#I am in love with one arrogant portal scientist

[quirkypossum]

I know literally no one is asking this but I need to put my thoughts out there for some Gravity Falls details since I'm rewatching it. Word things and spoilers ahead if you haven't watched all the way through.

Okay so in my rewatching, I have come to really appreciate the Stans. I know, shocking. But as I'm getting basic info on them and the kiddos for a fic I noticed that a ton of the art done of them has some features that don't exactly make sense. Not to mention the amount of people who don't understand how the two different types of twins work. So for my own sanity and to make my thoughts into words, these are my headcanons and reasoning.

Starting with the twins thing. Identical twins only happen if one egg splits into two zygotes. They are by definition identical in every way including biological sex. There is no genetic predisposition to having identical twins. In other words it cant run in families.

Fraternal twins on the other hand can to an extent. They happen when the ovaries release two eggs and both are fertilized at the same time. These individuals can look completely different from each other or very similar but are not identical. Because some people are more likely to release two eggs per cycle, fraternal twins can run in families to an extent.

Going with this I'll start with the Stans. The wiki states that while they both look very alike, they have key differences. Obviously, Ford has the extra finger on each hand and Stan doesn't. But the wiki also states that Ford has blue eyes (citing the dream Ford has in The Last Mabelcorn as proof of this) and Alex has confirmed that Stan has brown eyes along with the wiki. There are a few other differences as well but what I'm getting at is, they can't be identical twins. I've seen a ton of art of these two that has them both with brown eyes and it just rubs me the wrong way due to the above, especially when people say that the wiki is wrong because they're identical. Now I did see someone talk about the aforementioned dream sequence and their headcanon that it wasn't Ford's own eye he sees, but Fiddleford's which I think is neat as a writer as it makes the dream more heavy hitting but I personally side with the wiki. In conclusion the Stans are fraternal twins.

Now the kiddos. These two are both easier and harder to identify. If we go with my personal headcanons that Dipper is trans then they very well could be identical. If not and we go with the canon, they would have to be fraternal because identical twins cant have different biological sexes. Again, Alex confirmed that the twins have brown eyes and overall they look pretty identical apart from Dipper's birthmark. I'm going to safely go with fraternal, even with my trans headcanon because of the twins running in their family and the birthmark specifically.

I honestly dont know why I'm justifying my headcanons to the Internet right now but whatever. I just liked the idea of Ford having blue eyes and it turned into an analysis lmao. Anyway. If you read all this i hope you either learned something about twins or my mental state and that you have a good day or whatever✨✨✨✨

[samwellwinchesterthebrave]

I am losing my mind over last night's episode of Calamity. Zerxus really just walked up to this Betrayer God, the Lord of the Hells, and healed him and prepared to cast Atonement for him. Like, what must it be like for this Betrayer God to have one of the mortals he fought with the Primordials against just come up and show him this kindness and understanding and forgiveness? Just Zerxus' whole deal makes my heart hurt. He's so earnest and sincere and I love him. I'm calling it now. Evandrin isn't dead, he's ethereal or something. He faded from visible sight but he isn't gone.

I love Patia and Laerryn. They were boss ass bitches and it was a delight watching them fight. Their arrogance is backed up by their power and I doubt they've come across a problem that they haven't been able to overcome with their knowledge and magical ability. It is amazing watching the ease and casualness with which they cast high level magic. This is the Age of Arcanum, of course it's every day for them. This is their life and they are comfortable and confident in it.

After the failed check by Cerrit, I feel like Loquacious is sketchy. He puts on this front that he's a good, if self-absorbed, person. But I think there might be some rotten bits in his core. I also think there's a hell of a lot more to the situation with Elena than might be just he got jealous and got her fired or something. Also, I feel like he knows something about what happened to Evandrin. There are secrets he's keeping and I feel like they are very important to what's going to happen.

And speaking of Cerrit, it was adorable when his son messaged him. It was the sweetest thing and it just digs the knife a little deeper knowing the Calamity is coming. I wonder what his wife is doing. Is she a mage? Or some other type of scientist? Why not be home for the Replenishment?

I was wrong about the Oracles disappearing but they are definitely out of commission. And, with the future knowledge we as viewers have, we know for a fact that Karwen's prophecy isn't false. It makes me wonder if it was just fear and a kind of burying the head in the sand mentality that made the Octothurge declare it false. It makes me wonder, considering the portal to Asmodeus is in Karwen's room, if Asmodeus is purposefully sending these prophecies or if his mere presence is changing things and opening up other things for the Oracles to see.

I love how Brennan portrayed Asmodeus. I don't know how much of what he said was manipulation and shading of situations (quite a bit of it I bet) but he played that conversation with Zerxus to a t. I love me a sympathetic villain and, from Asmodeus' point of view, he had some good points. It makes sense, the gifts he offered to mortals. After all, often a thing doesn't have meaning unless its absence is a possibility.

Ugh. This whole episode had me gasping and squealing right along with the cast. I'm loving Brennan as a dm. He's excellent at the emotional punches and making things matter even when you don't have a personal stake in the matter. His sense of timing is perfect.

It also makes me laugh that Aabria at the end was like I thought I was gonna cause it and it was you all along to Luis. Like, they're passing around being the cause of the Calamity like a hot potato.

I cannot wait to see where this goes

[dp-marvel94]

Below the Greenhouse

For Phic Phight 2021. Prompt by @ave-aria: Maddie discovers the depths of Vlad's obsessions when she stumbles upon his secret lab. Despite the shock, part of her almost isn't surprised by the stolen Fenton Tech, the ripoff ghost portal, or the eerie Holo-Maddie—but the clone she finds floating in the pod at the back of the room? That's another matter entirely.

Word Count: 7,951

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Note:

Me: *sees a prompt with the word clone*

Me: Oh no.

We all know why this happened.

 Maddie knew Vlad Masters was a creep. She did. And she’d known this for a while, even when she, Jack, and Vlad were in college. Before his accident, she had known he'd been preparing to profess his “love” and ask her out, even though he’d known full-well she and Jack were dating. And while, that might have been forgivable back then, when all of them were young and naive and Vlad didn’t hold such bitterness towards her husband, it wasn't now.

Now, Maddie knew Vlad was hopelessly bitter. After his accident, he’d refused to talk to them. He’d shut them out of his room when they visited the hospital and after he’d been released, he’d refused their phone calls and ignored their letters. Eventually, she and Jack gave up and they moved on with their lives.

That was, until Vlad chose to reconnect. And unfortunately, Vlad was worse than ever. More smug. More arrogant. More creepy. He ignored the fact that Maddie was happily married with children and he still insisted that she should leave the love of her life for him. 

Maddie really only tolerated him for Jack’s sake. Her husband still enthusiastically loved the man who’d been his best friend in college and she couldn’t bear to crush his spirit, though the woman was increasingly doubting her choice to stay silent now.

And now, Maddie realized that Vlad was much more despicable than she thought.

It started with a series of strange phone calls. The voice was robotic, yet strangely familiar sounding. It reminded her of her mother or maybe her sister? Either way, the sound somehow tugged at her heartstrings just as much as it made her shiver anxiously.

“Please save him.” The woman’s voice asked, an oddly flat plea.

“Tell me who you are.” Maddie demanded, not for the first time.

The speaker ignored the question, continuing. “I cannot get Number 6 out myself. Please save him.”

“You keep saying that, every time you call this number.” The woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. This was the fifth time she had gotten a call like this. All from an almost emotionless, staticky voice. All begging her to save someone or something called Number 6. Something she couldn’t seem to get anymore information about. “But who is number six?” Maddie asked, trying, probably futilely to learn more.

The answer surprised her. “Number 6 is just a boy. He should be free. He does not belong in a laboratory.”

Maddie frowned, brows furrowed in confusion “A laboratory?”

“That is correct.” The robotic voice answered.

“I’m sorry, are you talking about an actual child? What is a child doing in a laboratory?” The woman wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“Number 6 is physically younger than the age of majority and therefore meets the definition of a child.”

“Okay?” Maddie furrowed her brow and repeated herself more severely. “Why are you keeping a child in your laboratory?”

There was a pause. “I am not permitted to share that information.”

That made the woman’s stomach flop. “And why not?”

“My dearest has forbidden me from discussing the details of his experiments with outsiders.”

Maddie frowned again. “Then why are you talking to me?”

“You are a loophole.” The speaker said without hesitation.

That gave the ghost hunter pause. She opened her mouth to ask more when there was a mechanical whirl across the line.

The fast, choppy words cut through. “Dearest will be leaving on a trip tonight and be away for the next three days.” 

“Wait, what are you-” Maddie started.

“The address is 600 North Maple Drive. Enter through the trapdoor in the greenhouse. I will be waiting.”

Across the line, a male voice called from far away. “Pull up the data from the last test, dear. And prepare the subject for sample collection.”

Maddie shivered; there was something familiar-

“Please hurry. Save him.” The robotic female voice whispered before the line cut off.

Maddie sighed, dropping the phone. She put her head in her hands. She didn’t know what to make of that. At first, she had thought these mysterious calls were pranks. Maybe even a ghost trying to trick her. Except…. That didn’t feel right. It had been a week and no ghost had acted against her or her family. No ghost would wait this long to act and no human prankster would continue this charade for this long either.

So who had been calling her and what do they really want? Could the speaker really be asking for her help? The idea made dread pool in her stomach, especially now. Now that she had more information. Now she had a location. And that was Vlad’s address. And that other voice...it had sounded like… Vlad, as if the speaker was in fact in Vlad’s mansion. Her stomach flopped. He’d been talking about data from a test and preparing a subject for sample collection. That in and of itself wasn’t necessarily that alarming. Vlad had a background in science. He could be conducting research, just like she and Jack did out of their own basement. Except…

Number 6 is just a boy. He should be free. He does not belong in a laboratory. The words rang in her head, making her feel sick.

Maddie sat for a long while, staring at the phone. So many questions clashed in her mind and she wanted answers. What was really happening here? And how would she learn the truth?

An idea started forming in her mind. A surely bad, horrible idea. She still had no idea who had been calling her. It probably was a trap. So why did she want to follow the instructions? And the prospect of sneaking onto Vlad Master’s property? She could get in serious trouble. And for what? Vlad would never do anything as immoral as what the speaker hinted at. Except...what if? Doubt grew in her mind. What if?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was how Maddie found herself pulling up to Vlad’s mansion in Amity Park. The woman sighed, putting the car into park and taking the key out of the ignition. She was really doing this, wasn’t she? The scientist could hardly believe her own actions. But it was the middle of the night and she was alone, in the small forest behind the mansion. 

Silently, Maddie got out of the car and started sneaking across the yard. She hadn’t told Jack where she was going. Maybe that was a mistake but the woman somehow knew he’d try to talk her out of this. And he would have a point. Yet the woman was still driven forward despite her better judgement. 

Arriving in front of the greenhouse, the ghost hunter stopped. She looked side to side, checking to see if anyone was watching. The yard was quiet and bare, only the sound of night insects cutting through the air. Maddie looked back into the building. To the left of the door was a blinking red light but other than that, inside was dark. Tentatively, Maddie jiggled the greenhouse’s door handle. It didn’t budge at first but then there was a buzz and a click. The door unlocked and the woman frowned, watching the blinking light turn from red to white. Was that a security system? And...had the door just unlocked for her?

Maddie bit her lip. She considered turning back but...she wanted answers. Instead, she pulled her ectostaff out of her belt. A blow to the head from it would be just as effective on a human attacker as it would be on a ghost.

The woman opened the door, quickly stepping though. She closed it and cautiously crossed the room. From what she could tell in the dark, this was a normal greenhouse. She breathed deeply, taking in the wet earthy smell of dirt, the soft perfume of flowers, and… She sniffed. That scent, old batteries, ozone, and citrus. That was familiar. Was that ectoplasm? 

Maddie turned, eyes searching for the tell-tell glow of a ghost. Her gaze fixed on something a few rows over. The huntress continued forward, brow wrinkling at the sight. Unsurprisingly, these were plants but….a faint glow enveloped the snow white leaves, the orange and black fruits. Tentatively, she reached forward and cupped one of the fruits. Even through her gloves, she could feel the ghostly chill. 

Maddie’s frown deepened. She’d never seen anything like this before. Was this some kind of ghostly plant? And in Vlad’s greenhouse of all places? Where did it come from? How did the billionaire procure it? And why hadn’t he said anything to her and Jack?

With that thought, the ghost hunters’ stomach flopped with nerves. There was actually something here, something out of the ordinary. Her mind turned back to those phone calls, the reason she was here in the first place. The speaker had said something about a trapdoor.

With that, Maddie pulled a flashlight out of her belt and flicked it on. She looked down, searching, and her eyes widened. Oh….well then. There, not three feet in front of her, was the door. The woman approached. Crouching down, she put down her staff and grasped the flashlight between her teeth. With both hands, she pulled the door up, revealing a short ladder leading to a narrow passageway.

The ghost hunter furrowed her brow, hesitating for a moment. She braced herself, forcing her shoulders to relax to dislodge some of the anxiety. Maddie stood up straight. She grabbed her staff and started lowering herself down the ladder. Once she was at the bottom, the woman turned and pointed the flashlight down the passageway. There, maybe ten feet in front of her was a metal blast door.

Dread rose in Maddie at the sight but she tried to push it down. This was probably an old cellar, or maybe even a bomb shelter. Rich people tended to have those, didn’t they? It could be…..

The woman stepped forward. Tentatively, she placed a hand on the opening mechanism. It looked like a wheel that she’d need both hands to open. She moved to return her staff to her belt but before she could, a mechanical whirl sounded. The wheel started turning. Paling Maddie rapidly stepped back. Her heart pounded in fear of being caught.

Then the door swung open with a groan. The ghost hunter registered bright light pouring through the opening. She blinked for a moment, her eyes adjusting to the change. Then she registered the translucent figure floating across the doorway. 

Maddie scowled, acting on instinct. “Take that ghost.” She swung her staff but the blow never connected, instead sailing through the blue clad figure without resistance.

“I am not a ghost.” A familiar, robotic voice responded.

It was then that Maddie finally registered what she was seeing. She gasped in shock. It was herself, except floating, translucent, and...glitching around the edges? “What are you?” She breathed.

“I am the MADDIE program, an artificial intelligence meant to emulate Dr. Madeline Fenton.”

The ghost hunter stared for a long moment in confusion. She hadn’t expected a response and now her mind couldn’t catch up, barely processing what she was seeing.

The hologram floated backward, motioning into the door. “Come inside.”

Maddie blinked, registering the words. Her eyes flitted from her strange double to the interior of the room. Concrete floor, metallic walls, sturdy work tables, and….a soft green light. It looked familiar, very much like the Fentonworks lab. The woman’s heart skipped a beat. She’d already come this far….

The huntress took a few steps forward and crossed the threshold, all the while keeping her eyes on the hologram. The other figure was unmoving and silent, not even blinking. After another long moment staring, Maddie warily looked around. As she’d glimpsed, there were shiny metal work tables and shelves. A station with a microscope, centrifuge, and table top incubator. She frowned, eyes falling on glowing vials of ectoplasm. 

This was a lab, obviously. A ghost research lab, based on the ectoplasm. But below Vlad’s greenhouse? Her eyes flickered to another table, this one holding familiar looking devices. Ectoguns, slim and silvery with a design Maddie knew intimately, despite the unfamiliar logo and red accents.

The woman walked forward, tentatively hefting the gun. “This looks like our model 35.” She stated seriously.

Maddie then turned, facing the source of the soft green light. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the swirling green. “That’s a portal. A ghost portal.” She muttered. 

The scientist took in the design of the frame, of the ecto-filtrater and the control panel. That was her and Jack’s design as well. Her mind swam, information bouncing around senselessly as she tried to make sense of all this. This was a lab. A ghost research lab. A hidden, secret research lab in Vlad Master’s backyard, below his greenhouse. Vlad’s secret lab. But...why?

She bit her lip, her eyes falling on the Fenton Works designed weapons and the portal. Their stolen designs. Maddie could barely believe it, yet she wasn’t as surprised as she should be. Vlad still having an interest in ghosts? The creepy billionaire stealing their blueprints? Why did that seem all too plausible?

“Dr. Fenton?” A staticy voice asked behind her.

Maddie turned, frown deepening as she took in the hologram again. Her mouth felt dry. “He….Vlad...made a hologram that looks and sounds like me.” She felt sickened at the thought, at the evidence in front of her. 

“Yes. I was modeled after Dr. Madeline Fenton.” The hologram replied.

The ghost hunter put a hand on her head, feeling a headache grow. It made sense, in a sick kind of way. Vlad had a fascination with her. He was not exactly subtle in his ‘affections.’ Of course he would create this creepy copy. “Why?” She groaned, in rising anger.

“I was created to serve as a digital assistance and security system.”

Maddie looked up, blinking in confusion. She hadn’t been expecting an answer. The woman then frowned, realizing something. A security system? Did that mean… “You unlocked the greenhouse door for me...and turned off the security system.”

“That is correct.” The hologram replied.

The ghost hunter wrinkled her brow. “Why?”

Somehow, almost imperceptibly, the figure’s expression softened. “You came to take Number 6 away from here.”

That gave Maddie pause, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the AI with new eyes. “You were the one calling me.” 

It finally hit her. The voice on the phone, the monotone one that reminded her of her mother and sister. It was this AI, this AI which sounded very much like Maddie herself. Of course she hadn’t recognized that. Most people don’t know what they really sound like outside of their own head and Maddie herself was no exception.

“Yes, I did.” The AI confirmed. “Please save him.”

“Him?” Maddie bit her lip, feeling that familiar dread again. “Number 6? Who is this person?”

The hologram floated toward the other side of the room, towards a tall cylindrical metal tube that Maddie hadn’t noticed yet. “Come.” She motioned the ghost hunter to approach.

The huntress did so, fixing a studious gaze on the tube.

“Viewing panel opening.” The AI announced as the whirl of gears sounded throughout the room.

In front of the cylinder, metal paneling slid apart. Slowly a gap opened, making the inside of the pod visible. Maddie first registered neon green ectoplasm swirling in some kind of solution. Then her jaw dropped. There, suspended in the chamber was a lithe figure. It looked male, the form of a young teenager. For a moment, the ghost hunter registered white hair and a black and white garment. Phantom? Had Vlad managed to capture Phantom? No...that….

Her brow furrowed, stepping closer. She examined the glowing body. The figure’s appearance was shifting. Its skin was a mosaic of ghostly blue and a pale, more human color in ever changing, shifting patches. The black and white garment also shifted, seeming to grow and spread over the body before retreating, leaving bare skin. On the head was a mop of black and white hair, the patches rapidly changing color and appearing to move across the skull.

Maddie frowned. There was a resemblance to Phantom. (How? How in the world?) But this wasn’t the same being. “This is a ghost.” Her brow wrinkled in confusion, despite her confidence of the fact.

“Yes.” The MADDIE program answered plainly. 

The scientist turned. “I am not letting a ghost out of here.”

The hologram frowned. “Number Six is a boy. He deserves to be free.”

Maddie pointed. “But….that is a ghost.”

“Yes.” The AI confirmed again. “But he is also a boy. Observe.” The translucent figure waved a hand over one of the computers. “Display subject’s vials.”

Instantly, readings appeared on the screen, a rhythmic beeping commencing. The ghost hunter studied the words and numbers. “Oxygen saturation, Blood Glucose, Blood pressure, Heart Rate.” Her brow furrowed. “These are vials for a human.”

“Yes. These are Number six’s vials.” 

Maddie scrunched her nose in disbelief. “But...this is a ghost.” 

But the sound of the heart monitor pounded in her head. She turned, facing the figure in the tube again. The readings could be fake. But why? And why did Vlad have a ghost captured in his lab? And why did it resemble Phantom? Or at least, it seemed to. Not that she’d ever been this close to Phantom before but the white hair, suit, and lithe figure were the same. She took in the shifting appearance. And what was that? An attempt at shapeshifting?

Maddie turned back to the screen, reading again. At the top, it read Clone Six, 100% stability. “Clone?” The woman questioned. “Clone of who? Of Phantom?”

“Yes.” The AI answered. In response, the ghost hunter turned sharply. The hologram continued. “Subject Six has completed the gestation period and is now viable and capable of living outside the artificial womb.”

Maddie blinked rapidly. There was a lot of information there. “Clone? Vlad cloned Phantom and...it’s ready?”

“Yes. He is stable.” The hologram turned. “Please save him. Take him away from dearest.”

“Look.” The scientist pinched the bridge of her nose. “I am not letting this ghost go.”

“He is a boy.” The AI insisted.

“You say that but-”

“And a ghost.” The hologram continued. “He is a living boy and a ghost.”

Maddie’s heart skipped a beat. “Living?”

She turned back to the chamber, something in her resonating at the word. The strands of black hair, the human colored skin, the patches that did not glow. She looked up into the face and something itched in the back of her mind. It looked familiar, not just because the ghost looked like Phantom.

Maddie took another step. She reached forward until she was touching the glass. The heart monitor steadily beeped as the figure in the chamber twitched.

The huntress shook her head, denying. “That’s just...not possible. Someone can’t be a ghost and a human.” What the AI was saying was nonsensical, completely impossible. So why did Maddie not feel certain?

“Initiate wake up sequence.” The AI declared.

Startled, Maddie’s head whipped to the side. “What are you-”

In the chamber, something thumped. The woman’s head turned to see flailing limbs. The figure’s eyes suddenly popped open, one blue and one green panickedly flickering around the room. The rate of the heart monitor increased. The being thrashed, chest spasming. A hand pounded against the glass. 

“What did you do?” Maddie demanded of the AI.

There was no answer, just fearful flailing within the tube. The ghostly figure’s gaze shifted down and fell on Maddie. The eyes widened, silently begging. More pounding of hands on the inside of the glass. The beeping increased, pounding into the woman’s head. The ghost boy blinked and the eyes were blue, icy blue. The gaze, the familiar gaze stabbed Maddie in the heart.

The woman panicked, her own heart race. Her eyes ripped away from the boy. What do I do? What do I do? Her mind raced. Her gaze fell on a large button marked, Emergency release. She acted without thinking, slamming her hand down on the button.

There was hiss and a beep from the chamber. In the blink of an eye, the glass wall of the chamber parted. Maddie yelped, jumping back as water and ectoplasm poured out. The liquid soaked her anyway. Then, the boy inside the tub was falling. He tipped forward and the woman reached out to catch him on instinct.

A surprisingly heavy body fell onto the ghost hunter. Her knees threatened to buckle under the sudden impact. Instead she wobbled and wrapped one arm around the lithe body. Shakily, Maddie lowered herself to her knees, taking the ghostly figure with her.

Numbly, hardly believing what she’d just done, the woman huddled on the floor. She tensed at the being reached towards her. A part of her brain screamed that it was unsafe to be so near to a ghost, yet she didn’t move as ungloved hands weakly grabbed onto her jumpsuit and the ghost pressed into her chest, as if it was hugging her. 

Maddie looked down at the being, marveling at the sight. Its appearance was still shifting. Black and white hair. Black jumpsuit and bare skin. Patches of ghostly blue and pale human skin. The woman could feel the ectoplasmic energy, the ghostly chill radiating off the being as well but..... Its glow...there was something off. The glow was dimming. It flickered like a light bulb before cutting off.

In front of her came a whine as the ghost buried its head into her shoulder. Soft cold breath caressed her check. Breathe? Maddie’s heart skipped a breath. She could feel the chest rising and falling with fast breaths, pressed against her as it was. And that beeping. Maddie glanced up at the display. The heart monitor was still keeping pace with a rapidly fluttering heart.

The scientists breath lodged in her throat. No this was...ghosts didn’t breath. They didn’t have heart beats. They didn’t…. She looked down at the shaking figure again and her world turned upside down. The black suit was receding, evaporating. It disappeared off the arms and chest, every part of the body she could see, leaving bare skin below. And that skin, it was changing. Pale peach-tinted skin was rapidly replacing the inhuman blue. A warm breath blew over her check, the ghostly chill quickly vanishing. The weight pressed into her increased, the fingers holding onto her becoming warm and solid. And on the head, black overtook white until she was staring down at the full black head of hair.

Maddie’s mind stopped unable to process. This was...she was...in front...of her...this was... She blinked rapidly, as if the sign would change but...the lack of glow, the human skin tone, the warmth, the breathing, the black hair. That..that damn heart monitor. This...this was...no...no way. The ghost hunter shakily, wrapped her arms around the now hyperventilating figure. She winced feeling the warm, solid skin under her gloves. This was impossible but….

This...this was a human. No ghost...no ghost could fake this. No shapeshifting would give a ghost human warmth and a heartbeat. And she could feel it, the rapidly fluttering heart pressed against her own. 

The ghost whined again. No. no. The boy. The boy who had just been a ghost but had changed. The boy who’d just been inside that pod. Who was shaking and hyperventilating in front of her. Another whine. A tear fell onto her shoulder.

Maddie’s mind finally caught up. Her arms shifted into a more proper hug, hands reaching up to run through the black hair. “Shhh. Shh. It’s okay.” The woman whispered. “Breath with me. In.” She breathed in deliberately. “And out.” She pushed the air out of her lungs. “In and Out.”

The boy copied, his breaths following hers. In and out. In and out. His breathing slowed as did the beeping of the heart monitor. Slowly, so slowly, his shaking subsided but the boy didn’t let go of her suit.

Maddie stayed still, questions bombarding her now that the boy was calmed. This boy, who was he? Where had he come from? Why...why did Vlad have a teenager in his lab? And why did he have a ghost that could change into a human? Or was this a human who could turn into a ghost? Her mind raced, her own heart rate increasing with overwhelming confusion. How was this possible? What was this kid?

She looked down, an idea sparking. That ghost disease that all the teenagers supposedly got. The disease that gave them ghost powers. She and Jack had never seen any of the supposedly infected students. They’d dismissed the claims as absurd. Humans could not have ghost powers. Yet Jazz and Danny’s friend, Sam, had both insisted that they’d gotten sick and both had displayed a ghostly ability. And if...if that was true….. She paled, the overheard words from the last phone call hitting her. Tests, sample collection, subject, experiment. If Vlad was experimenting with that disease, experimenting with ectoplasm on...on….

“Where...where am I?” A quiet male voice asked, directly in front of her. Maddie stiffened at the words, roughly pulled out of her thoughts. “What’s happening?”

The woman’s heart stopped. That voice. That voice. Oh god. Suddenly shaking, she unwrapped her arms from the boy. Gently, so gently, she grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands off of her. The boy seemed to shrink in on himself at that, shoulders falling. 

He sniffled but Maddie shushed it. “Look...look up at me.” She quietly asked. Slowly, the teenager obeyed and again, the mother felt like her world was turned on its head. Familiar, icy blue eyes met hers. The curve of that nose, the round chin, the slightly chubby cheeks. Oh god, she knew...she knew this face intimately. A trembling hand reached out to touch, cupping the boy’s cheek. “Danny?” Maddie asked, before she could really think.

The blue eyes widened, looking at her with the most pure and innocent hope she’d even seen. “Danny? Is that...is that my name?”

The woman’s expression fell, her mind catching up to the question, to what she was seeing. No, this couldn't be Danny. She had just seen him earlier that night. And on the face in front of her….The freckles….the freckles were wrong, laid out in a different pattern. And the scar above his lips, where was it? The mother glanced down, at his collar bone. The birthmark wasn’t there. And...her heart skipped a beat. No, he was too young, maybe two years younger than her son’s current age of 16.

The woman removed her hand. “No. I’m sorry. You’re not….you look like him, like Danny. So I thought….But you’re not...you’re not him.”

The boy’s shoulders fell and his eyes fixed down. The suddenly heartbroken, lonely look broke Maddie’s heart. “Oh. Then...who am I?”

The ghost hunter frowned at the question, her mind trying to form an answer. Who was this boy who looked like her Danny? Wait…. The words on his vitals display flashed in her mind. Clone number 6. Clone. “You’re a clone.” She blinked, mouth falling open. “You’re a clone of my son.”

The boy looked up, raising a brow. “What’s a clone?”

Maddie flushed at the question. It was so innocent. And his eyes, staring up at her like she had the answer to every question in the universe. “That’s...that’s complicated.” She glanced down, cheeks reddening in a sudden realization. “Let’s umm...let’s get you some clothes first.” The mother blushed for a moment. He’d been naked this whole time, while they’d been hugging and she had been comforting him.

“Clothes?” The boy tilted his head and the innocent confusion, the lack of embarrassment, just about killed Maddie. This looked like a teenager but obviously he wasn’t actually one.

The mother pushed the thought away, head surveying the room for something to cover the child with. She gaze fixed on something white hanging on one of the walls. Lab coats. Maddie started pushing herself to her feet.

The boy whimpered, grabbing her hand. “Don’t leave me.”

Maddie’s expression softened. “I’m not. I’m just going to get you something to wear.”

Shakily, she stood and walked across the lab. All the while, the woman could feel the eyes on the back of her head. But she ignored it, focusing on grabbing a coat. She pulled the white garment off the peg and quickly returned. Maddie then knelt down and held out the coat. The boy looked at it with no recognition as if he had no idea what to do with it. He probably didn’t.

“I can put it on you then. Hold out your arms.” Maddie instructed.

The boy, the clone, (this was a clone, a clone of her son. Her son. How? Why? What?). The clone did as she said and the woman dressed him as if he was a little child. (He probably was). The woman tried to smile comfortingly as she fastened the buttons. “There you go. All covered up.”

The boy looked at the sleeves curiously. They hung past his hands as the garment swallowed him. He waved his arms, watching the ends flap. The child laughed at the sight.

Maddie’s heart clenched at the child-like display. But then she turned her attention to the AI that had been silently watching the entire time. Standing, she scowled. “Is he a clone of my son?”

“Yes.” The MADDIE program replied. “Subject Number 6 is a clone of Daniel James Fenton.”

Maddie looked down again. Somehow, despite how impossible this was, that made perfect sense. The appearance was nearly identical, to perfect for strangers. And….she swallowed. Vlad had a sick fascination with her children, with Danny in particular. She knew the man fancied himself something of a godfather, with his pet names, presents, and advice. And Danny despised it, much more than any teenage boy should even if said godfather had a tendency to flirt with his mother.

The woman paled, all sorts of horrible idea coming into her head. What Vlad must want from Danny, what he must really want from her son. And to do the scientifically impossible? She shivered. Tests, experiments. She remembered the hybrid ghostly appearance, the ectoenergy flowing off of him. From some the ghostly disease? But… “Wait...you said that he was clone of Phantom earlier?”

The hologram’s response was cut off by a scream from the floor. Maddie’s eyes flicked down panickedly as the clone looked up at her. “My...my arm...it’s gone.”

The woman’s eyes just about popped out of her skull. His left sleeve with the hand and arm inside of it were gone. Maddie knelt down, reaching towards where the limb should be. Her hand hit something solid and chilly. She rapidly blinked. “It’s invisible. Your arm is invisible.” Panic rose in her. Ghostly abilities. There were ghostly abilities. He had ghost powers.

“Invisible?!” The boy shrieked. 

Maddie’s heart clenched. That sounded just like Danny, her son when he was scared. The boy’s mouth was open with panic, his breath increasing. And all the woman could see was her son. Her son’s face, screwed up with panic and fear. It made her soul ache. She gently wrapped her hand around his invisible one. “It’s still there but you need to calm down. Breath with me. Like before. Okay. In and out.”

The boy copied her action once and his hand returned to visibility. He threw himself forward into her arms. Maddie returned the hug without hesitation. Then a breath later, cold swept over her. The body in her arms disappeared, turning into cold mist. Both the woman and the boy screamed as he turned intangible and fell through her.

Maddie rapidly stood, stepping back. What was happening?! On the floor, the boy returned to solidity, the slightly translucent appearance disappearing. He rolled onto his back, panting. The beeping of the monitor increased with his breathing as his face scrunched up fearfully. 

Then a heartbeat later, just when Maddie thought she was done with surprises for tonight, something else stole the breath from her lungs. A white ring of light formed around the boy’s waist. It spread up and down his body and everything the light touched changed. The scientist blinked away the spots in her vision. And there, writhing on the floor with a panicked expression, was Phantom. Or...he looked like Phantom. White hair, black and white jumpsuit, panic filled green eyes.

It suddenly all hit Maddie like a tractor-trailer. He was a clone of Danny.. .and he was a clone of Phantom. Of Phantom. Danny...it clicked into place. Oh god, Danny’s accident with the portal. Him setting off all their equipment. His badly hidden injuries. Falling grades, skipping class, not sleeping. Oh god. Danny was Phantom. Danny Fenton was Danny Phantom. That...that was a pun, damnit. Of course her son would name himself after a pun. And… her eyes fixed on the boy on the floor. His face even stayed the same! No wonder Phantom avoided getting close to them!

In front of her, the clone was hyperventilating again. “What’s happening to me?!” He cried, tears welling in his eyes. His legs were fused into a ghostly tail which lashed in front of him.

The mother’s brain kicked into gear, her motherly instincts taking over again. She knelt down. “Sweetie. Sweetie. Calm down. I’m here.” 

She grabbed his arm, intending to pull him into a sitting position but he was so light, as light as a balloon. With the slightest tug, he was pulled into the air, floated. Maddie pulled the ghost boy into her arms. She cupped the back of his head.

“What’s...what’s happening to me?” He cried again.

“I don’t know.” Maddie answered honestly. She had only the barest idea of what all was going on. But still... “I’ll figure it out. I’ll help you. You’re safe. I’m right here.”

The boy wiggled in her hold, crying into her shoulders. “I...I don’t understand. I don’t understand. Who...who am I? Who are you? Where are we?”

Maddie didn’t know. Or rather she didn't know how to answer those questions without making him more scared. She desperately wished she did know. She’d have to have a long conversation with Danny about him being Phantom and about what is actually going on between him and Vlad but for now...she hugged the boy tighter.

A long minute later, light passed over the clone again. He became heavy and warm in Maddie’s arms. His knees wobbled for a moment before steadying as Maddie held him up. “There, you’re doing it. You can stand.” His posture strengthened and the shaking stopped. Finally, the mother asked. “Do you think you can stand on your own?”

“I...I think so?” The boy said, uncertainly.

“Alright. I’m going to step away slowly. I’ll catch you if you start to fall.” Maddie reassured.

The child nodded as the woman backed away. He wobbled, tipping forward but the ghost hunter gently grabbed him. They stood, hands on each other's forearm for a long pause, until the boy steadied himself. He looked down at his feet, lifting one before putting it down and then doing the same with the opposite. Finally, he let go of Maddie’s arms. After hesitating, the mother did the same.

The boy studied her compassionate face, brow furrowed with deep thought. “Who are you...to me?”

Maddie considered, studying his face in kind. Her son’s face. A face so like her Danny’s. He was a clone, a clone of her son. Meaning...he was her own flesh and blood. Her lips pursed in thought. More importantly...he was a child. A confused, scared child who needed her help. And before she was a ghost hunter and scientist, Maddie was and would always be a mother.

“I’m your mother.” She said without hesitation, smiling. “Your mom.”

“Mom?” The boy asked, testing out the word. 

Maddie nodded, reaching forward and gently whipping one of his tears away with her thumb. “I’m your mom.”

The child smiled, his eyes lighting up like that was the most wonderful thing he had ever heard. It very well could be. “Mom.” The word rang out with so many emotions, with some much love that Maddie’s heart swelled. The boy stepped forward hugging her again.

The mother ran her finger through his hair. “Yes baby. I’m here to take you home."

“You will take him away from here, then?” A staticy voice asked, beside the pair.

Maddie turned, pulling away to look at the AI. Beside her, the clone tilted his head as he looked between the two but didn’t ask.

The scientist nodded. “Yes. I think I understand why you called me now.” Of course she did. This was an AI made to copy her, something of a digital clone. If Maddie was in her place, she would not so easily agree to whatever Vlad had planned. She would not leave a child here to be experimented on. And as the MADDIE programs 'original’, for lack of a better word, she wasn’t exactly an outsider and therefore a loophole.

The hologram nodded. “I will disable the microchip then.” A light on the monitor blinked out and the beeping of the heart monitor stopped. The AI then turned to the computer. She pointed to a flash drive plugged into one of the ports. “That contains all research data. Take it with you.” 

Maddie obeyed, taking the drive. The AI winked. “Excellent. Delete all research data. Command alpha-06-gamma-58-epsilon.”

There was a loud dial tone and the computer fritzed, the monitor wavering until a blue screen reading ‘System Deletion’ in large print was displayed.

Maddie raised a brow, impressed at the AI. 

Then the clone asked. “What about you? Are you coming with us?”

The program shook her head. “No dear. I am not like you. My purpose is served.” The AI turned to deliberately look at Maddie. “Number 6 has been saved.”

The boy frowned at the statement as did the mother, considering the statement and the depth of it. She didn’t know what to make of it except...it almost felt like one mother was handing off her son to another.

“Go on.” The MADDIE program encouraged. "You may go out the way you came and I will lock the doors behind you." She frowned. "I will distract dearest for as long as I can."

Maddie wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I suppose you can't just call him Vlad?"

"No." The AI almost sounded annoyed. "My programming is most inconvenient."

The ghost hunter nodded in understanding. Then she turned to face the clone. "Come on then sweetie." She wrapped one arm around the boy and started leading him towards the door. Before passing through, the women turned back to face the hologram. "Thank you."

The corner of MADDIE program's lip turned up as she offered an accepting nod. The pair then turned back towards the still open door. The clone wobbled slightly, progressing slowly as he gained more confidence. Maddie carefully stepped across the threshold with the boy still at her side. Once they were in the tunnel, a gap sounded from beside her.

"What is it?" The mother glanced to the side, eyes wide with concern.

"The ground's cold." The boy muttered.

"Oh." Maddie looked down. "You're not wearing any shoes." She'd have to get him some once they got home and some proper clothes. "Just step carefully, okay? Actually…." With her free hand, she pulled out her flashlight and shone it on the bare ground in front of them. "There." 

The pair advanced carefully, Maddie helping the boy to clumsily climb up the ladder. They crossed the greenhouse and the mother pulled the boy along as he eagerly studied their surroundings. 

"It smells nice in here." The clone commented, sniffing the air.

"It does." Maddie agreed. 

Arriving at the door, she finally opened it and the two found themselves in the open air. The boy suddenly stopped, looking down. 

He hummed in the back of his throat, pleased. "I like the grass under my feet." Maddie looked down to find the kid wiggling his toes. Then there was an awed whisper. "Wow. Are those the stars?"

The mother looked up again to find him staring up at the sky in wonder. Maddie smiled. "Yes, they are. Aren't they beautiful?"

"Yeah." He breathed.

Maddie let him look up in awe, as she herself marveled. She couldn't help but be reminded of Danny's love of the stars. But even with the resemblance, he was a different person from her Danny, wasn't he? She could already see little difference. This child-like wonder was something she hadn’t seen in her son very often now. But still she wondered. This clone seemed to know the words for things. He could speak clearly and had good coordination all things considered. How was that even remotely possible? And yet he still had the air of someone who had never seen the world before, like every was new. Because it likely was.

With that, Maddie cut off her musing. "Come on sweetie. We need to keep going."

The mother hated cutting off his exploration, especially as his expression fell. But the boy nodded anyway, taking a step forward. The pair continued, cutting across the yard, into the trees, and to the car. Maddie clicked the fob to unlock the vehicle. She guided the boy to the car, opened the passenger's side door, and helped him sit. The mother then walked around and opened the driver's side door and sat down herself.

Maddie turned to find the clone looking at his seat belt curiously. She reached over. "Here let me help you." She buckled him in.

The boy hummed, fidgeting in his seat while Maddie buckled herself in. She put the key in the ignition and started the engine. Instantly, the radio started, a song from their local eighties station broadcasting through. The clone flinched at the sudden sound before relaxing. 

He turned, looking at the woman with wide eyes. "What's that?"

Maddie smiled. "It's music."

"Right. Music." The boy nodded. He tilted his head, listening to the song. After a moment, his head bobbed in time. "I think I like music." He hummed along, wiggling in his seat.

It made Maddie want to laugh so she did. She chuckled as she put the car into drive and pulled away. She turned into the road and started driving back towards Fentonworks. The song ended just as they pulled up at a red light.

The clone turned to face her. "Where are we going?"

She looked at him out the corner of her eye. "We're going home, like I said earlier."

He nodded. "Right yeah. I remember that." He hummed. "What will we do when we get there?"

Maddie paused, considering the question. "Well...we’ll talk to your dad and your….Danny and Jazz….and we’ll figure all of this out.” 

She’d hesitated for a moment, thinking to refer to Danny and Jazz as his brother and sister. But Maddie had no idea how they’d take this. Hopefully well. Those two were good kids but living with a clone of yourself….Maddie could hardly imagine. At least Jack would be eager and welcoming. She knew her husband well enough to be sure….Oh boy, she really should have told him something about all of this before she’d left.

"All of this….you mean the….clone thing and…" He bit his lip. "The flashing light and the floating and disappearing and falling through things?"

"Ghost powers." Maddie said, brow furrowing. "You have ghost powers. As far as I can tell, you're some kind of ghost human hybrid? Not that I knew that was possible until less than an hour ago…." She frowned. "Nor did I know you existed."

The boy frowned, looking worried. His lips pursed. "So...you don't know what my name is then, do you?”

Maddie's heart fell. In front of them, the light turned green. The woman turned back, removing her foot off the gas. The car pulled away before the mother pulled into a parking lot. 

She took a deep breath, the impossibleness of the situation hitting her. She was sitting in her car with a clone of her son. A clone that she’d found in the secret laboratory below Vlad Master’s greenhouse. A human-ghost hybrid clone of her son who was also a hybrid. She had another son now. A son who she now had to tell that she didn't know his name, because he likely didn't have one yet.

Maddie put a comforting hand on his arm. “I’m sorry.” She gently apologized. “You’re right. I don’t know. And sadly….” She took a deep breath. “And I know this will be hard to hear but...all I know is that hologram called you Number 6 and...that’s not exactly a name, is it? ” 

His lip quivered, eyes starting to water. “But….that’s….”

The mother took his hands and squeezed it. “That will change. Your father and I can pick out a name for you; that’s what parents normally do for their children. Or….if you have something in mind, we’ll happily call you that.”

The clone looked down, biting his lip in consideration. “I’ll...I’ll think about it.”

Maddie’s face softened. “Alright sweetie.”

He turned his head up, blinking at her. “Sweetie? Can that be my name?”

The question was asked so innocently that Maddie couldn’t help but laugh. “No. That’s a pet name. I call all my kids that.”

“Oh.” He blushed in embarrassment. “Well that’s...at least, that means I’m one of your kids.”

The mother nodded her head. “Yes, of course. You’re my son.” It should have been surprising how much her heart swelled with love at the statement but well….Maddie had made up her mind. This was her son. Not Vlad Masters’ experiment. Not just Danny’s clone. Her son and Vlad was not taking him away from her.

They would have a lot to figure out. A name for this boy. His complete origin as a clone. How to deal with having a third child, one who’d just appeared overnight. They’d have to deal with the implications of her revelation that Danny was Phantom. And Vlad...what he’d done was horrible. He’d stolen blueprints and her son’s DNA. He’d experimented on a human or...humans. She internally frowned; he was clone number 6. Did that mean that there had been five others? 

Either way, Vlad was deplorable. There, in the depth of his lab, below something as innocuous and normal as his greenhouse, Maddie had discovered that and the true depth of his obsession with her and her family. And now she knew, Vlad needed to be stopped. He needed to be punished. But what exactly to do with him, considering how taking him down would likely expose Danny’s identity as Phantom? Yes, they had a lot to deal with but….

Maddie leaned forward to kiss her new son’s forehead. “You have a family now. And a home. And everything else we’ll figure out together.”

A soft smile crept across his face. “I like how that sounds.”

“Good.” Maddie smiled. “Now...are you ready to go meet the rest of your family?”

“Yeah.” He squeezed the hand still holding hers. “I’m ready Mom.”

[hufflesocks]

Ok so I am a huge fan of the head cannon that the cores were once human so basically I’m just going to give my head cannon for what happened prior to GLaDOS taking over the facility and the events of Portal and Portal 2. And since I have been holding these head cannons in for too long, so I’m just going to info dump:

Due to the importance of Cave Johnson’s project of putting one’s consciousness into a computer, I would assume that those working on the project would want to run tests prior to the real thing. And what’s better than testing on the real thing: other people. For the very first test, the scientists working on the project decided to have the subject be one of Aperture’s many maintenance workers. This was due to that fact that if the test was successful then they could continue to use the core for maintenance work, and a robot doesn’t need breaks nor do they get sick. The candidate they chose was an immigrant from Norway named Virgil Evensen. He had no remaining close relatives and outside of a friendly old lady that he would cat sit for no one who would miss him. They put a lot of effort into the exterior of the core’s shell even going so far as to giving it floral designs that matched the tattoos of the subject they were using. The scientists wanted to make a very good first impression, and they did. The first transfer of human consciousness into a robot was a success. Though they learned the hard way that in order to avoid any existential crisis the memory of said person had to be completely whipped. Using this information they began to perform many other similar tests, with many other employees to create the personality cores.

Two particular Scientists who were involved in the project were Craig Nelson and Richard “Rick” Owens. Craig was originally on the project dealing primarily with with the science of actually transferring over human consciousness, while Rick was later partnered with him to help with the robotics aspect. Their relationship as co-workers was strained at first, but soon evolved into one of reluctant tolerance. Craig had a tendency to be a bit stuck up and arrogant, while Rick was more well adventurous and a bit of a braggart(think of him as a flirtatious cowboy). Rick developed the the type of attitude towards Craig that’s like “it’s not ok for anybody to pick on this person, but me.”

Rick grew up on a ranch in Montana with his older brother Connor. Connor went to school for Aeronautics, and eventually found himself under the employment of an up and coming science institute: Aperture Science. Rick followed in his brother’s footsteps getting a job at the same facility but in the field robotics. Rick enjoyed living and working in close proximity to his brother as he had a falling out with his father soon before he got the job. Eventually his brother got married and had a kid, named Kevin. One day, however only a few months after Kevin’s birth, his wife left in the middle of the night without a trace. So Kevin grew up with his father and his “cool uncle Rick.” Often Kevin would stay with Rick while his father was on space missions. This prompted him to develop an extreme love for anything and everything space. But one typical two week visit with his uncle became a permanent one. Rick had no idea what to do when he found out that his brother went missing in space. He was torn between grieving and figuring out a how to take care of Kevin. He was supposed to be “Cool uncle Rick.” The guy his nephew would hangout with, while his father was busy, not the kids primary caretaker. And the hardest part was figuring out a way to tell the kid his father wasn’t coming home. In the end he tried to explain that his father was now in space living amongst the stars. He hoped the kid understood the metaphor. But instead it just turned Kevin’s interest in space into an infatuation with going to space. Regardless, Rick managed to make the new situation work. Though taking care of Kevin by himself often ment bringing Kevin to Aperture’s daycare center when he couldn’t find a baby sitter.

Around this time employees began to seemingly disappear out of thin air. Due to the fact that Rick was on the lower end of Aperture’s personality core project he never knew the real reason. He just provided the blueprints for the cores and checked them over when they were done. He never picked up on the fact that their personalities seemed a bit too human. One day about several years after his brother’s death and only a few days after the CEO of Aperture’s, someone very important stopped showing up to work. Caroline was one of the few people at that facility who actually listened to what he had to say and didn’t just brush him off. Plus he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t developed a small crush on her. First Rick asked Craig if he knew anything, to which he received a curt “no.” Figuring Craig was just being himself, Rick began asking around with the higher ups. All of whom seemed to side step the question, say that she must have quit, or claimed they were too busy with Aperture’s new, biggest project GLaDOS. Eventually Rick was forced to drop it.

Craig was more involved in the higher ups of the personality core and GLaDOS projects. Thus, meaning that he knew the scientists were getting more desperate in using cores to control GLaDOS as well as which employees were up next for the trials. Apparently asking around about the disappearance of a higher up at Aperture was a sensitive subject. So when Craig heard who the project’s next test subject was, he immediately went to warn him. If anyone asked, Craig hated his coworker Rick, but in reality the two had formed a begrudging friendship. Plus the fact that Rick had a nephew to care for, didn��t make the decision to use him as a test subject sit well with Craig. Craig tried to warn Rick as best he could, without divulging the warning’s motive. But saying that Rick should quit immediately for no reason and leave Aperture pissed Rick off for some reason.

The next day when Rick went to work, Craig wasn’t at his desk, and Craig was always at his desk. This made Rick extremely worried. No matter how mad he was after their recent exchange; the guy never missed work, not even for sick days. This time he was more forceful in his questioning, demanding to know the reason for his friend’s disappearance. But the only answers he received were shrugs and suggestions that he get back to work.

By this point he was fully aware something real bad was going on, and was really reluctant to bring Kevin in with him the next day. But he couldn’t find a babysitter and he couldn’t leave the kid alone. After dropping off Kevin at the daycare center, he went to his desk. As he looked up from putting his “adventure” hat in the lower drawer of his desk, he saw two men in lab coats standing beside him. One addressed him by name and asked him to follow them for a scheduled testing session(something that employees were often asked to do every so often). However, Rick had a bad feeling about it and was reluctant to go. The two Scientists tried to restrain him, but he managed to fight them off. Once free his next thought was to find his nephew and get out. But before he could take another step a needle was injected into his neck and everything went dark.

The Scientists knew they had been too careless, when a daycare employee approached them. It was the end of the day and the employee asked when one of the young boys’ uncle would be arriving to pick him up. They were desperate. The GLaDOS project was failing and they needed to cover up any loose ends that could possibly lead to the beyond unethical actions of the project being released to the public. So they followed the daycare employee to the center and found the boy sitting at a table playing with a rocket ship. Recognizing the lab coat attire as one that his uncle often wore Kevin asked where his uncle was. In response the scientists offered to take the boy to his uncle.

The last three cores were hastily made. They were full of bugs and sported the personalities of Fact, Adventure, and Space(if one could even call those personalities). It was no surprise that they didn’t work when GLaDOS was booted up. The scientists were running out of ideas, and began to think the project a failure. Until one of the younger scientist by the name of Dr. Doug Rattmann offendedly and sarcastically mentioned using artificial intelligence based personality cores instead. Much to his dismay the scientists took his idea. They had enough data collected from the numerous personality core tests, that they could easily develop an AI software. Perhaps using AI would be better for managing a Human based robot, rather than other human based robots. The first test was run using a core with a focus on curiosity. GLaDOS lasted a whole quarter of a second before trying to kill the scientists. The test was a success and it looked like with just a few more cores, the scientists could get the machine under control.

[sserpente]

Synopsis: Thanos’ cruel attempt to wipe out half of the universe failed and the titan is dead; but his actions came with grave consequences. Tears and cracks in the universe, all across space and time formed wormholes within the nine realms and beyond, giving old enemies a vicious opportunity to strike again. When the Jötuns invade Earth and the Avengers assemble to defend the planet once again, it is the help of none other than the former war criminal Loki they are reliant upon to drive the icy warriors back to their own realm. But then the God of Mischief encounters a young woman abandoned in the cold—your body mangled and altered with Jötun blood, a lab rat to the Frost Giants. He decides to take you with him and nurse you back to health, unable to comprehend the confusing affection he begins to harbour for you.

A/N: The synopsis partially sounds like a Doctor Who episode. *giggles* Here goes another (pretty dark) story I have been meaning to write, based on a dream I had once. It was supposed to be a Oneshot but as previously announced I wanted to do so much more with it so I simply kept writing. Have fun reading, my lovelies!

Warnings for this story: mentions of rape, mentions of torture, mentions of ill parent, mentions of emotional/physical abuse, abduction, slavery, (sexual) submission, injuries, blood, smut

Available on AO3!

Chapter 1

The digital map Tony had programmed spread over the entire table, mountains, hills and buildings towering up to the ceiling where they flickered slightly. White dots covered the spots in question, marking the places they had already taken, its people in great danger. There were too many of them—and it was enough reason to be concerned.

Steve Roger’s coffee had gone cold. He scratched his chin with a deepening frown, flicking through the many pages of his briefing pack as he sat at the table. There he had been, killing time, frustration and energy in the gym, thinking it was all over, that his days in the compound were numbered.

“How could this even happen?” Eventually, he lifted his head to come to terms with his new reality. Tony Stark, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, Wanda Maximoff, James Rhodes, Stephen Strange. They were all here, back and united again to face a new threat, a new foe to protect this world from.

“When Thanos meddled with the universe, he manipulated space and time repeatedly before we could overpower him. He… seemed to have caused wormholes that messed with all path ways across the universe. The Frost Giants must have found one of them… and learned quickly how to make use of them.” Stephen replied. His fingers were fondling one of his gloves as he let his gaze roam over the map once more all the while his red cape attempted to struggle free from where he was sitting on it. They had all ceased to pay any attention to it by now—not after everything they had seen and witnessed.

The Jötuns had already invaded and successfully taken Greenland and quite recently Iceland, building their strength where cold weather and icy conditions would make drowning an entire civilisation in blood, ice and fear even easier. Nature had already submitted to the cruel race… the people… not so much.

Iceland had managed to send a distress call before the Frost Giants took over, a distress call which had landed right in Tony Stark’s office. Nick Fury and SHIELD had been informed, the Avengers had assembled yet again.

Soon, they would all be back on the battlefield now, a well-deserved retirement postponed. At least, so they knew, what they did was for the good of humanity.

“Tell Thor to move his ass here at once,” the billionaire tossed in darkly when the room drowned in silence. “He’s dealt with these ice cubes before.”

Doctor Strange nodded, clearing his throat as he stood. It would have been only a matter of time for him to contact the God of Thunder anyway. Besides, he understood the gravity of the threats unfolding up in the North. Quickly, his fingers drew complex patterns into the air, sending orange sparks flying through the room. Then, he stepped through. The portal snapped shut behind him quickly.

Bucky groaned, burying his face in his sleeves. “Do we ever get a break?” He complained loudly. Steve only shrugged. His comment was meant to lighten the mood. Truthfully, it did not even work on himself.

Thor had settled down in Norway, along with what was left of the Asgardian population. Ruling as their king, he had helped choosing an abandoned and quiet patch of land to grow a new civilisation far away from humans—the very place Odin had chosen for his last destination. Charms and modern technology, developed by the most sophisticated scientists of Asgard hid the village reliably from curious mortals and it was peace and compromise that made their presence on Earth possible.

Unless you knew how to enter this place, it would be hidden from your view like an invisible blanket wrapped around the entire village.

Naturally, Thor had taken all the credit, yet it was him, Loki, who had aided the Asgardians with his ancient knowledge—seidr which no other than Frigga herself had taught him. He had sacrificed his own life in a brave attempt to save the universe from the one being that had tormented him for years, making him compliant for his causes. He was a saviour, a hero and still… no one was willing to acknowledge him. Einherjars and few citizens respected him solely because of his royal status, nothing had changed about that. Others were still disgusted by having a Frost Giant living among them, a god who had attempted to invade and rule another realm because of an alleged lust for power—and one who had imitated the Allfather himself when all he had wanted was to protect himself from Thanos.

After a long-awaited while, his own brother, at the very least, had begun to appreciate his actions and efforts. He knew that Thor would never fully comprehend his self, just like he knew that no one else ever would either. Not since his mother died.

Sighing, he stood, abandoning the small trinket he had been tossing in the air repeatedly, and made his way to the make-shift throne room. He could hear the Asgardians mutter and whisper to themselves, discussing Thor’s unexpected visitor quietly.

Loki raised his eyebrows. Visitor? Well, he might not be king but any royal matters were still his business too. He was the prince of Asgard, after all.

“That’s impossible. The Frost Giants are trapped in their own realm, the source of their power was taken from them by my father centuries ago!” Not just taken. When Asgard was destroyed during Ragnarok, the casket of Ancient Winters had vaporised along with it. Thor was furious. Gnashing his teeth, he paced up and down the room with clenched fists.

Ah, Frost Giants. Loki’s face distorted for just a split second. Old family, old acquaintances, old heritage—nothing to be proud of, nothing to be gained from ruling a cold and dead realm inhabited by monstrous warriors who longed to drown the nine worlds in ice. They were not his favourite enemies to deal with. But he was a hero now, was he not? Another chance to prove himself, if not for his own self-satisfactory needs.

“And yet they are here, Thor.” Doctor Strange replied calmly. “We must drive them back to their own realm before they do any permanent damage to our planet.” He relinquished adding that this ship had already sailed. The universe had only just risen again, the cracks and tears visible and hazardous proof of its last destructive battle.

The God of Thunder took a deep breath, pondering over what would be the best actions to take. He eyed his visitor as if he were the reason for this new-found misery. He had not yet forgotten his last encounter with the Jötuns, back when he had lusted for battles, war and bloodshed. The smug, self-indulgent and arrogant part of him was still lurking within him, so Loki knew. Jane had brought out the best in him and when she left him for good, he had, partially, begun to fall back into old patterns.

“If they have taken Greenland and Iceland, Norway might be next.” He finally said matter-of-factly. “We need to do something now.”

Doctor Strange nodded unfazed.

“Take us back to the compound. I’ll find a way to stop them and if it’s the last thing I do…” He roared.

But Stephen overheard his courageous promise. He raised an eyebrow, already expecting what would follow when he considered his words. He had hoped the God of Thunder would leave his mischievous adopted brother in Norway, far away from where he could cause any trouble.

“Us?” He still probed.

“I know what you’re thinking, wizard. But Loki is a Frost Giant himself, I will need his help. He is my brother. He died for me not long ago.” Loki pursed his lips. Yes, I am your brother, Thor. He was a fool for thinking he, Loki, had ever stopped loving him even after everything they had been through together. Trust was a dangerous feeling, he could tell Thor would never fully grant it to him—but neither would he. They were fine as they were right now. Loki would be satisfied if this was all he would ever get out of their brotherly relationship.

Doctor Strange sighed, causing him to roll his eyes. “Fine… but if he puts one toe out of line, I’ll—“

“You will what?” The God of Mischief hissed, lifting his chin proudly as stepped out of his hiding place and entered the room.

Thor breathed out audibly. Clearly, he had overheard the entire conversation, there was no need to ask; but unlike his brother, Loki already had a plan.

A/N: Here we go! Obviously, Loki is the real hero here... he always has been, no? ;-) If you enjoyed this chapter, would you consider buying me a coffee for the next? I’d appreciate your support so much! kofi.com/sserpente (or hit the ‘Support me’ button on my blog!)

[ramblesanddragons]

Of Monsters and Memories

An idea based on this comic by @artsymeeshee that I just ran with.

It has been years since I’ve written anything. I’m so rusty but I’m trying to get back into it. I have no editor and I am terrible at grammar so please let me know what I missed. I’m writing more fan fiction to get back into figuring out how to write.

EDIT: Now with Ao3 link!

Warnings: Swearing, alcohol, angst. (Also please let me know if I missed one.)

Ford had told Stan about some of the dangers they would run into in the arctic. Krakens, selkies, freezing cold. Some sort of thing that was the unholy offspring of nightmares and a squid wasn’t one of those things. The problem was the thing seemed to made out of smoke and they were having the damnest time pinning it down but it had to have some sort of physical form. It sure as hell was holding on to Stan tight enough.

Stan was wrapped around the mast of the boat as the arctic wind howled or maybe it was the creature, he had no idea.

“Hey anytime with that fancy space gun Sixer!”  

“Aiming is proving to be difficult give me a moment!” Ford yelled back.  

Stan did his best to wiggle out of the tentacles that had him but stopped the struggle when he noticed that Ford had all but been swallowed by a plume of smoke. Only his head was visible in the cloud of darkness. Ford’s eyes were tense with pain and tears were streaming down his cheek.  

“Ford, snap out of it. Whatever you see ain’t real!”

Ford had been looking forward to taking notes of the creature made of smoke that floated above the ice. He had never even seen something like this before. It had to be some sort of life form as it weaved around the boat almost playfully. Things had taken a sharp turn for the worst when Stan tried to take a picture of it for the kids. It screeched and started to climb up the side of the boat with long tendrils extending. Stan grimaced and slide on his old pair of brass knuckles.

“Want to bet I can punch smoke?” Stan yelled leaping at it with full force.  

In a flurry of shouts, punches, and missed shots Ford found himself trying to save his knuckleheaded brother who was wrapped around the mast. Aiming was proving to be a problem as the smoke wouldn’t stay together into a shape. It had spread itself thin onto the deck of the boat only forming parts of itself it to tentacles to hold Stan.

Ford could feel panic rising into him. He cursed himself for thinking that it had been playful earlier when it had clearly been looking for the best time to strike. He had let his enthusiasm get to him again and now Stan was in danger again.  

Chastise yourself later Stan needs help! Ford tried to find a target but froze as the hairs on the back of his neck rose.

A dark malevolence engulfed him in a plume of smoke. The chill it brought to Ford’s body made the cold of the arctic seem like a walk in the park. He physically shook himself to clear it away and focused again on his brother but Stan was gone. He was alone in some sort of inky void. He looked around and realized with horror his clothes had changed. He was wearing Stan’s old suit. In his hand’s was the wretched memory gun.  

Seeing it again made Ford’s stomach clinch tight. The urge to drop it to the ground and smash it was strong but he had to...to do something with it. He looked up again to see he was no longer alone in the void, Stan had appeared, on his knees and unconscious. Just like the last time. Tears started to burn at the corners of Ford’s eyes as his arm moved on some sort of autopilot pointing the gun at Stan’s head.

“Please...I can’t...not again...” Ford’s body shook as whispered to the void. His vision blurred with tears as the world started to become dark.

“Hey Poindexter! Did you know the world was flat?”

“What?”

“Yeah, I’m one of those flat earth people.” It was Stan’s voice coming from somewhere. Not the body before Ford kneeling and awaiting its fate at his hands, but outside of the void.

“Stan...the world isn’t flat?”  

I’ve gone mad, Ford thought completely lost.

“Oh yeah it is. I kept meaning to ask when we were going to hit the edge. Also, you know we didn’t go to the moon in ‘69 right?”

“S-Stan we watched it on the damn TV together!” Ford’s voice echoed and for a moment the sounds of the sea seemed to reach his ears.

“I mean yeah we did but it was faked. Although that was a good day, right? Ma let us stay home to watch it. Remember?” Almost at Stan’s beckoning the void changed around him and the image of two small boys watching a small TV formed in front of Ford. It wasn’t as clear as the one of Stan awaiting his doom and it disappeared as fast as it had appeared. It was one of Ford’s favorite memories besides the two of them finding the original Stan of War.

“Yeah I do.” Ford whispered softly. He could now feel ocean spray on his face. The cold in his soul was being melted by the warmth in his chest growing. The creature shrieked and withdrew from around Ford. He was now fully back to the deck of the ship and before him was Stan still tied to the mast by smoky tendrils.

“Oh yeah and uh did you know that the government is putting chemicals in the water to brain wash us? Or that the government is actually a bunch of lizard people actually hold on you might believe that one let’s see...”

“Stan.” Ford wanted to both hug and smack his brother at the same time.

“What? Oh hey welcome back now can you shoot this fuckin’ thing?”

“Gladly.” Ford growled.  

The thing had gathered back into a smoke ball but it seemed to Ford less intimidating now, slightly smaller, weaker. There was no way to really tell where the thing’s body was so Ford just started to fire on the thickest gathering of grey and black he could see. There was going to be a few holes in the deck of the ship but it was worth it to hear the thing let out one last scream before collapsing into a pile of goo. Stan was freed from the mast as the smoky tendrils disintegrated. Ford ran into the hull of the ship and returned with gloves, a scraper and a container.  

Dinner was sandwiches that night as Stan was too tried to cook. He eyed Ford as he ate and let out a heavy sigh as he realized he had only taken a bite of his dinner. Ford’s forehead was knit together like it did when he was thinking too hard.

“Wanna talk about it?” Stan’s voice seemed to shake Ford out of his thoughts.  

“Well we do need to talk if you believe the world is flat. I have failed as a scientist if my own brother believes that.” Ford let out a weak chuckle.

“Nah I’m not the brightest but I’m not that dumb. Look, I was just thinking of the craziest things I could to snap you out of whatever trance that the smoke thing had you under. Nothing pisses you off more than bad science.”

“Stan, I want to apologize. I feel like I wasn’t paying close enough attention and let my curiosity get in the way of your safety. I will aim to do better.”

“Sixer it’s okay you...”

“No, it’s not okay!” Ford cut Stan off. “My mistakes keep getting you hurt.”

“Look I was getting myself hurt plenty before coming out here with you.” Stan had recently gotten a lovely memory of spraining his ankle while running from some dogs when he was about 25 back a couple of weeks ago which could be good proof of that but he knew that wouldn’t exactly make his brother feel better. Ford pushed his plate away and leaned his head into his hands.

“What exactly did that thing do to ya?”  

“My running theory is that whatever it was prays on a victim's memories. Their worst moments causing them to freeze up. I was about to...I was about to erase you again.” The tears were coming back into Ford’s eyes. Stan slid him over a napkin.

“That’s you’re worst moment?”

“O-of course. I’ve faced plenty of horrible things but that was my mistakes coming back to bite me in the ass. I’m fine with that. But when my arrogance and stupidity hurts other people, people I care about...first there was Fidds and then you were the one who could have lost everything for my carelessness and...”

Stan slammed his fist onto the table and that startled Ford enough to break him out of his rant. “I pushed you into that hell portal I...”

“A hell portal I built!” Ford interjected loudly.  

“You were conned. Manipulated. Ford you’re stubborn and yeah maybe a little arrogant but so am I.” Stan got out of his chair and kneeled by his brother.

“If there was an award for who could hold on to guilt the longest, I could probably win the gold medal. So, listen to me here. Please don’t let this mind erasing thing eat you alive. I know I’m the poster child for healthy coping but please don’t be so hard on yourself. I have enough self-loathing for both of us.”

“Stanley.”

“Look being out here with you watching you get all excited and doing nerd stuff has been the happiest I’ve been in years. I don’t need you to be worrying about what might happen so much that you stop enjoying it ‘cus then I’ll stop enjoying it and so what the hell else do we do huh? Soos is in charge of the Shack and I wouldn’t really want to go back. So, what, do we spend our next few years playing bingo in an old folks' home?”

“Hell no.” Ford responded somewhere between a sob and a laugh.

“Right. So, relax. There is no where I’d rather be.” Stan grinned when a small smile placed itself on Ford’s face.

“What are the qualities of a Pines man? Braveness, boldness, curiosity, creativity, stubbornness, and deep self-loathing.” Ford said counting on his fingers.

“Let’s hope Dipper skips out on that one.” Stan got back up and poured himself and Ford a drink of the good stuff they kept for special occasions. He figured dealing with a smoke monster was occasion enough.

Ford looked at the amber liquid and drained it in one gulp. “Stanley has is ever occurred to you that perhaps we could use a little therapy in our lives?”

“No shrink is so understanding that they would believe half the shit that’s happened to us.”  

“Perhaps we should look. Even if we have to go a more supernatural route to get an adequate one I-I think we should.” Ford began to scribble what Stan guessed to be a list of idea candidates. He smiled as he watched the wheels in his brother’s mind whirl.

“Yeah. Sure, I’ll talk to a fairy about my problems.” Stan spent the rest of his night listening to Ford tell him why it was an awful idea to let the Fae know your problems and enjoyed every minute of it.  

[coffeeaddictedauthor]

Ironstrange- A gift

Prompt: Tony decides to make Stephen a little gift (maybe gloves for his hands to help make them less shaky and to help during battles thank you!!)

So after asking whether or not I should make an Ironstrange fic and having people message me giving me a big yes I decided to give it a shot. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for the prompt

****

A magician and a scientist. Who would’ve seen that coming? Definitely not said magician and scientist that’s for sure. 

Tony and Stephens friendship was one that surprised the two of them, but neither one was complaining. Their relationship didn’t feel forced or fake, as odd as it seemed the two thoroughly enjoyed each others company and found each other in it quite often. Sometimes Stephen would find himself portaling over to Tony’s just to watch him tinker away at another one of his suits or inventions and Tony would sometimes find himself searching out the Sorcerer just to watch him meditate and levitate in mid air. 

The two had a lot more in common then they realized as they began to understand that each other had a lot more to offer than their sarcastic, asshole-like facades seemed to suggest.

The pair was odd at first but once they came together they fit as sound as puzzle pieces.

So it wasn’t odd for Stephen to find himself levitating in the corner of Tony’s workshop, reading a book detailed in transformation and movement on a Tuesday evening while the engineer busied himself by fiddling with new tech at his desk. 

“Hey Doc would you come here for a sec?” Tony beckoned, breaking the silence between the two of them as he didn’t bother to look up from his work 

Strange quirked a brow, glancing up from his book to look over at the tinkering engineer “What for?”

Tony’s body shifted slightly to the side, just enough for Stephen to see Stark’s tongue poked out and face scrunched up in concentration “Does everything have to be a challenge with you?” The man remarked feigning annoyance and radiating sarcasm 

“It doesn’t have to be but with you it usually seems to be” Strange mentioned with a teasing tone lacing his voice

“There you go again” Tony rebutted “Just come float your way over here and look at what I’m working on will you?”

So Strange did what Tony requested, walking instead of floating, over to the engineer, stopping at Tony’s side and peering over his shoulder to get a good look as to what was on his table “I’m looking” 

“Good good” Tony began, picking up what looked to be a glove and maneuvering it in his hands “So its a rough prototype and not all of the kinks are worked out yet but it’s a start” the man rambled, tugging at wires while rather roughly pushing things into place

Stephen only became more confused, his face scrunching up to resemble Stark’s from before, eyes peering down at the man sitting below him “What are you going on about Stark?” 

Tony glanced up at Stephen, matching his look of confusion before realization quickly washed over his face “Oh. Oh! I haven’t told you have I? Damn, I knew I forgot to do something. F.R.I.D.A.Y. you gotta get better at reminding me” he confessed, scolding the buildings system

“You never told me to remind you sir. You said you wanted this to be a surprise for Dr. Strange” F.R.I.D.A.Y. claimed, causing Stark to open and then close his mouth 

“Ah yes” Stark began before twirling in his chair, the glove in his hand and body now facing the sorcerer “Well I guess this is your surprise then Strange” Tony admitted an embarrassed smile finding its way on his lips “I made you some gloves-well a glove”

And that was it, the only explanation Tony gave, hoping to see the Dr.’s face fill with happiness however it stayed clouded with confusion so Tony continued “I made you-or am making you self stabilizing magically sensitive gloves to help release some of that tension in your hands and hopefully make your magic more concentrated and powerful. Emphasis on the hopefully.”

Stephens eyes never left Tony, blinking slowly and mouth having fallen slightly open as he was almost left speechless “Tony...I-I don’t know what to say”

Tony’s slight feeling of worry slowly faded as a smile found its way onto his lips “You could try saying thank you, I know you’ve probably never said it before but hey there’s a first time for everything am I rig-” Tony’s sarcastic blabbering was cut short as Stephen quickly wrapped up the genius in his arms in a rather tight hug, squeezing their bodies together “Thank you” Stephen whispered gratefully in Stark’s ear, his head resting of the engineers shoulder

Stark let out a quiet ‘hmph’ and a wide smirk before his arms found themselves resting carefully around the sorcerer’s waist, returning the hug in a rather fond way “Of course Stephen”

After that Tony figured Stephen would pull away and the two would return back to their sarcastic bickering, but neither one of them dared to lift a finger, the two both rather content in their current standing, but of course, all things must come to an end.

After a few calming minutes the two regretfully pulled away, Tony’s hands lingering around the sorcerer’s waist as his doe eyes gazed into Stephen’s ocean blue one, a small blush creeping up on both of their cheeks 

“Could I try them on?” Stephen hesitantly questioned, his eyes leaving Stark’s only to glance at the glove that had been thrown on the desk 

Hearing Stephen’s voice snapped Tony back to reality as his head turned from Stephen to the glove “Yeah, yeah of course! I mean there’s only one done and it’s definitely a prototype but yeah definitely” all being said as Tony pulled his hands from Stephens waist, the warmth leaving the sorcerer’s body, and taking hold of the glove once more to hand over to the man

Stephen’s quivering hands slowly reached out for the gift finally taking a hold of it and cautiously slipping it on “Wow” he murmured breathlessly “It fits like...like a-”

“A glove?” Tony interrupted, a devilish smirk dancing on his lips 

This caused Stephen to smile, his eyes peering up from his hand to Tony’s eyes, slowly but surely falling to his lips “Yes, like a glove” 

Tony took note of the welcomed gaze and felt another blush creep up from his neck and burning quite heavily on his cheeks “Try moving around a bit, throw up your gang signs or your magic poses or whatever you magicians do” He blabbered sarcasm, moving his hands while he talked 

Stephen gave a nod as he focused on moving his fingers, first one at a time and then in unison, his lips curling into a satisfied smile as they moved better than they had in a long time, the shakiness once very present beginning to fade as he twisted his hand from side to side “I can’t believe this is working” 

Strange’s voice sounded childish, like a kid in a candy store whose mom bought him that piece of candy they’ve been begging for for the past ten minutes, and Tony did that to him. Tony Stark, worlds best defender and arrogant genius engineer built him the closest thing Stephen had to normality from after the accident. Tony couldn’t understand all of the emotions Stephen was feeling, all of the joy, nerves, relief and triumph that coursed through him but god could he admire it. Tony’s eyes raked themselves over Stephen, taking into account his consistent boyish grin, his twiddling fingers, his curls of hair that rested so perfectly on his forehead, he took in it all and he didn’t stop, not even when Stephen finally met his gaze again. 

He hadn’t realized before but Tony had a bit of gold flecks in his brown doe like eyes and nearly perfect teeth, and not to mention his lips, god those lips. Stephen had always thought of Tony in a light that could be defined as ‘romantic’ but he never acted upon it. The sarcastic banter, longing glances, and secret smiles was enough to keep him at bay, or so he thought, but right now, looking into Tony’s freckled gold eyes Stephen was no longer at bay, and he wanted more. 

“Do you like it?” Tony questioned after moment of silence, his voice low and gravely as he now hoped for praise and approval 

Stephen released a breath of air he didn’t realize he was holding in as his lips curled into a genuine smile “I love it Tony. I absolutely love it” and that sent Tony over the moon. If he was asked as to why he had created this project Tony would just pass it off to say that he had made tech for everyone and with Stephen part of the team now Tony felt like he had to make him something, but that was a lie. Tony had watched Stephen, for longer then he was really willing to admit, and he watched how much the mans shaking hands ate at him, how much they made him feel inferior or less of who he truly was, and Tony wanted to put an end to that. Tony wanted him to feel whole again, to see himself in a better light, to see himself in the light Tony saw him in.

“You can stay with me...while I work on the other one?” The engineer suggested, testing the waters between the two of them “I mean you do have two hands”

This caused Stephen to quietly scoff, slowly nodding his head “I would love that”

His response caused a fluttering inside Tony’s stomach as he slowly lowered himself back into his desk chair “Then back to business magician?

“Sorcerer”

“Ah yes, right, Sorcerer Supreme” Tony corrected with a flirtatious wink

Stephen had to stop himself from kissing him right there and then “Better” he mumbled through a smile as he dragged a chair over to place himself next to Tony, and the two of them sat there for what felt like hours, talking about everything and nothing all at the same time and the more Tony smiled, or better yet laughed, the more Stephen fell for the man and the more he knew he couldn’t wait much longer. He couldn’t wait much longer to call Tony Stark his own because his feelings were no longer at bay. 

[elisaenglish]

Wonder and the Sacred Search for Truth: Ann Druyan on Why the Scientific Method Is Like Love

An invitation “to feel more intensely the romance of science and the wonder of being alive right now, at these particular coordinates in spacetime, less alone, more at home, here in the cosmos.”

“We, this people, on a small and lonely planet / Traveling through casual space / Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns / To a destination where all signs tell us / It is possible and imperative that we learn / A brave and startling truth…” So begins Maya Angelou’s cosmic clarion call to humanity, one of the most beautiful and poignant poems ever written — a poem that flew to space, a poem that came from space: a poem inspired by Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot — his lyrical meditation on the landmark photograph of Earth, which the Voyager spacecraft took in 1990 as an afterthought upon completing its unprecedented photographic survey of our Solar System, and which Sagan spent years petitioning NASA to permit.

The Voyager, which had sailed into space thirteen years earlier, carried alongside its instruments The Golden Record— a visionary, intensely poetic effort to capture the essence of Earth in sounds and images that would convey to another planetary civilisation across spacetime, and, perhaps even more vitally in the middle of the Cold War, mirror back to us who and what we are: a single symphonic species.

Tasked with the impossible, inspired work of distilling that essence was the project’s creative director, Ann Druyan. In the course of composing the record, Sagan and Druyan, to their own wonder-stricken surprise, found themselves composing a stunning love story with their lives. They spent the remaining two decades of Sagan’s life fathoming and figuring the universe together — writing poetic inquiries into the origin of comets, dreaming up children’s book ideas, collaborating on the iconic 1980 television series turned book Cosmos, which The Library of Congress listed among 88 books to have shaped the country’s conscience, alongside epoch-making triumphs of courage and vision that have changed the course of culture and the understanding of nature — books like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.

Two decades after Sagan’s death — decades coruscating with dazzling scientific discoveries that have disquieted us into shedding more myths and beholding more of reality — Druyan picked up the thread of wonder to write and produce a continuation of Cosmos, starring astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and soaring into these new frontiers of our ever-evolving understanding of space and time. In the companion book, Cosmos: Possible Worlds (public library), she extends an invitation “to feel more intensely the romance of science and the wonder of being alive right now, at these particular coordinates in spacetime, less alone, more at home, here in the cosmos.”

Tracing our cosmic story — from the cyanobacteria through which life first bloomed on our rocky world billions of years ago to our search for life on possible worlds many lightyears away; from the cave walls on which early humans first mapped their spatial coordinates to the Rube Goldberg machine of discoveries that led to the lasers with which these caves are now studied; from the symbiotic evolution of plants and the pollinators that feast on them to the Russian scientists who starved to death in a murderous dictatorship to protect their precious collection of seeds ensuring our planet’s biodiversity far beyond their lifetimes — Druyan takes up the mission not as a scientist herself but as a lifelong student and steward of the scientific mindscape, a self-described “hunter-gatherer of stories”: stories that begin with the human, with individual scientists or teams of scientists, and beget the cosmic, parting the curtain to let in a few more golden rays of reality, chiselling some precious fragment of knowledge from the immense monolith of the unknown.

At the centre of her expansive reach into past and future is a lucid, luminous look at the realities and responsibilities the present is calling us to rise to — an inquiry into what it would take for us to transcend our human limitations and foibles so that we may endure as stewards rather than destroyers of this irreplaceable planet. In a testament to the fundamental fact that science is “a truly human endeavour,” Druyan writes:

“Science, like love, is a means to that transcendence, to that soaring experience of the oneness of being fully alive. The scientific approach to nature and my understanding of love are the same: Love asks us to get beyond the infantile projections of our personal hopes and fears, to embrace the other’s reality. This kind of unflinching love never stops daring to go deeper, to reach higher.

This is precisely the way that science loves nature. This lack of a final destination, an absolute truth, is what makes science such a worthy methodology for sacred searching. It is a never ending lesson in humility. The vastness of the universe — and love, the thing that makes the vastness bearable — is out of reach to the arrogant. This cosmos only fully admits those who listen carefully for the inner voice reminding us to remember we might be wrong. What’s real must matter more to us than what we wish to believe.”

Learning not to confuse the strength of our beliefs for the strength of the evidence is, of course, one of the greatest, most difficult triumphs of our growth — as individuals, as societies, and as a species. In consonance with the tenets of Sagan’s timeless Baloney Detection Kit for critical thinking, Druyan offers her simple, elegant formula for telling the two apart:

“Test ideas by experiment and observation. Build on those ideas that pass the test. Reject the ones that fail. Follow the evidence wherever it leads. And question everything, including authority. Do these things and the cosmos is yours.”

She opens and closes the book with the words of Albert Einstein, spoken at the 1939 World’s Fair, where he had gone to leave a time-capsule of wisdom for posterity:

“If science, like art, is to perform its mission truly and fully, its achievements must enter not only superficially but with their inner meaning into the consciousness of the people.”

I am reminded — by Einstein’s words, by Druyan’s endeavour — of John F. Kennedy’s miraculous defence of poetry: “We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.” The man whose unassailable vision had landed the first human foot on another celestial body understood that in the poetry of reality, every portal of wonder, be it art or science, is a portal to truth. Sometimes — if our passion and persistence are great enough, if chance rolls its impartial dice suitably enough — it is a portal to “a brave and startling truth.”

What emerges from Druyan’s Cosmos: Possible Worlds is a rosary of such shimmering sometimeses. Complement it with poet Marie Howe’s stunning ode to the singularity of our cosmic belonging, then revisit physicist Brian Greene on wresting the poetry of existence from an aloof universe and Carl Sagan on how to live with the unknown.

Source: Maria Popova, brainpickings.org (20th May 2020)

[sarcasticmesswriting]

Opening Night Is Never A Bad Night For...

Finally finished it. It’s like 3600 Words and I’m not sure what happened. Normally I would also post it on Ao3 (and I will) but I’m having problems with the formatting. (like a part is fine and then it just changes in every form). 

ANYWAY here, have some Frost Hawk, Avenger, Theater AU thing

Excited conversations filled the theater minutes before the play was set to start. The Avengers were The Play to go see this season. It had been revealed a mere month before Opening Night with absolutely no information about what it was about or who was going to be in it. The only thing revealed was that it was the fourth part in a series of play no one had even known was connected. Everyone had been talking about it and tonight was Opening Night, seats filled with news reporters and critics and just people who loved theater. The atmosphere was great and people smiled and talked to strangers, because everything was comfortable. There was a man though, strolling through the masses and sneering at anyone looking at him. Next to all the visitors having dressed up for the evening, the man looked like he wasn't in the right place. His sneakers were dirty and scuffed, his jeans two size too big and ripped in various places and his hoodie just as bad. He had a ticket, so no one could say anything, but it was clear more than a few wanted to throw him out immediately. A chime was audible and talking turned to hushed whispers, before completely falling silent as the lights dimmed and the room was bathed in darkness. Nothing happened for a minute. “Get on with it”, someone said, back in the back rows, loud enough to be heard by most of the audience but not loud enough to be completely disruptive. It was the man from the lobby. He earned another round of looks, even though they couldn't really see him, but just in that moment spotlights turned on, illuminating the stage enough to see two people, bathed in light blue. One was tall and broad, but shadows obscured them, no indication who or what it was. The other was smaller, hunched over with a hood obscuring his face. The air around them sparkled with simulated galaxies. “The Tesseract has awakened.” The voice echoed through the room and a few people shivered. “It is on a neutral world, a human world.” “They wield its power, but our ally knows it's working, so that they never will learn.” A loud snort from the rude man, this time louder breaking the atmosphere for just a second. “He's ready to lead, and our force, our Chitauri will follow”, the taller one said after a moment of silence. “The world will be his and the universe yours.” “And the humans, what can they do, but burn.” The words were a growl and there was a flash of blue light, before everything went dark again. Applause filled the room as a single spotlight came on, making Steve Rogers appear, a highly sought out actor who had floored many with his performance as Captain America. His scene was to beat up a punching bag while Nick Fury, playing the Director, was approaching him. It was to build the plot, to give a few laughs. “Boring”, the rude man said loudly. This time someone else told him to shut up. There were a couple more scenes with Tony Stark who earned so much applause and shouting that he had to take a minute, before he could continue the play, Natasha Romanov and Phil Coulson. They talked about the Tesseract and the Avengers Initiative and judging from the applause the audience seemed to love it. Except for the one man, shouting insults every now and then. He was told to shut up repeatedly and even the security gave him the last warning. A blue cube, the Tesseract, was glowing on one side of the stage, a flutter of unimportant scientists around it and the Director and Erik Selvig as The Doctor approaching it. “The energy is going through the roof in completely random spikes”, Selvig said and they stopped in the middle of the stage. “I don't recall you being authorized for any tests, Doctor.” “That's just it”, Selvig gestured with wide eyes. “I wasn't even in the room.” The low background music bathed the room subconsciously in dread. No one knew what would happen. “We should evacuate”, Selvig said, but Fury scowled. “Pull the plug and...” “We've tried.” Selvig shook his head and gestured towards the cube. “The tesseract is an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back.” As if she had heard, there was a pulse of blue light and a rumbling sound. Everyone swayed as if the ground was moving. The rude man snorted and rolled his eyes when the person next to him looked over. It was a meek man who wouldn't dare speak up. He blue light didn't stop flashing, faster and faster as the people on stage shouted and scrambled in chaos, until the light didn't disappear again and the music swelled until. Suddenly there was a man stepping forward as if coming through the cube. The music fell silent and it took two second as the green and black clad man moved for the whole audience to realize that it was the actor Loki Laufeyson who had played The Trickster in a previous play where his character had supposedly died. Thunderous applause and cheers drowned out anything else. Loki smirked, holding a stick, a scepter of some sort, and looked as if everyone else was beneath him. It wasn't so much different to how he looked off stage, but here there was a bit more crazy on his face. “Sir, please put down the spear”, Fury said as it finally got quiet enough for him to get heard. Loki's smirk got meaner. “I am the Trickster of Asgard and I am burdened by glorious purpose.” “Like the animal or did you mean to say popcorn? Either way, it's pretty stupid.” Everyone seemed to freeze and hold their breath as Loki blinked and then slowly turned towards the audience. “Excuse me?” In the silent room the quiet words carried towards every corner. “I mean, come on. You're supposed to come out of some alien portal? And you decide that's the first sentence you say? It's ridiculous.” The rude man scoffed and the people around him shifted away, as if they wanted everyone to know they weren't associated with him. Loki stepped forward until he stood on the edge of the stage. “Show yourself, ant”, he commanded and one of the spotlights shifted, illuminating the crowd who helpfully pointed in the direction of the rude man until the light was on top of him. “It's Clint, not ant”, the rude man said and gave a two finger salute, sprawled in his seat. “Well, Clint”, Loki said, his tone exactly the same as it had been for ant. “I order you to kneel before me, as it is your natural state to be ruled.” Clint started to laugh and it took a minute of Loki glowering at him for Clint to get himself back under control. “That's even worse.” During the short exchange Selvig had approached from behind and looked like he was about to reach for Loki's scepter. Without looking Loki turned slightly and grabbed Selvig's wrist and put the scepter's point onto Selvig's chest, right over his heart. Blue light flooded the room. “You pitiful human”, Loki drawled. “You're mine now.” “Yes, sir”, Selvig said, his voice empty of any emotions, his body going slack. “Oh fuck that”, Clint exclaimed. “Now you're supposed to have fucking mind control? Seriously?” “How about you come up here and find out for yourself?” Loki was smirking as the blue light waned and he turned to one of the extras to put the scepter onto their chest too. “Keep the Director nicely occupied.” “Oh, why, I'd love to.” Clint stood up and pushed himself past the other audience members sitting in the same row who glared at him, disgruntled, but stayed silent. He jogged down the alley between the seats to the stage, while Loki mind controlled a couple more who then grabbed some stuff and kept Fury and his agents in check. The spotlight followed Clint and he just climbed onto the stage, ignoring the stairs at the side. Without hesitating he went up to Loki who smirked as he saw that Clint was smaller than him. “Little human”, Loki said, bringing the scepter up to underneath Clint's chin to tilt his head up further. Clint's look was challenging and he didn't step away. “You look even more arrogant from up close.” He said it at a normal volume, but he was close enough that Loki's mic picked it up and broadcast it through the room. “You said handsome wrong”, Loki said, eyes roaming over Clint's body. “I almost feel sorry for turning you into my slave. Almost.” He lowered the scepter to Clint's chest and blue light once again flooded the room. Just like Selvig Clint's body posture changed completely and his face turned emotionless. “Sir.” Loki smiled, satisfied, and then turned with a flick of his coat, moving off to the side towards the stage exit. As soon as Loki wasn't looking at Clint anymore, Clint rolled his shoulders and sketched an extravagant bow for the audience, before winking at them and following Loki. With the audience whispering and not really knowing what to think, the lights turned off completely, indicating the end of the scene. ~*~ “The Trickster took the Doctor, several of my agents and the Tesseract. Who knows what he has planed with all that.” Fury looked at the rest of the main cast gathered around him.  “Let's find him.” ~*~ “We need the Iridium”, Selvig said and Loki scowled. “Clint”, he ordered and Clint nodded seriously. “Anything for you, sir”, Clint said, looking up at Loki through his eyelashes and licked his lips. Loki stared at Clint's mouth, not noticing how close they stood together. The moment stretched until Selvig cleared his throat and Loki straightened up. “Get it done.” He avoided looking at Clint after that. ~*~ “I have every camera out looking for him and his so called army”, Tony said and knocked on the table with his knuckles. “It's only a matter of time.” “This is a serious matter, Iron Man”, Steve glowered, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Do I not look serious?” He pulled a grimace and Steve looked even angrier. “Guys”, Natasha interrupted. “Focus.” She pointed at Bruce. “We have a visual”, he announced and everyone straightened up. ~*~ The stage was separated into two halves with the right and left illuminated and a black space in the middle. On the right people were running around in panic while Loki stood on a raised surface with a haughty expression. “Kneel before me. Is this not your natural state? You crave subjugation. I said, kneel”, he shouted and everyone hunkered down, afraid. The sound of a plane was audible as Natasha, Tony, Steve and Phil arrived. A fight ensued. On the other half people were relaxed and in fancy clothes and having fun. A lone figure stepped to the railing of the walkway a couple of feet in the air along the stage. Blond hair combed back neatly, tight black pants and sleeveless jacket showing off muscled arms. Purple accents streaked along the seams and a purple mask hid the upper half of his face. Hawkeye, a minor character that had appeared for about a minute in the play about the Thunder God and the Trickster. A few applauded politely as the sounds of the fight quietened and the sounds of the party beneath Hawkeye grew louder. He stretched his neck from side to side and then hopped onto the railing in a crouch balancing effortlessly. “I don't need this”, he said and pulled off the mask to fling it over his shoulder, revealing himself as Clint. A shocked commotion rolled through the audience and talking erupted for ten seconds, before Clint stood up on the railing like it was normal ground. “Let's get this show on the road”, he said and smirked, before just flipping off and onto the main stage beneath. Now the people at the party were the ones running around scared as Clint grabbed a person and pulled them to the vault in the back. ~*~ “Can't do anything without me, huh?” Clint smirked at Loki who he had freed from a cage on the Helicarrier. His bow leaned against his shoulder. Loki brushed off dust and threw Clint a dirty glance. “I was about to break out myself.” “Mhm.” Clint stepped closer and grabbed the lapel of Loki's jacket with two fingers without looking into Loki's eyes. “They didn't hurt you, right?” “They wanted information, but had not resorted to torture yet.” “Good”, Clint said, his expression promising murder. “They wouldn't like what I'd do to them.” “For me?”, Loki asked hesitatingly, blinking in surprise. “Anything for you”, Clint said firmly, this time without the robotic edge to it. They were interrupted by another of Loki's men announcing that the Avengers were coming and they had to go. ~*~ “Now he has the Tesseract AND the scepter and we have no idea where he is going to be.” Fury scowled at the group of supposed superheroes in front of him. “He wants to make a statement. Stuttgart was just previews.” Tony rubbed his chin and Steve had his arms crossed with a glower. Natasha straightened up. “I know where he is going to go.” ~*~ One single spotlight lit up on the far right and Loki stood in it. He didn't have his scepter with him, but was wearing his green and gold outfit. His expression was not one of crazy mania or unhinged thoughts as it was before. It was one of contemplation. He made a few steps towards the middle of the stage, before a voice stopped him and he turned around. “Sir”, Clint joined him, wearing no mic again, so he got as close to Loki as he could without touching. Clint was still wearing his black and purple fighting gear with a quiver and bow strapped to his back. They looked into each other's eyes for a good thirty seconds without saying anything. “There has to be another way”, Clint said with the tone of someone who had already said it a couple times. Loki just sighed and started to turn as if to walk away. “We're doing it anyway.” Swiftly Clint grabbed the lapels of Loki's jacket pulled Loki closer, pressing himself to Loki's front, before kissing him. There were surprised gasps from those that hadn't seen this development coming and cheering from those that had. When Clint leaned back, Loki looked absolutely taken off guard. “Be careful”, Clint whispered, his hands flattening the jacket and then moving to the sides of Loki's face. “Please.” His voice echoed through the room and a couple of the audience members looked uncomfortable, as if they were encroaching on a private moment. Loki's featured softened and he pulled Clint in for another sweet kiss. “I will. Please do the same.” “Anything for you, sir.” Clint's smile was warm. The light went out and they disappeared. ~*~ The end battle was big with people all over the place, fights between two or three isolated and highlighted, audio switching from fight to fight, grunts and quips and exclamations. Clint was mainly up on the balcony, fighting with Natasha or shooting arrows all over the place, while Loki was downstairs whirling around with his scepter and fighting Steve or Tony or even Thor. “Watch out”, Clint shouted, jumping onto the railing and running full sprint on it until he was next to Loki. He drew an arrow and shot it at Tony in less than a second, but he wasn't fast enough. Tony hit Loki, sending him flying back and sliding over the ground, just before Tony was hit by the arrow in his shoulder and pulled back by Steve. Without hesitation Clint flipped off the railing again, much faster, much more reckless and everyone held their breath until Clint landed on his feet though he went down on his knees next to Loki immediately. Everyone raised their weapons, ready to attack Loki and end this, but Loki lifted his hand and there was a flash of green and they all froze mid motion. Except for Clint and Loki. Clint curled one arm around Loki's back and pulled him up into a half sitting position and Loki just slumped into Clint. “You were the one insisting on the plan and now you're not even following it.” Clint tried to keep his voice calm, but there was still a tremor in it. His free hand hovered over the red spreading over Loki's chest. Loki grabbed Clint's wrist, took a shuddered breath and looked up to look into Clint's eyes. “You're still going to do it. I'm ordering you to.” “Fuck you.” Clint's hand went up to Loki's neck, fingers digging into the skin a little. “After all the preparation and the killing and the lies, you're not going to leave me alone now.” “If this has to happen to achieve our goal...” “It's not worth it” Clint interrupted, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Loki's. Loki's eyes closed for a second. “You're not thinking rationally.” “You're fucking dying. Forgive me if I'm not keeping my emotions in check.” Clint sneered for a second, before he sagged a little. “Please. Use your magic. There must be something you can do.” Letting go of Clint's wrist Loki grabbed Clint's collar and pulled him down into a messy, desperate kiss, both clinging to the other. “I love you”, Loki whispered, just before there was a blinding light and everyone started to move again, though they stopped in confusion. Clint was still kneeling on the ground, but Loki's body was gone. The only sign of his death was the red stain on the ground and the tears rolling down Clint's cheeks. “It's ready”, Selvig shouted from the balcony and broke the moment. With a fierce expression Clint stood up. “Do it.” “What?” - “No!” - “Someone stop him!” Selvig flipped the switch and the sound of the machine using the Tesseract filled the air, humming with energy. “How dare you?”, a voice boomed through the hall, a figure stepping onto the stage from behind some crates, the silhouette recognized from the start of the play. Clint took his bow off his back and drew an arrow to point right at the man. “You have terrorized planets and now you took the man I love who didn't even know it. We're putting an end to it.” With those words Clint let loose the arrow, letting it fly directly through Thanos' eye, killing him. He fell to the ground with a thump and lay there, anticlimactically. “So, he is one of the good guys?”, Tony asked and all, but Clint glared at him. “What?” ~*~ The applause was deafening from the second the play was over. Everyone was rushing to their feet, even the critics, clapping and hollering. One by one the actresses and actors came out and bowed, basking in the cheers that exploding for each one. Although, when Clint and Loki came out together, there was another raise and Clint's laughter as he bowed was inaudible even to Loki and Natasha who were both directly next to him. Clint loved these moments. When they had finished basking in the praise and had praised the audio department and the behind the scenes crew, Clint felt like it was the perfect opportunity. He stepped forward out of the line they had built and raised his hands flatly into the air to quiet the hall. “What are you doing?”, Loki said, his voice sounding like a hiss in the noise, but Clint just winked at him, at which Loki pulled a face. Clint's expression never promised anything good. “After this absolutely amazing Opening Night”, Clint started. “An amazing performance by everyone, including the man that told me to, and I quote, shut the fuck up, dipshit earlier.” Chuckles, but there was still confusion. “There is still something I really want to do here, in front of everybody.” Clint paused for dramatic effect, not managing to suppress a grin. “Loki”, he continued, turning towards him. “We have known each other for a very long time now.” Loki's eyes narrowed. “Are you doing what I think you're doing?” With a flourish Clint pulled out the tiny purple velvet box and went down on one knee under the screaming of a hundred people. “I hate you so much.” “Loki Laufeyson, will you make me the happiest person in this room by agreeing to become my husband?” “You already fucking know the answer.” Loki grabbed Clint's arm and pulled him into a big hug, before kissing him senseless. Tony whistled sharply, but that and everything else fell into the background as Clint and Loki just grinned at each other and hugged in between exchanging more kisses. ~*~ Every single newspaper and online blog was full with articles about that night.