#this game tech class is really kicking my ass though. honestly if i had one less class everything would be so epic forever | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sisterdivinium · 1 year

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I think someone mentioned mixing WN with D&D on Twitter a while back and I hope that, if so, "D&D" was being used as a synonym for RPG rather than actual D&D 5e (which you shouldn't really do because they aren't synonymous, but I know it's a common thing).

Adapting Warrior Nun into 5e rules seems a bit like fighting the system rather than working with it, at least to me.

Here is a game that depends on character classes -- how will you make it work when all characters will probably share the class of sister warrior? If the idea is to differentiate them through skills, then isn't it better to just ditch the concept of class altogether? Maybe take inspiration from something like Knave, Maze Rats, Cairn if one wishes to stick with a D&D-ish aura.

Fights in WN aren't all that long if you think about it; so how will you conciliate that with the HP sponges that 5e characters are? (An anecdote: the other day I saw someone complaining about their weak initial character, who had some 20 HP. Playing old school D&D, I've had players start with 4. Ask them if they weren't scared shitless of dying -- and if this fear didn't make them play smarter and end up valuing their PCs much more when they levelled up!)

The economy system of 5e (well, of D&D as a whole, really, including older editions) has very little in common with the one our favourite ass-kicking nuns would use -- would it even be necessary, if we assume the Vatican is responsible for providing them with gear?

I'm not asking any of these questions simply because I dislike 5e (which I do, I admit) or to dissuade people from mixing WN and RPGs (I even did it myself once and might or might not be doing it again with another play style and basic system in mind), I just ask that they take mechanics into consideration. 5e can be good for what it's made for (or so I'm told), but in this particular instance it seems inappropriate for WN.

If I may be so bold as to offer amateur designers some suggestions...

I'd start by taking a look at Nathan Paoletta's RPG Design Zine, just because it helps you think about what the hell you're doing.

Generic systems are just that, generic, but they can be much easier to adapt than something so heavily-coded for a certain type of game as 5e is. They can be more complicated (maybe GURPS, though you could go for Lite and consider getting, idk, Religion, Martial Arts, Low Tech, High Tech... Go explore) or lighter. I am a gigantic fan of Freeform Universal Classic, but you could do something cool with FATE or FAE, Mini Six, hell, I don't know! There's a good deal of generic systems out there.

You could be a little more daring, if versed in PbtA games, and hack one up yourself, why not?

All I'm saying is that you shouldn't be wrestling with the system to make this thing. Have it work for you, not against you; find something that can "translate" the show more easily than 5e does.

There's a whole world of games out there, a wealth of inspiration to work with. A lot of creators stick to 5e because it's popular and it helps them get visibility for their products -- and I don't fault them for it, but you aren't going to sell this, are you? You're not the IP owner. Others use 5e because "everybody knows the rules" -- which isn't true and, honestly, if you're going to change the whole thing up so it matches WN, then what's the use of knowing how rangers in a high fantasy campaign progress if you're playing nuns with guns?

I guess my point is: just don't tire yourself out trying to make an apple pie out of ingredients meant for chocolate cake.

#silly blabbering #look i don't judge people for playing 5e but it drives me nuts when they want to use 5e for everything #you might even get it to work but it won't be ideal #i promise other games aren't as full of rules and that they don't take so long to learn. take a leap of faith #and it's cool if you go back to 5e afterwards but try to have more experience with rpgs before designing your own #HERE IS WHERE I LOSE FOLLOWERS ISN'T IT LOL #again i'm not bashing 5e. play it all you like. hell adapt wn to it if you really want to do that #i'd just rather save myself the trouble and use something i don't have to fully distort to make work but to each their own #either way send me the link to wn rpg stuff you make. my group can't really play right now but hey #i've been dying to playtest my little wn lasers and feelings hack but no chances to do so yet. grumble.

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lala-ladybug · 3 years

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Healing Hands: Chapter 1

Hello hello! First fic here, it’s a Maribat AU with a side of Sword Art Online. Or what I remember from having watched the show once about five years ago. We’ve got Marinette and minimal class salt, Young Justice but only the good parts, and primarily Jasonette. Please spread the word (I am a tiny sideblog) and let me know what you think <3

Read here on AO3

Chapter 1: You have no idea how many baddies I’m going to blow up because of you

Friday, at long last. Marinette could not have exhaled a bigger sigh of relief. It was mid-way through the school term, her commissions were ramping up, and Hawkmoth had become frustratingly active. Her duties as class president had only increased as she and her friends neared the end of lycée, not to mention all the studying she was doing for the baccalauréat on top of her regular school work. Commissions were booming now that her popularity as the anonymous designer MDC was soaring worldwide. She wouldn’t give any of it up for the world, but she might enjoy getting more than three or four hours of sleep for once.

There was only part of her life that had gotten easier since that day three years ago when she was entrusted with a pair of spotted earrings and an old god to match. Ladybug started out with one partner, but she now had a whole team to share the responsibilities of keeping their city safe. Ryuko and Viperion became permanent fixtures of the Parisian rooftops, and Bourdonne replaced Queen Bee after the infamous (albeit self-inflicted) unmasking of Chloe Bourgeois. The people of Paris looked to these heroes with pride and trust.

And Marinette Dupain-Cheng, now the Guardian of the Miraculous, looked to her partners with trust as well. She had decided that with her in charge, she could no longer keep secrets from her friends, from her new Order of the Guardians. She discussed it with Chat Noir, and he had smiled and agreed that it was time. And one day, when Ladybug gathered her teammates on a remote rooftop in the dead of night, she said only “I trust you,” before allowing her transformation to fall.

She wasn’t nervous, not really. She knew Kagami and Luka had good hearts, and she had seen firsthand how much Chloe had grown. Those three accepted her civilian self, her true self, without half a thought, and followed their leader in dropping their transformations as well. Chloe got her quips in while Ladybug looked to Chat Noir.

He passed his gaze over the faces of their friends and smirked like he was holding in a laugh. As he said “Claws in,” Marinette could hear the laugh in his voice, an intonation that sounded so very familiar, and oh. Of course.

Adrien Agreste beamed at his friends, both in the mask and out, and said fondly, “I’m so glad it’s you.”

The rest, of course, was history. For the year and a half since then, the five heroes of Paris had kept the city safe from threats magical and mundane alike. Hawkmoth had, of course, gotten craftier and more vicious with his attacks, sometimes choosing to send bursts of weaker akumas over the span of a week, sometimes waiting a month before sending an especially brutal villain their way.

But it was nothing that the Order of the Guardians couldn’t handle. Even though it could get exhausting after a while, which is why the incoming weekend was a welcome reprieve. There was another reason why this particular weekend was so exciting, which was that a new video game, Mindscape, was debuting. It would be released at midnight EST, which was 6:00 in the morning for Paris.

“Today’s the day, girl!” Alya squealed as she flagged Marinette down on their way to the classroom. “We are so lucky that our class won that raffle to get these exclusive passes. I bet I’ll be the first blog to get the scoop on this new tech they’re using!”

Marinette giggled and started to reply, “Super lucky, right? I’m excited too, I heard--”

“You know,” Lila cut her off as she sidled up to Alya. “I’m not saying that I didn’t enter us to get those downloads, but I was a big help with beta testing.”

How she managed to time that comment just as the three girls crossed the threshold of the classroom, and how she managed to know that nearly the whole class would already be there to hear it, Marinette would never understand. She only had to wait a moment before the rest of their friends rushed to the door to thank Lila.

“This opportunity is amazing, we are incredibly grateful!” Max was first in line, ever the technology-enthusiast.

Kim pushed his shorter friend out of the way and vigorously shook Lila’s hand. “You have no idea how many baddies I’m going to blow up because of you.” Lila looked a little overwhelmed as he continued to shake her hand all the while, and she gave him a nervous smile.

He was soon pushed out of the way as Alix muscled her way to the front next. “I definitely owe you for giving me the chance to kick his ass in a brand new way!” She jerked her head to where Kim had landed on the floor, pouting at her.

As the rest of the class who would be joining them in the game’s premiere expressed their thanks, Alya looked on with an affectionate smile. She was so very happy that she now had two kind, selfless best friends. Her smile fell a little as she noticed Marinette stoically edging her way around the crowd and up to her seat, not having said a word to Lila. Alya just wished that her two besties would get along.

Alya put a hand on Lila’s shoulder and smiled her thanks before following Marinette to what was once their shared desk. “You really should thank her, you know,” Alya implored hopefully.

Without turning around to face Alya, Marinette paused and shared an incredulous look with Adrien, who was already seated at his shared desk with Nino. She then shrugged and replied, “Lila never actually said that she got us the passes,” before continuing up the steps to her seat at the back of the class. Alya shook her head and sat down. It was always like this, a cool indifference from Marinette whenever Lila came up. They were both such incredible people, Alya couldn’t understand why they didn’t get along.

As for Marinette, she was semi-content to let Lila be as long as her lies didn’t hurt anybody. Her unrealistic promise to take away all of Marinette’s friends was never fulfilled, and honestly the amount of emotional energy it used to sap from her just wasn’t worth it anymore. Marinette had no idea how Lila was going to get her hands on a copy of the game when Mari was, of course, the one who had won the raffle. She distributed the special access passes herself, and Lila certainly hadn’t gotten one. If this was the way that she wanted to make friends, she would eventually have to face the consequences.

But for now, Lila was basking in her praise. That is, until she glanced at her phone and gave a small gasp of dismay.

“What’s wrong?” Rose asked, concern already etched on her face.

Lila covered her mouth with one hand and started rapidly blinking back tears. “It’s my VIP copy of the game. There was a mixup in the mail and it won’t get here in time for tomorrow morning! I’m so sorry everyone, it looks like you’ll have to do it without me....” She buried her face in her hands and her shoulders trembled with barely restrained sobs.

The class shared a worried look, and Sabrina piped up, “It’s okay Lila, you can borrow my copy.” Lila immediately looked up and surged forward to clasp the hands of her friend.

“Really? But won’t it have the same problem?” Sabrina smiled and shook her head. “Nope, it’s a digital download! I don’t mind, you can always trade it back when your VIP pass arrives later.”

Lila gave her a brilliant smile, any tears long-since dried. “Oh, thank you so much Sabrina! I’ll see what I can do about getting you a VIP pass too once mine gets here.”

At that moment, Chloe walked in, and one look at the scene displayed in front of her had her rolling her eyes at her former best friend. She gracefully swept up the steps to join Marinette at the back of the classroom and whispered to her, “Aren’t they all digital downloads?”

Marinette, who had started unpacking her bag to prepare for class, inclined her head and gave the blonde a meaningful look that indicated yes, they were indeed all digital downloads. Chloe snickered and started preparing her own side of the desk.

After the fiasco of outing herself as Queen Bee, Chloe had lost the minimal support and tolerances she had been allowed before. It gave her time to truly reflect on how she acted and treated other people. She had since been quietly making amends with those she’d wronged, and the person on the top of that list was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It took time and a lot of effort on Chloe’s part, but she mellowed out and did a lot of growing up. She still spoke her mind, though.

“Huh that’s strange, I got the VIP package too, but mine was a digital pass,” Chloe loudly proclaimed, studying her nails nonchalantly as the rest of the class turned to look up at her.

Lila grit her teeth into a forced smile and replied sweetly, “Well that’s because mine was an original beta testing copy that they had to update for the full game.” She turned her attention to Marinette and a note of false concern crept into her voice. “Oh Marinette, I hope you’ll still have time to come too! I know you’ll be busy this weekend with planning the spring class field trip. It would be such a shame if it didn’t happen because you were too busy playing a video game.”

Marinette suddenly felt very warm under the gazes of the entire class. She stammered out, “Oh-of course we’ll get to go! Don’t worry, I have a meeting with the school board on Monday.” Trust Lila to sniff out the one thing that had slipped below her radar.

Lila’s eyes lit up with an opportunistic gleam. “That’s great! Where will it be?”

“Well, uh, the school board has to review the location, so I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I can tell you that it will be in, um,” her eyes flicked around wildly and landed on the posterboard of different flags from the prior week’s lessons. “America!”

The class burst into excited chatter moments before Madame Bustier arrived and the late bell rang. Marinette released a breath and sagged in her seat. Saved by the bell.

Chloe gave her a sidelong glance and murmured, “America, huh?”

“Shut up,” Marinette shot back.

* * *

Madame Bustier tried to get the class to pay attention, she really did. They struggled through their lessons before lunch, the volume of side conversations between deskmates swelling all the while. The moment the bell for lunch dismissal rang, the students exploded into conversation as they left the classroom.

Marinette waved as Chloe and Adrien walked off to go meet Kagami and Luka at a nearby cafe. She breezed into the patisserie across the street from Francois Dupont and gave her surprised Maman a kiss on the cheek.

“I thought you were going out with your friends for lunch?” Sabine asked, balancing a tray of eclairs on her hip. “I forgot I have to plan our class trip!” Marinette replied cheerfully as she hurried into the kitchen to quickly fix herself a croque-monsieur. She gave her Papa a hug as she finished preparing her meal. He shouted up at her to not make a mess as she retreated into her room to eat at her desk.

She gave a small snort at that. It was nearly impossible for her to make a mess of food when she had over a dozen Kwami there to clean up after her, but he didn’t know that. She greeted said Kwami with a delighted grin and a wave as she set her plate down by her desktop computer.

“Marinette, why are you back so early?” Tikki asked, “is everything okay?” The other Kwami swarmed around her as she woke her computer up and logged in.

The girl waved one hand nonchalantly and opened up a web browser with the other. “Everything’s fine, I just forgot about planning the class trip!” She took a huge bite of the sandwich and started typing furiously. Several Kwami dove after the crumbs that sprayed everywhere.

“Ohhh, I see! Do you have an idea of where to start?” Tikki zoomed around Marinette’s shoulder to hover next to the monitor screen.

Marinette had the same determined gleam in her eye as when she finally found the perfect fabric for a design. She said confidently around a mouth full of ham, “America.”

* * *

By the time the lunch break had finished, Marinette had a preliminary list of cities on the East Coast of the United States. She had researched Gotham first, but it looked far too dangerous and gloomy. Next was New York City, which she determined was too big. Philadelphia was historic, but in a way that would definitely bore her classmates. Boston was too cold despite its excitement. Which left Metropolis as the perfect candidate. It was also protected by the perfect superheroes, Superman and his family, so she was absolutely confident the school board would approve of the city.

Of course, the meeting on Monday would need more specifics than just the city, but she was pleased with her progress so far. Marinette shut down her monitor, grabbed her backpack and plate from lunch, and went downstairs to the kitchen. She quickly scrubbed and dried her plate in the sink before waving to her parents as they bustled around, accommodating the tail end of the mid-day rush.

Marinette walked across the street with a spring in her step and, spotting a tall flash of blue hair, half-jogged up to her group of friends.

“Hey guys, sorry I couldn’t make it to lunch!” She grinned apologetically at Kagami and Luka.

“That’s alright Melody,” Luka gave her a side hug, “Chloe told us you were busy planning your class trip.”

Adrien slung an arm around Kagami’s shoulder and pulled his girlfriend closer to whisper conspiratorially to her, “I hear we’re going to America.” She laughed softly at his antics and at Marinette who stuck her tongue out at him. Kagami then said to Marinette, “That sounds delightful, Marihime. I trust you will still be joining us tomorrow morning?”

Marinette’s eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect of playing the game with her friends all weekend long. “Definitely! I’m going to finish preparing for the school board meeting tonight so that we can play the second it comes out.”

“If you can wake up on time,” Chloe teased.

Marinette crossed her arms defensively and stated with pride, “I already set three alarms, thank you very much!”

Adrien burst out laughing at that. “Leave it to our everyday Ladybug,” he winked. Her face flushed as she pouted. He chuckled again and kissed Kagami on the top of her head. “See you later, mon coeur.”

She and Luka waved to the rest of the group as they left to return to their own schools. The three Francois Dupont students watched them go for a moment before returning inside.

“So, you and Kagami have plans?” Chloe asked.

“Yeah! Our parents gave special permission for a sleepover at my place tonight so we can play the game right when it comes out tomorrow.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit he had never quite abandoned. “But I’m not sure how often we’ll be able to be online with you guys after this weekend. You know how busy our schedules are....”

Marinette elbowed him lightly as they walked. “It’s a blessing you both managed to convince your dad and her mom to let you come to the launch at all! We’ll play together when we can, it’s no big deal.”

Adrien smiled gratefully at her and held the door open for both Marinette and Chloe as they entered the classroom. Alya was already there, and once she spotted her best friend (well, one of them), she skidded down the steps with a huge grin and held an invisible microphone up to Marinette.

“Thank you Nadja, and good afternoon Paris! This is Alya Cesaire, and today I am joined by young fashion designer Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, can you give us an exclusive scoop on the trip you’re planning for your class?”

“Good afternoon Mlle. Cesaire,” Marinette giggled, “Unfortunately, the trip has yet to be approved by the school board so no details just yet. But I can tell you with certainty that we will be visiting the resident city of some popular American superheroes.” She winked as she finished in her best interview voice.

Alya gasped and dropped her pretend microphone as she hugged her best friend. “Really!? Oh my gosh girl, you are the best!”

Marinette laughed and hugged her back as Alya jumped and spun them around. Once they pulled apart, she told the brunette, “As soon as the school board gives me the green light, you’ll be the first to know.”

The late bell rang and the girls practically skipped to their respective seats as Madame Bustier called the class to attention. Well, “attention” in the loosest sense of the word. They struggled once more through the majority of their lessons, but Madame Bustier seemed to sense defeat and she let them chatter excitedly for the last twenty minutes before dismissal.

Kim and Alix were boasting about how they were going to stay up all night, while Max encouraged them to maximize the time they would be able to play the next day by getting a full night’s sleep in before the launch time.

Lila bragged about her role in the creation of the game from its conception to even having suggested the highly anticipated date of release. Adrien pointedly ignored Lila in the row behind his and discussed the music they had recorded and mixed for the game with a very enthusiastic Nino.

Sabrina looked on a little sadly until Mylene, Ivan, Rose, and Juleka invited her to join their Disney movie marathon double-date instead. Mylene was too nervous to play the game so Ivan chose to sit out to support her, and video games weren’t really Rose and Juleka’s style. Sabrina’s face softened as she gratefully accepted their invitation.

Nathaniel turned around in his seat to talk to Marinette about the art rendering and the programs they used while Chloe scrolled aimlessly on her phone.

By the time the bell finally rang, the class was beyond excited to go prepare for the launch the next morning.

Marinette, to her credit, swallowed her enthusiasm and sat down to fully plan out their trip to Metropolis. It was grueling work, researching the safest hotel that was still in a central location. It had to be affordable but not shabby, too, because they had a limited budget. She eventually settled on the reputable Wayne Hotel, apparently part of an enormous corporation called Wayne Enterprises, and then began to build an itinerary with different events from there.

She worked nonstop the rest of the night, with the exception of a brief dinner break, and it was nearly 11:00 at night by the time she finished. Marinette sat up from her desk chair and stretched, then double-checked that her alarms were set before finally heading to bed.

#marinette dupain cheng #jasonette #sword art online au #virtual reality #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fic #maribat #maribat fic #healing hands

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feminaexlux · 3 years

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Dragon, Viper, Tiger

Tossing my hat back in the ring for @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers AU sprint challenge!. I went with the Thief/Heist AU since I’d been kicking this idea around for a while.

I gave myself an arbitrary editing deadline of 6pm so I hope it both makes sense and reads alright, but shrugs

Hope you enjoy! Find on AO3 here :)

⁂

Viper was sometimes glad he had a longer running gait than the woman on his tail only a few meters behind. He put his long legs to use and leapt up onto a couple of filing cabinets, scrambled up to the bare industrial support beams of the so called modern office building he’d broken into, and jumped over the dividing wall via the exposed ceiling.

Post-Modern styled offices just lent themselves so well to the good old B&E.

The wiring crisscrossing through the exposed ceiling allowed him to occasionally cut the telecommunication lines in his hasty exit, which was great in trying to prevent any of the security cameras from tracking him. If he also took out the internet lines that was just an added bonus, since that’d probably slow down anyone trying to access the proprietary blueprint he pilfered. He just needed to buy some time.

He probably could have gotten out a few minutes ago since he already had the memcube in his pocket, but this was really the only opportunity he had to see Officer MDC in action. Oh, nice, there she was, waiting for him in her combat stance at his specified exit point. Even at 5 foot nothing she’d landed him on his ass waaaay too many times, but honestly he loved the challenge of facing her. She always had new tricks up her sleeve.

But so did he, with some of the info that Tiger kept leaving him. Like, for instance, even if MDC had gotten the EMP disruption lace installed in her gloves, it could easily be counteracted and redirected by the additional aluminum alloy mesh Dragon had added as the inner lining to his wetware, so the memcube wouldn’t be completely fried if MDC did manage to land a hit (and she usually did). The only problem was trying to find where to ground the pulse… But the priority order was, as ever, keeping his identity safe, then getting the payload, then trying to escape unscathed. Paris PD’s Special Circumstances wasn’t ever going to figure out his identity (unless he died), nor would they get to know that the same general producer for their own tech was his boss (unless he died).

Viper didn’t relish the idea of dying, so he’d been doing his best at avoiding that particular outcome. He’d done well so far, even if he did come out of MDC encounters with more bruises and scars than when he went in. He had landed in front of Marinette and smiled. She rolled her eyes at him. And before he knew it, she had launched herself at him with her classic opener: a roundhouse kick to his solar plexus.

⁂

Viper slid underneath the food truck and unlatched a hidden panel, hauling himself through the opening feet first as quietly as he could. He toed the hatch closed behind him but caught it with his fingers before it made impact. He couldn’t give up the game now by being loud, that’d be so, so lame. He heard the gravel get scraped below his temporary entombment and he knew it was Marinette. She felt at the truck’s undercarriage and probed for any particular weaknesses or different materials and he heard her muffled voice as she worked with her TIKKI AI to scan any infrared signals and find any potential structural modifications done to the vehicle.

Here’s to hoping that Markov did its job correctly, he thought. Otherwise they’d be out of a job… and a food truck.

A few minutes later he heard her curse and slam an open palm against the undercarriage in frustration. “I know you’re in here, Viper!” she yelled.

“Ma'am?” He heard another voice chime in. “Why are you under our truck?”

⁂

A very cramped 3 hours later after a thorough inspection and nearly complete teardown of the food truck, Viper finally popped the floor panel and took in some fresh air. Well, relatively fresh, it smelled like greasy food all around him. The truck was already on the highway, having been released from the PD’s temporary impounding for being present at the scene and potentially housing a wanted criminal. The scans came up with nothing, the truck’s workers came up clean through the ID system, the truck’s visit and movements were tracked and scheduled and above board.

The actual food truck owners were unaware of his presence, which was just the way he liked it. He stretched his legs out a bit after being folded up into such a tiny space for so long. It was the sole disadvantage of having long legs, but he was the best in class at his job for all the contortion required. Plus he wasn’t claustrophobic like Tiger was. Speaking of… he checked his watch.

ur late, asshole

cg again? u simp

special 4u 0xdeadbeef

Oooof course. He could always count on his sister for ribbing on his infatuation with Cafe Girl, their codename for Marinette. He took one last relatively fresh breath of air and went back into hiding, sealing the latch shut. He listened for the engine knock signature: 4, 5, 1, 4, 2, 5, 5, 6, opened the bottom panel, dropped onto the street with his camouflage on, and kicked the panel closed before the truck took off. A bus drove over him and he hitched a ride, holding on underneath for 4 blocks, then rolled into the gutter drain.

⁂

It was a pretty quiet evening at Cafe Orriko, a cozy little cafe that had some steadfast regulars. One of Luka’s favorite hangouts due to the owners letting him lounge around and play his acoustic without complaint. There’d been another reason Luka loved this particular cafe, though.

Nathaniel heard the door chime and looked up, smiling at the newcomer. “Hey welcome to–oh hey Mar–oh shit MARC WE HAVE A CODE PINK!” There was a hastily tossed pillow from Marc that Nathaniel covered with a tea towel and passed to Marinette. She pulled up the pillow to her face and screamed into it for a good 20 seconds. Nath grimaced. “Bad day?”

She lowered the pillow. “Stupid fucking Viper I swear I will rip him in half and tear him to fucking shreds once I finally get my hands on him!”

Luka chuckled, having stopped playing his guitar when he noticed that Marinette had come in. “Careful, sounds like he might like that,” he winked.

“Uuuuugh,” Marinette groaned. “Thank you, Nath. Just… just gimme my usual, please.” She looked pretty dejected this time, handing back the pillow and tea towel, walking to Luka’s couch, and plopping down next to him. “Please, Luka, could you play me something soothing?”

“Anything for you,” he said, starting up an easy tune. “I know you can’t talk a lot about your work, but… what went wrong today?”

“Nnng, just… just I knew where he was and we still didn’t get him. He’s like a fucking ghost, he just… disappears! Poof!” She usually discussed what was already covered on the nightly news broadcasts, just to be safe.

“Then he’s pretty good,” Luka said neutrally enough, but hid a smirk behind a cough when Marinette gave him the stink eye.

“He only needs to fail once,” Marinette huffed. “He can’t always have luck on his side.” Marc came by with her salted caramel hot chocolate. “Thanks, Marc,” she sighed, relaxing a little bit as she took a sip of the steaming hot drink.

Luka set a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “You’ll get him one day, I know it.”

“I’d still have my work cut out for me. I have to find the Dragon after him,” Marinette groaned again. “And Adrien’s still obsessed with that stupid Fencer lady so he’s no help.” Marinette shut her eyes tight and shook her head. “But enough about that. How are you, Luka? I’m glad I was able to run into you today.”

Luka wasn’t going to mention that she’d already run into him earlier as the one and only Viper. “It was going alright, but it’s better now that you’re here,” he smiled. Marinette blushed a little and smiled back, nudging his shoulder with hers. “Sorry about your rough day though,” he added quickly.

Marinette shrugged. “It’s work. It’s… it’s so weird what the Syndicate goes for, it’s not even like… anything really valuable? I swear they’re doing it just to mess with us and wreak havoc.”

“You haven’t figured out a pattern?” Luka asked. Marinette made a zipping motion across her mouth. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

She shrugged again. “No more talk about work, please. I’d just… like to hear you play, if that’s alright?”

“Yeah, no problem,” he chuckled.

She closed her eyes as he started playing the guitar again, something soft and pleasant that reminded him of her. She leaned her head against his shoulder while he played and he felt his heart beating faster.

One day, when the jig was up, he’d love to take her out for dinner. Assuming, of course, that he hadn’t been torn to pieces by her hands.

#fxl fic #LBSC sprint fic challenge #lukanette #lukanette endgame #endgame lukanette #eventually???#luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #nathaniel kurtzberg #juleka couffaine

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agentwallflower · 4 years

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Supernova Chapter 7

Well, I didn’t take off.

I’m currently working on chapter 13. I’m almost at the halfway point of the novel, so that’s a good sign. Things are about to pick up based on my notes. That’s good - it’s been a bear to write lately.

Next chapter is going up July 25th. By then I’ll hopefully have the first draft of my next anthology submission open. I’ll let you know.

Thanks as always for reading. I’ll see you in two weeks. Wear a mask and wash your hands!

“I know you're not the cops, but shouldn't I get a phone call or something? Pretty sure you didn't read me my rights either.”

An ex had once told him he used humor as a coping mechanism when he was stressed. Given he had laughed when they had broken up a few months before summer vacation, she had been on the money. That was why he didn't date these days – that and the fact he didn't have much attraction for it.

He was at the moment handcuffed to a table in a rather blank room. There was a mirror on the other side – it was a two way. He couldn't see through it, but Angel had seen enough cop shows to know what it was.

At least he got to keep his helmet on. Thank you, 2004 Caped Crusader Law.

Nobody answered, of course. They were probably trying to sweat him long enough to make him break down. Well, it was kind of working honestly. His communicator wasn't working, even with all of Scanner's upgrades. If he got out of there alive, maybe he'd tell the tech about it. If anyone would be up to the challenge of cracking through top security measures, it would be his favorite person ever.

Ok, he was laying it on a little thick but he was going stir-crazy in there.

Honestly, he didn't really remember how he had gotten in there. It was all a blur after his last usable memory. He had thought it over countless times as he sat there, waiting for someone to come in and do whatever people did after he pulled the stupid shit he had tried.

And stupid shit it was. His shield, as it turned out, could not completely stop bullets. Paladin would be so disappointed.

His back still hurt from where they hit him, but it was his chest that was the real problem. Angel wasn't sure how long it had been, but he had definitely been wearing his binder for way too long. His chest was starting to feel tight, and the urge to cough was a strong one. This was the longest he had ever gone wearing it, even when he had first started out.

6-8 hours had nothing on... well, he wasn't sure how long he had been inside.

“Hope Andy and PT are ok.” He muttered under his breath. He had seen them disappear into the building before he had thrown up his shield to stop the agents from getting in. Then people had started firing and he had woken up in a cell. That was about everything he was working with right then. Clearly, he had a great picture of the situation.

Andy... apart from looking weird as hell, he couldn't see why they would want her so badly. He knew plenty of other heroes who had powers in a similar vein. Some weren't as bright, and they might not have hit as hard, but he didn't see anything extra special about them to warrant the FBI being on her ass about it. Was it just the fact her appearance was so screwed up?

“Guess they're trying to hide birth defects from the Ball Drop or something.” He shrugged his shoulders. Oww. Binder straps were digging in. He should probably stop doing that until he managed to bust out.

Ball Drop must have been the magic word, however. Angel straightened up as he saw the door swing open. A woman in a suit with sunglasses on entered and sat on the other side of the desk. She was probably older than him, but really that was all he could figure out about her. It was kind of hard to get a read, like -

Paladin's words echoed in his mind, reminding Angel that brain fog could be a helpful technique for gathering information. Angel's exhaustion had probably led to him missing the tingle of someone trying to throw one over the room. He would kick himself later for missing it, but at least he had figured it out before she'd started questioning.

He could still focus enough to dispel it from his mind. The room came into sharper focus – he saw cracks in the wall, a gap in the mirror that let him see there were people on the other side. The woman in front of him was at least 10 years older than him and had dark hair and really pale skin. She also looked kind of annoyed.

So, at least he knew who he was dealing with.

“They said you were strong. I should have taken that seriously, but the East Coast has often had low standards.” She sounded like she came from California. West Coast psychics thought they knew everything. “Well, Mr. Sky Rider, read any minds yet to figure out why you're here, or do I have to fill you in?”

She was tying to get a rise out of him. If he got pissed off, that made it easier for her to get into his mind and get the info she was looking for. So he allowed himself to breathe as he settled back into his seat, back straight. Proper posture, or so Paladin had taught him, was important for this sort of thing.

Or maybe that was just Paladin being weird. He had lots of weird shit like that.

“Haven't really done much reading. Don't want to waste my energy in case I have to throw something off.” He held up his wrists. “These are coated so I can't break them with telekinesis. You deal with a lot of psychics here?”

The woman's expression never changed – not that he expected it to. If she was used to dealing with folks like him, then she knew that betraying her expression would make things easier. Besides, maybe she enjoyed that kind of thing. It usually took a class of asshole to decide the best way to make a living was turn on your fellow weird humans.

…

Which was, of course ,different from when he did it. After all, he didn't want anybody getting hurt.

“You could say that. It's for your protection as well as ours.” Her voice was pleasantly cool, practiced. She did this a lot. Made sense, she was a psychic. Even if there were laws (thank you, Clear Mind Act 2010, he really hadn't wanted to work for the government one day) against using psychic-gained testimony in court, psychics were adept players at mind games. If anyone could trick somebody into giving it up, he'd put the money on someone who could sense your weaknesses from a mile away.

She straightened up – must've also been taught the posture law. “You can call me Agent Claire.”

“Please tell me that's a bad joke and not actually your name because if it is, I'm sorry your parents hate you so much.”

Her lips twitched very slightly, but he caught it. Yep, her parents hated her. Another reason why he never told his anything about himself besides his new name. The less they knew about what he got up to, the better.

“We're still debating whether to charge you with anything. It's not like you hurt my men.” There was a barb there, he elected to ignore it. “But you did make it rather hard for us to retrieve our target.”

Agent Claire's voice was a little hard. “Mr. Rider, containing that target is of utmost importance to national – no, perhaps even international safety. You no doubt saw what they actually look like.”

It wasn't like he could forget it – she was freaking blue! But he still couldn't get why birth defects were a matter of international security. Hell, maybe he could understand the FBI not wanting it to get out that there was a nuclear waste dump so close to the US heartland, but now they were laying it on a bit thick. It wasn't adding up.

And why was the FBI dealing with this?

Angel frowned behind his visor. “I mean she's a little screwed up but I don't see why that's any business of yours unless you're paying for some major reconstructive surgery. I'd start on those teeth, by the way. Those are nasty.”

And... not very human looking, now that he reflected back on it. He had seen some teeth since becoming a hero, but those... something about them activated a part in his bran that just screamed run as fast as he could. Honestly, every part of Andy did that – from the top of her hard head to her weirdly shaped feet.

“There is no amount of surgery that could fix the subject.” More deadpan. “Not that there weren't attempts when they were under our custody.”

Angel felt sweat drip down the back of his neck. “You guys aren't supposed to be able to do that.”

It was something every hero knew from the time they got their powers – they could wind up in super-max should they become bad guys, but that was it. There were no black helicopters or secret research facilities that were allowed to hold them, at least not anymore. After those had been discovered in the early 2000's, public outcry had made sure of that. He still remembered seeing it on TV as a kid, even though it hadn't made any sense to him then.

Unless...

Briefly, the law flickered through his mind – no human, no matter their status, could be held for their powers by any agency without their consent. Those words were set in stone an into the paper of every Union handbook. No matter how they screwed up, they couldn't wind up on a dissection table or in some weird test.

“When something like the Ball Drop happens, things tend to be more lenient.” Agent Claire had more emotion in her voice – she was frustrated. “Until, however, they were switched to an outside department. We almost had them recovered until you interfered. That was nearly ten years of planning and observation for our one chance to be thwarted by you.”

Someone was mad. More importantly, someone was letting their guard down. Angel saw it as cracks in the nearly impassible wall in front of him. That was when he struck, carefully and with the delicate touch of a surgeon.

Memories were hard things to sort through, especially when the person he was working with was also a psychic. She had walls, but he had a lock pick. He threaded his way through, careful to keep his own walls up. After all, when he went in he was just as weak to her digging around as well.

“So you've been bothering her since the Ball Drop?”

The words were what he needed – he felt the memory glow. It was reinforced behind some of the strongest walls he had ever seen. But Paladin was no slouch. When he trained someone to find a memory, he kept at it.

Angel flexed his fingers on instinct, like he was twisting a combo lock. However, that gave him away. He could see more walls coming up now – and there was a glow around it. She was actively defending that memory now.

More importantly, he could feel her digging away at his walls too. Alerting her had unleashed a counterattack. She didn't have any physical tells to give away what she was doing; definitely West Coast style. They were all try-hards who didn't want to give themselves away.

“We have been interested in security since then, yes.” Her tone was pleasant, and if anyone had come in they would have considered it a normal conversation. However, a war was raging, one between the minds of two well-trained psychics. Whoever had the strongest mental defenses won the day.

Angel's were red. It was his favorite color and the connection was great at helping him keep them standing under the onslaught. Claire's were, ironically, clear as glass. They weren't as weak, though. Bashing up against them only would only wear him out and open him up to a well-timed counterattack.

“Don't you have more important things to do than bother some weird kid?” He was still looking for a way in as he spoke. “Or is this some departmental pissing match and you're mad you lost out on your research subject?”

Grazed her, but not enough to get through the defenses. Claire was getting annoyed, but that wasn't going to get him through. He needed to dig even deeper to figure out if she had any kind of trigger. If she didn't... well he was going to have to hop on defense until something called her away.

Damn, this wasn't easy to do when he was tired.

His opponent knew it too – she smiled briefly as she broke through the first line of his defenses like they were made of paper. She got some surface details out of him, but nothing close to his core identity – that he kept so guarded that Fort Knox looked like a kindergartner's piggy bank. “Nothing of the sort. You saw how powerful the subject is. Do you really want them out on the street?”

Angel grimaced as he tried to reinforce what he had left. Sweat was dripping down his forehead now. “Doesn't really matter how I feel. No human can be held without reason, and especially not by you. You want to arrest her for something, take it up with those damn cops that are always giving me trouble.”

There was a glimmer on the other side of the field, close to the memory, as she smiled. Amused – she thought this was funny. Whatever she knew, the fact he didn't was enough to give her a momentary weakness. But more than that, he could sense she thought she had him beat. After all, he wasn't from the West Coast.

Well, it was time to show his adopted home did things just fine.

Angel breathed slowly as he tightened his fists. The first round of defenses fell as he raced forward. “People have the right to live freely, regardless of who they are and what they can do.”

That's when he punched hard, throwing his full weight at the wall. It cracked, but it was just enough that he could get a peek in. The world blurred around him as he entered the memory. Right then, he was Claire.

And she was scared out of her mind. The fear and anxiety rolled over him in waves as they stood at the base of the largest hole he had ever seen. The sides were glass smooth, and he couldn't see the bottom. A light cast down there didn't show one either.

“How deep is it?”

Someone was asking with a hushed tone. A number was thrown out – he didn't hear it. Claire hadn't cared. She was more focused on a rope that was going deeper and deeper. They were trying to get something out.

“We hit bottom! It's... holy shit.”

The memory blurred, probably because of the passage of time. The human memory didn't tend to remember things like this. What was more important was what they were bringing out of the hole. It had taken so long that the sky had shifted. Now it was the middle of the day.

Before the memory cut out as Claire took back control, he saw the top of something hard and blue glinting in the light. It was about the size of a boulder and completely blue under the midday winter sun. Nobody could hold it – it was melting the ground.

“It laid an egg?”

And then he was back in the room. Claire was sweating hard, her glasses had come off. She was furious with him for going into her mind, but she was angrier at herself. Without a word, she swept the glasses off the table and put them back on.

Angel still felt her fear as he shored up his defenses. “What do you mean, it laid an egg?”

“I should lock you away for that for life.” Her voice was barely a hiss. “You have no idea what you just did, boy.”

His mind was still spinning. There were possibilities, but none of them made sense. However, the law kept banging through his mind. No humans could be held without their consent. And, last he checked, they were all still human under the law.

But...

His stomach dropped. “If she's not human... what the hell is she?”

The agent didn't answer him. Someone was knocking on the wall. Without a word, she got up and went to the door and peered through. Then there was some talk – it involved him. Turns out the Union really hated people being held by the government.

“Are you going to let my coworker out or not? You don't have the power to hold him.”

An impossibly warm voice shook his spirit. He knew that tone and it filled him with relief. If the union had sent their leader down, then he was going to get out soon. Nobody could show down with Ember for long, even without her powers.

Claire looked rattled, and annoyed. “He's a threat to-”

“No government agency can hold without consent. He wasn't arrested, you spirited him away in a dark van. If anything, I should be turning you in for flaunting the laws to protect us.” Ember was enjoying herself. “I hope you kept his mask on?”

Angel was still puzzling through as the two women discussed keep-away in regards to whose chair got his ass. Animals that he knew of were thrown out, as were... well, rocks wouldn't make sense. Who had ever heard of sentient rocks? Robot was out, too – there had been something warmer about her. Hot, even.

Her aura... had been odd, though. Normally with people he could get a sense of them when he first met them. Claire was a psychic, so she was actively suppressing herself. Ember was on the other side of the door, and she was warm. He felt safe around her. But Andy?

He hadn't gotten anything. Standing next to PT, all he had sensed was his partner's gruff but good-natured personality. Andy just... didn't have anything. It wasn't like she was trying to hide something, she just didn't register.

All people registered, no matter how screwed up they were.

“But... it doesn't make sense.”

He was wracking his brain. Sentient, weird looking, couldn't be read. Just seeing her activated some weird primal urge to run away. And the fact the government was just so interested in her. The pieces were coming together.

“Fine, you can take him back. But if he interferes in our investigations one more time, we'll arrest him.” Claire turned to unlock his shackles. “Mr. Rider, your team leader is-”

“She's an alien.”

He kept his voice low, so Ember couldn't hear. It wasn't for her, anyway. He was focused on Claire's reaction. Her hand had hesitated on the shackles, and just briefly he got a sense of panic from her stomach.

Bingo.

“I think you've been awake for too long, Mr. Rider.” Her cool was restored, but it was too late as he stood up from the table. He didn't rub his wrists, but they still hurt as she walked him to the door. “You're lucky the Union still needs you, or we were going to have a very long talk.”

She gripped his shoulder briefly. With it came near crushing psychic pressure to hammer her point home. An image impressed in his mind – if he stepped a toe out of line, they would bury him for the rest of his life. Claire would even enjoy it.

“Yeah, I know.” He shrugged off her grasp. “Get a new hobby besides following after sick people, lady.”

With that, he left. Soon Ember was at his side as they left the facility under heavy guard. It wasn't safe to speak then. Neither of them may have been Scanner, but they knew enough about the FBI to know to keep their mouths shut.

It was a pretty nondescript place... perfect for hiding an alien.

Angel still couldn't believe it as they left. It shouldn't have made sense, but... what else could've kicked off that kind of hole in Ohio of all places? Wasn't it the joke that more astronauts came from the state than anywhere else in the hopes of getting away? And all the leftover radiation...

Shit, aliens were real.

Ember didn't talk to him until they left – they weren't too far out of town as they headed to a place Scanner could pick them up. “You're in a lot of trouble, SR.”

“Yeah, well I had to help my partner and her niece. They tried to shoot her.”

The team leader frowned. He knew she agreed with her, but being in charge meant a new set of duties. She had to lecture him, even if she didn't want to do it. He could see it in her eyes as she punched in the coordinates.

“The FBI are going to be monitoring you now.”

“They can join the NSA in my smartphone, I'm not doing anything illegal.” Angel finally rubbed his wrists. “Damn, that coating hurts. I swear they put mercury in it or something to boost the ache.”

Still, Claire's words echoed through his mind as he turned to her. “What was that about you needing me?”

Ember didn't get the chance to answer – they were beamed up. Talking through transport was a hard no if you wanted to keep your tongue in your mouth. Luckily it only lasted a few seconds. They were soon back on the landing pad in the base.

Scanner was letting the transport beam cool down as they rolled over. “Good to see the both of you. You filled him in yet?”

“Was just about to before you pulled us up.” Ember turned to him, and he got the feeling he wasn't going to like that. “You met PT's niece, yes?”

The alien? Uh... yeah. But how did that involve him?

“We have something we need you to agree to.”

Why did he get the sense he was about to be putting in a lot more hours in his gear?

---

If you like the chapter and want to contribute to my coke zero fund, I have a ko-fi!

#Supernova Collision Trilogy #writing #novel #surprise i guess lo

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quillreflections · 4 years

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Title: Electric Blue

Chapter: 6

Series: Yugioh GX

Pairing: Chazz/reader

Are you hiding, somewhere behind those eyes?

"Man, if you ever wonder why everyone calls you a Slifer slacker, behavior like this is exactly-"

"Aw, shut up! You're having fun." Jaden grins at Chazz before turning back to face the wall. "I know we can totally get up there, but we'll have to jump-"

"I don't wanna jump, I wanna go to class. But now I can't go to class because we're late and, for whatever stupid reason, the penalties for that are worse than missing entirely." Chazz huffs, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the other boy.

Jaden isn't listening.

The Slifer student hauls a chair over from the empty outdoor café, testing to make sure it'll hold his weight before climbing up on it. Then he stretches, reaching for the top of the overhang; when he can't reach it, he gives a careful hop, then hops again and finally latches onto the roof. He scrambles up and turns around to grin again. "See, it's easy! C'mon, even you can do it."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Chazz, as always, takes it as a personal challenge. In a smooth motion, he mimics Jaden's actions, climbing onto the chair and hauling himself onto the low-hanging school roof. He brushes himself off as he stands to his full height. "So. . . what are we even doing up here?"

Jaden shrugs absently, but a voice echoes out behind him. "I could ask the same thing, gentlemen."

The boys turn, and you're standing on another overhang, part of the school's odd multi-level design. You smile at them, and Chazz starts blushing and stuttering, but Jaden waves happily.

"Heya, [Name]! What're you doing up here?"

"Totally skipping class, honestly." You sit down on the edge of the roof. "I'm up here rearranging my deck; I figured if I skipped class and stayed in the dorm, they'd send someone looking for me."

The boys make their way over and scramble up onto the next overhang, Chazz hurrying to sit at your side before Jaden gets the chance. "Why would you be deck arranging up here though?"

You shrug, only wondering for a moment if you should tell them. You lower your voice, and they have to lean in closer to hear you whisper.

"I'm telling y'all this because we're friends, okay? So you can't tell anyone else, or let it slip."

They both nod, but inside, Chazz's pulse has started pounding. He has yet to adjust to being called a friend- the sound of his excited heart in his ears almost drowned out your whispering voice.

"I've got a big duel up tonight." You sit up straight with a smug huff. It takes them a moment to realize.

"A duel. . . tonight? Like, after-hours? Isn't that against the rules?" A frown twitches onto Chazz's face, but Jaden socks him in the arm.

"Don't act like you never challenged me after hours!" He laughs and looks back to you. "Don't worry, [Name], we won't tell. We've probably done a lot worse than that."

Back from where Chazz and Jaden had crawled onto the roof, something scrapes against the metal, and you all freeze. You're supposed to be in class- for a long, tense moment, all you can hear is clattering and huffing. Then a small voice floats up from the ground.

"Jaden! I know you're up there, I saw you climbing!"

You all sigh, and Jaden wanders back closer to the edge, leaning over to smile at Syrus. The smaller boy had pulled another chair from the patio tables, but still wasn't able to climb up to see his friends. He pouts.

"Jaden! You promised that if I missed class with you, you'd use that time to finish your homework! Get down here so we can study!"

Jaden sighs, but he turns back to you and Chazz with a wave and a "See ya later!" before leaping from the roof, landing on his feet and following Syrus back to the dorms.

Now it's just you and Chazz.

Your fellow Obelisk Blue student sits quietly for a bit; you're very aware of his eyes on you as you return to adjusting your deck. You frown at the cards in your hand- the one specific card you feel would be perfect for this duel happens to be the one card you've been wanting forever. Chazz notices the odd look cross your face, and he leans over your shoulder to look at your cards too.

"Can I ask what your duel tonight's even about?" He rests his chin in the palm of his hand. "I don't mean'ta sound like I don't think highly of you or anything, but you just. . . don't seem the type."

He definitely notices how you blush when you turn to look at him.

"It's really stupid, honestly- you'll laugh."

Chazz shrugs. "Fine, don't tell me. Not like I care or anything." He almost bites his tongue at that- the hell is he doing, saying he doesn't care. He totally cares. He cares too much for the one person who's treated him like a person of his own. Swallowing nervously, he shifts to sit across from you, pulling his own deck from his belt. "Duel me."

You look up from your cards, confused. "You mean like, here and now?"

"Yeah! An old-fashioned tabletop game, like how they used to play. Unless," he lowers his voice and leans forward, "you wanna try'n snag a duel field while we're supposed to be in class."

You chuckle at him, restacking your cards and starting to shuffle. "A low-tech game sounds fun. You're on!"

A smirk crosses Chazz's lips. "Loser buys dinner on the mainland?"

You grin back at him. "Y'know, I was gonna go easy on ya, but now I've just gotta kick your ass."

☆☆☆☆☆

Chazz's steel eyes roam the field, examining your setup. He's only an attack away from winning, but your back row could be a problem- he frowns at the cards in his hand, and you watch intently as he seems to make a choice. Your fingers start inching towards one of your facedowns; knowing this boy, he'll probably use a-

"Hey! You there! What do you think you're doing?!"

Your blood runs cold, and across from you, Chazz blanches. You lean carefully over the edge of the roof- Professor Crowler is standing there with his hands on his hips, teeth grit, face turning red. "You've missed two class periods, in addition to accessing prohibited parts of campus- get down here this instant! And bring whoever's with you, too!"

You sigh, gathering your cards, glancing up at Chazz as he shoves his back into his deckbox too. "I was gonna win, y'know."

He sneers back at you. "Not with my Ring of Destruction, you weren't."

He hauls himself off the roof first, landing in front of the astonished professor. "Mister Princeton-? What are you-?"

Chazz ignores the man, turning back to you and holding his arms out. "Jump. I'll catch you." You hesitate for a moment- you are in your uniform, after all, and that skirt's kinda short- but then you kick your legs over the side of the overhang and jump.

True to his word, Chazz catches you; his arms are unexpectedly strong when they wrap around your waist, giving you a moment to catch your bearings before he sets you down, and you both turn to face your professor. Chazz keeps one arm around your waist, holding you kinda close.

Crowler glares. "Princeton, I expected much better from you- you're one of the most promising students we have here, and I'd hate to see you waste that potential. But since we owe your family some favors, I suppose I can let this slide." His eyes narrow as he turns to you. "However, Miss [Name], you are not nearly as lucky. I should have you put on cleaning duty for a-"

"She was only up there because of me, alright?!" Chazz bites out. "I asked her to skip with me. She didn't even really want to." His grip on you tightens a bit, and he glares back at Crowler. "You can't punish her for this without punishing me."

Professor Crowler huffs, going silent for a moment. ". . . [Name], since you've been such a good student prior to this, I suppose I'll let it slide for you as well. If either of you repeats this offense, you won't be off nearly as lightly next time. Now get to class." And with that, he strides off, muttering under his breath.

You turn to Chazz as he finally lets go of you. He sniffs. "The guy's a weirdo."

"You didn't have to do that, y'know."

Chazz rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, trying not to blush. "Hey, if you got in trouble, you couldn't make your duel tonight. But ya know. . ." a sly grin crosses his face, and he bats his eyes at you. "I think, for saving your butt, I deserve a nice dinner."

You laugh, shoving him playfully, and he grins at you. "First the cake, then a dinner- you don't need all these excuses, Chazz. Just ask!"

His demeanor suddenly shifts, and all the air rushes out of your lungs at how serious he got so quickly. "Alright then, [Name]." His voice is low, and there's something in it you don't recognize. "Would you go to dinner with m-"

"[Name]! Chazz!" A loud voice echoes out from behind you, and so much frustration bubbles up in Chazz's chest that he feels like he might cry. Jaden is racing towards you both, Syrus not far behind- when the two Slifer students are within reach, Jaden grabs you by the arm and pulls. "We've gotta get to class before Crowler comes back-!"

Chazz bites his tongue as he lets Syrus push him towards the classroom you all shared for this period.

Maybe it was too soon to ask anyways.

#electric blue #chazz princeton #yugioh #gx

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sunbroofomegle · 7 years

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uumm i guess i’ll tag @vkm11 and @sunbroofomegle since they’re my cool friends! (edit: totally didnt add these later cause i forgot their urls @daftbutts @aliendoc) Alright, ladies and gents, more specifically @enkyostar, @jakerdoodle, and @allosauroid, we in this.

Five Things You’ll Find In My Bag:

Assuming this is for a bag I currently have and use for class...

1. Small sketchbook of just a bunch of doodles. Nothing really out of the ordinary

2. Tiny sketchbook used as notes for the various cryptids of the realm of one Savannah art school. It’s still being worked on, but it’s a personal project I think will be fun to just have. It’s sortof like a journal and informative book of the friends and scares of this realm. Maybe when I work on it more, I’ll share it with you all~

3. A bunch of pencils of various types. Got some prismacolors in there, some mechanical pencils of varying lead sizes, a lot of graphite pencils, it’s a mess. I need a new one, it has a giant hole in the side, but I’ve had this one since around the start of high school. I have sentimental attachment, y’know? It’s been there since I decided to become an artist. I can’t just throw that away.

4. Binders filled with notes. Lots of stuff on art history, game design, and game tech. I also have a bunch of other notes from classes that I get too lazy to put into a separate box that I have of all my old stuff, all organized and safe at home back in Jersey.

5. If I need it, my laptop. I usually don’t bring it around everywhere because I don’t usually need it outside of my dorm, but if there would be a 5th object in there, that would be it. I really don’t carry much...

Five Things You’ll Find In My Bedroom: (the most important place to me)

1. My laptop. I need it to do work, my dude.

2. My tablet. I need it to do work, my dude

3. The various silly little memorabilia in my room. I can’t just name one, they’re all too important to me

4. Video games of all kinds. Like before, I cannot just name one. It’s too much.

5. MY HELMET WHEN IT’S NOT ON MY HEAD HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Five Things I Want To Do With My Life: (I hate this question...)

1. Well, I want to be a game designer, preferably a texture artist, possibly environment artist.

2. I guess just be able to do art for a living. It’s a hobby I want to make my lifestyle and it’s something I both enjoy and feel I can consider myself good at.

3. Sortof settle down in a nice, cold suburban area. Nice, quiet, peaceful. Y’know, the quiet life.

4. I can’t name much else. Maybe just have a relaxed life. A wife and kids in the distant future sounds nice, too...

5. I guess try to find a way to be happy consistently, especially nowadays. I can’t think of much else that wouldn’t be said in one of the future questions. I’m also not good with these, honestly.

Five Things That Make Me Happy:

1. DARK SOULS, BABYYYYY

2. Video games as a whole, really. They also make me sad, but that’s because I love them.

3. The closer friends I have here. They’re assholes, but they make me feel wanted. This blog also applies. You’re all so wonderful and I cannot thank you all enough. You make me actually feel like myself, and I really appreciate that.

4. Getting compliments on my work. I’ll shit on it, but hearing someone talk about your work in a positive light is always a wonderful feeling. I remember in one class I made a short animation in After Effects that took me a long-ass time to make. It’s pretty mediocre, but at the time I loved it. Apparently the professor showed it off to his other classes and it made me REALLY giddy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py0kgMg9Fec

If you wanna see it, here it is. Like I said, it’s pretty mediocre, but this was my first time using after effects. I loved this project a lot!

5. All the pets I’ve had in my life. My followers know the ones, those silly little kids of mine~

Five Things On My To-Do List:

1. Git gud at art

2. Have a portfolio design that is both unique while also simple and not gaudy.

3. Play through a lot of video games that I currently have on my backlog.

4. Improve myself personality wise. I’m way too bitter and I feel that I’m unpleasant to be around, so I’m trying to fix the way I say things. Not the best with words...

5. Get back on track emotionally. I’ve been really out of it as of late and really, feeling like myself again is top priority. I just made it 5 because I’m a dumbo who thinks of other things first.

Five Things People May Not Know About Me:

1. Okay, I know some of you are gonna get a kick out of this. I have had a youtube channel for several years now, but on it I have a series of videos that spawned from a joke. It is called The Life of Dr. Frankington. It is 5 episodes and has 1 trailer for Episode 4 because I delayed it for over a year and 3 for Episode 5 because hype. They’re REALLY stupid, but were incredibly fun to make. I put more time and effort into them than I think I did anything else before college.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7E7BA85282F76555 Legit, this is my magnum opus. It’s so dumb and possibly cringey, but I love the fact that it exists. The first 4 episodes were made in movie maker and 5 and 2 of the trailers were made in Sony Vegas. It also has my face and I know you kids go nuts about that for some reason.

2. I used to be a part of an FRC robotics group in high school. What a wild time that was...so many stories I could tell about that one group alone. Years of nonsense and bullshit. I’m glad I did it, though. Met some great people and have some funny stories~

3. It sounds mundane, but I can do a front flip. I remember doing it while one of my friends was attacking other friends with a blanket on his head and then jumping onto cardboard. I took the blanket, screamed “I AM THE NEGA CULTIST”, ran off, did a front flip, and landed on my knees to lay down while the blanket was still partially floating. I peered out, and my friends were screaming in both amazement and fear. They legitimately thought their friend, good ol’ Solaire, just went to a new realm. They also learned how strong my legs are. Seriously, I have REALLY strong legs!

4. As mentioned before, I have REALLY strong legs. Not sure why, but I’ve had people question if I’m a frog or something. My younger brother, who’s a gym rat who works out 75% of the day, every day of the week, constantly brings up how huge my legs are. It’s an anomaly that my entire family debates over, actually. Pretty funny.

5. I know it was mentioned before, but I have a small sketchbook of things I see around where I live, which include things I’m told about or things I have seen in person. The little baby doll you may have seen in some of my snaps? That is Yubble: a demon who is the product of my roommate. He is a part of this small sketchbook. You see it in my snapchat? It’s likely in it or going to be in it. This really took my mind off of a lot of bad things, so really, thanks @aigislovesrobots . You’re a top tier friend. It helped out a lot.

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