———
"Dream takes Slimecicle's position as #8 and is still rapidly rising through the ranks."
———
"He did?"
Slimecicle nodded, arms crossed and leaned back against the wall of the small coffee shop. Cscoop sighed from beside him, hands tucked in his hoodie pockets and glaring down at the ground like a child. Traves turned to the cashier, who seemed to have just noticed who they were and was staring at them shell-shocked, eyes wide.
"One small black coffee, one medium macchiato, and one medium strawberry latte with matcha whipped cream, please," Traves ordered, taking out his wallet and picking out a twenty-dollar bill. Cscoop found a seat next to the window and let out another sigh, face curled in a frown, resembling a brooding cat. Slimecicle sat down beside him, pulling out his phone and scrolling through his Twitter feed. Traves sat down across from them, drumming his fingers on the table and looking out the windows. Despite the streets being busy, the coffee shop was empty save for the three top ten heroes at the table. He didn't know why- this was, in his opinion, the best coffee shop in the city. He wasn't complaining- it was nice to have some peace once in a while.
"It's weird though," Slimecicle pondered, putting down his phone. "Dream seemed fine in all those press photos, no bruises or anything,"
"Deo just sucked ass then," Cscoop laughed bitterly. Slimecicle shook his head, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.
"No way, that's impossible. He's beaten Diamond heroes."
"Diamond heroes suck ass too. There's no use complaining now, Dream beat us fair and square," Cscoop countered. A waiter came to their table and handed them their drinks before hurrying away, face flushed. Traves sipped on his drink with a curly straw, letting out a satisfied hum. Slimecicle noticed this and jabbed a finger in his direction.
"He'll beat you too, Traves," he said with a resigned smile. "Make your predictions now- I think he'll stop at five."
Cscoop took a big gulp of his coffee and slammed his hand on the table, making Traves and Slimecicle jump. "Bullshit. Higher than that- I'm calling three," he slurred with a lazy smirk across his face.
Traves chuckled, taking another sip of his latte. "Well, now that NOLIFE's gone, we can focus on Technoblade. He's been rather quiet since his fight with Eighty, hasn't he?" he commented. His two friends nodded grimly. Slimecicle sipped on his macchiato before responding, peering out the window thoughtfully.
"Probably planning something," he mused.
"Definitely planning something," Cscoop added, gulping down another mouthful of his black coffee. Traves nodded reluctantly. It was the more probable option, as much as he didn't want to admit it. How many people would die this time? He needed to be ready to lessen the casualties and save the civilians.
He couldn't help but think about Dream. Traves knew that the older man was getting more handy with his quirk. Of course, he always was a prodigy. After all, he rose to #10 in just a year, but something... changed. Traves noticed how he was able to defeat high-class villains in a snap now. He's seen the man in action- Dream was like a wildcat, agile and ruthless in battle. From what Traves has seen, Dream's brain could keep up with his body in battle. He knew what tactics to use and he knew how to use them well. He would never say this to his friend's face, but it was only a matter of time before Dream passed Cscoop anyway.
One thing concerned Traves though. Dream has been awfully quiet about the situation. In the year that Dream has been actively doing hero work, he's been actively doing social media as well. So far, there's been no statement, no confirmation...
Traves understood how he felt. He knows how it's like to have your life on the line. The first time he's had a gun pulled on him, Traves panicked after the ordeal was over and had to be silenced with hot chocolate. He's learned to handle things easier now and never really needed to be in life-threatening situations anyway because of his support role.
Still, Traves can't imagine having a blade to your throat, held by someone who you knew wouldn't hesitate to slice your neck open. Sympathy welled up inside him- he really hoped that the older hero would feel better soon.
———
anon ANTI-HERO (@anonheronews)
oh you stan skeppy??? remember that vid of him shoving his fans out of the way just so he can get into his agency building???
—
jenn is missing ranboo (@BLACKANDWH1TE)
@anonheronews FJKSDJFSDLKFSDF SIIISSSS he's apologized for that like ten times, stfuuuuuuuuuu
—
kenny (@KEN5TER)
@BLACKANDWH1TE his apology aint sincere at all u seen that shit????? stop embarrassing urself stupid stannie
———
Ranboo sat at the overly fancy dining table, eerily still. Skeppy sat in front of him, browsing through the menu of the Italian restaurant with a tropical mocktail sitting in front of him next to his plate. For such a fancy restaurant, they were both dressed casually: Skeppy wore an aqua hoodie (his own merch, in fact) and Ranboo had on an oversized black sweater and ripped jeans. His eyes were concentrated on Skeppy, anxiety racking in his body and his heart pounding in his chest.
Twilight cast a warm glow over the outdoor seating of the restaurant. The low-hanging sun was half-covered by woolly clouds and the skies were painted blue and orange. A chilly November breeze breathed and Ranboo pulled his sweater closer, shivering.
"What do you want for dinner?" Skeppy questioned him, tearing his eyes away from the menu to meet Ranboo's gaze. Despite his friend having good intentions, Ranboo felt cold.
"I-I'm fine with anything," he stammered, looking down and fiddling with the hem of his sweater.
With a warm chuckle, Skeppy nodded and glanced back down to the menu. Ranboo didn't pay attention to what he ordered, but he didn't complain when a plate of steaming pasta was set in front of him. Skeppy had ordered a platter of Margherita pizza and was already beginning to eat, though Ranboo, despite not having eaten lunch, had no appetite at all. Reluctantly, he picked up his fork and stabbed a stray piece of pasta but never brought the fork to his lips.
Skeppy looked like he wanted Ranboo to say something. Ranboo's lips were glued shut. His chest tightened when he felt Skeppy's expectant stare on him.
With a long sigh, his friend put down his pizza. "Look, if you're mad at me for taking the program you were working on, I've made a lot more progress than it than you have. I'm sorry for it though, that's why I'm treating you to dinner," he drawled. Ranboo felt his grip tighten around the fork. When he told Skeppy about the program he was developing that could log anomalies in the city, he can't say he hadn't expected this situation.
"I'm not mad," Ranboo mumbled, picking at his pasta. "I just don't really have an appetite right now." Skeppy shrugged at this and took another bite of his pizza. Ranboo stared down at his lap, ignoring the rumbling from his stomach. He was starving, but his mouth was too dry to eat and staring at the pasta made him nauseous. Skeppy was finishing his first slice of pizza when Ranboo finally tasted the food. It made him feel sick and he pushed it away half-heartedly.
"I mean, you let Technoblade go when he was right in front of you. And you lost control of your freak," Skeppy hummed. "I can't trust you to do things on your own."
Ranboo stiffened, his lower lip quivering. Skeppy would never let him live this down, wouldn't he?
On the day of the massacre, Ranboo had completely lost control of his other. He nearly killed Technoblade had he not exhausted himself with the overuse of his quirk. That wouldn't be a bad thing on its own, but the problem was that he almost attacked civilians as well.
Or at least, that's what people told him. He can't remember anything that happened after his other took over.
"It's not a freak," Ranboo protested meekly. "It's a part of me. Are you saying that I'm a freak?"
Skeppy levelled him with a look. Ranboo quickly realized that he already knew the answer to that question. "Whatever. By the way, a little birdie told me that you're rising in the ranks," Skeppy piped up casually. "If you keep going at the rate you're going, you'll take Zelk's spot,"
But I don't want to take Zelk's spot, Ranboo thought to himself. He kept it bottled up though and nodded, bringing a cup to his lips and swallowing a big gulp of water. He knew he could be higher if he tried. People always told him that his quirk was the strongest of the top twenty heroes right now. In an alternate universe, would he be number one?
———
"The trials of NOLIFE will start in late December to early January, authorities confirm."
———
Tommy stopped the stream early today despite the thousands of complaints his fans made and leaned back in his chair, breathing heavily. He'd ended the stream as soon as he heard the news, he didn't think he'd be able to keep a good face on stream. Tommy sat there for a few seconds, enveloped in guilt and bitten with grief. He remembered all the good memories with Deo, he wasn't even sure if they had bad ones before the days leading up to his departure from America. He remembered a boy with jet black hair and icy blue eyes and a girl with blonde curls whispering lies into his ears. Young and impressionable, he believed them and became engulfed in betrayal and anger that he didn't dare to seek logic.
If he had kept in contact with Deo, would Deo have turned out this way? Locked away for the rest of his life with a sentence that likely bore death? Would he have met NOLIFE and be poisoned by the members' sickening antics? After all, the Deo he knew would never do anything like this. His lip curled into a snarl and he slammed his hand against the desk, making his Jschlatt Herotooz topple over and fall onto its side. He slumped down in his chair like a puppet whose strings have been cut and tried to push down the rage he felt despite seeing red.
"I hate them," he told himself persistently. It's NOLIFE's fault, wasn't it? Their fault that Deo was in such a hopeless position right now? Tommy hadn't seen Deo in so long, how could he have influenced the actions of the former?
Deo recognized him that day in the alleyway. He remembers the shock running through him, drawing the connection between TimeDeo of NOLIFE and his childhood friend that he was certain was dead after Technoblade destroyed the orphanage he lived his life in. He remembers denial, thinking no, this can't be Deo.
But it was, wasn't it? Tommy recognized the disbelief he felt back then again. The same disbelief he felt when he was younger hearing about all the things Deo said about him behind his back.
He pressed his hands to his eyes, rubbing away the tears that started to form in the corners of his eyes. Maybe if they had just ended on a better note. Maybe if things had just been a little bit different.
———
sorry for the short filler today, guys :( im rly bad at writing fillers lolol
1st fanart by @pigandciu on insta
2nd fanart by @prinprinter on insta