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reixtsu · 2 days ago

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⪨༒𓊈𒆜🅞🅤🅡 🅣🅐🅡🅖🅔🅣𒆜𓊉༒⪩ | 𝙶𝚎𝚝𝚘 𝚡 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚡 𝙶𝚘𝚓𝚘

You were in deep shit, the deepest shit you have ever been in. Two men from rival companies, two men who were hot as fuck, were targeting you? Someone who was known as the best assassin in Japan? Honestly in any other situation you would have been honored to be hunted down by someone. It was a nice challenge, one that you would usually be confident in winning. However this time you were scared shitless.

Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru, the golden pair, notably the two strongest and best spies in Japan if not the world. Those two-no, legends-were targeting you. It definitely wasn't helping your carefully crafted composure that you've spent years to perfect.

The bastards were relentless. They moved like ghosts, dismantling every alias, every safe house, and every backup plan you had, as if you were a mouse being chased by some ninja cats. Wherever you went, they weren't far behind. There was no room for you to catch a single breath. Besides, it wasn't just their skill that you-it was how they played the game. Gojo's smug confidence made your skin boil as warm as the spiciest curry, while Geto's quiet, calculating precision left you feeling like a fly caught in a web.

You ducked into a shadowy alleyway, the Tokyo skyline buzzing above, blissfully unaware of the pounding of your heart as you hid as best you could. It was annoying, how you felt them closing in on you, like wolves cornering a rabbit. Except this rabbit wasn't about to roll over. Not yet.

Forcing yourself to steady your breathing, reminding yourself of the boy Toji told you to look after like a shadow. Megumi, Toji's son. His safety came first, even if it risked your own. It was your checking his whereabouts when you accidently ran into Gojo one day, and that was the first piece of information that revealed your occupation. As much as you hated it, Gojo adopted Megumi, so now he is taking care of him. Gojo was keeping him safe, and that would be all that mattered if Gojo and his bestie wasn't plotting to kill you.

Your plush lips curled into a biter smile. How poetic. Two men who could bring the world to its knees, and here I am stuck in between them, scrambling to keep my life intact.

Footsteps echoed in the distance-light, deliberate. Your heart rate spiked. You gripped the blade hidden in your coat, your instincts sharpening.

"You can't hide forever you know." A smooth, arrogant voice cut through the silence, sending chills down your spine. He was here. Gojo.

You grit your teeth, resisting the urge to roll your eyes. That cocky bastard.

"She's smarter than that, Satoru," another voice added, one that was low and velvety. And there was Geto. "Be patient. She's probably trying to plan her next move."

"Trying?" Gojo snorted. "Please. She's desperate by now. You can smell it."

The audacity, really. You couldn't help the scoff that slipped from your lips. A stupid rookie mistake for a pro like you.

"Well, well," Gojo said, his voice practically dripping with smug delight. “There's our little rabbit.”

You stepped out of the shadows, forcing yourself to smirk even as your heart thundered within your chest. They were standing just a few paces away, both of them far too calm for comfort. Gojo had his hands shoved casually in his pockets, his blink round glasses hiding his pair of sparkling blue eyes. Geto stood beside him, arms crossed and his head tilted slightly, showing his Adam's apple, his expression unreadable but no less dangerous.

"Boys," you drawled, feigning confidence you didn't feel, "if you're going to hunt me, at least make it interesting.'

Gojo grinned, one that was wide and toothy. "Oh, sweetheart, you haven't even seen anything yet."

Geto's smirk was much subtler, but it still carried a weight that made your stomach twist in discomfort. "Careful what you wish for."

You huffed, hand on your hip as you glared at them. For the first time in your life, you weren't sure if you'd make it out unscathed. But if this was how it ended, then you were going to make the most out of it.

The game was on, and your life wasn't the only one on the line.

"You always run, sweetheart," Gojo teased, his tone light but nevertheless laced with dripping poison. "When do we get to have some real have fun with you?"

You reached over and twirled the knife in your hand, keeping your stance loose and ready. "You call this fun? Sounds like someone needs a better hobby."

"Maybe you can recommend one," Geto said calmly, stepping closer, his purple eyes sharp enough to cut through you. His movements were deliberate, like a predator closing in. "Though I doubt assassins have much time for hobbies between killing and running."

"Funny," you shot back, eyes flicking between them. "You two seem to have plenty of time for playing fetch with me."

Gojo's grin only widened, but his posture shifted ever so slightly-subtle, but enough to signal that he was ready to move. Your grip on your knife tightened.

"Aw, don't flatter yourself," Gojo said,adjusting his glasses casually. "We're not chasing you because it's fun." He leaned forward ever so slightly, his voice dropping an octave, "We're chasing you because you're special."

That comment threw you off for a second. The words he said just didn't sit right, nor the way he said it. You forced your expression to remain neutral. "Touching. Did you rehearse that?"

"Why would I? I'm naturally charming."

Geto cut in, his voice as smooth as silk. "Let's not drag this out, Satoru. She's in the corner. She knows it."

Your heart pounded, begging to be freed from your chest, but your face remained unreadable. You weren't cornered. Not yet. You just needed to keep them talking, just needed more time.

"Cornered?" You raised an eyebrow, pretending to be amused. "Do you see me begging for mercy? Or are you just hoping I will?"

"You've got guts," Geto said, tilting his head just enough to have his black bang cover part of his eye. "I'll give you that. Most people would've given up by now. But we know you're not like other people."

"Neither are you both," you replied, and in one fluid motion, you threw your knife-not at them, but at the exposed pipe just above their heads.

The knife swiftly struck true, steam hissing violently from the now broken pipe, flooding the narrow alleyway with a thick, blinding fog.

"Shit-!" Gojo cursed, his voice muffled in the chaos of fog.

You didn't risk the chance to wait. You bolted, weaving through the maze of alleyways as your boots pounded against the pavement. The fog bought you a few seconds, maybe less. They were way too good at their job to be distracted for long.

Your mind raced as fast as your legs. You've played their game long enough now to know that they weren't just chasing you for fun, they said it themselves. Your suspicions connected to Megumi started to seem more and more plausible as to how Gojo found you. But with the way he looked at like-like he knew everything about you- it wasn't random.

It terrified you to your core.

As you rounded a corner, a sudden blur of motion forced you to stop short.

"Fast," Geto murmured, stepping out of the shadows as if he'd been waiting for you. His calm demeanor sent a chill down your spine. "But not fast enough."

Your eyes darted around, searching for an opening, any, but he'd chosen his stop well. Narrow alley, no easy exits.

"You're good," he said, almost like he was praising you. You would be lying if his words didn't have an effect on you. "No wonder why you're the best. But even the best slip up eventually."

"I don't slip," you shot back, trying to keep as steady as you could.

"Then you must be tired." He took another step forward, unhurried but deliberate. "You've been running for days. Dodging us, hiding. you're human, no matter how perfect you pretend to be."

"Bold words for someone who needed a partner to keep up with me, huh?" You snapped, trying to mask the unease creeping up your spine with irritation.

A low chuckle echoed behind you, and your stomach sank instantly.

"Oh, she got you there, Suguru," Gojo's voice teased as he emerged from the other end of the alley, effectively leaving you no options for escape.

You were boxed in.

Shit.

"Let's not make this harder than it has to be," Geto said, his tone soft but firm. "You've got a choice. Come with us, or..."

"Or what?" You challenged, staring at him.

Gojo shifted a little, combing his silver hair out of his face only for it to flop back down. "Or we make you."

Your pulse thundered in your ears, much to your displeasure. "You think I'm scared of you?"

Gojo shrugged nonchalantly. "You should be."

You moved before they could. Your hand desperately went to the smoke bomb in your pocket, but Geto was faster. With a flick of his wrist, a thin wire lashed out, tangling around your wrist and pulling tight. You hissed in frustration as he yanked you, rendering you off balance.

"Sloppy," he said quietly, his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Persistent," you hissed under your breath, twisting your body to free your other hand. You managed to grab a second knife you had on your belt and threw it at him. He dodged, but the slight movement loosened the wire just enough for you to break free.

Gojo clapped his slender hands slowly, sarcastically. "Damn, you're fun. I almost don't want to turn you in."

Geto frowned, obviously not pleased with his partner. "Satoru-"

"What?" Gojo grinned, tilting his head toward you. "Can you blame me? She's got the whole deadly-and-gorgeous thing going on. Kind of my type, y'know?"

You flinched, Gojo's words fluttering your heart more than you'd care to admit.

"Enough," Geto snapped, his voice cutting through the air like a blade.

You took the opportunity to leap for the nearest wall. kicking off it to gain just enough height to grab the fire escape above. Your nimble fingers grazed the cold metal, and you hoisted yourself up just as Gojo lunged for you.

"Catch y'all later," you called over your shoulder, your smirk returning back in place despite the ever pounding of your chest.

Gojo simply laughed, his voice echoing through the dark alley. "You'll have to do better than that, sweetheart!"

Neon signs of Tokyo flickered in the distance, casting an otherworldly glow on the streets below as you leapt from rooftop to rooftop. The cold air bit down on your face, but it didn't stop you from running as fast as you could. Adrenaline coursed through your veins, and the weight of their words echoed in your head like a broken record.

"You've got that deadly-and-gorgeous thing going on."

"You're human, no matter how perfect you pretend to be."

Why did their voices stick to you like that? You shouldn't care, not at all! You hated how Gojo's smugness got under your skin, hated how Geto's quiet intensity lingered like a shadow. Was it because they were handsome? It didn't matter anyways. You had bigger things to worry about than two men who saw you as a challenge-or worse, a toy.

As you made your way across the rooftops, you scanned for the nearest safe house Toji told you about. Your options were dwindling; their reach was extensive, and it felt like every move you made only led you closer to their impending web.

You slowed when you reached the edge of a rooftop, crouching low as your eyes darted across the street below. The sound of footsteps brought your focus to a man walking his dog, the only other soul out at this ungodly hour. His relaxed posture, the cute wag of the dog's tail, it was normal. Normalcy. Something you couldn't afford in the life you lead.

Just as you were about to leap to the next rooftop, your eye caught movement in the reflection of a glass building across the street.

"Clever," you muttered under your breath.

A figure moved in the shadows a few rooftops back. It was Geto-his tall, lean frame unmistakably recognizable even in the dark. You cursed under your breath. How the hell had he kept up with you?

Though something was wrong. Why was he alone? Where was Gojo?

Before you could react, a voice cut through the air behind you, sending a shiver down your spine.

"Looking for me?"

You whipped your head around, knife in hand, but was already there, perched casually on the edge of the rooftop. His glasses were pushed up and resting on his head, revealing those piercing, unnaturally blue eyes that seemed to see through everything, including you.

"Damn it," you hissed, your grip tightening on the knife.

"Damn it?" Gojo repeated, grinning. "I'll take that as a compliment. People don't say that unless someone's really good."

"Don't flatter yourself." You held your tongue, desiring to curse at him.

He raised an eyebrow, his grin widening. "Oh, but I'm so good at it."

"You're cornered," Geto's voice came from the shadows as he stepped forward, his ever calm demeanor as unearving as ever. "Again."

"Wow. The two of you are excellent at being a pain in the ass," you commented dryily.

"And you're good at running," Gojo countered, leaning back on his hands like he was lounging on the beach instead of hunting you down. "But you're getting predictable, sweetheart."

Predictable... Predictable? The words stung more than it should have. You prided yourself on being untouchable, on being the best, but they were starting to unravel you, but to your dismay.

"Give up," Geto said, his voice quiet yet commanding. "you're wasting energy. You know we'll find you wherever you go."

Your eyes darted between them, searching for a weakness in either of them, a distraction, anything. Though they were right. You were running out of time, and worse, you were running out of options.

"Why me?" you demanded, your voice sharp and impatient. "Why are you so obsessed with chasing me down? I might be your target, but there are others out there."

Gojo tilted his head, his smile softening ever so softly. "You're different, as we said earlier."

"That's not an answer."

Geto stepped closer, his dark purple eyes locking onto yours. "You don't need to know why. All you need to know is that we're not stopping until we get what we want."

What do they want? "And what's that?"

Silence hung in the air for a moment, heavy with tentionn. Geto didn't answer, nor did Gojo, but Gojo's grin returned, not reaching his eyes.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Gojo teased.

Your heart pounded in your chest, but you forced yourself to stay calm. You wouldn't give these bastards the satisfaction of seeing your fear.

"Well then," you said, taking a step back. "If you want me that badly, come and get me."

Geto didn't waste another second. He moved first, closing the distance between you with a speed that took your breath away. You barely had any time to react, raising your knife to swiftly block his strike.

The impact sent a jolt up your arm. Gritting your teeth, you pushed back against his strength. Just before you could counter, Gojo was right behind you, his presence like a sadistic ghost at your back.

"Careful," he muttered, his breath warm against your ear. "Wouldn't want you getting hurt, yeah?"

You spun around as fast as you could, lashing out your knife, but he was already gone, his laugh echoing around you.

You were out of breath. The relentless pursuit across the city left you drained. They'd forced you into a corner, their presence closing in on all sides. You crouched low on the rooftop, your knife glinting under the pale moonlight.

They're not playing anymore. You could feel it in the air-the shift in their tactics, the weight of their presence pressing down on you like a vice. They weren't going to let you run this time around.

A faint sound behind you, a sharp intake of breath. You twisted on instinct, launching a knife toward the sound. It sliced through the air, aimed with precision, but Gojo caught it mid-flight, his fingers wrapping around the blade as if it were a child's toy.

"Come onn, sweetheart," Gojo fiend whining, tossing the knie aside like it was nothing. "You're not even trying anymore. Getting tired?"

You didn't answer, deciding to ignore him. Instead, you aimed for his ribs. But as you closed the distance, Geto stepped in a flash.

"No more running," Geto said, his voice firm. "This ends now."

"Didn't know you two were so desperate for attention," you spat, pivoting sharply to avoid geto's strike while aiming another at Gojo. He dodged with ease, leaning back with a grin as your blade passed a hair's breadth from his chest.

"We're desperate for you," Goji said smoothly, words rolling off his tongue with infuriating ease. His blue eyes gleamed with something dangerous "And you love it, don't you?"

"You're delusional as shit," you snapped, blocking a strike from Geto's punch and countering with a high kick aimed at his shoulder. He caught your leg mid-air, forcing you to twist and land in a crouch as he released you.

"I think you're the one who's delusional," Geto replied coldly, his voice sending a shiver down your spine. "You think you can keep going like this? Fighting us? Outrunning us? It's only a matter of time before you give in?"

"I'd rather die before I give in to either of you, bitch," you growled, pushing off the ground and aiming a flurry of strikes at both of them.

For a moment, it felt like you were holding your own. Knife against fist. They moved with a kind of synchronicity that made them impossible to predict, but you kept pushing, kept fighting, refusing to let them overwhelm you.

But then it happened-a misstep.

You swung your blade a little too wide, and Gojo caught your wrist in a vice-grip. His other hand shot forward, grabbing your shoulder and spinning you around just as Geto's fist struck down in an arc. The blunt force struck the back of your knee, and you crumpled down, forced to the ground with Gojo still holding your wrist like a prisoner.

"Let go!" you snarled, struggling against his grip. But he didn't. He simply knelt beside you, his breath brushing against your ear as he gazed down at you with unreadable eyes.

"Not until you're obedient," he said, his voice softer now, almost coaxing enough to make you fall for him. "You're not getting out of this. So why not make it easy on yourself?"

You glared up at him, craning your neck as best you could, your chest heaving with exertion. "Easy for you, you mean. What the hell do you want from me?"

"Everything," Geto answered, stepping in front of you and crouching so that you were eye level. His eyes were dark and unreadable, his Adam's apple so out, his sharp body a shape that any woman would growl over. "We want to know why you're so damn good at what you do. Who trained you? Why do you keep running? And why are you so hell-bent on protecting that boy?"

Your blood ran cold as soon as the mention of Megumi left his lips, but you didn't let it show. "What boy?" you asked, feigning confusion.

"Come on! Don't play dumb," Gojo, tightening his grip on your wrist. "We've been watching you. You're not just some assassin. You've got connections-dangerous ones. But you seem to have a soft spot. The kid's important to you, isn't he? Is it because of personal reasons or is it because your boss told you so?"

You clenched your teeth, refusing to respond. Every second of silence felt like a battle, their eyes boring down on you as if they could extract the truth by sheer willpower.

"Fine," Gojo said after a moment of silence, his tone light but laced with steel. "Don't want to talk? Then we'll just keep you here until you do."

"You're out of your damn mind if you think I'm staying," you shot back, twisting sharply to free yourself from Gojo's grasp. Though before you could stand, Geto was behind you, his arm locking around your shoulders and pinning you in place.

"Stay down," Geto murmured, his breath warm against your neck. "You've lost."

"I haven't lost shit," you hissed, struggling against him, but his hold was ever so unyielding, and you were exhausted. Every muscle in your body screamed in protest as you fought to break free.

Gojo crouched in front of you, his face so close you could see a faint scar above his brow. He tilted his hair, his pretty eyes scanning yours with a mix of amusement and something deeper, something you couldn't quite pin down.

"You're stubborn," he said, almost fondly. "I like that about you."

"You don't know a damn thing about me."

"Maybe not," Gojo admitted, his grin softening into something more sincere. "But I'd like to. And I think Suguru here would too."

You froze at his words, your mind racing. They weren't just chasing you for answers. This seemed personal, and that scared you more than anything. You clenched your teeth, staring at the two men before you.

"You've got no idea how much trouble you're in, sweetheart," Gojo said with mock sympathy. He tilted his head, silver hair catching the neon lights of the city. "But, hey, if it's any consolation, I think you look great even when you're all out of breath."

Your scowl deepened, and you yanked your arm once again away from his grasp. "You're insufferable."

"Insufferable handsome?" Gojo quipped with a wink, leaning closer. "I get that a lot, thanks."

"Or maybe just insufferably annoying," Geto said, his tone dry but with the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. "Not that it's anything new."

"Aw, Suguru, don't be jealous," Gojo teased, throwing him a grin. "There's plenty of me to go around."

You groaned, confusion and irritation blooming. "You two are ridiculous. First you chase me down like some sort of mouse, all for a conversation? I don't know how anyone can take you seriously."

"People tend to take us very seriously when we're chasing them across rooftops," Geto countered, his calm, velvety voice laced with amusement. "Though I have to admit, you're making this chase far more interesting than most."

"Ha," you snapped, shifting slightly, testing the tension in your muscles as you calculated your next move. You were tired, but you weren't going down without a fight.

"Oh, don't pretend you haven't been entertained too," Gojo said, his grin widening. "Admit it-you've been having fun." He said in a sing-song tone.

"Fun?" you repeated incredulously, glaring at him in disgust. "You two have been hunting me like some sport. What about that sounds like fun?"

"Because you're the first person who's ever made us work this hard. Most people give up the moment they realize who they're dealing with," Geto replied. "But you... you keep fighting. It's impressive."

"Compliments. Oh, how thrilled I am," you muttered under your breath, earning a chuckle from Gojo. "It's exhausting."

"Poor thing," Gojo cooed mockingly, leaning down close enough that you swear his lips had to be centimeters away from your neck. "All worn out from running? If you surrender, I promise I'll carry you home, bridal style, if you're into that." That infuriating wink.

"Shut," you hissed, trying to pull away from him, but his hand shot out, his fingers grazing your chin to tilt your face toward him.

"Such fire," he murmured, his voice dropping an octave. His usual playful tone was now gone, replaced with something softer, intense, something that caused your stomach to flip. "You're cute."

"Satoru," Geto interrupted once again, his voice cutting through the moment. He reached out, grabbing your arm and pulling you back to your feet. You stumbled slightly, but his hand landed on the small of your back, easily keeping you steady. "We've wasted enough time. Let's go."

"Go?" you repeated, bristling like an irritated cat. "Where the hell do you think you're taking me?"

"Our place," Gojo said, standing and dusting off his pants like this was all completely normal. "Don't worry, we've got comfy couches. You can even have a blanket if you're nice."

You narrowed your eyes at him, glaring. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

“Do you really think you’re in a position to argue?” Geto’s voice was soft, almost deceptively calm, but the steel beneath it sent a shiver down your spine. His fingers tightened on your arm, pulling you closer with effortless strength, until the heat of his body radiated against yours. His dark eyes bore into yours, sharp and unyielding, as though daring you to defy him. “You’re out of options, and we both know it.”

The words cut through you like a blade. You hated how true they were. Every fiber of your being screamed to resist, to claw and fight your way out of thisâ€”but your limbs felt heavy, your breath uneven, and they both saw right through the mask of defiance you were struggling to keep intact.

Gojo crouched next to you, impossibly close, his ever-present grin softening into something almost predatory. His crystalline blue eyes sparkled with an unsettling mix of amusement and something deeperâ€”something you couldn’t quite place. “Don’t think of it as giving up,” he purred, his voice low, like a silk ribbon wrapping around your throat. “Think of it asâ€¦ a tactical retreat. Or, if it helps, you can call it a hostage situation. That’s got a nice ring to it, right?”

Your jaw clenched, your glare cutting toward him. “You’re unbelievable.”

“And you’re gorgeous when you’re mad,” Gojo shot back, his grin widening, the playful lilt in his voice sending your pulse racing in frustrationâ€”and something else you didn’t dare acknowledge. “Seriously, has anyone ever told you that anger suits you? It’s cute.”

“Shut up,” you snapped, but the venom in your tone was undermined by the way your voice wavered. You hated how his words crawled under your skin, leaving behind a trail of heat you couldn’t ignore.

Before you could pull away, Geto’s hand shifted, his long fingers catching your chin and tilting your face upward, forcing your gaze to meet his. His touch was firm but surprisingly gentle, the rough pads of his fingers brushing against your skin in a way that sent an involuntary shiver down your spine. “Enough games, Satoru,” he said, his deep voice steady but edged with something almost possessive. His eyes locked on yours, darker than the night around you, and for a moment, it felt like he was looking right through youâ€”peeling back every layer, exposing everything you tried to hide.

But he didn’t move away. Instead, his gaze lingered, and in that moment, something in his expression shifted. The sharpness softened, replaced by a flicker of intrigue, of something far more dangerous. It made your breath hitch, your pulse stuttering in your chest as the seconds stretched endlessly.

And then, slowly, deliberately, he leaned in.

The kiss wasn’t what you expectedâ€”not demanding, not harsh. It was barely a kiss at all, just the lightest brush of his lips against the corner of your mouth. But it was enough to leave you stunned, your mind blanking as warmth bloomed where his lips had touched. Enough to leave your heart pounding erratically in your chest.

“Call that motivation,” he murmured, his voice low and smooth, his breath ghosting over your skin. There was an almost smug curve to his lips as he pulled back, his dark eyes unreadable. “Now, let’s go.”

You didn’t have time to process the shock flooding your system before Gojo let out a low whistle, his grin downright sinful. “Suguru, you dog. You can’t just kiss her and act like that’s normal.” He stood in one fluid motion, towering over you, and his gaze flicked to you with a teasing glint. “Now I have to do something, or it’ll look like you’re showing me up.”

Before you could snap at himâ€”or even catch your breath-Gojo leaned down, his hand brushing against your cheek as he tilted your face toward him. His grin was still there, but his eyes were sharp now, intense in a way that made your stomach twist.

“Don’t look so nervous,” he whispered, his voice low, almost tender. And then he kissed youâ€“softly, lingering just long enough to leave you reeling. His lips were warm and maddeningly gentle, the faintest trace of something sweet lingering behind.

When he pulled away, his grin returned, but there was a seriousness in his gaze that hadn’t been there before. “Now we’re even,” he said lightly, though the weight of his stare told you there was nothing casual about what had just happened.

You sat there, frozen, your mind spinning as the two men straightened and exchanged a glance-something unspoken passing between them. You hated how they seemed to be in perfect sync, how they could take apart your defenses so effortlessly.

“C’mon, sweetheart,” Gojo said, offering you his hand, his grin teasing but his tone carrying an edge of finality. “We’re taking you home.”

“Home?” you echoed, your voice faint, barely able to process the word.

“Our home,” Geto corrected, his voice steady and commanding. He stepped behind you, his hand brushing against your lower back, urging you to your feet. “And I’d suggest you don’t try anything stupid. You’re smart enough to know how that’ll end.”

Your legs felt like jelly, but you forced yourself to stand, glaring at both of them even as your resolve wavered. “I hate you both,” you muttered, though you weren’t sure if it was the truth.

Gojo chuckled, slinging an arm around your shoulders like this was all some kind of game. “Aw, you’ll love us soon enough,” he said, his voice dripping with confidence. “Everyone does.”

As they began leading you away, you couldn’t stop the whirlwind of emotions swirling in your chest-anger, frustration, confusionâ€¦ and something far more dangerous that you weren’t ready to name.

And despite yourself, you couldn’t shake the warmth lingering on your lips, or the terrifying realization that this was far from over.

â€”â€”

The drive to their place was silent, the tension floating in the air was palpable. You sat in the backseat of the sleek black car, sandwiched between the two handsome men. The proximity was stifling, their presence too overwhelming, and the warmth radiating from their bodies only made the situation worse. Gojo was as relaxed as ever, one arm draped lazily along the back of the seat behind you while Geto sat with perfect posture, his sharp eyes occasionally glancing your way. Part of you was curious to know how two polar opposite men could work so well in a team together. Perhaps the saying 'opposites attract' was true.

When they pulled into the driveway of their house, your jaw nearly dropped at the sight. The property was secluded, surrounded by tall trees and hidden away from prying eyes. The house itself was modern and luxurious, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a sprawling front yard that screamed wealth and power.

Part of you had an intuition that Gojo owned multiple homes while you were keeping an eye on Megumi, but you never guessed he would own a house this gorgeous.

"You two live here?" you asked, unable to keep the disbelief from your voice. Despite working alongside Toji, you weren't as poor as him since you knew how to manage your money. You were comfortable, but obviously not as comfortable as either of them. Damn.

"Of course," Gojo said, grinning as he slid out of the car and opened your door with an exaggerated bow. "Only the best for the best."

Geto rolled his eyes as he stepped out and gestured for you to follow. "Ignore him. He loves showing off.'

You hesitated for a moment, weighing your options. Running definitely wasn't one of them, you exhausted that option, so with a resigned sigh, you followed them inside.

The interior was just as impressive as the exterior. The open floor plan showcased sleek furniture, expensive artwork, and a kitchen that looked like it belonged in a high-end restaurant. It was annoyingly perfect, just like Gojo and Geto. How irritating.

Geto led you to the living room and gestured for you to sit on the plush couch with a strong, veiny hand. "You'll be staying here for now," he said, his voice calm and measured. "We have to keep an eye on you as we investigate you for a bit. Know who exactly you are, your motives, and why you are tasked with keeping an eye on the boy Satoru adopted. You'll have everything you need, and no one will find you."

"Generous of you," you muttered, crossing your arms as you sat down with a huff. Perfect. You didn't think to send a help call to Toji while you were fighting them, and now you were going to disappear for a bit. You'll get quite the scolding when you see Toji again.

Geto's lips twitched into a faint smile while he observed your irritation. "It's the least he can do after chasing you halfway across the city."

"Ah, don't listen to him, sweetheart," Gojo interjected, flopping down on the couch beside you, on the same cushion, his long legs sprawled out. "We both know you loved the attention. Admit it-you've never had this much fun before."

You clicked your tongue, shooting him your signature glare. "You're insufferable."

"And you're adorable when you're annoyed," Gojo quipped back, leaning closer. His voice melted into a playful whisper, his breath brushing against your ear, causing a shiver down your spine. "Admit it-you kind of like me, don't you? It wasn't just Megumi who you were keeping an eye on, eh?"

"Satoru," Geto said sharply, his tone a warning.

"What?" Gojo shrugged, pulling back just enough to flash his partner a grin. "I'm just breaking the ice."

Geto's eyes narrowed slightly, and for a moment, you thought he might actually snap from his partner's antics. Instead, he turned to you, his expression softening. "I meant what I said earlier. We're sorry for chasing you. It wasn't personal-it was a job."

You blinked, slightly caught off guard by the sincerity in his voice. "You have quite the fun of showing it," you muttered, those the venom in your tone had dampened.

Geto's lips curled into a small smile, one that was genuine. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "you're impressive," he said in his deep, velvety tone, his dark eyes locking into yours. "More than I expected. that's why you're still alive, by the way."

Before you could even respond, Gojo let out a low chuckle. "Wow, Suguru, way to charm her. Nothing says 'I'm into you' like, 'You should be dead, but you're not.'"

geto's gaze flicked to Gojo, his smile fading slightly. "And your approach is better?"

Gojo simply grinned, undeterred. "Absolutely. Watch and learn."

Huh?

He turned back to you, his hand suddenly brushing against yours where it rested on your plush thighs. The touch was light, almost accidental, but it sent a jolt through you nevertheless. "We must make a good team, right? I mean, we caught you, Japan's best assassin. That's gotta count for something."

You rolled your eyes, trying your best to ignore the way your pulse quickened at his proximity to your thigh. "Congrats. Do you want a medal?"

"I'd settle for a kiss," Gojo said, winking.

"Don't push your luck," you shot back, though the corners of your mouth betrayed a faint twitch upward.

geto's eyes darkened as he watched the exchange, his jaw tightening ever so slightly. He leaned back, his arms draping casually over the back of the couch next to you, but there was nothing casual about the way his gaze lingered on you, capturing every curve your body had to offer.

"So what's it going to be?" Geto asked, his voice low and smooth, just for you to hear. "Are you going to keep pretending you're not enjoying this, or are you finally going to admit that you don't hate us as much as you'd like to?"

You opened your mouth to retort, but the words caught in your throat as Geto shifted closer. His presence was magnetic, and the intensity in his eyes made it hard to look away.

Gojo, never one who wants to be outdone, mirrored his partner's movement, leaning in on your other side. "Careful, Suguru," he said, his tone playful yet carrying a sharp edge to it. "you're starting to sound possessive to the sweetie here."

Geto smirked, his gaze flicking briefly to Gojo before returning to you. "Maybe I am. Who knows?"

The air between the three of you grew heavy, charged with an unspoken challenge. As much as you hated to admit it, the thought of being caught between these two beans was becoming harder and harder to resist with each passing heartbeat.

"So, what now?" you asked, cursing to yourself at how quiet your voice was, waiting in hidden anticipation.

"Now," Geto said, his hand brushing against yours with deliberate slowness, "we make sure you understand just how serious we are."

Gojo's grin turned wicked, and he leaned even closer, his warm breath fanning against your cheek. "And maybe, just maybe, you'll realize you're better off with us than against us, especially when you work for Toji."

You swallowed hard, your pulse racing. Of course they knew who you worked for. They were probably feigning ignorance when they pestered you with all of those previous questions.

Gojo's lips were a whisper away from yours, hot breath trickling against your skin. His hand curled under your jaw, tilting your face upward as his thumb brushed along your lower lip. Your body betrayed you, leaning instinctively into his touch, but a dark chuckle from Geto pulled your attention back to him. His hand slid deliberately from your hip to your waist, his warmth seeping through the thin fabric of your shirt.

"You shouldn't let him have all the fun, you know," Geto said, his voice smooth and velvety, vibrating against your neck as he leaned in just as close as Gojo was. His lips grazed your skin, just below your ear, leaving the faintest of kisses. "He tends to get greedy."

"And you don't?" you managed to whisper, your voice trembling as your heart pounded within your chest.

Geto smirked against your skin, his breath hot against yours. "Maybe, but I've always been better at sharing."

Gojo's grin widened at that, a flash of mischief in his blue eyes. "She's not wrong, Suguru~. You can get pretty greedy-just in quieter ways." The way everything felt, how they touched you, how their gaze lingered a little longer than it should. It made you feel a certain way, a feeling that you couldn't bury even if you tried-not when you were sandwiched between two hot men who captured you.

You want them. No, you need them. holding back and pretending was just too much for you to bear anymore.

Gojo's gaze lingered on your soft lips, admiring them, and a female of lust burned deeply within him. His lips finally claimed yours the second time that night, soft at first, then pressing harder as his confidence grew. His kiss was beautifully dizzying, a mix of passion and playfulness that left you breathless.

Before you could wrap your arms around his neck as he pressed closer to you, before you could lose yourself entirely to him, Geto tugged you back, his fingers brushing along your jawline as he forced you to lock eyes with his sharp gaze. His eyes burned with intensity, darker and more calculated lust than Gojo's wild energy. "Don't forget about me," he muttered before his lips captured yours.

"Hey! Suguru!" came Gojo's whiney voice as he clung onto the dip of your hips, his thumb making soothing circles as your lips were getting devoured by his partner.

Geto's kiss was different-slower, deeper, more deliberate. The way his hand slid up made it clear he wasn't in any sort of rush. his thumb stroked the side of your throat, eliciting a quiet gasp that only turned him on, causing a throaty groan to escape only to be muffled by your lips.

When you pulled back, your lips tingling and your breath uneven, you were beginning to be acutely aware of both men-the way Gojo's slender fingers trailing along the hem of your shirt, Geto's veiny still resting firmly against your throat, squeezing it just enough. Their touches were possessive yet teasing, as if silently daring you to take the lead.

You tried every bit of your fiber to resist them, but you were far too deep in the rabbit hole to back out now. You bit your lip, a soft whimper slipping past as Gojo tugged your shirt a little higher, revealing your bra. With dancing fingers, he unhooked it and let his hand teasingly roam across your boobs, while Geto's mouth pressed open-mouthed kisses along the curve of your neck.

"Don't keep us waiting, sweetheart," Gojo murmured, his voice thick with desire as his tongue flicked your already hard nipples. "Tell us what you want.”

Part 2 when??? If you want one, ask in the comments

#jjk x reader #jujutsu Kaisen #jujutsu Kaisen x reader #gojo satoru x reader #gojo x reader #Geto x reader #suguru x reader #suguru geto x reader #reixtsu

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seamany · 3 days ago

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The post that solved it all for me PART 1

NOT MY POST, THIS IS MOBILEBLACKSMITH2535 VIA REDDIT

(It might sound like I'm yelling at you in this paragraph but these are just things I wish someone told me like years ago) Here is where I talk about everything law of assumption that helped me ACTUALLY become a master manifestor. The law of assumption, as I see it, is the law of being. You cannot experience what you are not being. Coming from a person that used to cry myself to sleep every night feeling frustrated, hopeless, and extremely tired of putting all this effort into something and getting absolutely nothing back, this shit is real. Please do not take this post with a grain of salt. Please do not toss my story in with the probably hundreds of other "I have shifted" threads/videos you have witnessed. If you want to shift listen to every word that I say. I can't explain why we have this power I just know that from November of 2020 to July of 2023 I have been working my ass of to get somewhere, anywhere. In between those 3 years I had an on and off behavior towards shifting. I used to force myself to forget about shifting for a few weeks because it hurt too much to think about it. I felt like I won the lottery and I couldn't cash in the money. It was awful and I wouldn't wish that feeling of hopelessness on any other conscious being. Sometimes I would watch shifting tik tok compilation videos on YouTube and get a surge of motivation that would soon die out along with any semblance of dignity and self-esteem I had left. I'm telling you not asking you to see me as a real completely sane person because that is exactly what I am. Even though I'm creative and spiritual (not religious, spiritual), I can't help but see things logically. It's just my nature. I like patterns, formulas, structured systems, explanations, science, etc. I knew the probability of hundreds upon thousands of people describing in detail their experience of shifting couldn't be a phenomenon but a real...thing. I, for some reason, never doubted the possibility of shifting, more my capability to do it. Along my journey I've had my moments of distrust surrounding shifting in itself, and as I rounded onto the 3rd year of attempts I had increasing feelings of dread and anger. I was angry at the world that I live in, feeling dreadful that I couldn't escape it all. Then on one fateful fateful day, specifically July 31rst 2023 at about 8:30 am, I shifted. It was easy and it was effortless. Just as everyone says, but that's not something I'd like to focus on in today's post. I'm not making this post to tell you how simple shifting is or to "let go" (whatever the fuck that means) or to change your mindset. Those things are all useless compared to the thing that just clicked for me on July 31rst 2023 at about 8:30 am. What I am going to tell you is going to be so stupidly straightforward that your mind isn't going to want to believe me at first. You are going to try to make it more complicated than it is, just like you probably did with shifting when you first learned about it. But assure you that you should take what I am about to say at face-value. You don't need to let go, you don't need to change anything about yourself, you don't need to "release blockages", you don't need to reprogram your subconscious mind. You are done. You have your desire already. You are finished and there is nothing left for you to do.

LOOK AT MY PAGE FOR PART TWO

#reality shifter #law of assumption #loa tumblr #reality shifting #shifting #shifting blog #loa #loassblog #loassumption #loa blog #itsreallymine #voidstate #pure consciousness #voidmethod #void #desired reality #shifting community

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specific-dreamer · 1 day ago

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inspired by @broareweabouttoviberightnow ‘s post abt pony still having baby teeth. it’s not as good as i wanted it to be so soz for the abrupt ending 😭😭

Ponyboy did not have a great day at school, thanks for asking. It started off alright at least, but then, in gym class, they played kickball. And Pony’s fairly good at kickball, alright? Between ex-football player Darrel Curtis and Steve always-out-to-get-him Randle, he kind of had to be good at kickball.

Today, though, he didn’t stand a chance. Ponyboy was in charge of rolling the ball to the other team’s kicker and, honestly, no one could have expected the other guy to be such a strong kicker with such shitty aim and, well. The ball hit Ponyboy in the mouth with the force of at least ten Steve Randles.

He blacked out a little, it was a hard hit, alright, sue him, but he remembers everyone crowding around him, asking if he was alright or if he needed to go to the nurse. Ponyboy was fine thankfully, he even felt fine enough to keep playing. When he rolled the ball again, he ran his tongue over his teeth for good luck and he felt it. A loose tooth. That motherfucker knocked his tooth loose.

He almost couldn’t believe it, but a larger part of him was grateful. He’d been waiting for that tooth to come loose for a really long time. Plus, he kinda liked having a loose tooth; he forgot how much fun it was wiggling it around whenever he got bored. Usually, he had a loose tooth for a week before it’d eventually fall out. This time it lasted til lunch. Three hours after it first loosened.

It was the one time Ponyboy actually ate lunch in the cafeteria and he promised himself never again. But Curly really wanted some casserole surprise or whatever the lunch ladies were serving. Pony hadn’t thought it’d be edible, let alone good, so he grabbed a dull red apple for his lunch (that apple costed him three cents by the way. Three whole cents! Pony’s never eating in the cafeteria again, he swears it).

Ponyboy finished about half the apple when Curly abruptly dragged him out the cafeteria. He said something about how he forgot Dally and Steve were waiting for Pony, and by default himself,in the parking lot. That means Pony suffered through a pathetic lunch for nothing. He gives Curly a nice hard punch as he tosses the apple in the trash on the way out.

When they arrive at Steve’s car they find him and Dally in the middle of… an argument? They were glaring at each other in a way that could be mistaken for a staring contest, but Pony knows better. The two were probably about to duke it out if not for him and Curly arriving. Well, they probably still would have, but Dally glances at Pony once, turns back to Steve, then widens his eyes and almost breaks his neck turning back to Ponyboy.

“Fuck are you bleeding for?”

Pony frowns and instinctively touches his chest. “I am?”

Dally clicks his teeth, “From your mouth, idiot.”

The sound of a snicker then the most agitating voice Ponyboy has ever had the misfortune of hearing says, “You lose a fight and get punched in the mouth, kid?”

God, just the sound of Steve’s voice grates on Ponyboy’s nerves. Wait. His eyes widen and he quickly runs his tongue over his loose tooth. Well, where it should be. “My tooth!”

From the corner of his eye he can see Dally gagging, some blood may have spat from his mouth when he spoke, and Steve stiffening up and looking back at the school. Gearing for a fight he’ll probably lose, Pony thinks absently. “Shit, he knocked your tooth out!”

“When did you have time to get in a fight?” Ponyboy isn’t paying much attention to any of them, too busy searching the ground for his tooth, but he’s pretty sure Curly sounds more disappointed than worried, the asshole.

“Darry’s gon’ kill us— Would you quit actin’ a fool!” He can hear Steve slapping someone upside the head, Dally if the hiss is anything to go by. “What? Mr County Lock up ain’t never seen blood before?”

“You hit me again and you ‘bout to see some real blood.”

“You know who will hit us? Darrel.”

A pause. “Shit.”

“Shit,” Steve says in agreement.

Pony rolls his eyes and cuts his losses. He’s never gonna find that damn tooth. Who knows when he lost it. Wait, did he swallow it? What’s the last thing he ate? “That damn apple,” he answers aloud.

“What?” Curly asks. This is all his fault. If he didn’t drag Pony to the cafeteria then he never would’ve eaten that apple.

“I ate that damn apple,” he shoves Curly for emphasis. “And it took my fucking tooth.”

“Why am I getting abused! The fuck?”

“Wait. Hang on, munchkin.”

“I am not—!”

“Shut up, munch,” Steve repeats. “Are you telling me you lost a fight to an apple?” Dallas doesn’t even try to hide a snort.

Ponyboy is very much not pouting okay? “It was already loose! Hardly a fair fight,” Pony climbs into the backseat of the car and he's mostly over this stupid conversation. He doesn’t need to explain himself to them. He lost his tooth big whoop, that’s hardly any of their business. Leaning over the side of the car, he spits a good amount of blood into the parking lot and he can hear Dally gagging again. Serves him right for laughing, Pony thinks.

#the outsiders #the outsiders musical #ponyboy curtis #dallas winston #steve randle #curly shepard #specific dreamer’s fics

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maukree · 2 days ago

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Masterpost with all parts Yay, here we are. Part 2 of my *not quite Civil War (616)—The Messiest Divorce in Superhero History specifically (or Civil War, which is mostly actual Civil War just for this part, with very little winteriron)—where everything gets dark, painful, and incredibly shippable for so many ships. Not gonna lie, the whole point of these posts is for me to catch up before I start working on my MTH fill for the 616-canon-heavy winteriron fic, and also to have a convenient resource to link to if MCU-only fans actually choose to read it and want to know what happened in canon versus what is complete bullshit for my writing pleasure. That said—this event is a goldmine for all kinds of ships. So I’ve snagged the juiciest bits for your reading (and thirsting) pleasure because every ship is valid, and I don’t discriminate. (Though, I have my favorites, so they’re gonna stand out.) Now—Tumblr has a 30-image limit per post, and I am not about to split Civil War into multiple parts here, so there is a lot of ground to cover in this. There will be more parts after this, so you get one post for Civil War specially, with as much crammed into it as I can, laid out as simply as possible—for me, and hopefully for you too. P.S. While my cover image lists the overall timeline and which series I discuss in terms of winteriron, Civil War and this part here hits the fan right smack in the middle of Captain America and The Invincible Iron Man (they each get a few issues inside), but there’s a lot of other crap happening too elsewhere. I’m not about to unpack every superhero’s massive tie-in series here in equal detail, but I will mention others before the first BIG fight and how they pertain to Tony, Bucky, Steve and Peter—because, obviously, that’s who we’re here for, and Peter is in the middle... 'cause he is kind of important here. If you want the full, issue-by-issue breakdown of every tie-in, crossover, and emotional kick in the nuts that happened, and you didn’t like the five-hour video I sent you to in Part 1, Marvel’s got you covered with their Complete Guide to the Civil War Event (or which order to read it at, which I am following here, sort of.) *visuals are after each arc/issue covered. Fair warning: this has a lot of food for irondad or starker, but this is canon, so just deal with it. K, click that Read More button, and let’s goooo into “holy shit, why are they like this?”

If you read this part you will know where Tony, Bucky and Steve are just after 616 Civil War is won by one side.

What triggered Civil War for real / Was used as an excuse for registration? Basically, the U.S. government has been side-eyeing caped vigilantes for years—tolerating their sometimes helpful, sometimes catastrophic crime-fighting because, well, they weren’t technically employees. Things had been escalating for a while, but the final straw was when a group of young, reality-TV-era superheroes (The New Warriors) tried to do their thing, and—shocker—it went terribly. Some guy called Nitro (not part of the New Warriors, just a villain doing villain things) exploded next to an elementary school during a fight with that chirpy young group, killing over 600 people, including a lot of kids. There was a national outrage, and nothing gets the government’s attention quite like untrained superhumans causing massive collateral damage in broad daylight that people complain about. Suddenly, Congress, the media, and your grandma had an opinion on whether superheroes should be running around unchecked, which has resulted in the Superhuman Registration Act (SRA or, sometimes SHRA)—which most people are probably more familiar with from the X-Men movies and whatnot (where it was basically “Mutants, go register”), or as the comic book equivalent of the Sokovia Accords in the MCU. The SRA demanded that all superheroes:

Reveal their identities.

Undergo training.

Operate under official oversight.

Which… totally sounded reasonable to some people. But only some people. Sure, about half of the superhero community saw it as necessary law and order, but the other half saw it as the death of personal freedom. And that is how this Marvel Civil War came about in the comics. (They did have a second one waaaay later, but I am not getting into that.) The easy comparison with MCU here is:

Team Pro-Registration (led by Tony).

Team Anti-Registration (led by Steve).

Where it gets VERY different:

It has very little (nothing, but he's around) to do with Bucky.

It's long.

A lot of people are involved.

Fighters on each side die.

It gets twisted and very much downhill from here as far as Tony's bromance with Steve goes (or on the up, depends on how much you like your angst). And, yes, there is a possibility some of the characters would've remained alive (but, like, a lot of Marvel characters die and come back even more often in the comic books) if Tony and Steve had just fucked it out, honestly. The Amazing Spider-Man (1999): Mr. Parker Goes to Washington (#529-531) (Not actually released in 1999—the series itself started in 1999. Marvel’s way of naming shit and constantly renaming it will break your head, I swear.) This specific three-parter covers Tony dragging Peter into the most emotional relationship drama to ever drama. For clarity (and because I think I’m too funny and can’t resist commenting along), while Civil War is gearing up, Tony starts making deeply emotional decisions under the guise of strategy, and his first move is to recruit Peter and make sure he is on his side. Because obviously, if you’re about to start a massively controversial government-backed superhero initiative, the first person you want in your corner is the kid with no money, another tragic backstory, the worst luck in the history of caped crusading, but a very good sense of right and wrong. At this point in the timeline, Peter is living with Tony in the Avenger's tower, Tony is already acting like his chaotic billionaire stepdad while Peter is hitting it off with the Avengers on the daily. For real, Peter even calls him “Dad” once or twice, although mostly, he calls him “boss” and, what, do you know, he is actually his intern. MJ is staying with Peter, but you can ignore that. So what actually happens here relevant to Civil War beginnings: Tony takes Peter to Washington, D.C., where he’s testifying before Congress about superhero accountability. While in D.C., Tony gives Peter a new version of the Iron Spider suit (like two days after another new version ’cause he can’t stop spoiling him or, like, gearing him up for war or something, idk...) and starts laying the groundwork for making him his right-hand. There are a lot of father/son vibes, mentor/protégé vibes, and if you’re reading this through a Starker lens, well—Tony spends a lot of time complimenting Peter, and putting a hell of a lot of emotional weight on his presence.

Fact: Tony genuinely cares about Peter in here (not looking at it through starker lens right now, trying to think winteriron long game here), but he’s also desperate for allies as the political pressure builds. Because Peter is not just a good boy for Tony but good in general, he is clearly conflicted from the beginning about the government stepping in to control superheroes, but Tony reassures him that it’s the right thing to do and that he is actually working on stalling it and making sure it stays under control (he is being hella shady). Peter also trusts Tony implicitly (big mistake, buddy), and because this is the road to Civil War and not just Fun Congressional Trips With Tony and Pete, we also get some early signs of how badly this is going to go for everyone involved. So, Peter backs Tony up (as Peter, hiding his identity and later as Spider-Man, refusing to reveal his identity at the meeting), showing loyalty to Tony despite his own lingering doubts. This whole arc is really about Tony starting to make moves to secure the Pro-Registration side, and Peter—bless him—doesn’t fully grasp what he’s getting into yet. This is an awesome arc to read for anyone who likes Tony and Peter in any capacity, but it’s so clear that Tony doesn’t just care about Peter here—he needs him. He is also the guy who will, very soon, break Peter’s heart, and it’s very gutting. Like, they kick the whole event off with this, and you can feel your heart bleed in advance. Why this Matters for Civil War: Tony starts Civil War with Peter at his side, which will make it all the more painful when it inevitably falls apart. Peter’s trust in Tony is absolute at this point, and that will change—violently. Tony also secretly hires a bad guy to attack them in D.C. to make a point, and this should really be one of the many signs on how seriously Tony's starting here from the very beginning.

In Fantastic Four #536-537, Thor’s hammer crash-lands on Earth. This is a big deal because, at this point, Thor is 'not around', but everyone is trying to get their hands on his nutcracker. Naturally, Doctor Doom shows up, because if something cool falls from the sky, he’s contractually obligated to try and steal it. The reason the hammer is important is because Reed Richards is around for this, so while he’s not fully immersed in Civil War beginnings yet, he’s about to be. Also, Thor and his hammer specifically play a massive part in Civil War (stick a pin in that mental note). Doom doesn’t get the hammer, obviously, it just chills there because nobody can lift it. Following the Fantastic Four issues (but also technically happening before them—just go with it), we have New Avengers: Illuminati (2006) #1, which is basically a bunch of rich, powerful men sitting in a room and making decisions that will screw over everyone else. This issue gives us the Illuminati’s response to the SRA, aka a lot of self-important posturing. The Illuminati (Tony, Reed Richards, Namor, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, and Charles Xavier) gather to discuss how this whole registration thing is about to go down. And—shocker—they do not agree. Everyone except Reed and Tony, who tend to agree on more things than people give them credit for, thinks that the SRA is a massive disaster waiting to happen. T'Challa is there too, and while he loves being complemented on how pretty his country is, he still tells them to fuck off. Politely. Namor flips off Tony too and nearly drowns him. It's a cool action sequence. So, nothing too exciting, but good to know. That said, this is side content I don’t personally care about, but will splash in here and there for basic understanding as needed, and not spend image limit on it (unless it extra cool).

Civil War (2006) #1 This is where things aren’t just leading to the breakup of Tony and Steve—this is where everything fully hits the fan. I’ve already covered the tragedy and the public outrage/last trigger for SRA, but let’s talk about a lovely parallel happening in the aftermath. During the funeral for the folks who died, Tony gets spit on. A grieving mother blames him personally for the deaths of all those children, since he's kinda bankrolling Avengers and stuff, and while Tony was not even remotely involved in this paticular Nitro-exploding and killing kids mess—just the cleanup—he takes it HARD. (Yeah, remember how badly he took everything in the movies? It's worse in the comics, and the woman is aggressive about it.) And regardless of whether it’s comic books or movies, if there’s one thing Tony cannot handle, it’s being told that his inaction led to innocent people dying. This is where his shady, kind-of-sorta “leaning” into supporting registration cements itself into a full send. Unfortunately for both sides of this war, Fury is nowhere to be found to smack some sense into people, because he pissed off the U.S. government (again) and is currently persona non grata. So instead, Maria Hill is running S.H.I.E.L.D, calls in Steve for a little chat, while a bunch of other heroes are off in various places having their “Should we let the government own our asses?” powwows. Hill, naturally, expects Steve to be the poster boy for the Superhuman Registration Act, because, you know, Captain America = America, right? Big mistake. Huge. I don’t know if it’s the way she talks to him in her “I’m in charge now, shut up and do what I say” tone, or the fact that she basically says, “Hey, so here’s the deal—there’s a new law coming down. You’re going to help us enforce it, and we’re going to use S.H.I.E.L.D. to make sure every superhero signs up. Cool? Cool.” Either way, Steve's response is HELL NO. Hill, in her usual charming manner, reacts to being blown off by trying to arrest him. Which is hilarious. Steve then proceeds to beat the crap out of some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, escape the Helicarrier, and go underground. But not to hang out with Fury who pops up at a later stage. Just underground, officially becoming the face of the Anti-Registration movement. Now, I’m probably not being fair to Hill (I actually do like her), but I am also Switzerland when it comes to comic book Civil War (and MCU Civil War), because both Tony and Steve are being absolute fucking idiots about literally everything in either canon. Frankly, Bucky is the only smart one when this takes place, and mostly 'cause he’s nowhere to be seen yet after ghosting Steve in London. He’s out there somewhere, probably drinking whiskey in a safe house, brooding about his past crimes, cleaning his guns, and for now busy NOT giving a single fuck about what's going on. While the love of his life that he hasn’t met yet (reminder: this is a winteriron timeline) is going out of his way to become the most hated man in the superhero community. Sad.

She-Hulk (2005) #8 is mostly a pointless tie-in to Civil War in the context of what I am trying to do here, but we do get a peek at Tony’s methods and how he’s running his “Collect ’Em All” campaign for Pro-Registration allies. Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk), has a bunch of things going on somewhat related to the main event, but the only one you need to know here is that Tony makes an appearance to give her information she needs for a case she is working on—“for free, not asking for anything, no strings attached” of course (which, lol, sure, Tony). This is a good look at how Tony operates. He’s not exactly strong-arming people right away, but you’d have to be blind not to pick up on the “Pick a side or get picked for one” vibes. In general, his methods vary through the Civil War, but you have to give it to him, he is very creative and approaches each person in a wickedly unique way. Crafty. He's crafty. In Wolverine (2003) #42, Logan is seen catching some heat and getting the “You’re not welcome here anymore” treatment from randoms, demonstrating how the baseline folks are reacting to what’s going on (although, when does he not get this heat, honestly?). He gets into a few debates with fellow supers about how the SRA is giving Nazi vibes, all while side-eyeing the Sentinel parked outside the X-Mansion pretending to be a lawn ornament and suspecting it’s not actually there for their “safety”. Wolverine isn’t my favorite in general, but he slaps in this, because instead of sitting around and yapping about whose side he’s on, he’s one of the few people actually making sense and decides that Nitro—the asshole who kickstarted this and exploded all over the place, killing all the people—hasn’t been rolled over by an avenging tank yet and it should probably be done. Right? The man has a point. Avengers. Tony tells him to drop it because “we have bigger problems”, but Logan is like “Yeah, nah” and sets off on a mission to gut Nitro with a fork (or, well, six of them), since someone here has priorities and actually takes being an Avenger (which he has been for a few months only tbh) seriously. I am not gonna talk about Wolverine much after this, so feel free to hunt down his issues on your own.

Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #532 This is one of my favorite issues, honestly, because this is the moment Tony asks Peter for everything, and Peter realizes what his loyalty to Tony actually means. In short, they visit the White House together (Tony brings him along to all the cool places, as you can see), and Peter’s life as he knows it gets irreversibly fed. This issue is a massive turning point because Tony wants a lot. And I mean, a lot. Up until this point, every time Spider-Man’s identity has been revealed, it’s been because a villain unmasked him—never voluntarily. But now, with the SRA officially getting signed by the president, the rules are clear: If you don’t register, you and your entire family become fugitives. Your assets will be confiscated, your safety will be gone, your life will be over, etc. AND if you do sign up, you might also have to snitch on others and hunt them down. Like… tough. Very tough. Tony, being the dramatic bastard that he is, casually admits to the President that he is Iron Man right there in the Oval Office, while Peter is completely missing this historic moment because he’s looking for a bathroom, checking out Secret Service agents, and admiring priceless art. (I respect his priorities.) Then comes the Big Ask. Tony wants Peter to do the same—to stand beside him and publicly reveal that he is Spider-Man to the world. Peter, reasonably, is not down for this plan at all initially, but Tony, ever the master manipulator with a heart, leaves Peter with a choice. (Sort of. Which is really no choice at all, if you think about it, since, if Peter refuses, his entire life crumbles.) MJ and Aunt May (especially May) help him process the decision, and while they ultimately support him, Peter himself is still torn right up until the last second. Even when he’s about to go to Tony with a YES, he still considers running. He even makes the arrangements to run, but doesn’t. The issue ends with Tony and Peter standing side by side at a podium, about to make this announcement. This issue slaps for both irondad and starker, honestly.

Civil War: Front Line (2006) #1 While superheroes are busy picking sides, Front Line follows the journalists stuck in the middle, trying to cover this mess—specifically Ben Urich (Daily Bugle, professional shit-stirrer) and Sally Floyd (indie journalist, professional snarker). The two of them are trying to make sense of the SRA fallout, tracking how the government is spinning the Stamford disaster (all those dead kids). In the same issue, Speedball—one of the good guys who accidentally got a school full of kids blown up when he was fighting Nitro—gets arrested, which is awkward as hell and also the first time on the page where someone flashes their S.H.I.E.L.D. badge to start arrests, signaling that things are starting to get really serious. Speedball has a VERY bad time after his arrest and is often used to remind us all that the places where supers who didn't fall in line go are not a spa. At all. Since this is essentially a press room issue, it ends with the reveal of Tony’s identity—that same press conference where we last left him with Peter. And LOL, DUDE, you do not begin this shit with “Hello. I am Tony Stark, and I am an alcoholic.” This. Is. What. He. Says. YES. While Peter is next to him, shaking in his boots and waiting for his very private life get gutted into pieces to support Tony's agenda.

Civil War (2006) #2 Following the first arrest, things are properly rolling downhill now. More arrests, the first betrayals, and the first real punches are about to happen. Tony, still fully committed to the government’s golden boy arc, is working with S.H.I.E.L.D. to form his superhero task force to hunt down the noncompliant capes. Steve has been AWOL since flipping off Hill but there is a resistance going on. I mean… it sounds good, right? For now, Tony looks like a total dick, and Steve is the hero. As a note, however, Tony is not being a complete blind asshole here, and does struggle with hoping they are doing the right thing just before SRA officially becomes law. Because comics don’t release in a neat timeline, the end of this issue is also where we get some lovely art of Peter unmasking during that press conference (the art shifts between comics, enjoy it and deal with it).

At this point, Civil War is fully spiraling, and the “oh shit, this is getting worse” moments are stacking up. In Thunderbolts (2006) #103, Tony and his team sign up the Thunderbolts—a group of villains-turned-government-enforcers (not to be confused with the MCU version, and no, Bucky is not here yet). And what is their job is to hunt down villain holdouts and then recruiting them to hunt down more holdouts. Yes, the plan is literally “let’s get criminals to enforce the law.” Things are just getting plain weird and scary and in Civil War: Front Line (2006) #2, the press and civilians are starting to get real nervous about how Tony is taking down people who used to be on the side of good with very little prejudice for not complying. Essentially, the whole “this is about protecting people” argument is starting to look flimsy AF when actual normal people are watching buildings collapse and their heroes get thrown into Superhero Guantanamo. Nobody is having a good time at this stage, but, to lighten the mood, Peter gets fired from the Daily Bugle via headline: “YOU’RE FIRED!”

New Avengers (2004) #21 is where we properly get into Steve’s headspace, and IT IS HILARIOUS. This issue is basically Steve being alone and sad after flipping off Maria Hill and instantly regretting everything, including his own existence. He angsts for most of it, because of course he does, and at some point, Bucky makes a 0.5-second flashback appearance, because it wouldn’t be a Steve issue if he wasn’t feeling sorry for himself and reminiscing about people he’s lost. The vibe here is “I should draw my feelings or write a book” (multiple panels on him trying to do that), but instead of actually dealing with his trauma of being a fugitive, which he is very upset about, he just… keeps brooding. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. sends Dum Dum Dugan to bring Steve in, and that’s when the paranoia kicks in. Suddenly, Steve is feeling betrayal from all angles (fair), and even Falcon catches some suspicion, even though they are best buds in this, since Bucky is out there gallivanting somewhere, not getting involved yet. After Steve and Falcon reunite, they set off on a noble quest titled: “Let’s Make Civil War About Peter Parker, Because He’s the First Pick for Everyone.” They gently stalk Peter to see if he’d be down to join Team Cap, but they are very late. Steve is devastated, because Peter once called him cute, and now Peter is already firmly on Tony’s side, kinda-sorta-but-actually-yes. And if that wasn’t enough betrayal for one issue, Hank Pym tries to help S.H.I.E.L.D. to arrest Cap, which really just solidifies the whole “Steve is having the worst week of his life” situation. Maybe if Steve had actually talked to Peter instead of stalking him, Peter would have called him cute again, and Civil War would have ended right there, since our sunshine babydoll can make everyone see light. But alas.

As you probably picked up on already, Peter is right smack in the middle of this, as mentioned about 10,000 times. In Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #533, they fully cover how much his life went to absolute shit after that press conference. It wasn’t just getting fired. Everyone wants a piece of him now. Some people want to kill him, a lot of people want to fuck him, and the internet is absolutely losing its collective mind. (For real—his unmasking breaks the internet, including the porn sites. FACTS.) At the same time, Peter is deeply uneasy about everything, and Tony is “comforting” him while simultaneously sharpening his betrayal knife. The same knife where Tony does not ASK Peter if he wants to be part of his superhero-hunting strike force and instead, he just signs him up publicly without permission. Peter, already on his WTF is going on subplot, doesn’t even get time to process any of this properly before Tony cranks the drama to 11, piling on on top of his little 'favor' to reveal his identity and says: “Hold my beer, meet your new teammates, and get ready—because the dying is about to fucking start tomorrow.” Whelp.

Things don’t actually escalate to full-on hero-on-hero-we-give-a-crap-about murder aka THE BIG WTF MOMENT just yet (patience), but people are getting hurt just for trying to not pick a side, and crime is skyrocketing because, shockingly, when heroes are too busy planning on punching each other, villains thrive. In Fantastic Four (1998) #538 Johnny is in a coma because a mob beat him within an inch of his life just for existing as a super, the Fantastic Four are already crumbling and even Reed’s own family thinks he’s being a dick. (And they are correct.) He is so firmly on Tony’s side that it’s almost embarrassing, and I suspect some consensual touching is involved to be this stupidly on board with Tony, but I digress here too, since I don’t even know if this is a ship. There’s some setup happening for later events, but we’re not going Mariana Trench deep here, so let’s move on. Oh, someone does pick up Thor’s hammer. I wonder who that is. Over in Civil War: Front Line (2006) #3, the press is still deep in the trenches, and there is a lot of talking happening. Everyone is talking. Some folks are being interviewed. Nobody is doing shit. It's getting... boring. It's also getting very confusing.

BUT.

We are FINALLY, at least in this ‘brief’ (ah, who the fuck am I kidding here) recap, at the stage where I am mentally prepared to talk about The Great Civil War Standoff (aka, Please, Just Start Punching Already) and promptly skip to HOLY FUCK NOT THIS MUCH PUNCHING, boooooys, what are you doing??? (I rock myself in the corner.) As mentioned, the whole thing sorta stalls while each side is staring at each other with deep, unspoken yearning, waiting for the BIG fight, while smaller fights start breaking out all over the place. And because event comics are an actual nightmare, I am going to stop talking about the tie-ins here. I’ve set the scene, now just assume there’s a TON of random skirmishes happening, Cap and Spider-Man have already thrown hands (yo, this pretends to be a winteriron timeline, go look for your shippy business elsewhere, I am hungry), a bunch of unimportant extras are getting hurt or worse, and at this point, it’s just Tony vs. Steve and their twisted moral compasses playing an extremely violent game of chicken. I know, I know—I am taking a big skip after I just dropped an obscene amount of lore on you. But listen. Event tie-ins, and I cannot state it enough, are so messy and out of order while… being in order, sorta. You get to one good bit, and then Marvel chucks another 2,000 issues between you and the next good bit, and suddenly, you’re sitting there, waiting for the cliffhanger to be explained while trying to remember why the hell you should care what Quicksilver was doing five minutes before it happened and why you can’t just skip ahead to the yummy shit. Headache material, honestly. So, anyway. The scene has been set. Yay. Civil War is in progress. What we know now and what I am desperately trying to remember here:

Bucky is still in the wind.

Steve’s resistance is being annoying and resisting, but occasionally making sense, gaining traction, and also getting innocent people hurt left and right.

Tony is entering his “I am a very scary man” era and is also getting people hurt left and right, both physically and emotionally.

Peter is still with Tony but is having a minor existential crisis every five minutes on the account of emotional hurt, and barely any other Marvel issue in this timeline doesn't have an opinion on why he is still with Tony, is he sucking his dick or what, 'thought he was the good guy'/'ah yeah, this is why Tony needed him', etc.

The X-Men are staying out of it, mostly, because they’ve seen this movie before.

Deadpool and Cable, as well as about a gazillion other supers, have their own shit going on, but I refuse to get into that.

The Thunderbolts are being shady, surprise surprise, and they only get an honorable mention here ‘cause I’ve mentioned them earlier to demonstrate Tony’s spiral into being not just a bit of an asshole but very much an asshole.

Reed is so into Tony that he’s about to do something crazy. (I don’t even know if the touching is consensual at this point, since he is absolutely whipped by Tony, and it stinks of Stockholm syndrome.) So, now that we have decided on where we are and had a cup of tea/smoke, let’s have a look at the actual Civil War issues as they proceed, Captain America Civil War issues and Iron Man issues, skip a bunch of other important shit after, but ultimately, get to where we need to be before Part 3 of me posting (some other day) because I want to talk about Tony and Bucky and not about Civil War.

Civil War (2006) #3 Alright, we are finally here, because Civil War #3 is where shit gets real. Tony, being the tactical genius and emotionally constipated mess that he is, decides that it’s time to spring a trap on Team Cap. He and his Pro-Reg team set up a fake distress call because Steve is Steve, and if there’s even the slightest chance someone needs saving, he’s gonna show up. Boom. Steve does, of course, and Steve and his Underground Resistance walk straight into it. This finally gives us the most tense superhero standoff so far, with S.H.I.E.L.D. hovering overhead, a ton of supers on both sides locked, loaded, and ready to throw hands, and Peter right in the middle, not knowing how the fuck he got stuck with this lot. Tony, to his credit, tries to be the adult here. He actually reaches out, extends an olive branch, and tries to talk some sense into Steve before this escalates into full-out war (okay, okay, he tells him to chill the fuck out and comply, in slightly different words, but there is an actual amnesty Tony has worked out if Steve goes willingly, so he did try). Steve, being the absolute icon of stubbornness that he is, nods. Agrees to talk, at least. And immediately tries to take Tony down using some sneaky tech. Which gives us Tony vs. Steve, and it is GLORIOUS. These two beat the absolute crap out of each other, while everyone else on their respective teams also starts brawling (dozens/hundreds), with caped bodies flying, punches being thrown, and Peter still mostly blinking, but also fighting, while being upset that he failed to mediate between his two extremely stupid super dads and is not enjoying the whole “exhausted child of divorce” role they’ve been trying to pin on him. The fight between Tony and Steve is brutal, but Tony actually has an edge, since he’s Extremis-enhanced, a tech genius, years ahead in strategy, bla-bla-bla—so Steve is struggling. It goes on for a while, this fight, and then, the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers. Because Thor (codename “Lightning”—this is important) shows up to backup Team Tony. Which shouldn’t be a big deal, right? We suspected it, since hammer and all, but... christ.

Civil War #4 is where we go from “Oh shit” to “OH FUCK NO.” The Thor that shows up at the end of Civil War #3 is not… actually Thor? Only in comic books, folks, since he’s a clone that Tony, Reed, and Hank Pym cooked up in a lab. While Team Cap is a bit shook, (they take Thor being a god of thunder seriously, he’s also been presumed dead for ages), Tony is trying to get Steve to give up, but Steve is having none of it. It seems largely (ha!) in favor of Team Tony right now, until Goliath (a massive giant person, can shrink down, used to be buddies with Thor, actually) shows up for Team Cap and Thor… kills the fuck out of his nice buddy, making everyone, Tony included, freeze in a “what the actual fuck just happened?” terror, since innocents getting hurt and extras getting hurt are sorta… whatever, but this is one of their own, technically, biting it. Team Cap calls for a retreat, very shook, and Reed’s Sue Storm is the first important superhero to straight-up bail on the Pro-Registration side right this moment because she is DONE with this bullshit and with Reed, who has been such an asshole to Fantastic Four, honestly—not giving a crap about Johnny being in a coma and possibly (at the very least emotionally) cheating on her with Tony. Sue is so done that she shields Team Cap long enough for them to get away, and after the fight writes Reed a dramatic “I’m leaving you, please feed yourself, there’s oily fish” note, and takes Johnny (who is no longer in a coma, yay!) with her to fight the good fight, or a fight, as long as it's not on Reed's side. And on both sides, folks on the sideline are starting to really question leadership and what kind of fight it really is. Peter is actually asking, “Wait… are we the baddies?” having massive doubts about Tony, and Steve doesn’t seem to give a shit how many of his friends get hurt, and it’s all very fucking gutting and not even a little funny. In general, this looks bad for both Steve and Tony, because Steve is throwing his side against Tony’s like cannon fodder and doesn’t seem to listen to anyone’s opinions on the fact that amnesty is at least worth discussing at this point, and Tony is after causing massive (ha!) death with a faulty clone, so a lot of superheroes are—if not outright bailing and changing sides now—at least considering it. Tony actually pays for Goliath’s funeral, since he was a cool guy and didn’t shrink down after dying. Had to buy him a massive amount of plots because, well… giant. Has a gutting interaction with his widow that tries to remind him what Tony is doing this for to begin with. For me this is a very important issue for Tony's character in this. He pays for Goliath’s funeral, because that’s who Tony is—he genuinely does care. But instead of acknowledging that this is the moment to stop, to rethink, to pull back, he keeps going, because, sadly, caring doesn’t stop him from marching forward and getting deeper and deeper into this.

Captain America (2004) #22 – The One Where Steve Gets Laid (and Sharon Gets Therapy for related reasons)

While Tony and Steve are busy emotionally wrecking each other on a public stage, we take a brief (very) detour into the mess that is Steve Rogers’ love life. Hill, who has been on a power trip ever since Fury went underground, decides that since Steve is still out there resisting like a stubborn bastard, someone needs to bring him in. And who better than his kinda-ex, kinda-current, definitely-in-love-with-him S.H.I.E.L.D. agent girlfriend?

Sharon is not thrilled because she’s really not here for the double standards. Like, Tony liaises (👀) with half of the superhero community, according to her, and the better half of S.H.I.E.L.D and nobody gives him shit, but the moment she has a little love crisis and starts questioning where her loyalty actually lies, suddenly, it’s a whole thing.

But fine. Mission accepted.

Sharon sets out to “bring Steve in”—by which I mean she tracks him down, immediately bangs him, and then quotes dead presidents at him in the post-coital glow. And because it's also Steve's love language, he also starts quoting dead presidents back. (If you’ve ever wondered what Steve’s pillow talk is like, now you know.)

Now, in case you were still wondering whether Sharon is truly down bad for Steve, let’s talk about how she sabotaged her own mission by giving the strike team (cape-killers) the wrong address. On purpose. So she could a) bang Steve and b) display her undying passion for those dead president quotes.

And this is why Sharon is in therapy. Because, as it turns out, this is how S.H.I.E.L.D. traditionally deals with traitors.

For those who remember what I talked about in Part 1 of this pre-civil war, here is something: Red Skull and Lukin are still out there, watching all of this unfold like it’s their personal Netflix binge, and they are THRIVING. They love that the heroes who should be stopping them are too busy punching each other instead. And because they are absolute dickheads, they are also actively manipulating Sharon’s emotions to make her feelings for Steve even stronger.

(Which explains the banging. Though, let’s be honest—she was into it.)

Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #535 (and half of the next Spider-Man-specific issue, sorta) – The One Where Tony Officially Breaks Peter’s Heart (And Ours) Alright, kids, this is it, and you should be thankful I made you crack a smile over dead presidents (hopefully), because this is crying-level shit.

This is where Peter starts realizing that maybe, just maybe, signing up with Tony was a colossal fucking mistake— and not just sorta feeling it.

Tony, still deeply entrenched in his “I Am the Government Now” phase, still has a soft spot for Peter (awww, tragic) and when Peter demands to see where the prisoners he is bringing in and not loving it are kept, Tony decides that it’s time to give Peter the full tour of the Negative Zone prison (a very dodgy place, tbh).

And our science nerd, all-around good guy, man with a conscience—takes one look at the absolute nightmare Tony has built and goes, “Wait. What the actual fuck is this? You can't be serious.” Tony: “Oh, yeah, this? This is where we’re locking up heroes who don’t register. Indefinitely. Without trial. In a literal alternate dimension, so no lawyer can ever get them out.” Peter, blinking hard, possibly resisting the urge to throw up: “…Excuse me?” Peter tries to confront Tony about it, he does, but very quickly catches on that Tony is not above implying he can do the same to him. Which is… whelp.

The whole conversation goes something like this, if you want a slightly longer version (see visuals for the full one): Peter: “Hey, Tony, quick question—what the fuck?” Tony: “Ah, Peter, my boy, don’t worry about it, this is for the greater good.” Peter: “The greater good? Again, what the fuck?” Tony: “You’re being dramatic.” Peter: “Am I? Am I though?” Tony: “Peter…” Peter: “Dad?” (happens) Tony promptly tries to ship Peter off on some other business to get him to cool off, but Peter is finally on board with the fact that this man has cracked, and he no longer feels safe around him. He doesn't even trusts MJ and Aunt May with Tony anymore (threats have been made) and tries to take them and go on the run. And then… He and Tony end up exchanging punches. God, it’s so bad and upsetting, you have no idea. I have no jokes for this, and ship it, don’t ship it, but this is the ultimate betrayal on Tony’s part. Peter is falling apart after, barely escaping, not knowing where to go, and Tony… is also feeling heartbroken, equally as gutted. I’m gonna leave this here for now, since we need to go into some other issues before we continue with this plotline. But you get me, yes? I need tissues when I think about this.

Captain America (2004) #23 - BUCKY!

Alright, everyone, take a deep breath. We are finally getting to the Bucky part of this winteriron timeline.

Bucky is officially entering the chat, and he is looking DAMN FINE while doing it, got a new hair-dew + arm and everything. He also has a lot of feelings while breaking into a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility to pull some spy shit for Fury, because of course he is, and I am devastated I am running out of image limit here soon.

He’s absolutely judging Steve for leading a resistance movement and somehow not inviting him... and sorta doing it the way he's doing it.

He’s also side-eyeing Tony for being a government stooge, even though that’s neither here nor there, since they don’t actually know each other at all (yet), but awareness is awareness, and it still doesn’t stop him from forming an opinion.

Bucky is, in fact, just generally pissed. And sexy. Always sexy. But the best part—and why Bucky really should be shaking hands with Peter here (another shoutout to winterspider)—is that Bucky is watching Steve and Tony’s breakup in real-time and judging both of them.

His basic thoughts on the matter boil down to “Wow, I left you two alone for five minutes, and this is what happens?” since while Steve and Tony are out here making Civil War everyone’s problem, Bucky is off-screen, forced into being hot and competent, actually doing something productive by hunting real villains.

He has zero actual desire to get involved in the war itself, though he does seem to be more pro-Steve, obviously, and is way more concerned about Red Skull and Lukin than he is about whatever the hell Steve and Tony are doing.

Speaking of villains, Red Skull, who we find out is using Doom’s tech but not actually working with him, is under the impression that the whole Civil War was his big, evil, successful plan. (It wasn’t, everyone contributed, but let’s humor him.)

On the slightly more angsty side—because Bucky never misses an opportunity for angst, picked it up from Steve—he does blame himself a little bit for Civil War, since some of the shit he did when he first got defrosted was cited as part of the long-ass list of “Why the SRA Needs to Exist.” Not that he’s spiraling over it, but he’s self-aware enough to recognize he helped fuel the fire. But mostly, he’s doing what Bucky kicks ass at—being hot in shadows, judging everyone, avoiding Steve’s nonsense, avoiding Tony’s nonsense, and handling actual problems. God, I want his babies.

Civil War (2006) #5

Where we swing back to Tony being a massive dick about almost everything—except for the fact that he loves Peter, one way or another.

At this point, they are sorta in the process of arguing/fighting (there is some timeline overlap), Peter is trying to run away from him, and when S.H.I.E.L.D. is about to take it too far, Tony absolutely panics because he cannot see Peter hurt.

But Peter is now technically a fugitive, and Tony’s side has recruited some deeply unhinged people, so it’s open season on Spidey, with very specific instructions that Peter is to be brought in alive and unharmed—no matter what.

That would have been great… except Peter is now running on pure panic and heartbreak, immediately realizes he is completely fucked, ends up in a stinky sewer, and gets his ass kicked into next week.

He almost dies but gets saved by Punisher of all people, who promptly brings him to Steve and the Resistance (where Sue and Johnny are pretending to be a married couple for a mission, which is weird—let’s not talk about it).

Meanwhile, Tony is spiraling. Again.

His entire strategy is falling apart, Sue Storm has already dumped Reed over this bullshit war, Steve is still out there leading his resistance, and now his own protégé—his son in all but name—has turned against him.

Tony is visibly wrecked over Peter’s defection, but since he has the emotional processing skills of a brick, he just channels all that heartbreak into “fine, let’s get Daredevil arrested next” energy, which he does—for which he is given a piece of silver and called Judas. (Brutal.)

That’s not to say Tony doesn’t care. He very clearly does, and this issue makes it obvious that he still sees Peter as a kid who needs protection, even when Peter himself doesn’t want it. But his way of showing it is, unfortunately, locking up Peter’s friends in a pocket dimension and putting a hit out on him (technically), so, uh… yeah.

Meanwhile, Steve is also getting more extreme, starting to questionably recruit people he normally wouldn’t, and letting Punisher into his little rebellion. (Which is definitely going to end well. Totally.) He is also over the moon Peter is on his side now and announces it to the others while... Peter is still unconscious. Now tell me both Steve and Tony are not simply fighting here over who gets to read him a bedtime story? Come on.

The Invincible Iron Man (2004) #13 & Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #536: (Tony’s Possible Career Change & Peter’s “Fuck You” Tour)

Alright, so The Invincible Iron Man (2004) #13 is technically Tony’s first solo Civil War issue, but fuck all actually happens.

It’s mostly a lot of “Tony, what the fuck are we doing?” meetings, brooding with some old friends, chatting to Happy while being deeply unhappy, and simultaneously spiraling, yet still, and committing war crimes in the name of national security. (Multitasking, sure.)

But one major thing does happen here, and while it’s just an offer at this point, it’s HUGE:

They start floating the idea of Tony taking over as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

At this point, S.H.I.E.L.D. is still running itself into the ground under Maria Hill’s special brand of leadership, but someone suggests that maybe, just maybe, the guy who is single-handedly running the actual show anyway should just be in charge of the whole thing.

And while that doesn’t happen just yet, it changes EVERYTHING for what happens post-Civil War. When it finally comes, is going to be a game-changer for his relationship with Bucky later on. (Yes, we are keeping our winteriron priorities straight, thank you.)

So, while this is happening and I am yawning 'cause Tony's first issue is so fucking underwhelming, in the Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #536, we pick up from Peter’s dramatic escape and near-death sewer experience, and things are finally coming to a head.

Peter, now officially 100% done with Tony’s bullshit, does something that could not be a bigger middle finger if he tried.

He digs out his old, classic Spider-Man suit (because fuck the Iron Spider, fuck you, Tony, I called you Dad unironically, you were my family, WTF), goes on national TV, and gives a full speech dragging the entire SRA, the Civil War, and Tony himself.

And as a helpful reminder here… Peter is not a “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” in these comic books—he is a fucking legend, a bright, shining beacon of good for so many people (while still a menace to others, of course), and what he says actually matters.

For all of my shippy jokes and the subtext, there is a real reason why both sides want him. And it’s not just because he’s hella adorable and can kick things really hard.

When he talks, people listen. And when he does start talking, he absolutely obliterates the SRA, calls it unconstitutional, publicly calls out the people supporting it, and tells the world that he refuses to be part of it anymore. Tony loses his shit.

Okay, okay, some food for thought here, for once not related to ships I see everywhere (I have a sick mind and you are somehow still reading this, so don't ask me what's wrong with me and I will not ask you what's wrong with you).

Now, before anyone grabs their pitchforks, this is not me defending Tony’s actions (man makes a LOT of mistakes, obviously), but it is also worth remembering that he’s not a total monster here. He genuinely believes that what he’s doing is necessary, and unlike in the MCU where it’s all “let’s get a leash because one building blew up and we might have destroyed a country” the 616 version of Tony actually has a more thought-out (if deeply flawed) reason for being on the Pro-Reg side.

So, what is Tony trying to sell people on here?

Superheroes need to be trained. The trigger event for the SRA was a bunch of untrained, reality-TV-era heroes going up against a villain way out of their league, and as a result, a school full of children exploded. From Tony’s perspective, this was preventable. If these heroes had been properly trained, those kids (and some other people, but I mostly say kids, this is me not being nitty-gritty accurate about everything) wouldn’t be dead. This is not entirely wrong, but his method of fixing it is basically turning superheroes into government employees and locking up anyone who doesn’t comply, which is… less great.

The public has lost trust in superheroes. And Tony, unlike Steve, actually cares about public perception, comes with his brand and all. He sees this as a way to restore faith in the superhero community by offering transparency and accountability. The problem is obviously the way it’s being enforced is, again, deeply flawed and increasingly authoritarian.

The alternative, in his mind, is worse. He is absolutely cracked as far as Peter is concerned (fair), but here’s where Tony’s futurist brain actually screws him over—because he is not wrong when he says that if the superheroes don’t regulate themselves, the government will do it for them, and it’ll be worse. He thinks he’s getting ahead of the inevitable, but instead of negotiating and making sure the law is fair, he enforces it like an actual jackbooted stormtrooper.

So yeah, Tony is still a mess, and he’s still doing a lot of fucked-up things, but his core reasoning isn’t as evil as some people paint it in here and maybe even not as bad as I paint it overall in this recap.

He truly thinks he’s saving lives and making the world safer. He’s just doing it in the most morally questionable, emotionally compromised way possible, and at some point, even he knows it’s spiraling. That doesn’t excuse the Negative Zone prison or bounty hunting his own allies, engaging in shady business and, Jesus Fuck, cloning Thor, but it does explain why he started down this path in the first place. Tony is also on the side of the law and, for the most part, public opinion here (mostly, since actual normal public is scared AF right now). The problem is, the law isn’t always right, and Tony, in all his genius, somehow keeps forgetting that.

Now let’s hop over to Steve (“Oh No, Babe, What Are You Doing?” should be the title of his entire movement) and talk about how his ideals are great but his execution is a trainwreck. Look, Steve is not wrong—but he’s also not right in the way he thinks he is. And the biggest issue with Steve in Civil War is that his entire approach boils down to “Fuck No.” That’s it. No. No compromise. No alternative plan. Just hardcore, unwavering, freedom-loving NO. Steve’s Core Beliefs in Civil War:

"This is about freedom." Steve believes heroes should have the right to make their own choices about when and how they act, and he fundamentally rejects the idea that they should be forced to register. (Fair point, buddy, but maybe think of a Plan B? No? Cool, cool.)

"If the government can force us to do this, what’s next?” Steve has read a history book before and is fully aware that government overreach never stops at just one bad idea. And considering how mutants have already been treated (X-men and mutants are a very persecuted group here), he is not about to wait around and find out what comes next.

“I will not be controlled.” Instead of seeing if there’s a way to meet halfway or at least slow things down, Steve immediately goes, “Fuck this,” ditches his government job, and starts an underground resistance movement.

Which brings us to Steve’s biggest flaw in Civil War. Where Steve Screws Up:

Steve doesn’t even TRY to negotiate. Tony, for all his shady billionaire manipulation tactics, at least pretended to be open to discussion. Steve refused outright. Instead of using his influence to propose a better system when he still absolutely can, he straight-up vanishes into the night like Batman with extra patriotism.

His resistance is a mess. Unlike Tony, who is (somewhat) organizing a structured system, Steve’s team is basically “whoever wants to punch the government in the face” with no real plan beyond “resist.” He takes Punisher in, for crying out loud. There are no rules, no real discussions about alternatives, and no clear path forward with Steve's movement at all. This means his resistance is a bunch of scared, desperate heroes who are putting civilians in danger while trying to evade capture and kinda... all want to go home.

He is willing to let people get hurt for his cause. People are getting hurt left and right, not just his own team but also civilians caught in the crossfire. Instead of adapting or trying to find a smarter way forward, Steve just keeps doubling down, because this man went all-in on a bad bet and refuses to walk away from the table.

He does not listen. To anyone. A lot of people would have been on his side if he had actually tried to talk about a solution instead of running headfirst into a guerrilla war. Even when his own people start to question him, he digs his heels in and refuses to budge. Fuck them and the horse they rode in on is basic response to any "Emm... dude?"

Steve vs. Tony: The Real Tragedy

Steve sees Tony as a sellout, Tony sees Steve as reckless and the reality here is that they’re both kind of right.

Steve is fighting for freedom, but his method is chaotic and ultimately very dangerous. Tony is trying to prevent chaos, but his method is authoritarian, ruthless, and deeply problematic. And this is why Civil War is what it is. And why it is a lot more fun than the MCU one, if you properly get into it. At the end of the day, comic book Civil War isn’t just about laws and the SRA—it’s about two men who genuinely believe they’re doing the right thing, both completely incapable of seeing the middle ground. And, well… it all ends in disaster, obviously.

Captain America (2004) #24: In which Steve takes a page out of Bucky's book and punches the right people (for, like, 5 whole seconds) for a change. Finally! A break from all the Civil War emotional trauma to remind us that, yeah, Steve is a hero first, war criminal second. I am gonna guess it’s because we’re getting close to the finish line here (you are nearly free, yay!), so they just had to show Steve fighting someone other than his own friends for once. Progress. For… reasons.

He’s still knee-deep in Civil War Resistance mode, but he remembers for one night that there are actual bad guys in the world and focuses on a real threat: Hydra. (Or Hydra-adjacent assholes. And explosions. Lots of explosions.)

So, in this quick issue, Steve teams up with Sharon, who is now secretly working with Fury (who is still underground being an off-brand James Bond with a cigar budget, doing his own resistance thing much better), and together, they take on some good ol’ Hydra goons. Well, Steve takes on Hydra goons by blowing them up (probably killing them, but let’s just say “off-screen unconsciousness” for the sake of the PG-13 rating), and Sharon rolls in with her flying car to rescue him from S.H.I.E.L.D.

And, oh yeah, Red Skull is still lurking in the background, thriving on the fact that the Civil War is keeping everyone too distracted to stop him. He’s over here cackling like a Scooby-Doo villain, making sure Steve and Tony stay too busy ruining each other’s lives to notice he’s playing puppet master behind the scenes. (Smart move, honestly. Props to him for being the one guy who actually planned his shit out properly.)

Look, the details might be fuzzy (it’s getting late for me here), but the core takeaway is this: Cap is actually being Captain America again for an entire issue—stopping real threats, foiling evil plans, and protecting people instead of just yeeting his side at Tony’s.

The Invincible Iron Man (2004) #14

A good Tony issue following a good Steve issue… I wonder why that is. Not a good issue in the sense that Tony’s thriving—oh no, this man is drowning in consequences—but good in the sense that we finally get a proper deep dive into the emotional wreckage that is Tony Stark, destroyer of friendships, king of bad decisions, and certified government tool (actual fucking tool, honestly, but I love him and he can have Bucky’s babies, though I am not into mpreg).

This issue is actually packed.

Happy is dying in a hospital bed, Steve is still actively resisting arrest, Peter is on a fugitive road trip, and Sue Storm is ready to rip Tony’s head off for ruining her marriage. The government is still offering him more power, because sure, let’s give the stressed-out man on the verge of a breakdown full control over the most powerful intelligence agency on Earth.

Anyhow… not to go into too much detail here, but Tony cannot resist one last chance to talk things out with Steve and arranges a stadium meeting with Cap. You might think, “Oh, good, they’re going to try reasoning with each other like adults!” HAHAHA, NOPE.

The meeting lasts about five seconds before it devolves into a fight, which Steve… starts again. The emotional tension is through the roof, Peter is there too (aww, hurts), and they’re not just fighting over the SRA, they’re fighting over their entire broken relationship. If someone played “It’s Time to Go” by Taylor Swift over this sequence, it would fit perfectly.

Though Tony actually mostly fights with Peter here and still manages to pay him a compliment in the process, giving us hope that not all is lost, which we desperately need. But overall, the whole thing is still a disaster. Life is fully kicking Tony's ass from all directions, the temptation to drown it in whiskey is creeping back in, he is considering hitting the bottle, and… Tony is at a crossroads. He’s losing everyone who ever mattered to him, his side is looking increasingly shady, and the weight of everything is crashing down on him. We actually get some raw, human, vulnerable Tony, instead of just “mustache-twirling villain” Tony. So yeah, finally, a good Tony issue.

In case you were wondering, Peter is in fact fully on team Cap now, not just for the stadium fight, and in the Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #537 still has his morals intact (bless him), and this issue is about reinforcing that.

So, Steve—who is now basically Peter’s new/old father figure, 'sits' him down and hits him with the big speech.

And, my GOD, does he deliver it.

He drops one of the most iconic Captain America monologues in all of comic book history:

“Doesn’t matter what the press says. Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mob say. Doesn’t matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences.”

And you just know this wrecks Peter emotionally, because this is exactly the kind of moral backbone that made him idolize heroes in the first place. This is the moment where Peter fully solidifies his stance. He’s not just on Team Cap because he got burned by Tony—he believes in what Steve is saying. Tony is having an emotional crisis over Peter leaving, which I completely understand, and... Peter also throws some flirty one-liners at the Cap, since our babe can't help it.

Civil War (2006) #6 and we are at maximum endgame (ugh, still hurts) mode now.

At this point in the war, neither side is even pretending to be civil despite moments of personal growth, slash remembering who they are, and both Steve and Tony have fully committed to their respective roles as Head of the Underground Resistance (Steve) and CEO of Government Overreach Inc. (Tony).

We start off with Tony and Reed in full villain arc, sipping coffee and talking about how crime rates are dropping (I have no idea how, since all the superheroes are busy beating the shit out of each other instead of fighting crime, but never mind me), and immediately move on to the Punisher deciding today is the day for homicide.

He sneaks into the Baxter Building (as one does) to steal information on “Number 42” which is not Tony’s latest suit model but instead the name for his prison in the Negative Zone where they’re throwing unregistered heroes indefinitely and that caused Peter and Tony to block each other on Facebook.

Totally normal, non-dystopian behavior, nothing to see here.

Sue Storm is out here making power moves too, pulling up to Atlantis and trying to convince Namor to get off his fishy ass and help Team Cap. Namor, in true “I am too sexy to care” fashion, basically shrugs and says, “Surface problems? Sounds like a you problem,” before dramatically flipping his cape and walking away. (Sue, girl, I admire the effort and only mention it, cause you are one of the very few truly likable characters in this Event.)

Back at Team Cap’s HQ, Steve unveils his master plan: an all-out raid on the Negative Zone prison to free their captured allies. The team is hyped, ready for action—until Punisher casually murders two villains in cold blood right in front of everyone because they dared to ask if they could help. Steve, who may be a war criminal but still has standards, absolutely loses it and beats the hell out of Frank before throwing him out of the rebellion.

Tony on his end is having an emotional meeting with Miriam Sharpe (aka, “Tony’s #1 Fan Who Also Made Him Feel Like Shit at That Funeral”). He throws some cash at a pretty garden with angels for the dead kids, she thanks him for all his hard work but also makes it clear that, yeah, this war is costing him everything. (Gee, thanks for the reminder, Miriam, I’m sure Tony didn’t notice he’s lost literally all of his friends by now.)

The issue ends with Steve pulling a classic Uno Reverse Card on Tony. The Pro-Reg forces think they’re about to stomp the rebellion once and for all, but—surprise, bitches!—Team Cap knew there was a mole in their ranks (Ragnarök, I’m looking at you, you Dollar Store Thor knockoff), and they had Hulkling impersonate Hank Pym to sneak in and free all the captured heroes before the fight even starts. So, yeah. Big-ass battle incoming, and I can nearly go to sleep.

Civil War (2006) #7 You’ve made it! (I low-key question if anyone actually did make it this far, but I am very into this now, so…)

This is the big one. The final battle. The moment where all this superhero divorce drama comes to a head, and oh my God, it is so much.

So, after about a million issues of emotional devastation, betrayal, and Peter collecting father figures like infinity stones, we finally get the massive all-out brawl between Team Cap and Team Tony. And when I say massive, I mean half the Marvel Universe is throwing hands in the middle of New York City. Superpowered beings are crashing through buildings, explosions are going off everywhere, and don't ask me why they thought “protecting civilians” and “obliterating the city” were compatible ideas.

Steve and Tony really do go at it like two exes who just found out they were sleeping with the same person (Peter, doll, what are you doing? Kidding, kidding).

Steve is beating the absolute shit out of Tony, and Tony—who is running on the fumes of guilt and exhaustion—lets him.

Because Tony is ready to die. That’s right. Tony, who has been holding onto control like his life depends on it (because it literally does), just gives up, drops the metaphorical gloves, and basically tells Steve: “Go ahead, finish it.”

And Steve almost does.

(Not to draw parallels here, but Bucky tried to pull the same move with him and proceed with murder-kill when he was brainwashed. What's Steve's excuse here?)

Like, Steve almost wins. The Resistance might not have, but Steve does. He is seconds away from beating Tony to actual death in the middle of the nightmare they’ve caused—but then. Civilians. Regular-ass, non-superpowered, completely terrified people tackle Steve to the ground.

They’re not protecting Tony (maybe a little, it's up for debate, see the panels)—they’re stopping Steve. Because holy shit, Steve. Look at what you’ve done. Steve does. Look. And finally sees it.

The destruction, the sheer chaos, the city that’s half in ruins because of this war. He sees the fear in their eyes and realizes that this isn’t about freedom anymore. He’s lost the plot. They’ve all kind of lost the plot, and someone has to give up, and he will not let Tony beat him to it.

So, Steve. Fucking. Stops.

He takes off his mask, drops his shield, and says, “It’s over.” He turns himself in. He turns Steve Rogers in specifically, essentially following the law, and Team Cap officially loses the war.

At the end of this, Tony—bruised, in desperate need of a good fuck (hey, Bucky, where you at?), and still internally monologuing about how the fuck his life turned into this—is appointed Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. And this is how, after so many words, christ, the Civil War officially, techically ends, and the winteriron timeline can properly begin. Happy tears, I am crying happy tears right now.

So, Part 3 of this ‘brief’ (lol) timeline is coming ASAP, and it does deliver on some juicy Bucky and Tony interactions—actual on-page moments, not just me connecting the angst dots with wishful thinking, promise.

And if you’re thinking things might slow down now—oh, my sweet summer child. We are only just getting to the fun part, since Captain America essentially becomes Bucky’s comic book. The stakes are different, the players have shifted, but Tony and Bucky finally start existing in the same space.

If Civil War was crazy, what happens next is the part where we go off the rails entirely in the best possible way.

To confirm, where we are:

Bucky is in the wind but possibly smoking cigars with Fury.

Bad guys who were ignored for this Event do have some plotty evil planned.

Tony is in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. and he still has to keep hunting down anti-registration supers.

Steve is alive and in jail. For now.

And Peter—oh God, I have to mention this, because I must, and this just further confirms that some of the editors were shipping Peter with someone other than MJ.

So, Peter is an absolute disaster, thanks for asking. And if you know comic books and reading this just to laugh at me getting shit wrong and are wondering, “Wow, does she about to mention One More Day?”—yes. Yes, I am. And I don’t want to talk about it. But I will, just for a second.

One More Day (2007) is Marvel committing a crime against humanity.

It’s a four-issue arc where Marvel editorial decided Peter was too happy and needed to suffer more, so they erased his marriage to MJ from existence. (Ah, yeah, he was married to her this whole time, in case I didn’t mention it, but I was too busy pushing Starker on people if the winteriron angle didn’t work out.)

Basically, after Civil War, Peter’s life goes to absolute hell. He unmasked, so every villain with a grudge is coming for him, Kingpin puts out a hit, and Aunt May gets shot.

Peter, being the absolute hero of a man that he is, tries everything to save her. He begs Tony for help (doesn’t work). He tries to make a deal with Doctor Strange (doesn’t work). And just when it looks like May is going to die, the literal devil (Mephisto) shows up and is like, “Hey, Pete, what if I saved your aunt, but in exchange, I erased your marriage to MJ from existence so you two never got married and will never be happy together?”

And Peter and MJ actually say yes. BOOM. Years of character development and one of Marvel’s most iconic relationships is GONE, conveniently removing all that pesky guilt when Peter flirts with older men.

So, Aunt May lives, but now Peter and MJ were never married, and no one remembers he unmasked during Civil War. The comic book fandom hates it. The writers regret it. Everyone pretends it didn’t happen. Marvel did make a movie about this though, kinda. Also kidding. But for real, it’s one of the most infamous and universally despised retcons in Marvel history.

And on that cheerful and very nerdy note, thank you for reading.

Masterpost with all parts

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darl-ingfics · 2 days ago

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Feveruary Day 5: "Could you just hold me?"

Fandom: Seventeen

Sickie: Seungkwan, Vernon, Dino (food poisoning)

Caregiver(s): Seventeen

Word Count: 1,362

Notes: A prequel-esque to Come Lean Your Back on Me. It's mentioned in passing in that fic.

It was a good idea, they said. It was going to be fun, they said. It was good for morale, they said.

Well. It was three in the morning. And Hansol was curled up on the bathroom floor, waiting for death. He’d woken up over an hour ago to stabbing pain in his stomach, giving his sleep-addled brain about three seconds before he threw up the late night snacks Seungkwan and Chan had talked him into earlier. There were few things Hansol hated as much as throwing up, and throwing up in his own bed? Every time Hansol had a moment of peace on the bathroom floor, that exact thought shot back through his head, causing equal pain to whatever vengeance his stomach was currently pulling.

Speaking of vengeance, just as Hansol felt the tell-tale signs of bile creeping up his throat, he heard the door open. He didn’t get the chance to see who it was before he was leaning over the toilet again, completely floored that there was anything left in his stomach to vomit up.

“Oh no…” A warm hand settled on his back, rubbing his spine soothingly. Hansol tensed slightly, but the spasm of his muscles from another wave of vomiting hid it well. Or the mystery member didn’t much care.

The hand didn’t leave Hansol’s back until he coughing up a mouthful of spit, clearing his mouth of the disgustingness therein. He took a deep breath, let it go, and then let himself fall back against his caretaker.

The hands enveloped him, one hand wrapping up to scratch at his bangs. “How you feeling, bud?” Wonwoo.

Hansol groaned, rubbing at his cramping abdomen. “Like shit.”

“I can see that. How long have you felt like shit?”

“About an hour.” Hansol swallowed thickly, wincing at the unfortunate, lingering taste of sick in his mouth. “I’ve thrown up about four times already.”

“Four? In an hour?” Wonwoo asked. He hadn’t stopped scratching Hansol’s head, and the younger man was thankful for that. “And you just started feeling like this?”

Hansol nodded. “Kwannie and Channie and I… we got some late night snacks and… I don’t think they agreed with me…”

Wonwoo moaned. “Please tell me you didn’t go to…”

“You know we did,” Hansol whined, tipping his head back in regret.

“Oh, Sollie…” Wonwoo rested his cheek against Hansol’s head. “I’m so sorry.”

“Me too…” Hansol sniffled, eyes filling with tears against his will. He shoved the heels of his hands into his eyes. “I hate this.”

“I know, sweetheart, I know.” Wonwoo gave him a gentle squeeze, so as not to upset his body any more than it already was. Hansol would have to thank him for that later. “What’re the odds Kwannie and Chan are gonna wake up in this same situation?”

“High. We all ate the same things.”

“Fuck.”

“Fuck is right.”

Carats had often joked that Jeonghan was the ‘mom’ of Seventeen. Jeonghan usually took it in stride, playing into the fans’ role for him, because he did find it so easy to care for his members. Being an older brother was second nature to him. And he loved messing with Seungcheol and gettin him all flustered calling him ‘dad.’

Never had he felt more like a mom then when a very sheepish Chan slunk into his bedroom at four am and simply said, “Hyung, I threw up.”

Jeonghan groaned, sniffled roughly (he’d been fighting a cold,) before sitting up. “Where?”

“My room…”

“In your bed?”

Chan shook his head. “No, I made it to the garbage can. But I don’t feel well…”

Jeonghan sighed, pushing himself up from his bed. “Think you’re gonna throw up again?”

“Probably?” Chan pressed his hands against his abdomen. “My stomach feels really… angry.”

“Any other symptoms?” Jeonghan frowned as he pressed his wrist against Chan’s forehead. “You feel sweaty, but not hot.”

“Yeah, it’s just the stomach pain,” Chan replied. “I think…” He paused, swallowing. Jeonghan’s frown deepened. That wasn’t a swallow of nausea. No, he knew that kind of swallow; that was guilt. “I think it might be food poisoning.”

“And where, pray tell, did you contract food poisoning?”

Chan sighed, shoulders deflating. “I had snacks from the bad place.”

“Channie…” Jeonghan whined, running his hands through his hair. He cleared his throat. “You know you can’t trust that convenience store!”

“I know, but it’s so close, and we were hungry…”

“We?!” Chan froze, eyes blown wide. It was as if he’d slapped a hand over his mouth. He’d been caught a second time, and even with a stuffy nose, Jeonghan could smell a lie like a bloodhound. “Lee Chan, who is we?”

“Um… me and…” Suddenly, Chan gagged, now actually slapping a hand over his mouth. Jeonghan instinctively dove for the garbage can next to his bed, shoving it under the younger man’s chin just in time for him to vomit again. Jeonghan carefully guided Chan to the floor, kneeling with him until he finally stopped gagging. Chan sobbed, and Jeonghan pulled the can from him before pulling the maknae against his chest.

“It’s okay, honey, it’s okay,” Jeonghan soothed gently. “Hyung’s got you now.”

By morning it was obvious to the whole group that their two youngest were unwell. Wonwoo had texted Seungcheol about Hansol, sheepishly admitted that someone would need to handle some unpleasant laundry. Seungcheol had then texted the whole group to be mindful that Hansol wasn’t feeling good. That message was followed with Jeonghan sharing that Chan was also under the weather.

At that moment, Seokmin sighed, knowing exactly where this was going. He jumped out of bed, and hurried to Seungkwan’s room. He found his dear friend fighting for his life, tears streaked down his face as he held onto his stomach as if it were falling apart.

Seokmin pouted sympathetically. “The convenience store curse?”

Seungkwan’s eyes filled with fresh tears. “Don’t make fun of me.”

“Oh, sweetie, I’m not.” Seokmin hurried over to the bed, sweeping Seungkwan’s hair back. “Have you been sick?”

Seungkwan shook his head. “But it’s only a matter of time, isn’t it?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Seokmin knew it meant nothing; it was only a matter of time until Seungkwan’s body turned on him. The older vocalist rubbed at his friend’s shoulder. “Can I do anything for you?”

The look on Seungkwan’s face when he peered up at him was pure puppy dog. “Could you just hold me?”

How could Seokmin say no to that?

It took 48 hours for them to be even remotely human again. 48 hours of tears, puking, and dehydration, all supervised by the careful eyes of their hyungs.

Seungcheol got them out of schedules for two days, offering to cancel the third as well to give them another day of recovery. But all three had refused on account of their big concert coming up in a few days. Seungcheol also took the brunt of responsibility for carrying all three of them back to bed when they’d ended up somewhere else and too weak to get back. Wonwoo and Mingyu often stepped in too, providing the cuddles the sick member so desperately needed.

Jeonghan spent the majority of those 48 hours orchestrating the rest of the team around the task of caring for their youngest brothers. He was never more efficient than when he was caring for his members, and everyone was happier for it. He seemed to know what was needed even before the sick members knew. Jun and Woozi were also very adept at providing for their brothers, always ready to grab medicine or water or anything that they could think of to help their friends.

Joshua had been a big help too, soothing the worst post-fever dream ramblings and singing the youngest members to sleep, helping them ignore the pain for a while. Seokmin and Minghao were also go-to soothers, whispering sweet nothings during the stomach cramps and fever tears.

It was a grueling 48 hours. But it was worth it to prove to their maknaes how much they were loved. And how stupid they were for trusting the convenience store snacks against their better judgement.

#seventeen sickfic #seventeen sick #feveruary #feveruary day 5 #kpop sickfic #kpop sick #svt sickfic #svt sick #sickie seungkwan #sickie vernon #sickie dino #caretakter seventeen #darlingfics

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maythedreadwolftakeyou · 3 days ago

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Veilguard Ecology Part 1

I have decided to channel the ways I am insane by cataloguing the plants, animals, rocks, geography, and what have you we see in Dragon Age, starting with Veilguard. I am starting this with the acknowledgement that all of these things largely exist just as "assets" and "textures" placed around the landscape to the devs rather than thought out inclusions (unlike some of the specific diversity of ecoregions & their contents we see in DAI), so I'm making it my problem instead.

who is this for? me. it is not going to be interesting to most other people beyond a vague "i didn't know that was something you could look at" or a "i like to read about other peoples weird hobbies" thing for everyone else probably. anyway

PROLOGUE PART 1: Minrathous

jumping into the game and what do we have here. two beloved companions we've known for years? no. ignore them. time for grass.

I'm going to use the fieldwork unknown ID naming conventions for plants that aren't referred to by species/common name in these games, though I will speculate as to what they're based on via imported textures. So this will be Grass1. You can see both yellow and green tissue, implying it's either a perennial or an annual that grows multiple rounds in a single season. My bet is perennial. The stems and leaves are both upright and rigid, the leaves angling sharply upward from the stems. This game is nowhere near detailed enough to see ligules, auricles, or trichomes (AND SHOULDNT. to be clear. i can't even imagine how hot my computer would be running) which are like my #1 way to ID grass family in absense of seed head (which these also don't appear to have) so not gonna bother guessing taxonomy. Although visually the shape reminds me of a Muhlenbergia perhaps. note if you google any of the plants i mention you'll only see highly watered versions which are Not how most grasses look in their native wild habitat, where they are much more resource limited, so keep that in mind.

And now on the other side of this little platform we have Grass2. Taller than Grass1, appears to be entirely senesced (gone dormant / all brown above ground / roots probably still alive--if aboveground tissue is yellow rather than grey you generally assume the plant isn't dead just not photosynthetically active). we have what MIGHT be now bare seedheads but no seeds left on them. the dry leaves tend to be more curly than rigid although the overall habit is still fairly upright and tall. This is too tall to be a Boutaloua or Hilaria jamseii but not spiky enough to be Hilaria rigida (although that one might be another contender for Grass1 now that i think about it), and the leaves are flat rather than rolled like an Achnatherum. probably its based on something outside my wheelhouse of dryland or great basin grasses so if i narrow it down better I'll come back to it later.

In this section we also see a pile of dead weeds all grouped together, in a few spots. however the lighting here is shit and i remember seeing these somewhere brighter later so I'm skipping them for now.

Here we have Shrub1. Look at that! finally something green in Minrathous (YES i know there is 1 single green herbacious something or other in the grass/weeds pile in the last spot but again it's in a group asset so we're saving it for somewhere with better lighting. also it just looked so sad there on its own). anyway this is an upright shrub with redish stems and some sort of dark berry in clusters. I'm guessing this is based on some ornamental which aren't my wheelhouse, but the leaves are opposite branching, leaf margins smooth and entire (though some are browning at the tips which is a nice visual detail), and the fruits form in small groups but not large enough cluters that would indicate an umbel type flower. I have NO proof to back this up but when i look at it i feel like it's vibe is evergreen rather than deciduous. maybe because the light on the leaves makes them seem waxy... however this is not a plant you are meant to look at up close as it's entirely flat textures layered together so i'm concluding analysis there until i pull up an ornamental shrubs list and figure out which one it's been scanned off.

ENOUGH WITH THE PLANTS, LETS TALK ROCKS: Solas' Hideout Cave

Ok there are some more senesced and dead grass/weed textures here too that aren't exact copies of above. but the lighting is even more abysmal so i'll skip for now and come back if i don't run into them elsewhere in the game i guess. also i'll be honest i can see an aspen leaf in the pile and there's NOT aspen trees here so it will just annoy me to put them in this section rather than Arlathan which is up next. let's look at the cliff instead.

Here we have some sort of chunky weathered yet clearly very stratified rock. you can see all those narrow horizontal lines that indicate this is a sedimentary rock, so at one time Minrathous was a depositional environment, which i'm not getting into right now but am making a note for my now 10-year-old tectonic plates map of Thedas. We're right on the sea without much beach and the rocks look more chunky than crumbly, as well as this darker grey color, so i'm leaning sandstone/siltstone rather than something softer like limestone. maybe some shale but Minrathous has been built so large I can't imagine the region is predominately shale or it'd be way more structurally unsound after all these centuries.

Now when I first played Veilguard this was one of the first places i stopped and went "ohhh, nice" while looking around because I do think they did a fantastic job with the ground surface textures. we have a sort of sandy patch on top of a rock base which makes sense for an area people are walking in/out from but the edges are clearer, which if they're being slapped by waves now and then would indeed drive the sediment either in or out. We have different grain sizes for the sand and gravel as well as different colors. The ground-rock is kind of way lighter in color than the walls-rocks but i am attributing this to the needs of seeing your character when running around vs stratigraphy change. anyway this is just chatter the funny part is actually when you go inside the cave

aaaand now we're leaving realistic critique behind and are entirely within the realm of game design. But i do want to point it out because i think this is one of those things that, unless you spend a lot of time thinking about geology/geography, you wouldn't ever consider. I've even bothered to adjust the lighting in these screenshots (why are games all so DARK) so you can see what I'm talking about.

Here in the hideout we first see on the floor some cobblestone/brick on the floor, partly obscured by sediment, and leading right up to and implied underneath the rest of the stone wall. In the second screenshot you can see the remains of elven brickwork in the wall and archways leading further in, both in various stages of crumbling. whats wrong with this? Well, the rock is growing on top of them. Which is not how rock works--rock can distort, warp, crush, etc buildings housed inside it but it does not grow over things the way plants do. Yes, even if ancient Elvhen empire was 10,000 years old, sedimentary rock cliffs need millions of years to form, not thousands, and if they WERE forming new rock it would happen in even layers from the bottom up, not growing over the wall like a parasite (I would allow for stalactite growth too but that's not what we are seeing in this cave).

What has happened here is: environment designer made an uneven wall, then took a brick wall asset, and sank it halfway into that wall so the rock shows through. This is WAY faster than designing a brick wall that is falling apart and showing rock from behind the places it's crumbled away. I don't blame them for doing this, it would be very silly to put that much extra work in for something only me and probably 4 other people will ever notice. but! perhaps now you will notice it too the next time you play a cave or underground section of a game and go "heehoo the fantasy Rock That Can Grow Over Things" the way I do.

That's all for this section--up next will be the Arlathan Forest part of the prologue, eventually.

#ramblings #jade plays dav #dragon age: veilguard #im going to put this in my altogether post & reblog tags which are #thedas ecology #and #veilguard ecology #but also gonna make a tag just for these longer ID posts i make for which i will use hmmmmm #jade's ecological compendium #named after of course my fave npc ines arancia's botanical compendium #anyway yes i am currently avoiding my phd work how did you guess #sorry if you just came here for embroidery. i am insane in Many ways #if i focus only on This worldbuilding aspect of veilguard the rest of it cant hurt me. right #datv spoilers #da4 spoilers #dragon age: the veilguard

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marzipanilla · 3 days ago

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I was going to jokingly be like 'three threads one post GO !' lol but then I was like- no, I need to sit down re-read all of this and organize my thoughts better and probably still miss stuff I wanted to say. Time to have multiple tabs open !

Mark and Kate talking about surviving horrific body altering trauma! About struggling to relate to people after enduring horrible shit! yess. Figure out that you can be vulnerable with someone and you don't have to be having sex with them or insisting you love them so much they have to understand- you CAN have platonic meaningful relationships with people! Sometimes it IS very good to have an outside perspective. If TT were essentially Kate's family (and then they just... splinter into nonsense- okay- detour- why the hell weren't TT WAY more up in Robot's bizz about the fact he was a 30 year old man hanging out with teens for years? Aside from just letting the narrative give us general logistics on how they all got together- where are their personal feelings on this? Presumably they did treat him differently bc they believed him to be a robot- how do they feel about that trust being violated? Things they were willing to say to him? Things he might have seen? Why would any of them be okay with someone who lied to them like that still being in charge of their well being? Why am I once again stuck with an awkward romance storyline (Amanda and Rudy) instead of what is naturally there in the TT dynamic? Just?? hello?? Like, 'I violated one of my coworkers bc I realized he made you horny' is wild as it is- but the fact that I am getting that storyline instead of 'my coworker is mad at me because I lied to him for years'? Where are the GoG and TT dealing with liars meetings? Where is Immortal talking to them about what its like to have someone not turn out to be who you thought they were??

TT and GoG 'guess I wasn't the only one being lied to' dynamic we SHOULD have gotten.

On the retiring heroes line- where is more stuff with Samson! He didn't retire, he was SIDELINED bc he lost his powers and then he clawed his way back in. How does he feel about people willingly stepping away? Is he an insane adrenaline junky? Was he going to lose his health insurance if he didn't get back into things? What are his motivations !! If he was a member of GoG why wasn't he at the funeral. Why wasn't he up there talking with Nolan. Why didn't he come by for drinks. Lemme see THAT dynamic. Let's hear what Nolan has to say about his 'coworkers' when one of them trying to mourn is RIGHT THERE. What would his advice be to Mark about loss? Like, people who work jobs like that have a certain degree of disassociation from things/dark humor etc etc, but how would he not have a different outlook than Nolan? Was he pissed at GoG bc he wasn't with them after his powers were gone? How did he feel about the Nolan reveal? Secretly glad that you weren't around with the deaths happened? Insanely guilty that you weren't?

Aside from Atlantis being pissed about their dead king, like... did any other country demand reparation for what Omni-Man did? Was all that destruction apparently limited to the USA? Were aide packages sent? Refused? How many times even outside of contexts like that, were heroes sued for interfering in the matters of other governments workings? What are the extradition laws of superheroes? If they are all secret identity types- how do you identify where to send the court order? Do all heroes belong to a global registry official or not, and that is where their rights are determined? There has to be some sort of court for dealing with heroes no ??

Nolan isolating Mark and Debbie initially viewing it just as him being protective, bc it's a dangerous world out there! Stuff happens! But then Mark starts to push back against his dad, and she wants him to have human friends and suddenly it doesn't seem so protective bc Nolan is ALSO keeping him from that. Debbie finding superhero partners but struggling to find superhero PARENTS and just trying to figure out where the line is. Why are so few heroes parents? Just bias of where she is? Do most retire/take a break to raise their kids before going back? Are most too paranoid about the GDA taking an interest in their offspring to risk it? Are there RULES/laws about heroes having kids? How fucked would that be?

Does Mark ever wonder why he's an only child? Did they only want one kid? Was he an accident? Was Debbie willing to have more but Nolan's behavior with bby!Mark weirded her out too much? Was him being absent just enough of a deterrent to her not wanting to deal with all that again? If the GoG were a network for them, was Mark like a weird little celebrity to THEM bc yeah, heroes tend not to have kids? Aside from just being nepo baby, was he basically only child'd by an entire superhero team? What was that like?

While I'm not too familiar with the DCU- your batfam meta posts are intiguing- so in transfering some of the broader strokes from them- I think you tackling a 'Mark isn't Nolan's biological son' fic would be fascinating. Sort of a step to the side of the 'what if Mark never got his powers' fic that sometimes pop up in the fandom

OOOOOO chewing on this currently, hm, the much a distinct flavor of exactly what you’re talking about, but the potential for more family drama depending on WHO knows. Does Mark know?? Is he waiting every day only to be crushed? Does he confused non-Debbie features with Nolan’s? I suppose I’m not the most enthusiastic about non-power AUs, but I think there’s something very fun to explore about Mark having to settle with, if he knows all his life, he will never have powers? I think the trajectory of his dreams will obviously shift, I can see him still having that distinct fatherly idolization, but perhaps embraces being useful to the GDA? Cecil’s number one intern—only intern—curtesy of nepotism, ha! There is something tickling me about Mark taking the Robin Route/Role for the Teen Team in terms of having no powers, just insane skills, BUT there’s something way more delicious about intern Mark when s1e01 happens and Mark tries snooping around to find out the truth about what happened to his Dad.

I wonder if, with Mark having a whole another father, if they’re more or less distant relationship, depending on WHEN Nolan entered Mark’s life? Like if Debbie met Nolan later for this, or just for fun, they dated once, separated (Mark being born during then), then they happened to stumble into each others lives again and Mark’s already been born, anywhere from tween to teenager so there’s a gap in how close they are. I feel like one important aspect of the whole Family Drama is how close they’re supposed to be, a functional, loving family turned upside down? So I wonder what more distance does. I wonder how Nolan copes when his family is entirely human and he can’t project onto Mark.

I love thinking about these, omg.

#invincible chatter

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egophiliac · 9 months ago

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@enderfore replied to your post “What do you think of Rook's savanaclaw card? <333”:

Chenya pic where???? I can barely see anything in that room there so much going on, rooks such a lil freak (affectionatr)

he's under the row of flags on Neige's side of the room, next to the big Neige poster with the yellow background (look just to the right of the hand holding the apple)! he's REAL little; once you know he's there you can kind of see him in-game, but I only noticed him in the first place because I took a screenshot and was having fun zooming in on all the details!

I think that's either Hop or Snick and Dominic on either side of Neige, but if the others are meant to be anyone in particular I don't recognize 'em. though I do love all the absolutely terrifying implications of Rook having this. was this some kind of officially-published merchandise (and if so, why) or did Rook like...go hunting through the RSA trash to find this random student lineup just because it included Neige, and has had it hanging proudly on the wall ever since. (I mean, he definitely did do this, I don't know why I'm asking. the real question is why he hasn't cut out little pictures of his own face and stuck them over everyone else's yet.)

there is seriously SO MUCH in this room. how did Rook manage to keep this hidden for three years. also, somebody give this background artist a raise immediately.

#screenshot #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland spoilers #twisted wonderland episode 7 spoilers #twisted wonderland book 7 spoilers #twisted wonderland episode 7 part 8 spoilers #twisted wonderland book 7 part 8 spoilers #this just in: the savanaboys are canonically very respectful of each other's privacy and right to their own personal space #the other option is that no one actually wants to see why rook is always so desperate to keep people out of his room #but these are not mutually exclusive! leona respects your boundaries through genuinely not giving a shit. ⭐️#god. rook's room really was somehow exactly what i expected but also so much more than i could have ever imagined.#the literal divide down the center including his BEDSHEETS AND PILLOW #do you think rook makes sure to sleep precisely down to the mm in the center of his bed each night what am i saying of course he does #he has also probably trained his eyes to move independently so he can look at both of the hanging posters above his bed at once #savanarook really was such a treasure. i shall miss him.#(i have also decided based on basically nothing that because there's a banner with vil's unique magic name on it)#(and the corresponding banner for neige says '[someday my] prince will come')#(that i'm going to headcanon this as being neige's unique magic. i must know what it does. the possibilities are TANTALIZING)

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chirpsythismorning · 10 months ago

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Fun fact: In the original pitch for Stranger Things, El had a little brother.

After being rejected by almost 20 studios for the Montauk pilot, the Duffers were finally green-lit by Netflix. It was at this time that they began casting and then writing the first season officially, which included reworking a lot of that first episode.

This led to the removal of the brother reference, and with it, removing any sort of arc El could have had about her apparent brother.

But the thing about this moment, is that it might not have been scrapped entirely...

Going into the final season, no one can explain why or how El recognized Will back in 1x02. And while there are plenty of things on the show that are left unexplained, with a small portion likely left that way with the intention to uncover it later, what sets this moment apart from the rest is that there are very few possibilities here.

Because for starters, the story presents El's ability to see people in the void in s1 as requiring either a picture of that person for reference, or having met that person before.

But when El see's this picture of Will, she's never met him before. Or maybe she has, but we wouldn't know because they never showed us. They could have just not done this scene at all, given that it's clearly a copy/paste/edit of something scrapped from the pitch. Or they could have even still included it, but explained it.

One explanation could be that the lab had shown El a picture of Will before, similar to what they did with the Russian agent they wanted to spy on. But then that begs to question, why would the lab show El a picture of Will? Why would they want to see what he was doing? That alone is incriminating in and of itself, implying that Will is more connected to the lab than we realize.

The only other, and frankly most likely explanation, would be that El stumbled across Will at some point on her journey between escaping the lab and Will going missing. This is actually something that happens in The Other Side comic, which explores all the things Will may have experienced during his time in the Upside Down.

Though it’s worth noting the comics aren’t technically canon, and I highly doubt they would outright spoil everything in relation to Will’s time there, years before it was intended to be revealed. But still, let's humor this for a moment given that I do think Will's time in the UD is going to be very relevant in s5, which means it's highly likely they will finally address how exactly El saw him.

Basically, in the comic, Will see’s El walking through the woods, almost apparition like, glowing as she passes by, while also sporting the Benny’s burgers shirt. This means they would have crossed passed within a short span of time, between when El escaped Benny’s when the agents arrived, but before she was found by the boys.

Though it’s worth noting that we’re seeing this all from Will’s perspective. This means from the UD, Will was capable of seeing El on the other side, despite them being on different sides. And not only that, but she also looks back at him.

What confuses me about this, is that it doesn’t make sense for El to be in the woods, only to randomly decide to pop in to the void for a moment. She was trying to escape the lab and everything that came with it. I doubt she had any desire to lurk back there for some reason, not until someone encouraged her to. Not to mention, it would make no sense for her to go there and see Will if she wasn't even looking for him in the first place. And so this would mean Will and El could see each other, with Will being in the UD, and El being on the other side.

While it does seem pretty far off, given that you would think Will and El wouldn't be able to see each other from different sides, it is true in the story that El not only recognizes Will, but knows that he is in danger. She mentions that he is hiding specifically.

Which means she has likely seen him within the last 24 hours regardless.

This, in combination with Will being able to respond to El in the void at the end of the season in Castle Byers, when no one else outside of Terry and flayed-Billy have been able to, seems to imply that there is indeed something special about Will that makes him capable of communicating with El from the UD. Not only that, but El also seems to have an ability to be in this constant knowing state of how Will is doing, without even checking again to confirm. She's just certain of it. And she seems terrified about it.

Going forward, El never uses a picture of Will to find him. She never did. And more often than not, they don’t show us what she see’s either, not until the very end. And that’s the moment they reveal that he was able to communicate with her.

Again, there was really no reason to have El recognize Will. If anything it complicates things. But the fact that they chose to introduce this concept, with a scene from the original pitch that was related to El’s younger brother, with her pointing at his name cryptically, startling Benny, only to revamp it and have El not say anything at all while pointing at the picture of Will, startling Mike… It just really makes you stop and think.

Which brings me to the other aspect of this that might have people doubting, which is that El’s brother was originally younger than her.

We know Will is not younger than El, so how could this apply to him?

Well, it might be helpful to consider that in the original script, El was actually 10 years old, while the boys were always 12. Meaning that for some reason, they decided to age her up to the age of the boys, aka the same age as Will…

Ever since @erikiara80 shared this brother discovery with me, I have been sort of reeling. It then led to other little discoveries of changes they made between Montauk and Stranger Things.

It’s important to understand that the Montauk bible and the original script precedes what we ended up with in the final product, with it finally changing and evolving months, maybe even a year since that original vision. Even casting occurred before writing started for the first season. We know this because casting announcements were made in June and August of 2015, with writing not starting until August going into early 2016, simultaneously while they were filming.

And believe it or not, what I've discovered is that a lot of the changes they made between their original plans and what we see in the final product, have to do with not only Willel, but also Byler.

If you've read the original script for Montauk, you'll know that Mike's crush on Jennifer Hayes was focused on right from the jump, along with the birthmark on his face being focused on, which was the main cause of the bullying he experienced.

This has actually been talked about recently, and some of the claims people make do fit with what I am genuinely starting to consider here, which is that the initial plan for what makes Mike an outcast shifted.

I think when they completed casting, and started actually deep diving into what they wanted this world to look like, both from a short-term and long-term standpoint, they were presented with some pretty interesting discoveries, arguably already hiding in their initial plans without realizing it.

And this is where it sort of becomes a 'chicken or the egg' situation. Because which one came first? Byler or Willel?

I can't say for certain, because obviously this is all just speculation. But in the case that Willel came first, I think Byler would come very naturally after that.

The Duffers themselves are twins. Then they hire Noah, who is a twin. Then they're thinking and planning for El's past and how her family all fits into this, and they're thinking... wait a damn minute... We could totally Star Wars this bitch!

And then when they think it couldn't get any better, they uncover another layer that they hadn't planned or really considered in their initial plans.

While Will was always going to have sexual identity issues according to the Montauk bible, meaning that the writing process for him likely involved sitting down imagining scenarios that encapsulated this arc for Will from the beginning, they were simultaneously now finding very interesting aspects of Mike's character that made it hard not to at least consider the possiblity that Mike is not exactly straight.

Just think about it. The Byers and Wheelers are basically polar opposites on the spectrum of what a family looks like. While Will's discovery and acceptance of his queerness is interesting to explore because he comes from a low-income, single-mom household, all while having been bullied for years based on his perceived queerness, he also has a mother and brother constantly reinforcing that they will accept him no matter what. They've been sort of hitting us over the head with it for years, and so it wouldn't be very satisfying for his entire arc to merely lead up to something we've known all along. It's pretty much a given at this point.

On the other side of the spectrum, Mike comes from a more upper-middle class family at the end of a cul-de-sac, more aligned with what a nuclear family looks like. Mike's family is also presented as being more conservative, and while Karen does give that very queer-coded speech to Mike in s1 (I'm convinced they only wrote this after deciding to explore queer-coding more heavily with Mike), it also comes with comments from Ted and even still Karen that hint that they are probably not as open-minded and accepting as Will's family is to him. Which means Mike's arc would be a lot more about acceptance around him from his loved ones who we have been led to believe might not be as accepting of his queerness in contrast to Will.

And so as they're putting this story together, and they're being presented with something very interesting. Two similar experiences that play out in different ways because of the characters circumstances.

Will goes missing, and his twin sister with a buzzcut pops up and has the ability to help them find Will.

This leads to several moments where El is being compared to as not only a boy, but Will as well.

Now suddenly, their initial plans to have Mike's arc be about having a girl be interested in him and to hopefully have his first kiss and feel like less of a loser, starts to look a lot like what the experience a queer kid in his position might encounter growing up in the environment that he did.

And if you don't want to take my word for it, just hear the Duffer's themselves hinting at what they initially planned for Mike and the fact that it changed.

The changes don't stop there.

Believe it or not, 'It was a seven', did not exist in the initial pitch. When the boys went outside bickering over Nancy, they leave right after that.

Another thing that changed from the first script, was Scott Clarke's introduction:

And so you might be thinking, who cares? What does that have to do with anything?

Well, it's interesting because the line we end up with on the show is arguably one of the most on the nose Twelvegate proofs to date. Mind you, this is from the first episode:

Why chuck the original version, which was arguably more interesting and fascinating in terms of it hinting at the mysteriousness surrounding this story, only to replace it with him listing off tips about their upcoming test?

Well, I think it's the irony of it all. Here Mr. Clarke is practically telling us where to look to figure stuff out for ourselves what is going on, with all the kids filing out and ignoring him...

I relate to Scott a litttle too much in this shot here, any time I try to drop Willel evidence.

And the changes go on, as they obviously would.

Things like Terry Ives not even being El's mom, but actually a man who more so aligns with the characterization of Murray.

And one very interesting one I almost overlooked was in Hopper's introduction, where instead of a kids drawing done by who we assume to be Sarah, we actually see a picture on the wall of him and his wife and daughter... Interesting that they decided to switch it something that is a lot less definitive in presenting what Hopper's past looked like...

If you've made it this far, congratulations.

If you still think I'm out of my mind, just remember that El was going to have a brother in the original script, but they scrapped the scene and gave a near identical one to introduce her connection to Will instead 😘