panels from the Draft Comic)

This comic has over 2500 panels and is made up of 9 chapters!! As well as having a few bonus comic strips. I worked on this for around 6 months, adding to it every day and sending the updates to my friends. I put bits of it here, and larger chunks on DeviantArt, but I’ve never fully released it.

What’s interesting is that basically the entirety of Kingdoms of Seasons as it is today is thanks to this comic! When I first started it, the series was planned to have just the main story and a short post-story. Clearly that’s not the case anymore! This comic was what made me decide to expand on the world so much.

Another interesting thing is that when I started making this, it wasn’t planned to be so large at all. I just was drawing for the sake of drawing, and kept going. The first chapter was just to show my friend a scene I had planned. Then the second was to continue it. And the third. By the time I started the fourth chapter, I had started writing scripts. By chapter 5, I had the entire arc planned out. Because of this, chapters 1-4 are admittedly pretty rusty, but it shows how much everything has grown! I stopped this project around the end of chapter 6, but I am finishing it now!

In terms of what the comic is about, it starts one year after the end of the main story of Kingdoms of Seasons. The comic covers Mae and Joel having their kids, Dolly starting her business, and Jeremiah and Noble meeting! This comic is the initial version of this story. In the future when the manga-styled books are in production, this story will come up again fully revised. This book shows where Kingdoms of Seasons first started and how it has grown over the past three years!

As for the print!

I have scanned each page the Draft Comic was drawn on, and am digitally extracting each panel and am formatting them as comic pages! They have been cleaned up, and all text is redone digitally. Pages are colored in monotone pallets that change depending on the tone and lighting of the scene. Earlier scenes will include author comments on revisions. Here is my current design for what a page would look like!

(Pictured: The first page of Chapter 1)

The printed book is estimated to have at least 350 pages! It will be printed as a hardcover with custom endpapers, and have an ISBN number (meaning it will be officially published!)

In order to realize this project, I will be hosting a kickstarter once the comic is complete.

I will post progress updates as I continue working on this! I will post the first interest check sometime soon :)

#OC #Mae and the Kingdoms of Seasons #Draft Comic Print #When an official title is picked out I will change the tags!

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zipwriting · 3 months

Text

I do want to have Ozymanzous be a silent comic to sell the book. Using random splash panels and longer sequences (than usual) of charades (charades-type) and color coded thoughtbubbles (one color for imagined futures, one for remembered pasts) where the thoughtbubbles are visual. But then like. Part of the story is just debate vs argument and it's just about Kouragra is like "Latin doth be kind of Italian right" and Enalore is like "you're adorable. did you just call our grandpa [grandpa] lord god in heaven [our father]?" because deep down I'm just like Tolkein. so there's just gonna be random splash pages of grandpa as god. no but listen once you get used to it. it will work

(ID: David Byrne's funny album cover for uh-oh, of a painting of angels singing to a throne with a clipart dog on it. But the dog is Christopher Eccleston. A silouette of a furry is saying it. Enalore is making a judgemental face saying two conjoined speech bubbles, end ID.) the silouette is Kouragra of course

this but different

and as it goes there will be my official funny captions

(ID: The judgmental Enalore saying uh oh, is right." end ID)

And then once the thing is finished (cross your fingers knock on wood) posting the dialogues like a versoin of the comic with the dialogues probably chapter by chapter for like 2 weeks. during christmas time.

but yeah the splash pannels will also not make sense, ever.

I promise. You'll see. using different shapes of speech bubbles and using colors and monochromes and stuff.

It would be like this

(ID: Editted bits of Dungeon Meshi, of Chilchalk pointing at a wall saying something. Then the wall with a shadow on it. Then Chilchalk feeling along the wall for two panels (very poorly drawn) with "it's around here, I think" written down but not in a speech bubble, an aside. They're standing touching their face with one hand across their chest, thinking of Laios getting caught in a bear trap, Marcille hung by the ankle in a snare, and Senshi's helmet floating above a pit. They're making a serious face. The party is walking down a slope singing, with anction lines highlighting that there is nothing ahead. Then Marcille is shouting something tentatively waving her staff. Her same face again waving her staff, but bigger. Laios hand-waving her judgementally. Tiny Chilchalk face with a sweat drop, end ID.)

and then the funny captions is like this

(ID: The same page where Chilchalk is saying "Is it a square? A triangle? It's around here somewhere. Yeah it's a "round." I think we would get along better if you learned a lesson." Marcille exclaiming "I'm good at magic." and Laios saying "Rogues have better magic in 5e." end ID.)

it sounds like real time fan dub except it's not real time so it should be funnier but it's not that important.

and then finally you get

(ID: The same editted page with the real translations. chilchalk saying "How about using the hidden path? There's... [that's my poor editting] It's around here I think. There's a lot of traps but few monsters." Marcille says "I could use my trap removal magic and..." And Laios says "It would be fast to have Chilchack do it." end id)

which is a longer more tedious version of the original, whcih is 2 pannels on a 7 pannel page

(ID: Chilchalk saying "How about using the hidden path? It's around here I think." Pointing at the wall, which has some moss growing on it. "There's lots of traps but few monsters." In the next pannel, Marcille and Laios do their exchange, where he's walking away from her in the same pannel, end ID.)

this is how to do filler guys. this is it. 2 pannels to one page. Obviously it's bad but I could have drawn the trap imaginings in the gutters and moved the speech bubbles around AND I should have drawn pannels around the bottom part. And obviously you'd be redrawing it. I'm not trying to disrepect Ryoko Kui by, like, having there be 2 marcille's as if she wasn't communicating it well enough by having it be just once her waving it behind his head. Us watching his hand gesture will see her wand. But the thing is, comics ARE about drawings and text and I think we relay a lot on text as an audience. and you can see she's talking about her magic, which humans have represented this mysterious power in wands and staves. but it has to be more charades-y or your eyes will start to glaze over.

#''what is the best medium for your story'' a riddle or maybe a quadratic equation

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littleredwing89 · 3 years

Text

AGENT OF CHAOS - PART THREE

Jason Todd x Reader

Summary: Everything flew by him in a blur as he sped through the streets of Gotham. His foot slammed down harder on the accelerator desperate to get there faster. Every second counted. He knew all too well what The Joker was like. The way his face slipped as you defied him, terrified Jason. He’d seen that look right before receiving a crowbar to the face.

Warnings – Language. Kidnapping. Stalking. Mild Violence. Angst. Hurt.

Word Count: 4,870

A/N: This is the final chapter everyone, sorry for the little delay, I was working on a few of the actions scenes to ensure they were good. I really hope you all like this xoxo

~~~

It had been almost a month. Every lead turned into a dead end. Nothing. Much like the Joker himself, no one knew a thing. The whole thing was tearing Jason apart. He’d barely slept. He’d maybe had 3 hours per night. If that, and he was convinced the only reason he got sleep was because Bruce had slipped him something in his coffee.

The fourth cassette tape came with a dead yellow rose and a rotten apple. He pushed play on the recorder and swallowed thickly as the grainy camera zoomed in on your face. You looked pale. Your cheeks looked hollow and your once colourful eyes looked gaunt. Haunted.

“Well Jason, I’m a man of my word...I’ve been looking after her so good”, Joker laughed hysterically and smoothed his hand down your cheek, smacking it lightly. The slap caused you to jolt in the chair. A sharp gasp flew out of your chapped lips.

Jason felt Bruce’s hand squeeze his shoulder reassuringly. The notion sent a brief wave of calm through Jason. Maybe this was how Bruce felt all those years ago...when he received similar tape of ..of himself. Jason turned back to the screen and focused his eyes. Searching for a clue. Anything. Something to bring you back to him.

“She’s been such a good little princess bird boy...she’s done everything I asked...and more”, Joker whistled happily as he tapped your nose with a wicked smile. Jason felt his heart stop and looked directly into your eyes through the screen. Good he wanted to hold you in his arms and never let you go.

The tape skipped and replayed the same thing back, “...and more”. It skipped again, “...and more”. Jason growled and the tape paused before going completely black.

His fist smashed into the computer keyboard, pieces of black plastic scattering across the desk. Jason released a loud sobbing noise and sank to the cold stone floor of the bat cave. His eyes scrunched shut tightly, imagining you were in front of him. Giving him that silly smile you always did when you first woke up. It was one of his favourite smiles. You had hundreds of different types of smiles. The one you gave him when he hugged you randomly. The one you’d give him when he told you a stupid joke. The one you’d show him when you were both standing down one of the grocery aisles for no reason at all.

“Jason...son - we will find her - I promise you”, Bruce’s deep voice shattered Jason’s illusion of you in his mind.

“It’s been so long...what if-”, Jason ran a hand over his face. The stubble was longer, causing him to itch.

“Don’t”, Bruce warned, “don’t think like that. We will find her”.

~~~

The last cassette tape Jason received was covered in a dark, red sticky substance. Jason knew what it was but he didn’t know if it was yours. Before Jason could even think about playing it, Bruce had prized it from his fingers.

“Jason we need to analyse the blood, it might give us a clue”, his voice was stable and deep. He attempted to reassure Jason with a firm grip to the shoulder but it did nothing. Jason felt empty without you.

“We need to watch-”, Jason started but was interrupted by Bruce.

“No, I’ll watch it. You need to get some sleep, let me do this Jason. Please”, Bruce pleaded desperately, “You haven’t slept in over 48 hours”.

Jason laughed but it was hollow and sharp, “You really think I can sleep knowing she’s stuck with that fucking psycho?!”.

Bruce sighed and ran a hand over his face, “Jason I know you want to get Y/N back”, he placed the cassette onto a high tech scanning machine, it bleeped repeatedly as it scanned over the material, “But we all need to be working together and that means recharging our batteries”.

Jason scoffed and pushed past Bruce looking over the computer scanner typing something into the system, “So you’re telling me you went and had an eight hour sleep when Joker caught me?”.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, “Jason”.

“JUST STOP!!”, Jason's voice cracked as he shouted and for a moment, he sounded like the broken man in the abandoned shopping mall that long Halloween night many years ago.

“I-I need to do this Bruce. I-I have to, for Y/N”, his voice was scratchy and raw.

Bruce simply nodded and turned around. He extracted the cassette from the blood stained cloth and pushed it into the player to the right. Bruce took a secondary glance to Jason, giving him one last option but Jason just stared at the screen, waiting to see what the tape would show.

The second the tape played, the batcave was filled with your screams. They sounded broken and dry. Jason’s heart shattered. The shards stabbing him painfully. As you came into view on the camera, your long h/c hair was matted and stuck to your face. Blood staining it a deep red.

The Joker came into the view of the camera and smiled wide, his teeth showing.

“Jason, I see why you’re so attached to this woman, she’s very fiery...her spirit is impenetrable”.

A flicker of evil flew through his eyes at that word and a sick smile slid onto his lips, “but that’s fine. I’m sure I can find more penetrable spots”.

You tug harshly at your binds as he turned and came closer to you, a small blade held in his gloves hand.

“Hold still princess or I might accidentally cut an important part of you...or slit something”.

The blade cut the straps of your top, and the material fluttered down uselessly to the floor, exposing your padded black bra. The Joker whistled appreciatively and winked back at the camera.

“I say Jason...maybe I’m missing out not having a significant other...especially when they’re as beautiful as this”.

Jason had edged so close to the screen Bruce had to pull him back. Tears were running hotly down his cheeks and he swore he tasted blood from biting down on his bottom lip.

Your voice echoed through the empty warehouse room and through the camera speakers, “GO FUCK YOURSELF”.

The Joker smirked down at you and the blade was pressed against the skin of your neck.

“You should watch your manners, princesses don’t speak like that”.

You gulped and looked into his soulless eyes and laughed. It almost sounded as maniacal as his.

“I’m not your fucking princess”.

You spat at his face. Your spit mingled with blood from the earlier smack around the face.

“He’ll come for me...I know he will. And when he does, it’ll be all over for you”.

Something snapped and you saw his eyes darken. His face twisted and the scowl was demonic.

“You filthy fucking bitch!”, he roared and dropped the knife to wipe his face.

Joker turned to the camera and glowered, “I hope you’re watching Jason whilst I teach this rotten little whore some manners!”.

The first blow caused you to cry out in agony. It was harsh and fast. The sound to Jason was ear splitting. The second hit was drawn out and heavy. Designed to bruise. The third was sharp and felt like hundreds of tiny needles piercing your skin. The Joker was laughing wildly all the way through it. Never ceasing his treatment. As he swung his arm back for the fourth hit, the camera jarred and caught a window. Streams of light shone through. Jason could just about make out a sign. It was blurry.

“REWIND AND PAUSE IT BRUCE! There!!!”, he called and waited for Bruce to zoom in.

“Can you clear up that image...that looks like a road sign...”.

Bruce skipped the tape back several seconds, muting the sounds on the screen. The sounds of you getting smacked in the face shaking him to his core.

“THERE!!! LOOK!! Can you see?!”, Jason pressed his face as close as possible to the screen as Bruce paused it, the image flickered but the road sign was obvious.

ACE CHEMICALS.

Before Bruce could even react, Jason had launched himself across the cave, guns strapped to his thighs.

“Jason!”.

Jason ignored Bruce and grabbed his helmet, securing it into place whilst dropping extra magazine clips into his inner jacket pockets.

“Jason, we can’t just go in there all guns blazing. That’s what he’ll want! We have to think about this”, Bruce reasoned and moved into his path.

Huffing in annoyance, Jason’s modulator covered it easily, “I’m going to get her whether you come with me or not”.

Bruce looked stunned for a split second before softening his voice, “You’re letting your emotions get the better of you - they’re clouding your judgment Jason”.

He knew he was right, deep down. But the pressure. The torture you must have endured. Everything. It weighed down on Jason and began to suffocate him slowly. The more time he wasted, the worse it was going to be. He couldn’t do it.

“Let me get into my suit and we’ll tackle this together”.

Nodding briefly, Jason watched Bruce make his way across to the darkened corner of the cave where his suit was behind a glass panel. As Bruce pressed his palm into the wall, the biometric scanner bleeped. The case slid open slowly and Bruce began to take out the suit piece by piece. The batarangs refracted the light they caught from the computer screens.

Fuck. It was taking too long, these precious seconds. He could be half way there by now. His bike was too far away, in the garage at the front of the manor. He side eyed the batmobile and swallowed thickly.

“Fuck it”.

Taking the keys from the secret sliding panel on the desk, Jason leapt into the batmobile before starting the engine and speeding out of the cave. He swore he heard Bruce shouting, he was certain he heard several curse words too. Unlike Bruce. But it was taking too long. He couldn’t wait. He couldn’t leave you. You needed him. You couldn’t wait any longer.

~~~

Everything flew by him in a blur as he sped through the streets of Gotham. His foot slammed down harder on the accelerator desperate to get there faster. Every second counted. He knew all too well what The Joker was like. The way his face slipped as you defied him, terrified Jason. He’d seen that look right before receiving a crowbar to the face.

“Come on...come on!!”, Jason cursed to himself, hitting the steering wheel in fury. All the money Bruce had and it wouldn’t go any faster? He took a sharp turn heading towards the abandoned warehouse behind ACE Chemicals. He was so close. So much closer to reaching you. He’d deal with Bruce later. He couldn’t have waited any longer. Bruce would just have to get over him ‘borrowing’ the batmobile.

Swerving another corner and narrowly dodging the underpass columns, he pulled up in front of the derelict building. Almost all of the windows were smashed and hued green with mould. Maybe some of the toxins spewed from the factory had helped taint the glass further.

Grabbing both of his pistols, Jason left the car and headed towards the building fire escape. He could hear voices chattering.

“Joker said to keep an eye out for Batman”.

A goon; Jason noted peering around the brick wall spotting two of them. He noticed the metal railings above them creaking slightly in the strong winds.

“It’s been over a month now and there’s been no sign of any of the Bat freaks, it’s fine, let’s go grab a beer. He won’t even notice”, a second one encouraged the other smirking.

“You really want to cross him? He’s fucking nuts. I’m surprised the girl has even lasted this long with him, you know what he’s like”.

Jason’s fist tightened around one of his guns at the mention of you. It had to be you. Silently firing his grapple gun, he flew up the side of the building and made his way towards the goons.

“Trust me”, the first one spoke again, “He won’t even realise we’re gone, plus we might find some chicks to-”.

Perching on the railings above them, Jason leapt down cracking the base of his pistols onto one of their heads.

“Pleasure to meet you both”, Jason kicked out at the second goon hearing the sick crack of his ankle snapping.

Spinning on his heel, Jason grabbed the other goon and threw him face first into the brick wall knocking him unconscious immediately before turning back to the other man on the floor whimpering in pain.

“Where is she?”, Jason’s voice was strained even with the modulator protecting him.

The man refused to answer, dragging himself away from Jason with his hands, mud covering his palms.

Taking a large step, Jason reached the man on the floor and purposely stood onto his swollen ankle before aiming the cocked pistol towards his skull.

“I won’t ask again, where is she?”.

The screech from the man was deafening as Jason applied a hefty amount of pressure to his fractured bone.

“Basement!! She’s in the basement!! Please!!”, he begged as his eyes flickered nervously to the gun.

Jason rolled his shoulders before smashing the hilt of his pistol into his skull knocking him out cold. He turned back towards the fire escape and grappled back up to the roof. He’d have to make his way through the building to get to the basement. To you. And if he knew Joker, he wouldn’t have made it that easy. The two idiots on the front door were a sick joke. Tormenting Jason. Getting you back wouldn’t be an easy task.

~~~

Silently dropping through the window on top of the building, Jason landed onto one of the rusty steel girders. It was dark but his helmet adjusted the night vision so he could see clearly. Several goons patrolling an old foreman’s office in the centre. You had to be in there. He needed to take these idiots out quietly before getting to you.

Swinging across to the next rafter, Jason looked down at the first unsuspecting moron. With the stealth of a panther, he landed silently behind the goon before wrapping his arm around his meaty neck. He struggled against the iron grip of Jason’s forearm but the pressure only intensified the more he thrashed. Eventually the squirming stopped and the goon fell limp in his arms. Jason dragged him across to a darkened corner and dumped him behind some barrels.

As he grappled back up to roof beams, he looked down across at the two henchmen digging out a packet of cigarettes. The idiots had left their guns resting against the far wall. Jason had to chuckle to himself, Joker really was hiring morons. Weren’t these guys supposed to be protection?

Jason creeped across the rafters towards the two men and grabbed both of his pistols. He had to be silent. He couldn’t alert Joker to his presence.

“This is my last smoke”, one complained bitterly as the cigarette perched between his thin lips.

“I’ll get the next packet, quit your whining”, the second growled and patted his jacket for a lighter, “Fuck, where did I put my lighter?”.

“You’re a fucking moron. You asked to come for a smoke and you don’t even have a light!!”.

Now was his chance. Jason landed between them both, his boots thudding as he hit the concrete floor, “You know, smoking is bad for your health”. Before either of the goons could react, Jason lifted his elbow into the larger man's throat before smashing his pistol into the other man's temple, causing him to drop onto his knees. He slipped his guns back into his holsters quickly before turning to the other goon. He dodged the larger man’s grapple before twisting with ease and kicking out his kneecap. The man gasped but the elbow to his throat had killed off his voice.

Jason threw a heavy right hook into the larger man's nose and watched the blood trickle down his face. This seemed to only infuriate him more and he launched himself towards Jason viciously. Gripping both of his arms, Jason flipped the man over his body and slammed him into the floor hard before hammering punch after punch to his face, knocking him unconscious.

He turned quickly to the other man who was scrambling on his knees for the gun resting against the far wall.

“Sorry bud, but that can’t happen”, Jason grunted and landed a heavy kick to the goons stomach. The man yelped but it was quickly cut off by Jason as he slammed his boot into his face. He dropped onto the floor instantly.

Jason panted heavily and looked around the room, his helmet advising him of one more goon loitering around the door of the office. Looking down at the floor he noticed the floor grates wrapped around the room and more importantly under the henchmen’s feet. Perfect.

He lifted one of the grate coverings quietly and slipped under the flooring. He crouched down and edged around the room. The last goon was much larger and bulkier, with a machine gun strapped around his wide chest.

This goon seemed smarter than the others. Looking around and even checking up in the rafters. He grunted and pressed a button on his jacket, “No boss, still no sign of them...nothing Sir”.

The voice that patched through sent a chill down Jason’s spine. It was a tone that would be forever cemented in his mind, a reminder of his own torment.

“If you get ANY inclination the bat or any of his costumed freaks are in the building, you tell me immediately”.

“Yes boss”.

The static of the radio crackled before cutting off completely. Jason cursed mentally. This had to be precise. Perfection. He had to disable the henchman’s radio unit. Padding over his jacket he searched for the disrupter shooter he had. It wasn’t there. Fuck. He’d fucked up in his rush and left it behind. Fuck. Bruce was right. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Then he heard it. A soft ping from above him. He knew that sound. Jason looked up from the grate and spotted Nightwing hidden in the shadows with his own disrupter. Pointed directly at the goon’s radio system.

“Thought you might need a hand”, Dick patched into Jason’s com line.

Jason growled under his breath, “Thanks”.

“Shall we take this moron out together?”.

“Yes”, Jason muttered before switching his com off and inched closer to the goon.

The second Nightwing flew down from the roof beams, Jason jumped out of the floor grate and kicked out the back of the goons knees. He cursed loudly before Nightwing’s foot landed in his face.

Jason swore he saw a tooth fly out of his mouth along with a glob of blood. He aimed several hard punches to the side of the henchman’s head whilst Nightwing disabled his gun and radio with a graceful poise.

“All this for the girl? She’s nothing but a shell”, the goon smirked across at Jason before choking at the next punch.

“Joker’s hollowed her out...she’s nothing”, he spat out.

His temper flared and his hand subconsciously reached for his pistol. Dick realised and before anything could happen, he landed an electrical ecrisma blow to the goons head, knocking him out cold. His body crashed onto the floor with a loud thump.

“Jason-”.

“Don’t”, Jason cut him off, “I’m fine”.

He took several steps towards the office door and swallowed thickly. You. You’d be in there. You’d told Joker with the last ounce of confidence left that he’d come for you. He’d never leave you. You were right. Jason would never have stopped looking. Ever.

His hand rested on the door handle, trembling only slightly. What if he was too late. What if this was just another trick?

Drawing his hand back almost as though the door had burnt him. He frowned. He couldn’t think like this. No. He had to be strong. Just like you had been in all those videos. You’d been fierce. Your spirit still pouring through to him.

Jason glared angrily at the door and took a step back before kicking it open furiously with his combat boot. The door flew open wildly and as the dust settled. He saw Joker stood in the middle of the room, a sick, satisfied smirk sat proudly on his demented face.

~~~

“Jason my boy! It’s a pleasure to see you again”, his chuckle was deep and sinister, “I see you're still hiding your face though...is that because of what I did?”. The Joker’s eyes danced with delirious joy at the memories.

“I’d have thought you’d have embraced all your scars by now Jason...”, The Joker edged forward leaving you tied up behind him.

Jason rounded The Joker, clicking a button to the side of his mask, revealing his face, his eyes hidden with the domino mask, “I’ve got nothing to hide from you, clown”.

Jason let his eyes run over you for a second. You were bruised and bloodied. Clothes torn and tattered from mistreatment. Your eyes. God. Your beautiful E/C eyes. Red raw from countless tears. Somehow you still managed to give him a smile from behind The Joker. His heart fluttered. God he’d missed your smile.

Tearing his eyes from you he looked back towards The Joker and held his pistols out at him, finger hovering over the trigger. Jason felt the burn mark on his cheek stinging all over again. Pain ever present.

“You don’t have the guts”, The Joker laughed again and walked forward pressing his forehead into the barrel of the gun.

“You wouldn’t dare pull that trigger. I’m your Ace card Jason. You can’t kill me. You want to but you can’t...something will always stop you”.

Jason felt his hand shaking slightly. Everything was throbbing in his mind.

“Even after everything I’ve done to your girl, you still can’t pull that trigger”, The Joker taunted further and grinned sadistically.

“If only you knew where I’d touched...what I’ve done...”, he pushed further into the cold metal of the gun and winked at Jason, “Go on, do it, I dare you...if you don’t- I’m just going to keep coming back and who knows what I’ll do to our little princess next-”.

BANG.

A gun shot blasted through the air. Smoke drifted slowly from the barrel, dancing into the darkness around them.

“JASON!”.

Nightwing had thrown one of his ecrisma sticks to Jason’s gun, knocking it off target. The bullet shattered the brickwork behind them, dust erupting.

Crashing down through one of the broken windows on top of the office roof, Nightwing flew towards The Joker tackling him down onto the damp, concrete floor before he could launch himself at Jason.

Still startled, Jason watched Dick wrestling with The Joker on the floor, punches flying back and forth.

Dick turned to Jason, “Y/N-Jason!! Go get Y/N!! I’ll handle this!”.

The Joker was shrieking with laughter underneath Dick, blood pouring down his lip and from his nose.

“Ahhhh another boy blunder!! I must be lucky!! Two for the price of one!”.

Dick threw another punch and reached for the second ecrisma stick on his back, “I can’t wait to cart you back to the Asylum. I hope you’re looking forward to your 5 star stay in a windowless cesspit!”.

Jason could hear Joker continually laughing at Dick, until the sharp sound of electrical buzzing cut him off with a loud scream.

He almost fell over his own feet as he raced towards you. Jason quickly untied your hands and the second they were free you flung them around his neck, sobbing into his neck. Your tears dropping onto his brown leather jacket.

“Oh baby”, Jason stroked your hair and held you tightly to him. He was worried he was crushing you but you seemed to be squeezing him back just as hard.

You didn’t stop sobbing. The overwhelming emotion of being wrapped in his safe, strong arms make your knees buckle. Jason caught you with ease and lifted you up, “It’s ok baby, I’ve got you. I’ve always got you”.

Jason was one step away from breaking down himself but he needed to be strong for you right now.

You pressed your skin against his, the scratch of his stubble a welcome sting against your cheek. His scent overwhelmed you. Leather. Gunpowder. Smoke. And something distinct you’d never been able to place.

“Jason”.

“Shhh, it’s ok - nothing is going to hurt you, I’m here now - I’m a bit late but I’m here”.

~~~

It had been one week since you’d been back home. Two weeks if you counted the first week you and Jason spent holed up in the manor. Bruce had insisted. You sat in the bathtub, knees pressed up against your bare chest. Silence. All you could hear was the faint crackle of the bubbles every now and again. The clinical white tiles of the bathroom made you feel a little cleaner.

However, no matter how many baths you took, showers you stood in, you still couldn’t wipe the feel of the slick purple gloves off your skin. Your skin. Skin that was now marred with yellowish bruising. Almost faded physically but not mentally. Looking over the marks you felt yourself transported back into the desolate warehouse. The dank smell of stagnant water filling your nostrils. You choked and coughed loudly, suddenly feeling the oxygen clam up your throat. Drowning in the memories.

“Y/N??”.

Within a mere second Jason had flung open the bathroom door, red tinting his cheek and a little sweat on his forehead, “Sweetheart are you ok?”.

You noted how he chose to call you sweetheart now and not his usual princess. A stark reminder that this whole ordeal had affected him too, more than he’d admitted. You felt the guilt eat away at you. Shame burning at your feet.

“Y-yeah, I’m ok”, you mumbled quietly and swirled some of the water and bubbles around you, “I just accidentally swallowed some of the bath water, I’m sorry”.

Jason nodded although not quite believing you. He closed the door behind him and sat on the edge of the tub taking a deep breath, “It’s ok to not be ok sweetheart...I know it can be difficult to admit that...I know that more than most”, he wiped a stray bubble from the rim of the tub. He looked at you deeply before continuing, “I’ll be here for you...whenever and whatever you need”.

You sat silently in the water and he moved to get up. Maybe he thought it was best to leave you alone, let you uncover your own emotions. Process what had happened. You gripped his wrist and looked up into the crystal blue of his eyes, “Jason”.

“Yeah babe?”, he turned his wrist in your hand and linked his fingers with yours.

“I love you”.

He smiled and squeezed your hand before whispering back, “I love you too, more than you know”.

He looked over you and moved to sit back on the edge of the bath. His spare hand reached out and cupped your chin lovingly, stroking over your skin.

“We’ll work through this together Y/N, I promise”, Jason murmured and leaned forward kissing your forehead lightly, “I’ll do whatever you need me to do...anything at all”.

The words, the touches, the kiss. It made your heart flutter and you fell even more in love with him. Jason made the impossible possible and you had no idea how he managed it every day. You felt so lucky.

“I - I struggle some d-days”, you admitted and with those words you felt a little lighter, “sometimes all I want is for you to hold me and not let me go...Sometimes I-I f-feel like that for hours...”.

“Well then I’ll hold you for hours”, he said simply.

You scoffed lightly but before you could protest or think of arguing back he was stepping into the bath water fully clothed.

“Jay!! You’re going to flood the bathroom”, you gasped loudly, watching the water splash over the sides like dramatic tidal waves. Water dispersed all over the bathroom floor to make way for his broad frame, “What are you doing?!”.

Jason sunk down into the water behind you and wrapped his arms either side, pulling you back into his clothed chest. He rested his head on your shoulder, pressing a chaste kiss there, “Holding you for as long as you need me to”.

You felt yourself melt into his warm embrace. Tears made their way down your cheeks at his endearing show of love, “Jason”.

“Shhh, just let me hold you baby”, he cuddled you tighter into him, his fingers stroking your hips under the water, brushing away the bruises. Marking you with his own special touch.

Relaxing under his soft caresses, you hummed lightly and closed your eyes resting your head back against him. He smelt like leather and spice. You felt at home. He was home.

“Jay”.

“Mmm?”.

“Please call me princess”, you whispered quietly into the air, your eyes still closed.

“Whatever you want...princess”.

~~~

Special Thanks: @offendedfishnoises @internalsealpanic @batarella - thank you both for proof reading this and all the help you have given me - mwah mwah. xoxo

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~~~

#jason todd fanfiction #jason todd smut #jason todd x reader #jason todd imagine #jason todd x you #jason todd x reader insert #jason todd x reader series #red hood x reader #red hood imagine #red hood smut #red hood x you #red hood fanfiction #arkham knight x reader #arkham knight x you #arkham knight x reader series #arkham knight imagine

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mosswillow · 3 years

Text

Iced Coffee 6 - Dark!Stephen Strange x Fem Reader.

Series Warnings: 18+ adult content, Dark, Rape/noncon, obsessive behavior, stalking, doctor/medical themes, needles (chapter one, not sex related), violence, abuse, kidnapping, forced marriage, smut, escape attempt, Somnophilia, Emotional manipulation, mentions of past infidelity (not Stephen or Reader).

You can join the tag list here.

Thank you to the unnamed requester and @couldntbedamned for this request. 🖤

Series master list

A/N: We're finally at the Iced Coffee Chapter! It's been HARD not to talk about this one.

By Clicking keep reading you confirm that you are over 18 and understand that this content is mature and potentially triggering

“And what brought on this sudden desire for a career change? I mean, I’m not complaining but I am a little confused. You have a supervising role at one of the worlds the leading research hospitals.”

“You’re right but I think that St. Lukes also has some really great research going on that I would love to be a part of. I have several colleagues who talk highly of St. Luke's work environment. I really feel like I could do a lot of good with the right team. It just feels like a better place for me than where I am now. Plus the weather in California is beautiful, I love the beach.”

“Well you’re definitely qualified, when can you start?”

“I can be on a plane Tomorrow.”

He chuckled, “How about next week?”

“That works too.”

The fake confidence broke down the moment you ended your call. It took several shaky breaths to keep your composure but you eventually calmed down enough to make your way inside. It would work, he wouldn’t see it coming. You repeated the mantra over and over again. You weren't even putting in a notice until the day you would quit. St. Lukes was thousands of miles away, there was no way he would find out. By the time Stephen would realize you were gone it would be too late.

“Are you ready to go?” You jumped as Stephen’s arm wrapped around your shoulder and massaged the back of your neck.

“You’re tense,” He said.

“Just nervous.”

“Hmmm,” His finger grazed under your blouse, “Did you eat already?”

“Yeah,” you lied. “I just finished and was waiting for you. Let’s go, I don't want to be late.”

You had wanted to fight more when he brought up going with you to a rheumatologist. He just kept pushing, and wouldn't give it up. If you wanted to get away then you had to pretend like you wanted him, like he owned you.

It wasn’t hard to act like the obediant girlfriend during sex. He was so good at playing your body, could always pull orgasms out of you no matter how much you told yourself not to want him. When he left you though, when your mind came back from the post orgasm high. That’s when it was hard. Since that night, the date with Kae, you had become anxious, shaking and emotional all the time. He liked it. He fed off of the slow shattering of your resolve. It was all a game to him, one you didn’t realize you were playing until it was too late.

He led you through a skyway and to a lab where your blood was drawn. You watched the vials fill with blood and tried to stay calm. They would see that some levels were off but a basic blood panel wouldn’t tell them much else, or shouldn't at least. A few supplements would be prescribed and that would probably be it. Of course Stephen would push for more testing but by then you would be working somewhere else far away from his possessive, all encompassing “love”.

-o-

Stephen’s girl was so beautiful and smart. He was in love. She had become increasingly more rebellious though. She thought she was being sneaky, hiding her plan from him. She thought she could just move away and that would stop him. She did a good job in her planning, he just did a better one.

As much fun as his game had been, he knew It was time for him to win once and for all. He had to do something, make sure he could protect her all the time, make sure she wouldn’t leave him. He had never felt this way about anyone aside from himself. She had become a weakness and he acknowledged that about her. Her leaving would break him. It would be like losing his hand again, he loved her as much as his career. He had never loved anything that much.

He entered a small upscale jewelry store and picked out a ring, an elegant band with a large diamond fitting. It was more his style than hers but that only made it even more perfect. It would show his ownership when she wore it. It wasn’t really for her, it was for him to see on her. He was going to make sure she was his. The thought made his chest swell with pride.

She would have to stop working. He wanted his wife to stay at home, wanted his children to be raised by their mother. They needed to get started making a family soon if they were going to have as many as he planned. She would fight him at first, he was sure, but she would get over it eventually.

After arriving home, he set the little box on top of his dresser before sitting at his desk. He opened his laptop and pulled up his email. The results of her blood tests were in and he immediately viewed them. She had obviously not realized he would see the results, or at least not see them as quickly as he had. He knew then why she was nervous to get her blood drawn.

“Interesting,” he gritted, jaw set with barely contained rage.

Everything clicked. From the moment he found her sick and brought her home. The “bug bite” on her shoulder. He wanted to punch his fist through the wall. He hadn’t wanted to do that since he was a teen, nobody had ever gotten so far under his skin. She experimented on herself. And worse, he didn’t guess it. She was able to hide it from him. She lied and he believed her. She would be punished for it. After the fundraiser though, after his ring was on her finger.

-o-

The dress Stephen chose for you was a beautiful ethereal blue. It didn’t hang from your body but rather cascaded down like a waterfall, moving with you as you walked about. It made you feel good and special, like you actually were whatever Stephen seemed to see in you. It was your last day with him and even though leaving was your choice, you would enjoy your last evening. One perfect night before you moved on.

You basked in the attention he gave you. The soft smile he had when you answered your door melted your heart. A town car pulled up to carry you to the fundraiser. He held the door open for you before walking to the other side and climbing in beside you. His hand grabbed onto yours, bringing your fingers to his lips.

“You look exquisite,” He murmured, kissing up your arm.

The car pulled over before you knew it. You had been to fundraisers before but this one was at a different level, it took your breath away. No expense was spared. Lightbulbs hung everywhere, illuminating the room with a soft glow that made the room feel quiet despite the large number of guests present. Millionaires, billionaires, along with every program head stood around in expensive clothes with glasses of wine and champagne.

“Dr. Strange,” a voice called. “It’s been a while.”

You looked up to see Tony Stark giving his famous quirked smile.

“And you’re her! Nice to meet you finally. I’m impressed with what you’ve been doing.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Stark, sir.” you said.

“Call me Tony,”

“Tony, It was nice to meet you,” you smiled.

He slapped Stephens back and whispered something into his ear before walking away.

The night was a blur, So many hands shaken and fake smiles. You used to work so hard to network but hanging off Stephens arm made it almost too easy. Your purse was filled with business cards. They listened intently about the work you had been doing. It stung that you would have to leave your project behind but it hurt a little less knowing that it would get funded without you. Stephen could take away Starks funding if he wanted, they would be ok. The thought made you relax and enjoy yourself.

By the end of the party you were stumbling on your heels, aching to take them off.

“Let’s get out of here,” Stephen whispered.

You nodded and let him wrap his arm around your waist and hold you close. Stephen stopped at a cart just outside the door and ordered coffees, handing you one. It warmed your hands on the cool night and you took an eager sip, hissing as it burned your lips.

“Where’s your car?” you asked.

“I booked a suit for us a few blocks away and thought we could walk. The city is beautiful at night isn't it?”

Despite your sore feet, you didn't complain. He was right, the city was beautiful at night. The walk only added to the magic of the evening. Stephen led you through a small park with a gazebo and when you reached the middle of the gazebo he stopped and placed his arms around your waist.

“I built this park,” he said. “It’s named after me.”

He let you go and you looked around. “It’s beautiful, when did-” You cut your sentence short. He was in front of you, kneeling, a diamond ring in his hand.

“I want you to be mine.” he said, “Will you marry me?”

“I- No. I won’t marry you,” you breathed.

He ignored your words and slipped the ring on your finger.

“You made a mistake,” he said.

“What?

“California.” He clicked his tongue, “Do you know who’s construction company built St. Lukes?” He asked

“I,”

“I took care of all of it,” He stood, not letting go of your hand.

“Let me go,” You said.

“I already pulled funding and made some calls, nobody will hire you now. Come with me and live a comfortable life, I’ll take care of you.”

He let you pull away and take your phone out. You checked your email to find that everything he was saying was true. Not knowing what to do, you took another step back and clutched your cup of coffee, staring at the lid as you thought.

“I’ll find a different job, get roommates, I would rather be poor and free than be with you.”

He gave a laugh, “There is no choice.”

When he reached for you again you shoved him.

“Leave me alone Stephen or I swear I’ll...”

“Or you’ll what? Cry? Please do, I like it when you cry. Try to run away? Trust me when I say that my power extends much farther than you understand.”

So much rage bloomed inside of you, more hurt and anger than you’ve ever felt before. It was that day again, Stephen single handedly turning everyone and everything against you with a wave of a hand. Pain. You wanted him to feel so much pain. In a flash, the lid was torn off your coffee cup and the continents were thrown at his face. Time seemed to slow down. You both watched in shock as the coffee flew through the air, turning to ice midway. He ducked but not in time to completely avoid a long cut on his cheek. He was staring at your arm and when you looked down you saw why. Blue veins. Glowing as they spread over your whole body.

A moment passed as you both took it in. Your body. The empty coffee cup in your hand. The now Iced coffee melting on the ground. You smiled, tears filling your eyes as you let power flow through you. You weren't helpless. You weren’t pathetic. For the first time you felt as though the twisted, unfair game that you never wanted to play could be won. You could win.

Then he smirked, no, not a smirk. An enormous, wicked, cheshire grin. And the feeling of euphoria became a pit in your stomach.

“You’re even more perfect than I thought,” he said. Sparks flew from his hands as his fingers made complicated movements. A second later you were pushed back. The gazebo disappeared and you looked around, finding yourself in a sterile hallway.

“Truly a good challenge,” he whispered.

“Fuck you Stephen. Fuck you.” you screamed, scooting away from him. You focused your mind on whatever feeling turned the water to ice.

A cold knife formed in your hand and you threw it at him. He defected and surged towards you, hands outstretched. You brought your arms up. A shield of Ice appeared and was quickly smashed through.

You tried to fight him but he was too strong. Every knife you created or shield was forced away. Even trying to turn him to ice, grabbing his skin and making him burn didn't work. He just changed tactics and overpowered you again. Your powers felt like a drop in the bucket compared to his.

“Are you ok, doctor?”

You stared at the six foot something blonde. Captain America. “Help please,” you cried out before a large hand clamped over your mouth.

“I need a holding room that will contain Ice powers.” Stephen said. “And Stark. I’m going to need something that will contain this when I take her home.”

You tried to pull his hand off but couldn’t. You screamed and thrashed, ice pebbles flying everywhere as he carried you to a room and sat on a bed. He kept you still in his arms until your body couldn't keep going and you finally stilled.

“Shhh, that’s it,” he said. “That’s a Good girl, just relax.”

-o-

Series master list 🖤 Previous chapter 🖤 Next chapter

#dark!doctor strange #dark mcu #dark fic #noncon tw #dark doctor strange

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papers4me · 3 years

Text

Fruits Basket Manga Review ch (76 & 77)

So, I decided to read the manga mainly in search for a more natural balanced female presentation than the idealistic, shallower, savior depiction of tohru in the anime.

I’m intentionally skipping all the chapters of her as a (mother figure) in yuki’s life & won’t read them or even visit them for comparison with the anime. I love yuki’s growth story & the unique depiction of his platonic relationship with tohru, but if his mother-tohru phase was a drink, then the anime has force fed it to me till it came from my nose! So, for yuki, I’ll be reading his growth past-his mother confession.

I’ve consulted my lovely manga readers friends & thy recommended starting from ch 90 since the content in that chapter was completely cut! but some recommended checking kyoto chapters first since they contain a nice glimpse of the author’s style & artistic vision. Kyoto ep in the anime isn’t focused on “mom-tohru” so, i like the idea! I’ll jump to ch 90 right after ch 77.

- Subtle growth of a woman ( Clash of visions & presentation between the manga’s “ Loosing the wallet with mom’s photo vs the anime’s fractured photo frame):

I really love the underlined connotation of tohru loosing her “mom” unknowingly! In the anime, this scene played without any reference to kyoko & tohru’s attachment to her. We saw tohru the teenage girl confused as she experience romantic love for the first time. Nothing more than that. But the manga says “ Main female MC is way deeper than a (mom-figure) or a (girl in love), In this panel, tohru chases after kyo & unknowingly looses her famous wallet containing her mom’s picture. Here’s what this subtly indicates:

Normally, tohru would notice right away that her wallet is missing, here she never even notice until kyo suggest they hang out together. Subtly indicating that tohru is moving further & further from her phase of “ an afraid, grieving, abandoned child clinging to her mom”.

Normally, tohru would panic, say “ mom is missing” & everyone around her goes into search mode to make tohru at ease (hiro’s ep). Here once she notices, she says “ my wallet is missing” & kyo relaxed & laughingly gives her her wallet back. While he goes to bring the wallet, tohru instead of thinking “ oh nearly lost mom!” is musing over the fact that “it’s strange that kyo can make me happy or sad with one word only”. Subtly indicating that tohru is replacing her mom with kyo as part of growing up from the child she was to the woman she will be.

Tohru calling kyo “mysterious”, subtly explains that tohru is in the uncertain phase of understanding her feelings as a woman & hence, pave the path for upcoming trauma exploration & psychological depth.

The entire scene in the manga is depicted to convey different layers: romance, upcoming growth, & unexplored traumatic issues of abandonment, grief, & human weakness. “ Accepting human Weakness & change” IS the manga’s vision.

In the anime, the fractured picture worked simply becuz no issues of any traumatic experiences with tohru were ever hinted. Nothing abt tohru being a young woman moving away from a traumatic childhood was ever implied beside the weakly sharply cut & forgotten few scenes of her mysteriously going “ im okay” while remembering her dad’s shrine. Was there ever anything abt replacing her mom with kyo? Nope!. Was there anything abt tohru reluctance of loving kyo? Nope! to fix that, let’s shock the audience with empty photo frame! It’ll make the viewers confused & if we play the climax right & give tohru a tearjerker speech confronting akito, all is good. It worked in the anime as it served the purpose it was created for: shock value & drama. ppl bought it. But in the long run, it cemented tohru as the “savior angel” never the “ weak human”. But not many will have issues with that. Having yuki with his impressive story of growth & kyo with his shocking story of pain is enough to distract from the rest. The director must think: What does the audience want?

a woman who’d save the prince with her motherly care?“ Done!”.

a woman who’d love the monster? “ Done !”.

a woman who has her own deep story? no one will miss that~ skip!

-Yuki’s next stage of growth: Friends:

I like how smoother the scene played here. Yes, yuki thinks back to his gratitude to tohru, but it plays subtly & more emphasis is on his friendship with kakeru. No added scene of him waving back to tohru after kakeru which brought the focus back to mom-tohru again. No. Here is way less shoved in your throat. Yuki says how he felt in the moment, moved on to the next stage, thought abt his life & choives, moved on to school. Clear lines that makes yuki more dynamic & way less “ living in his head” character.

Side Notes:

The manga’s art is pretty but expressive! I was afraid it’ll have that weird eyes bigger than the moon & too much sparkles & bubbles like the usual old shojo manga art!

Yuki is way more expressive than the anime & less pretty & sparkly! I welcome this with flowers & songs! lol.

Tohru has “low” pigtails instead of the child-like high pigtails! YES! it is crazy that this trivial change adds so much to tohru’s presentation to the viewers’ eyes. In real life no big deal but in an artistic medium such choices send subliminal messages to viewers minds, that’s why artists spend a lot of time choosing their characters default appearance. It means a lot for the character’s overall path & sends messages. High child-like pigtails: make her look like innocent & naive child since viewers usually associate such hair do with children & toddlers. Low pigtails: are cute girly style that we associate with teenagers & young adult women, it’s practical & cute.

Kyo’s looks as youthful & handsome as the anime but less angry, annoyed & more versatile in his expression! It always bothered me that the anime just go with kyo’s default frowned face, hands in pocket looks unless he should express a key emotion. Also, kyo without an undershirt in his uniform! interesting change from the anime.

I missed kyo’s two buddies! T_T. Why they weren’t in the anime’s finale.. could’ve at least put them in the underwhelming graduation ceremony ~

I really appreciate that yuki’s fanclub are one page, less annoying.

That awkward moment when a manga panel drawn by one person can depict a crowded city more than an anime with a huge team. Like the anime didn’t even need to zoom out for a huge wide shot that showcase its weakness in depicting a crowded city. If you can’t draw that, just zoom in to lessen the effect of emptiness. kyoto isn't a deserted area especially not during a school trip!

The teachers checking on the sneaking vs sleeping students scene is a welcoming sight! XDDD

Hana met kakeru before? saw him & tohru together? weird!!

Kakeru is more focused on tohru here.

I really love the photos taken for everybody. It indicates real good time! Hana eating, yuki around girls, arisa annoyed, kyo teased with playing card: did the play “rich man poor man” again? XD

I’m starting to love yuki more in the manga than the anime!

Kyo having short inner thought abt not being able to tell tohru a girl confessed to him & deciding to say “ none of ur business” is doing wonders to the scene!!! it makes him less mean to tohru & more balanced character. I mean I guessed so in the anime, but what could've prevented making the VA say this short line of inner thought?! Yuki’s VA says essays & essays in nearly every ep abt nearly every character?!.

I liked the way kyo held tohru’s hands when he turned to her, the way he held her hand in the anime is a bit weird. lol. Also, in this scene, tender gentle kyo is so well-done both in the anime & manga. The manga wins for the zoom in & focus on emotions, tho.

Next is chapter 90!

#Fruits Basket #fruits basket manga #reading paper #manga reviwes #ch 76 #ch 77 #Anime Only

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swan-of-sunrise · 3 years

Text

Taking Care of Business (Chapter Fifteen)

Summary: (Y/N), Din and Grogu arrive on Tython, and everything goes very wrong very fast.

Pairing: Din Djarin X Reader

Word Count: 4.4k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Fifteen The Tragedy (Previous Chapter)

“We really…we really should stop, Din…” (Y/N) spoke in between kisses, a little breathless as the Mandalorian’s lips began brushing along her cheek and down her neck. “We’re supposed to be…ah…we’ve gotta work on some repairs…”

She could feel Din smirking against her collarbone as he replied, “Yeah? Then why’re your arms still around me?”

Sure enough, one of her arms was wrapped securely around his back, her hand clutching at his cowl, and her other arm was slung around his neck, her fingers carding through his soft hair over and over. At his teasing question, she felt her face begin to warm in embarrassment. “You’re such a mir’sheb.” Trailing her hand down to the side of his face, she coaxed his head up and clumsily sought out his lips in the dark but before she could kiss him, one of the ship’s alarms rang out. “Dank farrik!”

Din chuckled, the deep timbre of his voice causing her heartbeat to quicken; his unmodulated voice was intoxicating, so clear and strong, and she knew that she’d never grow tired of listening to it. He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips before extricating himself from her embrace and putting his helmet back on; a moment later, the lights inside the cockpit flickered back on to reveal her beskar-clad partner leaning over one of the control panels. “We’ll be dropping out of hyperspace in a few, alor’ad.”

“Okay, I’ll go wake the little guy up.” (Y/N) patted Din on the arm before turning and making her way down into the cargo hold, a small smile on her face as she went.

For the past two days, it was as if she and Din were the only two people in the galaxy; they’d stolen kisses from one another in the darkness of the cockpit while Grogu slept and while he was awake, they’d resign themselves to lingering touches and soft-spoken words. She didn’t know what to classify their evolving relationship as and to be honest, she didn’t really care; she was happy with Din, truly happy, and that’s all that mattered to her.

“Hey there, little guy. Did you have a good nap?” With a smile, she picked the cooing child up out of his hammock and carried him up the ladder, setting him down on one of the passenger seats and handing him the small metal sphere. “There you go!” His large eyes widened in delight as he clutched it in his clawed hands and she chuckled, moving to stand beside the Mandalorian in the pilot’s seat. “Okay, I can take over now.”

“It’s all right, I’ve got it covered.”

(Y/N) arched a brow. “But it’s my turn to fly, remember?”

“I told you, I’ve got it covered. Why don’t you take a seat and relax a little?” There was something different about her partner’s voice as he spoke but she shrugged it off, turning to go sit in the other passenger seat. Din’s gloved hand suddenly shot out and latched onto her wrist to stop her and when she turned back around to see what he wanted, her jaw nearly dropped in shock; he was patting his beskar-covered thigh with his free hand and although the visor of his helmet was facing forward, she had a sneaking suspicion that he was closely watching her.

With her heart hammering in her chest, (Y/N) sat down on his thigh and wrapped a tentative arm around his shoulders. “…This is new.”

“Do you…um, do you…like it?”

Din’s newfound uncertainty made her smile and instead of answering, she reached down and positioned his free hand onto her waist before resting her head against the side of his helmet. His gloved fingers flexed and pressed firmly against her, holding her secure in his lap as the ship dropped out of hyperspace. “There’s Tython.” (Y/N) was silent for a moment, debating whether or not to say anything before finally making up her mind. “Do you think that any Jedi will come?”

Her partner exhaled through his nose, his fingers beginning to drum against her waist. “I don’t know; Ahsoka made it clear that hers is a dying race.” Rotating the seat around, they both watched Grogu as he played with his silver sphere and (Y/N) was struck by how innocent he looked. “But I hope one will, for the kid’s sake.”

“You mean Grogu.”

Upon hearing his name, the child’s head shot up and he cooed as his eyes widened in happiness. (Y/N) and Din both chuckled and when the child glanced back down, Din called out, “Grogu?” The child looked back up and as he chuckled again, she tried and failed to suppress her amused grin; with a glance at her, Din moved his hand away from the controls and towards Grogu. “Give me the ball.” The child looked unimpressed and immediately tried hiding the sphere. “Grogu, give me the ball. Come on.”

“Not used to dealing with someone as stubborn as you, huh, Din?”

“I deal with you, don’t I?” The Mandalorian’s dry retort made her grin only widen and as she watched, Grogu finally handed the sphere over. “Okay, here we go.” Din held the sphere between his thumb and forefinger just as he had back on Corvus. “You can have it, just like before.”

(Y/N) nodded in encouragement while Grogu began to raise his tiny clawed hand. “Grogu, come on. You can have it, little guy.”

The child raised his other hand and his eyes began to squint with effort; Din’s voice was impossibly soft as he spoke, “Come on.” In a flash, the ball flew out of Din’s grasp and into the child’s waiting hands. “Dank farrik!” He exclaimed in excitement, slapping his other thigh while (Y/N) pressed a happy kiss to the side of his helmet; the child dropped the ball down into his lap and cooed sadly, seemingly thinking that the two of them were angry, and her eyes widened in panic as Din hastily shook his head. “Hey, no, we’re not mad at you! You did good. I just…when the nice lady said you had training, I just…” (Y/N)’s elated mood dampened as she watched Din reach for the metal sphere and hand it back to Grogu before rotating the seat to face forward again. “You’re…very special, kid.”

With a heavy heart, (Y/N) gave Grogu a fleeting smile over Din’s shoulder. “We’re gonna find you that place you belong and they’re gonna take real good care of you, little guy.” She turned her attention back to Din, who was making himself look busy by pressing at different buttons; sensing his sadness, she made to get up from his lap but his hand tightened on her waist, preventing her from getting up. He doesn’t want anyone else to leave him, she thought to herself, moving her free hand to rest on top of his. “Din…”

“This is Tython,” Din announced to Grogu, his tone clipped and reserved. “That’s where we’re gonna try and find you a Jedi. But you have to agree to go with them if they want you to; understand?” He briefly glanced over his shoulder at Grogu before returning his gaze to the viewport in front of them. “Plus, we can’t train you. You’re too…powerful. Don’t you wanna learn more of that Jedi stuff?” (Y/N) didn’t look, but she could hear the child’s disgruntled coo. “I agreed to take you back to your own kind, so that’s what I need to do.” It almost sounded as if her partner was trying to convince himself rather than Grogu. “You understand…right?”

The child cooed again and with a brief moment of hesitation, (Y/N) rested her head against Din’s helmet and murmured, “Everything’s gonna be okay, Din, I promise.” He didn’t say anything, but the hand on her waist pulled her even closer to his side.

Minutes later, they were entering the upper atmosphere of Tython and flying through its sky-blue skies; the planet was made up of rocky mountains covered in sparse vegetation, and it was clear that it was a presumably uninhabited planet. While they continued to fly over the surface of the planet, (Y/N) pointed to one of the larger mountains in the distance. “Looks like that’s the magic rock we’re supposed to take you to down there, little guy.”

Din tilted the joysticks to the left and they circled the steep mountain until he let out an exasperated sigh. “Sorry, kid, I can’t land on the top. It’s too small. We’re gonna have to travel the last stretch with the windows down.”

“That…that was a terrible joke, Din.”

“Yeah, but you still laughed at it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once they landed the Razor Crest onto a flat patch of ground, Din held Grogu in the crook of one arm and wrapped the other around (Y/N)’s waist before jetting through the sky towards the top of the mountain. The child squealed in delight while (Y/N) squeezed her eyes shut and clung to her partner; you’d think that I’d be used to flying like this by now, she thought as she bit her lip, silently thanking the Maker when their feet touched the ground.

Opening her eyes, (Y/N)’s gaze was immediately drawn to the large stone before them, taking note of the strange carvings along its side before glancing around. The three of them were surrounded by towering stone slabs, and she had no problem believing that the structure had once been a sacred Jedi temple.

“Well, I guess this is it.” Din let go of her waist and slowly approached the stone. “Does this look…Jedi to you? I guess you sit right here.” Grogu softly cooed as he carefully placed him on the top of the Seeing Stone. “Okay, here we go.”

The child blinked up at them and (Y/N) tilted her head in confusion. “So, how do we know if it’s working?”

Din shrugged. “I don’t know.” He glanced back at Grogu and gestured to the stone. “This is the Seeing Stone…are you seeing anything? Or are they supposed to see you?” She watched the Mandalorian switched on his helmet’s heat sensor and began circling the stone. “Maybe there’s some kind of control or something.”

(Y/N) couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. “Din, this is a Jedi Seeing Stone; I seriously doubt that they’d need a machine to use their powers.”

“Well, it’s not like I’ve met a ton of Jedi in my life.” He replied, moving to stand beside her and sighing in frustration as the child’s attention was drawn away by a nearby butterfly. “Oh, come on, kid. Ahsoka told us that all we had to do was get you here and you’d do the rest.”

The sound of an approaching ship made (Y/N) look up and frown in concern, her eyes immediately spotting a familiar-looking ship flying through the sky; with a glance at Din, she hurried to the mountain’s edge and watched as the ship landed. “Son of a mud-scuffer, Din, this is not good.” Her stomach dropped and she looked over at Din beside her. “I think I know that ship and if it’s who I think it is, then we need to leave now.”

Din didn’t ask for her to elaborate, only nodding and calling out, “Time’s up! We gotta get out of here-!” They both turned and his words died in his throat as they stared at the bright blue Force-field swirling around the Seeing Stone; Grogu’s eyes were closed and his brow was wrinkled in concentration as the Force-field hummed with energy. “We don’t have time for this.” He strode over to the Seeing Stone. “We gotta get-”

The moment Din’s gloved hands touched the Force-field, he was thrown back and landed hard on the rocky ground. “Din!” (Y/N) sprinted over to him and grabbed his arm, helping him stagger to his feet. “Din, are you okay?!”

“Hey! Snap out of it, kid!” He ignored her words as he called out to the child. “We gotta get out of here!”

(Y/N) anxiously glanced over towards the direction of the unidentified ship and back at Grogu. “C’mon, Grogu, we have to leave!”

“I’ve got one being on the heat scanner.” Din dropped his hand away from his helmet and drew his blaster; (Y/N) drew hers and clutched its handle tightly as he glanced over his shoulder at Grogu. “We’ll see if we can buy you some time, but please hurry up!”

The two of them hurried down the side of the mountain, weaving around bushes and ducking behind boulders as they moved. They were a little ways from the base of the mountain when they came under heavy blaster fire; Din shoved her behind a nearby rock and used his beskar-clad body to shield hers as the blaster fire continued. After several long moments it finally stopped and (Y/N) met the visor of Din’s helmet, giving him a slight nod as he poked his head out from behind the rock.

“I’ve been tracking you, Mandalorian.”

At the sound of a man’s gruff voice, they both slowly step out from behind the rock, their blasters leveled at the robed figure before them; strapped to the man’s back was a cycler rifle and gaffe stick, but he had no weapon drawn. “Are you Jedi?” The man didn’t answer and Din’s shoulders remained tense. “Or are you after the child?”

The man reached up and removed his hood, revealing his deeply-scarred head and grim expression, and he began to slowly walk forward. “I’m here for the armor.”

(Y/N)’s breath hitched as her partner coolly replied, “If you want my armor, you’ll have to peel it off my dead body.”

“I don’t want your armor. I want my armor that you got from Cobb Vanth back on Tatooine. It belongs to me.”

Her eyes briefly flicked over to Din before looking back to the man. “Are you Mandalorian?”

The corner of the man’s mouth twitched at her question. “I’m a simple man making his way through the galaxy, Captain, like my father before me.”

“Did you take the Creed?” Din demanded, his modulated voice taking on a harder edge after the man’s comment to her.

“I give my allegiance to no one.”

“The beskar belongs to the Mandalorians; it was looted from us during the Purge.”

The man’s nostrils flared in anger. “The armor was my father’s. Now it’s mine.”

Din’s grip on his blaster tightened and (Y/N) felt her forehead begin to bead with sweat. “What’s to stop me from dropping you right where you stand?”

“Because I have a sharpshooter up on that ridge with a locked scope that will unload by the time my body hits the ground.”

“I’m the one wearing beskar. As soon as I see that muzzle flash, my partner’ll be covered and you and your friend’ll both be dead.”

The man looked unfazed. “I didn’t mean she was going to shoot you, or even your partner.” A chill went down (Y/N)’s spine at his words. “My friend’s locked onto that little companion of yours up on the henge…”

“And if you remember, I don’t miss.”

(Y/N) looked up to the ridge to her left to see a figure aiming an MK-modified blaster at the top of the mountain and Din called out, “Fennec?!”

The woman chuckled. “You have a keen ear, Mando.”

“You point that gun away from the kid or I’ll drop you both where you stand.” With a flex of his wrist, Din activated his whistling birds and raised his blaster higher.

Lifting his hands in a placating manner, the man nodded to their drawn blasters. “Let’s all put down our weapons, have a chat. There’s no need for bloodshed.”

(Y/N) kept her blaster leveled at his chest. “Tell her to drop the gun, then.”

“After he puts down the jetpack.”

Din let out a frustrated sigh. “Same time.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the man looked over at Fennec on the ridge and nodded. “Stand down.”

The sharpshooter lowered her rifle and began making her way down to where they stood; (Y/N) and Din exchanged a look before holstering their blasters, and she watched as her partner disengaged the whistling birds and set his jetpack down against the rock. At the same time, the man slowly set his cycler rifle on the ground beside him and a helmet-less Fennec moved to stand next him, quirking her lips as her eyes landed on Din. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“You were dead.”

The man nodded. “She was left for dead on the sands of Tatooine, as I was. But fate sometimes steps in to rescue the wretched.”

“In my case, Boba Fett was that fate.” (Y/N) stiffened at the mention of the man’s true name as the sharpshooter shifted a strip of fabric and showed them the machinery that was keeping her alive. “And I am now in his service.”

Boba turned away from Fennec to look at them. “I want my armor back.”

“It goes against the Mandalorian Creed.”

“He’s not gonna take ‘no’ for an answer.” Glancing at Din beside her, (Y/N) anxiously bit her lip before continuing. “While I was starting out as a smuggler, I heard stories of a bounty hunter who went by the name of Boba Fett; if this really is the same man, then I seriously think you should reconsider your answer.”

“You should listen to your partner,” Boba remarked. “The armor was given to my father, Jango, by your forebears. In exchange, I guarantee the safety of the child, as well as yours and your partner’s.”

Fennec gestured towards the mountain in the distance. “The bounty on your little friend has risen significantly; you can buy ten suits of armor for the price on its head.”

Her partner shifted his weight as Boba added, “I’d say we’re offering a fair deal under the circumstances.”

Before either of them could say anything, the humming of another approaching ship grew louder and when it flew overhead, (Y/N) gasped in alarm; her time as a Rebellion smuggler ensured that she’d never forget the sight of an Imperial transport ship. She and Din drew their blasters and ran back to the mountain, the threat of Boba Fett and his sharpshooter gone from their minds and replaced with fear for Grogu’s safety; scrambling up the incline of the mountain, they finally made it to the top and saw that the child was still encompassed in the blue Force-field.

“Time to go!” Din ran over to the Seeing Stone and before (Y/N) could call out a warning, his hands made contact with the Force-field and after a moment, he was thrown even farther back than before. His body landed hard on the ground several feet away from the Seeing Stone and flipped over before lying still.

“Din!” Just as she had before, (Y/N) sprinted to his side and knelt; she shook his shoulder but he didn’t stir. “Din, c’mon!” For the first time in their partnership she cursed Din’s Creed, as his helmet was preventing her from seeing just how injured he was; thinking fast, she slipped her fingers under the bottom of his helmet and pressed them against his jugular vein, breathing out a shaky sigh of relief when she found his pulse. The sound of distant blaster fire drew her attention away from the unconscious Mandalorian and looking down, she could see a battalion of Stormtroopers exchanging blaster fire with Boba and Fennec. “Shit, there’s too many of them…” She wrestled with her indecision for a moment before leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to the top of Din’s helmet. “I’ll be right back, Din, I’m gonna buy us some time.” Standing, (Y/N) glanced over her shoulder at the meditating child before drawing her blaster and hurrying down the mountain.

About halfway down the rocky slope, (Y/N) darted behind a large boulder and watched as four Stormtroopers came into view; she took careful aim with her blaster before shooting one of them square in the chest. The dead Stormtrooper fell to the ground as the other three began firing their blasters in her direction and if she were in any other situation, she would’ve rolled her eyes at their typical poor marksmanship. They exchanged fire and in no time, all four Stormtroopers lay dead as she continued down the mountain towards the sound of heavy blaster fire, only pausing to watch a second Imperial transport ship land beside the first.

“Dank farrik!” (Y/N) exclaimed, watching in disbelief as another battalion of Stormtroopers ran out of the transport. Hearing a noise behind her, she ducked and rolled behind another boulder as blaster bolts hit the ground where she’d just been standing; she had enough time to fire off a shot towards the Stormtroopers closing in on her before running and jumping down off the edge of the ridge. She landed on her feet and was surprised to find herself standing beside Fennec, who spared her a brief glance as she fired her blaster rifle. “Where’s your friend?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” Fennec replied as they both began backing away from the approaching Stormtroopers. “And the child?”

(Y/N) dodged a blaster bolt and returned fire. “Safe for now.” The two women quickly found themselves with their backs to a large boulder, and the Stormtroopers immediately began surrounding them.

“Give yourselves up!”

“We don’t want you, we want the child!”

(Y/N) bit her lip, watching as more and more Stormtroopers began closing in on them; she’d been in plenty of tough scrapes, but this one looked impossible to escape from. Just as she was debating whether or not they should try fighting their way out, a noise behind her made her quickly turn her head. Din was standing atop the boulder behind them, his blaster raised and his whistling birds already flying through the air towards the Stormtroopers.

“Okay, let’s move in.” Jumping down from the boulder, Din took the lead while (Y/N) and Fennec flanked him, all three of them aiming and firing at the charging Stormtroopers.

Fennec glanced over at (Y/N) as a blaster bolt dinged off of Din’s beskar armor. “This isn’t looking good.”

Din shrugged, his blaster sweeping over (Y/N)’s head as the two of them switched sides. “I’ve seen worse. You can get out of here, I owe you from last time; take (Y/N) with you, I’ll buy you some time.”

“We had a deal.”

(Y/N) shot him a hard glare while he moved in front of her. “And I’m not leaving without you.”

Blaster bolts rained down on them and while Din’s armor was able to block most of them, it couldn’t block them all; (Y/N)’s left side erupted in pain and she let out a strangled yell, her free hand clutching the wound as she continued firing. Just as things were beginning to look dire, a grenade fell out of the sky and exploded, sending several Stormtroopers flying back; an armored figure flew down and as he landed on the ground, (Y/N) instantly realized that it was Boba Fett wearing the Mandalorian armor they’d retrieved from the Marshal of Mos Pelgo.

The bounty hunter backhanded the nearest Stormtrooper and shot them before turning towards the approaching Stormtroopers, and (Y/N) watched in awe while he fought through them all single-handedly. I guess all those stories about him were true, she thought to herself, her eyes wide as Boba Fett strode after the retreating Stormtroopers; they ran into their transport ships and quickly took off, but that didn’t deter the bounty hunter. Boba leaned forward and activated the missile strapped to his back, watching as it flew through the air and hit one of the transport ships. The burning ship hit the second and the falling debris exploded against a mountain as the bounty hunter turned to look at them.

“Nice shot,” Din quipped as the three of them walked over to Boba.

“I was aiming for the other one.”

(Y/N) chuckled but just then, a deafening blast filled the air and a red-colored bolt sped downwards, hitting the Razor Crest and instantly destroying it in a fiery explosion; her jaw dropped in shock and disbelief, and while she was aware of talking and movement around her, she couldn’t focus on any of it. The ship she’d grown fond of flying and considered her home had been demolished in the blink of an eye.

Shaking herself out of her grief, she looked over at Din as he stared up at the sky; his body stiffened and he suddenly shouted out, “The kid!” He turned and ran back up the mountain with (Y/N) and Fennec following close behind; her blaster wound ached but she didn’t stop running, even when she spotted the four black droids land down on the top of the mountain. The three of them reached the ridge in time to see the droids flying up into the sky with Grogu in tow.

“No!” (Y/N) gasped, the four droids blurring as her eyes filled with tears. “Grogu…!”

Boba Fett’s ship flew overhead in the direction of the droids as Fennec spoke into her comm link. “They’ve got the baby, don’t let them get away.”

“Affirmative. I have a lock.”

“Stop it,” Din ordered, his voice teetering the line between stiff and panicked. “I don’t want the child hurt.”

“Abort pursuit, disengage. Do not harm the child.”

“Copy. I’ll do a loose follow, see where they’re headed.” The three of them stood and watched Boba’s ship climb higher into the sky; (Y/N) holstered her blaster and as soon as her hand was free, Din latched onto it, the worn leather of his glove digging into her palm. Moments later, the bounty hunter’s voice came through the comm link. “They’re back.”

(Y/N) tore her eyes away from the sky and met Fennec’s confused gaze. “Who?”

“The Empire. They’re back.”

Din’s grip on her hand tightened and (Y/N) looked over at him as her eyes widened in fear; they both knew exactly what Boba was seeing, but Fennec didn’t. “That can’t be. The Outer Rim’s under the jurisdiction of the New Republic.”

“This isn’t a spice stream, I can see the Imperial cruiser with my own eyes. Heading down.”

Shoulders sagging, (Y/N) leaned against her partner’s side and squeezed her eyes closed in grief. Moff Gideon and the remnants of the Empire had Grogu, one of the last Force-wielders left in the galaxy, and she and Din had failed to stop them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Ouch, that one hurt to write :/ Be prepared for lots of angst next chapter! Thank you guys so much for reading!

Mando'a Translations: Mir'sheb-Smart-ass Alor'ad-Captain

Chapter Sixteen

Taking Care of Business Masterlist

Tagging: @remmysbounty @sinon36 @seninjakitey @thatonedindjarinfan @ginger-swag-rapunzel @mostclevermiss @momc95 @welcometothepedroverse @sarahjkl82-blog @zukoyonce @itsnottilly

#din djarin x reader #the mandalorian x reader #din djarin #the mandalorian #din x reader #mando x reader #grogu #the child #baby yoda #boba fett #fennec shand #moff gideon

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mysterykidscasefiles · 3 years

Text

Mystery Kids and the Case of the Whispering Rock

Summary: Norman, Neil, Coraline, Wybie, Raz and Lili arrive at Grunkle Stan’s Summer Camp with the hope of having a summer of fun, or in the case of the two Psychonauts, with the intent of investigating a psychic disturbance. When they meet two twins that seem to be experts on the secrets of Gravity Falls, they find themselves reluctantly teaming up. But how much can they actually trust each other? There are secrets in this town, but more surprising are the secrets being kept from each other.

Table of Contents

Act 2

Chapter 24: The Right Tools

Thud!

“Oops.”

Tiny particles invade Wybie’s throat. He started coughing and found he couldn’t stop.

“I think you went overboard on the glitter…” Wybie managed to choke out.

“Nonsense! There’s no-” Mabel began to cough. “Such thing... as too much…” But she couldn’t finish her sentence, and instead, she doubled over with wheezing, hacking breaths.

“You were saying?” Wybie asked. It was becoming easier to breathe as the glitter began to settle on the floor of the attic bedroom around them. “Also… why did we need glitter again?”

“Neil, tell him,” Mabel said with a nod to the red-headed kid beside her.

"Glitter enhances everything," Neil informed him matter-of-factly. "It's called aesthetic."

"And more of a good thing is always a good thing!" Mabel added cheerily.

Wybie raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not sure that's true." However, he didn't say anything more than that. Wybie had known the girl for only a few days, and he had already learned that arguing sense into her was pointless.

Wybie looked down at the square device on the ground which used to be black, but was now pink, had a collection of cupcake stickers, a cat made out of puff paint with big eyes, and rhinestones clustered in any additional left over space. With Mabel’s newest addition, the whole device was also now covered in glitter. As mismatched and horrible as the whole thing looked, he had to admit the cat was painted really well. After the mummy project, Wybie had no doubt that the girl was talented artistically, even if she did have… unusual tastes.

When Neil and Mabel said that they wanted to help Wybie fix the EMF meter, he expected that they would just help him find supplies. He didn’t expect… this kind of help.

“What’s wrong with how it looked before?” Wybie asked.

Mabel shook her head, as if he had just asked the silliest question she had ever heard. “If you were a ghost, what would you be drawn towards? A boring black square box? Or this work of art?”

“Definitely this,” Neil agreed. “It's a lot more fun and everyone likes cupcakes!”

“But the problem wasn’t about getting the ghost’s attention,” Wybie explained. “The problem was getting the device to work properly.”

After they got home from getting lost in the woods and finding the mysterious cabin, Wybie had started working on building the EMF meter while the rest of the kids finished the fake mummy for the shack. It wasn’t a very complicated device, and by the next day, Wybie had the device built. EMF readers detect electromagnetic fields that are given off by electronics, especially old electronics that don’t have their wires properly shielded. EMF fluctuations are also said to indicate ghostly activity. The idea was, even if they couldn’t see Luis themselves, the EMF meter should be able to pick up his ghostly energy… provided they were far enough away from any electronics that could set off the EMF meter. Wybye was still a little skeptical of the science, but he didn’t have a better idea.

Coraline and Norman had been eager to get back to the Cardinal’s old mansion to see if they could find Luis again as soon as possible. They wouldn’t be able to communicate with him if they couldn’t see or hear him, but at least the EMF reader would indicate if he was still around or not. Once they knew if Luis was still around, they could work on other ways of communicating with him.

When they arrived back at the old mansion, Wybie turned on the EMF meter and it immediately calibrated to the surrounding area. The device had an indicator needle that could swing between green, yellow and red; green indicating low electromagnetic energy, yellow indicating medium, and red indicating high levels.

At first, the device was reading green, but as they stepped further into the house, the needle swung to yellow, and the device started letting out a slow beeping noise. Excited, Wybie tried to find the source of the electromagnetic field disturbance by moving the EMF meter around. Coraline eagerly called Luis’s name, but she got no response.

As Wybie swung the device to his left, he noticed that the device started beeping louder as the needle detected more activity. He moved to the left and the beeping increased, the needle moving to red. Slowly, he seemed to be narrowing in on the location of the disturbance. He stopped in front of Norman, and Norman moved out of his way- only for the beeping to decrease again as the needle moved back down to yellow. Wybie adjusted his position, and he was able to pick up the trail again… only to find himself standing in front of Norman for a second time.

Norman’s eyes widened in surprise and the color seemed to drain from his already pale face.

“Wh-what does that mean?” Norman asked nervously as he eyed the EMF meter. “Why is it focusing on me?”

“I’m not sure,” Wybie said as he fiddled with some of the buttons on the meter. “Do you have your phone on you? You should give it to someone else. Maybe that’s what’s setting off the device.”

Norman did so, handing over his phone to Neil.

Norman stepped away from the EMF meter, but again, it focused in on Norman, beeping incessently.

Norman shifted uncomfortably as everyone stared in confusion at the device.

“Wait, I think I’ve seen this movie,” Raz exclaimed with a fake gasp. “Norman’s been dead the entire time!”.

A few lighthearted chuckles from the group eased the atmosphere, and Norman let out an awkward laugh himself.

“It’s probably because Norman was possessed by Luis,” Dipper suggested. Some of his ghostly energy must still be on him, which is messing with the EMF meter.

“Can you do something about that Wybie?” Coraline asked. “We aren’t going to be able to find Luis if the EMF reader keeps lighting up everytime Norman gets close, and I really don’t want to have to wait to find out how long ghost energy can last on a person.”

“I can probably make the device less sensitive,” Wybie said. “That should make it harder to detect Norman and more likely that it will detect a bigger electromagnetic disturbance, like a ghost… theoretically. That's assuming this is even a valid method of finding a ghost.”

“I can leave,” Norman suggested hesitantly. “Maybe that would make it easier for the EMF meter to work if I wasn’t here?”

Dipper shook his head. “No, you should stay. We want to make sure the instrument is actually reading a ghostly entity, not just left over energy. We can actually use you to make sure the calibration is correct.”

“The new calibration might take a while, but I think it will be ready by tomorrow,” Wybie said.

Coraline frowned impatiently, but nodded. “I guess we have no choice but to wait until then.”

“Oh! I can help you, Wybie!” Mabel said eagerly

“Me too!” Neil chimed in.

“Sure,” Wybie said with a shrug.

After all, how could more help be a bad thing?

Past Wybie had been so naive.

Well, Mabel and Neil hadn’t messed with the inside of the device, and as long as it was still functional, that was the most important part.

”You fixed the inside and we fixed the outside! We make a great team!” Mabel said, patting him on the back.

“The outside wasn’t broken-”

“Agree to disagree,” Mabel said flippantly.

“But I haven’t completely fixed it yet,” Wybie said. “I still need to screw this back panel on, but the screws I had to use for the back panel are a lot smaller.” It was a common occurrence when Wybie built things out of spare parts. No big deal. He just needed to use different tools. “I need to use something else. Neil, can you hand me that smaller screwdriver by your leg?”

“Sure!” Neil said and offered the screw driver to Wybie, who thanked him.

“I guess it’s time to find out if it works,” Wybie said as he finished tightening the last screw. “Coraline wanted to try the mansion again today as soon as this was done.”

“Didn’t Mr. Pines want us to work in the shack all day? Won’t he be mad if we all just left?” Neil asked.

“Raz and Lili left a few times yesterday and I think they were gone this morning and I don’t think Mr. Pines noticed. He was too busy with all the tourists,” Wybie said.

“Oh yeah… Why do you think Raz and Lili keep leaving without telling anyone?” Neil asked.

Mabel’s smile widened. "I bet Coraline’s right and they're sneaking away to make out!"

"But whenever they leave they are always really serious and determined. That’s not how people look on TV when they’re about to go kiss someone, or my brother with his boyfriend,” Neil said.

“Also if they are just sneaking off to kiss, why would they be gone for hours?” Wybie added.

“Because they are going on romantic dates, obviously!” Mabel insisted.

“Two to three times a day?” Wybie countered.

Mabel shrugged. “They’re in love!”

“Maybe.” Wybie said, but he suspected there was more to it. Perhaps they were trying to get out of doing work around the shack? Or maybe they had found something more interesting to do in Gravity Falls?

“Do you think your Grunkle would be okay if we left the shack early today to go to the mansion?” Neil asked.

“It depends,” Mabel said thoughtfully. “Grunkle Stan cares if it eats into the profits. With all the new customers we’ve been getting because of the mummy exhibit, he’s probably too happy to care. It’s also past the mid-day rush anyway. We probably won’t get another big batch of tourists until tomorrow.”

Wybie was glad he had been lucky enough to avoid the crowd of tourists that had come to the shop to see the grand reveal of the mummy. The reason Wybie had time to finish the EMF meter was because Coraline, Dipper and Norman were handling the gift shop so they weren’t needed downstairs.

Wybie looked over his EMF meter and turned it on. It hummed, but didn’t start beeping right away, which was a good sign unless the twins bedroom was hunted. In which case it should be beeping very incessantly…

Wybie sighed and turned off the device.

“What’s wrong?” Mabel asked.

“Machines I understand. I could tell you a hundred facts about the different spiders and slugs living in the Pacific Northwest. When I don’t know something, I can research it until I figure it out. But this… ghost stuff. I don’t understand it at all

Mabel cocked her head to the side. “And that’s… bad?”

“Yes!” Wybie said, throwing his hands into the air. “We spoke to a ghost, we found a cabin in the woods powered by magic! I’ve seen all this crazy stuff in the past two days and I don’t know how to make sense of it! How am I supposed to learn or study about something that just breaks the laws of physics? I know ghosts are real. I saw Louis with my own eyes and I’ve known monsters are real ever since… Well, that thing that Coraline doesn’t want to talk about. I can see it, and believe in it to a certain extent, but how am I supposed to understand it? What units of measurement do I even use for ectoplasmic energy or the amount of magic powering the cabin? How am I supposed to understand it, let alone build a device to detect it?” He held up the EMF reader in frustration.

To Wybie’s surprise, Mabel giggled. “You sound like my brother.”

“I do?”

“Dipper will go on and on and say that he loves mysteries, but that’s not true. It’s not the mystery he likes, it’s solving them. The truth is my brother hates mysteries. He can’t stand the uncertainty… he hates not knowing, it eats at him. What he really enjoys is putting the pieces together. You’re similar, you like taking things apart and then putting them back together, but better than before. But with this ghost and magic stuff you’re stuck.” She held up his discarded screwdriver. “Your usual tools aren’t going to help you understand.”

“So what I’m I supposed to do?”

Mabel shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know how that stuff works either. What do you usually do when you’re stuck and what you’re trying to do isn’t working?”

Wybie frowned. It wasn’t uncommon for him to get stuck with an engineering problem, but what did he do when he was completely out of his depth?

“You get better tools.” Neil said eagerly and Wybie looked up. “Just like you had me get a different screwdriver for the different sized screws.”

Wybie nodded slowly. “I improvise. But how am I supposed to get better tools to understand magic and ghost stuff?”

Mabel shrugged again. “I guess that’s just another mystery?”

Wybie groaned. “I hate when there are too many mysteries and not enough solutions.”

Mabel grinned. “Welcome to Gravity Falls.”

I'm finally back with the beginning of Act 2! I hope you liked it!

I've also been busy going back and editing this story. I haven't made any major changes so there is no need to reread the story since everything is mostly the same!

Table of Contents <Previous

#Mystery Kids #mystery kids case files #psychonauts #coraline #gravity falls #whispering rock fic

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