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#through gritted teeth. i will get this comic done

earthtooz · 11 months

Text

x : BANDAGED HEART :*+ﾟ

in which: blade finds out you're injured and can't contain his anger.

warnings: gn!reader x protective!blade, fluff, mentions of blood and injuries, 'who did this to you?' trope with blade LOL, slight manhandling, did i mention that he's protective?

a/n: blade debut, omg? this sucks btw but this was inspired by this comic that i saw the other day :> it just reminded me that the 'who did this to you' trope existed and i went YES and took my own spin onto it so, i hope you enjoy!

the smell of antiseptic wafts heavily through the air, bandages sit tightly rolled beside you, and you hiss at the sting of the antibacterial ointment slathered over the open wound on your arm.

it hurts.

blinking the tears away and gritting your teeth to bear with the pain, you reach for the unused roll, clumsily unravelling them with shaking hands and a blurring vision.

“oi.” a raspy voice from behind catches you off guard and you turn around from where you’ve seated yourself in the corner of the medical wing, having helped yourself to a supply of ointment and bandages.

a familiar swordsman and fellow coworker towers above you, glowering at you through the streaks of his bangs. maybe if you weren’t on the verge of fainting, you’d have the energy to fear him.

“oh, it’s just you,” you mutter, “can i help you?”

his eyes glance you up and down, as if scanning you for any indication of misadventure. feeling uneasy under the intensity of his gaze, you return to trying to rip the bandages with bare hands since you had not brought scissors or even a blade with you in your haste.

feeling the blood from your wound drip down your arm and onto the floor beneath you, you cringe, hurrying up so you don’t make a mess. this whole patching-yourself-up-thing should have been easy, but without something sharp and half your strength evaporated after a gruesome mission, it was much harder than usual.

the growing frustration you were feeling was not offering much aid either, and with blade practically towering over you, you try not to let your fluctuating anger overwhelm you.

aeons, it was as if you were sent on this mission with elio praying for your downfall. you’re lucky that you managed to get out with only a scratch on your arm and a missing weapon. it’s going to be hard finding a replacement for it, but when you just looked death in the face, you can’t say you have much to complain about that a weapon was the only thing you lost.

suddenly, two hands sneak underneath your arms to lift you up, breaking your train of thought with a tight, unforgiving grip as you’re effortlessly placed onto a hospital bed right beside you. meeting the ruby eyes of the swordsman, your breath lodges uncomfortably in your throat, and you have to rip your gaze away from him; the intensity would paralyse you otherwise.

“where are you hurt?” he asks, sounding more like a demand than a question.

“i can do it myself,” you grumble. blade takes the bandage out of your hands, holding back your wrist that instinctively reached out to grab it back. the glare he shoots you from the corner of his eye placates any complaint you have.

“show me.”

reluctantly, you present your injured arm. he mutters a very quick and quiet ‘stay here’ before stalking off. a faucet is turned on, water begins running from a nearby sink, and blade returns with a wet cloth.

grabbing your wounded arm, he cleans around the area, rubbing the blood that has trickled down your arm as well. he’s scarily gentle with you, attentive to your every wince and hiss, halting momentarily every time you let a noise slip.

he makes quick work of patching you up, flawless and effortless in his technique. makes sense, you suppose, since he is covered in these.

you wonder how many times he’s had to do this on himself. a small part of your heart aches thinking about it.

“thank you,” you whisper when he’s done, gratitude silently swirling inside you. grabbing the bandages and cloth, you slide off onto your feet. “i’ll put these away.”

stepping in front of you, his body intercepts your path and you’re pressed against the bed, frozen under him. there’s an indescribable look of fury in his eyes, his red eyes seeming even angrier than usual.

“what happened?” he asks.

you have hold yourself up, suddenly weak in the knees. “just a typical mission, it’s nothing you should worry about.”

the fellow stellaron hunter does not look satisfied with your response. “what do you mean ‘nothing you should worry about’? who did this to you?” he asks, punctuating each word with a dark expression.

“blade- please, can we not talk about this right now?” you mutter, “i’m tired and i just want to sleep.”

he narrows his eyes. “who. hurt. you?”

“why? what can you do about it now?”

“kill them.”

you scoff. “yeah, right.”

blade wedges a leg between yours, hindering your escape even further by leaning himself closer to you. “i’m serious.”

“so am i. if you’re thinking about hunting them down, then please, don’t bother. let it go.” you mutter.

“but you got hurt.”

“i get hurt all the time.”

his brows scrunch together, a small indication of the dangerous protectiveness growing within him. you interrupt his train of thoughts, placing a brave hand on his chest; right over his heart. ‘i’m fine. you don’t need to worry about me.”

“i’m not worried,” he grumbles lowly.

“oh. i see.”

he grabs your hand and takes it away from his chest, holding you gently. “i’m angry that you got hurt.”

you’re speechless, blinking at the swordsman who raises your hand to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of it. it feels like a promise- not that you know what said promise is, but with that look in his eyes, you know it’s not a peaceful one.

“so why don’t you tell me the truth? who did this to you?”

the answer slips past your lips before you can help it and when the words are spilled, a creeping guilt invades you. whatever he’s planning, you know that bloodshed will follow.

“see, that wasn’t so hard.”

in a blink of an eye, blade is gone, taking the intense pressure with him. he left so quickly that you wonder if he was ever here to begin with. the lingering brush of his lips is the only indication that he was not a figment of your half-aware conscious.

#blade x reader #blade hsr x reader #ren x reader #hsr x reader #honkai star rail x reader #hsr x gn!reader #blade x gn!reader #blade fluff #blade x reader fluff

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inkdrinkerworld · 2 months

Note

hi! maybe logan getting worried/protective over u after u get injured during a mission? 🥺🩷

Canon level (based on the comic books mostly) wounds and violence (it’s nothing too gory besides the wound description)

“Move out of my fucking way Scott,” you hear him before you see him which isn’t really a good sign.

You’d gone on a mission the same time he was out on one too, and though it had just been a simple recon mission, things got heated quick.

Zeitgeist was a bitch like usual, and you weren’t as fast as you might’ve been had there not been a falling child to save.

So now, your entire right side is rippled under the acid of his spit and you can’t deny the agony you’re in.

“She’s fine,” Scott says but you know your boyfriend.

He pushes past him and is at your side almost instantly. Your eyes take a moment to adjust to him being so close but when they settle on his face, the clear panic and worry is clear to see.

“I’m fine, Lo.” You say, teeth gritted through each word as Charles asses the wound.

You’re no longer in your suit, just in a pair of pants and a sports bra, your hair is drenched and Logan can only guess they just hosed you down to get rid of the majority of the acid.

It still burns like a bitch and you can’t hide that from the man who knows you so well.

“Bullshit,” he grumbles, hands brushing back the hair from your face. “Can’t you all do something instead of just fucking staring at it?”

The question is packed with worry that none of them are accustomed to seeing on Logan, but you swear you see Ororo smirk.

She’d been the only one to notice his soft underbelly- well beside you.

“We’re waiting for Hank to bring the antidote Logan,” you say gently, stroking his tense forearm. “I’m fine baby.”

It’s the ‘baby’ that softens him, that gets him to take a deep breath and press his forehead into yours.

“Fucking scared me,” he murmurs and the others all find themselves busy- besides Scott, he wants something to tease the man about as per the rules of their friendship. “Don’t do that shit again.” His hands are on your neck, thumbs under your chin so you can’t look away.

“I didn’t really have a choice, I had to save the kid.” He nods, pressing his lips to your temple. Hank saves him from blowing up again when you wince and the green acid bubbles a little more.

“Fucking finally, what took you so long?” He grunts, Hank only shaking his head as he pours the blue liquid over your wound.

“Fuck,” you cry out, hand itching to press against your side or slap Hank’s hands away but Logan stops you.

“Fucking say something next time, yeah big guy?” He growls but then you hiss again and he’s all focused on you again.

“You’re good, you’re okay bub.” It’s whispered straight into your hairline and if you were a little more cognizant you’d notice that Logan can’t stop glaring at the wound.

“We caught it in time, the antidote won’t reverse the burn completely, but it will be soothing it and fixing the majority of it.” Hank pulls on gloves, the snap of it on his wrist filling the room. “There’s a salve you need to put on it for the healing process.”

“Thanks Hank,” you whisper, much too tired for much else. “Can I go now?” Logan notices then how utterly exhausted you look and sets aside his anger and worry for a moment to dote on you.

“Yes, but Logan monitor the wound and how it heals over the next few weeks. The skin should be back to normal when the salve is done.” The professor says and Logan nods dutifully before picking you up off the med and taking the salve from Hank.

“C’mon, pretty girl.” He takes you back to your room and is smearing the salve on your side. “You’re not doing that shit again, I swear to whatever there is.”

You give him a small smile, “Getting hurt is part of it Logan, I can’t avoid that completely.”

He frowns and then presses a kiss right above your wounded side. “You don’t get how scary it is to hear, ‘she’s in the infirmary, an acid wound’, I nearly ripped Bobby in half.”

You stretch a hand to bury in his hair. “I know baby, but this was just a one time thing. Zeitgeist isn’t exactly unscathed either.”

Logan smiles, his lips pressing into your unblemished skin again. “Fire burns Logan, what can I say.”

“You’re fucking perfect, you know that?” You giggle a little, more so when he holds your cheeks and stamps a kiss to your lips. “Get some shut eye, m’gonna get one of the kids to make you soup.”

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sanguineterrain · 8 months

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For the drabbles!!

Can you walk? I need you to walk for me! With Dick, if that sounds interesting to you!!

Loved the Drabble you posted, you’re a talented writer!

thanks very much nonnie 🥺❤️ wanted to switch it up and whump dickie boy >:)

"can you walk? i need you to walk." - dick grayson x gn!reader. tw: injured dick, bullet wound, reader tasers a bad guy. dick's not dead i prommy!! Loosely based on the Nightwing 2021 comics.

prompt lists are here! i reblog all fics to @sanguinelibrary

****

You wake up to the beeping of the distress signal. Instantly, you're awake, fumbling for the comm bud to put in your ear.

"—in, do you copy? Nightwing needs help, he's—"

"Where is he, Babs?" you ask, flinging the sheet off of your legs and jumping into your suit.

"Blüdhaven City Hall."

"What the hell? Alone?"

Barbara sighs. "Yes. I didn't know until the mayor texted."

Anger flares. You tamp it down because Barbara hasn't done anything wrong, and it's not fair to snap at her for Dick's stupid choices.

Besides, the anger is only to mask the chilling fear that bubbles up.

You stick to the rooftops like Dick himself had taught you when you were first getting the hang of the vigilante thing. You're more like Barbara in that you prefer to stay on the sidelines and help.

But if Dick is in trouble, you're there.

Your heart pounds; you can barely hear the instructions Barbara's giving you as you approach City Hall.

"Is he conscious?" you ask, interrupting her.

She doesn't answer at first.

"Oracle," you press, gritting your teeth as you descend down the roof access stairs. "Is he awake?"

"I don't know. I lost his comm link."

The fear sharpens. Your heart beats so fast, you're afraid you might collapse.

"He's alive, though. His suit vitals are still elevated."

You run faster, flying down the stairwell. It takes some searching to find Dick since his mask camera is also destroyed, according to Barbara. But you manage to track him down relatively fast.

Dick is bound to a chair, puddles of blood at his feet. You rush over and pull at the knots without thinking, growing frustrated when they don't turn loose.

"Blade on your left side."

You startle hard at Dick's voice. He lifts his head slowly and you stifle a gasp at his face. One of the lenses of his mask is cracked. His cheek is bloody and nearly black with bruises. His suit is torn and dirty.

They'd left him for dead.

"I found him, Babs."

You hear her sigh of relief. She starts to organize your exit route. You're only half listening as you slice through the ropes with the blade you forgot you had in your left pocket.

Dick's arms hang at his sides even after you free them. They'd done a number on him.

He watches you as you free his legs next.

"Suit looks good on you," he says, head lolling. "Peak design, if y'ask me."

"You're so stupid," you say, bowing your head so he can't see the tears that sting your eyes. "This was an idiotic thing you did, Dick."

"Alias names only in the field," he reminds you.

You yank the rope harder than you mean to and free his legs.

Dick has to use his whole body to push himself off of the chair. Even so, he stumbles, and you rush to catch him. Your heart jumps to your throat. Of course he'd hide how bad his injuries are.

"Oracle, call Batman."

"No," Dick grits, shaking his head. "Don't call him."

"You can barely move. I can't carry you myself."

You wish you could. As furious as you are, you'd carry him home.

"Am I calling him?" Barbara asks in your ear.

A door slams somewhere upstairs. Cold sweat erupts all over your body. Dick looks at you, and you know he heard it too.

"Guys, am I calling Batman or not?"

"No, we can do it," you say against your better judgment. "Can you move?"

Dick nods rapidly, though you don't totally believe him. You sling an arm under his arm, then wrap your other arm around his waist. He puts nearly all of his weight on you, though you can tell he's using what little strength he has left to try and shift his weight.

The two of you go like that, Dick half limping. You try not to think about how his blood stains your suit.

You move slowly, which unfortunately means that the goon upstairs catches up to you. He pulls out a gun, and Dick shoves you aside before you can advance. He pays the price for it when the goon shoots his leg.

Dick screams.

Quick as Flash, you grab an escrima stick and charge the taser to two thousand volts. Then you ram it into the goon's gut.

He drops like a sack of potatoes. You don't check if he's breathing.

"We don't kill," Dick says as you return the stick to his back holster.

You harshly cut the goon's shirt with your blade and tourniquet Dick's bullet wound. He hisses in pain.

"I didn't kill him," you snap.

"You could've. What the hell was that?"

"That was me stopping him before he blew your brains out!" you shout. "That was me making sure the commissioner doesn't have to fish your body out of the river!"

Dick's head thumps against the wall. His suit is slick with blood. "That wouldn't have happened."

"You could've died tonight, Dick! Why can't you get that through your head?"

His eyes close for too long on the next blink. You kneel in front of him immediately, shaking his shoulder. He grunts.

"Dick, no. Wake up. Don't do this, you gotta stay awake for me."

"'M awake," he says groggily. "I'm..."

"Oracle," you say, panicked. "Vitals."

"His heart rate is sluggish; he's lost a lot of blood. You have to—"

"Dick," you say, shaking his shoulder again. "Dickie, you gotta get up. Can you walk? I need you to walk for me."

"'Kay," he whispers, barely lifting his arm.

"Okay, I've got you. Ready? One, two—"

You lift him and stagger under his full weight.

"Sorry," he murmurs, and you feel sick.

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize. I shouldn't have yelled, I'm sorry. Stay awake, okay?"

He hums. You manage to establish a decent gait between the two of you. Dick stumbles along, trying his best to walk independently.

You're almost out of City Hall when Dick collapses. This time, he doesn't get up.

"No, no. Wake up, Dick, wake up. Come on, come on!"

You shake him as hard as you'll let yourself. Dick doesn't stir.

"There's so much blood," you say, your hands sticky with it. "B-Babs..."

"I'm sending help right now. B's on his way, okay?" She sounds just as wrecked as you feel. "Just hold on."

You cradle Dick's head and suck in gasping breaths, keeping pressure on his thigh.

That's how Batman finds you, shaking and hunched over his son.

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson x you #dick grayson x y/n #dick grayson fanfiction #nightwing x reader #nightwing x you #nightwing imagines #batman fanfiction #dc fanfiction #inbox #blurb

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piratecaptainscaptainpirates · 4 months

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Had a hankerin' to see Ed get pampered and fussed over by the crew, so wrote this little scene. Bon appétit, get loved nerd

It happened, Ed thought, because he still wasn’t used to going without the gloves.

He’d been helping the crew run the rigging, and he’d assumed he’d be fine, estimating based on having some sort of cover on his hands, and he’d fucked up and wound up with a rope burn down his palm.

He grit his teeth and put up with it, only allowing himself to gingerly shake his hand and examine the injury once the job was done. “Shitfuck,” he mumbled to himself as he looked at the blood pooling in his palm.

“What’s that? Rope burn?” Frenchie looked at Ed’s hand over his shoulder, and then waved his hand to get Roach’s attention. “Oy! We’ve got a rope burn!”

Ed jumped a mile at a hand on his arm, and turned to see Archie pointing him to go sit down on the railing.

“No, no, that’s not-” Ed cleared his throat, instinctually stuffing his injured hand in his pocket. “It’s just a rope burn.”

“Yeah, and Jim got a rope burn last week, and they let us take care of them,” Archie said. “You think you’re tougher than them? You wanna say that to their face?”

“Guess not.” Ed allowed himself to be steered towards the railing, and his face burned when the crew gathered around to gawk at his injured hand. Olu winced sympathetically, and Pete tried to pretend he’d seen worse even as he turned a bit green.

“Might need to amputate it,” Pete said.

“Fuck no!” Ed hid his hand behind his back. “It’s barely bleeding, man.”

“Your loss,” Pete shrugged. “I could make you a really cool wooden hand. Probably cooler than Spanish Jackie’s, even.”

“I swear to God, babe,” Lucius hissed, “you’ve got to stop telling people we need to cut their limbs off.”

“Who’s got the rope burn?” That was Roach, pushing through the crowd with a bowl of water in hand and a roll of bandages tucked beneath his elbow. Ed’s face went all hot but Roach didn’t even say a fucking thing, didn’t even question that Ed deserved to be sitting there getting fussed over. “Yowch, that’s a good one. Might need to amputate.”

Ed barely had enough time to gawk open-mouthed at him, considering making a run for it, before Roach laughed playfully.

“You should’ve seen your face,” he chuckled as he held out a hand, waiting for Ed to offer his injured hand up for examination.

Ed gritted his teeth as Roach cleaned the burn with a wet cloth, accompanied by the crew hissing sympathetically.

“Why,” Ed started, before he got a little overwhelmed by everyone continuing to fuss over him like he was a sick kitten and went back to staring sheepishly at the ground.

“Because no one deserves to just sit around and be in pain when we could help,” Olu said, as if that made the most sense in the world. “Why wouldn’t we help? There’s no need for you to just go off and bleed alone somewhere.”

“I mean…” Ed watched as Roach wrapped his hand in a neat bandage. “That’s just life though, isn’t it?”

Archie grinned at him. “Not our life.”

“We’d do the same for any of us,” Frenchie told him reasonably. “Besides, we don’t want you to die, man. Who’d tell the best ghost stories then?”

“And who’d let us know when there’s a storm coming?” Olu added.

Fang smiled at him. “And who would help me fish?”

When Stede stepped out on deck to see what the commotion was about, it was to everyone still standing around Ed, reminding him how he should be sure not to get the dressing on his hand wet, or pick up anything too heavy with that hand, and to be careful to keep it clean. “What’s going on here?”

“Oh, hey, Cap,” Roach said. “Ed got a rope burn.”

Ed kind of lamely held out his injured hand, which still seemed comically disproportionate to the big deal everyone was making out of it. “It’s just a rope burn.”

“Ah.” Stede smiled at Ed’s befuddled expression. “And he’s getting the same treatment Jim got when they got a rope burn last week, I take it?”

Ed ran a finger over the bandages on his hand, only half-listening as they started in with embellishing the story (by the time they finished, Ed had apparently pushed through despite the burn for twenty full minutes, and if you looked, half the rigging was blood-stained). It actually felt a little nice to be fussed over, he thought. He could get used to it.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd fic #my fics #long post #get loved nerd. get absolutely cherished loser

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kairiscorner · 9 months

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ok but like when you get angry with him and you're a whole foot (or two) shorter than him, it gets comical.

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

"you're haphazard, you don't think before you act–face it, you're a liability. even mayday's got more discipline in her little pinky than you do in your whole body." he said as he crossed his arms over his chest as he glared down at you with an unamused face. you scoffed and smiles sarcastically at him.

"i'm haphazard? a liability? i'm literally one of the best ones on the team, you're gonna accuse me of being a screw up?" you asked him as miguel pinched his nose bridge and sighed. "your methods were uncalled for, they were messy and crude. your mind is stuck in kindergarten it seems, you're so immature." miguel muttered through gritted teeth, and that was the final straw for you.

you were sick of not being taken seriously by him when everyone else was cool with you, you knew miguel wasn't here to make friends, and you didn't care, you were okay without being his friend. but when he's out here nitpicking every little thing you did and finding faults in all your hard work. "listen here, you..." you seethed as you walked over to him and pressed your pointer finger against his... abdomen.

you sighed as you went over to the corner and picked up a chair, it was slow since you had shorter legs, but you refused to let miguel have his way. you came back in a huff as you set the chair down and got on top of it, now able to dig your finger on miguel's chest.

"...i have been working just as hard as you and everyone else here has. i pick up my own slack and make things work when your way is clearly not the best way all the time. now i'd appreciate it if you'd just shove your insults up your ass for once and take me seriously!" you exclaimed angrily, heaving once you were done.

miguel eyes you up and down, with you still much shorter than he was. "so you really had to get a chair to prove a point?" he asked you condescendingly as he raised an eyebrow at you, his eyes not leaving his gaze on you once. you groaned and started stomping your feet on the chair out of frustration, muttering angrily how miguel was such a patronizing, self-absorbed bastard. miguel grabbed your cheeks with his hand and gently moved your head to make eye contact with him.

"you really are immature. but certainly... witty with your plans on how to get your way. this was a very adorable act of defiance, muy bien. chiquita." he said with a smirk as your eyes got bigger and a flusteredness filled your face at the sound of miguel... praising you for your stubbornness. he really liked you this way, and you being much tinier than him made him way too fond of you despite you not being the most organized or put-together member of the team.

tags !! @miguelswifey04 @binibinileonara @fiannee @arachnoia @ophanimgold @fictarian @yuridopted0

#miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x you #miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel o'hara fluff #miguel o'hara fanfiction #atsv #atsv fluff #atsv imagines #atsv x reader #atsv x you #atsv x y/n #atsv miguel #spiderman 2099 #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderman across the spiderverse fluff #spiderman across the spiderverse x reader #fuck where did the motivation to make longer fics go

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bluegiragi · 1 year

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Complicated - Ghost/Soap [FIC]

[AN: I don't usually write fics and this definitely won't become a trend, but I had a major brainworm today and had to get it down on the page.

Relevant content tags: miscommunication, mutual pining, ghost being an idiot, angst angst ANGST IF THIS DOESN'T HURT THEN I DIDN'T DO A GOOD ENOUGH JOB.]

ghostsoap but where simon, hurt by a history of shitty relationships and the residual trauma of watching his father destroy his mother, sabotages his own relationship with soap out of fear, terrified by how strongly he feels for the man.

He ends it just as it's supposed to start.

It's a mistake from the beginning, a culmination of adrenaline running high after a job well done, just the slightest buzz of alcohol and Johnny's voice in his ear the entire night. It has him running hot, running stupid, but all he can think of in the moment is how good it feels to kiss Soap so hard it hurts. They tumble into Soap's room in a mess of limbs and he shoves Soap down onto his bed, gets his mouth on him, his hand on him and the sounds he makes, fuck, the feeling of his hands in his hair as he presses his teeth into the curve of his ass-

it's so good that it's heady, makes him more delirious than a fully stocked bar could and he's stuck in the haze of Johnny, Johnny, Johnny and it's only when he hears how he moan his name ("Si, oh fuck - Simon!) as he cums that he realises-

-he loves him.

the realisation opens up a pit in his stomach. it's like someone just dropped him into an ice bath and suddenly he's seeing this in all it's naked, horrifying glory. how he's in his own sergeant's bed, how Soap is petting at his face, almost sleepily, dazed, sated, smiling at him like he's hung the fucking moon and stars and fuck. Fuck.

Ghost shoots to his feet so fast it's almost comical, methodically striding over to where he discarded his clothes when he stumbled into the room (when he wasn't thinking) to drag on his pants, his shirt, his fucking mask (goddamnit). Soap watches him from the bed, his eyebrows lifted in a half-amused half-confused quirk.

"Where you off to?"

"Back to my room."

"Y'know, most people like to linger after they do the deed. Bask in the afterglow."

Soap stands to cross the room and Ghost almost swears. He can't find his boots.

"You have done this before, right L.T?" Soap says it to tease, but a hint of sincerity creeps in, a tentative olive branch in face of whatever thing he must think Ghost is doing.

"I'm not a blushing virgin if that's what you're asking."

"It's not. I'm asking about your history."

Ghost freezes. The pit in his stomach widens into a black fucking hole.

"...I have one."

Soap whistles. Ghost, having finally caught sight of his remaining boot, yanks it on almost fast enough to tear through the sole.

"That bad huh? What happened?"

"Things got complicated."

"And this - this isn't complicated?" Soap asks with a smile. Ghost stares at him for a moment, as the dawning reality of his situation sinks its claws into him. It is. God, it might just be the most complicated things have ever been for him. Fucking hell.

Ghost turns away, does up his laces and gets to his feet.

"Not yet."

"Yet? What's that supposed to mean?" A hint of defensiveness is starting to creep into Soap's voice. Ghost needs to get out of here before that hint burrows under his skin and convinces him to do something idiotic, like get back into bed with the (still naked) man who he just realised he's in too deep with.

"Nothing. See you topside." is all he says as he takes a step towards the door, and then suddenly Soap is there, blocking his view and his stride with a hand on his chest.

"Simon, what's wrong? You're...something's up." he says, and the clench of his heart at the sound of his concern has Ghost gritting his teeth.

"What, because I don't want to spend the night?"

"The fuck?" Soap laughs out, almost incredulous. "I didn't say that, I j-just -" he stutters, Ghost's mind almost coos and he wants to rip that voice out of his head and suffocate it under a pillow. "What is wrong with you? We fuck once and now I'm chopped liver?"

Johnny stares at him, a crease deepening between his eyebrows, a slight lift to his lips like he's wanting this to be a joke, something in passing, not what he's beginning to understand it is. And the fear, the anger, at Johnny for making him feel this way, for overcomplicating things, at himself for letting him in - it spills out like something poisonous in Ghost's throat, black and putrid and smelling like his father's breath on his worst nights.

Ghost fixes him with a glare.

"Is it really so impossible for you to understand this meant more to you than it did to me, Sergeant?"

He regrets the words the moment they leave his mouth but they're out there. Hanging in the air, frozen. Soap stares at him, unmoving.

"...What?" he says in a rasp like in that moment he's giving him a chance to take it back. But Ghost's throat is closed up with something thick and the moment passes and Johnny's expression shutters, eyes blinking, his lips curling up into a wry mirthless grin. He shakes his head at the floor, a hollow laugh jerking out of his chest.

"Alright then," he mutters almost too quiet to hear and then he looks back up at Ghost and the smile falls. "Get out."

"Soap-"

"Get the fuck out."

Ghost is more or less shoved into the corridor and the door slams behind him with a jarring finality. The silence that falls afterwards feels emptier somehow and for a second, he considers going back inside. Knocking at the door, begging Johnny to let him in, apologising, saying it was all a mistake. Saying that he loved him.

But he doesn't. He hasn't got the parts to do this right. He knows that. His father knew it. Every relationship he's ever had knew it, knew there wasn't enough material to build anything in the pit that was Simon Riley. Staying, giving either of them hope, letting this thing fester into something he'd have to watch die one day -

- this was a mercy. Soap would find someone better. He'd understand in the end.

Simon walks back to his room.

Inside, Soap waits until he can't hear Ghost's footsteps anymore before he slides down the length of the door and digs the heels of his palms into his eyes. His stupid, burning eyes.

"Stupid," he hisses quietly to himself. "You stupid, fucking idiot."

The next day they're called into a briefing and run into each other in the hall. It's tense. Ghost stares down at the circles under Soap's eyes, how those baby blues widen then flatten into something (colder, his thoughts unhelpfully supply) simpler.

"Sergeant," Ghost says in acknowledgement. Business like always. They've always worked well together. After this passes, after Soap...recovers from whatever shit got into his head that Simon fucking Riley was worth any part of him -

"Lieutenant."

Soap's eyes flick away, forward, and he brushes past him into the briefing room, leaving Ghost standing out in the hallway. 'Lieutenant'. It's his title, there shouldn't be anymore to it. But -

"Let's get ourselves a win yeah, L.T?"

There's something tight in his chest. Ghost clenches his jaw.

When he walks inside the room, Soap is far over on the right side, sitting next to Gaz, chatting animatedly. He doesn't pause when Ghost walks past, doesn't even look as he settles into his seat. Price shoots him a glance from the front. Ghost stares resolutely ahead.

"What the fuck did you do, Simon? Shit in his breakfast?" Price levels an accusatory stare his way once they're alone in his office and instinctively, Ghost bristles. And then the look on Soap's face last night comes back to him, the rasp of his "...What?". That last chance he didn't take.

He deflates, and pours himself a glass of the whiskey sitting on top of his captain's desk.

"I ended something before it could start."

Price's eyes soften, almost imperceptibly.

"Oh, son. You didn't."

"It's for both our sakes," Ghost says with a finality, and downs the glass in one go.

#[insert angel emoji]#simon is so fucked up emotionally #im sorry for hurting both him and johnny in this #not really #but also i do think ghost would be his own worst enemy in this sort of situation #motherfucker would overthink the shit out of a relationship #anyway feel free to continue this if y'all feel like it #my writing frenzy ended where the fic ended and i dont think writing a continuation is in the cards for a while #ghostsoap #fic #angst #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #giragi writes

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gorbalsvampire · 5 months

Note

What are your top 3 favorite clans? Either to make a character for or to use as a Storyteller? :3

Oooooooh, thanks for asking! I'll do these in reverse order, build up to the best.

Number three: Malkavian

My original faves, and a clan about whom I have some sTRoNg oPiNIoNs. See, the thing with Malkavians is that for years and years and years it felt like nobody thought for two minutes about how the rules for Derangements work. Too many Malks were played as hapless victims of their insanity, driven to ooky-kooky comic relief bullshit behaviour or dark tormented scary deep mental anguish all the time - and that's not how it works. The Malkavian Derangement was incurable, as in it would never be removed - it was not insurmountable!

Derangements could be overcome through the expenditure of Willpower, scene by scene. Willpower could be recycled through a careful choice of Nature and Demeanour to indulge. Malkavians were about powering through, being a dangerous and cogent master of the mind whammy, surfing your own mind's wild tides with gritted teeth and every now and then, when it didn't matter so much, when you had the luxury of rest, unclenching your jaw and letting the madness take you.

Therese Voerman is my poster girl for what a Malkavian should be: she's competent, ruthless, and clearly has problems that she's keeping under control through sheer cognitive heft/letting Jeanette out to play when it's all too much.

Anyway. Malks. Love the Disciplines, love the Network, love the visions, love the savagery of a well done, targeted prank. V5 moving them away from "a specific instance of mental illness with oversimplified game rules" and toward "chronic mental overstimulation which manifests as a consistent game rules penalty" is a subtle change but a good one. None of my games feel complete without at least one Malkavian.

Number two: Lasombra

Elegant, classical, lordly, and aggressive. None of the subtlety and resilience of their Ventrue arch rivals: the Lasombra will break you in body (Potence) mind (Dominate), or both (Oblivion), and if you're mortal and you impress them, they will make you rise again.

I love the existential, spatial, cosmic horror of Obtenebration; I love their connection with the ocean and their warring against themselves over and over (and yet with an oversight body that transcends the lines of conflict); I love the hubris that swears they destroyed their Antediluvian and how that's come back to haunt them in V5.

They make great antagonists - I've always felt that in OG Masquerade especially, the Sabbat pillar clans' Disciplines were designed to enable cool boss fights, and being thrown around by a shadow monster or enveloped and consumed by a roiling tide of darkness... mmmm... sorry, I was supposed to be talking about tactical challenge, but then I got to thinking about how sexy Lasombra are and... look, check my intro post, Ib from LABN nailed the archetype and frankly she could nail me too.

Number one: Hecata

Always and forever. The OGs. Every incarnation of them has delighted me. Necromancy and vampirism walk hand in hand for me (I was a Warhammer Undead guy before I was a Vampire: the Masquerade enby). The Cappadocians are patient, thoughtful, genteel court wizards who get done dirty (by their mediocre "here to go!" Clanbook as well as by the Giovanni) and come back SCARY/become something new in hiding. The Giovanni are delightfully loathsome literary-Gothic villains - seriously, they're rich decadent incestuous black-magic loving Italians? did Anne Radcliffe write for V:tM? - AND sassy East Coast gangsters with a sorcerous twist.

They aren't perfect - the Family Reunion creaks with artifice, the Nagaraja shouldn't exist be there, there is no WAY a skyscraper in the middle of Venice is acceptable world building, the Nayson San An are one of those early WW concepts that's always going to be stained by racism, and what's been done to Necromancy over the years, from a rules bloat/design standpoint, is a bloody shambles.

I think a lot of what I love about them comes from me rather than from the developers. I've put a nonzero amount of thought into who ended up where vis. Reunion, Chamber, Council, into the history of Venice and its involvement with the Fourth Crusade and the collapse of Constantinople's Dream, into reinvigorating the gangster stereotype and into the history of Scottish banking and slave trading... but! but! no other clan has ever inspired me to do so many deep dives, to commit to such bits as "how do you make a Giovanni who can just hang out with any old coterie and you'd barely even know he was a Giovanni?"

The bottom line is that I like concepts with flaws, because flaws inspire creative fanwork. I yearn to work a problem, and the Hecata are raddled with problems. Marbled with them, like a tasty steak - they just need proper preparation to be served.

#vtm #hecata #clan hecata #lasombra #clan lasombra #malkavian #clan malkavian #vampire the masquerade #von answers #meta #sTRoNg oPiNIoNs #therese voerman #labn #vamily #ib

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justanotherfanwriter · 6 months

Text

Life of the party

a/n: huntlow one-shot from Luz's perspective because there's nothing like making a fool of yourself in front of your self-appointed sister. (I missed writing these two. I just think they're adorable.)

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

“Luz,” Hunter sneered, “no. Absolutely not. We have so much to do! That’s why I’m here. It’s not like I can just up and leave Dell and Mrs. Clawthorn whenever I want. I have a job.”

Luz rolled her eyes, her smile falling as annoyance pulsed through her, “I hardly think taking a break is a waste of time. We’ve been going at this since this morning, and—��

“—and nothing. Yeah, I’d love to have fun with everyone. It’s not like I am opposed to fun—”

“—you’re sure acting like it—” Luz murmured, crossing her arms.

Hunter glared and continued talking like she hadn’t said anything at all, “—but I didn’t fly in for fun. Darius needs this stuff done now and—”

“—I think if I called Darius right now, he’d literally say verbatim, ‘Hunter, you’re being a party-pooper. Take a break and make wonderful lasting memories with your friends'!” She argued back, her voice rising in frustration.

“Verbatim, Luz, verbatim, Darius would say that, really? You sure about that?” Hunter mocked in that uppity way of his that made her want to punch the smug look right off his face.

“Yes,” She hissed, “I am! Because we can’t just work, work, work without any fun, and anyway, it’s too late! Everyone’s already here because I knew you’d act like this and invited them ahead of time, trapping you here with social convention, so ha-ha, you’re stuck!”

“Ha-ha, I’ll just tell them to leave!” Hunter mocked, gritting his teeth, “We have work to do.”

“Ha-ha! You can’t! It’s my party!”

“Ha! Ha! I don’t care!” Hunter leaned forward with a snarl, but she was hardly intimidated, matching his energy. Soon, they weren’t even coherently yelling at each other, with their teeth bared and foreheads practically squished together.

“HA!”

“Luz?”

Hunter’s eye went comically wide, his face paling then flushing. He pulled away from her quickly as they turned towards Willow’s voice, who had poked her head down the stairs.

“I’m down here, Willow!” Luz called back, shoving Hunter out of the way as she bounded to the stairwell.

“There you are,” Willow met her at the bottom, letting Luz wrap her up in a bear hug. Willow laughed as Luz picked her up and twirled her around before gently setting her back down.

“Luz,” She chided playfully, “I’m too heavy for that.”

“Nonsense. Absolute nonsense!” Luz gasped, picking her up and doing it again. “How are you, my absolutely beautiful, gorgeous, wonderfully talented bestest-best friend?”

“Oh, shucks,” Willow blushed, bashfully waving off the praise, “I’m doing great. I just wanted to ask if you’d like me to take that spiked cider off the stove? Or—” Willow’s eyes flickered to the right, and she smiled, “—or leave it on for a bit longer? Hey, Hunter. I didn’t see you there.”

He nodded and raised his hand in greeting, holding eye contact for only a mere few seconds before his gaze jumped away.

“It’s fine on a simmer,” Luz answered, “I want it to be nice and warm for everyone.”

“Well, it smells delicious,” Willow’s gaze left Hunter and flickered back to her. “Is there anything else you need done? Gus is upstairs with Amity, getting the rest of everything set up, and people are starting to pile in.” She looked between them before turning her full attention back to Hunter. “Gus brought that game I was telling you about, and—” She stopped short, cocking an eyebrow as she peered behind them, “—what are you two doing down here? Working?”

“Unfortunately,” Luz rolled her eyes.

“It’s the weekend!” Willow chided, “We’re supposed to be having fun. What in the world could you two be working on so late?”

She crossed the small workspace she and Hunter had created in Eda’s basement and peered down at the mountain of papers surrounding them all afternoon. After picking up one tome, Willow’s eyebrows screwed together in confusion, “Sheesh, this isn’t light reading at all. What’s this all about?”

“Hey, don’t look at me.” Luz huffed, “That side of the table is Hunter’s. I’m trying to convince him to take a break.”

Willow tsked, smiling again as she shot Hunter a coy look, “I should have known. What? Were you planning on barricading yourself away down here the whole weekend without even saying hi?”

Hunter stood a little straighter, “uh, no, I—” He looked away again, “—I was . . . definitely going to say hi.”

Luz groaned, reading right through his avoidant behavior, “You haven’t been in Bonesbourgh in forever. We’re doing much more than saying hello.”

Hunter opened his mouth to argue, but Willow laughed, placing a hand on her hip, “And a two-second conversation outside someone’s bedroom window does not count as a hello, this time, got it?”

This piqued Luz’s interest. “What two-second conversation outside a bedroom window?”

Willow’s smile grew, and she missed the glare Hunter shot Luz.

“Oh, you know, a few weeks ago when he was in? I got a knock on my bedroom window—in the middle of the night—” Willow shot another look at Hunter, nudging him slightly with her shoulder, “—and it was Mister Master Apprentice ‘just flying through,’” She quoted.

Willow started to laugh, but her smile fell when she saw the look on her face. “He was picking things up for Dell, you know?” She looked at Hunter again, “Luz knew, right?”

Luz’s jaw dropped, “You were in Bonesbourgh! And you didn’t say hi!”

“Oh, thorns, was I not supposed to say anything?” Willow asked with a sheepish lilt in her voice.

“I was literally passing through. I had time-sensitive potions in my bag. I needed to go.” Hunter argued, “They were for Dell.”

Luz threw a hand towards Willow, “You made time to say hi to Willow! Did you say hi to Gus?”

“No! It was—it was just Willow,” He admitted, a flush settling across his nose, “her place was on the—on the way.” Her place wasn’t on the way, and they all knew that. The deadpanned look on her face told him she knew as much, so he lamely tacked on, “The potions were time-sensitive. It was an in-and-out operation! I only had time for—” He looked at Willow and pleaded, “—it was only a two-second hello.”

“It definitely was only two seconds. He knocked on my window and stayed long enough for me to wave.” Willow explained, seemingly taking pity on him, “But not this time! You are coming upstairs, right?” She reached for his hand, “I’ve missed you.”

Luz could literally see the argument die on Hunter’s tongue. His eyes darted across Willow’s face as the slight flush on his face grew exponentially, traveling down his neck and covering his ears. She smirked, not at all ignorant of the real reason Hunter had made time to see Willow and Willow alone.

Willow-fever, as Luz often joked, was very much a real, tangible illness, and Hunter had been suffering its effects long before his apprenticeship with Dell. Her, Gus, and even, sometimes, Amity were prone to using Hunter’s crush to their advantage from time to time. It was like a game they all played in, excluding Willow, of course, who seemed largely oblivious, or at least willfully ignorant to her part in it.

Hunter couldn’t manage much more than a soft “Mmhm” in response, eyes trained solely on their entwined fingers.

“Are you almost done down here, then?” Willow squeezed his hand before letting go, “What are you two working on, anyway? You never said.”

“Oh, it’s, um, we were—” Hunter looked down at the research material they had been preparing for Darius and Raine. He fiddled with the tower of tomes he had been reading, and Luz watched with thinly veiled amusement as he suffered through a tongue-tied explanation. “—it’s uh, just research, you know, boring. Not—I mean—it is important, but, uh, how are, um, what’s been—I mean, uh—” He laughed, clearing his throat “—wh—what’s up? With you?”

In an obvious attempt to appear casual, Hunter leaned against the pile of tomes, which, almost instantly, tumbled under his weight. He slipped and cursed, cringing as the tomes and scrolls fell to the floor.

“Sorry!” He scrambled after the scrolls, shrinking in on himself—ears so red, they were practically steaming.

Luz pitied the poor guy but was still pissed enough at him for being such a crabapple, so she hid a mean snort behind her hand instead of helping him. He shot her another dirty look as Willow bent down and began collecting the tomes and scrolls gathered at her feet.

As Willow handed over the scrolls she had collected to Hunter, she answered his question with a shrug, “Oh, nothing much new with me. It’s been a while, though, hasn’t it? I’m glad you’re here. We’ve got a lot to catch up on, so—” she wagged another finger at him and giggled, “—I better see you up there.”

Hunter’s response was delayed, but eventually, he shook his head and seemingly, to the untrained eye, appeared more concerned about the pile of scrolls in his arms than the witch in front of him.

“Like I said, Gus brought this new CV game,” Willow continued to explain, “and he’s totally better at it than me, so I’m calling dibs on you right now for my team. I gotta knock him down a peg or two. You in?”

Hunter nodded, “Yeah, cool. Sounds like a plan.”

Willow’s smile widened, and with a cheeky wink, said, “Perfect, I’m gonna head back upstairs and rub it in Gus’s face. He’s going to be so jealous that you’re all mine tonight. No way we’ll lose!”

Hunter laughed awkwardly, “Y-yep, all yours.”

“And are you sure you don’t need me to do anything before everyone else gets here?” Willow looked at her.

Luz smiled, “Just you being here has done wonders already. You have no idea.”

“Haha, sure, sure!” Willow beamed, waving off the praise as she headed back toward the stairs. Halfway through her way up, she paused and addressed them seriously, “Don’t take too long down here, you two, or I swear, I’ll pull you upstairs myself.”

“We’ll be there real soon!” Luz called after her.

“Yeah, soon.” Hunter echoed, his gaze following Willow all the way up the stairs, waving to her one last time before she disappeared completely.

As he watched Willow leave, the look shining in his eyes was so unbelievably soft that Luz could feel her anger toward him dissipating. Left in its place was an overwhelming sense of smugness that she didn’t bother hiding.

When Willow was officially gone, Hunter’s attention snapped back to her. It was an amazingly talented facial transition—one only perfected by practice. Gone was the sappy, awestruck puppy dog expression, and in its place was a nasty sneer that hardly had its intended effect on her.

“Don’t say anything.” He warned her, “Not one word.”

“Sure, sure,” She threw up her hands but couldn’t resist asking, “Just guess we’ll be taking that break after all, huh?”

“Shut up.”

#huntlow #toh fic #love those fics were Willow's just vibing and Hunter's having an internal crisis

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the-frostiest-of-flakes · 4 months

Text

Test Run

Fandom: rotbtd | Characters: Merida, Rapunzel, Hiccup, Jack Frost

Prompt(s): Merida, Favorite AU

Word count: 1851 | Warnings: None | Read on AO3

Summary: While giving her new gear a test run, Merida nearly dies and winds up meeting several budding heroes. Some more impressive than others.

Author's Note: I wrote this for the third week's prompts of the 2023 Big Four Fest, which were Merida and Favorite AUs. My favorite au is a very specific one by lucidorange on tumblr, and it's based around the larger superhero au. Unfortunately, the creator of the au deleted their tumblr account a while back, so everything I know about the au is thanks to the wayback machine and reblogs of the comic. (You can find part 1 here)

I tried to give the triplets more unique personalities while still staying in line with the au versions. I hope you enjoy!

---

Merida DunBroch, daughter of the wildly successful owner and CEO of DunBroch Technologies, Fergus DunBroch, was doing her homework.

Or, that’s what she was supposed to be doing.

In reality, she was perched on a flat roof thirty stories up, the lights of the city shining like stars below her. It was beautiful, and the wind gently caressing her face only added to the serenity. Unfortunately, it was currently being ruined by multiple voices jabbering in her ear. Tuning back in, she found that they were still going on about features and safety and blah, blah, blah. Pretty much everything she didn’t care about.

“—and if you notice sparks, tell us immediately and drop the—”

“If you’re done yapping,” she interrupted, grip tightening on her bow, “I’m gonna take this gear for a spin now.”

“Be careful,” buzzed one of the three nearly identical voices in her ear. Her amazing sister-senses told her it was Hubert. “This is just a test run — we don’t know if there are any glitches with the suit or bow.”

A second voice — Hamish — piped up, “Not that there will be any, considering we made it.”

“Don’t encourage her,” Harris broke in.

Merida rose, a wolfish grin spreading across her face as she looked to the ground below. So, so far below. “When have I ever needed encouragement?”

Three matching groans reached her ears, but she barely heard them over the rush of wind as she stepped over the edge—

And started free-falling.

All she could hear was the roaring of air in her ears as it whipped strands of hair out of her ponytail and stole the breath from her lungs. Her gut was long gone, left behind on the rooftop. The city lights pulsed brighter, getting ever closer. To most this would be a nightmare. But to her…to her it was exhilarating.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Grasping an arrow from her quiver, she drew her bow, changing the setting to “Zipline” with a flick of her thumb. Ah, the beauty of having genius inventor brothers. Aiming for a nearby building, Merida fired.

And was promptly disappointed.

Yes, the arrow flew true, arching through the air with the precision only a master could give, but it did so without the intended zipline attached. Leaving Merida still falling to her doom.

Okay, so maybe she should have checked that feature before jumping off a building.

A lump of panic rose in her throat. “Uh, guys?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve already broken it,” came Harris’s response.

Oh, she was never going to live this down, was she? “I, uh. Might be about to die.”

There was silence on the other end. All at once, her brothers’ voices came pouring over each other in crackling mayhem.

“It hasn’t even been five minutes—”

“—You are so irresponsible—”

“—More inheritance for me!”

Gritting her teeth, she was about to cut through their chatter when something soft and golden wrapped itself around her waist and promptly yanked her to the side. She was no longer falling, but being swung like a pendulum. Grabbing at the fabric that led away from her waist into the dark of the night, she realized it wasn’t fabric at all. It was thousands of strands of golden hair.

What in the bloody hell…?

A moment later she was dropped — surprisingly gently — onto another roof, much lower than the one she had originally been on. The hair loosened and fell away, disappearing in a flash.

“I don’t know what happened,” said a voice from the shadows, “or what you’re going through, but killing yourself isn’t the answer.”

Merida sprung to her feet, narrowed eyes scanning her surroundings. It seemed to be the roof of an apartment building, with a box-like entrance to a stairwell in one corner. And yet, no sign of whoever had— wait, there! There, in the shadows of the entrance, was a girl, parts of her golden hair somehow still managing to gleam in the dark, giving away her position.

Her hair…

Calling it long would have been an understatement. “Long” gave the impression that the hair went down to her waist, maybe a little ways past. But the mass of yellow didn’t stop there. It went to her feet, and then continued off, spilling over the edge of the building like a waterfall of spun gold.

“Are you okay?” The girl asked again, her voice just as soft as her hair had been.

“‘m fine. And I wasn’t trying to kill myself.“

The girl stepped out of the shadows, confusion making furrows in her brow. They looked out of place, and Merida had the sudden urge to smooth them out. “Then what were you doing?”

“Testing out my gear.” She motioned to herself and the bow that was still in her hand.

The girl’s green eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh! You’re like me then!”

“Like you?”

“Yeah, you know. Superhero, vigilante, whatever you want to call it.” She flashed a grin, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “This is so cool! I’ve been working alone for so long — well, not really alone, I mean I’m technically working alongside the police but that’s nothing like having an actual partner — not that you’re going to be my partner, I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Whoa, slow your horses!” Everything was suddenly falling into place, from the freaky hair to the large purple crown perched on the girl’s head. “You’re Swift, aren’t you? The vigilante people are claiming is running around?”

The girl — Swift — nodded. “Yes, that’s me.”

“I thought you were an urban legend!”

“Nope, I’m real.” The smile on her face grew ever wider. “And so are you! Ohhh, this is so cool!”

Despite herself, Merida could feel one of her eyebrows raising. This was…not how she had expected her first meeting with a vigilante to go. Granted, she had never really thought about it before, but Swift had a strangely innocent demeanor about her. She wasn’t remotely hardened or threatening.

Three loud beeps sounded from Swift’s pocket. She withdrew what looked to be a burner phone and grimaced at whatever was displayed on the screen. “Sorry, I gotta go. There’s a fire downtown and a…dragon?” She squinted at the screen. “I think that’s a typo.”

Merida perked up. A fire and possibly also a dragon? That would be a perfect test run for the gear! Never mind the fact that her original test run had almost ended in her own demise. “Mind if I come with you?”

The look on Swift’s face could only be described as ecstatic. “Of course! But, uh…since you’re having some issues with your equipment, would you like me to carry you? It’ll be faster that way.”

Well, she certainly didn’t want to die or get left behind. “Sure.”

Golden hair came whipping up and around her waist, and a second later she was swinging through the air again. It took all her willpower to suppress a scream. From the way the city was whizzing past below, she had been right to agree to Swift’s offer. She would have been left in the dust long ago otherwise.

Soon the sound of sirens and the sight of orange light licking the night sky reached her senses. As well as…Snow?

A moment later the two of them were safe on the ground outside a burning apartment building, above which was a dark cloud. From the cloud fell a flurry of flakes, killing the fire slowly but surely.

Swift frowned. “That’s…weird. It’s the middle of September.”

Merida’s comm piece crackled to life. “So…are you still there?” Came Hamish’s voice. “I need to know if I won the bet or not.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m here.” At Swift’s quizzical look, she gestured to her ear. “‘m talking to my brothers, sorry.”

“Dang it. Wait, are you with someone?”

“Just another hero I met. Turns out that vigilante, Swift, is real.” Merida followed said hero as she ran towards the entrance. “And now we’re gonna stop a—” she broke off at the sound of shattering glass.

The two girls skidded to a halt as a large black bundle landed in front of them. It was metallic, and as it slowly uncurled itself they realized what it was.

It was a metal dragon.

The craftsmanship was astounding. From the textured metal and leather to the glowing green lights that constituted eyes. There was an air of intelligence in them, making Merida second-guess whether it was really insentient or not.

The reason for its previous ball-like state became evident as well. Clutched between its paws — talons? — was a child. Covered in ash and smoke, Merida could barely make out where the kid’s dark skin ended and the gray smudges began.

“That’s the last of them!” Called a voice from above. A moment later a brown-haired teenage boy dressed in black and green landed a little ways away, not noticing the two heroines.

All at once, the fire went out. Instead of flickering flames, the building was now covered in layers of frost and ice.

Merida gawked at the now blue-tinted structure. Just how many super-powered people are running around in this city?!

Swift was helping the dragon move the poor girl to a safe spot for when the paramedics would arrive, acting as if this kind of thing happened every day. And hey, maybe it did. Before Merida could decide what to do to help, another boy landed next to the first, this one seeming to float down with effortless ease. His blue eyes were locked on her as he pulled down his hood, revealing a shock of white hair.

He grinned. “Hey, look at that! We’ve got an audience.”

The Brunet turned, finally noticing her. He flinched, shooting a glare at his companion. “Jack! You said we wouldn’t be noticed!”

“Actually, I said we wouldn’t get in the papers. Big difference.” He was in front of her in a flash, lifting off of the ground like a leaf on a breeze. “That’s some outfit you got there. Who are you?”

Merida pursed her lips. She certainly wasn’t giving this weirdo her name. If she was going to be a vigilante like Swift, she’d need an alias. “Atlas,” she finally answered. “And what are you two supposed to be? Dragon Boy and Frosty the Snowman?”

The brunet made a noise akin to a broken squeaky toy. Jack only smiled wider. “Close. The name’s Frost. And you can call my sidekick whatever you like.”

“I am not your sidekick!”

Merida sighed internally. These two yahoos were obviously just playing around — although the metal dragon was pretty impressive.

“Well, aren’t you Miss Popular,” Harris’s voice rang in her ear. “Just how many people have you met tonight?”

She had forgotten her comm was on during that whole exchange. Great. She turned away from Frost and his sidekick/partner/friend and whispered through clenched teeth, “Shush. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. I promise.”

“You better. We’re already making popcorn.”

#frosted words #rotbtd #bigfourfest2023 #superhero au #modern au #merida dunbroch #rapunzel #hiccup haddock #jack frost #fanfiction #ao3 link

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mgnifique-tion · 6 months

Text

— still a hero.

summary || `` trapped in the worst earth to ever exist, the scientist finds herself in a confession made by the dark speedster. ``

pairing: headcanon–blitzkrieg!barry x fem!scientist!reader song recommendation: innocent (taylor swift) lowercase is intended…

— themes and warning/s: fluff, enemies to lovers-ish, swearing (?), suggestive for a moment (but not really?), comfort, mentions nazis, mentions death (nobody dies though), and a bit angsty

— a/n: actually, i have absolutely no knowledge of comic!blitzkrieg but ever since i found out that this character was cut out of crisis on earth-x (alleged..? so not sure), i knew i had to write about angsty barry with a different flavor and storyline… did i nail it? did i nail it better than the cw– anywho, enjoy! (i also write for k-pop on my main account so if you’re into that, follow @mgnifiqueyoo ^^)

[ total words: 3.3k ]

support me on ko-fi! ☕

───── ❝ ❞ ─────

alright.

here's the so-called thing: it's been weeks since the nazi in the black suit stopped the führer from executing you and you just couldn't stop thinking about it.

you were from earth-1, a curious scientist who had gone to lengths to explore the multiverse and it just so happened that you landed on this one. i mean, what's wrong with living on an earth where the nazis won? haha, everything.

everything's seriously fucked up.

“hey!” the speedster was aggressive but not in a way that you'd expect as you stood there in the middle of a red 'x' symbol on the cemented ground, ready to be shot with one of those arrows that killed the innocents who chose not to conform. you opened your eyes to see that the hooded führer, leader of the entire world, was even startled by how the black streak was stopping him from ending your final breaths. “i know this is for the fatherland but she’s done nothing. she's not the one who stole the samples from us. you've got the wrong girl.”

the führer, an awful version of the star city mayor, oliver queen, lowered his bow and you were just mind-blown that he'd even take it into consideration.

“are you sure about this? because i’ll put an arrow in your eye if we're both wrong.” he taunted through gritted teeth as the speedster ran towards him, stopping right in front of him. he was so fast that you couldn't even tell if he was teleporting or running.

he is the fastest man alive after all.

“oh, right. i'm sure,” the masked accomplice answered with a chuckle, later placing his hands behind his head as if this was all a game to him. “and also, i can easily kill you right now but i wouldn't do that since i'm telling you the truth.”

“good point.” the archer responded, breathing in as he turned around to face his other men, who had now lowered their guns as well while his kryptonian wife squinted her eyes, quite disgusted.

“we're done here. she's in blitzkreig's hands,” he told her, which almost made her feel nauseous. — she anticipated your death the most but that's not even the weirdest part about her; she's literally an alien. “she's of no importance anyway.”

and somehow, that brought you here; you're now in the headquarters of those nazis, waiting for the speedster to show up. why? because he ridiculously called you in the middle of the night and you think that it's an emergency.

oh, right. you're his speed mentor these days. that's why he did that.

“where is he?” you mutter in almost a whisper, bouncing your leg furiously as the heel of your shoe tapped the floor's tiles. time is ticking and you're getting anxious. what if this is a trap, right? that could get you killed.

but what if it isn't? then, something else must be up.

a familiar gust of wind strikes into the room, even snatching your wrist watch away as he checks the time himself. “i'm not too late, am i?” he asks in a joking manner as you can't help but let out a sigh, trying to keep your patience together. for the record, you thought he was getting killed and for some reason, you kind of wished that something as serious as that was actually happening instead.

“... was there even an emergency?” you question, your brows already knitting lower as he lets out a chuckle. “so, there's no emergency,” you utter, still trying your best not to say anything that'd annoy him – which would later convince him to turn you to the führer or just kill you himself. “great. that's understandable.”

the strange meta laughs even louder, later looking down at you with his bottom lip bitten by himself as if he'd been viewing you differently.

“don't sulk about it, doc. remember, you signed up for this,” he tells you to quit thinking about it as a bad thing, tilting his head to the side. you could just see it in his eyes – the desire to annoy you in that high chair you're sitting on. “would you rather be an earth-1 fugitive or be a free man- well, woman, on this earth? plus, you're my property anyway. you've already gotten so many privileges with just that.”

he's smug, unserious, and unbelievably so overconfident that even as bad as siren-x wanted to replace him – but mainly because of her feelings for the one and only führer but let's not dive into that love triangle between an alien, a meta, and the jacked apple of their eye.

“but i do have a problem… surprisingly.”

you raise both of your eyebrows, intrigued by how his mood shifted. you never expected the blitzkrieg, killer speedster faster than thawne, to consult you about a problem. he's never had them before and it just shows how bothered he is by this so-called problem.

so, what is it?

“are you… running differently?” the question almost sounded like a joke to him if it weren't for that genuine look on his face. the speedster crosses his arms, slightly puckering his lower lip out while he's obviously frowning at you through that mask. it's hard to make out what his face actually looks like but for some reason, you can read him so well.

but then, he lets out a quiet snicker. “no, that's a shit guess... guess again.” he was eager to let you find out the reason yourself that you just spent a few seconds (fifteen or so?) thinking of a possible answer.

and when you looked back up at him, you shake your head, causing him to roll his eyes, annoyed again. “guess again- come on, you’re not an idiot. if you were, then i would’ve let you get killed.”

“i literally don’t know. i’m sorry.” you apologize – well, more like forced to do so – as he slouches his shoulders in disappointment. he just couldn’t believe that it’s hopeless for you to know what his problem was!

even though he was being totally vague and unreasonable at this point, he knew you knew him in a different way; in a way that you knew what he’s like even without knowing the face behind the mask.

so it just surprised him that you had no idea what he’s talking about.

he takes in a deep breath, readying himself to tell you the issue; the main reason why you’re here in the lab at three o’clock in the morning all by yourself and… him, of course.

“i can’t sleep and i don’t know why… this is my first time, alright? don’t judge,” he blurts out, the confidence stripping away little by little as you take a moment to understand what he’s telling you. is he not joking with you? that’s a new thing.

he’s always so fond of ruining your days whenever you come around to work at the laboratory but he seems so different now. way too solemn for you to think he’s even joking at this very moment.

“... you can’t sleep well, is that why you called me here at 3 am?”

and shockingly, he nods right away, determined to learn more about his ongoing problem. “yes and god, it’s horrible. everytime i close my eyes, i keep on thinking about something else and the next thing, my mind’s all about her.” blitzkrieg runs his mouth almost faster than he could do with his own legs that he doesn’t even realize that he let an important and rather private detail slip.

her

who was she?

“... her?” you ask, watching how his already dilated eyes almost jump out of its sockets, terrified to find out that you heard him say those things hilariously clear. in panic, the wrist watch he snatched from you drops from his grip, resulting in him looking down to see what he’s done.

“is she an ex-girlfriend?” you continued to ask him, not letting the key part of his sleeping problem get ignored as you find yourself getting even more interested.

“um… no, she isn’t. not an ex or anything,” he answers truthfully, the unknown awkward side of him taking over his voice as he later picks up the wrist watch from the floor. handing it to you, he manages to keep his distance, his hands intertwined with one another while he stands stiffly. “but, uh, i count her as somewhat of a friend- it’s complicated.” he crosses his arms, slightly nodding as those words of denial flow out of his lips, his eyes clearly avoiding yours.

‘is he having a crush on someone?’ you think, tilting your head to one side as you lean your chin over your knuckles, unsure of what else you could make out of this brand new information that you’d rather expect from the ruthless kryptonian with the heart disease.

“look, i’m not a therapist or anything so i’ll use my logic instead,” you start with a disclaimer, leaning your back against the rails of the high chair as he nods once again, still willing to listen. “so, what are those thoughts specifically? i mean, there’s a really huge chance that those thoughts could be distracting enough to not make you sleep.”

he stares at the other side of the room, silent again. you could tell he was so bothered by his own late-night thoughts that he could spend seconds staying quiet just by thinking about them. “... i keep on remembering how she’s looked me in the eye, scared shitless. untrusting. overall pathetic… but for some reason, i always feel the need to protect her.”

“... you could feel that?”

“i said don’t judge.”

but it was too unexpected for him to feel that way about someone! whoever that girl was, you were so sure that blitzkrieg loved her whether he’d admit it to himself or not.

“but that’s not all, i also think of her in ways that i probably shouldn’t tell you,” he says in a teasing tone, his signature smirk finally showing up within his lips after long moments of just pure seriousness and deep down in him, he’s wishing to make you feel the nosiest you’ve ever been. “... or should i?”

you squint your eyes at him in confusion, torn between being nosy and being a decent “doctor” or whatever he wants you to be.

“you seem excited to tell me so do as you please,” you say with a slight chuckle, trying your best to be relaxed about it as if you’re not interested to listen in the first place – which, in reality, you actually are.

“what? you want me to tell you?” he’s around the middle of laughing and panicking as he avoids that look on your face again, just like earlier. in response, you hum, still playing the chill listener, who would choose to keep the darkest secrets of her friends to herself than letting them have their own privacy.

after all, you’d swear to tell no one. it’s not really much of a big deal.

he then faces you once more, eyes looking at you from top to bottom as he takes a step or two towards you. suddenly, he lifts away the mask from his face, finally revealing his biggest secret to you with anxiety firing up his nerves – and apparently, you knew who he was all along.

well, his earth-1 counterpart at least: bartholomew henry allen, the chemist from central city’s police department; someone that your past co-worker julian albert used to dislike for months.

“barry allen?” you whisper in disbelief, carefully bringing your palm to your lips to shush yourself as he nods slowly. to be honest, he’s been waiting ages for you to figure that out but it seems that you’ve brushed those thoughts away for a reason that he had no idea about.

“anyway, back to the topic, are you sure that you want to know what i think of her?” he changes the subject as quickly as possible, which causes you to take a second before nodding along. well, it’s quite a thing for this earth to get shocking with the counterparts – this man in front of you would be called a “modern hero” in your world yet in this one, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

let’s face it. even this version of barry would call himself unkind. “oh, and before you ask why i showed you my face, that’s because i trust you,” he begins with a reminder, hoping that you’d take note of that as you nod once more. your ears are basically ringing, tingling, and almost itching to listen to what he’d tell you. “i want you to tell no one else about this, is that clear?”

and of course, you nod another time, already getting even more impatient as minutes pass by.

“i don’t think i should explain further when i tell you that i think about her a lot in bed,” barry admits with a smirk on his face as one of your eyebrow arches in curiosity. you later let out a hum, a cue for him to continue with his stories; you’re now definitely sure that he really does like her, whoever she is.

“i think about how her skin would feel under my fingertips once she finds out who i really am.”

he takes another step towards you, his eyes fixated on his gloved hands as he looks back into your eyes in a way that he’s almost telling you something that shouldn’t be said.

something that’d put himself in danger. “often times, i’d think of playing the hero over and over again… just so she knows that i’ll put my life on the line for her,” he says, later glaring back at you with a hint of desperation. — he’s been waiting for seconds, minutes, days, and even weeks to tell you this. to tell you all about it. to tell you that this girl he’s talking about is no stranger to you.

he then takes the empty seat next to yours, keeping his head down for a while. for him, saying things like these is a struggle, especially since he lives in a world where freedom couldn’t be an option unless you’re wearing a badge. and even though you were his “speed doctor,” he knew that you wouldn’t still be treated the same way as he was and the constant reminder of that was crushing him slowly.

and then, he lifts his head up and says, “i’ve been thinking about you all the time.”

you freeze in your seat as if time has stopped, taken aback by how he’s now talking about you and not someone else you didn’t know. barry reaches for your hand and you let him take it, placing it over his chest as if he’s asking you to check his pulse.

“when doctor west… iris was executed by thawne, i thought that i could never feel this way anymore,” he admits, softly caressing your hand. the rough leather of his suit grazes over your skin so gently like a feather that he almost forgot that he’d also use that same hand to drill into someone’s chest, even taking their heart out for the fun of it. “but you… you made me realize that i wasn’t always a monster. that i once loved someone… that i was once human.”

“... barry-”

“you don’t have to say anything,” he cuts you off, shaking his head as if he’s actually giving you control of the situation unlike usual, wherein it’s always his call that matters. and deep down, you didn’t know what to tell him.

everything was happening so fast that you couldn’t even believe that this earth’s barry is the man behind that dark mask, which would usually be seen before someone’s death.

he then takes another deep breath, returning your hand back to you as he looks out at the window, spending a few moments to think about what he’s done. — he fell in love with you already and it’s too late to crawl out of the deep pit that has no floor; a wide space like an ocean but instead of waters, it’s all those things about you. what he liked about you from head to toe. the things that his mind would be focused on every single night.

he couldn’t sleep, yes.

but he’d always smile whenever he remembers that somebody like you exists in his life.

a life so dark, so broken, so warped that he believes that he doesn’t even deserve to feel loved.

“i can take you back to your earth, where you belong. i know you’ve been staying here for months…” he trailed off, thinking about it deeply. he's torn between it. just because he could love, that didn't mean he's an angel – he's a thousand miles away from it.

he wants you here all to himself and owned by no one else but him. he craves for you to be around him all the time. he wants your eyes on him only.

but he knew it would hurt you.

and it almost kills him to think of that.

“... but you deserve to go home.” he was miserable. deep down that silly, menacing facade was just someone so in need of feeling something. anything. and god, was it so addicting to feel some love for once. “because in the end, you'll always be that person who reminded me of who i used to be… who i wished to be.”

there was long, loud silence. a silence that ticks like a time bomb, pressuring you to think of how this all would turn out to be. after all, what would happen next is in your hands.

“i’m starting to think that there’s a reason why i ended up here,” you said with a gulp, about to make the biggest decision ever. he raised an eyebrow at you, confusion shown within his whole face as he cocked his head to the side with a question that remained in his mind– what exactly did you mean?

“this world needs saving… and maybe we’ll be the ones who’d save it.”

the speedster had a frozen look on his face, clearly not expecting that those words would even come out of your mouth.

“do you really think that it’s not too late for me to change?” hope was seen in his eyes, his brows furrowed in both confusion yet belief in what you’d tell him next as you nodded, your soft palm later reaching for the side of his face.

he closed his eyes so tightly for a long moment, his chest rising up and down so quickly in anticipation.

he’s never felt a touch like that in ages. the last time he’s ever felt a hand graze over his skin was the moment he’s locked eyes with his iris, who had been fighting for her life ‘til her last breath.

i’ll be okay, she said no matter how the red pooled over her chest, the blade that thawne held seconds before was sticking out of her.

the very moment he’d realized that this agenda that the new reich had implemented was not worth doing at all.

“there’s a hero in all of us,” you said, your hand slipping away from his skin slowly when he’s suddenly reached out for it, holding your arm so dearly like fragile, thin glass. “and you already saved me.”

“let’s go save the world together, then?”

“of course.”

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shadamyheadcanons · 1 year

Text

Headcanon #292

Cross-posted on AO3.

So...I just finished the Zombot arc of the IDW comics. It’s incredible and heart-wrenching! Unfortunately, Shadow is...well, I’d heard he was bad in IDW thanks to Sega’s restrictive mandates on the character, but man, it hurts! Normally I just write him based on his best iterations, but this time, I wanted to see if I could make their dynamic work even while staying in-character with the worst. Something about Tails’ redemption in Frontiers working with his weakness in Forces--instead of pretending it didn’t happen and moving on, which is what many of us would’ve been content with--inspired me.

Spoilers through IDW issue #30. Also, I haven’t read any further than that, so this headcanon probably won’t fully jive with later issues.

Amy’s hand shook as she signed yet another piece of paperwork. She sighed and set it aside. Her heart stung as she looked back at the pile in front of her.

One hundred down, one thousand to go.

She gritted her teeth and picked up the next sheet. The words started to run together as she read. She shook her head and squinted past it to keep reading.

No time for complaining. If it needs to be done, I’ll do it.

She doggedly scanned the page, counting up the numbers and types of Wispons listed in their inventory and matching them up with any newly-recovered recruits they had available after the plague.

She heard whispering outside the door. She grumbled.

Great. A distraction. Just what I need.

Without lifting her head from her work, she snapped, “You know I can hear you, right? If you’re going to gossip, you might as well come in.”

A small, fluffy head peeked into her doorway, followed by a tiny blue Chao.

Amy’s shoulders relaxed a bit. “What is it, Cream?”

Cream shuffled fully into the room. She dug her toe shyly into the floor. “We’re just checking up on you, Amy. You’ve been in here an awfully long time.” Cheese nodded along.

Amy sighed. I don’t have time for this. “There’s a lot to get done, Cream. Even if there weren’t a ton of cleanup to do from the war and the plague, the Zetis are still out there. We can’t let our guard down.”

Cream started stroking one of her enormous ears, hiding halfway behind it as she protested. “But you haven’t left this room in days. You need to rest!”

Amy’s fingers tightened around the pen she was holding. She tried to go back to reading as she replied, “I don’t have a choice, Cream. We don’t have enough help. I’ll rest once things are under control, but I just can’t do that right now.”

She was forced to look up when Cream placed her hands on the desk, soft but insistent. “But...you have to!” Cream insisted, her face pained. “You need sleep, Amy!”

“I told you, I can’t!”

Cream flinched back, letting out a tiny whimper. Amy winced. She reached over the desk and took one of Cream’s hands. “Cream, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just...between everything that’s been happening...almost losing everything...and...with Sonic being...”

Her words died in her throat.

Cream gently squeezed Amy’s hands in her own. “That’s why you need to rest, Amy!”

“No, Cream, that’s why I can’t!” Amy argued. “If I give up now, then everything Sonic was fighting for could fall apart. He ran and fought for all that time with that virus in his system! I can’t let his work go to waste.”

“But what about you, Amy?”

“What about me, Cream?!”

Before their argument could escalate further, the sounds of another dispute from outside the office met Amy’s ears.

“Oh, no. Not yet. Not when I just found you again.”

A surly voice grumbled something in reply.

Rouge stepped in through the doorway, dragging Shadow along with her by the arm. “Morning, girls. Hope you’re having as much fun as I am.”

Amy’s eyes lit up. “Shadow! I’m so glad to see you!”

Shadow just stared at her. “Why?”

She let out a breath of relief. “I heard about what happened in Sunset City. I was really worried about you.”

He immediately hunched up his shoulders. “I didn’t come here for sympathy.”

She remained silent for a moment, feeling more tiredness set in.

What happened to you?

She crossed her arms. “Well, I’m still glad to see you’re safe, whether you like it or not. So there.” She nodded firmly.

He glared at her for several seconds. Evidently unable to come up with an effective comeback to her odd brand of stubborn compassion, he just rolled his eyes. “Hmph.”

Rouge gave him an unimpressed look.

Amy shook her head. “Do you two need something?”

“We’re looking for Omega,” Rouge explained. “There isn’t a huge rush, but once G.U.N.’s back on their feet, I’m sure they’ll have a mission for us.”

“Sorry, Rouge, but I’m not the one to ask,” Amy replied, skimming the document in front of her. “Tails said he’ll get to rebuilding him once things are a little more under control. You’ll have to find him.”

Shadow growled. “I told you, if you’d just let me...”

“We’re not doing this again,” Rouge snapped. “You just recovered from the Metal Virus, and then you immediately snuck off alone and tried to fight Metal Sonic.”

Cream gasped. “By yourself?!”

Shadow’s mouth was set in a frustrated grimace. “Did anyone else notice Eggman was getting away? No. Was anyone else there to chase him down? No. It needed to be done. And if I could just try another approach--”

Amy felt her heart soften, seeing herself in Shadow. He must be so frustrated. This isn’t the right way of going about it, but...I do understand.

Apparently, Rouge disagreed. “And then what? You’ll do something reckless and get yourself hurt again? Shadow, do you have any idea how...” She trailed off and grimaced. “What about the rest of us? We need you! Think about someone else for a change!”

“UGH!” Amy cried. She rubbed her temples. “No offense, but if you guys are going to argue, then can you take it somewhere else? I can’t work like this.”

Rouge looked down at her. She cringed, though she still didn’t let go of Shadow. “Now that I look at you, Amy, you look terrible. You shouldn’t be working like this.”

“She hasn’t slept in days!” Cream blurted. “She needs to stop!”

Rouge’s eyes bugged out.

Shadow had been averting his gaze, but now she could feel his eyes on her, though they remained unreadable.

“What I need is some space,” Amy spat, tapping her pen against her desk. “Someone needs to do the paperwork on weapons distribution, and I’m the closest thing to a weapons expert the Restoration has right now.”

“What about Miss Whisper? Doesn’t she know a lot about Wispons?”

“I had to send Whisper to Spiral Hill Village to do cleanup with Tangle,” Amy explained, trying to be patient with Cream. “I can’t separate those two again. You saw the state she was in when we had to leave Tangle behind.”

She tried to go back to the forms, but Rouge’s smooth voice cut in. “What about Tails? He’s the tech guy, isn’t he?”

Amy’s fists clenched, and she gritted her teeth. “He’s working on tracking down the Zetis. Everyone else is off fighting, rebuilding, or doing search and rescue. There isn’t anyone. It has to be me right now.”

“Cream’s right, Amy. You can’t keep this up,” Rouge argued. “You’ll burn yourself out at this rate, and then you won’t be any help to anyone. You need--”

“What I NEED is some peace and quiet!” Amy snarled, glaring back and forth between Cream and Rouge. “I’ll never get this done with everyone bothering me like this.”

She’d just gone back to the forms when she was interrupted again--but this time, it was a lower, more calming voice.

“You want peace and quiet? I can provide that.”

Amy blinked up at Shadow in surprise. “Really?”

He nodded and wrenched his arm out of Rouge’s grasp so he could join Amy behind the desk. “If this has to get done, then it has to get done. I’ll bring you somewhere quiet.”

Rouge choked. “Shadow, you can’t just--”

“Yes I can. Didn’t you want me to ‘think about someone else for a change?’” he sneered.

Amy glanced from Cream’s worried eyes, to Rouge’s disapproving look--and then to the pile of papers. She gathered them up and smirked at Shadow. “You know what? That sounds like exactly what I need.”

He nodded and took her hand. Cream and Rouge balked.

“Amy--!”

“Shadow--!”

“CHAOS CONTROL!”

In a flash, the two hedgehogs were gone. Cream sighed, and Rouge held a hand to her forehead.

“What am I going to do with that guy?”

Amy blinked her eyes open. “Where are we?”

“My place.”

He released her hand to turn on the light, decreasing the intensity shortly thereafter with a dimmer switch. She gazed around at her unfamiliar surroundings and cocked her head in confusion. “Did you guys move...? I visited you one time, but I don’t recognize any of this.”

Strictly speaking, Rouge had invited Knuckles over, but he’d been too nervous to go alone. Amy had pulled Shadow into the kitchen to help bake a cake with her to give Rouge and Knuckles some privacy at one point, and she’d had a nice, low-key talk with Shadow while they did so. He’d actually asked her advice on something.

That really was a nice visit...but it’s been a long time since then.

“Rouge and Omega still live in the same place, but I moved out,” Shadow explained, kicking off his air shoes. “G.U.N.’s been sending me on more solo missions recently. They moved me closer to HQ.”

Amy started to pull off her boots, then stopped. “Wait...you live alone?”

“Yes.”

A pain made itself known in Amy’s chest. “Doesn’t that get lonely?”

“I’m fine on my own.” He started walking farther into the house.

She dropped her boots off and jogged after him. “Why would they need you to be closer for that? Can’t you just teleport whenever they need you?”

“You ask a lot of questions for someone who wants peace and quiet,” he pointed out. Amy laughed tiredly, unable to argue with that.

Shadow walked past a couch with clutter piled high on two of its three cushions. He stopped beside a nearby desk and picked up the laptop and cord from on top of it to make space. “You can work here.”

“Phew!” Amy dropped the stack of paperwork on the desk and flopped into the chair. She smiled up at him, tired but grateful. “Thank you, Shadow.”

He gave a curt nod and walked off.

Amy watched him go. Her ears drooped sadly.

Poor Shadow. He can say he’s fine all he wants, but...

Shadow sat down on the one available spot on the couch and opened up his laptop. His face was set in the stalwart scowl he’d been wearing recently, a far cry from the solemn but relaxed expression she was used to.

I know he’s hurting.

Amy sighed and returned to her work. Not much I can do to help, especially not right now. I need to make the most of this.

She was only two forms in, but her eyes were struggling to stay open. She shook it off and bit the inside her cheek, hoping the pain would help keep her alert.

“Here.”

Amy jumped at the deep voice over her shoulder. “Huh?”

Shadow was placing a mug next to her on the desk. “Coffee.”

She looked back and forth between him and the mug blearily, then brightened up. “Thanks, Shadow! This is exactly what I needed!”

He brushed it off as he walked back to the couch. “I was making some for myself anyway. It wasn’t any extra effort.”

“I still appreciate the thought!” she sang, unperturbed by his lack of response.

She sipped the beverage, sighing in relief as warmth seeped into her bones. He makes a mean cup of coffee, too! Has coffee always tasted this good?

She signed off on a few more pages. Despite the coffee, she felt a headache coming on. She squinted at the letters on the page. “Shadow, don’t you think it’s a little dim in here?”

“I don’t like bright lights.”

He didn’t elaborate further. She pursed her lips and looked around, frowning when she couldn’t find a lamp. Guess this is the best I’m gonna get. Well...beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.

She yawned and continued with her work. She almost nodded off a few times but managed to hold it together for a while longer.

Eventually, the sound of Shadow shifting and standing up to leave the room made her jump, cluing her in that she’d fallen halfway asleep. She shook her head and blinked her eyes wide open. Keep it together!

She’d just finished another sheet when she heard footsteps from her left. A tantalizing smell wafted in under her nose as a plate was placed on the desk next to the stack of papers. She looked up at Shadow, baffled. “What’s this?”

“Turkey. It was taking up space in my fridge, so you can have it.”

Her eyes went wide. He looked away and crossed his arms insistently. “I’m not gonna cook anything. Don’t expect anything else.”

Her responding smile was gentle. “I wouldn’t expect that. Thank you so much!”

He nodded and returned to his laptop. Amy started in on the turkey. Her tail wagged happily.

I had no idea how hungry I was! It’s only frozen turkey, but man, did I need this!

She tried to keep working, but her gaze kept drifting back to Shadow. She watched as he lit up some incense and left it on his coffee table. You were always quiet and serious, but you were never prickly back when I met you. You let me hug you. You listened. You weren’t afraid of letting people know you cared. Did G.U.N. do this to you?

Amy’s eyes burned in anger past their lids. Her grip on the pen tightened as she filled out another form.

If I ever catch wind that G.U.N. hurt you, that commander will have a date with my hammer.

Once her anger died down, however, Amy started to lose focus. The dim lighting and Shadow’s quiet keystrokes didn’t help, nor did the calming scent of lavender from his incense. The letters blurred. The pen left extra lines on the paper whenever she dozed off in the middle of writing something. It wasn’t long before her consciousness faded out, coffee be damned.

The last thing she registered was a feeling of weightlessness as someone lifted her from the stiff chair, reassuring her in a low, calming voice.

Amy’s eyelids fluttered open some time later. She blinked and rubbed them a few times, then stretched and took stock of her surroundings.

The bed she was lying in was soft but unfamiliar. A bit of light shone in from around the edges of the heavy curtains on the window, illuminating the warm black bedspread comfortably swaddling her as she gazed around a room she didn’t recognize. Books were piled on the nightstand. She idly basked in the relaxing scent on the pillows, trying to place where she knew it from...at least until she noticed the digital clock.

1:00.

Her eyes shot open.

One? One pm or am? What day is it?!

Amy burst out of the room and dashed in what she hoped was the direction of the front door. “SHAAADOOOWWW?!”

She skidded to a stop in the first room she’d entered the night before, but no one was seated on the couch. She stayed quiet as she scanned the area.

“Walk of shame, huh, Amy? Thought you had work to do.”

“Eep!”

Amy jumped in surprise and turned around to see Rouge sitting on the counter in the open kitchen behind her, legs crossed. She winked at Amy.

Amy sputtered and straightened out her dress, the same dress she’d been wearing last night. “I-I wasn’t--!”

Rouge chuckled. “Just a joke, Amy. If you’re gonna sneak off with the guy I’m trying to keep track of, the least you can do is let me have a little fun with it.”

Amy tensed up, suddenly embarrassed by the memory of their hasty departure. “Ah, riiiight...sorry, Rouge.”

She uncrossed her legs. “It’s not a big deal. I at least knew he wasn’t doing anything reckless if he was looking out for you.”

Amy smiled wryly. “So where is he?”

Rouge sighed. “Your guess is as good as mine. He already left,” she said, nodding to where hers and Amy’s boots sat alone by the door. Rouge stepped around the counter to join her. “He was gone when I got here. It was just you, looking awfully comfortable in his bed. Should I ask what happened last night?” She snickered.

“Nothing like...that!” Amy huffed and combed her fingers through her quills to straighten them out. “I was getting work done. He was nice enough to make me coffee and give me food, but I still fell asleep. He must’ve carried me to bed after that.” She sighed.

Rouge just stared at her, baffled. “Really?” Amy nodded. “Huh. He’s normally a terrible host.” She stepped back into the kitchen and picked up a bag of coffee grounds. “I gotta ask, though; why’d you ask for decaf when you wanted to stay awake?”

Amy stopped. “What?”

Rouge held up the bag to show her. “See? Decaf.”

Amy squinted at it. “I didn’t ask for coffee. He just made it for me. He said he made some for himself and just gave me some while he was at it.”

But Rouge shook her head. “Shadow doesn’t drink coffee, he just eats the beans,” she explained, nodding to a plastic container full of coffee beans next to the fridge. “If he bothered to brew coffee, it was just for you.”

Amy’s eyes softened. “Really? So he...wait a minute...” Her eyes narrowed. “He gave me decaf coffee, fed me turkey, kept the lights dim, stayed quiet, burned lavender incense--” She gasped, scandalized. “He sabotaged me! He totally let me fall asleep on purpose!”

Rouge burst out laughing.

Amy turned on her. “What’s so funny?!”

Rouge wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and tried to hold back her laughter. “Oh, hun, I’m sure it wasn’t anything bad! He was just worried about you, like Cream and I were!”

Amy tapped her foot rapidly. “What do you mean?”

Rouge calmed down. “You looked like you were ready to collapse yesterday, Amy. Tell me: how much work were you actually getting done at that point?”

Amy averted her eyes.

Rouge placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “All Shadow did was spare you a stiff neck. He does have a sweet side, you know.”

Amy tried to remain firm, but after a moment, a light laugh escaped her. “Yeah. I do know.” She exchanged a meaningful nod with Rouge, then wandered back over to Shadow’s desk and looked around in confusion. “I thought I left the forms right here. Did you do something with them?”

“He probably brought them back to HQ for you with Chaos Control so you wouldn’t have to carry them all by hand.”

Amy found the pen she’d been using. She picked it up and smiled wistfully. “He’s very thoughtful. In his own way.”

“Heh. Don’t tell anyone, or he’ll never hear the end of it,” Rouge mock-whispered. Amy giggled and pocketed the pen.

Rouge walked her outside. “Do you know where you are?”

Amy squinted past the bright sunlight. She peered around, finding she recognized some of the buildings around her, even in their crumbled state from after the war and the Zombot plague. “Yeah. HQ should be...that way.”

Rouge nodded. “It’s not too far, but do you want a lift? I’m flying that way anyway,” she offered, extending a hand.

“Oh, thank you so much, Rouge!” Amy gushed, happily taking her hands. Rouge lifted her and took off in the direction of HQ.

Amy gazed down at the ruined city below her. It had clearly been hectic and crowded before the destruction. She frowned, remembering the time she’d spoken with Shadow about their mutual love of nature.

He must hate it here.

“Hey, Rouge?”

“Hm?”

“How long has Shadow been living by himself?”

Amy heard a sigh above her. She peeked up.

Rouge’s face was surprisingly weary. “It’s been about a year now.” Amy flinched, so Rouge added, “I insisted on getting a spare key immediately. I visit whenever I can, like this morning.”

Amy sighed. “Thank Chaos! He says he’s fine on his own, but...”

“He’s lying,” they spoke together. The two exchanged a sad smile.

Amy bit her lip. “Shadow wasn’t always...like this. He used to be different.”

Rouge just kept flying. Her silence spoke volumes.

Amy tried again. “Did something happen?”

Silence.

“Was it something G.U.N. did?”

Amy could see the way Rouge’s jaw clenched. Finally, she responded.

“Even if I knew the full story, it wouldn’t be mine to tell. You’ll have to get it out of him.”

“I’m going to.”

Rouge’s eyes widened.

Amy grinned up at her, determined. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this and make things right. I’ll never give up on him!”

Rouge’s surprised look softened into an encouraging smile. “I believe it. If there’s anyone who can get through to him, it’s you.”

Rouge dropped her off at the entrance to HQ. Amy thanked her and dashed down the hallway toward what remained of her office, waving to the other Restoration members along the way. She slid to a stop at her desk.

Just as Rouge had predicted, the stack of papers was waiting for her, with another pile already growing beside it. She sighed and sat down.

I guess it’s better that I got the sleep after all. I could never get through all of this without--

She stopped and stared at the first sheet from the previous night.

What?

The form was complete--and not in her tired, messy scrawl, either. She flipped to the next page, only to find that it, too, had been filled out with neat, decisive pen strokes.

She kept flipping pages, feeling relief and wonder fill her chest. Every form in the stack was blessedly complete--and properly, too. Whoever had done it possessed just as much weapons expertise as she did, if not more. They’d even included an extra sheet with suggestions and improvements for some of the defensive formations she’d laid out for HQ.

Amy knew that handwriting. It was the same penmanship that had written her an encouraging letter when she was sad. It matched the frosting calligraphy on the cake they’d baked together. It had spelled out a phone number for her years ago when she’d asked on a piece of paper right underneath the name “Shadow the hedgehog.”

All the emotions from the past few weeks rushed out of her. She held herself and wept silently in gratitude and relief.

I know you’re still in there somewhere. And I’m not going to give up until we get you back.

((I have more sympathy than ever for the IDW writers. I can’t stand writing him like this X_X))

#shadamy #amy rose #shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog #hc #platonic #Rouge the Bat #Cream the Rabbit

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huffle-dork · 7 months

Text

Curiosity Killed the Cat: Chapter 13

A Magnificent Encore Chapter 12 | Masterpost | AO3 Link

(AN: I can't believe I'm finally finishing this after 5 years- and one such a momentous fandom day! Did not expect that happen GVJBH but!! It feels so freaking surreal! i hope you guys have enjoyed this journey as much as I have! Look forward to one last chapter! Also parts of this that i wrote literally yesterday have been confirmed for marvin's backstory in the comics so?? I WINNNN!!!)

Marvin was trapped in a dream. Or… more like a memory. Guess this was like dying for real…. His life flashing before his eyes. That thought always scared him but… not now.

He searched through the haze- finding something to latch onto. A memory that reminded him over and over of what he was fighting for. Maybe… it could bring him comfort… one last time.

Even if this now felt like it was a different life…

Marvin was running, glancing behind him as a group of hooded figures gave chase. Blasts of magic tried to grab at him, pulling his tattered cape and clothes. To dodge the blasts he would shift and change into a small white cat, its back mimicking the look of his cape in black blotches of fur. The transitions looked as easy to him as breathing as he skidded and dodged the magic. But his chest burned, he couldn’t keep this up for long.

“Marvin the Magnificent! Stop this instant! You’re under arrest for stolen AIMC goods and using magic against AIMC guidelines!” One of the figures shouted with authority.

Marvin grit his teeth, “You got the wrong guy! I ain’t that asshole! Leave me alone!” ….Guess the splashes of paint he threw on his signature mask weren’t enough to throw them off…

“C’mon Marvin don’t do this!” Another figure pleaded, “We can help you! You don’t have to keep doing this! Running away isn’t gonna fix any of this!”

Marvin’s chest ached. That voice was familiar… a friend. Someone who tried to help him get on his feet after killing Phantom. But, even after joining the circle… he never felt like he could belong. Even though he was magic like them- he was far too different. They could never understand the pain of being a figment.

Of being human, but not at all. Of being solid, being able to live on his own. But constantly feeling like that could be taken away from him at any minute. Of trying to find out who he was, but never fully being able to know. Not unless he fell to the whims of a creator that had done nothing but abandon him in this dark and confusing world.

He could never go back… he’s heard nothing from his so-called creator since his hastily given name. Why go back to someone who doesn’t even care?

And besides… creators, family, friends… they all meant nothing, in the end. His last friend tried to steal his soul, after all.

The books he stole were weighing him down. But he was determined to not get caught. It had been a hard time trying to get out of their sights… he was exhausted, tired, filthy. He hardly even looked like he did when he was first made anymore. His beard was ragged, the green in his hair overgrown and faded.

But still, he was stubborn and determined. He had to get away…

To do… what exactly? He wasn’t sure. He just knew that he couldn’t stay with others. They’d only hurt him in the end… or he’d wind up hurting them.

He allowed himself to screech to a stop, then skid to face the charging magicians. He yelled out and held out both his hands, charging magic and then firing out a wall of blue-green flames to cut them off. The hooded figures all scrambled to stop before hitting the flames. Marvin caught the eye of his former friend, their face pleading under the shadow of their hood.

Marvin bared his teeth ferally, “Marvin the Magnificent doesn’t exist anymore! And if you continue to chase me, I’ll make you disappear too.”

Then, Marvin’s speech gets cut off as he’s suddenly grabbed from behind by his hood, dangling in the air like a kitten caught by its scruff.

“Okay hey now- enough of that!” A light voice seemed to joke, but he also had a type of power behind his charismatic tone.

One of the magicians gasped as they looked at the new figure. “J-Jackieboy Man!”

Marvin’s blood went cold and he paled. He… knew that name. It was one of the other figments Jack made. That- that hero guy. The first one.

Fucking shit! His heart was racing with panic- he didn’t want to be brought back to Jack! He was sure he’d gone way off the path of whatever joke Jack made him for. Going back… what if Jack decided he was too wild to keep around? Too dangerous?

He wouldn’t let himself fade- he wouldn’t become like Phantom!

Acting quickly, Marvin shifted into cat form and wriggled out of the hero’s grip. Jackieboy yelped and tried to grab the cat, only for Marvin to hiss and swat at his face, claws catching flesh. Jackieboy hissed through his teeth and stumbled back.

Marvin trembled back on shaky legs then ran as fast as those little legs could take him. He was bound to outrun the hero being this small!

Jackieboy shouted after him. “Hey wait!”

The shopping center they were running through was almost empty where he left the hero and magicians. But now the disguised figment could hear the roar of the crowd ahead. He surged forward as fast as he could, determined if he could reach them he could lose the hero for good.

But, he knew nothing of what Jack blessed the other figments with. With a burst of speed, Jackie had leaped into the air, then landed in front of Marvin, eyes glowing silver-blue.

The hero wiped at the blood on his face. “…that wasn’t very nice, you know.”

Marvin hissed, the card symbols on his forward glowing with magic. At this sight, Jackie’s eyes widened.

“Wait…! I… I know you- I’ve seen you! You’re… you’re one of us! …Marvin! Marvin, right?” The hero breathed, smiling brightly.

The cat trembled back and then shifted in a bit of light back into his human form. He glared at the hero and bared slightly fanged teeth. “…what of it? You here to turn me in?”

Jackieboy looked confused, “What? No! I mean- unless those magic guys were like… actually trying to arrest you for a crime…”

Marvin looked away, a distant flicker of guilt crossing his face.

The hero’s face fell. “…oh-“ He said quietly. But then he shook his head and tried to step forward, spreading out his hands. “But I mean… hey! We can… we can figure that out! It’s just… no one has heard hide or tail of you! You were all over the telly with your shows and then… you were just gone…”

Marvin looks at Jackieboy with a surprised expression, though he tried to keep himself guarded. … they… noticed that?

Jackie’s face creased in sympathy, “I don’t see Jack much… but I know he’s been worried. And- that means you haven’t even met the others yet! God dude… we’d all would love to meet you… we’ve heard so much about you! I used to watch your shows all the time!”

The magician-turned-thief’s guard lowered as he stared at Jackie in shock. Was… all of that true?

Though… new figments huh? His eyes darkened as he spat. “I see… Jack realized I was a failure and is already setting up replacements, Huh?”

The hero looked even more bewildered. “What?! No way that’s- that isn’t it at all! Dude, you needa take a massive chill pill!”

This made Marvin’s anger even stronger. Magic sparked around him as he growled out. “I can’t afford to ‘take a chill pill’! My life hasn’t been easy like yours, Hero! You have no idea what I’ve fucking been through, what darkness I’ve had to run from. Don’t you dare try to brush it off with your fucking jokes!”

There’s a beat of silence as Jackie just stares at Marvin.

“….damn- you’re like a massive edge lord-“ Jackie deadpans.

Marvin’s magic flickers for a second before coming back stronger. “What?! Did you- did you even listen to what I-?”

“Yeah- and it was like- straight out of the edge lord handbook, dude. Super cringe-“

The magician yells in rage and tries to throw a punch at Jackie. But, the hero just catches it and looks down at Marvin with a raised eyebrow. Marvin huffs and glares at Jackie, but he can easily see how exhausted this guy looks… and how scared.

Jackie laughs nervously and then lets Marvin go, anxiously messing with his hair. “Okay you’re right- not the time for jokes… just thought they’d- I dunno… help to make you a little less intense.”

Marvin’s lip rose in a tiny snarl, glaring daggers at the hero.

The red clad man sighs and rubs his neck. “Look- you’re right. I don’t know what you’ve been through. But… I do know- Jack wouldn’t want you out here… running and struggling to survive. And- I don’t want to see that either- I mean… in my head… all of us are pretty much… brothers, you know? I couldn’t let my lil bro suffer out here.”

Marvin felt his heart flutter, a warm feeling spreading. He tries to hide his surprise at Jackie’s gentleness.

But, the hero continues, attempting to step forward. “Listen man- whatever you’re going through… you don’t have to do it alone. It’s confusing and lonely out there- and… if you come with me- I can take you to see that you aren’t alone… all of us are dealing with being figments too.”

He slowly offered his hand to Marvin.

"Us figments gotta stick together, don't you think?" Jackie grinned down at him, his smile so kind it threatened to blind Marvin.

The magician looked at Jackie’s hand with hesitation. He’d been running for so long… could he actually have a second chance? A chance to try again…?

Eventually with a shaky hand, Marvin took Jackie’s. “…alright… I… I guess I can give it a shot.”

Jackie beamed so brightly he could rival the sun.

He quickly took the magician to meet the others. Their brothers, he told Marvin excitedly. Marvin frowned at the thought. He… never thought he could ever really have a family.

Though he wasn’t holding his breath- knowing Jack these guys could all be complete fucking weirdos.

And that was his first impression as he took in the ragtag group of Jack look-a likes, mingling around a cabin at the edge of the city’s limits.

Marvin’s eyes wandered to the sight of a yellow-green haired dude in a jinx hat, whooping and hollering as he managed to shoot a nerf dart into an open box of Lyons tea. He winced as he saw the man dab. …okay-

On the couch was a teal-haired man who looked like he stepped straight out of a silent movie, preened mustache and all. Oh- of course he was also looking at a pocket watch, checking the time. He looked up at Marvin’s arrival and cocked his head silently but waved exaggeratedly at the sight of Jackie behind him.

And in the corner at a desk was a man in a white doctor’s coat and mint green scrubs. His light green hair hung over his glasses as he studied a book, mumbling to himself in German.

…yup- bunch of fucking weirdos.

“Hey nerds!” Jackie called out, shocking Marvin out of his thoughts as the hero pressed the shorter ego tight to his side. “Look who I found! Marvin!!”

Jackie turned to Marvin and then gestured out, “Marvin! These are the Septic egos! That’s what Jack calls us instead of figments- cuz we’re like, alter-egos in a way! Cool, huh?”

Three pairs of identical colored eyes all look up at him and Marvin feels his insides squirming. He must look so rough- so different to how they pictured him. How Jack pictured him…

He waved nervously, attempting a smile. But, it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

The figment in the ball cap bounded up to Marvin with sparkling eyes and explosive energy right away. “Oh no way! Suh dude!! Super awesome to meet ya!” He pointed to himself with his thumb, “I’m Chase! Chase Brody! Though~ you might know me better from my YouTube channel, Bro Average!”

Marvin staggered back, overwhelmed by the energy. He blinked at Chase, “uh… n-no sorry… I uh…. haven’t had much of a chance to… browse the web lately.”

For a second, the bright ego’s expression seemed to fall. But it just as quickly lit back up as he laughed. “Not a problem, bro! Maybe sometime I can catch ya up! Over a good cup of Lyons~!”

The magician pondered this and then felt a reaction to the thought of tea. Something he hadn’t really thought of. “…mint.” He looked back at Chase and smiled shyly. “…I like uh… mint tea… so maybe over a cup of that…?”

Chase made a face close to a grimace. “Mint??” Marvin wanted to shrink back in shame. But then the youtuber chuckled and shrugged. “Hey, not my cuppa! But like- we can hang over whoever type of tea you want, my dude!” He grinned mischievously, “Hell, I can show you allll the pics I got of my kids!”

Marvin’s eyebrows rose. “…you’re a dad?”

“That’s- complicated,” Jackie coughed close to Marvin. He patted Chase on the shoulder quickly and tried to distract the younger ego. “Yo Chase, bet you can’t make a trickshot into that trash can!”

The father’s eyes lit up at the challenge. “Oh fuck yeah dude! you’re on!”

He quickly busies himself grabbing supplies and a camera to film his attempt.

Jackie gathers Marvin up lightly and whispers. “I’ll uh… catch you up on that. Sensitive subject.”

He leads Marvin over to the doctor. The light hit his glasses just right as he turned to set the book down and studied the new ego quietly. He then nods, “Ah yes- you are the uh… magic one. Do not expect me to believe any of that shit, okay?”

Marvin bristled like an angry cat. “What?”

The doctor smirked and pushed up his glasses, sitting taller and more refined. “I am a man of science, Mr. Kätzchen. So, your little voodoo shite will not work on zhe good doctor, Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestien, ja?”

The magician growled and looked ready to jump the doctor. Jackie quickly grabbed Marvin underneath his arms and scooped him up like he weighed nothing. He laughed nervously and carted Marvin away, “Okay! No more of that! Bye Schneep, love you!”

The doctor rolled his eyes and went back to his book and mumbled, chewing on his pen cap.

Marvin is plopped down in front of the last ego, the mustached gentleman. The small magician glared at Jackie, then turned to face the teal-haired ego.

He smiled brightly at Marvin and tipped his hat. Then a screen flickered into view in front of him, showing words like an old-timey silent film still. Marvin blinked in surprise. This one had magic too?

The screen read. “Hello, good chap! I’m Jameson Jackson! Ever so glad to make your acquaintance!”

Marvin found himself smiling, “Hey… that’s a pretty cool spell…” He then sits down on the couch next to Jameson and took off his hood. ”… think you can show me how you did it?” He smiled shyly at the other ego. But, Jameson’s smile could light up the whole room as he eagerly nodded.

And soon… Marvin became one of them. He found his brothers- and finally had people who could truly understand him.

Marvin felt himself relax as the memory faded. He let the darkness take him… he knew his brothers were safe now. They could figure out the rest without him…

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

The boys all watch in stunned disbelief as Marvin falls.

Jameson acts quick and throws out a hand, desperately mouthing, “NO!”

A wash of teal races across the room, freezing everything as if it was paused. The heart monitor stops, the zipping electricity of the broken computer stops mid arc, the doll that tumbled out of Marvin’s hand stops mid motion, core still lit with his magic.

The boys all rush in- not frozen by Jamie’s spell. Jackie crashes to Marvin’s side and picks him up. “No! No nono no! Marvin! C’mon Marvin t-this isn’t funny! Fuck! what did you do?!”

Marvin lays limp in Jackie’s arms, eyes milky and unseeing. His open mouth leaks black smoke like a dying campfire. His limbs are caught halfway in the act of disappearing, looking see through.

“H-He’s…!” Schneep whispers in fear.

“Fading.” Anti answers gravelly, trying to push himself up using the wall.

“What does that mean?! D-Does that mean he’s dying- he’s dead?!” Chase cries out in panic, “ A-Are we next? Is it too late?”

“I-I do not know…!” Henrik whimpers.

Jackie curls up over his baby brother and watches his tears fall on his slack face. He holds him tight, his body trembling. “I’m so sorry Marvin… I-I should’ve been there for you sooner…!” He hangs his head over him and breaks down.

Then, there’s a cough that interrupts their sorrows.

Anti had managed to glitch across the room and leans against Jack’s bed. He tiredly glares at the others. “...w-whatever Jameson just cast… it paused what Kit kat did… so he’s not gone yet.”

They all look to Jameson in slight disbelief and JJ looks confused as he nods to Anti.

Anti rolls his eyes and gestures at the gentleman. “... you still have that watch, don’t ya? … I think you know what to do.”

Jameson’s eyes widen and he fumbles into his pocket to fish out his pocket watch. He touches it lightly and then clicks it open. He feels the pulse of magic within its gears- and a power he hardly remembered he had comes flooding back to him. He looks at the others excitedly and hops a bit before starting to turn the pin back. As he does, his eyes flood with teal power.

And- the room starts to move in reverse.

The heart monitor beeps backwards, the doll rolls back into Marvin’s hands- the magician himself slumps back up- out of Jackie’s arms. The hero backs away in confusion and the others move to as to not impede the magician.

They see the life force spell work in reverse, hear him seemingly talking to himself, though they can’t understand what he’s saying. They watch as he rises from the ground and crawls backwards, away from Jack’s bed after reaching for it desperately.

It seems like Jamie is trying to reverse as much as he can- but he can’t reverse far enough to undo the livestream spell- or even stop Marvin’s corruption. The teal light flickers and then dies down right as Marvin hangs his head hopelessly, mumbling something to himself. Jameson suddenly looks white as a sheet as he pitches backwards, eyes rolling up in the back of his head.

The stopwatch’s pin clicks back into place on its own, restarting the flow of time.

The others can understand Marvin again- hear him whispering. “...i-i’m so sorry… Jackie… j-Jamie… Hen… C-chase… i… I never wanted to hurt you… I… I just wanted to keep us safe…”

He’s startled out of his thoughts by the sound of Jamie falling and his head snaps up, flicking a glowing hand out to stop Jameson before he falls completely to the ground.

“J-Jamie?!” Marvin whispers in disbelief. He then takes in the others and his jaw drops. “Y-You guys?! How did you…? How did you get here?!”

The quiet sound of glitches sounds off behind them- Anti disappearing back into Jack’s head before Marvin notices him.

Chase smiles with tears in his eyes, laughing quietly. “I don’t think you’d believe us bro…!”

Jackie looks ready to tackle Marvin, looking relieved. “We’re just so glad you’re okay-!” The hero says, opening up his arms.

Marvin startles back and seems to trip over himself, lightly dropping Jamie to the floor and out of his magic as he holds out a hand towards Jackie. “N-No! D-don’t come near me..!”

He’s met with confused faces and Marvin swallows shakily as he tries to explain. “S-Something bad is happening…! I-Inside me- something is trying to t-take my body and I… I don’t want it to hurt you…!”

“The black magic inside you… right?” Henrik asks quietly.

Marvin looks surprised and almost dumbfounded. “Uh… y-yeah… I think so? H-How did you…?”

A hand grabs onto his pant leg and Marvin panics for a second before realizing its… it’s Jameson.

The gentleman pushes himself up but it looks like he’s hardly holding on. Still, he shakily pulls something out of his vest and hands it to Marvin. It’s an ornate blue hand mirror… so delicate it looks like it’s made of ice.

Marvin takes it with knit eyebrows, studying the surface. “Jays… what is this?”

Jameson smiles and shakily signs to Marvin, “Dark, trap.” He then gently touches over his heart.

Marvin looks more confused but looks back to study the mirror. Did… Jamie find a way to trap all this dark magic…? It… it was worth a shot, wasn’t it?

The magician breathes in and then tries to touch the mirror's surface. But- then his other hand lashes out and grabs his wrist, dropping the mirror.

Marvin’s eyes flare purple as a darker version of his voice snarls through his lips. “ℕ𝕠! 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕦𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤! 𝕎𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞!” Blue flickers back in his irises and Marvin panics, trying to fight back for control. “N-No stop it! I…I don’t want this power anymore…! I-I want to be good…!”

He looks back at the others desperately- but Jamie redirects his attention and smiles warmly, signing, “Your light is strong Marvin, you are good! Just believe in it, like we all believe in you!” The other boys cheer and smile, agreeing with Jamie.

Magic still flickers in Marvin’s eyes, tears threatening to cloud his vision. But, he tries to hold onto Jamie’s advice… imagining the light within him.

The voice seems to shriek as Marvin pushes back some of its control- just enough to grab the mirror again and touch the surface, finding the runes of the spell. He acts quickly, reciting it as fast as he can.

Each word he stumbles over makes him wince, white light cracking in the purple veins on his skin. Still he keeps going- even though it hurts. The purple magic seems fo be bubbling up to the surface, pushed out by the light. As Marvin recites the last word of power, he suddenly screams, his arms falling back as something seems to burst from his chest. No actually- it’s like the dark magic is peeling off of him- and slowly… it seems to make a perfect copy of the magician, one made of pulsing black and purple shadow with piercing purple eyes.

Marvin almost collapses into the ground, gasping. He looks more like himself again- though his hair is still long and brown, matching the dark copy. As he looks down at himself he realizes… he’s not in the clothes he was just wearing- no the copy has those. He’s in… the outfit he was born in. His canon outfit. It’s been so long since he’s seen it but… it brings him a sense of comfort, even if it's just for a moment. His eyes shine with that familiar bright blue, an echo of Jack. Though the corruption still marks his skin like scars, they look far more faint now. He threatens to sway but Jameson catches him and keeps him steady. The pale magician looks up at the shadowy figure and feels his stomach drop. “T-That was inside me??”

The shadow bares its teeth at Marvin. “ℕ𝕠, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕠𝕟! 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕪𝕠𝕦.”

“Bullshit!” Jackie spits at the copy, eyes flaring with blue silver magic.

The copy chuckles and addresses the red clad man, cocking its head with a smooth motion. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕜, 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕠. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕪 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕗𝕦𝕝, 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕙𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕚𝕣~!”

Chase has to hold back Jackie from lunging at the shadow.

It laughs and shakes his head, spreading out its hands. “𝔸𝕤 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘- 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕤, 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖, 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖, 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕝𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕖.” It hums and snaps, bringing something out of Marvin’s pocket that shoots into his hand. A book with a cover blacker than black with purple trim.

“…𝕀 𝕘𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕤𝕒𝕪… 𝕀’𝕞 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕪~!”

“Well… curiosity killed the cat-“ Henrik mutters.

“ℕ𝕠𝕥 𝕪𝕖𝕥 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟’𝕥~!” The shadow laughs, turning back to Marvin. It lifts up its hand and Marvin is brought up in a bubble of purple magic, clawing at his neck like he can’t breathe.

The others all jump to their feet- trying to figure out how to help. But as Jackie tries to charge at the shadow, he’s suddenly blown back by a giant arc of purple electricity. He slides across the floor, dazed, things in his backpack flying across the floor. He groggily sees the white of Marvin’s old mask in front of him.

Phantom’s words echo in his head: “You know… there’s one thing I know about light magic… why you heroes and goody-two-shoes always best us in the end.” “...it’s your ability to be positive. To believe in each other. To have things and memories that… keep the darkness away. ...perhaps that can help you.”

Jackie looks to make sure the shadow isn’t looking before taking the mask and studying it. He narrows his eyes and then turns it over, finding a message written in blue ink.

It’s… some kind of spell. A couple runes follow after the message of “For the grey days.”

Grey days… Jackie remembers Marvin would often have days where his confidence was shot, the days he needed kind words and encouragement. He called them grey days. He used to rub the inside of his mask when he was anxious, saying it had its own kind of magic in it.

Jackie knows he’s no magician… he barely understands how his powers work, let alone Marvin’s. But, this mask was from when he was first born… maybe-

He copies the gesture he’s seen Marvin do a thousand times- and the runes on the mask glow a light blue.

Jackie’s eyes snap back to his brother squirming in the shadow’s grip.

The shadow laughs cruelly, increasing the pressure. The book it stole back hovers next to it in a purple glow, staying close to its side. “𝕀’𝕞 𝕘𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕣𝕚𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟- 𝕓𝕪 𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕣𝕚𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟’𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤- 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕚𝕤𝕟’𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙! 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕟𝕠 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕒 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖!”

Marvin chokes on a sob, his eyes threatening to get taken over by purple again. The shadow pushes into his face, grinning wolfishly as it whispers. “𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕞 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤𝕟’𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦… 𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤𝕟’𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦…! 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥-!”

“You’re wrong!” Jackie shouts, using his power to send out a blast with his voice, monetarily throwing off the shadow as it loosens some of its grip on Marvin. Marvin looks back at Jackie with tears running down his face, looking lost.

“You say he doesn’t know who he is? Well I know!” Jackie says proudly, “He’s a big cry baby! He cries at Disney movies! He’s spent so much of his life afraid and scared but… he has come out better- despite everything he’s been through!” Jackie looks and meets Marvin’s eyes, pride beaming up within him as he smiles softly.``…he’s my baby brother… and I love him.”

Marvin sniffles, his eyes filling with more tears as his lip quivers. The shadow seems to roll its eyes at Jackie,“…𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕠 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕠𝕣?”

The hero does seem to hesitate for a second- just enough to look back down at the mask he’s holding. His eyes widen slightly as he sees red energy blooming on the white surface. He then grins and looks smugly back at the shadow.

“You know, for a copy of Marvin- you are forgetting a very powerful magic we all have!”

The shadow looks confused, raising an eyebrow as its eyes display a quiet bit of hunger.

The hero beams, bright as a sun as he shouts, “The power of PMA! Nothing can keep us all down- because we have each other! And I believe in Marvin’s ability to kick your sorry shadow-y ass!”

The mask glows more, and Jackie looks to the other egos, sharing a look that says ‘follow my lead and trust me.’ He holds up the mask, making sure to flash the energy growing on it. Slowly, they all smile and nod.

The copy bares its teeth in anger and shoots out magic towards the hero, a tendril of dark magic lashing out… and then spearing Jackie straight through the stomach.

“NO!” Marvin screams, trying to get out of the shadow’s grasp better, clawing at its magic.

“𝕐𝕠𝕦’𝕧𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕞𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙, 𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕚𝕖𝕓𝕠𝕪. 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕤𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕙𝕚𝕞- 𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗~!” It laughs cruelly, squeezing Marvin’s throat tighter.

Jackie halts his momentum using his feet to skid against the floor. He wheezes in pain and coughs up some blood, but he smiles. Even as dark veins start to crawl up where the magic hit. He looks up with blue glowing eyes as he smirks. “You won’t kill us- you need M-Marvin alive…!”

“𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕖- 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕪 𝕨𝕒𝕪-!” The shadow smirks knowingly, “I𝕀 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜. 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 ℙ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕞! 𝔸𝕤 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕤 𝕪��𝕦𝕣 ‘𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕖’ 𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕝𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜. 𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝… 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤- 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜~”

The copy looks over to Chase and seems to smirk, making the father shiver, the scar on his temple aching.

“W-What?!” Henrik gasps out, looking at the shadow with wide eyes. “What do you mean we can just… die? Die and… and reform??”

“Yeah what are we, Crystal gems?” Chase mutters.

The shadow looks confused and throws back its head and laughs. “𝕆𝕙𝕙𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥’𝕤 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟’𝕥 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕒 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕗𝕒𝕕𝕖! ℍ𝕒 𝕙𝕒! 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕣𝕖 𝕒 𝕕𝕠𝕔𝕥𝕠𝕣, 𝕊𝕔𝕙𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕡! 𝔸𝕝𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖… 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘!”

Henrik pales, a look of confusion and uncertainty crashing against his mind.

“𝔽𝕦𝕟𝕟𝕪…” The shadow continues, “𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕜𝕖𝕪 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕓𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘!”

Marvin clenches his eyes shut, “I… I didn’t like t-thinking about it…! I just- I did everything to make sure they never would!” The magician admits through tears.

“𝕄𝕙𝕞… 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕡! ℕ𝕠𝕨 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝!” The shadow explains with a showman-like flare, much like how Marvin would address his crowds.

It then clenches its fist and the tendril still in Jackie rips upwards, making the hero scream in pain and get lifted off his feet.

“𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕪 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕚𝕖 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕦𝕝𝕝𝕪~! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕪 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣!” The dark copy giggles, eyes bright with madness.

Jackie’s body ripples and for a second seems to flicker, like he could fade out of existence. But Jackie grits his teeth with determination. He shakes as he grips onto the tendril and Marvin’s old mask. His vision blurs. He needs to act fast…

He pushes down the dread pooling in his stomach, his fear. He believes in Marvin… He throws the mask towards Chase, “Chase! Catch!”

Chase startles and fumbles to catch it but just manages to. He looks at it with wide eyes.

Jackie smiles and then slumps in the tendrils hold, breathing heavily and raggedly as branches of corruption eat up his skin. Then, the hero falls very very still.

The shadow whips to look at the mask flying in confusion. “𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕦𝕔𝕜 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥?!” Its eyes land on Chase then it thrusts out a hand to hover a tendril just against his neck. Ready to pierce it. It narrows its eyes as it growls. “ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕦𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦’𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕚𝕖 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝, 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕪.”

Chase looks terrified- but then he sees the brave body of Jackie… and similar determination flares in his eyes. He stands tall, gripping the mask as he shouts out. “I-I’m not afraid to die!” He then hesitates and adds on.

“…no actually I… I am afraid of dying now…” He laughs quietly with a distant look in his eyes. Funny…. He never thought he could think something like that.

“because I…. I have something to live for again! Because… because of… of my brothers.”

He looks to meet Marvin’s eyes as the older brother looks at him with fear and concern. He tries to shake his head at him, encouraging him to stop this. But Chase just smiles.

“…and especially cuz of Marv. He… he helps me to be a better dad… he cares for my kids, he helped me to find my confidence again. He… he makes me want to keep trying, to keep living.”

A tear falls down the father’s face but he laughs at the shadow as the mask starts to branch more with light, orange joining red. “And now… I know I can come back! So… do your fucking worse, ya cheap knockoff! I’m not letting you take my big bro away from us!”

Marvin chokes on a sob, trying to reach out for Chase. Just as the shadow growls and whips the tendril to spear itself higher, through the side of Chase’s head. Chase doesn’t even get a chance to scream- his body immediately falling limp and hanging grotesquely in the tendril’s hold, dangling like Jackie’s. His head lolls lifelessly back, staring wide eyed and blankly at the ceiling. The magic eats away at him like rot.

The mask slips from Chase’s fingers and falls to the ground dully. Schneep hesitates, looking beyond terrified. But he sees a flick of black magic and he quickly crashes to the ground to swipe it before the shadow can grab it. The copy screams in frustration, acting already in anger and spearing into Henrik like the others, straight into his chest.

“NO NO STOP IT!!” Marvin screams, thrashing in the shadow’s grip. “I-I’m not worth this! STOP!”

Then, Henrik seems to laugh as he coughs up what looks like black sludge. He stubbornly has managed to hold onto the mask, even as his hand shakes. He claws to grip at the magic better, trying to stay awake. The magic burns, making it hard to think. He looks scared as he gazes back at Marvin but he also smiles warmly, despite the dark veins crawling scarily fast across his skin.

“Shut up, Marvin… e-even if you and I have not gotten along before… even if I do not get your magic and you do not get my science…! You are… so passionate and determined and…”

He shuts his eyes as the words struggle to come, a wave of pain rushing over him. But he then opens tearful eyes to meet Marvin’s as he chuckles quietly. “I… I want to share that… I want to study and learn with you…! I want to understand my big brother better!” His eyes flare with determination as he grips tighter onto the mask, greenish white light joining the red and orange. “So… y-you must live, Marvin…! You have to win!”

For some reason, whenever the Septics start to talk to Marvin, the shadow also seems to freeze, held in whatever power this is. Much to its anger. The second Henrik stops, it rips another tendril messily through his neck and throws him down, growling darkly. “𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕕𝕚𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕤! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘!” But it almost sounded… afraid, under all that anger.

The mask flies out of Henrik’s limp hand as he crumbles to the ground, blood pooling around him as he struggles to take in any full breaths, faint gurgling bubbling from his throat. Then… his gaze turns cloudy and unseeing, his chest no longer rising.

The mask spins and then manages to hit Jameson’s foot, the youngest septic looking at his defeated brothers in horror.

The shadow sees this and then throws its head back to laugh. “𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖! 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕗𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕦𝕥𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟’𝕥 𝕤𝕒𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕙𝕖?”

A tendril comes out and wraps around Marvin’s teary eyes, blocking off his view. Marvin whimpers and shakes, muttering out apologizes… to Jamie, to the others.

Jameson’s eyes glow teal with anger at the shadow’s taunts. He picks up the mask and stands tall, despite his fatigue. If this was to be his last stand, he’d give it everything he’s got.

There’s an almost painful spear of foreign magic in Marvin’s head- that gets echoed in the shadow’s as it shouts out in pain. Jameson’s voice is clear in their heads- just like when he broke through to Marvin during the livestream.

“Marvin, you are brave and you are strong… even though you have felt so lost for so long- you never stopped trying. Despite our lack of direction from Jack… you haven’t stopped trying to write your own story.

No one else knows how sad our stories will be. I don’t want this to become another tragedy! So, let’s rewrite this dark tale, and become more than we were forced to be, Marvin! We are by your side… and always will be.

You have not, and will never be, alone.”

Marvin sobs loudly, a mix of being overwhelmingly touched and heart-broken. Because he knows now what’ll happen next. “No… p-please…!”

Teal light joins the other colors, creating an intricate beautiful pattern across the white mask, imitating celtic knots. Jameson’s eyes widened and he smiled wide, ready to try to throw it to Marvin.

As soon as he lifted up his hand, the tendril came and speared through Jameson’s heart. He choked and the mask fell, clattering to the floor. The black magic made quick work of the tiny ego, the darkness rushing to consume him before he could even take another ragged breath. Then, the gentleman fell, limp like a puppet without its strings. The shadow made sure Marvin could see it all happen, dropping the tendril that blinded him.

Marvin felt frozen, his breath stolen as he takes in the destroyed bodies of his brothers, some of them looking like they were starting to disappear. But, instead of hopelessness… righteous fury burned hot in his chest, spreading throughout his whole body. He could hardly hear the shadow as it tried to taunt him, break him down even more. His brothers’ voices rang louder and truer in his head now, strong and solid against the whispered corruption.

Summoning any magic he could possibly have left, Marvin shot out a hand and in a quick burst of telekinesis, grabbed the glowing mask. It flew by too fast for the copy to stop and Marvin caught it expertly in his outstretched hand.

A burst of light rocketed out of him as he caught it, blasting the shadow apart. But only for a moment as it reformed a few meters back. Any tendrils still stuck in the boys burst into shards, dropping their bodies into still heaps. It growled angrily and glared at the forming sun spot that was his host. “𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕝?!”

Marvin slowly looked at his body as it glowed brightly and then at the mask. He followed his usual gesture against the back and smiled, feeling that positive energy fueling him even more. When he looked up at the shadow, he looked confident, as the light that danced on the mask's surface marbled in his eyes alongside his strong green-blue magic.

Then, two fiery wings of light unfurled from his back, power radiating from him like…

Like a Phoenix.

But his wings, shimmering brightly with light, aren’t the color you’d normally associate with the mythical bird. No, they burn with flickers of green and blue fire.

The shadow for a second actually seems scared, scrambling back. He tried to redirect his magic to find the book- maybe he can get another boost to combat this-! But, his magic doesn’t respond.

Because the book is stuck floating in a teal bubble of magic. Jameson’s last stand.

The dark copy screams in rage, purple electricity radiating off him in dangerous arcs.

But, Marvin steps forward, anger burning in his eyes. Light branches from his footsteps as he walks, covering up parts of the room that was charred by corruption. And white glowing tears are falling down his face, despite his furious expression.

The tears seem to float in the air after him, some lingering like stardust, some hovering then darting to sink into the bodies of the fallen septics. Their wounds fill with light, then start to close. They start to become solid again. They start to breathe.

“All this time… you tried to make me feel like I was alone.” Marvin spoke quietly, but his voice echoed almost ethereally. “That no one cared for me, that my creator had abandoned me, that I was doomed to keep running forever…

You made me think I was forging my own path! That I was rewriting my story… but no- I just fell into more fucking puppet strings! From one puppet master to another…”

He grips the mask at his side and grits his teeth. “You made me forget that I had my family! That I had people who could help me! Because you know deep down… that’s a magic that you can’t possibly control.”

The shadow trembles back, “𝕋-𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤! 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥- 𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤- 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤! 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘-!”

“They mean everything!” Marvin yells, wings flaring out. “I would still be lost and scared, convinced I was a killer until Jackie found me! Convinced I could never be enough… for Jack, for myself… for… anyone. Until they all took me in… and showed me what love actually feels like.

Though I guess… you can’t feel that can you?” He sneers down at the trembling mass of darkness.

The shadow glares at Marvin and then chuckles darkly. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟’𝕥 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨. 𝕀’𝕞 𝕒 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦- 𝕀’𝕞 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝. 𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕕𝕞𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕥.”

Marvin’s expression softens slightly, almost turning empathetic. “…you said you were my darkness, right? …as much as I want to deny you- to forget you exist… I can’t. You’re right, you’re a part of me.”

He glances down at the floor, catching a glimpse of the mirror. An idea sparked in his head.

The Phoenix ego glared at the shadow as he adjusted the glowing mask to sit on his face. The flames on his wings glowed with his brothers’ colors.

“But that part of me… isn’t who I want to be anymore. I… I don’t want to rely on anger and despair anymore! And I’m sick of things like you trying to tell me who I am!”

Without even flicking his hand, the mirror flew up into his palm where he gripped it right.

He stepped forward again and the shadow trembled back.

“I’m sick of Jack, sick of the fandom, sick of fucking puppet masters trying to make me something I’m not! I’m going to figure that out on my own… from the ashes of all the shit you’ve put me through!”

“𝕄-𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟 𝕔’𝕞𝕠𝕟!” The shadow tries to plead, nervously smiling. “𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕪 𝕀 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕕! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕𝕟’𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕥-“

“I never needed you! I never wanted you! All this time! No one has given a fucking damn about what I want! How I wanted to do things! Who I want to be!”

His eyes filled completely with rainbow light as he stood proud and tall, the mirror vibrating with power at his side.

“I’m fucking Marvin the Magnificent! I’m my own fucking person- and you-!”

He holds out the mirror, showing the dark copy his own terrified reflection.

“You are nothing more than a reflection of something I will never be!”

He channeled magic into the mirror and it shot off a beam of hot burning light. The shadow shouted out and turned into a wisp to dodge before reforming shakily.

Marvin shouts in rage and blasts out bright magic fire at the creature. It hisses and screeches in pain as the magic singes it, carving holes in its form like acid burning through wood.

The shadow seems weaker, focusing on the searing pain in its body. It doesn’t see the flaming form barrel into it and slam it into the floor. Marvin growls as he pushes the mirror against the shadow. They struggle- parts of the shadow’s body being pulled towards the mirror.

Then, with a feral scream and a burst of magic, a ring of white overtaking a weak purple ring- the two figures are blasted apart.

The mirror drops with a tinny ring as it hits the ground. A black shadowy figure pounds against the glass inside- but no one can hear its screams.

The septics all start to rise, blinking out in confusion to the lingering magic in the air, floating and falling like ethereal fireflies.

Chase panics and touches where his wounds were then sighs in relief, slumping to the floor in an almost comical way.

Jameson pushes himself up, expecting to still feel weak but- he feels… fine? Great, even! He looks to see if that damned book was still trapped- and then gasps at seeing it on the ground as bright magic fire lapped at its contents.

Henrik is looking down at his body in marveled awe, shakily touching a hand to the faint scars around his neck.

Jackie recovers and shakes out his confusion, gripping over his chest as he confirms he’s okay. Only to pale as he sees the other side of the room.

“Marvin!”

The final blast had shot Marvin back. His body left skid marks on the floor- the path of his wings marked on the ground. The only evidence they were ever there. The light on his white mask pulses softly then fades altogether.

But the passed out magician looks… peaceful. Despite his still beaten and black-magic-scarred body. Next to his limp hand- by some miracle… is Jack’s doll.

———

Marvin opens his eyes to see he’s… not in the waking world. That’s really the only way to describe this feeling. It felt like… something in the mind, like when you’re concentrating on a thought and trying to visualize it. He seemed to be floating in a void of constantly shifting colors. But one color was more consistent than the others- veining, pulsing cracks of purple. Marvin winced at the sight.

“…alright- love how things just keep getting weirder-“ The magician mumbles to himself.

Then, Marvin’s ears twitched a bit as he sensed another presence near him. He blinked, then turned to look behind him.

And saw… Jack. Smiling warmly at him. The creator waved.

“… Hi, Marvin.”

Marvin didn’t know why tears were almost immediately in his eyes. Why he surged forward, why he wrapped his arms around the other brunette, why he dug his face in his shoulder, clutched at the back of his shirt and started crying like a baby.

“J-Jack…! Jack I- I-I…!” He choked on a sob and gasped desperate breaths before breaking down, howling. “I’m so sorry! I’m sorry- I’m so fucking sorry!!!”

“Hey…” The creator’s voice is gentle. “It’s okay… it’s all gonna be okay….”

Marvin shifts to hide his face more, biting out, “But I…! I helped to put you in a fucking coma….! I hurt you- I tried to hurt the others…! I…!”

He then pushes himself away from the youtuber and goes to hold his arms against him, trembling. He looks down at his scarred hands and then clenches them with a choked whimper. He meets Jack’s eyes and shakes his head slowly.

“Jack I… I’m dangerous…”

Jack tilts his head. “So is Anti. And Jackie- and hell any of the others could be too. Have you seen Jameson with a knife? Kid could be fucking brutal.”

Marvin shakes his head more, insisting. “Jack, I almost killed you! I… I’m too unstable I- I’m not sure if…” He looks down and then clenches his arm, biting back more tears.

“… I’m not getting rid of you, Marvin.” Jack quietly reassured. “ ‘fraid you’re stuck with all of us.” He tries to laugh, desperately trying to lighten the mood.

It doesn’t work on Marvin. He can’t look back at Jack as he mutters. “…you never meant to make me… all I’ve done is caused problems…”

“That’s not true,” Jack presses, trying to bridge the gap between them. “To be honest… a lot of you I didn’t mean to make! It just… happened.” He then smiles brightly, looking like the sun. Guess that’s where Jackie gets it from. “But…. Believe me, I wouldn’t change any of that. I’m glad I made you all. And I love you, just as much as I love the others.”

Marvin hesitates then looks back up to catch Jack’s smile. It’s… infectious, and Marvin can’t help but try to smile weakly back.

But it very quickly falls as Marvin mutters.

“…I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

“I know you didn’t, Marvin.”

“I didn’t want to drag the others into this…! I just… I wanted them to be safe-“

“…I know.” For a second, Jack seemed to look… almost guilty. Like that was his fault.

Marvin shuts his eyes then cries out, “then why!? If you know this about me- why did any of this happen? Shouldn’t you have been able to stop it? Rewrite things?? Why did Anti target me? Why did this magic consume me? Why am I so easily changeable?”

For once, Jack is quiet. He seems to be thinking of how to respond as Marvin pants to catch his breath.

Finally, Jack speaks up.

“…because I’m not like Anti. Or the people who hurt you. I don’t want to control you… I want you to still figure out who you are, without needing me.”

Marvin’s eyes widened. Jack met his with steely determination.

“… me and Anti. We are connected- but we are not the same. Two sides of the same coin… but that means- I’m not a puppet master, like he is.

And this isn’t all me… sometimes the fans are just- curious. But… that doesn’t mean you can’t make your own choices. Before all this… you kept letting others decide for you. And even if it’s true that I didn’t put much thought in you at first… you have so much potential, Marvin. And I can’t wait to see where your story takes you. Eventually, I might have a hand in it again… but until then, it seems like you have a lot you gotta learn about yourself, Phoenix guy.” Jack smirked.

“But- when the story does continue- believe me, it’s gonna be one hell of a collab!”

Marvin slowly started to smile, finally feeling warmth bloom back in his chest.

He sighs and then looks at the purple magic around them. He looks down in his hand- and seems to find that doll again. He looks back up to Jack with glowing eyes, smiling with determination.

“You know what? … I think I actually like the sound of that. Let’s get you the hell out of here!”

Marvin then closed his eyes and curled both his hands around the doll. His body started to glow with blue-green magic, white stardust shimmering inside it as well. That same light started to bloom on the purple veins, eating up the magic and making it disappear.

Jack laughed in disbelief as he watched. The egos would always amaze him in ways he never even expected…

For a second- everything seems alright- it seems like Jack could actually wake up as all the purple fades completely.

But then, Marvin shouts out and curls up in pain, gripping at either side of his head.

Jack lashed out, trying to reach him. “Marvin! What’s wrong?”

Marvin looked back up to Jack with glowing green eyes, his sclera black, just as the void around them turned dark and started to glitch.

Familiar terrifying laughter echoed around the space as the veins Marvin just destroyed bloomed back, but this time pulsing with sickly green light.

“F-Fucking ANTI!!” Marvin screamed, digging fingers into his scalp. He meets Jack’s eyes with desperation, “I… I undid my spell! But it seems like he- he took it over…!”

But, Jack doesn’t seem surprised by this. He smiles sadly.

“Yeah… I guess that figures.”

Marvin shouts as his body starts to glitch and then flickers in and out like he could disappear.

He reaches a hand back out towards Jack, sobbing out. Something is pulling him back from reaching him, even as he fights desperately to get back to him. “Jack! I… I promise! We’ll find a way to save you…!”

Jack smiles a bit more and nods.

“…I know you will.” His voice echoed, a slight finality in it that left Marvin’s chest aching.

Then, the space floods with darkness, growing like ink overtaking water as glitching laughter continues to echo in their ears. Swallowing the light completely.

——

Marvin’s eyelids fluttered. He groaned lightly and then blearily looked out. He saw four very concerned faces leaning over him. But the sight of them filled his whole body with relief.

The magician sunk more against Jackie, who had him propped up on his knee. “Y…you guys are s..safe…” he quietly slurred.

Jackie smiled. “Yeah… all thanks to you, baby bro.”

“Dude! That must have been one hell of a fight!” Chase exclaimed excitedly, his eyes practically sparkling. “The marks on the floor made it look like you had like- fucking wings or something!”

Marvin chuckled weakly. “I uh… I did, actually.”

“No fucking way??!!”

The others laughed at Chase’s reaction.

“…you must be very tired, Bruderherz,” Schneep commented gently. “We should probably get you checked at the hospital…”

Jameson nodded and added in sign, “yes! Magic exhaustion is no joke!”

Marvin nodded absentmindedly, turning his head to look towards the other side of the room. Where Jack lay sleeping.

The room fell quiet for a couple painful beats.

“…do you think Jack will wake up…? Now that all of this is over?” Chase asked quietly.

Marvin closed his eyes with a grimace and then slowly shook his head. “No… I… I had a vision. Anti found a way to keep him asleep…”

The sadness that bloomed in the air was thick enough to feel as it weighed down on the 5 boys.

But, Marvin shuffled to weakly sit up better and then held out a hand. His eyes glowed with passion and a bit of magic. “But… I know we can all find some way to wake him… together.”

Jackie’s eyes shined as he grinned and clasped Marvin’s hand with his own. “Hell yeah!”

Chase was quick to join his hand with theirs. Henrik rolled his eyes with a smile but soon joined as well. Jameson bounced slightly before placing his hand on top.

Marvin smiled. As long as they stuck together… they could take on anything.

The clasping of hands soon turned itself into a dog pile on top of Marvin, multiple pairs of arms hugging him softly where they could reach. Marvin tried to hold back tears but then slowly and quietly broke down, letting himself be weak. He didn’t feel scared anymore, he felt nothing but bone aching relief. He was with his family again… that was all that mattered.

#readcktc #curiosity killed the cat #cktc #marvin the magnificent #jackieboy man #henrik von schneeplestein #jameson jackson #chase brody #hufflewriting #jacksepticeye fanfiction #septic egos

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how-serene · 6 days

Note

Something with Johnson from reprisal? The reader could be part of the phoenix’s and gets terribly injured on one of their run ins with another gang

Trouble

Pairing - Johnson (Reprisal) x Neutral!Reader

Summary - Life really wasn't fair.

Word count - 623

Warnings - mentions of blood, reader is hurt

A/N - Here ya go! Hopefully I did your idea justice.

It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. Life wasn’t often fair though, something you begrudgingly came to accept.

Johnson pressed his steady hand against your shoulder, applying pressure to the blood soaked wound.

In the end, it often took more than it gave.

You winced, gritting your teeth so hard you worried they might shatter. The sound of panicked shuffling could be heard, as Matty approached the bed with a towel. You imagined the hotel sheets beneath you would need a couple bottles of bleach afterwards. The curtains were drawn shut, as Ethan stood beside them, eyes peeking out the window every so often. A sudden rush of dizziness caused your vision to blur, as you sank deeper and deeper into the mattress. The once searing pain was almost numbing now, as your heart pumped erratically in your chest.

Johnson yanked the towel from Matty’s hands, brows pinched forward as he placed it over the wound.

Some naive low-lying punks, trying to make a name for their tiny unit of a gang ambushed you all. The summer sun was high in the sky, glaring down at you. Some generic rockabilly tunes (they all sound the same) played from the car speakers. Johnson had leaned against the car, cigarette loosely hanging from his lips as Matty droned on about something you couldn’t recall now. For the moment, you were able to genuinely enjoy the feeling of the summer heat on your skin.

Next thing you knew you were dodging bullets. One grazed you, badly. Flesh and tissue were torn on the side of your shoulder.

“Shouldn’t we take them to the hospital?” Ethan asked, motioning over to you. You shook your head, trying to prop yourself up. Johnson’s heavy hand gently pushed you back down, halting your movement. You hissed, it felt as if someone had left a hot iron rod on your skin for too long.

“No hospital,” you croaked out, falling back against the pillows. “They’ll ask too many questions.”

“Something’s gotta be done.” Johnson voiced, momentarily startling you. He had been silent since the incident, and although it was a normal quirk of his, he had never sounded this concern before.

Matty sighed, “I know who to call, Ethan c’mon.” He grabbed Ethan by the shoulder, quickly guiding him out the door.

Leaving you with Johnson.

A tense silence enveloped you two, as he focused on keeping the wound covered. You glanced around, taking extreme interest in the cracks that decorated the yellow floral wallpaper. Your eyes flickered, threatening to shut as the last of the pumping adrenaline left your body.

“Don’t doze off now.”

You jolted, comically widening your eyes as you fought against the sudden exhaustion. Johnson’s hands trembled against their strong hold on you. Behind his down-turned dark eyes you could see the millions of thoughts racing through his mind. A wave of guilt crashed over you.

“I’m going to be fine.” you reassured, placing your bloody hand over his. His eyes snapped up to meet yours. It wasn’t quick at first, but then the stone facade began to crack. His taut features broke away to reveal sheer panic and anxiety. You ran your thumb over his knuckles, ignoring the slick feel of warm blood that stuck to your skin.

“Yeah, I know.” He whispered, voice barely heard over the thumping of your own heart.

You both sat there, holding onto some invisible life-line only found in each other. The cracked face of Johnson’s cool demeanor was built back up by the time the other’s came back, with help of course.

Maybe life did take more than it gave, but it gave you him and The Phoenix’s.

That would be enough for right now.

#david dastmalchian #johnson reprisal #johnson x reader #reprisal 2019

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gonzo-rella · 2 years

Text

Headcanons: Izzy Hands Dating Lucius Spriggs’ Best Friend

MASTERLIST | AO3 | KO-FI

Relationship(s): Izzy Hands x gn!reader (romantic), Lucius Spriggs x gn!reader (platonic)

Warnings: Nothing you wouldn’t see in gay pirate show. (Let me know if I need to add any)

(A/N: I wrote this because I love the concept of BFF Lucius more than life itself and my heart belongs to the tiny feral man. Who said this didn’t warrant its own set of headcanons? Shut up. I’m not far off caving and writing an Izzy breakup fic where Lucius is the reader’s supportive bestie (lemme know if you wanna see that). Also, quick shameless self-promotion for my first AO3 OFMD one-shot (just look at the tags before reading because it’s heavy).)

Lucius has no idea what attracts you to that angry little man.

He’ll make that perfectly clear.

As your best friend, he knows full well that you’re far from perfect.

But in his eyes, you deserve much better than Dizzy Izzy, Blackbeard’s feral chihuahua.

It’s no secret that Lucius loves you as much as he loathes Izzy.

Izzy won’t admit this but he adores you as much as he abhors Lucius.

Well, he’ll admit the latter half.

Regularly.

But, the former will remain unsaid, for a while at least.

So, they know that they have to ‘play nice’ to some degree, despite their extreme dislike for one another.

They really do try their best for you because of how much they care about you.

Still, Lucius enjoys teasing the two of you, and Izzy still makes it known that he finds the scribe insufferable.

Suffice it to say, there’s a lot of tension between your best friend and your boyfriend.

Lucius is a lot like a protective parent in the sense that he always keeps an eye on your relationship.

You’re not supposed to know this but he’s enlisted the help of the crew on this front.

He’s nosy as fuck and will ask many invasive questions, like a mum when her child gets into their first relationship

He definitely gave Izzy the classic protective loved one speech at some point.

Be prepared for so many passive-aggressive comments from both of them.

Well, Izzy’s are more aggressive than passive and often spat through gritted teeth.

Sometimes, Izzy will (begrudgingly) ask Lucius for advice when it comes to your relationship.

Of course, Lucius is overjoyed.

Part of it’s because he’s glad to see Izzy cares enough about making you happy that he can swallow his pride.

Most of it’s because he gets a great deal of pleasure out of Izzy needing his help.

He also enjoys meddling.

But, he’ll still give the best possible advice, because he wants you to be happy even if it’s with that ferocious little creature.

Hell hath no fury like Lucius when you and Izzy get into a fight.

He hates it when you’re in the wrong during a fight, because of course he hates when Izzy’s even remotely right about anything.

But, odds are Izzy’s going to have said something stupid in the heat of the moment, and Lucius is going to be more annoyed at him than you are.

When Izzy’s done/said something that’s especially upset you, Lucius will march up to him and demand that he makes amends with you ASAP.

Until you make up with one another, he’ll comfort you and take care of you like the supportive bestie he is.

I feel like Lucius' attitude towards the relationship is so comically over the top that you can’t help but assume he’s doing it just to get on Izzy’s nerves.

But, I feel like Lucius is genuinely really concerned about Izzy hurting your feelings and breaking your heart.

And, it’s not like you can really blame him.

He cares so much about you and he knows what Izzy’s like.

At first, Lucius barely supports the relationship at all.

But, he supports you.

He can be a nuisance, but he’ll make sure he doesn’t go too far.

I can imagine the rest of the crew will have something to say about your relationship with Izzy, and Lucius will be the first to tell them when they’ve said enough.

Eventually, Lucius will start to realise how genuinely happy you are together.

Sometimes it’ll even warm his heart when Izzy doesn’t look completely miserable.

Alongside Ed, he’ll end up being your relationship’s number one shipper.

#izzy hands x reader #lucius spriggs x reader #izzy hands #lucius spriggs #ofmd x reader #ofmd #our flag means death x reader #our flag means death #x reader #x gn!reader #x gn reader #x gender neutral!reader #x gender neutral reader

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waspredteeth · 29 days

Text

*grits teeth* sorry guys I was going to write another Damian post about the effects of a cult and how no fic really gets the al Ghul philosophy right and most kinda steer towards racism with how comically evil/abusive they make Talia and Ras...but I got possessed by the blind rage of hater syndrome.

I'm hanging a billboard up on my blog now to say: STOP ELEVATING JASON TODD HIGHER THAN HE IS

Look, I like the guy. Under the Red Hood is masterfully written. He could be an interesting character that opposes Bruce in the same vein that Harvey and Selina can. I do understand that some people might project their experiences onto him, how they would see him as a victim of Bruce's ideals and actions.

But I do not agree that his death, his resurrection, the false idolatry of bruce and the rage that follows - is anything new.

Most of my ire really comes from claiming that his death makes him part of the "female experience." What the fuck that does even mean? He was murdered and was grieved by Bruce so that makes him an honorary woman? You know that far worse has been done to actual female comic book characters who don't get even an ounce of the think pieces and love that he gets.

I am aware that a (sad) vast majority of the people in this fandom don't read the actual source material. They just don't engage with the actual themes and imagery and actions their favorite characters (usually male) take. Unfortunately.

Just...be aware that Jason Todd isn't the only character to die. He's not the only character to die brutally. To die in a major comic event. To be resurrected. To be resurrected and come back morally grey or a villain. To once be on the side of a hero and now come back on the opposite.

You can like him, love him. Please just don't falsely claim that he's the only character to ever go through what he did, and please don't deride female characters who have gone through similar experiences.

Okay, that's it. I'm going to write that Damian post now.

#anti jason todd #dc #don't get started on the amount of fanon that misses his canon actions by miles and miles

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