#trust me that masked is not having a good time

[rosie-b]

True Blue

Chapter 15: Trust Falls

“Marinette.” Gabriel cut her off with a solemn voice. “Listen to me. Adrien started wearing a ring last evening.” 

Marinette blinked in confusion. 

“Okay? Is that relevant to Golden Bug checking on civilians?” 

“Yesterday, you told Golden Bug to switch his Miraculous with Chat Grise. He would have to stop wearing his earrings and start wearing a ring instead. Just like Adrien did,” M. Agreste exclaimed, raising his voice. 

Marinette’s heart stopped.

You can read the rest on AO3 or below!

The akuma battle went flawlessly— from Golden Bug and Chat Grise’s perspectives, at least. Bluewing and Hawk Moth lost again.  

Marinette found herself distracted by the akuma throughout the battle, which contributed to their loss. She knew they were the innocent doubts of a civilian, but she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Adrien was right when he accused Hawk Moth of manipulating people into becoming victims of his akumas. Each time the purple butterfly mask flashed over Reverser’s eyes, she remembered the pained look that had flashed over Nathaniel’s face when the same thing happened to him as Evillustrator. She remembered the way another person had seemed to take over his mind on the boat, forcing him to tie her to the railing and threaten her life. 

She remembered what it felt like to be just a pawn. And she wondered. 

There hadn’t been enough time for Golden Bug and Chat Grise to exchange their Miraculous, so there was no advantage for Bluewing to hide the weakness of her wandering thoughts behind. The battle took a turn for the better when Golden Bug and Chat Grise were each struck by Reverser’s paper airplanes, but despite how indecisive Golden Bug became and how boomingly loud Chat Grise was, making it impossible for her to hide, Bluewing ultimately lost to the power of Lucky Charm. 

And her fan got Cataclysmed. Again. 

Overall, though, Marinette managed to avoid botching the battle; after all, it was thanks to her distractions that Reverser was able to hit Golden Bug and Chat Grise. (She hadn’t expected the flirty line she’d pilfered from Adrien’s repertoire to have such an effect on Golden Bug, but she wasn’t complaining. It had been satisfying to be the one making  him blush and trip over his feet, for once.) 

She’d have to try that trick again sometime— if it was appropriate, of course! All she wanted to do was trip Golden Bug up and create an opening for the akuma. Her flirting with Golden Bug was nothing if not professional.  

Professional, like Bluewing was when she took the opportunity after her defeat to inform Hawk Moth that Golden Bug and Chat Grise would likely be switching their Miraculous within the next day or two. 

“What?” Hawk Moth demanded, his voice booming in the earpiece Bluewing had found in the base of her fan after the Miracle Cure restored it post-battle. 

“Golden Bug stopped by my balcony before the fight. He doesn’t suspect me,” she quickly assured Hawk Moth, “He just wanted to make sure I wasn’t in danger of being akumatized because of my nightmare. I pried for a little information,” Marinette said, wincing at the white lie, “And he admitted to feeling like he’s losing to us, even if he wins against the akumas. So I suggested he and Chat Grise switch Miraculous again, to practice in case they ever need to switch Miraculous in a fight again.” 

Hawk Moth growled. “Why would you tell him to do that? It sounds like you want him to be more capable of defeating us!” 

“I know it does, but I have a plan. Before they can get any practice in, we should attack with another akuma. Not now, in case they still haven’t switched, but before too long. Give them a few days to think it over, and then send an akuma; we can catch them off guard and attack with an advantage!” 

Bluewing waited anxiously to hear what M. Agreste would say. It was a risky plan, to be sure, and maybe she was half-motivated by how good Golden Bug looked in black, but she did think her idea was worth a shot! She just hoped that Hawk Moth agreed. 

“I see,” he eventually said with a hum. “This might work. I approve, Bluewing, and I appreciate you taking some initiative. With an attitude like this, we may soon have our victory!” 

“You’re welcome! I hope we do,” Marinette said.  

Yet even as she spoke, doubt coiled in her stomach. Adrien and Golden Bug’s warnings, while probably wrong, wouldn’t leave her alone. 

“Very well. Goodbye for now, Bluewing. Be ready to seize our chance.” 

Hawk Moth hung up, and Bluewing quickly ducked out of her hiding spot to head home. Her work for the day was done. 

__*__*__*__*__

The next day was Saturday, and for once, Marinette had nothing scheduled. So she decided to just relax and try to work through the confusion of the past few days, in honor of Nathalie’s advice. 

As she rinsed her dishes after breakfast, though, Marinette found herself frowning as she tried to prepare herself to meet the new secretary on Monday. She still couldn’t believe Nathalie had just quit! Had the stress of working for Hawk Moth finally gotten to her? Had she just not cared about Adrien and Marinette as much as she seemed to? 

Whatever the reason for Nathalie’s short-notice departure had been, Marinette couldn’t help but feel a bit of resentment toward her for it. After all, Gabriel, Nathalie and she had arguably the most important jobs in all Paris! What could possibly take priority over saving the world? 

Adrien didn’t seem to share the same view, though. If he knew what Nathalie had been helping his father to do, maybe he would have begged her to quit. But then again, maybe he would have finally realized that Hawk Moth and Bluewing were not his enemies. 

Marinette was startled to learn that Adrien didn’t think saving his mother was worth using the Wish, but she was still hopeful that he’d change his mind if he knew the circumstance just a bit better! The problem was that he was used to the narrative of Golden Bug and Chat Grise being the heroes. After all, he was friends with the Goldenblogger herself, and no one hated Hawk Moth more than Alya and the other super-fans of the ‘heroes!’ 

Marinette may have been friends with Alya, too, but she had inside knowledge to protect her from the media’s bias. If only Gabriel had trusted his son with that knowledge from the beginning, they wouldn’t be in such a mess now! Sometimes she wondered if he’d sent Adrien to public school just to keep him away from the house while he was busy with his akumatizations. The thought brought a scowl to Marinette’s face. 

Still, Marinette was determined not to let her doubts and anger get the best of her, so she decided to help her parents in the bakery and then watch a movie to distract herself from her emotions. It worked like a charm at first, but eventually, reality began forcing its way in. Still, Marinette had had worse days. 

Halfway through lunchtime, Marinette’s phone started buzzing with an incoming call. She didn’t think anything of it at first. When she saw it was coming from Gabriel, she was intrigued, since he normally didn’t contact her outside of the mansion.  

She excused herself and answered the call as she made her way to her room. 

“Marinette,” Gabriel said in a low voice. “I have some important information to share with you. It’s critical to our success, so if you are not in one already, get to a secure location. Make sure no one can overhear what I am going to say.” 

Marinette raised an eyebrow. She was in her room now, and no one else was there except Duusu, who was sleeping on one corner of her pillow. They’d seemed pretty wiped out by the trip to Adrien’s room, and so Marinette was letting Duusu rest. She’d asked if anything was wrong, but Duusu said they were fine, it was just the memories of the past decade and a half re-settling in their brain.  

Marinette agreed that that was an awful lot of memories, even for a kwami, and was more than happy to leave Duusu alone until they felt better or until Hawk Moth sent out another akuma. 

“We’re secure,” Marinette confirmed to M. Agreste. “No one is around to overhear.” 

“Good. Now I need you to tell me if Golden Bug has ever contacted you, outside your suit, before.” 

Marinette frowned, her stomach twisting. “Sir, if you think I’m secretly working with him, I assure you, I am not. We are enemies.” 

“I know that,” Gabriel snapped. “Just tell me, has he ever visited your balcony before? He was comfortable enough talking with you to share his own insecurities and take your advice. So tell me, do you know why?” 

“No, I don’t,” Marinette quickly responded. “The first time I met him was during Evillustrator, but we didn’t spend much time together after he rescued me. He did check in on me a while after that, but that was because Adrien asked him to. He thought I was down and wanted to cheer me up. Golden Bug is interested in making sure me and the other civilians are safe from akumatization,” she admitted, feeling her stomach churn. Where was M. Agreste going with this?

“Adrien sent Golden Bug to your balcony? He told you that?” Gabriel sounded stressed by this information, as if his son was supposed to inherently mistrust Golden Bug and never talk to him. 

“Uh, yes. Oh, and Golden Bug also broke into my room to wake me up when Sandboy gave me a nightmare. He didn’t leave until he knew I was okay. Then, since he noticed I was still shaken up, he stopped by again today and I gave him the advice to switch Miraculous after a short chat.” She hesitated, still unsure of M. Agreste’s goal with this conversation. “He’s just really friendly, sir. Why are you asking?” 

Gabriel exhaled sharply and muttered a curse. “Golden Bug cares about you, specifically, far more than any other civilian. I’ve never heard of him checking in on any other akuma targets. He cares about you, Marinette.” 

He sounded upset about that, Marinette noted. But this didn’t sound so unusual to her; checking up on civilians was just something Golden Bug did. As far as she knew, this was normal behavior for him! 

“I’m sure he’s checked in on other people before, M. Agreste. What about after the—” 

“Marinette.” Gabriel cut her off with a solemn voice. “Listen to me. Adrien started wearing a ring last evening.” 

Marinette blinked in confusion. 

“Okay? Is that relevant to Golden Bug checking on civilians?” 

“Yesterday, you told Golden Bug to switch his Miraculous with Chat Grise. He would have to stop wearing his earrings and start wearing a ring instead. Just like Adrien did,” M. Agreste exclaimed, raising his voice. 

Marinette’s heart stopped. M. Agreste thought that his own son was his arch-nemesis? That couldn’t be true. For so many reasons, it couldn’t be true! She had to make Gabriel see reason. 

Taking a deep breath, she ventured, “Just because Adrien started wearing a ring around the same time Golden Bug and Chat Grise might have switched Miraculous, that doesn’t mean that they’re the same person. Maybe Adrien just likes rings! Or maybe he’s taking inspiration from his favorite hero.”  

Marinette’s mind raced as she thought of explanations for this coincidence. It had to be just that, just a trick Mr. Agreste’s mind was playing on him! It was just the stress of being Hawk Moth catching up to him, it had to be! She couldn’t bear to think that she’d been fighting her best friend this whole time. She would have recognized him! Wouldn’t she? 

Gabriel made a dismissive noise. “Marinette, have you ever noticed how Adrien usually wears his hair? It’s not a style I picked for him, though I let him wear it since it frames his face well. But he chose it deliberately to hide his ears, his Miraculous,” he hissed. “Adrien is Golden Bug, and that makes him a traitor!” 

Marinette flinched at Gabriel’s tone. “No, Adrien’s not a traitor!” she cried. 

The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying. Gabriel slowly breathed out, just barely audibly, as if to question her audacious outburst. 

Marinette, too, was surprised by her own words. But Gabriel was acting unstable! If she didn’t speak up, then who would? 

“Adrien’s not a traitor,” Marinette repeated in a quieter voice. “And I’m sure he has a good explanation for his new ring. You should ask him yourself, if you still don’t trust him.” 

Marinette could feel M. Agreste’s glower through the phone. “Miss Dupain-Cheng. There is no other explanation I can think of for this. Golden Bug took a personal interest in you, and Adrien has, too. We both know the depth of his emotions, misplaced though they may be. They share the same sympathies, the same childish behavior, and now they share a ring. Your advice prompted our enemy to reveal himself: Adrien is Golden Bug.” 

“Okay, well, I still think you should ask him first,” Marinette countered, and her heart beat wildly as she spoke. “I don’t believe they’re the same person. Besides, we still don’t have proof that Golden Bug even has Grise’s Miraculous! We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.” 

There was silence on the other end of the line for a minute. 

Then Gabriel spoke. “You’re right, we need proof that they switched Miraculous. Fine! I will discover the truth some other way. Thank you for your honesty, Marinette. You may go back to whatever it is you were doing.” 

He hung up, and Marinette’s shoulders sagged in relief. 

She’d managed to make M. Agreste stop and think. But would it be enough to change his mind? She hoped it was; there was no way Adrien was Golden Bug! 

As if her thoughts had summoned it, Marinette’s phone buzzed with a text from Adrien that moment. Curious, she checked what it was and found that he’d sent her a cat meme, a sure sign that he was bored. 

Silly kitty, she responded to the text. Adrien sent a few cat emojis, and then a longer text. 

Father stuck me with a surprise photoshoot, it read. I’m bored out of my mind and they’re only on styling my hair.  

Marinette giggled, then sobered. Maybe this photoshoot was part of M. Agreste’s plan to find out whether Adrien and Golden Bug were the same person? Was he planning to send an akuma to see if Adrien would suddenly vanish from the set? 

Teen model problems strike again, she responded. Hang in there! I’ll make sure my parents save some extra pastries to give you on Monday to cheer you up.  

Adrien thanked her in his usual, dramatic fashion. She smiled at his effusive texts, happy that they were still such good friends. It meant he didn’t suspect her after the stunt she’d pulled as Bluewing the other day, and that even Dark Cupid couldn’t tear them apart. They were the best of friends, completely the opposite of her relationship with Golden Bug! It was more proof that Adrien was not Golden Bug, regardless of what his father thought. 

Marinette spent a half hour cleaning her room, a rare occasion that had been becoming more necessary each day. Her bad mood from earlier was still threatening to return, but the quick interaction with Adrien left her feeling better than she had all day. 

She just hoped M. Agreste wouldn’t do anything to spoil her afternoon. 

A few minutes later, she received another call from him. Sighing, she picked up, hoping that this time, he was just calling to say she was right and Adrien was not a traitorous enemy withholding a Miraculous from them. (Even if he was Golden Bug, Marinette found herself thinking, that wouldn’t make him a traitor. That particular label could only apply if he’d been told what his father was trying to do from the start and had pretended to side with him.) 

“I am going to send out an akuma shortly,” Gabriel brusquely told Marinette. “Conditions are ripe, and with any luck, we will soon have conclusive proof on whether or not Adrien is Golden Bug. That is what you wanted, correct?” 

Marinette nodded. “Yes. You have taken into account that Adrien is at a photoshoot right now, right? You know I don’t want any akumas to put him in danger.” 

Gabriel sighed. “Just transform, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I am aware of your sensitivities. Rest assured that I am taking the best course of action.” 

Marinette frowned. “Okay, sir. Which way should Bluewing head?” 

“Head towards the park. I haven’t yet akumatized anyone, but I will have my champion soon enough. Oh, and Marinette?” 

“Yes?” 

“Now that Duusu’s brooch is healed, I’m hoping you will take the next step to help me. There is no risk to doing it now, so I want you to create a sentimonster to help us win this fight. Without one, we may fail again, but with a sentimonster of our own, we shall achieve victory. You know what you must do, Bluewing. Do not let me down again.” 

“Sir,” Marinette shot back in a tight voice, “I told you before, I won’t create a senti. They’re not monsters; Adrien is proof enough of that! Whatever I create would have its own mind and life. But Golden Bug and Chat Grise wouldn’t know that; they’d find and break or control the amok, which would violate the senti’s rights. I know you don’t agree with me, but I do believe that creating a senti for the express purpose of battle would be a misuse of the Miraculous power. I will help with this akuma, but you know the boundaries I set. Don’t make me cross them!” 

Silent for a moment, M. Agreste let out a sigh. “Fine, ignore my advice. But I think you will soon agree with me that sentimonsters will be necessary for our victory.” 

As M. Agreste hung up, Marinette struggled to hold in a sigh. Why did he have to be so moody? She understood that his fear of Adrien being Golden Bug would affect his emotions, but that didn’t give him the right to try and force her to break her moral code. He needed to calm down and act reasonably. 

Besides, he was sending an akuma to the park? Plenty of Adrien’s photoshoots were done there. She could only hope the one he was in now was being shot somewhere else. 

Marinette climbed up to her loft, feeling disgruntled. 

“Duusu,” she called, leaning over her bed to gently poke them with a finger. “Duusu, wake up.” 

Duusu opened one violet eye and slowly rose up from the pillow, stretching and yawning. 

“Hello master,” they said. “What is it?” 

“Don’t call me master,” she reminded Duusu. “I’m just Marinette!” 

Duusu blinked. “Oh, right. You are a nice holder, then. But I don’t have many memories of you talking to me yet.” 

Marinette winced. “I wasn’t allowed to talk to you while your brooch was broken. M. Agreste was afraid of what you’d tell me while you were... um, not in your right mind. But now that you’re better, I hope we’ll become closer!” 

Duusu smiled. “I’d like that, ma—e Marinette! But I’m still not completely better; my memory is still fixing itself. Why did you wake me up?” 

“Ah! M. Agreste called and told me that he’s going to create another akuma. We’re going to need to transform and get out there to help him.” 

Duusu hesitated. “A champion? The Guardian must have seen great need to send out a call for Nooroo’s Miraculous to be put in play. Is there some kind of threat to Paris?” 

“Yes,” Marinette said. “But it’s not one recognized by the Guadian. He is the one who created it! This time, Hawk Moth and I are working to undo the harm caused by the Guardian’s rules. We’re doing it to save your old holders, like I saved you. But to do that, we need a Wish.” 

Duusu’s eyes widened. “What? No! Wishes are dangerous, Marinette! If you don’t know what you’re doing, then... bad things happen,” they said, staring off into the distance. “Bad, bad things!” 

Marinette frowned. “Worse will happen if we don’t make the Wish. Has the Guardian lied to you, too? I promise we’re doing what’s best for Paris.” 

But something about the words did not feel right to say.  

Marinette hesitated, then added, “Or at least I am. The last thing I want to do is cause more harm than has already been done to the world.” 

Duusu narrowed their eyes. “Okay, then. Maybe I forgot something else, and I just need to remember what happened. Should we go, then?” 

Marinette nodded. “Thank you for trusting me, Duusu. Spread my feathers!” 

As soon as her transformation ended, Bluewing headed out to the park. Along the way, she saw a horde of people carrying posters of Adrien from the perfume ad he’d recently starred in.  

“What are they doing?” she asked herself as she watched them run down a series of alleys, chasing each other and taking pictures or live streams of what was going on. 

Bluewing dropped down into the alley once they’d all passed through, only to meet a latecomer dressed up like Adrien. The similarities between them was so uncanny, it made her take a step back. 

“Bluewing! Did you see which way Adrien went?” the boy gushed, seemingly not at all concerned to have run into a person widely considered to be both evil and dangerous. 

Bluewing’s heart stopped. Was this the akuma? 

“Adrien? No, why? What happened?” 

The boy grinned. “He was doing an outdoor photoshoot, and then took a break! Now’s our chance to catch up to him and show some appreciation!” 

Bluewing scowled. “Is there an akuma?” she asked. “How did this chase get started?” 

Not-Adrien shrugged. “I don’t think so. No, there’s no akuma, it’s just the power of Adrien making us go crazy for him!”  

Bluewing watched in disgust as the boy ran off to catch up with the rest of the mob.  

“Worse than normal paparazzi,” she muttered.  

Pulling out her fan, she opened the screen in its base and briefly checked the news. No reports of an akuma so far. Good. That would have been her last straw with Gabriel, regardless of his concerns about Golden Bug! 

Left with a bit of time on her hands, Bluewing wondered whether she should try to make it to the head of the stampede, to rescue Adrien from his predicament. But maybe the akuma would show up soon, and then Hawk Moth would accuse her of ignoring her job and letting Golden Bug and Chat Grise win! 

While she hid in a corner to ponder this, another person stepped into the alley by Bluewing. Holding in a gasp, she peeked out to check who this was and how much of a threat they presented to Adrien. This person cast a long, thick shadow, and as they came into view, she could see their muscly build, broad shoulders, and... sideburns? 

There was no threat at all! This was the Gorilla, which meant that Adrien was just minutes away from being saved. 

Then Marinette saw the deep scowl on the Gorilla’s face, and heard the low growl emitting from his throat. He was not happy to have lost his charge again. 

And the akuma flapping around him proved it. 

Marinette pressed a hand over her mouth in shock as she saw the akuma wedge itself in between the Gorilla’s clenched fingers, melding with the phone inside his fist. A butterfly outline lit up around the Gorilla’s eyes, and he grunted, stopping his slow march and standing up straight. Raising his free hand, the Gorilla pressed it against his forehead, seemingly trying to resist the akuma’s influence

But Hawk Moth’s symbol stayed where it was, and though the Gorilla shook his head and gritted his teeth, his attempts to lose the akuma were weakening every second. 

Horrified, Marinette watched from the shadows as the Gorilla continued trying to fight off the akuma. He looked like he was in pain from the effort, and she was just about to risk revealing herself to help him break out of the akuma’s hold when the Gorilla suddenly stilled, his head bowed low. 

Then a purple light flared around him, rippling his appearance and distorting it. When it faded, Hawk Moth’s new akuma stood where Adrien’s bodyguard had. 

The Gorilla’s attempts to resist akumatization had failed. 

Bluewing struggled to accept what she was seeing as the new akuma stormed off, causing a path of destruction to follow him as he continued his search for Adrien. 

Hawk Moth had just akumatized someone against their will. More than that, he’d chosen Adrien’s own bodyguard to akumatize. He was putting Adrien at risk, and he knew it! He had to know it! 

Bluewing scowled and took off after Gorizilla. This little game of Gabriel’s was going too far. 

As she avoided the hordes of people screaming while they escaped the King Kong-ish akuma, Bluewing took out her earpiece and called Hawk Moth. 

“The akuma. You chose Adrien’s bodyguard?” she accused as soon as he picked up. “This can only put him in more danger. I warned you not to do that!” 

“On the contrary,” Hawk Moth responded smoothly. “By choosing Adrien’s bodyguard, I am simply making sure we know where Adrien is at all times. He slipped away too easily. Furthermore, he will not be in danger; this is his bodyguard. Gorizilla is the least likely person to hurt Adrien.” 

Bluewing growled. “You’d better be right. This akuma is putting you on thin ice, Hawk Moth. Be careful; I’m running out of reasons to trust you.” 

Hawk Moth scoffed. “I am the only one who’s bothered telling you the truth, Bluewing. I gave you the power to defend Adrien and you still don’t want to use it, so Gorizilla will keep Adrien safe for you. If you don’t trust me, blame no one but yourself! Now excuse me, I’m in the middle of business of the utmost importance.” 

He hung up. Bluewing launched herself after Gorizilla, feeling rage build in her veins as she saw that the akuma had caught up to Adrien during the call. He was wrapped in the akuma’s fist, struggling to free himself. 

And yet, he didn’t seem to be hurt. Bluewing stumbled to a halt when she noticed the gentle, but firm, hold which Gorizilla kept Adrien in. He was trapped, yes, but he seemed to be all right. 

The sound of a yo-yo zipped through the air, and Bluewing turned to face Golden Bug. 

A blue-armored hero with long, dark hair stood in his place. 

“Chat Grise,” Bluewing said in surprise. Had Golden Bug taken Marinette’s advice, then? 

“It’s Lady Steel,” her opponent snarled. “Tell the akuma to drop Adrien, now.”  

Bluewing frowned. “Believe me, I wish I could,” she said. “But I’m afraid the only way this particular akuma will leave him alone is if you give me your Miraculous; you and Golden Bug— er, Chat, both.” 

Lady Steel lowered herself into a threatening stance. “Not happening.” 

As she clashed with Lady Steel, Bluewing caught Gorizilla’s movement out of the corner of her eye. Civilians screamed and ran as he stomped across the city blocks, over to the Montparnasse tower. 

Then, he began climbing it, letting out a challenging roar once he reached the top. 

Is Hawk Moth insane? Bluewing wondered. As she faltered, Lady Steel delivered a combo of hits that left her on the ground, wheezing. Lady Steel swung away before Bluewing could get up. 

But she didn’t really want to. That would mean she’d have to return to ugly old reality, where Adrien was being dangled off the top of a skyscraper by Hawk Moth’s own akuma, his old bodyguard. 

Gabriel had sent another akuma after his son, and he’d done it on purpose, against the Gorilla’s will. She’d seen the mask appear over Gorizilla’s eyes before he climbed up the tower; she knew whose fault it was that Adrien’s life was in danger now. 

Hawk Moth was trying to get Adrien to transform, just to prove the theory that he was Golden Bug. And he had no problem with putting Adrien’s life in danger to do that. 

Bluewing pushed herself off the ground, energized by her rage. Hawk Moth was not thinking clearly, and he refused to listen to her, when she tried to force him to! He was out of control. 

Then again, now that the ‘heroes’ had traded Miraculous, she and Hawk Moth held the advantage. If she ignored Hawk Moth’s ploy, maybe Bluewing could defeat Lady Steel and Black Cat or whatever name Golden Bug would be going by when he showed up. If she played her cards right, then this nightmare could still end today! 

Marinette’s heart raced as she approached the Montparnasse, leaping onto its steep side from the nearest building and running up to the top at full speed.  

Pulling out her earpiece again, Bluewing popped it in and called Hawk Moth, determined to at least communicate her moves, so that they could coordinate better. She dodged Lady Steel’s yo-yo swipe, but hesitated to strike back. Where was Golden Bug? He should be here by now! 

The battle was just getting started, she reminded herself as Hawk Moth picked up. He’ll be here soon enough.  

“Bluewing. Why are you calling me again?” Hawk Moth asked. 

Bluewing lashed out at Lady Steel with her fan, aiming for her ears. Lady Steel fell back with a grunt, leaving Bluewing with a little room. 

“Just trying this thing called communication. Don’t know if you’ve heard of it. I’ll whisper my moves ahead of time so you know what I’m doing, that’s all.” 

“Acceptable, I suppose,” Hawk Moth said, and fell silent. 

For a few minutes, Bluewing, Lady Steel, and Gorizilla fought, the latter fighter inhibited by his need to keep holding Adrien. From the cage of Gorizilla’s fingers, Adrien yelled encouragement for Lady Steel and tried to distract Bluewing, which worked disappointingly well. 

Her advantage was rapidly disappearing, even with an akuma to back her up.   

The mask appeared over Gorizilla’s eyes again, and he grunted loudly at Bluewing. 

It was a message from Hawk Moth, and she knew what it meant. 

“Use your power. Create a sentimonster,” Hawk Moth hissed in her ear. “This fight must end soon!” 

Marinette had several issues with his demand, which she’d already told him. Even if she didn’t, she failed to see how a sentimonster would reduce, not increase, the amount of danger Adrien was in! 

“No,” she huffed out, lashing at Lady Steel, who caught the fan in her hand. 

“Catacly— wait.” 

Bluewing smirked and twisted out of Lady Steel’s grasp. 

“Care to try that again?” she taunted. “Maybe you’ll have better luck this time!” 

Bluewing groaned as Lady Steel’s eyes lit up. 

“Lucky Charm!” she called. 

“Ha. Better luck. Nice one,” Adrien said with a laugh, and then flinched as Gorizilla squeezed him tighter. 

A red and black-spotted flower fell into Lady Steel’s waiting hands. 

“A freesia?” she asked, bewildered. 

“Pity. I’m not even allergic!” Bluewing remarked as she kicked Lady Steel’s legs out from under her.  

Gorizilla brought his free fist down, and Lady Steel moved out of the way just in time. The tower shuddered, and Bluewing was fairly certain she heard shards of glass fall from the windows and hit the ground. 

Adrien cried out, and Bluewing and Gorizilla twisted to look at him. He didn’t seem hurt, but it was clear that he was afraid, despite the bravado he’d taunted Bluewing with. 

Gorizilla looked upset, and he began to open his fist. Was he letting Adrien go? 

Then Hawk Moth’s symbol flashed over Gorizilla’s face, and he grunted as, once again, he fought the akuma’s influence. 

“What are you doing?” Bluewing asked Hawk Moth over the earpiece.  

He didn’t answer, too busy talking to the akuma instead, and soon, just like last time, Gorizilla lost to the power of the Butterfly. Marinette watched as Gorizilla’s face smoothed out, becoming impassive and devoid of emotion as the akuma took over. 

He backed away from Lady Steel, who had used Bluewing’s distraction to sneak up on Gorizilla, and stood close to the tower’s edge, clutching Adrien tightly. 

“We still need proof,” Hawk Moth finally responded in a clipped tone. “Get Lady Steel’s Miraculous.” 

Bluewing obediently moved toward her opponent, pouncing on Lady Steel and falling to the floor with her. They rolled, fighting for dominance, and Bluewing guided their path away from the akuma. Lady Steel didn’t seem to mind that much; she seemed reluctant to risk running into Gorizilla and startling him into dropping Adrien over the edge. 

Bluewing pinned Lady Steel beneath her, ready to make her move for the Miraculous, but her position was too loose. Lady Steel took advantage of her mistake and kicked Bluewing off before throwing her yo-yo at her. Bluewing dodged, but the yo-yo wrapped around her arm, pulling her off balance. She wobbled on her feet, but quickly raised her arm and spun back out of the yo-yo's grip in time to meet Lady Steel’s lunge and keep fighting. 

“We do need a sentimonster,” Hawk Moth hissed insistently through the earpiece as Bluewing grappled with Lady Steel. “You know it’s the truth, even if you keep denying it. Well, soon you will see reason, and I will have my proof.” 

“Hold on— bit of a problem here,” Bluewing panted, aiming a kick at Lady Steel’s stomach. 

Lady Steel caught it with her hands, and shoved Bluewing back and off balance again. The two circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move first, when a sharp cry came from Adrien’s direction. 

Bluewing turned in time to see Gorizilla raise his fists up to his head, fighting a command from Hawk Moth once again. Lady Steel took advantage of her distraction to grab the base of Bluewing’s fan, but she couldn’t pull it out of Marinette’s tight grip.  

“Adrien,” Bluewing whispered, noting the precarious position he and Gorizilla were in.  

His former bodyguard was slipping back under the akuma’s control, lowering his hands from his head. Adrien, still held tightly in Gorizilla’s right hand, was now dangling directly over the edge of the skyscraper. His eyes widened as he stopped struggling to get free, looking down in fear as Gorizilla seemed to relax further.  

The purple akuma mask vanished as Gorizilla’s expression calmed, his shoulders falling in relaxation. Bluewing sighed in relief, glad that the situation was back under control. Beside her, Lady Steel let out a shaky exhale. But in front of them, Adrien shivered and closed his eyes. 

Gorizilla’s fist had stopped moving, but as Bluewing squinted in his direction, she thought she saw his fingers twitch. Lady Steel saw it, too, and she tugged harder of Bluewing’s fan before giving up and throwing a punch at her face. She wanted to get to Adrien, Bluewing could tell as she reflexively fought back. They both wanted to make sure he was safe. But Hawk Moth had chosen the Gorilla for a reason, right? Gorizilla was only keeping Adrien safe. 

Bluewing flipped backwards, out of Lady Steel’s range, momentarily losing sight of Adrien. When she straightened, she lunged towards Lady Steel, but she wasn’t looking. Her attention was on Gorizilla, instead, as his fingers loosened, one by one. 

Bluewing froze, unable to process what was happening, as Gorizilla dropped Adrien over the skyscraper’s edge. 

For a moment, Lady Steel and Bluewing both watched in horror. As Adrien disappeared from sight without even a scream, Bluewing felt like she’d been punched. The feeling rapidly worsened as what she’d just seen sunk in. 

Gorizilla dropped Adrien. He’s going to die, all because of an akuma Hawk Moth promised I could trust! And it was all after Gorizilla received a new command. 

Bluewing sank to her knees, feeling like she was going to throw up. How could M. Agreste do this? Hadn’t he claimed to be fighting for his son? Then why would he endanger his son like this? Just to find out whether he was Golden Bug or not? 

No! He wouldn’t! This had to be some kind of mistake.  

Maybe Gorizilla wasn’t supposed to drop Adrien; maybe he’d been trying to fight the real command and couldn’t and messed up and now Adrien was falling from the top of a skyscraper.  

While Bluewing fought off her despair and forced herself to stand up, ready to fight, Lady Steel let out a bellow of rage and charged toward the edge of the roof. She pulled out her yo-yo, readying it to save Adrien, and Gorizilla watched her closely as the mask reappeared around his eyes. 

Bluewing sighed in relief. Hawk Moth was probably ordering Gorizilla to let Lady Steel go! Now she could save Adrien. He was going to be okay! 

But just as Lady Steel swung her yo-yo out and leapt toward Adrien, Gorizilla reached out and caught her, wrapping her tightly in his fist as he glared first at her, then at Bluewing. 

A cry of despair tore from Bluewing’s throat, and Lady Steel screamed, kicking Gorizilla and fighting to free herself from his grasp. 

He only squeezed her tighter, pinning her arms down and restricting her movement further. 

As Bluewing watched, horrified, the akuma turned to look at her. Hawk Moth’s mask reappeared over his face, and he pointedly looked down, where Adrien was still falling, then at the fan Marinette was holding. The message was clear. 

You want to save him? Then make a sentimonster. Now.  

The mask vanished, replaced by Hawk Moth’s voice in her ear. “Do it.”  

Bluewing shuddered at the spiteful command. 

Adrien’s fall wasn’t a mistake. This was Gabriel’s twisted ploy, meant to force Adrien to transform if he was Golden Bug, and to force Bluewing to create a sentimonster to save him if he was not. 

Hawk Moth had done this on purpose. There couldn’t be much time left to save Adrien, and yet M. Agreste still prioritized controlling her (and Adrien’s own bodyguard) over letting Lady Steel save his son. 

Bluewing’s eyes filled with tears as she ran towards Gorizilla, pleading with broken half-words that made no sense and did nothing to change Adrien’s fate. Could Hawk Moth even hear her? He must see her through the akuma’s eyes, but he did nothing, just forced Gorizilla to keep holding hostage Adrien’s only hope for salvation. 

But something about the way Bluewing’s face twisted up as she begged Hawk Moth to change his mind must have affected Lady Steel, because she, too, was watching. And unlike Hawk Moth, she seemed to be listening. 

She struggled once more to get free, but only succeeded in freeing one arm. Looking at the Lucky Charm she’d summoned, which lay forgotten on the roof, Lady Steel then looked at her enemy. 

“Bluewing,” she rasped out, pinning Marinette with her gaze.  

And then, with the one hand she’d managed to free, Lady Steel tossed Bluewing her yo-yo. 

Marinette dropped her fan and caught the yo-yo on instinct, feeling confused but realizing the same thing Lady Steel had within seconds. 

Today, they shared the same enemy. Hawk Moth had gone too far, and now they fought to save the same boy. Lady Steel couldn’t do it herself, trapped as she was. But with the help of her yo-yo, Bluewing could.  

So before Gorizilla could react, she hooked the yo-yo's string around her finger, flung the yo-yo out and down, hooking it on some unseen anchor, and launched herself off the building. The earpiece connecting her to Hawk Moth’s outraged voice fell out as she leaped, dislodged by the force with which the yo-yo tugged her downwards. 

As Bluewing fell, travelling much more quickly than Adrien had, she caught sight of a distant crowd gathered on the road, and between her and them was Adrien. He’d twisted around at the sound of the yo-yo, and now he was looking up and Bluewing, eyes wide and full of a fearful kind of hope. 

Adrien opened his mouth to say something, but the wind tore it away from his lips before it could reach Bluewing’s ears fully-formed. 

They were close to the ground now, and getting closer. But before Bluewing saved herself, she needed to make sure Adrien would be safe, too. 

Bluewing fell farther, and the last few centimeters of separation between her and Adrien vanished. She quickly wrapped her arm around Adrien, pulling him close to her as she tossed her yo-yo out again, pulling them forward rather than down.  

Adrien buried his face in her neck, and she tested the elasticity of the yo-yo's pull, praying it would work to slow them down enough.  

They fell in an arc, passing over the confused, shouting crowd, heading for the next city block over. Again and again, Bluewing tossed out the yo-yo, each time gaining a little more control, slowing their descent even more while they travelled away from the last of the scattered crowd, until finally, she felt safe enough to slowly drop down to the ground, Adrien still tucked securely under her arm. 

Immediately, Bluewing pulled back from Adrien and began checking him over, gently touching the area under his arms to see if he’d been bruised when she grabbed him. He stood still and let her, looking down at her with an open yet unreadable expression.  

Bluewing let out a shaky sigh and pulled him down into a hug, cradling his head against her neck and tightening her fingers around his hair. He melted into her, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing like he never wanted to let go. A wet spot grew on Marinette’s shoulder, but she didn’t mind. It was proof that Adrien was still alive, that she’d saved him, that Hawk Moth had failed. 

Her heart broke at that thought, and she pressed herself closer to Adrien as tears of her own began to fall. 

Adrien had nearly died. He’d nearly been killed, and it was Hawk Moth’s fault; Hawk Moth’s plan!  

He’d lied to Bluewing. He’d promised that Gorizilla would keep Adrien safe, but that wasn’t true. Gabriel had chosen the Gorilla to make sure that his akuma caught Adrien, to keep tabs on him and make sure he couldn’t turn into Golden Bug (not that he was Golden Bug).  

Hawk Moth had tried to pressure Bluewing into creating a disposable sentibeing, and when that failed, he tried again to convince her by throwing Adrien from the top of a skyscraper, apparently to see if that would force Adrien to transform into Golden Bug, or at least convince Bluewing to create a senti to save him if he didn’t. 

What a mess.  

And how much more did Hawk Moth lie about? Marinette wondered as she forced herself to stop crying and focus on the situation she’d gotten herself into. 

Adrien had already stopped crying, and now he was the one cradling Bluewing, rubbing her back and humming softly in her ear.  

She didn’t deserve his comfort. 

“Adrien,” she choked out, pushing herself away from his embrace.  

She looked up at him, unsure what expression she’d find on his face. Whatever she’d thought it might be, it didn’t prepare for the soft, tender way Adrien was gazing down on her. A blush covered his cheeks, and Marinette realized that she could feel the strength of his emotions through the brooch on her chest if she concentrated. 

She’d never done that before. It felt good. 

Adrien’s emotions were as warm as his embrace had been, heating up her chest and filling it with a wave as deep as the ocean. Bluewing closed her eyes, thrilling at the sensation of it, feeling trust and happiness and love radiate from Adrien. It was soothing and addicting and the most confusing thing that she’d ever known. 

“You should hate me,” she whispered, opening her eyes to find that she was cradling Adrien’s hand to her chest. 

The shocked ‘O’ of his mouth was curving into a smile as he looked down at it. 

“You saved me,” he whispered. His voice was hushed, almost awed.  

Marinette was happy that she could still hear it. She was happy she’d saved him.  

She was very confused as to how a boy who’d seen her as a villain for so long, even after she tried explaining herself, could suddenly trust her now. Could love her. Was this just Adrien’s emotions for Marinette coming through the brooch? 

They were deeper than she’d ever dreamed. 

“I had to,” she whispered in return. Bluewing let go of Adrien’s hand, letting it drop back to his side. “And you have to go. He’ll be looking for you. Stay safe, away from the battle.” 

“Ma— Bluewing, what are you doing?” Adrien asked, and Bluewing felt a ripple of fear and confusion come through the brooch. 

“I don’t want to leave you, believe me. But I couldn’t stand it if I let you get hurt! I lo— I mean,” she stuttered, feeling a blush stain her own cheeks red. “I care about you. I’m glad you’re all right. But now, you have to stay away from Gorizilla. I don’t want Hawk Moth to hurt you,” she pleaded. 

Adrien looked down at her for a second, his confusion receding, his fear gone. 

Then he pulled her into a short hug, turning to press a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you,” he murmured, sending shivers down Marinette’s spine. “I’m glad you did the right thing.” 

She swallowed as Adrien stepped back. “I’m sorry it took so long.” 

Bluewing watched as Adrien turned to go, before turning to face her again.  

Hesitantly, he asked, “Is Hawk Moth going to be mad at you for this?” 

Dread shot through Marinette. “Yes,” she said. “He will be.” 

“Are you going to leave him? Will you join Golden Bug and Chat Grise?”  

Marinette hesitated. “You need to go, Adrien. There’s still an akuma, you know.” 

Adrien frowned, and his stubborn behavior sent its echo through her brooch. 

“But you will, right? You know the truth now.” 

Bluewing felt tears prick her eyes again. “Just go, Adrien. I don’t know what to do.” 

Adrien offered a small smile to her as he began to leave. “You will, Bluewing. I know you’ll do the right thing!” 

Bluewing felt his assurance, his trust, through the brooch, and a small smile of her own curved her lips. 

Maybe she would be able to live up to Adrien’s hopeful expectation. But as it turned out, she never had before. 

As Bluewing stood there, considering, the yo-yo Lady Steel had lent her vanished from her hand. She'd had to detransform, then.

I hope she’s safe, Marinette thought, heading off to find a safe spot of her own to detransform. I hope they’re all safe. Especially Adrien.  

It had taken a while, but now, she understood why she’d been so devastated by Hawk Moth’s attack on him. Any person being put in danger like that would have upset her, but Adrien... 

What she’d felt from him through the brooch wasn’t all that different from what she felt for him. Wasn’t that odd? She’d spent all this time worried about her crush on Golden Bug, and here she was in love with Adrien! 

But it didn’t matter now; Bluewing realized that there was a far more important matter to take care of. Gabriel Agreste was not the man she’d once thought he was. He’d called Adrien a traitor with no proof, only baseless suspicions; he was willing to risk killing his son just to prove he was Golden Bug— and he’d lied to Marinette to get her to go along with his plan! He was manipulating her; how much, she didn’t know, but it was obvious that he’d lied about more than just Gorizilla protecting Adrien. 

After all, he’d lied about asking for permission to akumatize people. A months-old baby giving informed consent to terrorize Paris? Adrien was right, that was ridiculous! 

Hawk Moth had deceived her. 

The Guardian. The Wish. How much more had he lied to her about? What about Nathalie; had she quit, or was she fired? 

What if he’d killed her? 

Marinette’s heart raced as she ducked into a hidden alcove and released her transformation. 

“Duusu,” she said, her voice shaking.  

“Yes, Marinette?” 

Marinette swallowed and looked up, meeting the kwami’s eyes with a determined expression. 

“We need to talk.” 

#true blue #bluewing au #ml fanfic #rosie-b writing #miraculous ladybug

[beneathsakurashade]

why did my favorite game turn into a dating sim? twst x gen reader (crack fic) CH 1: Bro got half a braincell

Intro

You were bored, like really bored.     So now you were sitting on the mattress that you called a bed while reading fanfics that hadn’t been touched by their authors after almost five years.  Scrolling absentmindedly through A03 you stumbled upon a new fic that somehow escaped your search.  It was titled 𝕋𝕨𝕤𝕥: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕚𝕞, in that font, just published mere minutes ago.  “Well, there’s nothing else that I want to read” you shrug and tap to open your newest discovery.  You’re greeted by a page that is blank, completely barren of words, “Is my wifi bad?” You mutter and reload the page. The page remains blank, “Wait no summary? No chapter title? Nothing?” You stare confused at your screen Did someone forget to write anything and just press post? you think attempting to exit out of the fic.  You feel nothing but a sudden fear as you shut your eyes and feel a rush of cold air and cobblestone as you hit the ground.  "Ow...the hell?" you cry and step up "Ah, good you're here!"

     An unfamiliar voice calls out and you hear someone walking over to you.  You look up to face a man wearing a bird-like mask and dressed in rich attire.  “And you are?” You ask unamused.  “I am Dire Crowley, headmage of Night Raven College!” He smiles “All I heard was that I’m a stranger and I brought you here” you retort.  “That is correct! I brought you here from your world for a once in a lifetime opportunity!” Not convinced you continue “If that once in a lifetime opportunity doesn’t include free food and housing I don’t want it-” Crowley interrupts your comment “Trust me, your food and housing will be completely covered! For I am so gracious! Now follow me, for I shall tell you why I brought you here on the way to my office”.  I don’t suppose that I have much of a choice… you think to yourself “Alright bird man, let’s get going”.  You follow this Dire Crowley through what appears to be a school, there’s people your age walking around in uniforms of various colors.  Some are holding textbooks, some are discussing yesterday’s homework and some are using their movement time to nap on the benches. 

You both arrive at his office and he opens the door, you sit yourself down at the chair in front of his desk.  “Now explain why I’m here” You start and watch as he summons papers into his hand and places them on his desk.  “You are to be part of a special program here at Night Raven College, a program which includes teaching our students about the married life.  If they so desire to partake in it later in life” Crowley explains.  You nod and pause “Wait…so what does teaching your students about being married have to do with me?” inwardly you think Okay...this is definitely not the NRC I'm used to, there's no such thing as a marriage program.  He explains further “Well you see, I have contacted your siblings, and they say that this experiment would do good for you! So this is a win win situation for us yes?” nodding slowly you pause and mutter "Wait...why does this feel familiar?"  Stiffening you realize that you were summoned into the world of Twisted Wonderland, right in the middle of Night Raven College, a school full of cute guys...and a deadbeat principal...

    You gaze at the first page in the small stack that you were given, at the top there’s a section for your basic info.  Filling the first page out you flip over to the back, there are a few more basic questions, like what’s your best subject, your hobbies, and your likes and dislikes.  After filling out the first page you turn to the second, which has information about a young man named Riddle Rosehearts, there’s no photo set for either of you.  You knew a lot about Riddle, Twisted Wonderland was your current hyperfixation, so you knew damn well about everything for every character, you could probably be like Azul and blackmail everyone at school with the dirt you had on them.  Still, it was strange having their info presented to you on a sheet of paper, you usually used the wiki to get your info, wait...what if you get your own twst wiki page?  What if someone is studying your page like you studied your favorite boys'?  Shuddering at the thought you look through the what was written on the pages, Age 20...wait wasn't he seventeen in the original game? Is this an au or something? Birthday is August 24th, homeland is Queendom of Roses, man I wish my homeland was called that tbh... Best subject is practical magic…whatever that is.  He’s in the Equestrian club, righttt, I forgot that NRC is a rich kid school, ain't no way my school has the budget for horses.  Ughhh my sister was a horse girl, I do not wanna handle more seasons of Heartland.  Hobby is hedgehog tending? That sounds awfully cute, bro better share them hedgehog tending responsibilities.  Pet peeve is rulebreaking? I mean it depends I guess, like some rules are dumb, and some aren’t so… Favorite food is strawberry tarts, sounds yummy, least fave food is junk food, oop bro is gonna hate my fave foods.  Talent is being fast at solving crossword puzzles? Mine is probably being fast at Fruit Ninja-. 

Crowley snaps and breaks you out of your thoughts, “So what do you think of your first partner Mx. L/N?” you try to keep as calm as possible (as one can when they get the news that they're going to be marrying a character from their favorite game) and cough.  "He seems interesting, so when do I get to meet him?”     “Quite soon Mx. L/N, after school today you both will meet.  Then tomorrow you will both attend classes together, and share a dorm room”.  “You want me to share a room with a stranger?” “Fear not Mx. L/N, there will be separate beds, and our students are very respectful.  If anything arises please report to Mr. Crewel, he will deal with such things swiftly”.  "Sure whatever you say..." you mutter and ask what happens now, trying to meet Riddle as soon as possible.  You walk alongside Crowley as he leads you to an empty classroom with a single student inside.  Sitting down at a desk with his head buried deep within a book, the only thing that you can see is two strands of strawberry red hair.  Sits the familiar sight of a particular rule obsessed student.  “Uh, Riddle, right?” You peep up and he looks up at you “Oh hello, you must be the student that the Headmage told me about” you nod in response.  “Yea I am, so uh…what do we do now?” You look behind you and notice that Crowley is gone, “Did he just leave? Bruh, guys always do this…” you remark sighing.  "Shall we introduce each other properly?" Riddle suggests and you shrug.  He stands up from his seat "My name is Riddle Rosehearts, Housewarden of Heartslabyul, it is an honor to meet you.  I do hope that our partnership shall be enjoyable".  You smile "I'm Y/N L/N, uhhh, an average college student.  It's nice to meet you".  

A/N: guys this is a cringey I know lol, this is basically for me to practice my writing. also fun fact the chapter titles r from wattpad comments. ok I'll go now bye :>

#twst #fanfic #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland #twst fanfic #crack fic #robbedofeggsaladwriting

[tildeathiwillwrite]

June of Doom Day 6

"They don't care about you." / Flinch / Broken Promise / Abandoned

Prompts List | Event Masterpost

Hero x Villain Masterpost | <- Previous Part | Next Part (coming soon!)

Fandom: Original Work

Words: 1600

Tag List: @juneofdoom @fourwingedsnake @whumperofworlds @pigeonwhumps @mr-orion

@scaewolf @doctorsawyer @pinkrangerv

CW: PTSD, breaking and entering, sabotage, self-deprecation, swearing, harsh words, denial, mentioned injury, crying

A/N: Introducing a couple new characters: Antihero, a part-time hero, part-time villain who owed Villain a few favors, and Youngest, the most inexperienced member of Hero's old team. Also the first appearance of Hero's powers! They're a telekinetic.

----------

“...are you sure the distraction’s gonna work?”

“Antihero knows what they’re about, love. Trust me, we’ll have all the time you need.”

Hero shifted uneasily in their seat, watching the lights of the city streak by outside the car window. “I do, but… what about Techie? Won’t they alert Shapeshifter, Sound Gun and Leader once they find out we’re inside?”

Villain sighed, eyes fixed on the road. “I already told you, I’ll handle it.” Hero opened their mouth, but Villain raised a finger from the wheel, silencing them. “And don’t worry, I won’t kill them. If all goes well, they won’t even suspect what we came for until it’s too late.”

“Okay….”

Villain turned onto a side street, close to Hero’s former team’s headquarters, but not close enough to draw attention. They eased the car to a stop and put it into park before turning to Hero. “Are you sure you want to go through with this? If things don’t go as planned, it could end very badly for both of us.”

Hero gritted their teeth and nodded, thoughts whirling. “Not just us, but Techie and Youngest and maybe Antihero and—!”

Villain gently put a finger on Hero’s lips. “Hush. It’ll all work out.”

“But—!”

“Trust me?”

Hero slowly exhaled, trying to soothe their racing nerves. “Trust you.”

Villain smiled. “Good. Now, let’s break into your old headquarters, shall we?” They removed their hand and swiftly exited the car. Hero stared after them for a long moment, painfully aware of the spot on their lips where Villain’s finger had just been, just barely brushing against their skin. Villain shut the car door, and Hero jumped, quickly following suit, heat spreading across their face.

Their mask would hide the worst of the blush, probably. And the rest was hopefully covered by the darkness—

“…Hero?”

Hero jumped. “S-sorry,” they mumbled, starting down the sidewalk. “Just… memories.”

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Hero couldn’t afford to lose focus. Not now. And especially not while inside their old headquarters, where every second that ticked by was one second closer to getting caught.

Caught.

And imprisoned.

And tortured….

“Hero?”

They snapped out of their thoughts as Villain gently touched their shoulder. “I…” Hero blinked and realized they’d almost walked past the side door, their ticket into the building. They smacked their forehead in frustration. “Fuck… sorry, I was just….”

Villain frowned. “If you’re not ready for this, we can turn around and go home. I’ll call off Antihero, and we can try again another day.” They glanced up at Hero’s old headquarters, and the frown deepened. “Your team did a lot of fucked up shit, and they deserve to pay for every damned scrap. 

“But…” they looked back to Hero, and their gaze softened. “We don’t have to do this now. Just say the word.”

Hero hesitated. The offer was tempting, it really was. But… they had the suspicion that if they backed out now, they would never muster up the courage to return. And that thought… that thought terrified them more than getting caught.

They shook their head.  “No. We’re doing this.”

“Alright.” Villain nodded slowly and gestured to the door. “Lead the way. This is your mission, after all.”

Hero took a deep breath, steeling their nerves against the memories that threatened to flood their brain and overwhelm them again. I’m coming, Youngest. They pressed their hand to the doorknob and reached out with their powers, grasping the inner mechanisms with insubstantial fingers.

The lock clicked. Hero allowed themself a small smile of victory. It had been a while since they’d used their telekinesis for something as complex as the lock. This was promising. They pushed open the door and slipped inside, Villain on their heels.

The side door opened into a hallway that ran along the entire length of the first floor of the headquarters, connecting to the lobby, a few unimportant storage rooms, and the service staircase. Hero led the way down the hallway, their powers seeking out and disabling the security cameras in the stairwell long before they reached the door.

“Alright,” Villain murmured as they ascended the stairs, “just point me in the direction of the surveillance room and I’ll be off.”

Hero nodded, passing the second and third-floor doors before stopping at the fourth floor. “Second door, end of that hallway.”

“Got it,” Villain moved past them, but Hero caught their arm.

“Just… don’t hurt them too badly. Please.”

Villain’s expression was unreadable beneath the mask, but they nodded. “Of course, love.”

With those words, they vanished through the door. Hero listened to their quiet footsteps for a couple heartbeats before they shook themself and continued up the stairs. Youngest would likely be in their room. Hero remembered from their training days when Leader would lock them in their room to prevent them from following on patrol before they were deemed ready.

The memory reared its head, threatening to drown them, but Hero shook their head and pressed on. Youngest. They were here for Youngest.

The lock was no more difficult to open than the side door. Youngest jumped up as the door opened, words already spilling out. “Is everything okay? Do you need me to…” Their eyes widened as their brain caught up with what they were seeing. “Hero?!”

Hero winced at the shock and disbelief in their voice. “Hey, Youngest.”

“I… you died! You’re supposed to be at the bottom of the ocean somewhere…” Youngest staggered, grabbing onto their desk for support. Frost spread across the wooden surface from their fingers, but they didn’t notice.

“Ah… is that what Leader told you?”

Youngest hesitated before nodding. “They said… they said you were taking a break, to go visit some family… but your plane crashed into the ocean…” They perked up and started moving towards the door. “We have to let everyone know you’re okay! Have you told Techie yet—?”

Hero didn’t move from the doorway, even as Youngest paused expectantly in front of them. “Listen to me, Youngest. I never went on a break, never went on a plane.”

Youngest blinked in confusion. “...huh?”

“I…” Hero’s voice shook as they sought the right words, “I was getting sloppy. Pulled one too many all-nighters. Let a couple big villains get away from me. Leader wasn’t happy about any of that. And… and when I asked to take a break, I think that’s when they snapped. There’s… there’s a reason why the lower levels are off-limits.”

Youngest stared at them, eyes growing wider by the second as Hero’s words sank in. They stepped back. “No,” they protested, “no, you’re lying!”

“I wish I was lying,” Hero murmured. “They don’t care about you. They only care about what you can do for them, and damned if you act like a person who has needs!”

Youngest shook their head, hands raised defensively. “How could you say something like that?! Leader took us in, trained us… they’re like a parent to me! They would never do that!”

“I’m sorry, Youngest, but it’s true. They’ll abandon you if they thought it was ‘for the good of the city’.” Hero’s voice turned mocking, remembering Teleporter’s words as they’d exacted the punishment ordered by Leader. “That’s why I came back. I didn’t want to leave you behind when you, too, caught their wrath.”

Youngest’s expression darkened. “Get out.”

Hero blinked. “What?”

“Get. The fuck. Out. Or I will make you leave. You’re not Hero. You’re something else, wearing their face, wearing their mask.”

Hero’s stomach churned, the earlier fear and panic returning at full force. “Youngest, I….”

“Don’t ‘Youngest’ me!” Youngest screamed, the temperature rapidly dropping. “Leave! Leave, or I might change my mind and trap you here so you can repeat your lies to Leader’s face! How does that sound?!”

Hero stepped back in shock. They wouldn’t… would they? “I’m sorry, Youngest,” they managed to say, voice shaking. “Just… I’m sorry.”

They thrust out with their hand, slamming the door shut with such hurried force that it rattled in the doorframe. The lock clicked, and Hero spun and sprinted back down the hallway, tears threatening to spill down their cheeks.

They were too late. 

Down the stairs.

They’d waited too long.

The fourth-floor hallway.

They failed.

The surveillance room. Hero barely glanced around the room, registering Techie lying unconscious on the floor before they dashed across the room to where Villain bent over the console. Villain turned in surprise, eyes widening as they noted the look on Hero’s face and the distinct lack of Youngest.

Hero mashed themself against Villain’s chest, the tears finally arriving in full force. “I… they… they thought I was… they didn’t want… threatened to…to….”

Villain slowly wrapped their arms around Hero, their fingers running through Hero’s hair. “Oh… I’m so sorry. You tried your best.”

“I… I really thought….”

“I know, I know.” Villain removed one of their hands, tapping on the keyboard. “If it’s any consolation, I got the other thing we needed.”

Hero continued to sob, Youngest’s words playing over and over in their mind.

“Hero… Hero!” Villain gently pushed them away and planted their hands on their shoulders. “We gotta get our asses out of here before the team gets back, okay? Plenty of time to sort through your emotions when we’re home free.”

Hero slowly nodded, removing their mask to wipe away the tears. “Okay…” they mumbled, voice still shaking.

Villain nodded, grabbing Hero’s hand. “Let’s go, love.”

#my writing #whump #whump writing #june of doom #june of doom 2024 #PTSD #breaking and entering #sabotage #self-deprecation #swearing #harsh words #denial #mentioned injury #crying #unconsciousness #abandoned #flinching #telekinesis #cryokinesis #ice powers #yelling

[koukaaa-descent]

yet another attempt by the Bracken to play basketball (masketball)

#lethal company #lethal company masked #lethal company bracken #there is a part 1 to this #my boy is fuckin ballin (badly) #trust me that masked is not having a good time

[shyhandart]

wanted to show you my rainbowglider kid so far! just a WIP ☺️

Holy crap! Alternate universe siblings!!

This is Caustic Phantom, but everyone they know calls them tommy :3

#art #digital art #mlp #not art #oc #asks #mlp oc #mlp ng #mlp next gen #thank you thank you for showing me!! i love seeing other peoples ngs especially when we share ships and especially when we share rarepairs!! #pls tell me your kid's lore id love to hear it #tommy is a professional boxer who is incredibly competitive and takes their job seriously but is also very serious about good sportsmanship #they have called off fights before because their opponent was being a jerk and they couldn't trust themself not to start fighting in anger #they also make sure to separate their work life from their private life and that goes into their costume #bc the mask makes their star look like just a blaze and thats kind of their most distinctive feature #this was the first time ive drawn them in like a year i think their hair is meant to be more pastel woops #id in alt text #at least for my drawing #idk how to ad alt text to asks :(

[s1mpactafterhours]

#not sure if i wanna tag this one just yet but found this on fb and just had to share w yall bc this was crazy #can confirm i was sara's mask #damn they look like they're having a good time #i dont even like em all like that personality wise (don't hate em either trust me ive investedtoomuch inem lol) #but visually? shiiitttt a whole ass feast.. fuckin banquet ooofff #aerin.jpg #aerinposting #genshin nsft #genshin nsft meme #genshin smut #sorry ik its not a fic im just not sure how else to tag him while keeping this nsft/mdni 😭

[themyscirah]

This is technically a Diana's age poll but I framed it partially around Julia's rescue because that's the event I need to contextualize and whether or not Diana is a thing yet is p important for my purposes. I would keep the Pérez run and postcrisis continuity in mind when answering this bc that's when this is relevant but I'd keep in mind that even though Diana is very young there (like early 20s) we don't know I don't think if she ages differently as a child (esp as a themysciran AND being made from clay) and in some versions she is older than she looks and was made earlier

Edit: I accidentally logic-ed this out in the tags lol 🤦‍♀️but feel free to still vote however you want. Going to publish this anyway bc I think I made some good points later in my tags

#blah #the 45 years is a guesstimation of julias age w her being in her late 40s #bc she has a middle school aged daughter which would make you lean a bit younger but shes also highly respected prof at harvard (is she the #dept head? i think so. and has a career that would suggest older. and shes also drawn middle aged so 🤷‍♀️ #i would say late 40s early 50s for her honestly. but i moved it down a lil bit bc of vanessas age #wait shit i may have contradicted logic here bc wasnt the diana trevor stuff supposed to have happened before dianas birth. and that was #wwii. which would be btwn 42 and 45 years. BC PÉREZ!TREVOR IS OLD I FORGOT THAT #okay so actually there still could be a question of what happened first the timeline would just be much shorter #but then wouldnt julias family be boating during wwii? that makes no sense #im definitely thinkimg too hard about this probably. logically it would make the most sense if diana was like 20smth in reality. but thats #its own basket of worms honestly. like what do you mean hippolyta only had like 20 yrs w her daughter out of a lifespan of thousands of #years. what do you MEAN she became champion and ambassador so young like #like also thats the point though. she had to wear a mask in the challenge for a reason. her inexperience with men is what makes her the kind #of ambassador they need. and her youth and relation to hippolyta and role as the baby of the amazons is one of the things that makes her #ambassadorship SO important is bc she fulfills that role in an ancient sense. where it would be a sign of great trust and respect to send #someone close to the crown as an envoy bc it shows you mean business and arent going to reneg on whatever the deal is. bc if you do they #shoot the messenger #god anyways i very much answered my own question here in the tags like 100%. esp in regards to the pérez canon bc he very much laid this out #and i was trying to weasel my way out of it. only that didnt work and the decisions he made he made for a reason and they have huge #narrative importance. damn. okay then #i always write the shittiest posts and the best tags and then have to keep the post to keep the tags #i rlly need to make these tags posts ugh. anyways keeping this up bc of my tags abt diana and ambassadorship #also sidenote I LOVE HIPPOLYTA #just though id mention that. i love how much shes motivated by love and i also love when she makes fucked up decisions bc of that and has to #live with them. woman of all time FOR REALS #god this is making me want to reread historia again lol bc its the one ww comic i own. also its fire. and hippolyta gets to make shitty #decisions motivated by emotion and live w the consequences. and the comic is actually good unlike when that happened in the messner-loebs #run. which was the other instance of that ive read rlly. 10000% sure there are others but i havent fully gotten there yet. #i mean ive read other comics where she makes painful decisions thats like her whole deal but there are different vibes to those than the two #i mentioned. like the exile thing in ww year 1 or rlly anytime she has to send diana away

[princekirijo]

Istg I actually need to sit down and write a proper bio for Riku because even I get confused af as to what his personality is sometimes.

#oc tag #“but prince he's your oc how tf did this happen” he has a mind of his own trust me #i mean this is literally one of the parts of his character he is literally so good at adapting his personality #because he felt he needed to as a kid both in school and in the business world #that barely anyone knows what he's actually like #like one minute he's a suave overconfident guy who can take on anything #but hes also the quiet dude in class who never participates is probably asleep but somehow gets everything right and is top of the grade #he loves to flirt but will absolutely blue screen if anyone flirts back because despite the fact he flaunts himself- #he doesn't think hes attractive LMAO #his biggest motivation is spite and he doesn't know when to quit #this boy has so many fucking issues istg #def one of those characters who has so many masks that he hardly knows himself #i have a fear that he's nearly too complex to the point where he's a confusing character and i personally dont think thats a good thing #so i really hope that's not the case for you guys 😬 #over my break ive really spent time trying to iron out his character and just make him into soemthing im even more proud of you know #the good thing is that at least his story now has a clear arc and theme which im really proud of #so im gonna use that to build off and iron him out even more #the way i put more work into this funky dude i came up with than like my entire uni work #i love him so much sorry to be mentally ill about a guy i made because i liked a ship too much (and crossover i was having fun with too) #one day i will have a proper post for him with references and everything for him his outfits his personas the lot #one of these days

[toytulini]

.

#toy txt post #i guess i just need to find a different job since this one seems to be. not great for me #but i also like. dont know what wont be bad for me. like sorry i just dont think there are jobs that are accessible to me that arent going #to feel Like This #at least in some way. and this one has good insurance and shit. and if i can get my shit together it has fucking. paid community service #time that i could theoretically use to like. volunteer at the aquarium or smth and have a day off for it and get paid by my job #which could be a foot in the door to a career that i am interested in but im just fucking. stuck and fatigued and in pain and wallowing and #have no fucking energy and i cant do anything and im fucking nocturnal and i joke about it and i was fine with it but i hate it i hate #not seeing the fucking sun and i miss my old job which is INSANE but i know what i miss about that job was #that it was part time. and i regret not doing more with that #but im also allergic to normal hours i guess i dont fucking know #i know part of it is prolly just feeling profoundly out if control of my life so i just stay up bc at least thats quiet time for me #w no expectations but thats not even tru bc i shoukd be at least doing my fucking laundry or smth cos it would make sense #and the fucking answer to so many of my issues rn is like just do that then or just stop doing that then but i cant i dont know why im just #like this ive always been like this stupid useless cant fucking do anything cant fix my shit just fucking wallowing and angry and doing #nothing and its just gotten worse cos now i have fucking chronic pain and fatigue and now i REALLY do FUCKALL #im depressdd and anxious and in pain i should get a therapist but thats hard and i dont fucking trust ppl #i should move out and maybe that would help bc i wouldnt feel like i have to wear a mask around my own house but im barely functioning #as is w a lot of support from my mom i cant fucking live on my own #not to mention the whole country being so fucking. Bad rn. ive done nothing all day not even resting #and tomorrow ill wake up too late and be in a rush and in pain and tired and just #i dont fucking know #im so miserable and lately so many topics can just send my stupid little brain just Spiralling but i dont want to say that i dont want ppl #to feel weird for talking about fucking college. i dont want to sit here being so bitter that something in my brain broke about school #im happy for ppl who can do their fucking college shit i just. smth wrong in my brain and i cant dwell on it and i try not to be too #outwardly negative about it cos i dont want ppl to feel like they cant talk to me about it or smth idk #rambling and venting and im gonna hit tag limit lmao for sure #been having the same goddamn problems nonstop for my whole life and its just that i cant fucking do anything #i have too much shit i should rid of #whatever

[an-assortment-of-forks]

how to cope with realizing the infinite "couple more years of working before I can't anymore" have finally come to pass. how to cope with what your mom would call giving up. how to cope with needing help. how to cope with one thing after another forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and-

how to cope with accepting the years have been up for a while now. how to cope with being physically and mentally unable to force yourself to do things anymore. how to cope with the steps and hurdles and denials it takes to get your government allotted amount of "help". how to cope with doing all this at 24.

#i thought id have til at least thirty. #i thought I'd have more time #i haven't come to terms with it and I'm going back to work on Monday. continuing my 10 hr shifts. #waiting every day for the weekend #not to play games. not to do any hobbies. not to talk to friends #but to be able to lay down. minimize the pain. to be able to stand long enough to cook for myself. #i love cooking #i want to do it more #why do they make everything so hard #i want a fucking wheelchair i want a service dog i want accommodations i want to lay in bed until i feel good enough to get up #i want to be able to cook for myself #i want to live on my own terms. i dont want to be pushing myself this hard for a job that doesnt care about me #i don't know what to do #i don't want to post this #how do i fix it how do i fix anything how do i get started who do i talk to who can i trust where do i fit in here #i mask too well no ones gonna believe me. i dont even believe me #i still dont want to post this

[youngks-smile]

What I Want You To Know About Long COVID

Well lads, I've been suffering from Long COVID for over a year now. My life is at a complete standstill. I'm 25 years old and I'm too sick to go back to school, I can't work, I had to move back in with my parents and I'm still stuck here.

Here are just a few things I wish people knew about Long COVID, including things I didn't know myself until I got it.

COVID destroys your immune system. Yes, even if you don't have Long COVID. Are you getting sick more often now? When you get sick, does it last longer? There are many studies showing that COVID causes t cell depletion, even in mild COVID cases! T cells are how your body remembers how to fight off infections you've had before so losing those cells? Bad news.

Your initial infection can be mild and you can still get Long COVID. Right from Yale Medicine, "Most people with Long COVID had mild acute COVID." (This is also a good link for a basic Long COVID overview).

There can be a gap of time between when you "get better" from the initial COVID infection to the onset of Long COVID symptoms. Some people get sick with an initial COVID infection and never get better. Some get better and then weeks or months later start developing Long COVID symptoms. Long COVID symptoms can even fluctuate over time, can go away for months and then suddenly come back.

So many people have Long COVID and don't realize it. Do you feel more tired lately but no matter how much you sleep, nothing helps? Is it harder to concentrate at work or school? Can you just not think like you used to? You could have Long COVID and not even know it. Even mild post-COVID symptoms are still Long COVID.

COVID can do anything to your body. Long COVID has over 200 recognized symptoms and can affect basically any part or system of your body. There is no one mechanism or cause of Long COVID which unfortunately also means there's no one cure either.

The effects of COVID are cumulative. Each COVID reinfection increases your chances of developing Long COVID. COVID is also affecting your body in other ways, yes, even if you're otherwise young and healthy! "Repeat COVID-19 infections increase risk of organ failure, death".

Once you have Long COVID, repeat COVID infections will make your symptoms worse. "80% [of Long COVID patients] saw their symptoms worsen [from reinfection]. In 60% of people who were in recovery or remission from Long COVID, reinfection caused a recurrence of Long COVID."

There is a lot more I want to say about Long COVID but I want to keep this post at least somewhat manageable to read. Like how when COVID is contracted during pregnancy, those COVID-exposed fetuses have a 6.3-fold increased risk of motor developmental delays, or that another study found 50% of babies exposed to COVID in utero had developmental delays.

You need to keep caring about COVID, for others around you and also for yourself even if you're "healthy". Everyone is at risk. And don't forget 40-60% of COVID infections are asymptomatic, which is why masking even if you feel fine is crucial. The only way right now to not get Long COVID is to not get COVID in the first place. It's not too late, if you've stopped masking it's never too late to start again! I know it's easy to get distracted by things in your life that seem more real than the possibility of getting sick some time in the future, and the peer pressure to not mask can be intense. But it only feels less real or less important until your entire life is having Long COVID. Trust me.

I know this is a complicated issue, many people can't afford to stay home when sick even if they want to because of their jobs, there are disgusting policies trying to ban wearing masks, but please if you can. Keep masking. Masking works, masking saves lives.

This post got a bit longer than I wanted so below the cut is a non-exhaustive list of my Long COVID symptoms and some of my experiences as one of the "healthy young people" who got "unlucky". cw brief mention of suicidal ideation.

Welcome to the Thunderdome that is my body with Long COVID. Keep in mind these are just my experiences and symptoms, Long COVID can cause any range of symptoms at varying severities.

Dysautonomia: Exercise intolerance, Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM), fatigue, and heat intolerance. What do those things mean? Here's some specific examples. Absolutely terrible circulation I am so cold all the time but also, if I get a little too warm I will pass out. Eating hot food makes my heart rate spike, I sweat, my body feels heavy. Blood pooling and pins and needles in my feet when I walk. Don't even think about exercising past walking, it's impossible. I used to work out an hour a day 4 times a week and now walking up one flight of stairs makes my heart pound and I can't breathe. Can't take even just warm showers anymore or I will pass out. Heat rashes from being in the sun for 10 minutes.

Digestive issues: Honestly too many to name but: constant bloating, extreme nausea, constipation, slow motility, lack of appetite, just so much cramping and pain. I lost 18 pounds from Long COVID, as someone who was already considered underweight their entire life, and almost had to get a shunt put into my chest to deliver nutrients because I was nearly completely unable to eat. For the first 6 months of Long COVID, if I could manage 600 calories a day, that was a good day.

Histamine intolerance: Oh boy. My worst symptoms, I don't even know where to start with it. If you know Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) it's very similar. I can only eat 19 foods. If i eat a single bite of something not on that list, it's 48 hours of absolute hell. Coughing, migraines, itchy eyes, such extreme nausea I cannot even describe it, panic/feeling of doom, racing heart rate, derealization, rash, uncontrollable muscle tremors. I only learned about histamine intolerance 5 months into having Long COVID so before that, I was experiencing these symptoms nearly every single day. Terrifying isn't even a strong enough word to describe how it felt to experience all this and have no idea what it was, how to stop it, or if it would ever stop. Really dark times.

Neurological issues: More of that derealization. Inability to concentrate. Anxiety. OCD-like symptoms such as thoughts getting "stuck" in my head, repeating 24/7 completely unable to stop them, genuinely felt like my brain had cracked open and I had lost my mind. Constant dizziness like I'm on a boat.

Sleep issues: I sleep like garbage. I have insomnia, I wake up dozens of times every night and every single time I sleep I have intensely vivid dreams. I can't sleep longer than 7 hours total no matter how exhausted I am. It is exhausting. I'm exhausted, I'm so so tired.

And finally. Just. Really intense suicidal ideation. My body, my health, my entire life has been stolen from me because someone else decided my life was worth less to them than wearing a mask or staying home if they feel sick. Before I got Long COVID, I was preparing to go to South Korea to teach English, then on to a PhD in neurolinguistics, I was supposed to meet my long distance partner and had already booked plane tickets when I got sick. All of that has been destroyed.

Most of us with Long COVID are stuck in a cycle of being extremely sick, then if you're lucky you'll slowly get better over months, just to get reinfected and go right back where you started or worse. Honestly, I'm not scared of dying from COVID. I'm scared of living for a long time, suffering from Long COVID the entire time. This isn't living.

I don't know how to end this now. I'm still fighting, I'm trying experimental treatments, I'm not giving up yet. I hope everyone reading this stays healthy and well.

#long covid #covid 19 #covid isn't over #pandemic

[fragmentedblade]

Wait, are the heliobi spherical forms designed after Chinese opera masks?

#The idea hadn't even crossed my mind until Apyra appeared and then it hit me #I am starting to regret not having taken screenshots of all of them #Good thing I have another playthrough to do so #I'll look into this later #I talk too much #Traces #Heliobi #Edit: I had read that yellow represents in masks usually a cunning deceiving or ambitious personality #and this yellow heliobus was indeed called tricky #I don't trust much the general Internet without reliable sources being quoted but this made me wonder if I'm onto something after all #I'll try to look more into this #But reading actual reliable sources and not a few blogs and websites #I tried a fast search in Chinese but I don't know Chinese and I didn't get much. I'll dedicate more time to look later #Perhaps translating directly from Chinese even if with translators would be best #I'll try to find some books instead of just blogs. There must be a ton written about this

[sant-riley]

[Touchy feely] [tf141 headcanons]

(Romantic impied Task force 141 boys x gender neutral!reader headcanons :))

Summary: Being the sweetheart of the task force means the boys are not shy about the fact that they're all simps and always want some sort of contact with you at all times.

Consists of romantic/suggestive headcanons for each of the guys and little things they do with you <3

Words: about 1.5k (this was supposed to be short, whoops)

Warnings/Info: Can be read separately but it is intended that they all harbor feelings for you at the same time, possibly out of character for everyone, some swearing, the guys manhandle you, as always, let me know if I miss something!

Thinking about how each of the boys is so touchy with you, it doesn't matter where you are or who you're with, they're shameless.

Other units and teams who will sometimes share the base with 141 know better than to ask questions or directly say anything to one of the guys or you for that matter. Not that they could anyway, seeing as you always have at least one of them attached to your hip.

Price:

Anyone who walks into Price's office late at night to turn something in is used to seeing you next to the Captain on the little dingy loveseat he has in there.

John is usually smoking a cigar, taking care to not blow smoke your way while your head is resting on his shoulder. Your eyes closed as you hum at his words. It's terribly domestic for a military base.

John likes to gently play with your hair while he speaks about missions he's been on, always somehow trying to braid despite not knowing how to for jack shit, whether it because it's you or just the mindless motion, he's not willing to say.

John will usually walk you back to your room after dinner or time in his office unless he's swamped with work.

A small hand on the small of your back while he leads you. It's always a respectable touch, though he tucks you into his side, nodding at everyone you may pass.

If you're comfortable with it, he likes to press a kiss to your head, smiling that goofy ass smile, and tells you to get a good night's rest.

He lets you help him trim up his beard, he won't let you do all of it but he likes the closeness of it, him sitting down while you gently shape it up, tilting his head up and he tries his best to not stare directly at your chest.

The fact that he's letting you this close to his neck with a razor is a sign of trust, maybe small for others but for a man that doesn't drop his guard and doesn't truly trust others, it speaks volumes.

The first time he let you, you were barely putting any pressure and he grabbed your hand in his and showed you. "You're not gonna hurt me, put more force into it, yeah?"

Don't get me started on going out on walks in London with Price, he wraps you up in his beanie and some big leather jacket he has that dwarves you, helping you move through crowds by once again holding the small of your back, or taking your smaller hand in his. (He doesn't correct anyone if they mistake you as married)

He likes to kiss the back of your hand and laughs when it makes you blush and sputter out that his beard is scratchy.

Ghost:

Ghost is a subtle one, he won't actively reach for you or your hand but he does have some part of him against you most times.

Whether it be his leg, arm, or thigh, anything works. A normal place yall will be seen together is in the dining hall, you've both learned to ignore the stares from everyone else.

Simon never eats there, just sits with you until you're finished and then you both move on to either his quarters or somewhere else so he can peel his mask up to eat a bit.

However, while you're eating and telling him about anything under the sun, he'll lean over and wipe some crumbs off of your mouth with his thumb softly, which again, you're used to so okay whatever but Recruits always are taken aback in their seats.

Ghost's reflexes kick into overdrive with you. His hand going to cover a corner of a table 9/10 times before you completely wreck your shit, but when he does miss (sometimes on purpose).

He'll bring a hand up to rub at your head for you, chuckling under his breath before cooing down at you "That hurt pretty? Sure look like it did."

Whenever you two specifically are paired onto a mission, doesn't matter if any of the guys complain, he will share a cot/tent with you. He claims he runs the hottest (he doesn't, it's Johnny but he will not lose on this) and can keep your body the warmest.

He pretty much lugs you on top of him and wraps his arms around your waist, he'll press a hand against your head if you keep fidgeting, rasping at you to go to sleep. He takes great pride in the fact that you're usually out like a light very shortly.

I've said it once and I'll say it again, Ghost likes to hook a finger into your body straps and pull it really hard and let it smack you to get your attention if you're not actively paying attention to him, he'll soothe the area but he's smirking behind that fucking mask.

On that note, he definitely does the "You got something right here." And points at your chest and immediately pull up to flick your nose hard as fuck, he KNOWS his own strength but sometimes your eyes water and he immediately feels bad.

Ghost rests his head on your chest a lot, he finds your heartbeat to be soothing and reassuring, also grunts if you don't wrap your arms around him in return, bro literally shoves his head into you and groans

This is a grown man but it's cute so you let it slide bc he'll never ask for it outright, he just assumes you'll cradle his head.

Soap:

Johnny is the most shameless motherfucker here, I'm talking about draping himself over you, grabbing at your cheeks, ruffling your hair, kissing you dangerously close to your lips (it drives the others mad), he's the most unapologetic about it and will gloat to the others.

Manhandler #1, isn't above grabbing you by your hips and picking you up to move you somewhere, he's literally gone and grabbed you from some rookies side to come stand next to him with a smile and you're just so used to it that you just shrug and go along with it. (He gets slightly jealous, why would you stand next to some random ass dude and not him??)

Throws you over his shoulder, or likes you to cling to his front or his back and just carries you, he says it's a comfortable weight. If you ever dare say you're too heavy, he's gonna go to the gym and work out even more to PROVE to you that he simply doesn't care, he will carry you.

Extremely bad habit of sneaking into your room to fall asleep with you, Price has come into your room many times to see Soap sprawled on top of you, he's drooling and snoring and you're knocked the fuck out (he's like a glorified weighted blanket).

I've touched on this before but he only wants you to cut his hair for him, yeah he can go to the barber on base but he much prefers you and loves it when you scratch at his scalp. He also likes to just have his head in between your thighs but that's something else for another time-

Soap specifically slings you over his shoulder a lot, especially off base where he truly doesn't have any fucks to give.

You're not going to bed because you have other work?? Too bad, shoulder time you go. You're not willing to get up and make yourself food? Good thing he's here, either pick what you want from the kitchen or throw some clothes on bc he IS dragging you out of the house.

Johnny likes to draw on you a lot, it ranges from scribbles, to sometimes his name if he's feeling cheeky (he's drawn it on your thigh before and you didn't notice until Gaz shot you a look), to intricate drawings of whatever he can think whether it be a landscape or an animal.

He always holds you steady and it isn't uncommon for your limbs to fall asleep but it's worth it, if only to see him smile.

Gaz:

Gaz is probably the most secretly clingy person out of the four, he CAN function without your touch but does he PREFER to? No.

His first instinct in any situation is to grab you and shield you, he's the fastest of the four so his body moves without thinking and it's saved you more times than any of you would like to count.

The one mission where you both fell out of a moving truck, he tucked your body into his despite it costing him his shoulder popping out of the socket, you couldn't help but freak out while Ghost moved to pop it back into place.

"Why the fuck would you do that? Look at your arm!" "It's nothing." "Garrick what the fuck-"

When you're out anywhere off base, he's holding your hand, good luck trying to pull away bc he is not letting go. Too bad so sad, resign to your fate.

I think Gaz is definitely good at dancing, at least with you and when the right music is on, you cannot tell me this man wouldn't twirl you around and shit-fight me on it. He'll even lift you off your feet, laughing when you scramble to grab at his shoulders.

He goes stark still if you rest your head on his shoulder, not because he's nervous but because he's worried about waking you up when he knows you deserve a rest.

He'll usually wrap his arm around your shoulder to hold you in place so the heli ride doesn't jostle you so much, gentleness rubbing his knuckles along your arm to soothe you.

Gaz is the one who holds you when you have nightmares, on rare occasions when Soap isn't in your room and you just need to be held with no talking, you always without thinking find yourself in Kyle's room, his arms wrapped around your waist as he tucks your head under his chin, no questions asked.

He'll maybe hum a tune to help you relax but other than that, he lets you lead the way.

#im so tired oh my god #i hope yall enjoy kissing yall on the forehead #ghost <3 #soap <3 #price <3 #gaz <3 #kayla writes <3 #call of duty #call of duty x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost x reader #john soap mactavish x reader #soap x reader #john price x reader #john mactavish x reader #kyle gaz garrick x reader #gaz x reader #kyle gaz garrick #john price #gender neutral reader #john soap mactavish #john mactavish #call of duty headcanons

[voiths]

☾ CoD Guys with virgin!reader ☽

𑁍 Warnings: sexual content 𑁍

𑁍 Characters featured: Ghost, König, Captain Price 𑁍

❥ Ghost

When he first got informed of it he may not have looked shocked but in reality the mask was doing a good at hiding his expression. Oh how he was going to ruin you. He was going to be your first and he was going to make sure nobody other than him could make you feel so good.

Depending on how much sexual experience you've had he will drag out the foreplay much longer. The first orgasm of that night you will have on his fingers, the second one from him mouth and the third one while he has his cock balls deep inside of you.

"Come one love, i know it feels too big but i'll make it fit. You can take it darling, you wanna be a good girl right?"

❥ König

The only thing you were able to see when you told him were his eyes opening wide. He confirms it multiple times that you really want him to be you first and not because he's inexperienced or he doesnt want to but he's scared of tearing you and hurting you too much.

No matter how much you beg him to go faster he will take his sweet time prepping you. He loves having you sitting in his lap with your back against his chest while he's spreading you wide open on his fingers. Praising you while there's tears running down your eyes from overstimulation but he's not done preparing you until he knows he will fit.

"Come on mein Schatz, you want to take it completely dont you? I have to prepare you so be a good little bunny be patient for me."

❥ Captain Price

To say he was baffled was an understatement. He couldn't comprehend how someone as good looking as you hasn't had any sex yet. When you told him you just haven't found one yet that you trusted enough he already subtly offered to help When you accepted his offer with a blush covering your cheeks though he was even more shocked

Will have you laying on multiple pillows. As slowly as he can he'll push into you watching your reactions for any signs of strong pain. When he finally starts moving praises will come from his lips like a waterfall. Before he even cums once you’ll have cum multiple times on his cock

“You’re doing so well for me darling, taking it so well. Feeling so nice and tight around me. Gonna make you cum around my cock."

Masterlist

#cod smut #cod headcanons #cod x reader #ghost smut #ghost x reader #simon riley x reader #konig smut #konig x reader #könig smut #könig headcanons #ghost headcanons #captain price smut #captain price x reader #price headcanons #price smut #price x reader

[callmemickey]

Simon Riley fucks intensely and passionately. He doesn’t grab your hair, or spit on your face, or cause you physical pain - my man’s has openly admitted to dealing with violent thoughts/dreams against women and wanting to be better. He might get rough if he’s stressed or angry, but he won’t be, like, throat fucking you for example. Sorry. I just can’t see it. He can be fast, but I don’t think he’s gonna be hardcore or degrading. I think if he gets the mask on, he miiiight be a little more… forthcoming.

Simon Riley finds sex to be the highest level of trust, love, and vulnerability. Don’t expect him to be a quick or easy lay. If he wants you intimately, this is the biggest honor you would ever receive from him. Maybe before he was tortured he would’ve been quicker to engage, but the Simon we know now? Yeah, you gotta work.

Simon Riley… ohhhhh he’s always asking you: “is that alright, love?” “that feel good?” “ahhhh, yeah, you’re a good girl, aren’tcha?” If you’re not feeling it, he’s not feeling it. he wants to make sure you’re into it 100%. the moment you grunt, wince, or groan in pain, he’s stopping to check up on his lovie. he just radiates Soft Dom energy to me (and I want him so bad). Simon loves to see you get all flustered, too. When you beg for him (and you’re a good girl) he will give you anything and everything you want.

Simon Riley being a Soft Dom… mmm, delicious. I love to imagine him praising and worshipping: “ahh fuck, i’ve missed my girl’s pussy” “so proud of you, taking my cock so well” “you want to be a good girl for me, don’tcha?” “you’re so beautiful when you struggle to fit me” if you’re engaged with him romantically, you’re his everything - man’s invested his entire soul and well-being into you. With that being said, throw him some praise, too! He’ll melt and become putty in your hands; he’ll do anything for you. Tell him how you were made for his cock, that nobody else makes you feel like he does, how you’re sooo good - but only for him. He’s definitely possessive of you - not in a red flag kind of way, but when you talk about how you’re his and only his… whew.

Simon Riley wants to see your face when you two are having sex. Anything missionary, missionary adjacent, cowgirl, it doesn’t matter, just let this man look at you! He doesn’t crave it, he needs it. Eye contact is so intimate, and if you’re shy and can’t maintain it? Ohhh, he’s gonna have fun. “eyes here, love” “don’t cover your face/close your eyes - i want to watch you cum” “you were just begging for my cock, don’t get all shy now” “be a good girl and look at me” he’s either coming inside or on your tummy/chest. preferably? inside.

Simon Riley prefers having a good session as opposed to a quickie. He likes doing things in the privacy of your shared home (because then you can be loud and cry his name as you cum on his cock for the 4th time 🤭). Sometimes, he’ll be desperate though, and this is when he gets a lil impatient. Like this one time, he went with you to your family’s Christmas party while being on leave for only a week, and he needed you. That man took you in the bathroom and railed you so hard you couldn’t leave for 15 minutes until you could stand without shaking (also not me writing this rn).

Simon Riley, upon specific request, will wear the mask in bed. Honestly, don’t expect this for a while, however. The mask serves as his identity - his separation from you. This will take a lot of courage on his behalf as you’re wanting to bring in something containing his countless sins and crimes into such an intimate situation. Like I said!!! It takes a while to get him this comfortable. Try to rush the process and you’re missing out on some pretty intense and animalistic fucking. It’s a rare time you can expect a more vicious kind of dirty talk from him: “fuckin’ hell, you like being a dirty little slut, huh?” “that pretty little face of yours deserves to be fucked” “your pussy was made for me” “shut up and keep taking it like a good girl should” “ahh, begging for my cock like the needy little slut you are”

Simon Riley loves aftercare, and he makes sure you feel loved during that time. Sweet Angel, we don’t deserve him. Massages, baths, checking on you emotionally and mentally, he’ll make you dinner, put on your favorite movie, and relax with you while he showers you with unconditional love and adoration. He’s obsessed with you. Get over it.

#simon riley x you #Simon Riley #cod mw2 #Simon ghost Riley #simon riley x reader #ghost x reader #ghost smut #simon riley smut #ghost x you #headcanon #ghost headcanons #simon riley headcanons

[criminalamnesia]

HIIII!!! I just wanted to say that i really love ur writing! I've read ur traitor series and I can't wait for part 4! I'm a new author, and english isn't my first language, so it's sometimes very hard for me to write bcs i'm stil not that good, but ur fics have helped me improve<3💗!

thank you so much!🫶 im glad you’ve enjoyed the series! and speaking of part four, here it is :)

ALL PARTS CAN BE FOUND HERE

simon didn’t turn to watch you leave the gym.

he stood there, eyes forward, mask clenched in one fist. he could feel the blood drying on his skin. he made no move to wipe it away.

he didn’t blame you for your anger— he couldn’t. he understood the rage. had felt it himself a time or two.

but he couldn’t take everything lying down.

did he deserve your wrath, your fury? yes— and he knew that. there was no making up for what he did; he realized that, but why couldn’t you understand?

he’d never fully taken his walls down around you, and that was no fault of your own. he was a guarded man, and his past gave him every right to be.

he had been burned and broken too many times. he’d seen the people he loved murdered because of him.

he swore he would never let that happen again. he put those walls up, and you knocked some of them down.

but there were some you’d never gotten through, at least, simon told himself you hadn’t. there was always something he was holding back, a piece of himself he wouldn’t give freely. he told himself it was because he couldn’t stand to love you so deeply and then watch you leave.

but really, it was because he needed an out. he needed a way to justify his leaving if something ever happened— and that’s what got him here.

simon trusted the 141 with his life. he trusted his captain with his life. price had never led him astray; john knew his face well before any of the others. well before you.

and when someone you trust so deeply, someone you’ve followed for years, tells you that the person you love has betrayed your team?

you can’t help but believe them. and that’s what simon did.

the evidence was coincidental at first. wrong place, wrong time. but then, everything started to seem like more than a coincidence. pieces of a complicated puzzle were fitting together. things only you and the rest of the 141 would know were leaked.

and all the signs pointed to you.

and although he didn’t want to, simon couldn’t help it. the second price had confided in him that you may be the rat, simon began to distance himself. you had been confused, but he had offered no explanation.

price was the one to question you first. it was a heated conversation in his office, consisting of him showing you the evidence and you becoming furious at the accusations.

johnny came to you next, buttering you up with his flirtatious and unarming words before asking if you’d leaked information.

then there was kyle, who pleaded for the truth. he told you that a case was being built against you, and that if you came clean now, things wouldn’t be so bad.

simon never tried to talk to you about it. the other men would tell him what you’d said, but he had never gone to talk to you himself.

maybe it was pride. simon wasn’t trusting, not after his past. he had let the 141 in, had let you in. and now you were a suspected traitor, and he was angry at himself. angry he hadn’t seen it sooner; angry he’d let you in at all.

but maybe it was hurt. hurt that you’d done this to him, to the team, after knowing everything they’d been through. after stitching up wounds on the battlefield and taking bullets for one another. after sharing simon’s bed and whispering you loved him.

all he knew was that he trusted price. and as evidence built, so did the distance between the two of you, until you were tied to that chair.

and simon had taken his hurt, his anger, out on you. he wasn’t proud of it, and he knew now that he was wrong. but he was still a little angry. angry because you couldn’t see his side of things— not like he could see yours.

so, he was an ass. he didn’t apologize. he snuck flowers to your bedside but kept his distance. he told you to watch your tone because you were still part of the team, and speaking to price like that was only something an outsider would do.

and he told you that he’d spared your life because he had. anger had consumed him, and truthfully, you were lucky he hadn’t done worse.

even if he’d smothered his feelings for you with rage, he still harbored love for you, and that’s why some part of him held back.

he knew you would probably never forgive him. he had made his peace with that.

but he couldn’t stand the fact that you couldn’t understand why he’d done what he did.

the creak of the gym door opening broke simon from his thoughts. he pulled his mask back on before turning around and making his way to the door.

it took one firm knock on the door for price to answer.

the door clicked open, and price sighed when he saw simon, scrubbing a hand over his unruly beard before letting the taller man in. price turned, walking back to his desk chair, while simon closed the door behind him and locked it.

“this is a bloody mess,” the captain said, falling heavily into the chair. it squeaked at the sudden weight, old leather crinkling and crackling.

“doc came and saw me earlier, ‘fore she left for the night. told me about some new injuries, and yelled at me for letting that happen.”

simon didn’t speak. price’s eyes met his, and he sighed again.

“fuckin’ hell, simon. what the fuck did you say? doc said she had to stitch up both their hands.”

“doesn’t matter what I say,” simon spoke, eyes still on the captain “they won’t fuckin’ listen.”

price shook his head. “that’s not true, ‘nd we both know it,” he sounded tired as he spoke, dark bags under his eyes. he paused for a moment, then spoke again.

“spoke to laswell after you left earlier. she said she’ll try to speed up the transfer process. tryin’ to avoid more fuss, and im not fightin’ it any longer.”

“they’re part of our team,” simon spoke, tone rough.

price shook his head. “they are, but I can’t keep doin’ this. can’t keep pushin’ off transferin’ because of you lot. it may be better for us, but not for them.”

the room fell quiet. simon inhaled, exhaled. his fists clenched at his sides before quickly unfurling once more.

he didn’t have a right to be mad at you for leaving, but he was.

“laswell say anythin’ else about tha’ transfer?” simon asked.

price leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest. “not much. no word on where or with who, but even if she knew, doubt she’d tell us. for their sake.”

simon gave a small nod and made to turn, but froze as price spoke again.

“she did say she didn’t know if it would go through. they’d have to pass another eval.”

they both knew what that meant. if laswell said that, then she didn’t believe the transfer would happen. kate wouldn’t outwardly say it, but price had known what she’d meant.

pushing the transfer through wouldn’t matter if you couldn’t pass a physical and psychological evaluation— and laswell didn’t think you could.

although he wouldn’t admit it, price was unsure, too. torture was something that took an incredibly devastating toll on the mind and body.

but torture at the hands of your team? there was no telling the damage that that would do to someone. to you.

an honorable discharge was more likely. and, if that was the case, then your rage would likely grow tenfold.

you career, your livelihood, taken from you by the hands of the men you trusted the most. your family, cutting you up and pushing you out.

damned by your team and your country, regardless of everything you’d done for both of them during your service.

you were just another cog in the machine, one that had been damaged and discarded, and a discharge couldn’t make that any clearer.

he thought back to what you had said in the gym earlier, before you’d left.

‘you should have killed me.’

maybe he should have.

thanks to everyone for your patience! also just incase you didn’t see my post about it—

im no longer doing a taglist! my side blog @troiastitans will reblog my works from now on, so if you want to know when I post, follow that account and allow notifications!

as always, thank you for the love! (also I hope you all enjoyed a little peek into simon’s head!)

#cod mw2 fic #captain john price #gaz call of duty #soap call of duty #ghost call of duty #captain price #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty #simon riley x you #simon ghost x reader #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost riley #simon riley #johnny mactavish #john soap mactavish #johnny soap mactavish #kyle gaz garrick #kyle garrick #John price #simon riley x gn reader #simon riley angst #ghost x gn reader #ghost x you #ghost angst #ghost x reader #ghost cod #141!reader #141 x reader #task force 141