#GODDAMN IT WITH EMMA STONE i get it

[mifunebooty]

Sorry to report I adored poor Things

[strangedreamings]

HOTD S2E3 (spoilers abound)

I like that they buried the twins together. In together, out together. Rhaenys counseling Rhaenyra was also good.

Ah, Criston. The Peter principle made flesh. Dude, your impatience is gonna get you killed (keep at it).

Once in a while, one of the Greens gets the group braincell and actually makes a good point. Of course, it never lasts.

Rhaenyra and Mysaria. Emma is killing it this season, they need an Emmy and a Golden Globe (and whatever other awards they're eligible for), they make you believe the pain Rhaenyra is feeling with their voice alone.

Rhaenyra asking her stepdaughter/first cousin to take her two youngest to Pentos. I can understand why but I gotta side with Rhaena on this -- if she had a dragon (i.e. been of use in this war), Rhaenyra never would've considered sending her away. When is she gonna get Morning? (Or is the rumor true and Rhaena is going to be combined with Nettles and thus get Sheepstealer? God, I hope not. We need more WOC on this show, not fewer.)

I swear, Caraxes is the only dragon I can recognize from any distance, because of his neck. Harrenhal. I hope we see its destruction someday, I wanna see dragonfire melt stone. I think this scene of Daemon looking for whoever's in the castle is supposed to be tense (there's no music, it's like the show is holding its breath), but all I feel is bored.

I love Ser Simon! (I've loved his actor for years now) He's pragmatic, a trait that is far too uncommon in Westeros. Also, he's funny -- he pledges his loyalty to Rhaenyra then immediately tells Daemon the dinner menu.

Daemon, quit being so goddamn picky about your form of address. "King consort" isn't a real title anyway. :P

Ser Simon isn't going to survive this season, I'm sure. Hell, he might not even survive this episode if he doesn't stop calling Daemon "your highness."

"The throne?"

"It's a big chair made of swords."

Daemon, you're a little shit (mixed) but I love your sense of humor.

Oh yeah, Alicent has a brother. He was in the pilot, right? He's pretty, which is a blessing and a curse in Westeros. Dude, if you had any brains at all, you'd leave Westeros and never return. Your sister and father are full of shit, you'd be better off without them. Ugh, I listened to him say three words and I already hate him. He sounds like every rich man's son talking to someone socially beneath him. Criston, the concept of friendly fire doesn't exist in Westeros but I'm counting on you to introduce it.

Can I just say I love how Criston's Hand of the King chain is worn? It looks to be attached to his armor. It stands out more than just a pin would have.

Dornishman? Oh, right, this is before Daeron II, so everybody still hates Dorne, got it. Add "racist" to Gwayne's other shitty traits.

Criston, you're really fucking pushing it.

As much as I hate Alicent, I think Olivia deserves all the awards too. Alicent is barely keeping things together and Olivia is doing a great job showing that.

Was the raven/crow eating Cheese's eye truly a necessary shot?

The music as the army leaves KL is really good. Ramin is at the top of his game this season (as always).

"It would be treason." My girl Rhaenyra, standing up to these men who want to set her aside.

I love Corlys and Rhaenys together but I know Rhaenys has a ticking clock over her head. Rook's Rest is coming soon. If not tonight, then next week.

Rhaenyra sending her three youngest away. It's sad that Aegon III and Viserys II probably know their nannies better than they know their parents. Rhaena and Baela had a good moment but damn, we need more from both of them, the writers aren't giving us nearly enough.

Aww, Helaena smiled at Jaehaera and it was so sweet.

"I forgive you," Helaena tells her mother.

For what, Helaena? For fucking Criston when he should've been protecting your son? You're forgiving Alicent for that? I know you're her daughter and I know you've got a big heart but seriously?

Aegon II is wearing his namesake's armor? That armor is 130 years old, surely it's out-of-date by this point. And how far are the writers going to take this "I have no identity of my own" shtick?

I hate Larys but his actor is compelling. Looks like it's promotions for everybody this season.

These new Kingsguard knights are pathetic.

Ulf the White, huh? I'm THOROUGHLY unimpressed. Also, would it have killed the hair department to, you know, give him the white hair he was known for?

Oh good lord, Aegon II goes whoring and runs into Aemond.

Full frontal, really? I think the show is trying too hard to go viral this season. Shocking moments need to be earned and (except for B&C) this show just hasn't done that yet. (No shame to Ewan. Like Nicola Coughlan, I'm sure he wanted to be able to look back on this year in the future and remember how hot he was.) Did the color of Aemond's sapphire change? It's not as blue as it was last season (or maybe that's just the shitty lighting).

Baela should've barbecued those assholes.

Oh, Rook's Rest has been mentioned! The countdown has begun in earnest.

Young Rhaenyra and Jaehaerys? Daemon, your subconscious is fucked up. But hey, a guilty conscience is better than no conscience at all.

So that's the famous Alys Rivers? What the hell was that voice? She doesn't sound like an adult at all.

"Killing her would be easier." Mysaria, honey, you are so right but if she did that, we wouldn't need the promised third season.

Rhaenyra, your crush on Alicent is gonna get you both killed.

She's dressed as a septa? I can just hear the Rhaenicent fans now.

I'm 99% sure this didn't happen in the book. *side-eyes the writers* Don't start going off-book now, you know what happened to GoT.

"though not before I killed you." Rhaenyra, you could've threatened her in a letter, you didn't need to do it in person.

I can't stop staring at the beadwork on Alicent's gown. HOTD's costume department could teach a thing or two to Bridgerton's.

This is getting us nowhere. Rhaenyra, this was a very dumb idea. Get out now before Alicent (who couldn't keep her voice down if you paid her) calls the guards.

You know, Rhaenyra, if your family didn't insist on naming EVERY THIRD BOY Aegon, you wouldn't have this fucking problem.

"... you know what Aemond is." A loose cannon with mommy issues? Just saying.

Ugh, they're ending it there? No tense moment of Rhaenyra getting the fuck back to Dragonstone?

Yep, we're definitely getting Rook's Rest next week.

[libbys-braincell-loss]

I said i would do it before, but since tonights opening night, heres a list of funny things my cast and crew do for the show Puffs that i find really endearing and awesome :))

!!spoilers ahead!!

Act 1

Most if the time, when the Narrator (me) is not onstage, i sit in a little nook on either side of the stage, where i read books, play with a badger plush or my pet pygmy puff (also a plush), write things down, etc. I like to hc that the nook is in the Room of Requirement :) also dw i do get moments where i go backstage and take a break

Wayne wears a jersey with a W on it at the start of the play, it becomes important later

Leanne wears a colorful tutu!

Oliver has a pair of gold glasses

Oliver is from Baltimore, much to his discontent

Snape is played by the same guy who does Ernie Mac, J finch is played by the same guy who does Uncle Dave, and Hannah is played by the same person who does Voldy. Its real funny watching them switch characters

The sorting hat is big fortune teller. I think that was used for a version of the show somewhere else but its so goddamn funny

The training wand Professor McG gives to Oliver is one of those colorful toy wands with glitter and fluid inside that makes it all sparkly

For Professor Turban, he has those red finger lights as Voldy on the back of his turban. One rehearsal they fell on the floor and broke it was really funny

The sorcerers stone that Megan throws to the narrator is just a rock the director found outside. Its really heavy, our stage manager is supposed to paint it red (idk we found the rock yesterday. The rock we usually use fell on the stage and shattered so yeah cant use that anymore rip)

Wayne does a silly robot dance when he mentions Robocop right before meeting Ginny

Ginny is played by our student assistant director, who is a redhead. It couldnt be any other way man she had to be Ginny

Wayne is really tall. Oliver and Megan are around the same size but Wayne towers over them threateningly

When Harry and Ron Mop have a fight and Oliver tries to calm Ron Mop down, at the end Oliver yells at him "How come you get to kiss Emma Watson?!"

Real Mr. Moody has a flask for his potion, like in the series

Cedric wears heart pattern boxers during the bathroom scene. He used to be shirtless but we decided to give him a tanktop cuz it was very weird

The bathroom has a sweet lil ballet segment and we get huge bubble wands!

During the lake watching scene, J Finch falls asleep and starts snoring

Also during that same scene, Leanne panics about the lake and hides her head, then peeks her head out and says "is it gone?"

Viktor is capable of breakdancing!! They do an epic breakdance after the second task!

Each character in the three wizard tournament has a theme song - Frenchy has a french accordian song, Viktor has epic breakdancing music, Cedric has an epic rock and roll guitar riff, and Harry has a silly ukelele song that sounds like a Kevin Macleod song

Cedric and Waynes interaction right before the third task is so wholesome yet heartbreaking

Right before the intermission, i cast a spell to close the curtain

Act 2

Wayne finding out Cedric is dead is the most heartbreaking thing ive ever witnessed. The actor playing him is real silly dude but he got the emotions spot on and i applaud him for it

Ernie and Hannahs sign for "no being too sad" is not all that heavy, but the two actors play it like its the heaviest thing in the planet

J Finch's fav jellybean flavor changes every night. Some of my personal favs of things he has said: "Thermal paste", "plastic", "jellybean flavor", "oh man i forgot what it was, it was really good tho"

When Ernie Mac is fake bullying Hannah so she knows the difference, Ernie says "your face looks like he-whose-name-we-cannot-legally-say" which is funny for 2 reasons: 1, Hannah and Voldy share an actor, and 2, we cant say Voldemort cuz copyright

When J Finch starts "going to the petrified place" after Wayne yells at him, Ernie Mac punches J Finch and yells at him that he cant be too sad

Every single time during the Oliver and Megan kiss scene, Oliver gets Megan's dark lipstick on his face. It is hilarious

When I throw the year 5 book (which is really heavy) to the stage manager, she has decided she would make a new reaction every night. Examples: "hey! Big books hurt!" "You throw like a Puff, AND I MEAN THAT NEGATIVELY!" "The actors are attacking!! Run, stage crew! Run! *slams the door behind them*"

Voldy has a green swim cap and tape on his nose.

When Voldy is giving one of his death buddies a show of affection, midway through he says "i hope you're loving this as much as i am", to which the poor death buddy responds "i hate it 😥"

Oliver and Megan are holding hands while Wayne is asking about grades. Wayne gets sick of it and forces himself between them, breaking their holding hands

Zac Smith is hilarious. Hes played by the same guy who did Cedric before he died in act 1. Zac Smith has so many stupid stories, like one about how he ate a magic muffin, turned into a muffin, and watched his friend who also got turned into a muffin get eaten. Another one is how he watched a magic VHS of the movie Shrek, and the donkey appeared in his home, and he was so annoying that Zac cooked him, and every day he waits for the dragon to come kill him. Most recent one was when he watched a magic VHS of a Midsummer Nights Dream, and had his head turned into a donkey, and was jealous that the donkey man is getting more bitches than him, so Zac decides he'll make his own movie - Zac Smith: the Hot Donkey. I always break character during that scene istg

The actor for Xavia is fantastic. She got that evil dumb mom vibe we needed

Right when Wayne sees Sally Perks leaning in for the kiss, Wayne quickly puts on chapstick and pops his lips. Why, i have no idea but its funny

Megan being torn about whether she should kill her friends or miss this opportunity to be with her mom is absolutely heartbreaking it is so sad :(

During the flashback to when Xavia got recruited, Voldy does the worm and Xavia aggressively flips her hair all over the place.

Voldy canonically does a Jack Sparrow run

Apparently Wayne dances during the flashback scene?? I had never noticed that i need to see that tonight lmao

Xavia struggling to open the doors is so fun. When she gives up she runs into the house, still yelling that she'll be back. Its so golden

The Headmaster falls into the pit for his death. The actor just lays in the pit for the rest of the show until the final important headmaster moment

I have never cried inside harder to a story of how Oliver turned his parents heads into oranges. The scene is so good and emotional :((

Bippy is peak comedy. Bippy is love. Bippy is life. Bippy sprints to the back of the auditorium and its the funniest shit ever

Voldy does amazing crowdwork ngl. He be asking what the difference between witches and wizards are, what the deal with British food is, and what is the purpose of boy bands (they make him want to run the other direction), it gets to the point where the Assistant Director has to take his megaphone away

All the deaths are so sad. I dont really see them all cuz im offstage during the war but when i do catch them its so sad

When Oliver returns hes wearing his scarf like a bandana. You go Karate Kid

Sally drops her glasses before her death. She funbles on the ground trying to find them

When J Finch dies, Ernie cradles him in his arms and its really sad

Bippys death goes on for like years. She just refuses to die until the songs done. Its very funny dear god

Waynes death hurts man

When Wayne arrives at the very white room two guys are holding up a white blanket and they have angel costumes on.

When the Headmaster says "see for yourself" Cedric appears and hands him a Puff scarf. I cant 😭😭😭

Voldy also falls into the pit for his death.

When i show up again as Megan and Olivers child, Wayna, i wear Waynes W jersey he had at the start of the play 😭

"Whether you're a Brave, a Smart, or a... child who vapes in the school bathrooms..."

When Oliver asks Wayna what 3 × 4 is, i act like i know how to solve it. "Oh i got this, 3 times 4, 3 groups of 4, 3 + 3 + 3 +3 is.... i dont know :)"

When i sit in the stool, Waynes arm hands me the Puff scarf. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

During Curtain Call, we all be doing a silly dance. Im dancing with Megan and Oliver, and Wayne runs on to crash the party like he does in play lmao

ALRIGHT THATS ALL

I HOPE YOU LIKED IT THANKS FOR READING MY 12 PARAGRAPH ESSAY

[burningexeter]

[IDEA THAT'S NOT YET A PITCH]

Marvel's Damage Control

What is it —

A female-led Marvel action-superhero series that instead of being the type of pandering and obnoxious girl power schlock that we have today, is a throwback to 2000s and early 2010s action cartoons that wipe the floor with modern garbage.

PREMISE:

Heavily implied to be in the same continuity as The Spectacular Spider-Man, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Wolverine and the X-Men, a now college student Mary Jane Watson is looking ahead for her future but is currently struggling to keep up with the rest due to certain personal issues in her private life.

Accepting an opportunity that could potentially make her life now easier and even set her future in stone, MJ learns the hard way that sometimes taking what appears to be the easy route isn't always the best option when she discovers it's nothing more than a horrible ruse that lands her into a secret street level conflict between a now solo Susan Storm/Invisible Woman, a now solo Emma Frost, Felicia Hardy/Black Cat, Sable Manfredi/Silver Sable and a now solo Tandy Bowen/Dagger. That is until a series of new threats emerge that affects them all in some way, shape or form and the six of them end up forming an unlikely team whose job is to be a clean-up crew that specialize in dealing with the aftermath of superhero conflicts, rescheduling events because of the conflicts and retrieving lost items. Turns out for Mary Jane, it pays really well.

NOTES/TRIVIA/DETAILS:

• Yes, it will be directly implied to be set in the Yost-Verse continuity. Not only will all the voice actresses — Vanessa Marshall, Erin Torpey, Kari Wahlgren, Tricia Helfer and Nikki Cox — reprise their roles but there will be a definite wink-wink, nudge-nudge to the events of the previous three shows. The idea for it is that several things (in this case, Spectacular, EMH and Wolverine) happened, they all of a sudden went dormant but now BOOM! it's back and the shadows here are moving again, everything is moving under the goddamn sun and you pick it up from there.

• The Damage Control team will be a more than unconventional team that come into conflict over different things with the big ones being Black Cat and Silver Sable aren't afraid to get their hands dirty since they're basically villains-turned-anti-heroes while Mary Jane's personal life plays a role in the events for the team. However, it's at the end of the day that it's revealed they're an incredibly effective and capable team that get the damn job done.

• One thing that will be played for humor and help define and establish the tone of it where it's more on a somewhat grounded level is that the team, much to her dismay, decide to live together in Mary Jane's apartment where she shares the same bed as Sue and Sable who ultimately act as caring mother figures to her.

• Another thing that will differentiate it from others is that the six leads will actually have their bumbling and screw-up boobish moments (a la Elastigirl checking herself out in the mirror, Kim Possible accidentally landing into the arms of a Bebe and then being thrown etc.) to show that despite being "strong, female characters" they are far from perfect but it makes sense in context because Mary Jane is just starting out as a superhero, Susan, Emma and Cloak are just starting as solo heroes and Black Cat and Sable are just starting out as anti-heroes so they're all bound to screw up when they're in action.

• Now this is just for fun but there will be a few easter eggs, references and flat-out and direct cameos either to or from other non-superhero media that establishes a retroactive shared universe. I mean hey if fucking Ultimate Spider-Man can do it with Jessie, thus having it be part of the Disney Channel Universe officially than why can't I with this. For example, Sable finds herself stuck in an elevator with a certain eccentric black woman who turns out to be security after having worked at the infamous C.U.R.E. Institute — it's motherfucking Denise Hemphill from Scream Queens with Niecy Nash reprising her role.

[saelterlude]

Around October, I noticed my AO3 wordcount for this year has reached near 40k. So I thought, "Hey Sael, surely you can reach 50.000 words by the end of the year right?" Nevermind the fact that my thesis deadline is also in December.

But hey, I goddamn did. 51.236 words. Here's a list of the fics I wrote in 2023. Chronologically, when last updated, because that's cool. + short summary/my core idea for each fic.

Happy New Year!

February

Home Address, 35 Portland Row (Lockwood & Co.)

So did George just one day knocked on Lockwood's door with Skull under his arm being all, "Hey, I commited theft." Pre-canon exposition.

April

Buried Apple (Undertale AU)

Dream watched his twin die, got turned to stone, and wakes up to someone parading in his twin's corpse. How did he grieved?

May

The Hidden Basement (Lockwood & Co. and The Sandman)

Jessamy's regrets of failing to save Dream resulted in a haunted mansion. Who else would come take care of the haunting but Lockwood & Co.

June

Killer's Soul Journey (Undertale AU, yea this fandom really inspired me)

Killer got 4 stages, he also got the gang and Color. So what if each stages react differently to each group.

That Feeling and That Tone. (Undertale AU)

Just a reset in the life of Killer and Chara.

Tales from The Library (Undertale AU)

Same universe as "The Hidden Basement". What's life like for Lockwood & Co. with a type three bird ghost, Jessamy?

July

Colorful Conversations (Undertale AU)

It's in the name. Three conversations that help Color be... Color.

Divergence (Undertale AU)

We explore how time works in the multiverse, sorta.

Versa(tear)lity (Undertale AU)

There are many ways to utilize Killer's tears, here are some of them. Crack. This is just a pure crackfic.

The Circlet (Undertale AU)

There's a gap in Dream's circlet. It widens as Dream grows and his skull gets bigger. There's none in Nightmare's circlet.

August

Feelings Imminent (Undertale AU)

Killer have trouble feeling, which means he doesn't know when he's hungry, tired, or hurt. Horror tries to help.

September

Boiled Care (Undertale AU)

Cross and Horror talk about authority figures over breakfast.

October

I Know That You Can Track It Back To Me (Link Click)

Cheng Xiaoshi wants to know from whom did Lu Guang learns all the ins and outs of their powers. Well he does have time traveling powers, so learning about the past should be easy.

Like Once You Did For Me (Link Click)

Lu Guang's POV of "I Know That You Can Track It Back To Me". On a sad and lonely night, Lu Guang comes across a strange man.

So What's With The Sudden Costume Change? (Link Click)

For a fashionable show, Lu Guang's season two outfit is just a cat pajama. Oh wait, there's also the cool theater outfits. But that came out of nowhere so why? Crack, Actor AU.

A White Dream (Link Click)

A death node cannot be change, that's what Lu Guang said, but that can't be right. Cheng Xiaoshi is sure, he changed a death node once before.

November

A Gray Coat (Link Click)

Emma's parents waited all night for her, not knowing she's lying dead under a bridge. How does a parent grief over their child?

December

Shattered Reflections (Link Click)

Cheng Xiaoshi-Lu Guang's powers swapped with Li Tianchen-Li Tianxi's powers. How would that work? How would the story progress?

(I swear I will finish the last chapter soon. I promise. I just gotta graduate first.)

How to Lose A Bet and Still Win (Link Click)

The biggest betting pool in Guidu University is "when will Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang become official". Some students try to win the bet by manipulating the not-couple and sabotaging other betters. Outsider POV.

[stealthnoodle]

Ice Pond Thou Art, to Ice Pond Returneth: Let's Finish(?) Tears of the Kingdom

We're finishing the plot, anyway. All of the spoilers!

Sidequest clean-up time! I am getting up to such antics

Monster decorations: check

Freezing my tits off in the desert while holding up a giant mirror: check

House? check!

I'm sorry but I am literally 12 years old right now:

I wasn't going to chase after dragon!Zelda just yet but she appeared literally right in front of me so I figured I might as well hitch a ride on her and make Link sad.

Da-da-da-daaaa in a minor key:

For some reason I'd been assuming I couldn't dye my sexy thunder shawl but nope! What lovely news for me and fashion aficionados everywhere!

Puzzling with the Boner Squad

I'M STILL 12

A lot of people just come out around me! It's a gift.

Sure do!

Truly, no one can resist my charms.

Bitch I DELVED:

I know I said collecting all the bubbul gems would be my Cruella de Vil origin story, so call me Emma Stone because I have lost my entire goddamn mind. Fewer than 20 remain and Koltin is no longer offering me hints for some reason? Whatever, I'm not doing it for him anymore. I'm doing it for ME.

I have looked up a map of caves and I WILL spelunk each one, mark my words

Oh right we got some caves in the GODDAMN SKY, WHERE CAVES DON'T BELONG

I'm fine I'm fine

One more and the eye strain ends. Squinting from the map on my laptop to the in-game map on my TV. Oho, Death Mountain, I see you now!

FUCKEN GOT EM

Shine on, you crazy diamond bubbul gem. Maybe someday I'll smack you around for rupees. Until then, I will think of you and your completionist nightmare sidequest every time I glide through the air with my fancy new paraglider pattern.

Okay I can finish the plot now

I am doing this final stretch of mini-dungeon the way the goddess intended: by throwing down my traveler's medallion and popping back for more sundelion dishes before getting back to it.

At long last I have killed a lionel, and I started with a gloom lionel because why not. Bitch was in my way.

Me when the sun rises before 7:00am:

Let's see how many Ganon phases we get! Dueling Ganon. Big Hair Boner Squad Ganon. Big Hair One-on-One Ganon. Ganon Become Dragon.

Why does everyone but Link get to scarf down a tasty magatama treat? UNFAIR

At least I look good thrashing around between Ganon's giant dragon teeth:

Took me a second to realize what I was meant to be doing but this was a pleasantly cinematic fight phase with lots of catching little rides on Zelda's big fuzzy dragon head.

Game removed my good hat >:( but also removed my shirt :) so I feel like we're half on the same page.

Guess we're not getting an ending where Link joins Zelda on an eternal draconic frolic, which on the one hand, yes, my girl deserves a happy ending, but on the other, "dragon" is a whole new gender spectrum Link should get to explore.

Game ALSO removed my cool arm. :< Now how am I gonna remodel my house?

Grabbing Zelda as she falls would be a lot easier with Ultrahand, just sayin

At this point, is Zelda, like Marvin from Hitchhiker's Guide, older than the universe itself? My girl's been through it

My robot girlfriend is moving on to robot girlfriend heaven. This too is yuri.

And I am moving on to fucking around endlessly, but first, there's only one way I can end this, right?

Back to the ice pond, baby. I made myself a little blue cultist outfit and everything:

That's all, folks!

[multiverseofmiracleshq]

It’s been determined that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been attempting to recreate their Pleasant Hill town experiment under the new name Project Andromeda. A group of heroes led by the Black Widow and the Winter Soldier met near the town in order to formulate a plan. In the end, a group entered Pleasant Hill with explosive results.

THIS IS OFFICIAL CHAT LOG COVERAGE OF THE IC

NATASHA ROMANOFF/BLACK WIDOW (616): Hadn’t they done this before? That’s how it seemed, at least. Pleasant Hill: the goddamn dream. A town with vision unlike no other -- except, well, that wasn’t true. A town like the one S.H.I.E.L.D. had already done, a phoenix that should never have been resurrected from its ashes. The reasons behind why this was happening wasn’t quite clear yet, but with the rate at which things were progressing it likely would come out soon. Not that soon was the theme of the endeavor. Over the past two months, Natasha had been trying to draw water from a stone. She had flown around the country, done recon and blown up outposts. The last part, admittedly, was cathartic. What was less cathartic was finding an Airbnb in a town neighboring Pleasant Hill in Connecticut. The reservation was booked under an alias, and the seemingly innocuous house was now full of spies and superheroes. The dining room and kitchen were part of an open layout that allowed people to spill from one to the other, and Natasha stood against a back wall while she waited for Barnes. With one nod, she gestured for him to begin.

BUCKY BARNES/WINTER SOLDIER (MCU): James wasn’t sure if he was fully prepared to tell all of these people the true reason behind their loved one’s disappearances. And the worst part of the entire thing was that there was no legitimate reason why most of them needed to be dragged into the prison that was Pleasant Hill. The airbnb was bustling with faces, eyes boring into him for answers that he hardly had the heart to give. “All of you have questions, I get that. If you’re here, you’ve read what the Whistleblower had to say.” And by Whistleblower, what he really meant was this team of whistleblowers had compiled together to leak to the public. Natasha, Daisy, Monica, Clint, it was a group effort to get the entire leak together to tell the public what they deserved to know. He flexed the fingers on his metal arm as he spoke, a tic he hadn’t quite been able to shake recently as he continued on. “We’re about five miles out from the town where everyone is being held.” Close enough to be nearby but far enough that it was safe to hold this meeting. There was no reason for anyone to suspect where they were. “But we wanted to meet with you all personally first. Answer individual questions and come up with a plan.”

MATT MURDOCK/DAREDEVIL (MCU): Matt was donning the full Daredevil getup, red and yellow covering him head to toe as he stood alongside Jen (not in her She-Hulk form). There were no doubts by now that Elektra was inside of Pleasant Hill, judging by the Whistleblower reports and the town database that he had Foggy read over a second time to be sure his computer hadn’t been playing tricks on him. Elektra Natchios. Alive. PH-RES-005. Elodie Boyd. Sheriff. He’d memorized the file by now, but it still didn’t feel real. And Matt doubted it would feel real until he was face to face with her again. The prospect terrified him, seeing Elektra again after all this time, after the Hand had turned her into the Black Sky, but Jen’s presence certainly helped. Even as Bucky spoke, Matt was completely silent as he kept his jaw clenched and his hands at his sides.

STEPFORD CUCKOOS/WHITE QUEENS (616): Four pale heads sat next to one another as they took up an entire sofa. No one wore white on that day; instead, they mourned. The sisters had been broken apart before but it stung all the same. To be four was unnatural. It was wrong. They came on behalf of both Emma and themselves. Their mother was locked in the chambers of the Quiet Council of Krakoa as the respective delegates tried to grapple with not one but *two* missing members. Without Hope and Destiny, the Autumn seat was all but crippled. “Come up with a plan?” They tittered. “Shouldn’t there already be a plan by now?”

RACHEL SUMMERS/ASKANI (811): “For once, I agree with the Cuckoos.” That was a statement Rachel never thought she’d say out loud. The telepath’s eyes were tight as she crossed her arms against her chest, the absence of her mother loud. And Rachel was just doing her best to keep her anger in check after the hacker had revealed just where her mom was being kept all this time. Warped and twisted to be some reporter inside of a fake town, with no memories of her family and friends. If S.H.I.E.L.D. was bold enough to take Jean freakin’ Grey, who was to say they wouldn’t just take anyone who got in their way? “What’s stopping us from just going into the town ourselves to retrieve them?”

SAM WILSON/CAPTAIN AMERICA (MCU): There were a lot of places he wouldn’t have minded being, but Connecticut sure as hell wasn’t one of them. The Captain America swag was left in the duffel by the door, hopefully to remain there unused and unneeded. Still, it was good to come prepared. “I, for one, appreciate it. Bein’ in the loop feels good.” It was a shitty loop, but still. He was Captain America. Sam had a duty to uphold and a responsibility to know what was going on. Especially if things were as severe as this was. “Whatever you need, I’m able and willing.”

AMERICA CHAVEZ (UTOPIAN PARALLEL): Big discussion meetings weren’t really her thing. She was also in the mindset of let’s just portal in and storm the town, but she kept silent with one hand propping up her head. If anything, America was there for moral support. If they suddenly decided to take action, she’d be one of the first on her feet.

CAROL DANVERS/CAPTAIN MARVEL (616): In theory, yes. There should be a plan in place, methodically orchestrated and carefully organized. In a perfect world, there would be no use for a meeting like this, to discuss their usefulness. Carol glances out of a nearby window, catches shifts of greens that spill shadows onto the concrete below. Stripping criminals of their free will -- it's an outrageous measure. Regardless of supposed crime, it's too slippery a slope, too many factors to take into consideration. Entire personalities were being altered -- memories, faces. "All of SHIELD, for starters. We don't have the manpower to make enemies of them right now."

STEPHEN STRANGE/DOCTOR STRANGE (MCU): It was safe to say that Stephen furious as he stood there in the dining area and stared at Bucky while the soldier spoke. With all the time he’d spent helping Clea resolve the whirlwind that was her husband returning from the dead, now it seemed that this had taken up most of his waking hours. Dark bags sunk underneath his eyes as he ground his teeth and fought to keep his composure. By now, he’d caught the other Strange up on everything going on with Clea (like the child she was apparently bearing with Marc Spector inside of the town). It was disgusting, S.H.I.E.L.D. was disgusting for this, and the sorcerer was truly just at a loss for words at this point. Maybe it was the sleep exhaustion finally catching up to him, but he was tired. As far as Stephen was concerned, action needed to be taken as soon as possible. “The reality stone is whats stopping us.” He spoke up, answering the mutant’s question as he turned his gaze to the stove, making eye-contact too much of a feat at the moment as he shook his head. “Their entire being has been altered. The people we care about may as well not even exist right now.”

HOPE VAN DYNE/WASP (MCU): Scott was gone. He was gone, and he had been for a while. Not as long as most, but long enough that his absence had formed an ache inside of the people who loved him. Raised to be pragmatic, Hope shook her head when the woman suggested going in. Carol, at least, seemed to have a good counter. “Wouldn’t we also be running the risk of it happening to us as well if we weren’t careful?”

JENNIFER WALTERS/SHE-HULK (MCU): So her boyfriend had an undead girlfriend. Not ideal, but worse had happened. Jen still wasn’t sure on all the details, but she understood enough. At the moment, she was choosing to not focus on how that would effect her. Instead, she looked at it as one piece of an extremely complicated puzzle. She had talked to Bruce, of course. His experience with the Infinity Stones made him a valuable resources. These weren’t their Stones, though. They were from Earth-616 and that made them foreign. Although he had promised to look into it, Jen knew he was busy. She wasn’t putting pressure on him. Instead, she stood as just Jen beside Matt. His identity needed to be preserved through his suit, but she had nothing to hide. “So we’re running under the assumption that they may not exist but there’s a way to make them exist again?”

KAMALA KHAN/MS. MARVEL (MCU): It kind of felt like being asked to sit at the adults table during a holiday. Kamala was there ( in full costume, mind you ) and was alternating between trying to keep her cool and trying to think of something intelligent to say. Finally, she decided to play it safe with, “I agree with Captain Marvel.” There. Nailed it.

DAISY JOHNSON/QUAKE (AOS): Daisy wasn’t talking much, still not really a 100% of herself ever since Maria decided to detain her inside of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Coming to terms with the organization that she’d dedicated most of her life to doing something so heinous was difficult, but she was doing everything she could to fight back against it. To do what was right. All she could think about these days was Rosalind, the words the other agent had said to her before she disappeared just like everyone else, and there was a fire within her to get Roz back. To get all of these people back who had been wrongfully placed inside of the town. “We have a running theory that they’re holding Ripley Ryan and using her power to alter the entire town. She’s listed as a Jane Doe and her entire file is redacted.” Even Daisy couldn’t crack the code to fully decrypt that file, which was beyond frustrating. But it was definitely a strong lead. “If Star can rewrite them, odds are she can reverse it.” That was a big if, but it was all they had right now.

TONY STARK/IRON MAN (616): Tony found himself leaning against ones of the walls, arms crossed. "Even if we get these people out of the town, what if Star can't dig their real selves out from the garbage they've been buried under? Or can't do it right away? What do we do with a town full of confused, traumatized people? They can't go back to their lives if they don't remember said lives. Are we ready to take on mass hysteria?" He paused, taking a moment to look at a few faces around him. "I'm not saying that their situation in ideal, but they are safe where they are. Is this really something we are ready for right now?"

MONICA RAMBEAU/SPECTRUM (MCU): The S.W.O.R.D. agent stood beside her friend, dark eyes periodically coming to rest on Daisy. She was concerned, of course. It would be impossible not to be. When the agent had approached her about joining Natasha’s ragtag team, she had agreed right away. Her mother had always been fearful of the power that big agencies would wield and had run S.W.O.R.D. accordingly. This entire thing put a Westview aftertaste in her mouth. It was a bit triggering, in all honesty. It made her think of Geraldine with the ‘fro and the bell bottoms. It made her think of humiliation and being degraded at the expense of another. But this wasn’t about Monica, was it? She was able to compartmentalize and move on. Her mouth was open to reply to Daisy when Tony spoke, and Monica pursed her lips. “I think we owe it to them to be ready.”

STEPHEN STRANGE (MCU): “So what is your alternative that you’re suggesting, Stark? That we leave them in there to carry on with their fake lives?” Stephen snapped, the sleep deprivation evident by his tone as he turned his head to glare at the other reality’s Avenger. “Safe? Are you serious right now? They’ve taken Clea and given her fake children with a supposed third on the way.” Who was to even say the children were made up? Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. really was brazen enough to pull children into the town too. It wouldn’t be the most shocking thing Stephen’s found out about this entire thing. “No, I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. There’s no scenario where we just leave them inside there.”

SCOTT SUMMERS/CYCLOPS (616): "Do we know how deep the rewiring goes?" He expects the answer to be obvious --  altering reality wasn't a magician's trick. If they were changing faces, then he couldn't be sure Krakoa would be any use anyway. Still, they had his family. "Maybe we don't wait." He glances briefly at Rachel. "Maybe we should mount an offensive before this gets too out of hand." He'd argue that they were far behind too out of hand, but that wasn't going to be helpful.

JESSICA JONES (MCU): Jesus fucking Christ. Jess wasn’t sure if she had said the words aloud or in her head, but it didn’t matter. She had come as a courtesy to Matt. After spending the last month and a half researching missing people for a number of cases, it would stand to reason that Jessica possibly had the best working knowledge of who had been snatched. That didn’t mean that she wanted any part of it. Finding a mug in the cabinet, she had poured her flask directly into the ceramic and took a sip every time someone said something stupid. She’d had to refill twice already. It was helping her headache, at the very least.

TONY STARK (616): "Did I say that we would just leave them there forever?" Tony shot back. "We started this meeting by pointing something out: the fact that we are currently lacking a plan. And something like this calls for, dare I say, more than one plan. We need contingencies for if something goes wrong, or if there's a bump in the road and we need to take a different path. I think all of us here should know by now that we can't count on things just falling into our laps. We could land in even deeper shit if we run in, guns blazing."

STEPFORD CUCKOOS (616): “Would you look at that?” Phoebe inclined her head to the side. Celeste met her gaze. “Amazing.” “Mum would be so pleased.” They all united, “Scott Summers has made a good point.”

LANCE HUNTER (616): Hunter was a fairly independent, self-sufficient individual when it came to his everyday life, but when he formed bonds with others, they were air-tight. And Bobbi’s absence had left him feeling as though there were a hole in his chest. It wasn’t just her absence that freaked him out, but the reason she was taken. Test subject. The situation was already stressful enough as is, now he needed to worry about SHIELD turning his girlf— best friend into a lab rat. “If we need someone to go undercover, stay a bit more under the radar than these flashier folks,” he gestured to the various costumes heroes around the room, “I volunteer.”

PETER QUILL/STAR-LORD (MCU): Peter could tell Mantis was watching him as he fiddled with a hem on the edge of his jacket as they listened. His thoughts raced as he kept his gaze focused on the floor, alternating between listening, trying to take in all this new information, and worrying about Gamora. Though their last encounter hadn’t exactly been positive, it didn’t mean he didn’t still care deeply for the woman. She might not have been his Gamora, but she was still Gamora and he’d do everything he could to help get her back— including sit in a room full of pompous, self-obsessed idiots and listen to them try to discern their heads from their asses.

GREER NELSON/TIGRA (616): Greer took personal affront to the flashier folk comment.

RACHEL SUMMERS (811): Rachel returned her gaze towards her father and straightened her back at that, itching at the prospect of confrontation as she nodded her head. Maybe if they didn’t wait they could actually do something about this instead of just sit around in an Airbnb and talk about it. She let the Cuckoos words roll off her back in that moment as she held her head high. “But if we go in, won’t we just get warped too? How does that work?”

STEPHEN STRANGE/HARVESTMAN (616): It was his wife that was stuck. That wasn't lost on him. However, so far he had found it easier than the alternate Strange to keep his composure. The lines between life and death had become blurred to him at this point— that left other life-altering events feel almost dull in comparison. Plus, this wasn't the first time he and Clea had been separated. He wasn't about to give up on her, but he had thicker skin now. This felt more like a detour than anything else. "I want her out too, Stephen." He replied calmly, talking to directly to the other Strange. "And we will get her out. But that family means nothing to her, not really. It's manufactured— even her third child, I would guess. Don't make this about yourself, your anger, and play it off as wanting to protect her." Even while looking collected, his bitterness tinged his words. The other Stephen was sounding far too invested and it was hard for him to not say back off. His own anger, of course, felt self-righteous.

MANTIS (MCU): The air was thick with emotion. Mantis knew that without making contact with anyone. She had so far kept her hands to herself, but that was out of basic respect for human boundaries that Peter and the others had been working to teach her. Keeping her fingers interlocked, Mantis stood silent by her brothers side. “I could try to feel them,” she offered quietly. “Feel if they are in pain, feel if they are happy.”

RIRI WILLIAMS/IRONHEART (616): “There’s a lot we don’t know about here.” Riri spoke up from where she stood next to Miles. “And I’m not sure what getting in their feels will do to help the situation.”

AMERICA CHAVEZ (UTOPIAN PARALLEL): “I like action.” America perked up. “I’m for the counter offense thing.” She had been watching the Stephen’s and wasn’t sure how to navigate that situation.

STEPHEN STRANGE (MCU): Anger had never been an emotion that used to resonate within Stephen Strange very often. Bitterness, resentment, sure, but pure, unbridled anger? That was a new one. And right now it was washing over him in waves as he listened to Tony’s retort and then the other Stephen himself responding to him. He opened his mouth to form a response, but it died on his tongue just as fast as he let out a frustrated huff and walked across the kitchen. Maybe the other Strange was right, maybe Stephen was being guided by his anger, but he didn’t care in that moment. If it got Clea back faster, so be it. She was being violated inside of that town and he couldn’t stand for it. Pulling up a duffel bag that was sitting next to Daisy, he unzipped it and revealed a pile of chip implants, reality blockers that had been recovered from the S.H.I.E.L.D. outposts. “If any of you would like to join me, I’ll be going in.” It was unlike him, to be this brazen with his decisions, to not think things through down to every possible outcome, but he was at his wits end at this point. Love would make you do crazy things, apparently.

DAISY JOHNSON (AOS): Daisy peered over to the duffel bag as Stephen practically snatched it from her side and narrowed her eyes at him. Her hand raised slightly in his direction, tempted to just quake him back into the wall considering how irrational he was acting, but the cat was out of the bag now. Or well, the blockers were out of the bag. "Wow, yeah. I guess we're just doing things without asking. Thanks for that."

NATASHA ROMANOFF (616): “You’re going through our stuff.” Natasha deadpanned as she watched Strange pull up the duffel bag. They did have reality blockers, yes. A purpose of the meeting had been to propose a team going in, not go in without a plan because they were angry and in love. “Barnes and I have been in there. You don’t know what you’re walking into.”

BUCKY BARNES (MCU): Bucky almost stepped forward when he saw Strange go for that bag, but it was too late. The sorcerer seemed to be on a mission. Albeit a stupid mission, but a mission nonetheless. "It's not as simple as just going in there. Natasha is right."

PETER QUILL (MCU): Peter gave Mantis a small smile, gaze filled with more pain than any other emotion, before his expression morphed into one of caution and hopefulness. Leaning in to semi-whisper in response, “Do you think you could do that? Is that even possible?”

MANTIS (MCU): “I can try.” Her words were spoken earnestly. “I will enter the town.”

LANCE HUNTER (616): Hunter stepped forward as things began to escalate, “Woah, easy doctor— I’m not a fan of this ‘who really needs plans’ plan, but whatever you do, you ain’t doin’ it without me.”

TONY STARK (616): After hearing Natasha and Bucky speak up, he let out a scoff and shook his head. "This is what I'm talking about, folks. Rushing in because you're sad is not a good idea."

NEBULA (MCU): Nebula crossed her arms alongside Peter and Mantis, eyeing the two carefully as Mantis spoke about feeling if they were in pain or not. That was when she decided to finally speak up, still in a quieter tone. "Do we even want to know if she is in pain? Even if she is happy, that doesn't make it any better." She missed her sister all the same, even if this wasn't technically her sister. But she knew Gamora well enough to know that being dumbed down to some suburban citizen was torture enough.

JESSICA DREW (931): Jessica drew had been observing this ongoing disaster in silence. She was adhered to a wall, masked in a shadowed corner, until mantis spoke, and then she decided to introject. “yeah. Hey. Resident spiderwoman with being-kidnapped-by-shitty-people here. That sounds like a suicide mission.“

MILES MORALES (1610): Miles was sure that this was a terrible idea. Ninety percent sure, at least. But still, the idea of going to find Lana, it was all too tempting. He glanced over towards Riri and raised a curious brow, wondering what she thought about going in. She'd probably smack him upside the head and tell him it was a dumb idea, but maybe he needed that.

PETER QUILL (MCU): Nebula had a valid point, but Peter would rather have that knowledge, no matter how painful, than continue struggling with the unknown. He gave her a quick look of understanding, but turned back to Mantis, trying to offer up whatever encouragement he could. “Just don’t hurt yourself if it becomes to much. It’s okay- you don’t have to push it.”

CLINT BARTON (616): Clint took a deep breath at Jessica's words, knowing that she was right. this was definitely a suicide mission. Or at the very least, just them begging to get sucked in and warped into mild mannered townsfolk themselves. But Lance was throwing himself head first towards going in for Bobbi, and there was no way Clint could let Lance Jolly Ho! Hunter be the one to save the day. No way. Maybe his pride was getting the best of him, and he knew Natasha would kill him for it, but he spoke up. "I'm in."

STEPHEN STRANGE (616): For a few long moments, all Strange could do was stare at the reality blocker being presented to them. Part of him wanted to shut down and let Stephen go in himself. The stubborn streak that seemed to exist across the Stephen Stranges of the multiverse was strong, meaning that it clashed harshly when mirrored by its own intensity in someone else. If the other Strange wanted to jump in and potentially make things worse, he was welcome to. But if they somehow did manage to get Clea out, there was no way he was going to let the alternate Strange be the only one there when it happened. So there, his decision was made. Without a word, he looked Stephen in the eye and took the reality blocker from him.

NATASHA ROMANOFF (616): “So we’re doing this.” Natasha’s lips pursed. That was fine. She knew why Clint was going in but it was still disappointing. There was no way Natasha was letting them go in without a chaperone, though. “We only have so many reality blockers. How many of you want in?”

JESSICA DREW (931): is this for fucking real? Jessica needs a drink. And a burger. But first, she needs to slap some sense into Clint Barton. So she does! She jumps off the wall and strides right up to him, smiles coyly, and backhands him across his cheek. “You’re even dumber than I remember!” Is she screaming? She’s definitely screaming. “Storming a shield protected, reality altered town without any extraction methods and without any actual plan is going to get you killed. Or worse!” Because worse, for her, is ending up like one of the pleasant hill inmates, your life rewritten for you, your mind stolen from you, your agency forcefully ripped away. She shudders. “Is anyone here actually thinking straight?!”

LANCE HUNTER (616): Hunter stepped up to stand beside Clint. There was no way in hell he’d let the man rescue Bobbi on his own. Not when he and Bobbi had a tally going. He flinched when the other man was slapped, unable to keep the smallest of grins from creeping into his face, but spoke up anyway, “I’m in.”

AMERICA CHAVEZ (UTOPIAN PARALLEL): Snatching one from Stephen, America held the device up to one eye and checked it out. “If he’s in,” she looked to Stephen. “I’m in.”

JESSICA DREW (931): “are any of you testosterone-fueled jackasses even listening to me?!” She’s a minute away from picking up Lance hunter and throwing him into a bedroom with Clint. Let them sort out their ridiculous crushes on each other in private. Then, maybe, their brains will work enough to actually come up with a viable solution. she’s staring at Natasha romanoff instead, a hand dragging down her face. “What are you all going to do when this is all over, huh? Just walk out of there and pretend shield isn’t going to fire back?”

LOGAN HOWLETT (616): Pushing his way through the condensing crowd around Strange, Logan grunted and reached out a hand once he was close enough. "Gimme one of those." It was a demand, not a question. Jean was in there, and if this was the time to head in he was going to make sure she was found.

STEPFORD CUCKOOS (616): “Oh, we absolutely will *not* be doing that.” The sisters sniffed. “But we’ll tell Ms. Frost and the Council.” Please, the telepathic afterthought went out. Find our sister.

NATASHA ROMANOFF (616): “Pretending S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t going to fire back would make us even more stupid than them.” Natasha replied to Jessica coolly. “But S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fired on us before, haven’t they?”

JANET VAN DYNE (616): “I could sneak in undetected, I’m sure! Find a way to infiltrated the room where they’re keeping the source of the town — maybe Ripley Ryan — and at least do some recon for the rest of you?!” Janet’s flexing her arm and flashing a wide grin. “We’re all in this together, team!”

JESSICA DREW (931): “just saying, this is going to turn into another accords situation. Or worse.” She’s rolling her eyes at Natasha’s response.  At some point in time, they’d been teammates. Maybe even friends? But clearly the Natasha from this world didn’t care about that. So be it. “Whatever, nat, it’s your funeral.”

SAM WILSON (MCU): Even though he didn’t really want to, Sam made his way over to Strange and nodded his head once to signal that he was with him.

JEAN-PAUL DUCHAMP (MCU): "SHIELD is always shooting at someone! Why not have it be us this time, hm? If we let fear of their retaliation stop us, why don't we just give up now? Let our friends stay where they are and forget about them." Frenchie shook his head, feeling the anger build in his chest. "Non! We must try!"

CAROL DANVERS (616): Carol didn't have to ask -- didn't have to make any demands. She was just a step ahead of Sam, the weight of his presence heavy over her shoulder. They'd solidified their relationship with one another through tenuous agreement and heated argument. But they'd worked tirelessly to build something with a stable foundation. She was already going in -- Sam was just a reinforcing point.

JESSICA DREW (931): “that’s not what im suggesting. I’m just saying there’s a better way. A stealthier way.” Whatever, no one’s going to listen to her. She’s used to that, anyways. Jessica eyes Carol, whose mind also seems made up, and the betrayal flashes in her stomach. Fuck it. She might not be on board with this plan but—- maybe Jessica could find a way to frame hydra this.

SCOTT SUMMERS (616): Scott watched as Logan stampeded through the thickening crowd. He would be going after Jean, a dog on a short leash. It didn't aggravate him nearly as much as it had in the past -- years ago when Krakoa was still infantile and they were barely building their family up from nothing. Now, Scott could look on with indifference; could accept Logan's dogged persistence. He made his way through the crowd -- Logan would sniff her out and Scott would be there, he's always been there, since the very beginning.

CLINT BARTON (616): Clint took the slap like a champ as he kept his face neutral, a hand slowly reaching up to wipe his stinging cheek before taking a deep breath. “It already has turned into an Accords situation, Jess. They’re holding people captive in there. Good people.” People like Bobbi, who had been reduced to test subjects. There was no way he was going to just sit back if people were going in. And again, especially not if Lance was going in. “The town is holding a communal barbecue right now.” The time of their meeting in Connecticut was no coincidence, that was for sure. “Is anyone else going in? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

KAMALA KHAN (MCU): She was vibrating. “I volunteer as tribute!” Kamala raised a hand before realizing that she needed to walk over and physically take a reality blocker. She did so somewhat abashedly.

DAISY JOHNSON (AOS): Daisy eyed the crowd as they made their way towards Strange, and when Natasha spoke up, that’s when she reached in and grabbed a blocker for herself, eyeing Monica apologetically. But if there was a chance that Maria would be inside the town, there was no way she was going to sit back at the Airbnb and hear about it later.

LANCE HUNTER (616): “You payin’ attention, Barton? I think the ayes have it,” Hunter looked around the room, everyone who was willing to participate was on their feet, rearing to go, and he’d be right there - right alongside them.

MONICA RAMBEAU (MCU): “Not me.” Monica held both hands up. She respected Daisy’s decision, but someone had to stay on the outside. Besides, Monica knew she couldn’t handle another Westview. It felt too soon.

LANCE HUNTER (616): He took two reality blockers, keeping one for himself, and slapping the other against Clint’s chest. “Hope you’re ready, pretty boy.”

JESSICA DREW (931): “get a room!” Jessica chides to hunter and barton, eyes rolling dramatically in their direction. “Or at least slap each others asses or something.“

LAURA KINNEY/WOLVERINE (616): Logan was going, and Laura had promised to be there for moral support. She took a reality blocker as well, looking to him with pursed lips.

RIRI WILLIAMS (616): “Aw, hell.” Riri shook her head. Miles wasn’t always her favorite person, but she wasn’t going to let him go in without back-up. Sure, there were plenty of others. But they weren’t Champions. They weren’t like Miles and Riri. “I want to check out the tech anyway.”

MATT MURDOCK (616): Matt had been quiet up until this point, but then there was talk of actually going in and he couldn’t help but to walk forward and grab a blocker for himself. Foggy and Karen were for sure going to kill him for this, but if Elektra really was in there, he couldn’t help the temptation to go in himself to find her. Maybe he was teetering on the line of going back to that dark mindset that he always seemed to go to when Elektra was involved, but he couldn’t help it. He listened closely to see if Jen had followed him or if she was staying behind, despite it not having any influence on his decision. He was going.

BUCKY BARNES (MCU): Bucky shook his head along with Monica as he held his hands up. "I don't think I can go back in there." Not right now, at least. There needed to be at least two members of their little team that stayed behind. Maybe Val wouldn't take too kindly to that decision, but he didn't give a shit. They needed a back-up if this went south, which it probably would.

PETER PARKER (MCU): Peter had been lurking since the beginning. Decisions were really, really hard to make sometimes. Heading in there with everyone else volunteering felt like the right thing to do, but there was a big part of him that was telling him to stay. He knew Felicia was in there. And that guilt ate away at him. But there was instant panic when faced with the idea of messed up memories. He didn't want it for himself, and he wasn't sure he wouldn't immediately crack when faced with it in others. It was a touchy subject still, apparently. So he figured it would be best if he didn't go. He might become a liability if he went. Noticing that Tony (not his Tony, of course, which was still something to get used to) wasn't jumping at the chance to head in, he inched his way over to him and let the rest of the group divide themselves up.

TONY STARK (616): "Well, you are all going to be so glad that I stayed behind. When your rash decisions bite you in the ass, the rest of us are going to have to come save you. Thankfully, we'll have time to come up with that extraction plan." Tony stayed put, glancing to the young Spider-Man who had made his way over. "Smart decision, kid."

JENNIFER WALTERS (MCU): It took some heavy deliberation. Jen wasn’t sure which way she wanted to go. She knew she was technically a tank and that would be helpful, but the idea of being warped set her on edge. Still, she was learning how to be a hero. And hey, reader, who doesn’t want to stay relevant? “I’m in,” Jen finally rolled her shoulders back.

CLINT BARTON (616): Clint placed his hand on top of Lance's for a brief moment once he slapped the reality blocker against his chest and raised a defensive brow at him before attaching the device to the side of his neck. "I was born ready."

HOPE VAN DYNE (MCU): “I need to get home.” Back to Jan, back to Hank, back to Cassie. They needed to know what had happened.

JESSICA JONES (MCU): “Fuck no.” That went without saying.

JESSICA JONES (616): “Isn’t Trish in there?”

JESSICA JONES (MCU): “What the hell am I going to do for her if I’m also a mind wiped zombie?” Jessica would find a way to help from the outside.

JANE FOSTER/VALKYRIE (616): Silent up until that point, Jane took a deep breath. She remembered the first Pleasant Hill and how it had been in there. It felt like she was required to go back.

JESSICA JONES (616): “You must be real fun at parties.” JJ retorts with a snort. Not like she’s going in there either but, fuck, there’s not a single person she cares about missing. So. Eh.

PETER QUILL (MCU): Peter was hesitant to stand as the risk seemed to be quite great, but Mantis had already made her decision, and he wouldn’t dare let her go in without him. He’d never forgive himself if something happened and he wasn’t there to prevent it. He silently retrieved one of the chips and attached it to his skin like so many others had already done, his expression a picture of quiet determination.

NATASHA ROMANOFF (616): Natasha respected Jessica. The Drew she knew was dead, but she had faith that her multiversal variant was as well. That didn’t mean she agreed with her, though. The assassin watched as Clint spoke with her, nodding once when he finished. Valkyrie took the last of the reality blockers, the duffel now empty. “Stephen, Hunter, Mantis, Spider-man, Star-Lord, Stephen, Hawkeye, Black Widow, America, Wolverine, Wasp, Wolverine, Captain America, Duchamp, Captain Marvel, Cyclops, Quake, Ms. Marvel, Daredevil, Ironheart, She-Hulk and Valkyrie. Interesting group.”

JANET VAN DYNE (616): “Okay, team. Let’s do this!”

DAISY JOHNSON (AOS): Daisy nodded at Natasha’s recap and took a deep breath as she assessed the group in front of her, the realization of what they were doing finally hitting her. They were going into Pleasant Hill, officially. It was bound to turn into a disaster like Stark was saying, but it felt right to at least try. She sure as hell wasn’t going to let Stephen Strange crusade into the town by himself with no back-up, and judging by the amount of people that volunteered she wasn’t alone in that sentiment. It didn’t take them long to get to the perimeter of the town thanks to America Chavez and her portals, and pretty soon they were just outside the outer gates of the town. They weren’t conspicuous by any means, but once they got into the town that wouldn’t matter anyways. This many strangers was bound to be a red flag, especially considering the amount of them that were in full on suits. Rolling her eyes a bit at the red and yellow disaster that was Matt’s suit, she took a deep breath and fixed the blocker onto the side of her neck. “The agents are in the middle of a shift change right now. I’d say we have about—“ Pausing, she glances down at her watch before speaking again. “Two minutes to get in without a fight.”

NATASHA ROMANOFF (616): “You heard her.” Natasha took her own blocker and moved the fabric of her suit to affix it to her skin. She made her way to the keypad at the gate that bordered the thick ring of trees at the barrier. As soon as the lock blinked green, she entered. Everyone else could follow if they liked; it was the last chance to back out. With determined steps, Natasha made her way to the town center where all the people had gathered.

LANCE HUNTER (616): Hunter knew some of the people joining in on this rescue mission were more qualified than others, so for that reason he chose to stick close to Natasha, following quickly behind as he passed the gate and entered the town.

AMERICA CHAVEZ (UTOPIAN PARALLEL): “Hey, so,” short legs moved quickly to keep up as America walked between the Stephen’s. “Just tossing this out there, but is there a spell or something one of the two incredibly powerful former Sorcerer Supremes could cast that would make the bug lady look less like un insecto?”

STEPHEN STRANGE (MCU): Stephen paused for a moment, making eye contact with the other Strange and pressing his lips into a tight frown as he caught sight of mantis and realized that America was right. They couldn’t go into Pleasant Hill looking the way they did. Not when Mantis had literal antennae sticking out of her head. He waved his sling ring up for a moment and moved his hands, calculated with the spell as orange sparks emitted over everyone and cast a glamour to change everyone’s faces to be a bit more agreeable. In a few seconds, everyone looked like they could fit right in with the aesthetic of this suburban town they now found themselves in. Stephen’s own appearance changed, but the sling ring was the only remnant of himself as it sat nicely on his hand. “There. We should also probably split up across the park. We’ll draw less attention to ourselves that way.”

GREER NELSON (616): Her nose twitched once. Tanned flesh now replaced the orange fur that Greer had grown accustomed to, and she flexed her fingers before turning to an unchanged Duchamp. “We’re looking for Spector.” It was a statement, not a question.

MARC SPECTOR/MOONKNIGHT (MCU): Hot-dogs and patties sizzled on the grill in front of him as Oscar contributed to the cook-out while his children played on the grass nearby. And it was there, with longing eyes watched Gugu as she sat there with Delilah and played personally with her while Jason ran around with a soccer ball to his heart’s content. This? This was life right here, and it was good. More than good, actually. He had a third child on the way with the love of his life, and things were going well enough at work that he was heading toward a promotion here soon. “Hey honey, do you want a hot-dog or a burger?”

MANTIS (MCU): She couldn’t see her face, but Mantis could tell magic had been used. “I am changed?” She asked Peter.

MARIA HILL (616): Maria had gathered the people of Pleasant Hill in the town square. Her intention was to provide a speech that would boost morale, keep the inmates complacent, and reinforce group cohesiveness. "And so, I thank you all for attending today's barbecue. It is my responsibility as mayor to ensure all the people of this town feel supported. Should you have any questions or concerns, please come speak with me any time during the barbecue." Her intercom beeps. Again. And again. Something was amiss in Pleasant Hill. Maria clears her throat. "Now, I encourage you all to enjoy the rest of your day, help yourselves to refreshments, and get to know your fellow neighbors better."

JEAN-PAUL DUCHAMP (MCU): He debated ignoring her. Frenchie didn't necessarily trust this Greer person but for now, they could work together. He was more than happy to look for Marc on his own, but another set of eyes was technically useful. "You don't know him. Not like I do." He answered her statement with one of his own. "I do the talking."

CLEA STRANGE/SORCERER SUPREME (616): “Burger for me, but only if there’s cheese.” At the word cheese, Delilah grinned. “Make that two. Hotdog for Jason.” They had set up their blanket close to the center of the town square. Gugu had been seated on it with Delilah while Jason acted like a spun out puppy, and her heart was content. Gugu paused, head tilting to the side while the mayor spoke. “She’s such a nice woman,” she sighed.

PETER QUILL (MCU): Peter wasn’t entirely sure how to answer, but he knew Mantis would be able to tell instantly if he was lying to her, “Yeah,” he shrugged, “— but we’re undercover, you know? That’s the whole point.” He could tell his own appearance had changed as well, but he knew it was Strange’s doing and that the magic wasn’t, of course, permanent.

GREER GRANT (616): “I’d argue I know Marc Spector pretty well,” Greer arched a brow. But that was in another reality, wasn’t it? She didn’t want to fight with him. “It doesn’t matter who talks as long as we say the right thing and get them out.”

MANTIS (MCU): “Am I...ugly?” She asked, genuinely unsure. Drax told her she was ugly, so she had to have been. It was what she was used to.

PETER QUILL (MCU): “— god, no Mantis.” Drax should’ve kept his big mouth shut. “If anything, I prefer your old face,” he remarked, hoping it was taken as the compliment he meant it as.

DAISY JOHNSON (AOS): Daisy’s jaw was already square the moment they walked into the town center and Maria’s voice could be heard over the loud speaker. Liar. What a liar Maria Hill was, boasting about making everyone in town feel supported when really she was holding them all hostage in a suburban fantasy. A nightmare, was more accurate, really. It took everything in her not to just march onto that stage and take things into her own hands, but she was smart enough to stick back as she looked to Natasha and Hunter. “This is bullshit.”

KARLA SOFEN/MOONSTONE (616): Lucy Maneri was the town's baker, so perhaps it was only natural that the mayor asked for her to partake in preparing dessert for this barbecue. She was adorned in a checkered, 50s style apron, her hair tied back, and a bright smile on her face as lucy went around with a tray of fresh baked cupcakes. She stops the first person she sees, waving them to her cupcake tray. "I have a variety of flavours, plus gluten free, dairy free, kosher, hallal, nut free, keto-friendly, and vegan! Would you like one, darling?"

MATT MURDOCK (MCU): Matt stopped abruptly, feeling out of place without a pair of tinted glasses on his face and without the suit on as he kept an arm linked around Jen's and took a deep breath. Shaking his head slightly, he finally turned to her direction. "Listen, if you.. If you don't want to get dragged into this, I understand. I know I've already tried to warn you, but Elektra, she's..." What was Elektra, exactly? Someone who brought out the best and the worst in Matt simultaneously somehow? "It's a lot. And if it's too much, I get it."

RIRI WILLIAMS (616): Oh, hell no. Riri had seen enough Jordan Peele movies to know that this place was not where it was at. She had stuck by Miles, the sleeves of her flannel already covering her nano gauntlet even before the wizard had cast the spell. “Uh, no.” She tried to sidestep the white lady with the excessive amount of options. “Hard pass from me.”

STEPHEN STRANGE (616): "I still think we should have thought this through more." Stephen remarked, eyes straight ahead as they walked. He tried not to focus on the changes to his own appearance— bare arms and shirt fabric replacing the bandages that were normally there. There was no golden mask, no cape. It felt odd, but it also felt freeing. His soul still wasn't his own, but he could at least feel a bit of detachment from that fact. "It's because of your rashness that we are here. Which is what you should keep in mind if things take a turn for the worst."

KARLA SOFEN (616): "Why so glum, dear? They’re only cupcakes. You're treating them like they’re poison! A little sugar will put some meat on those bones, you know!" She laughs in the forced way a housewife would, her smile stretching a bit wider across her face. She picks up a cupcake -- strawberry! -- and holds it out. "Are you sure?"

JENNIFER WALTERS (MCU): The spell had left her unchanged. Jen remained herself: short, curly haired and linked to Matt by an elbow. As they abruptly stopped, she turned to face him fully. “Look, you don’t have to warn me. I’m good with dealing with a lot. It’s like, kinda my thing.” Jen tried to reassure him, all the while attempting to silence her own doubts. “Let’s just find her. Then we can deal with the lot part.”

MARIA HILL (616): She was seeking out agent carter now with practiced nonchalance despite the urgency of the situation. Once she had captured the other's gaze, Maria tapped two fingers three times against her right thigh, a secret code that alludes to the fact they had been compromised.

STEPHEN STRANGE (MCU): “I’m sorry, if I recall things correctly it seems that you have followed me out here on this rash quest. After I pushed you to eventually have the motivation to come save your own wife.” Stephen remarked back almost instantly, his tone sharp and his expression firm until he noticed a few stares being cast in their direction. He straightened up after that, adjusting the button up shirt he was now wearing as he flattened it out and took a deep breath. “I’m not doing this here with you. Not right now. If you’d like to go try and help her, you’re more than welcome to join.”

MILES MORALES (1610): “Nah, I think I’m good.” Miles answered instantly, seeming to get the same exact energy that Riri was picking up on from the baker lady as she smiled at them with an uneasy grin. It was the kind of grin you saw in a horror movie, right before you got stabbed or something. No way. But then she held out the cupcake and Miles felt awkward declining it as he just took it from her hands and tried to offer a grateful smile. “What, uh.. what flavor is this one?”

JEAN-PAUL DUCHAMP (616): "Mmm no, no thank you mon amour. One of those burgers perhaps? Those look good." Frenchie managed to hear the question as they walked up, tipping his head to catch Marc's eye as he ungracefully made himself part of the conversation between him and his fake wife. The smile on his face could almost be considered a shit-eating grin. "What kind of mustard do you have, hm?"

RIRI WILLIAMS (616): She just shook her head. If one of them were going to get the *Get Out* treatment, it wouldn’t be her. “Shouldn’t we focus on finding our friend?”

MATT MURDOCK (MCU): Matt couldn’t help the self deprecating laugh he let out at Jen trying to reassure him as he just shook his head. If only she knew. There was no way he could ever give her a recap of everything that went down with the Hand that could convey the full weight of it all. He still hadn’t told her about how he’d let himself get crushed to death in that building with Elektra that night. How he’d gotten back and couldn’t even bring himself to be Matt Murdock anymore for a long few months. God, he hadn’t even told her about Fisk. But things between them were so nice and lighthearted that he’d almost let himself forget about all of that. About the dark stains of his past that he was still trying to atone for. And here Jen was, trying her best to be supportive despite not knowing just how deep all of this went. And it meant the world to him, even if he knew soon all of it would change the moment he got Elektra back. There was no world in which Elektra just let him move on. The sound of jangling keys stopped Matt in his tracks and he paused and listened for where the noise was coming from. “Just behind me, the Sheriff.. Is she there?”

KARLA SOFEN (616): "It's strawberry, dear! i hope you like it!" She tilts her head sideways, waving the two youngins off with a bright smile. "Stay safe! Enjoy the barbecue! You know where to find me if your friend would like cupcakes, too!"

MARC SPECTOR (MCU): Oscar’s brows raised a bit when suddenly a man was responding to his question, a French man at that. There was no one in Pleasant Hill with any sort of accent of any kind, really. It was intriguing, even if it was also very confusing. “You, uh.. you want a burger? Yeah, I can get one for you.” He responded politely, a slightly nervous smile tugging at his lips as he grabbed a set of buns and tilted his head towards the stranger. “There’s more than one kind of mustard…?”

LOGAN HOWLETT (616): Logan wasn't sure this would be an option at first, but he was thankful to learn that things pretty much smelled the way they were supposed to smell in this weird time. There was something off of course, but the people were still themselves. He caught Jean's scent pretty quickly and just started following it. Scott and Laura could follow if they wanted. When he finally saw her, his senses felt like they were lying to him. It was Jean, he had followed his nose right to her, but it wasn't her face. It shouldn't have been a surprise but it made him feel sick. "Jean?" Her name slipped out of his mouth before he could catch it.

MILES MORALES (1610): As soon as the woman walked off and was out of sight, Miles subtly threw the cupcake away in a nearby garbage bin as he turned to Riri and nodded quickly. "Right, yeah.. Her name is Danielle here." Miles knew that much from the file he'd skimmed over about a hundred times.

DAISY JOHNSON (AOS): Daisy watched with careful eyes as Maria made a signal to someone, and with a quick glance across the park she realized that it was Sharon. That was enough to make her nudge Natasha as subtly as she could. "Maria's signaling. They know." Not that it was a surprise, but they were definitely on a time crunch now if they weren't before.

JENNIFER WALTERS (MCU): It was hard to be supportive about something so clearly painful and shrouded in mystery, but Jen had never shied away from something because it was hard. She had taken the Bar in California. It was the hardest state to pass in with a 34% chance. That remained one of her greatest accomplishments, even next to being She-Hulk. It was important to her that every part of her identity was acknowledged and treasured. The same went for Matt, even when she didn’t understand him. Trying to be casual, she glanced over her shoulder. “There’s a woman with a badge, yeah. I want to go out on a limb and guess that it’s her. Are we just walking over or do you have a plan?”

PETER QUILL (MCU): Peter’s subconscious was telling him to look for green skin, but he quickly realized that was incorrect when he remembered their appearances had been altered. He tried to conjure up a mental picture of the photo that had been in Gamora’s file. Zoe was her name now, right. He began to move around the gathering, smiling and nodding in acknowledgement at anyone who happened to look his way as he continued his frantic search for this new face.

MATT MURDOCK (MCU): "I don't.." Trailing off, Matt grimaced. Was talking to her really the best course of action? It wasn't like he could tell for certain that it was Elektra. Not unless he could hear her. Smell the familiar shampoo she usually used, anything that could give him an inkling of her real identity. This person was certainly not Elektra, and he still wasn't fully convinced that it was even underneath. "Walking over is a good start." And with that, his arm guided Jen towards the direction of the Sheriff. Ironic, considering he was the blind one, but being guided around was usually just for show anyways. And right now, they needed some show. "Hi, you're the Sheriff here, right? Sheriff Boyd?"

JEAN GREY (616): She wasn’t officially working, so the microphone stayed at home. Instead, it was nice to socialize off the record and actually spend time with the people she lived around. Megan loved Pleasant Hill. She had a dog, a good career and friends. A partner would have been nice, but there was time. Although she was in the middle of conversing with Chris Turati, Megan paused when a man spoke to her. “Megan.” She pointed at herself. “I’m sorry, are you new?”

JEAN-PAUL DUCHAMP (MCU): Frenchie's face twisted up like he had tasted something bitter. "Oh my, what have they done to you?" He sounded genuinely heartbroken, thinking back to the multiple times he had lectured Marc on the multiple types of mustard that existed in the world. He took the buns and grabbed a plate, eyes gravitating towards the single sad yellow bottle next to the ketchup. Talking to his best friend like this was harder than he anticipated. It was taking all of his willpower to not reach over, grab him by the shoulders, and shake him back into remembering. He would have to try a different approach. "Why don't you take a seat, relax, eat. I can take over the grill." Frenchie took the spatula from him and gently booted him away from in front of the grill. He scooped up a burger for himself and then casually flipped another, not caring if it needed to be flipped. "I own a restaurant, you know. Does that ring any bells to you? Do you enjoy Italian food, mon ami?"

NATASHA ROMANOFF (616): “Of course they know.” Natasha’s face remained impassive as she glanced around the town square. There wasn’t much time before they’d be converged upon. Everyone had dispersed at this point. “Odds of this being a success?” Her words were a low hum. “Low. But we knew that, didn’t we?” Still, they tried. “How do you want to play this?”

TRISH WALKER (MCU): Blake Miller was laying in the grass, a cat in her lap, a dog by her side, living her best life, honestly. At some point, her dog wandered off, seemingly interested in sniffing out something (or someone?), who didn't belong here. Blake approached them, confusion in her face. "I’m sorry, I didn't realize we had new neighbors!"

RIRI WILLIAMS (616): Riri failed to relax even when they walked away from the cupcake lady. “I don’t like the name Danielle,” she tossed out. “But we know what she looks like. At least we have that going for us.” She scanned the area and spotted a group of teenagers. “Worth a shot?”

ELEKTRA NATCHIOS (MCU): “Elodie, yes.” The Sheriff corrected him. Everyone in Pleasant Hill was on a first name basis. “Please, tell me you’re here to introduce yourself and *not* because someone committed a crime.”

MARC SPECTOR/KHONSHU (MCU): Oscar frowned at that, now completely lost on the conversation as he just stared blankly at the man in front of him and shrugged his shoulders a bit, not sure what he was supposed to say. No one had done anything to him. Not that he could remember, at least. He was just out providing some food for his neighbors. “What?” He asked softly, his eyes glancing back over towards Gugu on the grass for a brief few seconds. Within a few seconds, suddenly he found himself seated as the stranger took the spatula from him and started to do the cooking for him. It was more than bizarre. Part of him wanted to call over to his wife for a little bit of help, but then the Frenchman was asking more questions and they piqued his interest enough to turn his attention back to the conversation at hand. “You know, I can’t say it does. Italian food is great, though. Spaghetti night is pretty big at our house.” Ah, so I see. Marc summons more than one worm when he is in need of aid. Jean-Paul Duchamp, this will not work. Khonshu’s full presence was revealed now to Frenchie and Greer as he towered just behind Marc, concealing his presence from his avatar for the time being. Marc Spector is not fully present. I will have to fix it myself. But not here. It is too open a space. It had taken the god this long to even find Marc because he could not even sense his presence on their normal plane of existence. Taweret had been in the same position with the bug.

ELEKTRA NATCHIOS (MCU): “Elodie, yes.” The Sheriff corrected him. Everyone in Pleasant Hill was on a first name basis. “Please, tell me you’re here to introduce yourself and not because someone committed a crime.”

DAISY JOHNSON (AOS): "Yeah, stupid low." Daisy confirmed as she grumbled to herself and just shook her head. They did know that. But they couldn't let it be for nothing. "Hill. We take Hill down, we stunt this operation from the top, right?"

STEPHEN STRANGE (616): "The motivation—" Strange had to practically bite his own tongue off to cut that sentence short. What composure he had managed to keep up until then cracked wide open. How dare Stephen suggest he needed external motivation to save Clea? But, he kept that to himself and slid one set of fingers through his silver hair, pushing it away from his forehead as he took in a breath. Stephen was right— this wasn't the time or place for them to blow up at each other. But he was confident it would happen soon, no matter the outcome of this expedition. Once they found Clea, the shock hit him. The strange french man was there already, adding an odd element to the group. But now he was right in front of Clea, and the words caught in his throat. "I'm— I'm sorry to bother you—" He approached her with caution, eyes glancing between her and the children. "Could we talk to you for a moment?"

JANE FOSTER (616): Upon seeing a dog, Jane automatically bent down to pet it. There was a saying that people in New York would step over a dead body to pet a dog, and they weren’t totally wrong. She looked up when the other woman spoke, the realization of where they were hitting once more. “Uh, yeah, yeah. Some of us just moved in.” Even though Jane had read the profiles, she didn’t recognize the woman. “Cute dog.”

MILES MORALES (1610): Miles eyed the group of teenagers that Riri pointed out and nodded quickly, deciding that that was a great place to start. He could barely remember what her face looked like, but a name was good enough for now. They'd find her, they had to. Walking over there with Riri by his side, Miles clasped one of the boys into a generic handshake as he nodded at the group. "'Sup? We're both pretty new here and just figured we'd check out the barbecue."

LOGAN HOWLETT (616): "Megan?" There was a split second of confusion before he remembered that name being attached to her file. He let out a huff. "Yeah, sure. Right. Megan. I guess you could say I'm new. Just got in today, in fact. The name's Logan. And this is my daughter Laura."

CLEA STRANGE (616): Some odd man was assaulting her husband. Not technically, but he was behaving strangely and Gugu had half a mind to step in to save Oscar. Delilah chose that moment to have a meltdown though, and it took a second to get her straight again. She was calling to Jason when two shadows fell over the picnic blanket. “Sure. Is everything alright?” They weren’t familiar. New, maybe? Gugu couldn’t help but crane her neck to look around them to see if Oscar was paying attention. He wasn’t. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

LAURA KINNEY (616): She got an introduction. That was nice. Laura offered a tight lipped smile and a finger gun.

JEAN GREY (616): “Megan.” She confirmed. “Logan. Laura. Great. We all know each others names now. Can I help you with something?”

STEPHEN STRANGE (MCU): There was no doubt in Stephen’s mind that there was bound to be a head to this endless cycle of bickering the two of them were finding themselves in, but now was not the time. They had a job to do, and that was find Clea and get her the hell out of this town. But then they were actually approaching her and standing just feet away from the fake children and all of the breath was practically sucked out of Stephen’s chest as he just stared with widened eyes at the scene in front of them. He knew it’d be bad, but this was worse than he’d imagined. Seeing her look so complacent in all of this, so.. so happy. Not knowing that all of this was fake. “Oh, yes, everything’s just fine. We just wanted to come introduce ourselves. New to the neighborhood and all that. I’m Stephen.” The introduction came quickly, partially in spite of the other Stephen so he could at least get his name out first. He resisted the urge to hold out a hand to shake as he took a slow deep breath in through his nose.

RIRI WILLIAMS (616): Not wanting to play games, Riri just gutted her chin at the others before crossing her arms over her chest. “My brother and I are looking for our neighbor, actually. Danielle. You guys know where she is?”

JEAN-PAUL DUCHAMP (MCU): "Quel désastre.." Spaghetti night? Really? But before he could get out another word to Marc, the form of Khonshu appeared. He let out an annoyed sigh, letting the hand gripping the spatula fall defeated to his side as his eyes moved away from Marc. "Oh now you show up? After I do the hard work of finding him?" It was no secret that Frenchie was not fond of the bird-god. He hated him, in fact. He brought Marc back from the dead but everything after was a disaster. "What do you want me to do, throw him over my shoulder and carry him away? He will be terrified." Although, Frenchie thought to himself, that wasn't the worst idea.

MATT MURDOCK (MCU): "Elodie, right." That was strange. He couldn't recall the last Sheriff he'd met who didn't demand to have their title flaunted around in every single conversation. "Just introducing ourselves, I'm afraid. Though, judging by the state of the town, I doubt there's really much crime to counteract at all." It was the entire point of this, right? "I'm Matthew. And this is my girlfriend, Jen."

ELEKTRA NATCHIOS (MCU): Elodie made a point to never forget a face, so she took a mental snapshot of both of them. “God, you’re a good looking couple. Welcome to town. You’re right, though. I have a painfully easy job. We’re lucky here, but we all know it.”

RAVEN DARKHOLME/MYSTIQUE (616): They took her Irene. Raven just got her back. and S.H.I.E.L.D. fucking. took her. Raven was coming for blood. This was more than an eye for an eye. This was a life for a life, and she was murder incarnate. She was bloodshed wearing the skin of Janet Van Dyne, but the moment she entered the town, Raven shifted again. She was one towns person, then another. And this little game of charades continued until she was close enough to Maria Hill for the slaughter. She waited, of course. bBd her time, acted the part, until Irene was within eyeshot. Yntil she would bask in the blood of redemption. That’s when Raven turned her skin blue, when she was nose-to-nose with Maria Hill. When she brought the gun to the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s stomach and pulled the trigger.

MATT MURDOCK (MCU): Matt couldn’t even get another word out before he heard the clicking of a gun being cocked, and his first instinct was to grab both Jen and Elektra down onto the ground with him as he kept his arms over the top of them. “Get down!” And sure enough, a gunshot rang out through the town square just seconds later. Chaos ensued almost immediately afterwards, the sounds of screaming people echoing throughout Matt’s entire field of hearing as he stayed down on the ground for a moment to make sure there were no more gunshots coming.

STEPHEN STRANGE (616): "Right. And I'm— Vincent." There was a more than obvious pause before he said the name, not wanting to confuse her by saying the exact same name she was just given. Their similar appearances probably have caught her eye already— no need to bring shared names into it quite yet. He opened his mouth to continue but was shocked by the sound of a gun going off. A split second later, the crowd around them erupted into screams of panic and terror. His instincts kicked in and his hands went up, conjuring a magic shield in a sudden flurry of sparks. He crouched down to get closer to Clea, wanting to cover her but recoiling a bit when he got to close. Not only would she not want him, a stranger, close to her. They still couldn't touch.

STEPHEN STRANGE (MCU): Stephen’s immediate instinct was also to throw up a shield, sparks emanating all around them as he crouched down beside the two of them and made sure to keep the children covered, even if they weren’t real. It still felt like it may as well have been real given how realistic the reality stone made everything seem. When he realized that he’d done the same exact thing as the other Strange, he shared a look with his multiversal counterpart before glancing back towards Clea and raising his brows. The park was now in complete and total chaos, considering the mayor had just been shot onstage. His eyes searched for where Marc went, since Clea would surely be screaming about him once she got over the shock of the magical shields, but he was nowhere in sight.

CLEA STRANGE (616): “Oh my God.” At the gunshot, Gugu’s first instinct was to grab Delilah and curl her body around the child’s. And Jason -- where was Jason?? She still had Delilah pinned down as she shot up to look for her son, seeing instead sparks raining down seemingly from Stephen and Vincent’s hands. Jason was -- there. Jason was there. They were all huddled together under what appeared to be some kind of shield or barrier, and Gugu clutched Delilah even harder. She tried to scramble backwards, but the blanket got tangled up  around her legs and stopped her from going anywhere. “What the hell are you?”

MARC SPECTOR (MCU): Alright, now this was just getting out of hand. Suddenly the French guy was looking behind and above him and having a full fledged conversation with thin air, and that was enough for Oscar to stand up from the seat he’d been forced down into. “If you’ll excuse me, I, uh.. My wife and kids are hungry.” He tried to keep his voice firm as he grabbed a plate and started to grab some buns, but then suddenly a gunshot rang out throughout the park and his fight or flight mode was kicked on. Gugu. The kids. Where were they? He could barely see through everyone starting to run on the grass, and as he stepped past the stranger and into the crowd, a woman crashed into him and sent them both crashing down onto the grass in a panic. “Gugu! Jason! Delilah!” The names were shouted with urgency as his voice cracked and he tried to pull himself up from the ground, but then suddenly he was looking up at a large skeletal bird creature and he couldn’t help the scream that ripped from him as he covered his head with his hands. This was a nightmare. A terrible nightmare that he just needed to wake up from already.

LOGAN HOWLETT (616): The gunshot sent everything into disarray. Logan hadn't come up with what to say next, so it at least saved him from floundering, but it was a huge shock. His adrenaline shot through him, heart pounding and chest heaving. His hands closed into fists and then the claws came out. Logan could smell the blood, and looked to Laura before taking a defensive step closer to Jean.

LAYLA EL-FAOULY/SCARLET SCARAB (MCU): She had never heard a gunshot before. Not in real life, at least. May had in movies, but that was about it. The sound was enough to startle her into motion; the crowd all seemed to be moving in different directions, pinning her in the middle. She was about to break free when she collided with a man and went careening to the ground. Oscar Nuñez. She knew who he was because she had cut his kids hair. His daughter had loved holding the little stuffed hippo that May kept on hand for the youngsters. Now, they were both on the ground. May was trying to untangle her legs from Oscar’s when she saw the skeleton bird. She had only a second to try and process that before she saw a hippo in a wig staring down at her with a scarily jolly grin. Hello, dearie. Glad to see you! Been looking everywhere for you, you know. Never mind that! We’re together now, aren’t we? Now we can fix this pesky business, set it all to right. May just screamed.

STEPHEN STRANGE (616): Stephen tried to calm himself, feeling his heart beat through his chest. He turned to look at Clea as he steadied his breath, then slowly stood back up and let the shield dissipate. "We're uh—we're magicians. Stage magicians." Because he was unsure of his answers, it sounded vaguely like a question. He shrugged and looked to Stephen for a moment. "Are you alright? It sounds like it was just the one shot, we're all okay. But we should get out of here. Get somewhere safer." It was his attempt at trying to get Clea to come with them. The fear and adrenaline from the gunshot made everything feel even worse, and he was worried they weren't going to get her to come.

JEAN GREY (616): However Megan was going to react to the gunshot was overpowered by her surprise at seeing giant knives come out of the mans knuckles. “I’m sorry, what?” She needed her camera crew ASAP. This wasn’t something you wanted to miss.

JENNIFER WALTERS (MCU): Matt’s arm pushed Jen down, but she was already mid-transformation. A second later, she stood in her full Hulk form with fists clenched as she tried to see if there was any immediate threat after the shot. If need be, Jen would throw herself in front of Matt and Elektra (?) due to her increased durability. “Are you two okay?” She-Hulk looked down at them.

MARC SPECTOR (MCU): When Oscar finally gained the courage to remove his hands from his head, his screaming didn’t stop as he looked up and saw not only that the skeleton bird was still looming over him, but there was a hippo now too. A large talking hippo and— his screaming wouldn’t stop, he physically couldn’t stop as he tried to pull his legs away from May’s. Marc Spector. I leave you for two seconds and you get yourself captured almost immediately. Typical. The bird’s voice reverberated in Oscar’s head, so loud that it sounded like someone had shoved a speaker on full blast right against his ear. It hurt. This won’t take long. Don’t resist. The pain only got worse from there as his eyes lit up bright white and his limbs moved without his consent. His neck strained as he tried to fight it, but eventually the otherworldly power coursing through him won as bandages began to wrap around his arms and chest, eventually covering him entirely in the suit. And in that instant, Marc’s mind seemed to catch up with everything that was happening as the suit unravelled itself and he fell forward, limp from Khonshu no longer straining his muscles. His face was his own again, but his mind was completely scrambled. Blinking twice, he stared down at the grass and panted as he tried to figure out where he was. Not uncommon for him, but this time felt different.

ELEKTRA NATCHIOS (MCU): What had she just been saying about the town being safe? Almost as soon as the gunshot rang out, Elodie was under Matt’s arm. The protection was nice for a second before she remembered her job and whipped her own gun out, safety clicking off as she raised her arms. “Shit. The Mayor. She’s ---” That’s when it clicked that Jen was now seven feet tall and green. Elodie’s gun clattered to the floor.

RAVEN DARKHOLME (616): Mystique is unfazed by the chaos around her. She eyes the body in disappointment, but reaches down regardless. Taking the dangling "corpse" in her hand, and waving it to the crowd. "So you all see how they deceived you? Your beloved "mayor" was nothing but a robot. Someone to observe you. sSmeone to keep you complacent. This world of yours is as fake as your mayor was. But you can leave, if you don't believe me. Nothing is stopping you now. Walk out of the town and see for yourself."

LOGAN HOWLETT (616): "Uh—" Logan looked down at his hands and then retracted his claws. They healed instantly as always, leaving behind a small trace of blood. "It's nothing. But you-you aren't safe here. You can't stay here."

MATT MURDOCK (MCU): Matt stood up with Jen's help as he tried to ground himself and listen in to just what was happening, but the screaming was so loud. When he tried to listen in towards the stage, he noticed something different. The person who had been shot on the stage, something was off. "I'm fine. And so is the Mayor, apparently." He nodded in the direction of the stage as the mutant paraded the "body".

IRENE ADLER/DESTINY (616): She was a teacher. Not a medic, not an officer. A teacher. That didn’t stop Emilia from running straight towards Mayor Hill when she went down. Everyone else was running away, but she had to make sure the woman was okay. She had to come up short when the assassin began to wave part of the corpse in the air. “Why are you doing this?” The words left her mouth on their own volition. They were happy. They were safe. Who would want to strew chaos like this?

RAVEN DARKHOLME (616): "Why?!" Raven turns to Irene. Ro her Destiny, and pulls to woman flush against her, kissing her deeply. When she pulls away, the blue skinned mutant grits her jaw. "Because you are my wife, Irene. This world stole you from me once before, and I refuse to let anyone take you from me again." She’s throwing the robot onto the ground, crushing LMD Marias face beneath her heel. There’s death in her pure yellow eyes. Uninhibited, feral rage. "I'm doing this because you're blind, Irene." Poor choice of words. Oops. "You should know this world is a calculated ruse. You should know who I am!" She’s trembling fists clenched at her sides. Raven’s voice drops to a low growl. "This world is a lie. I need you to see the truth. I need you to remember."

JEAN GREY (616): “A big part of my job involves being in places I shouldn’t.” That’s how you got the story, after all. “You’re not gonna just nothing the stabby things, Edward Scissorhands.”

ELEKTRA NATCHIOS (MCU): “Your girlfriend is green.” Elodie slowly bent down and picked up her gun. “She wasn’t green before.”

LAYLA EL-FAOULY (MCU): The hippo kept talking at her. In all honesty, May didn’t even know what she was saying anymore. Her voice trilled high and bright ( a bit obnoxiously ) and just kept going and going and going. One thing she said, however, was this will only take a moment. May wanted to ask what was only going to take a minute when her body was suddenly enveloped in new fabric. Cuffs solidified on her biceps as the fabric moved up her body and covered her face. For a second, she couldn’t breathe. May thrashed and tried to pull it off her face, and -- No. May didn’t. Layla did. Her name was Layla. Her name was Layla and she was finally free from the material covering her as she sat slumped in her Scarab costume. Conflicting realities collided in her head, and she just looked to Frenchie helplessly.

JEAN-PAUL DUCHAMP (MCU): Everything happened so fast. The sound of a gunshot drew Jean-Paul to draw his own weapon, aiming it in the direction of the blast. The blood was pumping in his ears as the world erupted and then Marc was scrambling. He got maybe two steps in before he watched Marc and Layla crash into each other. He kept his gun out for a few more seconds until the pair of them started screaming, then he holstered it. Cautiously he moved closer, and watched as the suit wrapped around Marc. He couldn't help but let out a shout of excitement and relief, and then started running to close the distance between them. "Marc!" Frenchie fell to his knees, gently grasping at his best friend's shoulders to help him sit up. He looked to Layla, offering her a hand as well. "It's alright. You are alright! We are going home, just trust me." They were back. They were really back. Once they were both at least sitting up, Jean-Paul wrapped his arms around both of them and stifled a sob as he hugged them. "Dieu merci. Vous allez bien tous les deux. Je t'ai récupéré."

MATT MURDOCK (616): "Yeah," Matt replied with a nonchalant tone, before remembering that this all must be more than jarring for Elodie. "It's kind of a long story. One that I don't think we have time for right now. But listen to me, this town isn't what it seems. We need to get out of here, and now." But what would happen to Elektra if they did leave the town with her like this? There was no way she'd revert back to herself just like that.

IRENE ADLER (616): A lot was being thrown at her. One second, Emilia looked on in shock. The next, the assailant was pulling her close as their lips locked. The kiss instantly sent her walls flying upwards. It took her a moment to regain her bearings, but the second she did, Emilia was pulling back as her palm connected with blue skin. “Who the hell do you think you are?” She ripped herself away. “Blind? I’m not --- I don’t need to remember anything. You’re delusional.” Where the hell was the Sheriff?

LOGAN HOWLETT (616): Logan rolled his eyes, wishing he had just kept the claws hidden. "We can talk all about it later." He shouldn't be surprised that this wasn't easy. This life was all that Jean knew. Normally he would tell her to just read his mind, but she didn't remember her powers. "If you just come with me you can ask me all the questions you want."

RAVEN DARKHOLME (616): Alright. yes. She deserved that. but Raven is still glowering about it. She’s shapeshifting into Irene’s true form, then back to her own form, arching a brow. "You’re testing my patience, my love. We have a child together." She’s pursing her lips in consideration, glancing down at the LMD underfoot. "No. I'm not delusional. If I was, this body would be one of flesh." She’s taking her phone out. Flashing the lock screen to the two of them. "I've been alive for centuries, Irene. Never in my life have I cared for someone as I care for you. so I am not leaving you here. And if you won't come willingly?" She presses a button on her phone. An explosion resounds somewhere in the town. "-- I'll take you by force."

CLEA STRANGE (616): “Stage magician? That doesn’t even make sense.” Managing to free her legs, Gugu climbed to her feet and staggered back a step while holding Delilah. There was a girl with the two men, and she was on a knee talking to Jason. Gugu couldn’t hear what she was saying, but her son seemed to relax. “I need to find my husband.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Where’s Oscar?”

MARC SPECTOR (MCU): There was a thousand yard stare in Marc’s eyes as he examined each blade of grass, counting them in hopes that it might ground him a bit to where he was. To who he was. A pair of hands were grabbing onto his shoulders and for a brief moment, it wasn’t clear who was looking at Frenchie, if anyone was at all. Steven Grant, Jake Lockley, Oscar Nuñez. His children. No, they weren’t his. They weren’t real, this wasn’t real. His name was Marc Spector, he was an avatar and the man in front of him was Jean-Paul Duchamp, his best friend. And Layla El-Faouly was his wife. His eyes drifted away from Frenchie’s and towards the last place he saw Gugu and the kids, and once he caught himself the entire notion made him want to throw up as he closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. “I have children here. My…” His voice broke as he stared at the two kids just across the grass that were standing next to Gugu. Not his wife, because Layla was his wife. Right?

IRENE ADLER (616): “I think I would remember having a kid with a smurf.” Emilia all but spat. Why her? Why -- out of everyone in town -- was she being targeted by the apparent bomber? “What, are you going to throw me over your shoulder and kidnap me?”

RAVEN DARKHOLME (616): "Oh, good, so they made you a racist, too." Admittedly, the comment hurt. How many centuries did it take before she could actually look herself in the mirror? Raven is shapeshifting into a white woman with hauntingly blue eyes. It does nothing to sheathe the pained expression, but it does protect her from any further smurf comments. "If that's what it takes to get you home." She’s seething now. the smurf comment was all it took, really. Any consideration she had for doing this amicably was erased. This woman was not her Irene, and she wouldn’t be treated as such. Therefore, Raven does exactly that. She grabs this woman by the wrist and pulls her over her shoulder, glaring at nothing.

ELEKTRA NATCHIOS (MCU): “Get out -- what, like leave? I can’t leave. I’m the Sheriff.” And his girlfriend was still green.

JEAN GREY (616): “Are you offering me an exclusive?” That caught her attention. “I want video footage of the claws though, or no deal.”

STEPHEN STRANGE (MCU): Stephen turned to glance back towards where Marc had been on the grass not too far away, and was more than shocked to see Marc himself standing there. Layla too. He was curious as to just how the hell the French man had managed that, but then he remembered how distraught Clea sounded. Quickly turning his head back towards Clea, he found himself just shaking his head with a soft sigh. "He's.. he's gone, Gugu. I'm sorry." The false name had to be forced out, the syllables not rolling off of his tongue properly. Even though this woman did not share Clea's face, it took everything in him not to say her name.

MATT MURDOCK (MCU): Matt tried to keep his expression neutral, but his jaw clenched when she still insisted on staying in the town as he just took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. Fine." They'd be back, they had to be at some point. There was no way this was finished.

JEAN-PAUL DUCHAMP (MCU): Eventually, Jean-Paul releases the two of the from the hug. Both of them still looked incredibly dazed, and he needed to get them ready to leave. Both of his hands reached up to grasp Marc's face, his grip solid but not tight, hoping to ground him a bit. "Hey. Hey. Look at me, mon ami. Your mind has been twisted, but I am going to get you and Layla out of here. Do you hear me?" There would be plenty of time for questions and rest once they get out of the town. "It is time for you to stand up and move, Marc! This is a dangerous place and we need to go!" The explosion barely registered to him. Frenchie was so tuned into Marc and cared about nothing else other than getting the three of them home. This is what he came here to do, and he was going to finish the mission.

ELEKTRA NATCHIOS (MCU):  Elodie frowned slightly “Thanks for the permission? I need to go do my job now.” With one last wary look at the couple, the Sheriff gripped her gun and hurried into the fray.

JENNIFER WALTERS (MCU): Jen watched Elektra turn and flee -- assuming that was Elektra at all. She was still green and it felt necessary to stay that way. “I’m sorry.” She looked to her boyfriend. “We can come back.”

LOGAN HOWLETT (616): Somehow, Logan found even this strange version of Jean endearing. Her strength was always something he admired, but right now that bit of stubbornness was also delaying them. "Sure." He was giving her the answers she wanted— anything to get her attention and get her to follow him. "As long as you leave this goddamn town, I'll give you whatever you want." He didn't want to have to carry her out. He could do it, of course. Especially since she couldn't get into his head and make him drop her. But it would be much easier just getting her to come on her own. Less traumatizing.

IRENE ADLER (616): “Against smurfs??” Could one even be a racist against smurfs? This seemed like such a small thing to get hung up on considering the fact that this woman had just shot the mayor and threatened to bomb the town. She was going to comment on the changing faces when her wrist was grabbed. In one motion, Emilia was suddenly being hoisted over a blue shoulder. “Put me the fuck down.”

JEAN GREY (616): Megan instantly stopped dead in her tracks. “Wait -- leave the town*? I can’t leave town.” She didn’t even know this man. “Why the hell would I need to leave town?”

CLEA STRANGE (616): “Is he dead?” A part of her heart ripped out. He couldn’t be dead. There was no way. Oscar was fine, wherever he was. They had kids and -- “I’m pregnant.” The words were blurted. He couldn’t just be gone.

MARC SPECTOR (MCU): The longer they sat there on that field, the more clarity Marc seemed to have as he started to finally process his surroundings. The two of them had done this song and dance before plenty of times, gunshots and explosions sounding off around them as Frenchie pulled Marc off of his ass. The familiar French accent was oddly comforting enough to ground him as he blinked again and gently shook his head. I am going to get you and Layla out of here. Layla. Layla. Layla. His eyes finally met hers now, his face falling as he tried not to glance at the children just across the way. They’d had the kids conversation several times over, and Marc was unrelenting on wanting any. And now S.H.I.E.L.D. had gone and given him two. Three? “Layla, I—” His voice came out softer than he would have liked as he swallowed and lifted his heavy limbs off the ground. Now that she was here, in front of him, he just needed her to know. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I love you so much.”

STEPHEN STRANGE (MCU): "No, just.. gone from the park. We'll find him." Stephen tried to retcon it the best he could, but there weren't really any right words to explain to her what had just happened. "Let's just get you home, okay? Get you somewhere safe?" He tried to ignore the pregnant comment, but it stung more than he would have liked.

LOGAN HOWLETT (616): Logan sighed, trying to take a beat before blurting out another response. This was Jean. And he loved her. It was uncomfortable, thinking about dragging her out against her will. But it felt worse just leaving her here. He tried to convince himself that he was doing the right thing, and that she would understand why he did what he did. "People are getting shot. Explosions are going off. This place isn't safe. And I'm not staying here. So if you want answers, you have to come with me." He readied himself, his gut telling him that she still wasn't convinced.

LAYLA EL-FAOULY (MCU): She cut hair for a living. Her apartment was a studio and kind of tight, but she kept plants in the windows and lit candles that made it smell like gardenias. It wasn’t much, but it was hers. Her home, her life. No, not her life. It was a life that didn’t exist. After god knows how long, Layla knew it all to be false. She was Layla Abdallah El-Faouly, daughter of Doctor Abdallah El-Faouly and wife of Marc Spector. She was the avatar of Taweret, as of late. Right then, Frenchie was talking. He was hugging them and talking ( some more ) but she wasn’t computing. She wasn’t really computing much of anything until she heard Marc say that he loved her. Brown eyes met his, her head bobbing once. “I love you, too.” She had no clue what was happening, though. She had been meeting with S.H.I.E.L.D. and then... Blank. Being forced into her suit by Taweret. With that, she climbed to her feet. They needed to go. She didn’t know much at the moment, but she knew that much.

CLEA STRANGE (616): She was exhausted. The adrenaline was wearing off, and the fatigue was setting in. It didn’t make sense for Oscar to have left, but her mind couldn’t come up with any other scenario here that wasn’t terrible. “Okay,” Gugu relented. She leaned against Stephen, shifting Delilah on her hip. “I’ll show you where I live.”

JEAN GREY (616): This man was bugging. “You can take your answers. I’ll find them elsewhere.” She wasn’t insane.

JEAN-PAUL DUCHAMP (MCU): "Great." It was, genuinely, heartwarming to watch the two of them reconnect and confess their love for each other. But he was getting impatient now. "Follow me, s'il vous plaît! I have lots of wine and pasta back at my restaurant!" He lead them out of town, not looking back at the mess they left behind.

LOGAN HOWLETT (616): "Alright." There was no hesitation— Logan picked Jean up and swung her over his shoulder. "I know you won't believe me, but I promise I'm not going to hurt you. It's all gonna be alright." And with that, he carried her right out of town.

NATASHA ROMANOFF (616): You won some, you lost some. This felt like a mix. From what she could see, Wolverine had Jean, Mystique had Destiny and ( the other ) Natasha had Yelena. All three women were still warped but leaving the barrier. Somehow, Duchamp had gotten Marc Spector and Layla El-Faouly back to their original forms. They’d have to go over that later. At the current moment, Natasha was herding everyone else out of town. They couldn’t just leave with a bunch of brainwashed residents. As loathe as she was to admit it, Tony was right. They were on the way to mass hysteria. There was now no doubt that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be coming for them. Mystique had quite literally blown the town up. How S.H.I.E.L.D. would triage was a problem they’d solve another time. Right then, they had to reorganize and reassess. Time wasn’t something they had. They didn’t have the luxury of sitting and debating things. Not when they were as bad as they were. Natasha didn’t have the answers she craved. All she knew was that things were escalating and were destined to come to a head soon.

[smokeybrandreviews]

Glamour in Pink

It’s been a few weeks and all the Barbie Oscar nomination discourse has kind of died down. I’ve been waiting to chime in on it because I have a completely different take on that whole situation, and I kind of didn’t want to be called a misogynist for it. I don’t think my opinion should be all that inciting but, you know, the internet It’s like a box of cats out there, even more so on this hell site, but I’ve been around for years and want the smoke so here it goes. See, I watch movies. I’ve watched a ton of goddamn movies in my life. Probably several thousand. I mean, you can probably tell that from the fact I have a tertiary blog strictly for reviews. Be it television, film, comics, games, whatever, i have my soapbox. I also watched most of the films in the corresponding categories in which Barbie was “snubbed”. For me, these weren’t snubs. I’m not going to get into how the feminist film wasn’t recognized by the Academy and whatever else because that’s an emotional response. It’s like when people wanted Black Panther to win something. I disagreed then, too, for a lot of the same reason. Plainly put, Barbie, like Black Panther, just wasn’t good enough.

Best Director

Best Director was loaded to the gills, man. I didn’t see The Zone of Interest, but the rest of those films are, in my opinion, were directed much better than what we got in Barbie. I’m not taking anything away from Greta but, just surface level, I can honestly say the guiding hand of Lanthimos, Nolan, and Scorsese, kind of exposed a lot of what Greta was doing with her film. It’s weird to say, but watching Barbie kind of made me realize that Greta is still a little rough around the edges in terms of her craft. Those other names on the list, they have a clear vision as to how to execute the narratives they bring to the screen. Greta has this ability but it didn’t feel as focus in Barbie as it did in, say, Little Women. I don’t know if that’s because this wasn’t an adaption but compared to the others in this category, I see why she was left out. Like, what the f*ck was up with all of the Will Ferrell sh*t, anyway? Why did it take up so much of the film?

Best Actress

Straight up, my gut tells me Margot was robbed. Putting that out there immediately because I have a massive Robbie bias. I think she is an incredible actress and admire the f*ck out of her finding her own way in the industry with her Lucky Chap production company. All that said, objectively, this category is probably tougher than the Best Director one. Again, didn’t see Anatomy of a Fall so I can’t comment on Sandra Huller but every other actress on this list, f*cking killed. Carey Mulligan, for sure did her thing in Maestro and, while I found that film to be kind of boring overall, her performance never disappointed. Annette Benning is a giant in the industry and she threw that weight around in Nyad like it was just second nature to her. Lily Gladstone was absolutely brilliant in Flower Moon. She brought so much depth and emotion to that role, it would have been hard not to include her in this category. Now, for my money, Emma Stone takes this category because her time spent as Bella Baxter was incredible. Id Oppenheimer didn’t exist, Poor Things would be my Film of the Year, and that’s almost exclusively because of Emma f*cking Stone!

I may sound like I’m going in on Margot and Greta but I cannot stress enough how that’s not the case. I absolutely believe Greta is an exceptional director, Ladybird proved that, and my love for Margot is profound. Hell, even after everything just said, I don’t begrudge the fact so many people feel slighted that they got slighted. Like, they JUST missed the cut, in my opinion. If any one of those films slid into next year’s competition. If, say, Poor Things had a January release, Barbie would be right there. It is a really, really, great film and definitely deserves the Best Motion Picture nod, but I don’t think it’s good enough to win. I don’t think it deserves that gold. I think Runner Up or nomination, is just fine for what we have. The competition is just way too strong this year, which is why Margot and Greta didn’t get the nods. It’s not some gran, -Isitc, conspiracy. There is no irony to be had here. Greta didn’t put together a solid enough effort by comparison and Margot got lost in the shuffle of an unusually strong Best Actress class. That’s all. Seriously, watch the other films in their categories and tell me which one doesn’t deserve to be there. You tell me which film gets the boot to let Margot and Robbie in. I bet you’re going to have as hard a time as I did trying to figure that one out.

[smokeybrand]

Glamour in Pink

It’s been a few weeks and all the Barbie Oscar nomination discourse has kind of died down. I’ve been waiting to chime in on it because I have a completely different take on that whole situation, and I kind of didn’t want to be called a misogynist for it. I don’t think my opinion should be all that inciting but, you know, the internet It’s like a box of cats out there, even more so on this hell site, but I’ve been around for years and want the smoke so here it goes. See, I watch movies. I’ve watched a ton of goddamn movies in my life. Probably several thousand. I mean, you can probably tell that from the fact I have a tertiary blog strictly for reviews. Be it television, film, comics, games, whatever, i have my soapbox. I also watched most of the films in the corresponding categories in which Barbie was “snubbed”. For me, these weren’t snubs. I’m not going to get into how the feminist film wasn’t recognized by the Academy and whatever else because that’s an emotional response. It’s like when people wanted Black Panther to win something. I disagreed then, too, for a lot of the same reason. Plainly put, Barbie, like Black Panther, just wasn’t good enough.

Best Director

Best Director was loaded to the gills, man. I didn’t see The Zone of Interest, but the rest of those films are, in my opinion, were directed much better than what we got in Barbie. I’m not taking anything away from Greta but, just surface level, I can honestly say the guiding hand of Lanthimos, Nolan, and Scorsese, kind of exposed a lot of what Greta was doing with her film. It’s weird to say, but watching Barbie kind of made me realize that Greta is still a little rough around the edges in terms of her craft. Those other names on the list, they have a clear vision as to how to execute the narratives they bring to the screen. Greta has this ability but it didn’t feel as focus in Barbie as it did in, say, Little Women. I don’t know if that’s because this wasn’t an adaption but compared to the others in this category, I see why she was left out. Like, what the f*ck was up with all of the Will Ferrell sh*t, anyway? Why did it take up so much of the film?

Best Actress

Straight up, my gut tells me Margot was robbed. Putting that out there immediately because I have a massive Robbie bias. I think she is an incredible actress and admire the f*ck out of her finding her own way in the industry with her Lucky Chap production company. All that said, objectively, this category is probably tougher than the Best Director one. Again, didn’t see Anatomy of a Fall so I can’t comment on Sandra Huller but every other actress on this list, f*cking killed. Carey Mulligan, for sure did her thing in Maestro and, while I found that film to be kind of boring overall, her performance never disappointed. Annette Benning is a giant in the industry and she threw that weight around in Nyad like it was just second nature to her. Lily Gladstone was absolutely brilliant in Flower Moon. She brought so much depth and emotion to that role, it would have been hard not to include her in this category. Now, for my money, Emma Stone takes this category because her time spent as Bella Baxter was incredible. Id Oppenheimer didn’t exist, Poor Things would be my Film of the Year, and that’s almost exclusively because of Emma f*cking Stone!

I may sound like I’m going in on Margot and Greta but I cannot stress enough how that’s not the case. I absolutely believe Greta is an exceptional director, Ladybird proved that, and my love for Margot is profound. Hell, even after everything just said, I don’t begrudge the fact so many people feel slighted that they got slighted. Like, they JUST missed the cut, in my opinion. If any one of those films slid into next year’s competition. If, say, Poor Things had a January release, Barbie would be right there. It is a really, really, great film and definitely deserves the Best Motion Picture nod, but I don’t think it’s good enough to win. I don’t think it deserves that gold. I think Runner Up or nomination, is just fine for what we have. The competition is just way too strong this year, which is why Margot and Greta didn’t get the nods. It’s not some gran, -Isitc, conspiracy. There is no irony to be had here. Greta didn’t put together a solid enough effort by comparison and Margot got lost in the shuffle of an unusually strong Best Actress class. That’s all. Seriously, watch the other films in their categories and tell me which one doesn’t deserve to be there. You tell me which film gets the boot to let Margot and Robbie in. I bet you’re going to have as hard a time as I did trying to figure that one out.

[saliciouscelery]

it's called fiction for that reason. i mean yes, we need more black characters and representations, i get your argument.

but that doesn't necessarily mean you'd come after emma stone and ryan gosling for being white.

the way they act, i can't give tiny rabbit's ass what their skin colour is. all i know is la la land would be so much less if the casting team picked literally anyone else but them.

for me, that movie brings summer and romance and starcrossed cannot be spelled without mia and seb.

sometimes, even when you love somebody, you have to choose yourself and your career above them.

mia could have been with him forever while he was struck and passionless, but she chose his happiness over hers. THAT'S THE FUCKING POINT

THEY COULD BE GODDAMN HAPPY, but she didn't want a halfhearted ending, and he simply understood that. that one look across the hall says everything. they could but they didn't. they broke the stereotype : "oh you're in love? you must do crazy stupid things!" And they were still, in the end, a little bit in love. THAT'S THE FUCK I'M TALKING ABOUT.

Watching La La Land in 2024 crazy to me becos I had to watch Emma Stone play the female lead when she dances to "jazz" like a chicken who just had its head chopped off, while Sonoya Mizuno who's literally a professional ballet dancer play a supportive roomate character. I had to watch this White girl struggle to make it in Hollywood. I had to watch Ryan Gosling, a White man, posture himself as a superior and more authentic jazz musician than the Black "sell-out" who is played by the EGOT winning singer-songwriter-record producer John Legend. I had to watch this White dude worry about jazz being gentrified. I had to believe that these two people are the leads of a musical film about jazz and making it in Hollywood, Damien Chazelle you son of a bitch.

[uncharted-constellations]

Unfortunate Opinion

Loved Cruella

[ohnoitstbskyen]

High Noon Leona is

Very good and I really like it

Suffering from Same Face Syndrome problems where, like, if you took away the shield and told me this was a Morgana skin, I would have no way to prove you wrong looking just at the character design.

It's what happens when you systematically stylize the hell out of faces for the purposes of hitting a lowest common denominator. It also doesn't help that we can't even go by stuff like relative muscularity or body type, although in this case under all the costuming, body type wouldn't help that much anyway.

And it's so frustrating because even if you look JUST at "top ten sexiest celebrity white women" or whatever, you find a substantial range of difference in jaw line, lip shape, nose shape, eye shape, cheekbones, proportions, etc. etc. etc.

Much less than the general population, and photoshopped to hell and back in most publicished pictures, but even within the very narrow aesthetic range of idealized beauty there are ways to create variety and differentiation. You can tell Kiera Knightley from Emma Stone or Natalie Dormer, Emilia Clarke doesn't look indistinguishable from Scarlett Johansson. You wouldn't even lose out on the character being conventionally beautiful if it's so fucking important that every single goddamn one of them be that.

What is frustrating about this old and dead horse, which I will never stop kicking no matter how much it stinks, is that I know for a goddamn fact that Riot's artists can do much better than this, and often try to. It is the relentless erosion of the corporate feedback process that both sands away every interesting differentiator in the art that's created, and that conditions artists to only pitch the safe, middle-of-the-road ideas because they learn what gets accepted and try to anticipate the changes they'll be asked to make anyway.

On top of which, remember when Sivir had a front tooth gap in her new splash art and the subreddit shit and pissed their pants about it so hard that Riot eventually had to change it because they thought it was "ugly"? Remember when Katarina got a new splash art with a face that accidentally had some personality and a bunch of crying pissbabies ruined that for everyone as well?

I really don't blame the artists for not wanting to pitch anything more bold, but I sure as shit blame the company for failing to protect and support their creative staff.

[jackalsprey]

Candlelight

The finishing piece for Emma, featuring Levi and Henry in sexy butler outfits, Duck in a tux, and our favorite fish girl! As ever, Laura and the designs in mind belong to @asktrio516. However, Levi belongs to @captsharkb8.

I'm not sure why I made Henry and Levi argue so much, I'm sure they're great friends, I just thought it was funny XD

================================================

Laura sucked in a deep breath. Looking up at the old dilapidated building in Arlesburgh, she gulped. Henry and Emily had told her to come here for her meeting with Duck. She was nervous out of her mind. It was the first time she'd come to see him since Diesel had convinced her about-

No. She wouldn't think about that little shit anymore. He lied to her. Things were getting better. Everyone, even Sir Topham Hatt, had told her that she and Duck deserved to be together. Even Gordon and James had come around eventually. Diesel had been put back in his place by Hatt. (And the Trucks, with a wonderful rendition of Pop goes the Diesel.) This was the final step. Her making up with Duckie.

================================================

The sight inside stunned her. It was like a dream come true.

The former warehouse had been turned into the perfect dinner-for-two fancy restaurant. Candles lit the area, flickering and casting beautiful shadows all over the walls. A small circular table, covered in a white silk tablecloth, sat in the middle of the room with two chairs set up for dinner. Best of all? Her Monty sat in one of the chairs, in an amazing tuxedo, wearing the biggest, goofiest smile she'd ever seen.

She normally didn't care about clothes, but she was starting to feel under dressed in just her white bardot top and blue striped shorts.

She wanted so badly just to rush at him and attack him with kisses and love, but she tried her best to keep composed, simply walking over to the table and sitting down on the other side.

"Hey, Duckie," she whispered, grinning.

"Evening, angelfish," he said, with that accent that made her swoon. "Not going to lie, I was worried you wouldn't show up."

She giggled. "I wouldn't have missed seeing you in that in a million years."

She took her opportunity to get a good look (the suit did show off his best features...) before heavy feet clomping across the stone floor made her look around. To her surprise, it was Levi, dressed to the nines in a- butler suit? Carrying a notepad? But of course, he still wore his hat.

"Hullo, ya two lovelies! I'm Levi, and I'll be serving you tonight! Any specific drinks I can get for ya?"

Duck chuckled. "Water for two, dear?"

"Uh, yeah, that works."

Levi tipped his hat to them and disappeared again. Laura glanced at Duck.

"I asked Levi, Henry, and Emily for a little help," he explained. "They're the ones who set all this up. I don't know how they did it to be honest, I wasn't expecting them to go this far."

"If they have a piano in here, I swear to God-"

As if on cue, soft piano music cut Laura off, drifting through the large warehouse. It was nowhere to be seen, but both of them knew it was Henry playing. The man was a virtuoso, in Gordon's words.

"GODDAMN IT HENRY!" They heard Levi shout. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO START PLAYING AFTER DINNER!"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, LEVI!"

Both the engine and mermaid burst out laughing. Levi provided them both with full glasses of water on a steel serving tray, looking mighty pissed.

"Shrimp salad for the lovely lass, and clam chowder in a bread bowl for you, sir?"

"You know us so well, Levi," Laura giggled.

"Of course. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go whack Henry for being a dumbass."

Not only was the food and service on point, the entertainment was spectacular.

================================================

After Duck and Laura had eaten (and Henry had been whacked), a slow piano song floated through the room. Duck gently took Laura's hand in his own and kissed it.

"May I have this dance?"

"You shining knight," she chuckled. "You may."

Taking her waist in his other hand, the two began gliding across the room in time to Henry's music. Guitar plucking slowly joined in, courtesy of the cowboy train.

"You said Emily helped with this, where is she?" Laura asked.

"Not a clue," he admitted. "I think she was the one who cooked? I dunno, I know Levi didn't, he can't cook for shit."

"I HEARD THAT, QUACK-TANGLE!"

"Shut up!" Henry hissed. "We're trying to make this romantic!"

Laura rolled his eyes. "Well, they're pissed tonight."

"Not sure why. This is the best night ever," Duck whispered.

A small blush came over Laura's face. This seemed like the best time.

"I'm sorry, Duckie," she muttered. "For everything."

"Angelfish, you've got nothing to be sorry for," Duck told her, eyebrows furrowed. "It was Diesel's fault, not yours."

"But I still-"

"Shhhh," he whispered, holding a finger up to her lips. "Being guilty gets you nowhere. Everything's worked out, see? I have the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my arms right now. And I have no intention of letting you go again. You are mine. And that is what matters right now."

A tear welled up in her eye. "Goddamn it Duckie, why are you so sappy?"

He chuckled. "Just a gift, I guess."

She stopped them both and threaded a yellow spotted hand through his green hair. "Well, I have another gift for you."

That goofy grin she loved so much cracked open again. "Oh really?"

The following kiss was the best of their lives.

================================================

(I should've left it where it was sweet and happy, but no, I just had to add one more bullshit thing of Levi and Henry)

"Ain't they a purty picture?" Levi asked.

Henry nodded. "I'm just glad everything's worked out."

"Indeed."

Levi glanced over to his taller, greener friend. "Y'know, you should keep that thing."

Henry glanced down. He was wearing a similar butler uniform to Levi's and he looked damn sexy in it. "What? Why? I'd never wear it."

"Oh, but I think Big Black would love to see you in it," the Old Western engine chuckled.

Henry blushed. Big Black was Levi's nickname for Hiro. "And I'm sure Ella would love to see you in that one."

"I do look damn good, don't I?"

Henry deadpanned. "Don't start acting like James.

[sie-rui]

yep jay- shinichiro and gray-izana ask r from the same person :< also regarding jay's personality he prioritizes school over a lot pf things and he told shelly to screw off when she asked him out... ngl shelly was being kinda obsessive that time but bro- (on to my daily brainrot) takemichi and toman in Night at the Museum au, i watched it last night and i cant stop thinking abt it. Takemichi as the night guard and the others as the wax figures/statues, mikey=cowboy izana=roman soldier -🧇anon

heyyy, sorry for the late reply, i had to find time to binge watch the movies. i haven’t replied to the jjk one yet since i still haven’t watched it but anywayssss-

12:21, tokyo manji gang + izana, kakucho

takemichi only needing another job because he got fired at the dvd store recently and it's only a matter of time before he gets sent to the streets for missing another deadline.

takemichi who desperately accepted the free job as a night guard for the local museum, not knowing what kind of shit he was getting himself into.

takemichi who was screaming his head out before throwing the flashing light as far and as hard as he can, hoping that peke j, the gigantic cat-dog-dinosaur of sorts (rexy), would take longer to get it and come back.

takemichi with the neanderthal trio, baji, kazutora, and chifuyu as he throws a random lighter at them, hoping that it would distract them from pulling his hair out. (mainly because it was still that weird color of yellow he got too attached to.)

takemichi who went running the moment he saw pachin running at him, threatening to rip him apart in a language he can’t understand—peyan right at his tail.

takemichi who gets hit by a tiny train at full speed (and still got his eye bruised) with bratty tiny mikey who (out of absolutely nowhere) felt bad because his blue eyes were ruined and damn mikey likes blue.

takemichi who watches as izana and mikey starts kicking at each other. and also the same takemichi who tried to break them apart only for both of them to kick him in the face.

takemichi with mikey, as jed, who gasped in shame and blamed it on izana and izana, as octavius, who points out that mikey initiates the fight.

takemichi and draken as the president teddy, who just snatched mikey and izana and threw them at their respective displays.

takemichi with emma as sacagawea and draken busy simping for her from afar while takemichi watches in both jealousy and tiredness.

takemichi sitting in despair, not because the gang doesn’t listen to him but rather because they won’t stop following him (specifically mikey and izana).

takemichi who managed to get emma and draken together after bowing his head to his boss when he shattered the glass with no hesitation. draken owes him a lot. (but if they were being honest, takemichi owes him a whole lot more for always saving his ass and being his support.)

takemichi who found a friend in kakucho, a loyal roman follower of izana and is honestly, the only roman who listens to takemichi.

takemichi with mitsuya as ahkmenrah but instead of a gold stone it’s a sewing kit for some reason. just one bag filled with threads and needles, weirdly in gold, plastered on the wall. that’s literally what lets everyone to come alive at night. a goddamn sewing kit.

[ coffee: sielouu ]

[ tag list: @ranisastripperpole | @primsonnn | @gommiswifey | @alllostone | @lazecchi | @manjiroarchiviste | @chibichab | @salsas-without-the-middle-s | @dai-tsukki-desu |  asawa-ni-senju | m4tsuch1 | chixkadee | rugbey | inu1gf | @gwynsapphire ]

[captain-emmajones]

let the cat out of the bag

Set during the missing year and expands until somewhere during season 3 B.

Pirates don’t have pets. Hell, Captain Hook -- terror of the High Seas -- does not have pets. So what happens when a devilish black kitten jumps aboard the Jolly Roger once Hook has taken it back from Blackbeard?

I asked @carpedzem what she would like to read, and this is what she came up with. Hopefully it will make you, and others, happy! (Oh, and all mistakes are mine!)

Fluff - 2000 words - Ao3

Tagging some friends who might enjoy this: @itsfabianadocarmo @killiansprincss @thisonesatellite @ohmightydevviepuu @profdanglaisstuff @snowbellewells​ @elizabeethan​

Happy Sunday and happy reading!! 

At first, he believes they’re rats. He isn’t pleased about it.

“Mr Smee, I seem to recall I asked you to make sure there weren't any living creatures aboard this ship.”

He isn’t quite sure why, but Smee flushes a bright pink and starts stammering.

“...And I did, Captain, I did b-but --”

Killian Jones is a man of many things, but one of patience he isn’t.

“-- but what, Mr Smee? I don’t think it is that arduous to take care of such matters.” His words come out like sharp, drawn blades and threaten to slash his first mate’s round cheeks. “But if it is, I’ll make sure to ease you of this task.”

And he clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth for good measure.

“I -- I will do everything I can, Captain.”

A smirk. “Let’s just hope that is enough, Mr Smee.”

.

But the thing is, it doesn’t bloody stop. The vermin keeps pestering him.  

Hook wakes up to open doors, cannot stroll down the deck of the Jolly Roger without seeing a shadow run along with him, until, until --

“Now, what are you doing here?”

The troublemaker stands on top of his bed, on all fours, green eyes sparkling in the orange light of this late afternoon and seems quite ready to roar at his very face.

A petulant meow answers him.

.

“MISTER SMEE.”

He is furious, of course. Smee, however, thinks -- maybe, all things considered -- the plank isn’t so bad.

“I can explain every-everything, Captain…”

“I want none of your explanations, Mr Smee. I want you to get rid of this .”

A very indignant meow echoes on the ship.

“It must have gotten on the ship when we took it back from Blackbeard, Captain, and I hadn’t noticed for a while but then I could hardly throw him in the waters…”

A deep, guttural groan.

“As soon as we reach port, this thing is out of my ship. Have I made myself clear, Mr Smee?”

“A-abundantly clear, Captain.”

.

When he goes back to his cabin that night, stomach full and mind lulled by rhum, he doesn’t exactly expect to see the small nuisance lying comfortably on his bed, very much at ease indeed.

The thing is staring at him with its big, green eyes, and Hook frowns.

“Those are my quarters. Get out.”

Another impish meow answers him. If it could, Hook is convinced it would raise an eyebrow at him.

Another sigh of discontent. “I said get out of my bed. Now.” And as he stretches his hand to push the kitten out-of-the-way, it simply raises his head and meets its palm in approval.

Hook’s eyes widen. “Do you think I’m that easily charmed?” And as if to assert that yes, most absolutely, he is that easily charmed, the small cat purrs against his hand and licks his skin.

And Hook suddenly wonders why the hell he is letting this happen.

Clearing his throat, his hand closes over the small, black body and drops it onto the floor.

“There, and do not come to bother me anymore.”

A meow echoes in the night.

.

He wakes up to something fluffy tingling against his cheek and that alone rings an alarm in his head and causes his eyes to shoot open.

“What the hell…” but the end of his sentence dies as the small vermin stares at him, and seems to s m i l e  at him.

Hook groans. “Get out of here,” he mumbles, and pushes the kitten to the side.

And he does not want to ponder over how gently he actually urged the cat to disappear nor does he want to think about the little, warm bubble swelling comfortably inside his chest (next to the big bubble of annoyance, of course).

.

The cat has been on the ship with them for two weeks when they finally reach port and can get rid of him. In the meantime, he has settled his quarters in Hook’s room.

“I see the kitten is quite fond of you, Captain?”

“Do you want to find out if the bloody plank is fond of you, Mr Smee?”

“N-no, of course, Captain, no.”

To prevent him from sleeping in his bed, Hook settled an old bed cover in the farthest corner of his room -- since the bloody thing won’t be kept out of it anyway.

“There, and don’t you move, you devil.”

He starts to call it that , in his head, the kitten: devil. It suits him well. And it makes it sound more pirate-worthy than kitten anyway.

He doesn’t utter the words aloud. Would rather walk the bloody plank himself. Pirates don’t have pets.

“Since I can’t trust you to take care of vermines on this ship, I’ll get rid of the bloody thing myself.”

And as his crew pillages and plunders a nearby village, Hook ventures out of his ship, the little devil gesticulating down in his satchel.

He isn’t even jealous of the lost opportunity. He hasn’t felt like pillaging and plundering in a while, now. Not since he left Storybrooke, not since the red-headed mermaid visited him and he --

Hook sighs and sits down, near the port, on a bench. His legs feel heavy as stone. He takes out of his satchel his flask of rum, and the little devil, and puts both of them down next to him.

“Don’t move,” he hisses but the small thing instead decides to stretch at his leisure in front of his nose.

“You’re one for mutiny, aren’t you?”

A cheerful meow answers him. And Hook’s lips curve up, just the slightest bit, before he catches himself and frowns furiously.

“I’m going to leave you here, you understand that?”

But the bloody thing apparently cares little for his words, and proceeds instead to climb up his lap and settles himself comfortably against Hook’s stomach.

It is his stomach’s turn to do a weird leaping thing then, as he squares his jaws and bites the interior of his mouth.

There’s been so much loss, hasn’t it? Perhaps he is allowed a little company. Perhaps the journey doesn’t have to be this hard, perhaps he does not have to suffer until the ends of time.

“You don’t want to leave me, do you?”

Other, human, green eyes linger behind Killian’s eyelids, savagely tear his heart apart, because she left.

A meow echoes in the night, and Hook’s fingers reluctantly find the warm, black fur and sieve through it.

“You are one bloody hell of a devil, you know that?”

.

Pirates may not have pets, but lonely souls do need company, don’t they?

When Hook strides back to the ship that night, and frees the small thing on the lower deck, Smee, at least, has the decency of keeping his mouth shut.

“Make one comment, Mr Smee, and you walk the bloody plank.”

“Y-yes, Captain.”

.

Sharing his quarters has a lot of cons, if you’d ask Hook.

Such as cleaning his clothes of the devil’s hair, or making sure the small thing has enough to eat and drink, or waking up to it stretched across his bloody face.

But mostly, Hook does think the company is enjoyable. His partner does not speak, purrs at best, and seems to have some supernatural inkling for knowing when his Captain is feeling a bit...aloof, to put it like that.

Hook’s convinced the bloody thing is actually magic, but that he won’t ever tell no living soul.

.

When he gives up the Jolly Roger, Hook finds two green eyes staring at him.

“I cannot take you with me to Emma, you understand? I don’t even know if animals survive portals.”

A meow answers him, and for the first time Hook thinks it is full of grief.

Something stings, in Hook’s chest, as he waves goodbye to his crew and drops the cat into Smee’s arms.

“I’ll take care of him, Captain.”

“I know you will.”

And when Hook turns back, walks away, he ignores as well as he can this strange, new kind of itching rattling his insides.

.

Back in Storybrooke, Hook figures just to what extent Mr Smee is not a man for subtlety.

He basically throws the damn demon into his arms, on the docks, where everyone can bloody see them.

“What the hell are you doing, Mr Smee?”

Hook does not acknowledge the joy that swirls around his legs as the small thing purrs against him.

“Giving you back what is yours. I can’t take it any longer, he is insufferable.”

And Hook is ready to attack right back, as the demon nibbles his fingers with a cheerful fervor, but then the worst happens.

Emma.

Emma is striding towards him, with Henry, and he has a bloody kitten in his arms.

“Didn’t know you were one to have pets…” she attacks right then, Smee long gone, and the small devil very much settled in the crook of his arm.

Hook gulps down, almost frozen. Later, he’ll wonder why he did not put him down. That would have saved him some embarrassment.

“It’s not what you think, Swan.”

“Isn’t it?” she smirks, and then -- because things can always get worse -- she bends down towards the little devil and scratches between his ears.

But then she is smiling that very rare smile and Hook starts to think perhaps the little devil isn’t such a nuisance anymore.

“What’s his name?” she asks, and the things purrs , goddamn purrs under her touch, and Hook feels utterly betrayed.

“It doesn’t have a name,” he echoes right back, mock-indignant.

She raises her eyes towards him, quirks one eyebrow. It has a terrible effect on Hook’s heart rate.

“Come on, don’t lie. All pets have names.”

“No. Not this one. Actually, it’s not a pet.”

“Oh yeah, then what is it?”

The devil purrs.

“It's merely an animal that got lost on my ship during the missing year, is all.”

Emma’s smirking, again. And Hook isn’t blushing.

“Let's call you Sparrow, then.”

Something revolts inside Hook. It isn’t his name.

“Sparrow? And why the bloody hell is that?”

“Because Captain Jack Sparrow” echoes Henry on reaching them, giving up his video game to devote his attention to the small cat.

Bloody hell.

.

As things turn out, Emma never lets him live it down and everyone in Storybrooke knows Captain Hook’s cat, Sparrow, lives with him at Granny’s.

“I have a no-pet-policy, Hook, but for your pretty eyes I’ll make an exception.”

Hook swallows down a list of elaborate insults and plasters a smile on his face. “Why, thank you, Granny.”

One night, however, the bloody thing isn’t to be found in his room and Captain Hook does not worry about cats but he does stare out his window impatiently, trying to get a glimpse of a black furry tail -- not that he’d admit it.

But then something quite unlikely happens. Someone knocks on the door while he’s showering.

A towel around his hips, Hook opens to find Emma Swan in her pajamas, Sparrow comfortable between her arms.

If Hook’s heart skips multiple beats, it does please him to see Emma’s eyes widen and her cheeks flush as she takes in his state of undress.

“I’m-- I’m…” she begins, has a very hard time coming up with words, it seems, and then exhales sharply: “I found your cat in my room. Under my bed. Which is why it took me so long to find him, actually.”

Hook smirks. “That’s a plausible excuse for visiting me at night, Swan, but next time don’t stand on ceremony.”

She turns even redder, if that is possible, and that sight alone is priceless.

“Right,” she begins, smiling, “There you go.” And she gently drops the little devil between his arms, her touch sending electric trails all over his skin.

Hook gulps down as he notices how close they’ve gotten and he is tempted to bend down but that would be too much, wouldn’t it?

Instead he smiles, swallows down, and watches as she gazes back and forth between his eyes and his lips.

“Thank you, Swan,” he finally exhales and he watches as she seems to come to her senses, bites her lips and backs away.

“No problem. ‘Night, Hook.”

“Goodnight, Emma.”

When he closes the door behind him, Sparrow is standing on his bed, green eyes open.

“I’ll admit that was quite a good idea, thank you mate.”

A meow of contentment answers him, as if to say: but you are most welcome.

[welllpthisishappening]

falling feels like flying ['til the bone crush]

Someone should revoke her title. 

They’re trying, Emma supposes. Inevitable death probably means people can’t call her savior anymore, but they shouldn’t call her that now and that’s almost entirely because of what an absolute and complete liar she is. Telling Killian she would have done the same after he admitted he didn’t get rid of the shears isn’t her most massive lie, although it might be her most ridiculous. And they both know it’s not true. She wouldn’t do the same thing, she has. More than once. 

AN: That gif has nothing to do with the story! Here is approximately 3.5K where I once again force Emma and Killian to acknowledge their trauma. Not in the Underworld this time, though! So maybe we’re all evolving here. I blame this gif set, which I saw this morning and felt compelled to write something about. Maybe that evolution is also a lie, actually. 

———

“I lied.” Killian hums, exhaustion clinging to the sound, and Emma understands that. Less so why she’s talking right now, but neither one of those words seemed particularly interested in preserving the quiet calm of this particular moment, and she’s never been a lightweight quite like this. In more ways than one, she supposes. Hazy thoughts drift through her brain, muddled as it is by buttered rum and the steady flicker of flames in the fireplace because naturally this is the sort of house that has multiple fireplaces, and she burrows her face closer. 

To Killian’s chest. 

Takes a deep breath, not quite slow, but maybe a little greedy, and they ordered both things. Pizza and Chinese, half-finished egg rolls and beheaded slices of cheese with extra peppers strewn across the coffee table because Emma always likes that extra bit of crust and Killian’s nothing if not a frustratingly endearing sort of pushover. 

With her, especially. 

She closes her eyes. 

“I lied,” Emma repeats, “in the hospital, I mean. Wrong verb tense.” “You’re not making any sense at all, darling.”

Her nose must be cold — if the way Killian tenses as soon as it brushes his skin is any indication, but Emma knows it’s far more than that and far deeper than that and she might be the world’s biggest idiot. Looming death does that to a person, she supposes. 

Breathing isn’t particularly easy. And that’s not only because she ate four pizza slices worth of crust. Still, using death as an excuse again seems like an emotional crutch and an unreasonable reason, her muddled mind capable of clinging to every single letter in that particular endearment. It might be her favorite. 

She’s not sure she’s ever told him that. 

Stupid, really. 

“I told you that I get it; what you did today, and that part’s definitely true. But, uh, the rest of it. That I would have done the same thing? Total lie, right? I mean, I did it. That’s what happened.” Nothing. Just flickering flames and the quiet hum of a TV, neither one of them has been interested in actually watching all night. Emma doesn’t even know what channel they’re on. For all she knows, the remote’s in the kitchen. 

She counts inhales. Tries to keep her exhales measured, most of her face still pressed into the collar of Killian’s shirt as it is. And it takes about five full seconds before his hand moves, starts tracing a calm line up her spine, following that path until he reaches the base of her neck and the goosebumps that have already exploded on her skin and oxygen is overrated anyway. Holding her breath as soon as his fingers card through the ends of hair is basically instinct at this point. 

“Felt wrong to point that out at the time,” he mutters, “all things considered.” “Been kind of a long day.” “Reuniting with long-lost relatives will do that.” Scoffing is not the best reaction. Nothing about this is funny. Includes far too much death and dismay, and Emma’s gaze flickers up. Of its own accord and something much deeper, like the absolute refusal to accept a world where he does not exist. 

Goddamn Captain Hook. 

She loves him so much sometimes she thinks she’ll simply burst with the force of it all. 

It’s a gross thought, honestly. 

And they’ve already spent far too much time in the hospital today.

“Is he ok? Li—” Cutting herself off, Emma grits her teeth, but one side of Killian’s mouth is already tugging up, and the kiss that lands on her forehead is as soft as anything. Maybe bursting isn’t so bad, actually. So long as she can come up with another word for it. “God, that’s so weird.” Killian hums. “Indeed.” “Thoughts, feelings, et cetera?” “Vast. And none of them particularly pleasant.” “Seems fair. That sort of day, huh?” “Indeed.” They need more blankets. Need more things that are theirs in a collective sort of way, but that’s a dangerous and disingenuous train of thought, and Emma’s fingers twitch towards the fire. To ward off the sudden chill that’s settled between her shoulder blades, and it almost works, but it does absolutely nothing to help the sway of her stomach and the acid lingering in the back of her throat, threatening to burn far more than what these meager flames are able to do. 

“Should have finished high school,” Emma mumbles, “then I could choose more accurate verb tenses from my inevitably vast vocabulary. Did. Have done. Would do again, several thousand times over.”

“That’s the future tense.” None of his words come with any kind of pointed emotion, but Emma hears it all the same. Can see the tightness that lingers in the corners of his mouth and the way he’s holding his shoulders, straight as a line, and some joke about rigging that she no intention of making, and the furrow between his brows makes every muscle in her chest twist. Ache too, for good measure. 

With the promise of everything she wants to say and everything she hasn’t or can’t and—

Fuck magic, quite honestly. And the rules no one’s bothered to mention until now. Seems like poor planning on everybody’s part. 

“You heard me.” “I did,” Killian agrees lightly, and his hand has never actually stopped moving. It’s nice. Steady. Something Emma can almost nearly time her breathing too. “I would also choose that particular tense. If given the choice, that is.” “Do you not think you have that?” “I don’t particularly enjoy the thought. I’m rather partial to the option of whim, you see. Pirate and all that. We don’t much abide by schedules and fated decision.” “Seems like it’d be in the by-laws.” “Well, by-laws by their very nature are rather contradictory to the entire pirate notion, but you’ve got the gist of it at least.” Emma laughs. Doesn’t quite regret the sound, even as out of place as it is — just presses it into the edge of Killian’s shirt and the buttons he never bothers to do, trying to brandh the smell of him and the feel of him into every corner of her memory and she’s not really sure what happens after. Once the prophecy is fulfilled, and all that. 

She’s got too much unfinished business. 

To totally leave this particular plane of reality. 

She doesn’t mention that either. Not when the crux of that business is breathing steadily under her hand, and Emma can’t remember when she moved her hand, only that Killian’s warm under her touch, and he’s always so much warmer. Than just about anything else she’s aware of. 

“I thought you were dead.”

Of all the things Emma expects to happen in the midst of this night and this moment — and it’s really not a very long list, admittedly — that did not even make the cut. Wasn’t a consideration or a fledgling idea in the back of her mind, several different vertebrae almost audibly objecting when she jerks her head up. To find Killian staring straight ahead, lips not much more than a thin line across his face. 

Seriously, the rigging jokes almost write themselves. Which is more than Emma can say about her clearly piece of shit list, as metaphorical as it might be. 

“I don’t—” “—When I saw you,” Killian interrupts, and none of the words shake. Come out like a stream of consciousness and memories neither one of them have able to shake yet. Or talk about. Can’t possibly be healthy. “Chained to that stone, blood dripping into my mouth, and then all of a sudden, there you were. Worried I’d simply dreamt you up, couldn’t imagine how you looked quite that lovely in that hell hole, otherwise.” “Oh, that’s kind of insulting, actually.” “Hair like the bloody sun.” “Better,” Emma murmurs. Reaching up, her fingers tangle with the charms around his neck. Pieces of luck and trinkets she hasn’t learned all the stories to yet. The idea that she won’t makes her nauseous. “You told me ‘you shouldn’t be here.’” “Aye, and I meant it.” “Because you thought…” “Living people don’t often appear in such a God awful place, do they? Not without something tragic happening, and my mind was impressively efficient on that front.” “Which one is that?” “Every threat that’s ever lingered, every person I would have gladly run through if it meant you were safe. Half of goddamn Camelot.” Emma might snicker. Killian’s arm tightens, though. And that’s all she’s really worried about. “I think I could have taken Arthur. Y’know if it had come to that.” “Likely not a very good swordsman,” Killian nods, but that’s only so his lips can trace Emma’s temple and the top of her hair. More than once. Like he’s still making sure. “Pampered prince—” “—He was totally a king, babe. That’s like...the most basic Camelot knowledge.” “Ask me in five minutes if I care at all about anything to do with Camelot.” “Should I time it, or…” He scoffs. Presses another half dozen kisses to any spot he can reach, and he can actually reach a fair amount of places. Emma’s impressed. Swooning too, but also pretty impressed. “I kept thinking about you,” Killian says, softer than the last few words have been, and it sounds like an admission and another promise, and it’s weird that it can be both. At the same time. “This house. What it was and wasn’t. All those possible verb tenses.”

“I’m sorry.” “Ah, that’s not your fault, love. None of this is, really, but—well, it did make it so seeing you, realizing you were there...left all of those thoughts crashing down around my ears, so to speak. Falling apart, like an avalanche of what hadn’t been and what I still wanted so desperately. No matter what Hades did.” “Stupid stubborn.” “I believe there’s something about a pot and a kettle in this realm.” “Don’t have that cliche in the Enchanted Forest, huh?” “Not that I’m aware of, no.” “Maybe you just didn’t go to a good college.” “Tell me every Greek word you know,” Killian challenges, and Emma rolls her eyes. Ignores the first few flutters of a headache brewing at the base of her skull. “It didn’t seem fair.” “Which part?” “All of it is also rather vast, but mostly that if you were there, then it happened again.” Narrowing her eyes, Emma tries to piece together those letters and the syllables they make, only to be marginally annoyed when she can’t make sense of them. Killian kisses the bridge of her nose. 

She might have to go get Tylenol soon. 

“Losing you without fighting, without challenge the goddamn reaper myself, was worse than anything He could have done,” Killian continues, and he doesn’t have to be more specific. “Worse than whatever pain I’ve ever suffered. Cut off twenty more limbs; it wouldn’t even come close.” “Do you have that many?” “Your humor lacks a little something; you know that, Swan?” “It’s a defense mechanism.” He noses at her hair. Drags the soft hum of what could very well be either an agreement or the opposite, or maybe even the sort of deep-rooted understanding that’s allowed him to sneak his way into the center of everything, across her skin. The specifics don’t matter, only that Emma’s magic roars under her skin, an inferno, and a symphony, meeting the challenge that no one has really laid down yet. 

“Do that again,” Killian mutters, a low chuckle as Emma’s scratches at his side. 

“I’m not sure I can, honestly.” “Pity.” “Something like that, yeah. And you’re not totally right, you know?” “Ah, and that’s almost rude.” “I’m serious,” Emma says, “that’s—none of that was your fault either.” Tilting his head only ensures that several strands of hair he still hasn’t bothered to cut fall almost artfully across his forehead, and Emma is grateful to a variety of gods, Greek or otherwise, that Killian doesn’t mention how much her hand shakes. When she tries to brushes them away. His hook finds her wrist instead, cool metal against freezing cold skin, and the state of her tongue is going to be a problem. Large as it is in Emma’s mouth, making it all but impossible to properly swallow while Killian’s lips sweep the bend of her knuckles. 

“Charmer.” “Aye, that’s my endgame.” There’s not enough room between them for him to run his hand across his face like Emma knows he wants to, and part of that isn’t really a bad thing, but the rest just seems like another entirely unfair thing, and Emma knows the rest is coming. Makes tears burn her eyes all the same. “They were just...gone, you understand? No chance to do anything about it. One moment they were living and breathing. Then Liam was dead. Slumped in my arms in the corner of a cabin he was supposed to spend the rest of his career in. He—he would have been a very good captain.” “So are you,” Emma says, fierce and determined, and Killian kisses in the inside of her palm. She’s moved her hand again. To cup his cheek. 

“For a time, maybe. But then she was gone too, and I thought I could feel it, you know. The exact way her heart crumbled in his hand, tiny bits of dust that I never wanted to blow off the deck. Like some of her still managed to stay. Is that—” The muscles in his throat move, jaw clenching, and Emma has to blink. She hopes the moisture on her cheeks isn’t tears. She’s not sure what’s a better option, really. “Must sound daft.” “No. I—I get that too.” “Do you?” “Not the only one who’s watched Rumplestilskin hold the heart of someone you loved.”

He can’t be holding his breath. His chest is moving much too quickly, but the burst of air that all but flies out of Killian is enough to ruffle the ends of Emma’s hair and possibly even dry some of the tears she’s still refusing to acknowledge, and she can’t get closer to him. 

She makes an admirable effort all the same. 

Like occupying the same few inches of space will ensure that she stays there. 

“Did you—” Killian starts, looking almost pained as the words war for his voice on the tip of his tongue. “Did you like her?” That didn’t make the list, either. It’s entirely possible that Emma is just garbage at making lists. She nods. “Anyone who loves you as much as I do is fine with me. Better than, even.”

His expression shifts again. Light lingers in his gaze, cautious hope, and misplaced optimism, gears whirring in his head that Emma can’t almost convince herself she hears. Her verb tense was on purpose that time. 

That’s a confidence boost, all things considered.

“She was something fierce,” Killian says, sounding reminiscent and not as sad as Emma has worried he must be. “Once she got away from him. Could get a grown man to do her bidding with a single look, the kind of glare that’d set you on fire from the inside out. It was—they loved her too. Men on the ship, would have followed her to the ends of the Earth if she’d asked. Probably even if she hadn’t.” 

His next inhale becomes an exhale almost immediately.

“She never would have asked,” Killian adds, almost entirely to himself, but then his eyes are back on Emma, and they’re a little glossy and just as blue and she’s holding her breath now. “She liked you too, I know it.” “I think she thought I was crazy, actually. Gold didn’t really have much tact in the...introductions.” “Ah.” “Right?” “Right,” he echoes, a pale imitation of her voice that makes Emma’s cheeks ache. From smiling. Legitimately smiling. Huh. “But I suppose that’s part of it, though. She was there again, and I—” “—I’m sorry. For...for all of it.” “Still not your fault, love.”

“How did you know?” she asks, and her voice doesn’t sound much like her either. Wobbles and warbles and some other word that fits the alliteration. “About me. And not being…”

“Dead?” Killian’s eyebrows jump. “Strawberries.” “Excuse me?” “That soap you use in your hair. Smells like strawberries, or strawberry adjacent maybe. Manufactured just a bit. I think it’s my favorite smell in the world.” “Backhanded compliment.” “No, no,” Killian shakes his head. His hair moves again. “It’s not. It’s—well, it’s you, love. Smells like everything that you are and—”

“—I’m manufactured?” “If you let me finish,” he chides, and Emma all but yanks her lips behind her teeth, “It smells like home. Smells like falling asleep next to you and a distinct lack of blankets.” He nips at the tip of her nose. She scoffs again; that’s why. “And your distractingly cold feet, and leather jackets, and how the smell clings to the collars, no matter how long it’s been since you’ve worn them. Lingers on your pillow too, and the fronts of my shirt. You fall asleep against me quite often, you know that.” “Can sleep anywhere,” Emma reasons. “Might be my greatest talent.” “I don’t know about that.” “If I call you charmer again, will you hold it against me for lack of synonyms?” “Tell me how charming I am again.” Emma scrunches her nose. “Now it sounds like my dad.” “Let’s leave the prince out of this. He’s only a prince, aye?” “Far as I know, yeah.” “Good, good. Strawberries, love. Touching you helped too, though. If we’re being frank.” “Anything except blunt force honesty seems silly now, doesn’t it?” Killian nods. Slow and measured, like anything else will snap this tenuous peace, and maybe they can just sleep on the couch. Getting up is an impossible prospect right now. Maybe they can make out a little before they fall asleep. 

“It’s a very big house,” Emma whispers, and they should really figure out a schedule for conversations like this. Talking about it all at once is exhausting. 

“It is.” “You don’t want to expand upon that?” “Oh, I want a great number of things I shouldn’t,” Killian admits, “but as much as I appreciate this fresh round of honesty we’re engaging in, the false hope would—” “—There’s no such thing,” Emma interrupts. “False hope. It’s an oxymoron, ask my mother. And I think you should get some sort of crew again.” “How would you suggest I populate such a thing?” She shrugs. Nearly hits Killian in the chin in the process. “Untold stories. Dwarves.” “I will not have dwarves on my ship.” “See, I knew you’d have opinions. And there was a possessive pronoun in there that time.” “Was there not before?” “No,” she says. “Just called it the ship. Like it’s not the most important thing you have.” “Well, it’s not.” Emma’s cheeks warm. “That was very smooth.” “Someone did guarantee I was a very good captain earlier.” Space continues to be relatively minimal between them, but Killian’s nothing if not adaptable, and he works with what he’s got. Swinging Emma’s legs perpendicular over his, she’s nearly sitting on his lap, an arm slung over his shoulders, which makes it even easier to get her fingers into his hair and his head to rest against hers, and he takes another deep breath. “I know you understand, Emma,” he says, soft and serious, and she doesn’t bother doing anything except cling to him. With everything she’s got left. “All of it, from the very start. So I don’t think I’ll apologize, actually. For what I’ve done, or what I’d still be willing to do. I won’t give up on you, do you understand me?” “Didn’t,” Emma says, only a little optimistic that’s the right verb tense. Maybe she can get her GED, or something. Before all of this ends. “In Camelot, or after. Accept or acknowledge, and I probably would have—” 

Announcing that killing Gold for what he’d done to Killian regularly crossed her mind in the twenty-four hours or so before they finally made it to the Underworld doesn’t really have the right sentiment for this conversation. Far too violent, and just as honest. 

She’d consider killing him now, too. 

For everything he’s doing, and everything he hasn’t, and she should have shoved him in that river. 

Killian doesn’t smile. At least not in a way that reaches his eyes, the same ones that are looking at Emma again, all blue and earnest, and his shoulders shift. When her fingers graze his chin, more than stubble there because, she imagines, spending a day or so underwater with a sibling he only sort of wants and kind of knows doesn’t leave much time for facial-type grooming. 

It’s a good look, though. 

Most of them are, in Emma’s experience. 

“This entire time,” she continues, “you haven’t given up on me yet.” “Works both ways, darling.” “That one crosses realms, huh?” “Pick up things spending so much time with you.” There’s nothing extra in the words. No sap-filled sentiment or promises she’s only a little hopeful will become actions. And they haven’t talked about the rest; might not even have time, but Emma will let herself think about all these empty rooms anyway, of the exact shade Killian’s eyes go when he stands at the helm, and she hopes he doesn’t cut his hair. Not yet, at least. Longer strands make it easier to touch him, to leave a lasting mark, and settle into his center the same way he’s taken root in hers. 

They fall asleep on the couch.