I AM MADE OF DEAD, DECAYING THINGS.

stupid flarking fear gas. krutaking cigarette. he should’ve seen it coming. for all the research he’d done on the chemical before actually coming face to face with scarecrow, no amount of preparation could quite capture the sheer dread it administers. peter finds himself on all fours, dropped in the fright of having lost his mother, the stars, his guardians, his—

“ fuck you. ” spat out. lungs cough out the gas, but the effects linger. the ghost of his mother. the whispers of his friends. — oh god, could they even call them their friends? what right does he have? after manipulating and lying to them?

dear god, whatever it—

she’s squatted down before him, another inhale of the toxic fumes blowing into his already burning eyes.   ❝ aww, y’ try’na scare lil’ ol’ me? now that’s funny. ❞    truly, she smiles. she finds his hollow threat cute, even.

chin is caught ‘tween thumb and forefinger, grimacing face lifted to meet those button eyes of hers.    ❝ all i do is show y’ what y’ have t’ be afraid of, mister captain o’ the stars. ❞    her lengthy nails, sharp, sinking into the thin skin of his cheeks.    ❝ show y’ how much y’ hurt people. that’s y’er handiwork, friend. ❞

a hum, as if she’s deep in contemplation.    ❝ ain’t it jus’ tear y’ up how scared y’er momma died, ‘cuz y’ couldn’t do nothin’? ain’t it scare y’ how y’er gonna be alone some day, ‘cause y’a put those guardians of y’ers in danger? tell ‘em savin’ the day is worth their hides? look how selfish y’ are, peter quill. ❞

man is a moral animal. you can get human beings to do anything -  if you convince them it is moral. you can convince human beings anything is moral.

Wrong. Wrong. WRONG. The Witch felt awful. Queasy in the back of her stomach, unable to chase the sensation for the pins and needles wracking her tactician's mind. Keeping her from seeing to the heart of this. Promising her safety and a reprieve so long as she didn't look... didn't look, didn't look-

❝ Moons, my lady... Some hundred moons since - ❞ Since Diana felt Fear taking her by the arm and leading her, wide-eyed and nervous, into the yawning darkness.

She hated it then. It made her feel small. Weak... Helpless.

❝ She - You wear her well, my lady. ❞ A bow of her head, a hand reached across to rest gently o'er Lady Phobos'. Motion for motion's sake. Action for action's sake. Diana was still here. She was not a child any longer; she would not fall beneath terror's waves again... No matter how high the tide.

she may not be a true goddess, but that didn't keep adelaide from tuning into the town. truly a sad, sad place to be. ❝ thievin' folks, street corner murders - hell, they even got a giant bat runnin' around, killin' their police commissioners. this place needs a good scare. set 'em straight, y'know? t' help these fine, fine people. ❞

now the woman talks out her ass. she was quite skilled in this, clearly.

she's   not   exactly   wrong.   pocket's   silence   earns   her   all   the   gratification   that   something   is   working.   the   fairfax   kid   wouldn't   lie   and   say   she   was   wrong;   they   had   certainly   *felt   it.   pocket   remembered   the   whispers   that   had   never   been   meant   to   reach   their   ears   -   the   aura   of   sickness   and   *dread   that   seemed   to   loom   around   them   and   the   others   that   got   too   close,   the   frogs   that   had   followed   arin   no   matter   the   atmosphere   ⸺   it   all   *wore   down   on   them;   made   them   feel   wrong.

arin   fairfax   was   the   black   sheep   ⸺   nearly   a   century   removed   from   their   family   and   the   day   they'd   nearly   died   hadn't   *diminished   this   feeling.   they   only   felt   *more   out   of   place   in   a   world   that   didn't   quite   belong   to   them.   they   were   tired   of   a   lack   of   knowledge;   they   were   tired   of   being   someone   left   *behind.   they   hum,   running   a   hand   through   their   hair   before   letting   their   shoulders   sag.

business card is purposefully left between the pair, unnaturally bony fingers knitting themselves together so chin may rest upon them. there's a tilting of her head, as if curious. ❝ the only folks who don't come back are the folks who shouldn't. ❞ ( cryptic. not reassuring. )