#INVADING A CHILDS MIND AND TRAPPING HER THERE WHILE HE CONTROLS HER BODY AND MAKES HER SEE HER FAMILY HATING HER!!!

[earthspark-shockwaves-reduction]

why is the earthspark tag so fucking barren the recent tab is just all fucking midroid help

[samgirl98]

Mending a Family 11/?

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Jason and Jazz bond, and Dick has a sort-of revelation.

Jason sat by the table after saying goodbye to Roy, Raven, and Lian and putting Danny to bed. After the revelation of Mar’i, the adults had sobered a little, and it had gotten awkward. Thankfully, the kids kept playing though Danny would side-eye Jason every once in a while. His knowing look reminded Jason that Danny was a sixteen-year-old trapped in the body of a five-year-old.

Jazz sat across from him with two cups of tea. She gave one to Jason and asked, “How are you feeling?”

Jason frowned; how was he feeling? A part of him was disappointed, but he understood.

“Jazz, when I came back, I killed people. I hurt Tim. It makes sense that Dick never told me he had a daughter. I’m doing the same thing now with Danny! Besides, nobody in their right mind would let a murderer around their child.”

“Just because you understand and can rationalize it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

Jason smiled softly at her, “What are you, my psychiatrist, now?”

“I don’t have to be a psychiatrist to know this affected you more than you want to let on.”

Jason sighed, “I understand; really, I do. But what pisses me off is that Roy told me that Dick is obsessively looking for me. All of them are. How can they freeze me out of the family, not at least tell me, ‘Hey Jason, you’re an uncle,’ and then call me family and use that as an excuse to hunt me down like a rabid animal?”

Jazz sipped her tea, “I think they’re probably feeling guilty now because they managed to chase you away. From what I’ve heard, they like to be in control.”

Jason snorted, “Yeah, they’re all control freaks that have no issue invading others’ privacy. Starting with Daddy Bats.”

“Do you miss them,” she asked quietly.

“I do,” he answered in the same volume, “but I burned those bridges long ago.”

They stayed in silence for a while.

“I hope I’m not overstepping, but you have become my family. I see how you act around Danny, and I am grateful that you parent and love him the way a parent loves their child. Our parents weren’t the best, so I’m glad Danny will get a second chance at childhood, and it’s all thanks to you.”

Jason smiled, “Well, at least I’m doing right by Danny.”

“You think—you think you’ll ever talk to them again?”

“Not when there’s a chance they’ll take Danny away from me. They see me as unstable, but I won’t ever hurt Danny. I don’t know if I’m a bad parent, but Danny has helped me more than I’ve helped him, and he’s keeping me sane.”

Jazz shrugged, “I’m not precisely sane myself, and as long as you don’t verbally tell Danny he’s the only reason you feel your mental stability is better, then I see no harm in it. It’s bad when a parent puts that pressure on their child. However, I have a feeling you’re saner than you think you are.”

Jazz finished her tea.

“Besides, you can’t be judged by human standards.”

Jason rolled his eyes; he stopped explaining to Danny and Jazz that he was utterly, one hundred percent human.

“Do you really think I’m a good parent?”

“Yes,” she answered without hesitation.

Jason sighed, “I miss my old family sometimes.”

“You want to talk about them?”

“I can’t talk much about the newer members, but Dick, he’s my oldest brother; he’s huggy, a huge jokester. There’s always a pun or quip coming out of his mouth. He didn’t; well, when I was younger, I thought he hated me. He was always yelling at Bruce, and most of the time, he ignored me, but eventually, he came around.”

“I remember one time he took me train surfing. It was so fun! I was hanging out with my older brother, my predecessor. He also stole Bruce’s car once and took me on a joyride after Bruce had grounded me.”

“There’s also Barbie. She helped me a lot with homework when I was younger. She’s—she’s also the only one that kept contact with me after all the shi—things I did. You remind me of her. She’s kind, same as you. And you both have red hair. She’s crazy smart like you are. The things she can do with computers,” Jason shook his head in disbelief.

“There’s Alfred. He’s like a grandfather to me. He taught me how to cook; he’s the one I miss the most, to be honest. I wouldn’t be surprised if he missed me, too, but he was giving me my space.”

Jason couldn’t bring himself to talk about Bruce. The man had been his father, but he had both disappointed Jason and been disappointed by Jason.

His biggest failure, Jason thought bitterly.

“Mom and dad,” Jazz started, took a deep breath, and continued, “Mom and dad, when they weren’t obsessed with their work, showed how much they cared for us in their way. Mom would make delicious fudge that got devoured quickly. Dad, he would call me his princess.”

“We’d go camping every summer until—until the portal opened. They had always been obsessed with ghosts, but they went into overdrive after the portal. They neglected us; Danny was being hurt. Eventually, it became too much, and Danny started detaching himself from everyone, including his friends, because he didn’t want anyone hurt.”

“I miss them sometimes, but I can never forgive them for what they did. They find out about Danny, and the first thing they do is attack! How could they?!”

Jazz was breathing hard, “How could they? They told us they loved us.”

Jazz started crying. Jason was stunned for a moment, and then he got up. He let Jazz cry on his shoulder.

Two broken people held on to each other. They may have lost an old family, but slowly, they would build a new one.

____

“Daddy!”

Dick opened his arms as his daughter flew into them. Kory floated right beside him and smiled softly at their three-year-old.

“Thanks for letting her stay with me for the week,” Dick said, “I needed this.”

“My pleasure. She wanted to see her daddy, anyway.”

Dick let Mar’i down and watched as she ran to her room.

“How’s the search going,” Kory asked.

Dick’s smile fell. They still hadn’t found any trace of Jason. Alfred was telling them to leave Jason alone and that he’ll contact them when he wants to. Roy stopped talking to Dick altogether, and Bruce was losing his mind.

“It’s not going well. Why, have you found anything?”

“No, sorry, but I haven’t been paying too much attention.”

“That’s okay. Wally and Superman are looking for him. We’ll find him, eventually.”

Mar’i decided to come out at that moment.

“Daddy, daddy, can we go see Grandpa Bruce,” she lisped, “and Uncles Timmy and Damian and aunties Cassie and Steph? Will Uncle Duke be there with the pretty lights?”

Dick felt a ping in his chest. His daughter hadn’t mentioned Jason. She had never met him, and Dick couldn’t help but feel guilty.  Would Jason have stayed if the family had tried to integrate him more? Was it because of them that he left?

That bothered Dick, questions. He wanted, needed to know why Jason left instead of coming to them.

Because you shut the door, his mind supplied.

It was right.

@idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @skulld3mort-1fan @theauthorandtheartist @emergentpanda-blog @jaggedheart11 @fisticuffsatapplebees @booberrylizard @fantasticbluebirdfan @thegatorsgooseoose @cyrwrites @kjoboo91 @crystallicedart @amaramizuki666 @spekulatiusmuffin @meira-3919 @kilasmess @bubblemixer @lexdamo @wonderland-daisy @mj-arts-n-stuff @amyheart19 @dolfay @the-church-grimm @undead-essence @aph-mable @lizisipancardo @purrloin77 @writer-extraodinaire @charlietheepic7 @sinfulloccultist @nootherusernameworked @coruscateselene @chaoticchange @itsberrydreemurstuff @gmkelz11 @feral-bunny31 @paroovian @thatonegaybitch68 @d4ydr34min9 @overtherose @fandomwandererer @vipower001 @thordottir45 @blackrabbitt3t @rosecinnamonbun @bianca-hooks123 @epilepticnerd @dat1angel @consouling @flamingenchiladadragon

[the-writing-artist]

Code: Swap Gift

Specifically, a gift for @Semie78 as part of @code-swap 2021. Here’s a little fic for you, hope you enjoy it. / Aelita-centric, present tense, post-Evolution / No pairings, just group fluff

Second Chance

The textbook definition of 'giving someone a second chance' is to allow someone another opportunity to do something or to prove their ability or worth.

To most people, it means that the person screwed up in some way, and their friend(s) or significant other has decided to see if they're still worth the effort. It makes sense, giving someone you care about an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and become a better person, but sometimes, enough is enough. Sometimes, the person screws up the chance they were so gratiously given, and then it's over.

(It's this definition that probably means the most to William, and it's understandable, but it's unfair for her to assume how he feels about it.)

But to Aelita, 'second chance' means something entirely different. It's something her friends had given to her, and she would never, ever dream of messing it up, but thinking about it always causes her to start crying, no matter where she is.

Mind you, it's not the bad sort of tears. The emotion she carries from this is not negative in any way, and never will be.

No, these are tears of joy.

And the evidence is in all the names she's ever had.

Aelita Schaeffer was a normal girl...well, as normal as one could be while being the daughter of a scientist on the run from the government. To be honest, she still doesn't really understand why her father was being hunted down. All she understands is that, at the time, she never expected for their mountain house to be invaded by the men in black that still haunt her nightmares to this very day. This Aelita never expected her mother to be taken away by them, nor did she ever expect to be forced to run away with her father. She had a normal life before that, and she was as sweet and innocent as a child her age could be.

(She remembers how enraged she was when XANA used this picture-perfect life to trap her.)

Aelita Hopper was her name when in hiding at the Hermitage. She was homeschooled and not really allowed to leave, so she didn't have any friends. This Aelita was very lonely, often crying herself to sleep every night because she wanted to be social, wanted her mother...wanted everything to go back to the way it was. Unfortunately, things only got worse when the men in black found them, forcing her father to virtualize them both onto Lyoko. Her father had tried to get XANA to understand who they really were, but failed, and he was forced to shut down the Supercomputer, trapping the two for the next decade.

(But it was also this Aelita who allowed her to remember her past and gave her friends more tools to fight XANA with.)

Maya was the name given to her after Jeremie had turned the Supercomputer back on. Ten years being trapped inside a virtual world had apparently allowed XANA to steal a crucial piece of her, giving her amnesia and forcing her to forget who she really was. According to Jeremie, her new (and very first) friend, she was apparently a program in the computer. This Aelita was probably the least tragic out of all the Aelitas on her list. It was through this name that she also met Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi. Together, the four of them managed to find a way to free her from Lyoko and eventually XANA's grasp.

(Yes, yes, she knows that Maya was her name for only a while, a whole week at the very least, but she honestly considers it the true key to her current happiness.)

And finally, Aelita Stones is the girl who resulted from all of this. This Aelita actually has friends, has things to wake up for and look forward to, is allowed to feel without to fear of being judged. This Aelita is vastly different from Aelita Schaeffer. Schaeffer was innocent and sweet, her mind numb to all the horrors of real life, only to have a brutal wake up call at such an earlier point in life. Stones is sweet too, but she's no longer innocent, having been hardened to the realities of life, and as such, is fully grown and matured. This Aelita has befriended people like Sissi and William.

(But not Laura. That's a rabbit hole to steer away from.)

Aelita Stones is the version of her that she always wants to be, and forever will be, because that is her true identity now. Aelita Schaeffer is dead, gone, mostly because she is presumed to be dead by the government, and it often makes her sad to realize that she can't go back to that life, whether she wants to or not. Whether her mother is still alive or not.

She remembers watching Jeremie stay up late to complete a government file that he and the others had forged, filling out the necessary information in order to give her a brand new identity before they materialized her into the real world for the first time: Aelita Stones.

Aelita Stones is her second chance.

This Aelita is the one who has a truly normal life, even more so now that they have XANA trapped and unable to attack them anymore. This Aelita is the one who has interests and hobbies, and most important, friends to share them with.

Jeremie is her study buddy, the two of them being the smartest of the group and always having to help the others with their homework, and his prescence always calms her.

Odd is her music buddy, the two of them always working together to work on music, and if he cracks a bad joke or two, she doesn't mind; in fact, she adores them.

Ulrich is her athletic buddy, the two of them always running the track together, and lately, he's also been teaching her how to fight like him and Yumi.

Yumi is her girl buddy, the two of them being the only girls of the group, and Yumi is always the person she turns to whenever issues concerning the female body comes up.

William is her relax-time buddy, the two of them often coming together just to talk, and despite how his first appearance made him look, William is actually a great friend to have.

She has different activities to do with each of them, due to their differing interests, but no matter who she's with, she can always count on them to validate her feelings. They each have their own ways of doing so, but the end result, her being grateful to have them in her life, is always the same.

All of this comes to mind when Aelita remembers that her birthday is tomorrow, the one Jeremie made up for her, and realizes that the date Jeremie chose is the same day they all first met, the day when Maya remembered her true name, the real day Aelita Stones was born.

And it's in this moment that she understands that it's a very special day for all of them, and she knows why.

It's the day Jeremie shed his skin as the lonely nerd and gave him true friends who allowed him to use his smarts in rather creative ways.

It's the day Odd realized that his status as the new kid wasn't as bad as other kids often made it out to be.

It's the day Ulrich gained a new, unlikely friend in the form of Jeremie, and he was the first person Jeremie chose to trust.

It's the day Yumi was no longer an outcast, a day when she realized she had friends who genuinely cared about her.

It's the day William probably wishes he was there for, as it eventually led to him becoming their sixth member, and later on, gave him his own second chance.

She really just wants to pay them back for everything they've done for her, to show them just how grateful she is to have them in her life. After all, it's a day that belongs to all of them, not just her. It wasn't just the day Aelita Stones was born, but also the day the Lyokowarriors become a family.

While some of them do have pleasant home lives, the Lyokowarriors are definitely more tightly-knit. After all, they have placed their lives in each others' hands, trusted Jeremie to keep them safe from the controls, trusted Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and William to keep Aelita safe, and trusted Aelita to deactivate the tower in time, more times than one could count. When you've entrusted your life to someone you know you can trust multiple times, you've definitely built a unique bond with them.

So yes, the six were a true family, through and through. And they were her family now.

The only problem is that she doesn't know how to pay them back. Her gratitude is just too vast and too deep that there is no sure way to truly show it all to them in just one sitting.

But she can sure as heck try her best.

They were her family, after all.

THE END

[anxiousstark]

S1 05 | Wolf’s Bane

MASTERLIST

Stiles Stilinski x Reader! Half-sibling!Mccall

Word count: 2958

Warnings: Mentions of injuries, swearing (always).

"So wait," I said while stealing some of Stiles's food. He pouted but offered his tray for me to grab some more. I grinned at him, and he stuck his tongue out as an answer. "You guys are telling me that Jackson knows that you are a puppy?"

Scott rolled his eyes. "Ugh, I've been telling you since last night. I'm not a puppy." He was right, puppies are cute and not mean like him. "Uhm, he's watching us." Stiles and I glanced at the table where Jackson was sitting down with his friends. He was gazing at Scott.

Both boys tried to dissimulate, they were getting nervous. But I just continued to look straight at him. "I heard him." They looked at me, confused. "The night at school while I was with you." I glanced at Stiles. "Scott was talking to Allison. I heard him talk in my head. I heard Jackson talk to me inside my head. He knew I could hear him."

"Did he say something?"

"No," I answered back. "He just said that he knew I could hear him."

"Jackson's talking to me. He knows I can hear him. Look at me. Just talk to me. Act normal. Pretend that nothing's happening." Scott was getting even more agitated. "Can you hear him?" He asked me. "I think he kind of controls my thoughts or he can invade them. I only hear him when he wants me to."

Scott peered down at his tray of food, his eyes moving from side to side, and we assumed that Jackson was speaking to him. His hands clenched around the tray, and he ended up splitting it. "Scott," Stiles whispered when he noticed that everyone was watching us. Jackson wasn't in the same room anymore. "Listen. I'm going to go home and try to investigate. Keep an eye on Jackson and Y/N."

"I'm right here, Stiles."

"I know." He reassured. "Jackson wants something with you. We don't know what, but something is going on with both of you." He looked back at Scott. "You have swimming classes, right?" His attention was on me, I nodded. "Jackson and Allison go to the same class, so it is the perfect opportunity, okay?"

We both nodded, parting ways.

After changing into my swimsuit, I went outside, slowly getting into the water. I could see Scott sitting on the bleachers, his eyes focused on Jackson and Allison, who seemed to be talking. I started swimming slowly, enjoying the water. It was peaceful. When I was a child, I used to get into the public pool in my city and play around until I was exhausted. I would get into the water and imagine that my legs were transforming into a beautiful mermaid tail.

I noticed Scott getting uneasy, and I concluded that it was because Allison and Jackson were laughing while they rested on the side of the pool. "Hey, guys," I said when I swam next to them. "Jackson," I faked a smile. "I didn't know you were in the swimming class."

"I'm starting to like it a lot." He said while eyeing Allison. Quite gentle, Jackson. "I suppose you like it too." He said, glancing at me. "Is that a tattoo on your chest?" A tattoo? I didn't have any tattoos.

I was confused, looking down at my chest. Something red was there, and I tried to remember if I had scratched myself too roughly. My fingers softly touched my chest. It was hard.

"Oh my god," Allison said with a big smile. "It's so original. My dad would kill me if I decided to get a tattoo." She looked at it closely. "Are those scales? You must like water a lot to get scales on your chest."

I nodded while swallowing. I had scales on my chest. I peered at Jackson, he was grinning. My eyes searched for Scott, but he was too busy to meet my eyes. I needed to talk to Stiles. Now.

I ran to Stiles's house, and after talking a little with his father, I hurried upstairs. I opened the door of his room without giving it a second thought. He jumped from his chair, staring at me.

"Stiles, what the fuck is going on with me?" His eyes were wide, and they got even wider when I took my shirt off. I was still wearing my swimsuit. "What is this?" I went closer to him while he was getting further from me, pushing his feet against the floor, sliding the chair he was sitting on. "Are these scales?!"

His eyes went from my eyes to my chest, repeatedly. "U-Uhm." His eyes focused on my chest, cheeks getting red as seconds went by. "D-Derek." I saw something move behind me and turned around.

"You!" I pointed at him and went closer. "What is this?" I made a gesture so he would look at my chest. His eyes narrowed, hand moving closer to touch the scales on my chest.

"Woah, Woah." I heard the other boy getting up from the chair. Within seconds he was next to me, slapping Derek's hand before he could touch my chest. "W-what are you doing? D-don't touch her with your sourwolf hands!"

My chest rose up and down. "There are red scales on my chest. Jackson saw them, and he wasn't surprised about it." I paused to breathe. "They are hard. They are real scales, Stiles."

"Have they been there for long?" Hale asked while still looking at the scales.

"No. When I woke up this morning, there was nothing." I let my mind run. "I think they appeared in the swimming class."

"Okay." Derek swallowed, frowning. "I told you, I'm not sure what you are, I need time to investigate." His voice was firm. "I need to investigate a lot of things." I nodded, sitting on Stiles' bed.

"There are scales on my chest, and you are telling me that I'm not fully human, but you also want me to wait to know what the heck am I?" Derek hummed as if it wasn't that important. "What are you both doing here anyway?" I knew he didn't have any information. Not yet. That's why I tried to calm down and change the topic.

"The night we were trapped at the school, Scott sent a text to Allison asking her to meet him there," Stiles explained to Derek.

"So?"

"So it wasn't Scott." He turned around and started clicking on his computer.

"Well, can you find out who sent it?"

"No, not me. But I think I know somebody who can."

I was sitting on Stiles's bed while he talked to Danny. He was cute, and he was part of the lacrosse team. I have never seen him before in school. Although, I have only been there for a couple of days.

"I came here to do lab work. That's what lab partners do." I snorted. Poor boy.

"And we will, once you trace the text." He was looking at him with his hazel puppy eyes, if it was me, I would probably have fallen and helped him with whatever he asked me for. But Danny was harder to convince.

"And what makes you think I know how?"

"He looked up your arrest report." I intervened while still laying down on the boy's bed. Danny glanced at me, his eyes knitted in confusion. "His dad is the Sheriff," I smiled. "And he is a hard-headed boy who always gets what he wants."

"I-I was 13. They dropped the charges." His voice cracked. Imagine being 13 and being able to do that. "No, we're doing lab work." Danny sat next to Stiles while I turned around to look at Derek.

"Does it mean that Jackson isn't human?" He glanced up from the book he was looking at. "Jackson was the boy I met the first day I came to Beacon Hills. We were both attacked that night at the video store. He has been...odd since that night."

"What do you mean?" He closed the book, letting it rest on top of his lap.

"He asked me if the wound was hurting." I paused. "He smelled like death." I swallowed, fiddling with my hands that were now resting on my lap. I needed to ask something, but I was scared that he wouldn't answer me.

"You don't smell like the dead." He replied as he knew what I was thinking. He sighed. "I'm not sure. I know werewolves, were coyotes, foxes, and a lot of creatures. I could identify their smell from afar. But I don't know what you are, yet."

"But you already knew I wasn't human anymore since that night, right?" My eyes searched for an answer in his. "You told Stiles to bring me to school the night that Scott howled." He nodded.

"Hey, Miguel." Stiles turned around in his chair, his gaze directed to Derek. I wanted to snort, but he was a werewolf and could probably rip my neck. "I thought I told you you could borrow one of my shirts." He made a gesture with his face to where his wardrobe was while Derek tightened his jaw; throwing the book to the bed and hitting my leg, bitch. Stiles was going to end up being killed by him. "So anyway, I mean, we both know you have the skills to trace that text, so we should probably-"

"Uh, Stiles?" Danny and I were completely distracted by Derek Hale, sorry, by Miguel, not having a shirt on. He was quite fit.

"Yes?"

"This. No fit."

"Then try something else on. Sorry." I rolled my eyes and went closer to Stiles, resting my hands on his shoulders, and whispering in his ear that Danny was gay.

Stiles got the idea. "Hey, that one looks pretty good, huh? What do you think, Danny? The shirt."

"It's-it's not really his color." Derek took the shirt off. It wasn't his color, to be honest.

"You swing for a different team, but you still play ball. Don't you, Danny boy?" He grinned, while he went closer to our 'new friend'. "You're a horrible person."

I laughed loudly. "I know. It keeps him awake at night."

Stiles grinned at me, slapping one of my hands that were resting close to his chest. "Anyway, about that text."

"Stiles! None of these fit." I walked back to Derek and started looking inside Stiles's wardrobe. "Ugh, he only has plaids." I snickered. Their styles were too different, and their bodies weren't alike. Stiles wasn't bulk, but you could notice that he was fit.

"The text was sent from a computer. This one." After choosing a shirt for Derek, we went closer to both boys.

"Registered to that account name?"

"That can't be right." My eyes widened. Melissa McCall. It couldn't be her. Why would she do that? She didn't know anything about Scott being a werewolf, but she was the only one who could use her account in the hospital, right?

I was sitting in the back of Stiles's jeep while he and Derek were in the front. I tightened my arms around myself, feeling a little cold. Thankfully, Stiles had let me borrow one of his red hoodies, which calmed me down, even though I felt uneasy.

Derek clutched the phone and Stiles's hand, trying to talk to Scott, who was on the other line. "Hey, is there something on the back of it? There's gotta be something. An inscription, an opening, something." Scott was in the lacrosse match while the three of us were sitting inside the jeep, and outside the hospital where Melissa worked.

"No, no, the thing's flat. And, no, it doesn't open. There's nothing in it, on it, around it, nothing." He now referred to Stiles. "And where are you? You're supposed to be here. You're first line." We heard Coach in the background, but what he was saying could not be understood clearly. "Man, you're not gonna play if you're not here to start."

"I know. Look, if you see my dad, can you tell him-tell him I'll be there, I'll just be a little bit late, okay? All right, thanks." I examined his face from the rearview mirror. Stiles was so excited to finally play lacrosse that he didn't mind that Coach was calling him Bilinski. But now, he wasn't going to be able to play.

"You're not gonna make it."

"I know." He talked fastly. "And you didn't tell him about his mom, either."

"Not till we find out the truth." As I believed, Stiles was a great friend. He was putting Scott's feelings before his. He was finally going to play, and his dad was going to be there to see him. He wanted his dad to be proud of him. I'm sure in his little head, he was thinking that his dad was going to be mad. Stiles's dad was already proud of him, I could tell. It must be nice to have a dad that loves you.

"By the way, one more thing."

"Yeah." We both turned our heads towards Derek. He had put his hand on the back of Stiles's head, and pushed him against the wheel, hitting him.

"Oh my gosh, Derek!" I hit his shoulder. "Stiles, are you okay?" "Oh, God! What the hell was-"

"You know what that was for. Go." He pointed at him. "You too." He was now looking at me, Stiles was already out of the car. "Go!"

"What?" I said. "Are you going to hit me too?" I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Because I will grab your fucking neck and-" I was pushed out of the car by Stiles. "No, no. He needs to be given a lesson." Stiles continued dragging me while Derek smirked, and I glared at him.

"Yeah, I said I can't find her." Stiles was on the phone talking. We both have walked around the hospital, but it was too quiet and there was nobody. We went inside a room, it was empty. "Yeah, well, he's not here either." I walked further into the room. Nothing. There were no personal items, and the bed was perfectly made. "He's not here. He's gone, Derek."

I hear Derek raising his voice from the phone. I turned around to find Stiles with wide eyes, his hand falling from his ear. "Y/N, we need to get out of here." He ran the little distance that was between us, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room.

"You must be Stiles." I swallowed when I saw a man with a half-burnt face. His eyes glanced at me. "And you must be the new creature." Stiles grip stiffened on me. We both started walking backward, turning around to run away.

"What are you doing here? Visiting hours are over."

"You - and him. You're-you're the one who- Oh, my- and he's- Oh, my God, we gonna die." He ran his free hand through his hair. As soon as he said that, Derek appeared, elbowing the nurse on the face. She fell to the floor, unconscious or dead. I can't tell.

"That's not nice. She's my nurse." Peter Hale lectured. The day I was told that Scott was a werewolf, was the day they updated me of everything. And without knowing Peter Hale, I already hated him. "She's a psychotic bitch helping you kill people. Get out of the way."

"Oh, damn." Stiles brought me to the floor, his chest pressing against my back as I was sitting between his legs. Derek's eyes became an ice blue, like mine were when we were at school the other night. His fangs came out, and I couldn't help but gasp.

"You think I killed Laura on purpose? One of my own family? My mind, my personality was literally burned out of me. I was being driven by pure instinct."

They both started fighting. Peter threw Derek against the wall, creating a hole in it. Stiles and I started moving on the floor, trying to get away from them. We could still hear them fight, and it seemed like Derek couldn't hold up with Peter's strength.

Stiles started looking around. "What are you thinking?" I asked in a whisper. "Don't do anything crazy, Stilinski."

He continued searching around. "We need to help him."

"That is a psychopath. We are humans!" I tried to make him look at him.

"We are humans, but that doesn't mean we don't help." He grabbed a computer screen from a table, and with determination started walking towards Peter. Derek stared at me, his eyes then focused on Stiles when he saw my expression.

"Stiles!" I called for him but he continued to walk towards the oldest Hale. Peter turned around, smirking. He started walking towards Stiles. I got up from the floor, falling when I stepped over myself. I followed Peter with my eyes while I got up from the ground again. Stiles threw the computer screen at him, but Peter dodged it. His fangs came out, and he ran towards Stiles. But I did too.

I didn't know what happened. But I made a hole in the wall with Peter's body. My right hand was grasping around his neck, he was trying to set himself free, but he couldn't and gasped for air. "S-s-scales." I looked at the arm that was stretched out, choking him. Red scales decorated my wrist. I turned around, terrified by myself.

"Hey." My eyes went to Stiles. "You are okay. There's nothing wrong." Stiles came closer to me, and he made me let Peter go while Derek went to Peter.

"I-I don't know how I-"

"It's okay." He embraced me, my face hiding on his chest.

.

.

TAGLIST: @og-baby-ob14 - @savemypostcards​ - @cas-loves-pizza​ - @used-avocado​ - @mvrylee​ - @bilesxbilinskixlahey​ - @honeydoll-stark​ - @arieltheworldisamess​ - @softpeteparker​ - @kit-kat-katie99​​ - @thatsuperherosidekick​ - @bexbetterxthanxwords​ - @big-galaxy-chaos​​ - @littlemiss-forgotten - @enchantedcruelsummer​ - @coldfreakeggsexpert​ - @merla123​ - @sammypotato67​​ - @weirdowithnobeardo​ - @maggiesblogsblog​ - @itskindyl​​ - @bobo-bush - @moongoddesskiana​​ - @multifandxm353​​ - @irwxnhugsx​​ - @xoprincessmel - @iclosetgeek​​ - @andreagf956 - @niawoods​​ - @anerroroccurrrrred​ - @perrytheplatypus11​ - @trustfundparker​ -

People in black means it doesn’t let me tag them.

[lunesart]

Timeline: Main AU

(This is going to be VERY long, so skip through if you don’t want to go through all of it)

1979: Fredbear’s Family Diner opens. The main attraction is Fredbear and Funbun, two springlock suits.

June 26, 1983: Freddy Fazbear’s opens. The Fazbear Four and the Puppet are there.

July 14, 1983: Michelle Brooks goes missing in the forest next to an unknown Freddy’s sister location.

July 30, 1983: Henry Emily removes William Afton from ownership of Freddy Fazbear’s, over concerns of Michelle’s disappearance and child abuse suspicions.

August 5, 1983: Charlotte Emily is found dead outside of Freddy’s, the murderer is unknown. Shadow Freddy is formed.

August 28, 1983: The Bite of ‘83. Evan Afton dies in the hospital 6 hours after Michael Afton, Jeremy Fritzgerald, Fernando Smith, and James Jackson pulled a prank on him. Fredbear’s closes and the springlock suites are retired.

June 26, 1985: Five children, Susie Denver, Fritz Ortiz, Gabriel and Jeremy Jackson, and Cassidy Li, go missing at Freddy’s. Henry Emily is arrested as the main suspect, but no evidence is found. The Puppet gives life to four, one hangs on for vengeance.

August 7, 1985: Freddy’s closes due to health concerns about the animatronics, which have been smelling awful and have been oozing gunk for the past few weeks. On the last day Freddy’s is open, someone tries to break in. After that, Fazbear entertainment assigns a day and a night guard to every location after.

August 19, 1985: Circus Baby’s Pizza World is opened. It is open for one day before closing due to a gas leak. Two children are reported missing after, May Jackson and Elizabeth Afton.

May 12, 1987: Two new Freddy locations are opened, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria and Circus Baby’s Rental and Entertainment. For the next few weeks, the technicians and night guards are reporting weird animatronic behavior. At Circus Baby’s, the old Funtimes from the last Baby’s are trying to kill technicians, and have succeeded with a few. At the new Freddy’s, the night guard is saying that the animatronics are trying to hurt him, but they seem afraid of him too. No one takes any of them seriously, except Scotty Brooks, an employee at Freddy’s.

May 19-24, 1987: Michael Afton, under the alias of “Eggs Benedict”, becomes a technician to find more about his sister’s disappearance at the urging of his father. After 5 nights of working and near-death experiences, Michael is tricked into being scooped by Ennard, an amalgamation of the Funtime animatronics. Ennard then uses Michael’s body as a skin suit to blend in with humans.

May 30, 1987: William Afton, the night guard at Freddy’s and the man behind the slaughter himself, kills 5 kids again. This time the kids are found. These kids then possess the new Toy animatronics and Balloon Boy. The day guard, Clay Burke, leaves the job due to the grief of losing his son to the murders. Afton then takes the dayshift.

May 31, 1987: After a week of inhabiting his body, Michael ejects Ennard out of his body. Michael is somehow still alive, despite being a decomposing corpse. He goes into hiding because of his appearance.

June 1-6, 1987: Jeremy Fritzgerald is hired as the new night guard. For the next 6 nights, 9 possessed animatronics, 2 shadows, and an angry ghost try to kill him. Due to the murders, Freddy’s will be closing soon. The day guard leaves out of nowhere one day, and Jeremy is primed to be the day guard for the last day. Jeremy asks his girlfriend best friend, Fritz Smith (formerly Fernando), to be the night guard for one night, and she agrees.

June 7, 1987: At the last event at Freddy’s, the birthday of Jason Sánchez, Jeremy is bitten by Toy Foxy, or Marla Sánchez “The Mangle”. He loses his frontal lobe, but lives. Fritz Smith goes to the last nightshift, and attempts to fix the animatronics by tampering with them, but this just makes them more aggressive. Fazbear Entertainment then bans her from ever getting a job at any Freddy's forever.

June 8, 1987: Circus Baby’s EAR closes due to the lack of animatronics. After the experience at Circus Baby’s and everything with the other Freddy’s, Michael pieces together that his father was the one responsible for everything. He then vows to find him.

Summer of 1993: Fazbear Entertainment tries one more time with Freddy’s, and creates a third location. Scotty Brooks, who has been recording everything that happened to the Fazbear brand, volunteers to be the night guard after the animatronics go through 4 of them. He goes through a few weeks before being killed by HER. He left some recordings on the phone in the office to help the next poor chap. In comes Michael Afton, or Mike Schmidt. He completes his 6 nights with the help from Brooks. But he keeps on getting IT’S ME messages from the old Fredbear suit in the safe room. On his 7th night, he tinkers with the animatronics, hoping that it will set the children free. It didn’t. After a hard night, Fazbear Entertainment fires and bans him from Freddy’s. Soon after they close due to no one wanting to go to a restaurant that has been tied to these horrible events.

Early Fall of 1993: Michael Afton has horrible nightmares that range 6 nights. These are caused by two figures from his past. William Afton breaks into the closed Freddy’s and destroys the four main animatronics. The souls from the animatronics chase him down and he is driven into the old Funbun suit, the suit that he lured the children and killed them in. He puts it on to scare them off, but the moist and moldy state of the suit and the rapid movement sets the springlocks off, killing him. His body lays there for a long time before the entire building is closed off.

2012: Michael adopts a girl named Vanessa.

Spring of 2015: Fazbear’s Frights is in development, and Jamie Jackson (formally James), applies for the Fright guard job. While Frights is being set up, the springlocked Afton terrorizes them for 4 nights, and on their 6th night on the job, they call in Michael who comes over to confront his father. They both decide to set the place on fire and blame it on faulty wiring. Fazbear’s Frights burns, but Afton survives.

Summer of 2015: Henry Emily contacts Michael, and they form a plan to end the nightmares for good. Henry lures Lefty, who holds the Puppet(Charlie) and Golden Bonnie(Michelle), Scrap Baby, who was Circus Baby(Elizabeth), Molten Freddy, who holds the MC, the DC, and Funtime Freddy (May Jackson), and Springtrap(William Afton). They lure them all there and burn the place to the ground, taking themselves with them. All of them pass on except William and Cassidy Li(Golden Freddy).

Fall of 2015: Cassidy traps William in a personal hell between life and death, killing him over and over again with his own creations. Meanwhile, Fazbear Entertainment tries to pick itself up by making games poking fun at the events in the past. They collect the old, burned animatronics, and load in their old hardware. And on one of hardwares is a remnant of William’s soul. By loading him into their coding, William escapes Cassidy’s hell. The Puppet and the other MC pitch in to give Cassidy her Happiest Day, and she finally passed on.

Spring of 2026: After having financial success with the games, Fazbear Entertainment makes a VR game to top off their success. In the development, William Afton infects the code and becomes Glitchtrap. Jeremy Fritzgerald Jr. becomes a victim of his mind control as he tries to take over his body, and eventually tries to kill himself after Glitchtrap tries to invade his body. Glitchtrap abandons him, not wanting to take such a risk, and that’s when Tanya Jackson(Tape girl) comes into play. She discoverers Glitchtrap in the game and tries to tell Fazbear Entertainment, but they brush it off. Tanya makes tapes to warn other beta testers of Glitchtrap, but through those tapes Glitchtrap manages to trap her soul in a Freddy suit in the game, sending her body into a coma. Glitchtrap attempts to possess her body, but it just has her sent to a mental hospital. The next beta tester, Vanessa Afton, finds the tapes and gets a grip on what is the deal with the game. Glitchtrap instead of just taking over body, infects her mind and starts to turn her towards his ways. Vanessa traps in a Bonnie plush, but still hears and sees him everywhere.

Early Summer of 2026: The Special Delivery emails. Vanessa loses herself to Glitchtrap’s influence and becomes “Vanny”.

Late Summer of 2026: Security Breach.

[twelvedy7]

Twisted - One shot

warning: sensitive topics (drugs). 

I just wanted to write something a bit different. It might be a bit OCC but I thought it might be a great fit for the manga universe.   This story won’t be published anywhere else than tumblr so feel free to save the story if you like it.

Oh and also english isn’t really my native language so sorry if there are incoherences. 

Takano had no sense of self-control. From a very young age he has been a witness of the sheer harshness of his mother and the complete indifference of his father towards their family. Despite how much he tried to convince himself of his difference he inherited from most of their flaws, which filled him with anger every time he thought about it. 

No wonder that whenever he met someone bright, kind, generous and appreciated he became more aware of his whole dark gloomy personality. That was the case with Ritsu he was still viewing today as the 16 year-old teen he used to be a decade ago.

No wonder that when he met this bright, kind and generous highschool kid he had become more aware of his dark gloomy personality. He was still viewing Ritsu as the 16 year-old teen he used to be a decade ago and yet he couldn’t understand for the life of him the reason why such a lovable person would waste their time with him rather than finding another likeable person that would be such a better companion than him.

If all the open rejections from the brunette could make him believe he hated him, he was at least smart enough to read between the lines and see what the other tried so hard to conceal under feigned anger and flustered reactions. 

What seemed to be like a bitter-sweet genuine love story from two ignorant teenagers who lost each other from a foolish misunderstanding was driving him straight into madness. Ritsu was constantly on his mind, invading his thoughts at any time of the day, reminding him of the terrible person he was and how he will never be nowhere near enough for him. Even in the poorly credible reality where the younger one would actually build up the courage to admit his feelings, he knew that their relationship was sealed to failure. 

One day Ritsu would mature and realise how incompatible they were and how idealistic they’ve been this whole time before leaving him to find another person that could offer him the support and love he needed. Maybe one day Ritsu would find the man of his dreams, different from senpai in every way, to finally live the blissful life he aspired to. That’s what broke his heart the most: they were not made for each other. No matter how hard he tried, it will never be enough because they were simply not meant to. 

He imagined Ritsu’s soulmate to be fun, social, caring, communicative and considerate which would make him forget all the turmoil he went through for all this time. His parents might be so enchanted by their personality that the fact they weren’t An-Chan wouldn’t even bother them.

The truth is he was physically and emotionally drained. He couldn’t feel a thing if it wasn’t his love for Ritsu and sometimes he felt as if that was his last tie with sanity. There were times where he would shut down his emotions. When it became too difficult to confront their inevitable fate, he would put himself in a semi-automatic mode working up to 15 hours straight without paying attention to anything or anyone, only accomplishing what he ought to.

Over time, he came to accept that he wasn’t able to love anyone without causing them a great deal of pain and suffering. That’s why he decided to distance himself from the few people who actually cared about him in his life and managed to bring him some split meaningful moments of happiness. It was like a lightning bolt shaking him from side to side, making him surrender to the hope of one day being able to spend the rest of his life with Ritsu and recovering from his long-lost friendship with Yokozawa. He hurt them both and didn’t deserve to be part of their lives. 

His phone vibrated. He broke off his thoughts to center his attention on the alias displaying on the screen: “Taisho” along with a message “I’m here.”

He stood up from the floor, came up to the entrance of his apartment and opened the door. A man of average-height in his mid-thirties was waiting for him. At first glance, he gave the impression of being a regular salary-man coming back home to his family after a long day of hard work. However, he came to discover that the man likely had a long history of debt behind him involving matters such as a costly divorce and low paychecks.

Not bothering to greet him, he pulled out 6,000 yen from his pocket and handed it to the fearful looking man who replaced the notes with a small transparent plastic bag containing a white powder. 

“Same thing next week?” asked the anxious black-haired man, his light blue eyes too faithful to be a dealer squeezing behind his oval glasses. 

“Yeah. See you.” 

Without giving him a second glance, he double-locked the door and came back to his dimly lit living room that felt so lonely without Ritsu here. It would take some time, if not forever, to prevent this heavy load in his heart from manifesting every time he would find himself alone without the prospect of his first love joining him any time soon. 

It still pained him… Nao came unannounced in the office earlier in the morning and asked Ritsu out for something that too likely looked like a date. A walk in the city center, a restaurant, and a nighttime exposure. That bastard. 

The rare times he had managed to take Ritsu out for a date was by forcefully dragging him out of his apartment or bluntly lying by message playing the card of ‘emergency’. He remembered the dull ache he felt in the morning as he realised how easy it was for his “best-friend” to take him out to a full outing while he had to prepare a strategy days ahead just to drink a coffee together. 

Opening the tiny bag in his hands, he chased away his dark thoughts and kneeled in front of his coffee table, pouring half of the powder out on its surface and realigned it in two fine lines with the help of an old credit card. He usually didn’t take such high doses in one shot, but tonight he knew that he needed it. The accumulated pain and overthinking were taking a toll on him. Rolling a paper, he brought it to his right nostril and sniffed the first line, ignoring the burning pain in his cavity before passing it to his left one and repeated the action.

A few seconds later he started feeling the tiny molecules flowing through his blood system, noticing the faster pace of his heart beat and the gradual relaxation of his muscles as the drug invaded his mind.

He closed his eyes. 

As always, the thrill was exquisite. The far away sounds of ambient city noises echoed and at some point the only thing he could decipher in the absolute silence was his own breath. His body was soft and any psychological pain he felt instantly disappeared. It was as if someone had covered him with a warm fluffy blanket while stroking his hair with a gentle grasp, providing him an endless feeling of comfort and security he so desperately needed. 

At that moment, everything stopped and all his troubles went away. Nothing mattered anymore. He was back being a young child pampered by a protective mother he never had with an unconditional sense of love. Pleasurable sensations coursed through his body from head to toes until his spirit went numb and he lost any notion of space and time. 

He reached that moment of nothingness that he wished could last forever.

___ 

“Takano-san!” 

...

“Takano-san!” 

Who was it? 

The voice seemed so far away he wasn’t even sure it was real.

“Masamune!” Why would someone try to break the silent darkness that was surrounding him?

For what seemed like hours, he felt himself trapped in-between the process of gaining and losing consciousness. He didn’t want to be drawn from his deep slumber yet.

He recognized some familiar voices in the background but it was hard to put a name on them as they seemed to continuously echo. 

It took him several more minutes to realise that people were present and it shook him. He became hyper aware of his environment.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a bunch of white blouses around him scampering around the room at a feverish speed. 

His mind whirled. The world seemed to be going so fast but his brain was so slow. 

His golden eyes blinked several times to adjust to the brightness of the room. In an instant he was blinded by the artificial light of the leds on the ceiling. 

In the chaos of all the fast-paced strangers around him, he felt a delicate hand fondling with the hair on the short back of his neck and let out a soft tired moan escape his lips. 

“Takano-san can you hear me?!” 

He groggily stretched out his limbs while burying his head on the petite body frame behind him and looked up to see who was the kind stranger offering him such soft intentions. 

Above him were two wide teary green eyes displaying a worried expression. Despite his blurry vision, he could recognize the refined and familiar traits of the man he loved. It looked surreal, having the both of them like this sharing such intimacy in a restless atmosphere.

Next to him was standing Yokozawa in his usual professional attire. He could only watch them through half-closed eyes all the while trying to figure out what they were doing in his apartment in the first place.

“He’s stable now. Overdoses happen regularly when cocaine and other powerful stimulants are added to the equation. That’s what producers do nowadays to boost the effects”. Said a firm feminine voice. He could see the lady in white gesturing around to her colleagues and immediately realised what just happened. She was staring at him, probably trying to jauge how awake her patient was. 

“You were lucky Takano-san. This could have been much more serious.” 

He saw his friend sitting next to Ritsu, his usual severe expression ruptured by the deep crease in his eyebrows. 

“How did you find me?” asked the raven, his voice so weak he wasn’t sure the two others heard him. 

The brunette brought his face closer to his ear, petting his forehead as he replied in a shaky shy voice: “Yokozawa-san found you like this…” he heard a sneeze. “The front door was unlocked and your phone was ringing without you answering it. You… You stopped breathing.” 

He felt absolutely miserable. 

Trying to shift his position to have a better view of his comrades, he caught the look of utter disappointment and guilt from his older friend. He probably thought that he was long done with this dark hazardous period of his life. 

“I’m… I’m sorry... I didn’t want to…” 

His battle to stay awake was getting harder and harder. 

“It’s okay Masamune. Just rest for now.”

The nurse took a hold of his wrist and stuck the intravenous line with a patch. 

“We’re going to transfer you to the clinic as you need to take several tests. You’re safe now but your body needs to recover.” 

The hand that was playing with his hair resumed and he let his head fall back on his lap. This combined with the liquid in his body led him to a sleep without dreams.

___

When he woke up again, he found himself buried under the sheets of a hospital bed. It took him some time to become accustomed to the artificial lighting of the room. Gathering enough energy to finally keep his eyes open, he gazed at the clock at his right indicating 4:55AM.

The first thing he felt was an atrocious headache that hit him with a massive chest pain undertaking his whole body. He noticed the numerous wires connected to his skin accompanied with the steady regular bips of a machine.

He heard a light snore on his right. Shifting his head, he immediately saw the small fragile figure crawling up into a ball on the couch. A cheap blanket was covering him from toes to his neck. This sight made him feel so terribly selfish. As seconds went by he started getting back to a normal state of awareness despite a fizzy pang at the back of his skull. 

With as much strength as he could gather he sprawled a hand towards him and rested it on the others’ laps. He stroked his thigh lightly with the help of his thumb and stared at his seemingly exhausted resting face. He felt so worthless. He knew he had hurt him badly in the past already and the only thing he could think of is that this was too much.

“I’m so sorry Ritsu…”. 

After reuniting with his first love following the 10 years they had spent apart from one another he had started to believe in fate. Yet he had been too trustful, using it as a justification for every one of his impatient and inappropriate moves towards the younger one. Everything became painfully obvious. This whole thing they had was destructive and that was mainly his fault. It was time to finally respect the distance that Ritsu wanted and deserved. He could not go back to these college years pretending that nobody cared about him. 

Now Ritsu would need him. 

Still, they were nowhere near close from getting into a relationship. Too many mistakes had been made. It was crucial for both men to work on themselves first as jumping the steps one more time would only bring them unhappiness.

That day Takano swore he would stop pursuing Ritsu. He’s forever been broken and finally accepting to get help was a start towards a less twisted life.

“It’s okay Ritsu.” 

One day they would be okay. They would get the life they both secretly wanted. 

[fanficsrusz]

I WANT TO KI__ YOU CHAPTER TEN - DARK! JOHN WICK

Warnings: Kidnapping, Dub-Con, Non-con, Stockholm Syndrome, Being Restrained, Breeding, everything bad.

PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. IF YOU FIND ANY OF THESE WARNINGS TRIGGERING, THEN DO NOT READ. BY CONTINUING TO READ FROM THIS POINT ON, YOU ARE AGREEING THAT YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH ALL OF THE ABOVE WARNINGS. I DO NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU FEEL TRIGGERED BY THE FOLLOWING CONTENT SINCE THERE HAS BEEN PLENTY OF WARNINGS. IF YOU FEEL LIKE ANY OTHER WARNINGS SHOULD BE ADDED THEN PLEASE POLITELY DM ME AND I WILL ADD THEM.

Word Count: 3k

Summary: Summery: After failing to fulfill his contract, John takes a liking to y/n and his liking soon turns into a dark obsession

I want to ki__ you playlist

A/n: It feels like ages since I updated this story but I'm finally back. I wasn't too sure what I wanted to happen in this chapter but hopefully i've done okay.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I look forward to reading all your comments and feedback. If you liked this chapter then please reblog it. That is how writers like myself are able to spread out work to other people, especially because there have been a lot of issues with tags lately. Thank you ❤️

Chapter one 

<<< Chapter Nine          Chapter Eleven>>>

Love is confusing. It comes and goes instantly. There is no warning, no sign of when it  will suddenly strike. It’s unpredictable, untamable and it’s scary. Love never says 'I want'. Love asks 'What do you need?'. Love asks 'How can I help you?'. Love listens with patience and empathy. Love is demonstrated in how someone takes actions to care and make self-sacrifice where necessary. Love says 'Let's thrive together.' Love offers a helping hand, a full heart and an open mind. Love is warmth. Love is safety, the thing that makes you forget about everything else in life. Love is John.

John offered y/n those things. He gave her what she needed, what was best for her. He took away all the bad things in her life, all the things that kept her up at night. She no longer had to think about when her next paycheck would come and worry if she had enough money in order to afford the rent. She didn’t have to worry about every little noise she heard outside or the distant screams that she was sure was a cry for help. 

But at what point does love turn into obsession? 

John only meant her good. He didn’t mean to scare her, to hurt her and deep down y/n knew that. In some ways, she loved him too.

The longer she stayed with John, the longer her thoughts constantly drifted to him; he was her everything. Insanity stole into her mind like a deranged thief, taking what was important to her, adding new dangerous ideas, seeding a new personality and muddling up the rest. 

New sparks of ideas that once she would have dismissed as bizarre started to grow roots, deep roots, they started to make sense in one revolutionary eureka moment after another, cascading out of control, luring her further and further from the self she once knew, until she was so deep that she no longer recognised herself, making new connections in her new distorted reality that she grew to love. 

After a while, her mind had formed an inescapable maze, a prison without walls.

Y/n held her hand over her mouth, the other rigidly clutching the white of the shirt she wore, her eyelids shut so tightly that they began to fidget and shudder from the force, as if the very corners of her eyes were being pricked with a needle, crying silent tears that ran past her plump, red cheeks and over her knuckles until finally dripping onto the floor with as much a sound as the woman's hushed agony.

She stood paralyzed in fear, the scent of perturbation invaded the room. Her terrorized feet refused to move and all her hands agreed to do was to stay covering her frightened face. Yet the excited buzz in her stomach continued to grow, the deep burn from inside that John had put there.  

She hated that she loved it, that she loved him. He was insane, delusional, a man driven by his own sick desires and she was nothing more than a stepping stone that helped him achieve his goals. But she couldn’t help but fall for him. However, she was scared; there was such joy and so much pain. 

Before John, y/n had only ever really loved two men, and they were so very different to each other. John was some holy blend of them both. So, she was happy to have met him, she just wished it was under different circumstances but she had never wanted any form of eternity until now, she never saw the point, until John. 

y/n lifted her head and stared into her distorted reflection of the metal cooker topper. It wasn't even shiny, yet she could tell from her reflection that she was a mess. John stood behind her, watching her every move carefully but his eyes still lit up with love and admiration for her. He admired everything about her, from the way the breeze blew her hair to the softness of her voice. To John, she looked like some kind of water sprite even when she thought she looked terrible. 

As y/n watched the twisted smile form on John's face, fear curled up inside her and clung to her ribs, settling uncomfortably in her chest. She didn’t doubt the feelings she had for him were there to stay, reminding her of its existence every time she opened her mouth to breathe, but it was getting hard for her to deny.

The panic started like a tightening of the chest, as if her muscles were trying not to let another breath in, but instead to die. Her tiredness made her head hang limp like wet laundry on a cold still day. She felt like every muscle was giving into gravity and she couldn’t control it any more. Then the breathing came, shallow, lungs unable to move much against her suddenly heavy ribs. Her mind became static, thoughts making no sense, repeats of horrors once forgotten. 

Beneath her feet the wooden floor felt soft, not as much as even a firm carpet, but not right for oak planks. y/n moved to the turn around, her back sliding against the edge of the counter, her legs brushing against the mildewed cupboard door. It was hard to make out the details of the room through blurred eyes, but after a while she could make out the features of the room. It was the same as it ever was, just abandoned, old, dusty. 

Forgetting the floor she tried to move forward forward, "I can’t- I can’t" Her only response was the creaking of a door moving lazily in the breeze. It was all too much for her: John, her emotions, her new life - she couldn’t cope. 

y/n staggered backward, her mind swirling, her breaths shallow until she fell in a heap to the floor.  On the way down she knocked over a vase but y/n didn’t even notice. All she was aware of was the loud crash that filled her ears and then the warmth around her.  John was a blur as he ran towards her, eyes wide and voice muffled through the ringing in her ears. 

She felt it break - her sanity, much like the vase that also fell onto the floor beside her.  Her last shred of normalcy shattered into a million pieces. The shards laid on the floor glittering in the sun, who knew breaking down could look so beautiful. She knew there was no hope in trying to put them back together, so she wouldn’t even try. she just sat there staring at John as his lips moved but no noise came out.

At first there was only silence, a misty haze upon the horizons of her mind. That's where she normally kept everything, in her mind. That was until now. She could feel the hard painful lump in the back of her throat as the tears continued to fall. Slowly her breathing hallowed itself and a small but intense pain struck the top nerve in her head. Before she knew it there was shouting, they were hers, yet they seemed so distant and she couldn’t even make out what they said.

Her remaining thread of strength frayed before breaking completely, sending her plummeting over the edge and into the darkness. Hysterical sobs shook her small frame, threatening to tear her apart from the inside. She fought to reclaim control over her body, shocked by the sounds escaping from deep within her chest but the calm never came.

“y/n!” John shouted over and over, trapped in a mantra as he tried to get her to answer him but all he got was cries.

John slowly pulled her closer to his chest,  wrapping his arms around her tightly before he gently squeezed. His embrace was warm, and his big, strong arms seemed very protective when wrapped around her frail body. The world around her melted away as she squeezed him back, not wanting the moment to end. Wrapped in a warm swaddle of his chest and arms, y/n’s tears seemed to die down, as if his hug was a sort of medicine to her pain. She didn't want to leave. It felt as if when she was in his arms all her pain went away - mental and physical, mostly the depressing pain.

John had never seen y/n cry like that, so deflated. Her loose shoulders still shook softly, her hands hanging limp around him, making no attempt to conceal or even wipe away her own tears. Aside from her reddened face she was so grey looking and her hair was dishevelled. John had seen others cry like that, normally when they begged for their lives before he killed them, and in every case it was a transition from a person with hope to one without. It was how they all begged for their lives; It was how John had cried when he lost his child; it was how John cried the day his wife passed. It was a kind of crying that showed the child underneath, that the pain had cut right back through the protective layers acquired in maturity.

“Don’t cry, Princess-” he placed a soft kiss onto her forehead and knelt down onto his knees as he brought her closer to his chest, “-everything will be okay, i’m here”.

Even Though y/n could hardly breath between her sobs, she reached out and hugged John tightly, a hug so warm yet so different from a motherly embrace and y/n felt her mind slowly calm. How could it be that she hadn't seen John’s love for what it was before? Pure. Unselfish. Undemanding. Free. She felt his body press in, soft and warm. This was the love she'd waited for, prayed for. She inwardly thanked God and hugged all the tighter. A love like this was to be cherished for life. 

When they finally parted after several minutes, tears stopping and breathing normal, y/n felt his absence as a cold wind, wishing she could keep him wrapped around her like a well worn sweater for always.

John smiled and held her at arm’s length, his eyes softening as he watched the way she brushed her tears away from her reddening cheeks. 

“Feel better?” he asked and y/n only nodded, unable to form any words under his gaze. 

“Good, let’s get you cleaned up” y/n cocked her head to the side, not sure what he was talking about until she followed his gaze down to her arm.

A deep wound was sliced in the flesh of her lower left arm. It heavily oozed out blood and there was a bluish-purple bruise forming around it. y/n lightly pressed her index finger against the center of the cut and sucked in a sharp breath as the pain spiraled all across her body. She wasn’t even aware of the cut caused by the vase until that very moment. Colorful spots contoured the sides of her eyes and y/n  had to bite her lip from the pain of it all, the adrenaline that numbed her pain slowly fading away.

“Ow” she whimpered out and John pulled her finger away. 

“Stop that” he whispered and pushed his arms under her armpits, lifting her from the floor. y/n said nothing as John led her to the bathroom again and gently placed her onto the side of the bath. She watched as John shifted through the cupboard, pulling out different bottles of medicines before finally turning back to her. 

John gently lifted her arm and turned on the tap, holding it under the running water. The water enveloped her as closely as her own skin. Every new sore stung  as John tipped a bottle of TCP up-side-down before he poured some over her cut. y/n winced as the pain swirled without mercy, penetrating to the cells that should have been protected by smooth skin but lie open and raw. 

y/n hissed at the pain and John hated to see her like that but it was the only way to avoid infection. 

“Sorry” John simply said, eyes not leaving the cut as he softly dabbed it with a cotton bud, wiping away any blood that remained in the cut before examining it for any more glass fragments that may be hiding inside. The simple touch sent a wave of butterflies coursing through her veins, their fluttering wings easing the dread that had settled inside her as she stared at John. 

“Why don’t I hate you?” she blurted out and John seemed to tense at her words. 

“What?”

“I should hate you. You- you raped me” her voice grew quiet with every passing word and John stopped his movements, turning the running water off before turning his gaze to her - firm and stoic. 

“I didn’t - rape you” he said sternly and y/n bit the inside of her cheek as she looked down at her cut again. “Didn’t  you want it? Didn’t you want to have sex with me?” he asked after several seconds of silence.

“I - I don’t know. That’s what’s confusing me.”

John exhaled heavily and moved to sit next to her on the side of the bathtub. 

“Did I hurt you?” his voice was low, much like a child who had been told off and y/n shook her head. 

“No -” y/n turned slightly, facing him and grabbed onto his knee as she drew reassuring circles with her thumb. “-You didn’t hurt me. You never have. I just don’t know what to feel right now. I should hate you but I dont and I know you're mad at me and-”

“You think i’m mad at you?” John interrupted, reaching his hand up to grab onto her hand, stopping her movements. y/n stilled for a moment in his touch until she felt him push her away.

"I can feel the pain that swirls in your brain, y/n, the confusion. All the stories you keep telling yourself as if they hold answers. They don't. People do things because their emotions are driving them that way... all those things that hurt you, princess, had nothing to do with you at all”

y/n lips formed a tight smile as she played with her fingers. She couldn’t explain her thoughts, her feelings, her fears. They stirred together in her head and threatened to boil over at any second and John only made it worse; his eyes showed the kind of gentle concern her grandfather used to have yet his actions said something different. 

John laid his hand lightly on her shoulder, and instead of flinching like she usually did, y/n  was soothed by it. He had spoken with a soft voice that calmed her more by the way it was said rather than the actual words. It felt as if she was wrapped in a blanket of his care. How could she not fall in love with him now that she could see how much he truly loved her? 

“I just don’t know what to feel. It’s like I love you but I know it’s wrong. You hurt me, scared me, took me away from my life, yet I don’t want to go back-” she inhaled deeply, “I just don’t understand what I feel. Normally I can talk to someone about my issues and they could give me some advice but I’m pretty sure this isn’t something that most people go through” she chuckled softly, her heart sinking as she felt John shift beside her. 

“I never intended to hurt you” he whispered before standing up.

y/n’s eyes followed John as he moved, his normally stoic face having turned into a frown before he disappeared out of the bathroom. Y/n sat there, staring at the empty doorway for a second, preparing herself to follow before John quickly re-appeared.

Her eyes formed half crescents as she stared at the face she had grown to love but her smile dropped and heart sank when her eyes caught the glint of the knife he held in his hands. 

“John?” she croaked out, breath catching in her throat as she pushed herself to stand, taking a step back. She didn’t understand. Was he going to hurt her? She had just confessed her emotions to him and now, this?

“I’m sorry” he said softly, his hand lifting almost robotically whilst he stepped forward. y/n closed her eyes, her heart stopping as she waited for everything to be over, to feel the knife sink deep into her skin but it never came. 

Instead she felt his presence linger just in front of her before John did the unthinkable - he shoved the knife into y/n’s hand.

 y/n opened her eyes slowly, her eyes wearing a puzzled expression as she studied John's sunken eyes that were trained on the floor. She held the knife, twisting it under the artificial bathroom light, her confusion exaggerated by the dark shadows around her eyes as she glanced at the weapon in her hand.

 Although rust had already set in on the handle of the knife, the blade was strong and jagged - more than enough to hurt John or even kill him. She had the perfect opportunity to do it, to end everything and go back to her old life.. She could already see him in a pool of darkening blood, it would be so easy. 

“I don’t understand - I” y/n started

“I want you to stab me - hurt me, just like I hurt you” his voice was quiet and his eyes never left the floor. y/n glanced upward to look at John as he stepped closer to the blade. Y/n’s mouth pursed but remained slightly open and loose. Her eyes were fixed as if she was staring into a dark abyss and she slowly blinked. 

With a shaky hand, she lifted the knife, holding the pointed weapon to John’s stomach. She knew exactly where to stab for it to be fatal - she had learned a lot as a nurse. It was now or never; she had to make a choice. All she had to do was push the knife forward and it would all be over.

TBC

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[itsuki-minamy]

“K - THE FIRST STORY”

EPILOGUE: TO BE CONTINUED (Complete)

* K - The First Story (List of Chapters) * Projects & Chapters

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Ridia

The "Green King" looked at the monitor and muttered under his breath.

"The Weissmann deviation of the 'Colorless King', the Weissmann deviation of Adolf K. Weissmann and the Weissmann deviation of Mikoto Suoh have disappeared."

The man in priest's clothing next to him frowned at the simple words of the "Green King."

"In the end, the 'Golden King' didn't move."

"Yes, but there is a record that the 'Golden King' communicated with the 'Silver King'. Maybe he entrusted everything to the 'Silver King', or..."

The "Green King" slightly raised the edge of his mouth.

"Does the 'Golden King' no longer have enough power to move on its own?"

A child sitting under the feet of the "Green King" snorted when he heard it.

"If the most troublesome guy is seriously getting old, isn't that convenient for us?"

"Affirmative. It may not be long before we get out."

A sleek young man leaning on the couch looked at the "Green King" with tentative eyes under his long lashes.

"But it's a shame that your obsessive 'Silver King' died so easily. Or rather, the immortal 'King' actually died, didn't he?"

"What about that?"

The "Green King's" eyes gleamed as if waiting for something. His eyes were looking at the state of the school island when he was about to settle through the monitor.

"The "Silver King" is an immutable king. Even if the body was abducted by the interference of the "Colorless King", his soul escaped immutable without being invaded. Once again, his "immutability" may still be alive, although it seems that it has been burned by the flames of the destruction of the 'Red King'."

"Kuwa! Kuwa!"

The parrot, who was sitting on the "Green King's" shoulder, made a loud noise.

This parrot was a friend and go-between for the "Green King". He also had a conversation with the "Colorless King" through this parrot.

The "Green King" put his cheeks on his head as if he was aiming at a parrot.

"If the 'Silver King' is alive, he will be back soon. This time, the 'Silver King' will be on my game board."

All his friends looked at the "Green King". Everyone felt that his body was silent, but releasing a large amount of energy.

++++++++++

After sending Kukuri to the place where the other students were evacuating, Kuro joined Neko and returned to Gakuenjima to search for the boy.

Neko seemed to have slept the entire time after using great power. The current situation didn't swallow well, and she was walking fast on an unstaffed school island, rolling her big eyes, only to find that the boy was purely lost.

Kuro knew that the boy headed into the battle between the "Red King" and the "Blue King", keeping the soul of the "Colorless King" trapped in his body. He witnessed the bright red column of fire that tore through the heavens with the full blow of the "Red King" and the fall of the red sword of Damocles.

Later, he crossed the connecting bridge in Gakuenjima alone and confirmed the appearance of the "Blue King" Munakata returning from a distance. He couldn't tell Neko what those facts meant.

The sun was bent, and the red light of twilight stained the uneven island of the school. The place where Suoh and Munakata transformed into a battlefield, had a particularly large mark of destruction, showing the ferocity of the battle.

He crossed between the trees that were burned black and felled, and finally they headed to the place where they could see a huge column of fire. Neko followed with an anxious look behind Kuro who was walking silently.

The column of fire rose around the shrine at the rear of Gakuenjima. Climbing up the long stone steps that collapsed after the battle that followed the shrine, Kuro made his way to the place with Neko.

As soon as she climbed the stone steps and opened her eyes, for Neko who was small, it was impressive.

In the shrine precincts, the soil was excavated like a crater and did not retain its original shape.

As they approached the rim of the crater, the ground was still warm and the temperature was transmitted underneath the shoes. Kuro walked slowly along the edge.

Suddenly, Neko screamed and ran off, yelling "Shiro!" Kuro reflexively waited for Neko to run.

However, what was there was not the figure of the boy, but the red umbrella that the boy always had.

The umbrella sank deep into the ground like a tombstone. Neko grabbed the handle of the umbrella and pulled hard to remove it.

"Uh, it doesn't want to go out!"

With Neko's power, the umbrella half buried in the ground did not move, but Neko's hand slipped and fell back. Kuro slowly approached and took out the umbrella instead of Neko. Neko desperately jumped on the umbrella Kuro was holding.

"Give it to me! I'll give it to Shiro!"

Seeing her hug the umbrella carefully, a sad thing rushed into his chest.

"Hey, Neko. You won't be able to hand it over to Shiro anymore."

He spoke those words to her in the softest voice possible. The words he spoke returned to his thoughts and he felt pain.

Neko filled with tears in her eyes and made a wet voice.

"No! I'll give it to Shiro! I'll give it to Shiro!"

It became difficult and Kuro involuntarily strengthened his vocabulary.

"Listen to me! Shiro is…!"

"Because Shiro is a 'King'!"

Before Neko who yelled that at him with a desperate face, Kuro was shocked and lost his words.

(I am the immortal "King".)

The appearance of the boy who said that with a kind expression and a calm voice revived in his mind.

That could have been a manifestation of the boy's intention to go back to Kuro and Neko.

A gentle tidal-scented breeze blew from the sea, caressing Kuro's skin to comfort him. In his heart, Kuro chanted a phrase.

(Embracing resignation, the curtain does not fall.)

He once encouraged the boy with that phrase. He wasn't going to give up. Where are you? He mentally asks the boy. He chided himself for trying to give up hope of finding him.

He walked over to Neko, who was hugging the umbrella and stiffened, and Kuro gently approached her.

"That's right. Shiro is our 'King'."

Neko stared at Kuro in amazement, and she stared into Kuro's eyes for a while, trying to discern with her large eyes.

Finally, Neko relaxed her strengthened body and placed her hand on Kuro's.

The thin white hand of her partner was tightly wrapped by Kuro and he pulled hard.

Neko held the boy's umbrella in one arm, held one hand in Kuro's and stood up.

++++++++++

Reporting how the Weissmann deviations of the three "Kings", "Colorless King", "Silver King" and "Red King" disappeared, Daikaku Kokujoji replied with a single word, "Yes."

The "rabbit" gently looked at the Lord's face from under his face. There was no sadness on his face with the deep drag that makes you feel the years that he has lived.

The "rabbits" also hid a war-etched face under the rabbit-shaped face. It is an old "rabbit" that only differs ten times from the normal path. For many years, he was the oldest "rabbit" that had slipped through "Tokijikuin" and moved like his limbs.

This is why he realized that Kokujoji did not have a calm heart now.

This rabbit knew that while Kokujoji Daikaku was a solid and unshakable person, he had an old friend who lived in the soft part of his heart.

The reason why he changed the figure to "Golden King" was to rebuild Japan, which was devastated after the war. In fact, thanks to him, there is now development in this country. At the same time, Kokujoji continued to be the "King" and to defend the Dresden "Slate" due to the friendships and dreams that were cultivated in Germany during the war.

(Only I will be the ideal "King", so he watches from there.)

The "rabbit" never forgot the expression of determination that young Kokujoji had, looking towards the Himmelreich, the airship in which Adolf K. Weissmann was on board, which arrived in Japan. It was the moment when the "rabbit", who was still a child, decided to dedicate himself to his path.

"His Excellency..."

The "rabbit" involuntarily called out to the Lord, called out to him, but did not know how to continue his words after that.

Kokujoji opened his mouth before the "rabbit" found the words.

"Prepare for the departure of the 'Meifu (Underworld)'."

The "rabbit" opened his eyes. The "Meifu" was the same type of airship that Weissmann had that crashed, the "Sky" Himmelreich, and was kept secret by Kokujoji in case of emergency.

"That is the immortal 'King'."

The "rabbit" said that to get ahead of Kokujoji's response.

He was embarrassed by the misunderstanding that he thought that the reason Kokujoji's heart was not calm was because of grief over the loss of an important old friend.

The "rabbit" bowed deeply.

"Yes."

"What about his clan members?"

"Kuro Yatogami, who was a member of the Ichigen Miwa clan, and a Strain girl who calls herself Neko."

"Fix the room where he lived at school, and make it the base of them. Tell them: 'Wait for your Lord in this room.'"

"Yes, his Excellency."

The "rabbit" quickly turns around and begins to move to fulfill the Lord's intentions.

Things related to the "Silver King" are not over yet.

++++++++++

He washes off Mikoto Suoh's blood from his hands.

The red one, symbolizing the man who so upset Munakata, was easily washed away by running water and disappeared.

The world seemed to be broken due to the cracks in the crystals that entered during the battle.

The gesture of washing off the blood and drying wet hands with a towel became complicated. He realized that now he was upset.

"Captain."

Awashima's voice was heard. Hearing the voice that was the flag, Munakata's disturbed emotions subsided and he returned to the control of order.

"All students on the evacuated school island were confirmed to be safe. Students whose bodies have been abducted by the 'Colorless King' do not appear to have sequelae. Only the slightly injured, but the injured students were taken to the hospital in cooperation with the ambulance team."

"Okay. Good job."

"I have confirmed all of the Gakuenjima students, but... the girl named Neko and Kuroh Yatogami, who were working with Yashiro Isana, are missing."

"That's all."

Munakata turned to Awashima. The scar on the flank stabbed by the Red Clan member who was kidnapped by the "Colorless King" was small. It was a shooting pain that did not go away after treatment.

"I wanted to ask them about the detailed history about the circumstances of the incident, but... it can't be helped, especially since the ability of that girl named Neko is difficult to trace."

"Yes.", Awashima took control and looked at Munakata as if he was looking at her. Just looking at Awashima, Munakata realized that he was somewhat disturbed even when he was seen from the edge.

"Awashima-kun. He had never made a mistake before."

Awashima didn't reply and urged him with only her eyes. Munakata continued steadily.

"But this time I made a mistake... I couldn't stop that guy."

Looking only at the results, Munakata will be the "King" who stopped Damocles from Suoh's fall. But that was what Suoh wanted. Suoh broke Munakata's restraint and ran down the road to ruin, and Munakata was only forced to clean up after that.

Awashima didn't say anything about how Munakata stopped the "Red King". He simply said "Yes." with a serious face.

Feeling safe from it, Munakata smirked to himself.

"How disrespectful. I complained."

"I'm your assistant. Tell me anything."

"That is reliable."

When Munakata smiled, Awashima's expression, which did not break her serious attitude, suddenly shuddered when she looked back.

Munakata looked back to follow her gaze.

There were countless little red lights there.

A group of small red lights moved like fireflies out of season and rose into the sky like sparks. The red lights were born from the bodies of "Homura", who looked in the direction of Gakuenjima at the seashore below the connecting bridge.

"This is…"

Awashima was impressed. Munakata also closed his eyes and looked at the scene.

"Part of Clansman's power is undone with the death of the 'King'. It is ironic that such a violent and selfish man left this dreamlike vision behind."

Fushimi stood by the bridge railing in a stunned atmosphere. He held the area around the left clavicle with his hand. Munakata knew that there was a "mark" burned in that place, from when he was in the red clan in the past.

From Fushimi's body, a small red light spilled out from the place where the "mark" was and soared into the sky.

Munakata, who was silently looking at Fushimi looking at the red light rising from his body with a face like a lost child, suddenly felt a signal to flee the school island.

A familiar kitten and a black dog run in a straight line.

"Oh."

It was the girl Strain and Kuroh Yatogami, of whom Awashima had lost their whereabouts, although they were taking the form of a small animal by reconnaissance operation.

Munakata thought for a moment and ignored it as he was.

Just today, he couldn't feel like catching and questioning those who had lost their precious loved ones.

++++++++++

For a long time no one could move.

The fall of the sword of Damocles. There was no one there who didn't know what that meant.

And more than that, each of them felt the loss of their main existence due to the flames they had on their bodies.

Yata, who would have been angry if he had explained it in words, would have insisted that he did not believe it, but he was stunned without saying a word about the fact that he felt with the flame as his soul.

Kusanagi also stood up without saying anything, holding up Anna, who had collapsed from calling Suoh so much until she was speechless, and continued to look up at the sky over Gakuenjima, where the sword had disappeared.

Finally, the accelerating winter sun set, and the sky dyed only the western edge light red, filling in the signs of the night.

Anna in his arms was no longer crying, and she looked down expressionlessly as if she had turned into a real doll. He had to take her back to a warm place early.

Cooled by the snowy winter air, Kusanagi thought he had to tell them something.

Suoh was not there, who was already a pillar. Not even Totsuka to laugh and empower Kusanagi when he was having a hard time.

Kusanagi had no choice but to speak to his disappointed companions.

However, the words weren't going up Kusanagi's throat at all.

Maybe anything he digested would bring them up to speed. No, when he thought it was his role to chase after him, Kamamoto uttered a low voice.

"No Blood! No Bone! No Ash!"

What Kamamoto said was the motto of "Homura".

No Blood! No Bone! No Ash!

A word that inspired them before the battle and was spoken as an open voice so that they all became a single flame.

But at the same time, it was a word of mourning for those who died.

"No Blood! No Bone! No Ash!"

In response to Kamamoto, the people around him chanted and raised their voices, pushing their fists skyward.

He tightened his voice to sublimate his sadness, and at least he was proud to hide the pitiful appearance from Suoh that left.

Yata, who was crying in a daze, saw his friends cry and raised his fist without wiping his tears.

"No Blood! No Bone! No Ash!"

"No Blood! No Bone! No Ash!"

The men's voices became one, and the air swayed and echoed.

In it, Kusanagi saw a flaming butterfly soaring.

He was surprised to remember the butterfly that Totsuka used to skillfully make with his own flame, but if he looked closely, it was not a butterfly.

It was a small red light that had no shape. It dance like a fluffy butterfly and climb to the sky.

A small light rose from the bodies of "Homura" members. The light that was born from each and every one of them pointed to the sky as if they were trying to serve Suoh. Some of Suoh's flames may have unraveled and separated.

Kusanagi also felt a fever around the right shoulder blade with the "mark." A red light emerged from Kusanagi's body.

Kusanagi's light flew into the sky with the same smooth movement as everyone's light. As the cold white snow billowed from top to bottom, the sight of the warm red light fluttering from bottom to top was fantastic, and Kusanagi breathed trembling.

Anna licked her lips too and stared at the cluster of red lights. Anna descended from Kusanagi's arms, spread her arms and looked up at the sky.

"It's a beautiful red..."

Anna murmured in a low, soft voice.

Kusanagi thought that this scene might be the last gift Suoh gave Anna, and that it was too romantic.

(The king's flames are not all terrifying. They are warm and clean.)

"Can you hear us, Mikoto?"

Kusanagi muttered, narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky. Red light gathered in the air and colored the dark night sky red.

Perhaps due to the temperature of the light, his body heated up before he knew it, even though he was under the snowy sky.

Mikoto Suoh was a man who was not suitable to be "King". Kusanagi still believed it.

Still, Mikoto Suoh was the "King" more than anyone.

He was amazed with fierce flames, fascinated by the beautiful red, cured at a mild temperature, ran alone and wasted away.

To everyone who gathered here, Mikoto Suoh was a "King".

++++++++++

Isana Yashiro was floating.

Although his body was burned to pieces, Isana Yashiro's existence hadn't disappeared and he was floating somewhere.

(This is death?)

The boy thought about that, even though it was something absurd to think about.

When that happened, he felt that everything up to now had been a long dream.

Researcher Adolf K. Weissmann. A trilogy of Weissmann's dream, the dream of the passerby "Silver King" and the dream of a peaceful high school student, Yashiro Isana.

It was all over and he feared that he would not be able to go to heaven or hell.

(That's fine?)

That was the reality of the boy's thinking, which was fluffy like a dream.

(Adolf K. Weissmann, "Silver King", and Isana Yashiro, do you still have something to do?)

(I am the immortal "King".)

Remembering his words that he had left behind, the boy tried to fight even though he had no arms. He tried to figure out where that was, even though he had no eyes. He tried to listen without ears, pay attention to the smell without a nose, and try to find the feeling of the environment without skin.

Sister. Lieutenant. Neko. Kuro.

He tried to name the ones he was thinking of, even though he had neither a throat nor a mouth.

For the first time, Isana Yashiro struggled to live.

[erekiosuncreativeideas]

Being Human - Chapter 16

<= Chapter 15

Summary : Snatcher learns something that is definitely not a good thing. Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/24826561/chapters/68121814

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Sorry for the late posting ! I have a bit of a writer block, and I tried toi delay my chapters as much as possible until I couldn't anymore (the 17th chapter isn't finished so it'll force me to write it eventually), sorry about that ! I hope you're still interested in this story despite my lack of recent activity.

I hope you'll like this chapter !

Of course, the “Oh The Humanity” AU belongs to @doodledrawsthings​​ !

Happy reading !

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Chapter 16 - “So, what are you doing here?”

Out of all the people who could have come out of this hallway, Moonjumper was perhaps the less surprising one to Snatcher. Obviously, the fear of seeing Her had engulfed him since the moment the alarm went off, but now, he felt a huge wave of relief hitting him. The man knew very well this was absolutely stupid for him to think She would be able to come onto the ship uninvited… But still.

His posture relaxed once he realized he wasn’t in danger. This was maybe the first time he was truly happy to see Moonjumper, but compared to Vanessa, this wasn’t really difficult. However… Why was he here? Did something happen with Her…?

The living corpse’s face lit up as his eyes fell on Snatcher and the bow-wearing kid next to him. He had his hands clasped together, his face shifting from worry to relief as he saw them:

-“Oh hello! There you are!” he greeted the two, floating a bit closer, while the bow-wearing child approached him too, her smile wide. Her annoyed expression had been quickly replaced by a happy one, an excited one even, as if she hadn’t seen the guy for weeks when, in fact, it had only been two days.

-“Moonjumper!” she greeted him back, stopping just in front of him, her posture clear of how glad she was to see him. The feeling seemed to be mutual as he gave her a warm smile, just as happy to see her. The other’s eyes soon drifted higher to meet Snatcher’s, and the corpse’s warm expression fell a bit. Well, this wasn’t quite surprising, considering how sour their relationship was. In all honesty, who wouldn’t be put off by seeing their dead, rotten body floating right before them, stolen by an unknown spirit? Not a lot of people.

-“Good morning,” said Snatcher simply, the gears in his mind turning more and more. Was this a simple visit of courtesy or… Was there more to it? The former ghost couldn’t help but think of the worst-case scenario. But could this be possible…? It had only been a few days!

Yet, Vanessa was unpredictable and much cleverer than what she let people think. She wasn’t just a Queen that had gone crazy with jealousy and control… No, no… She was far more intelligent and cruel that one would think. And Snatcher knew that from experience. Furthermore, the man couldn’t help but think of Moonjumper’s worried face as the latter had entered the room… He had a bad feeling, he hated that, but that feeling was definitely there, eating him little by little.

Something had happened.

His thoughts were soon cut short as Moonjumper started to talk again, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence that had followed Snatcher’s greeting:

“I- uh, seem to have triggered some sort of alarm…?” wondered the ghost with confusion and nervousness: “Is… Is this normal?”

The former spirit couldn’t blame the other, that loud thing had surprised him too quite a lot. Just the same, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was something that happened on a regular basis or not. Given how annoyed the little girl had been instead of surprised or startled like he had been, he supposed the former was most likely.

-“Yeah, I was wondering about that too,” added Snatcher with a perplexed frown, tilting his head slightly.

The little girl winced as she glanced away, probably remembering quite a lot of situations revolving about said alarm. When she did start to explain, her features showed some hints of irritation.

-“Well… It’s something that Hat and I built in the spaceship in case of… Incidents.”

-“‘Incidents’?” repeated Snatcher, even more confused and, perhaps, a bit nervous now. What did she mean by that…? Apparently, Moonjumper’s face showed the same signs of worry he was expressing, if not more. Both of their stances were now tensed, waiting anxiously for the child to continue her explanation. At their insistence, she seemed a little uncomfortable, as if she didn’t know how to explain something to them in a way that wouldn’t worry them even more.

Well, this was not a success.

-“Hum… I mean, Space is a dangerous place, you know?” she tried to clarify: “And there are many, many life forms out there, not all being super nice so… It’s better to be prepared, right? Just in case. So Hat and I decided to install that alarm, but…” She paused, looking elsewhere as she kept going, more annoyed: “So far, it has only been a bother, and we never had any problems. But… You never know, right?”

Okay, so if Snatcher was nervous before, now he was just scared. What kind of horrific creatures would cause the need for such a system? Space was not his forte, never had been actually, but now the idea of stargazing through the window just made him terribly ill at ease. Who knew what he’d happen to see in this endless black void…?

Yeah no, he didn’t want to think about that.

As the bow-wearing kid looked back at them, she seemed to notice their change of behaviour and expression and raised her hands quickly:

-“B-but it’s fine!” she soon added with a forced smile: “It doesn’t happen really ofte-”

-“It has happened before?!” interrupted Moonjumper, with a panicked and horrified look in his eyes. Well, then again, Snatcher couldn’t blame him. The simple thought of an unknown creature possibly infiltrating the ship… It made him shiver. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about with Vanessa!

-“No! I mean, yes, but-!” the child was starting to grow a little frustrated and she eventually covered her face with both of her hands, rubbing it as she was maybe thinking of a way to calm the two. Eventually, she sighed and tried to smile again, though it didn’t reassure Snatcher very much: “Your solar system is safe,” she informed them calmly: “You don’t need to be afraid, for real. I mean, otherwise your planet would have probably been invaded by some giant eldritch horrors by now, or-”

The little girl closed her lips shut and tight as she realized she was only making things worse. Giant eldritch horrors? Normally, that wouldn’t scare Snatcher, but being in his fragile and weak human body made him reconsider a lot of things, and this was one of them. With so many risks of dying and not even being sure to come back as a ghost afterwards, he just couldn’t allow himself to be reckless... Especially with the time limit looming over them, this sword of Damocles looming over their head. He had to be there if Vanessa happened to do something, whether it was as a powerful spirit… Or as a weak and pathetic human being.

He needed to be there.

Right in front of them, the bow-wearing kid was fidgeting uncomfortably, a wince clearly visible on her face as a heavy and awkward silence settled in the room. Well, now it was much too late to try to reassure any of them, especially Moonjumper, whose face said enough about the whole ordeal. Quite soon, the little girl found herself unable to do anything else than to flee the conversation:

-“Uuuh, you know what, I’ll, uh…” she stuttered, gesturing to the engine room: “I’ll tell Hat you’re here, so, hm… Have fun you two!” And, without waiting for them to protest or even reply, the bow-wearing child dashed to the door and disappeared into the hallway, leaving two very confused and nervous spirits on their own.

-“What. The heck,” let out Snatcher, frowning even more, his eyes fixed on the now closed door.

-“I, uh… I’m starting to fear for these children’s safety,” murmured Moonjumper, just as shocked as him.

-“You don’t say,” answered the former ghost flatly. That wasn’t really surprising, considering all the kind of trouble the kids were used to put themselves into. Plus, Subcon was kind of a death trap in itself, and yet the little girls kept visiting no matter how many time they had almost got killed. However, if there was anything to be worried about, this wasn’t the kids’ safety (Ha!) but his.

Eventually, the former spirit turned back to Moonjumper, his mind realizing the golden opportunity he had for being alone with the living corpse. Without the kids being around them, Snatcher could ask about the state of Subcon Forest without having Moonjumper worrying about upsetting the children.

-“So, what are you doing here?” he asked, straight to the point. There was no use in delaying the inevitable and if there was something he had to know about… Well, it was better now than later. With Vanessa able to freeze his entire kingdom again, it was better to be careful.

Just like he had expected, Moonjumper was taken aback by his straightforward attitude, making him fidget just like the bow-wearing kid earlier. This sight was more than enough to tell Snatcher that, yes, there was indeed something bothering Moonjumper, and most likely something linked to their biggest problem at the moment: Vanessa. And yet, the corpse glanced away, biting his lips as if he was trying to find a way to tell him what was happening without upsetting him too much.

But the silence on its own was more than enough to make him upset.

-“Okay,” Snatcher pinched his nose, feeling a weight settling in his stomach. Gods, what was he going to learn… His legs were starting to shake a bit and the man felt like his muscles freezing from the tension and apprehension. If he had to know something, it was now or never: “What’s happening? I know you’re not here just to say ‘hi’, especially since it’s only been a couple of days. So what’s wrong?”

Snatcher didn’t have the strength to play the questioner type too long. Dealing with this body was already quite a lot on his mind, so if he had to get more worries over his unfortunately weak shoulders…

-“It’s…” Moonjumper started, looking much more worried than when he had first appeared in the room. Had he been trying to hide it as long as there was a kid in the room? “It’s your fires. They’re starting to die down already.”

Snatcher frowned again, more and more confused.

-“My… Fires? What do you-” but then, he closed his mouth. His fires. The ones he had lit up to protect Subcon Forest from his ex’s magic, the ones that were the only thing heating up the area enough to keep it warm and safe from Vanessa. The only barrier against this unnatural and terrifying cold that had killed so many people… Including him.

Those fires were dying down.

The former ghost’s face paled up as soon as this thought materialized in his mind, hitting him violently as he was forced to understand what it meant. What it all meant for him, for his forest… And for his minions. If those fires ever went out, then there wouldn’t be anything to protect Subcon from the terrible cold and ice coming from the manor, but this wasn’t the worst, no, oh no.

Vanessa would feel that there were no resistance against her magic anymore. This couldn’t happen, this just couldn’t happen, ever.

-“Snatcher...! Snatcher!” Moonjumper tried to call him back to reality, but Snatcher was too lost in his own horrifying thoughts. How could this already be happening? Those fires shouldn’t die down so soon! Sure, he had predicted this would happen, considering they originated from his powers and, thus, depended on them to remain active and warm. Now that the man was in a human body with none of his magical abilities left, he didn’t have any power source to maintain them. It didn’t take him long to put two and two together: this would be what would make Vanessa understand that the Forest wasn’t as well protected as before. However, he had expected this to happen much, much later. Not now. They hadn’t found anything to reverse the situation yet…!

Oh Gods. He was hyperventilating again. His body was now trembling like a leaf and he only realized he was hugging himself. A loud, very loud ringing noise was echoing in his brain, making him unable to distinguish any other sound. What? Why…?

Why was he so scared…?

He was forced out of his thoughts as he felt two hands on his shoulders, shaking him back and forth to bring him back to the present. He heard his name being called, though it was muffled by that deafening ringing noise. What would he do if Vanessa came before they found any solution? How was he going to protect his kingdom in this weak, stupid and pathetic meat sack of a body? The Queen wouldn’t give them any chance to fight back, especially if she was free to use his powers at their full potential in the Forest…

What was she going to do if she saw him like that again…? That thought alone made his stomach turn strongly, giving him the urge to throw up. No, no, no, no, he couldn’t go through that again, he couldn’t, she wouldn’t let him die this time, she would do her best to keep him alive, locked up for him to never, never escape again-

The pressure on his shoulders disappeared eventually… Only to reappear somewhere else, on his cheeks, forcing him to look up. There, he could see Moonjumper’s panicked face.

-“Snatcher!” the latter yelled, forcing him out of his trance. It was only then that the former spirit managed to glance around him, pulling himself together little by little. He was still in the ship. He was still safe.

His eyes went back on Moonjumper’s, the other letting go of his face now that he was able to think coherently again. As soon as he was free again, Snatcher stepped away: his breath was quick and heavy, his heart was pounding inside of his chest, his eyes were stinging… He reached out to rub his eyes, but as soon as his fingers touched them… He could feel them wet.

Did he really… Did he really start to cry…? In front of Moonjumper out of all people?! This could only be a joke. As fast as he could, he tried to dry them up, not wanting anyone to see him in that state, and especially not the spirit who had stolen his past life. No, absolutely not, not happening in a million years!

-“I’m… I’m sorry,” apologized Moonjumper, his expression no more afraid but guilty instead. His eyes were fixed on him, staring at him with what Snatcher identified as pity, as compassion. Gods, he would always hate being looked at this way. This made him feel even more pitiful than he already was in a state like this. But the other started to talk again, catching his attention again: “I should have been more tactful…”

But this apology wasn’t changing anything. It wasn’t changing the current situation, it wouldn’t keep Vanessa away. Those were just words. And words would never, never save them from a crazy Ice Queen starved for a twisted and inhuman love.

-“How much…” Snatcher could feel a lump in his throat, almost preventing him from talking. He still managed to get the words out, though his voice sounded much too broken for his liking: “How much have they died down?” he decided to ask. Maybe he had been panicking over nothing, perhaps the situation wasn’t as bad as it seemed! After all, he had always been quite powerful, it would make sense that his powers would persist even after him becoming human again!

… Right?

His eyes were staring at Moonjumper, awaiting the other’s answer with an unbearable impatience. He was hoping to see some kind of reassurance, something to make him feel better, anything other than the worst-case scenario he had started to picture since the very beginning of this problem. But the corpse wasn’t smiling, he wasn’t wearing the face of someone intending to comfort him, no…

Moonjumper seemed as terrified as he was himself.

-“Almost… Almost halfway,” answered the corpse with a paler face than the one he already had, his hands trembling as he fidgeted in the air.

As soon as the words came to Snatcher ears, he felt like he had just received a bucket of freezing water over his shoulders. Halfway…? No, no, this couldn’t be, this was too soon, way too soon! The man had thought it would take at least a week for that to happen! How could this be?!

-“No,” he breathed out, stepping away once more. He couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to believe it! Those fires were their only hope of keeping Vanessa away and oblivious of the situation! And those same fires were dying down?! “No, no, no, that’s not true,” he kept going, his voice becoming more and more distressed as he was glancing everywhere randomly: “You’re wrong, it’s not possible, they’re not-”

-“They are,” insisted Moonjumper with a troubled voice, not giving him the time to finish: “I thought just like you at first, I… I didn’t want to believe it either… But they’re already getting weaker. I… I checked, multiple times.”

This wasn’t good, this really wasn’t good… Snatcher felt like the world around him was collapsing around him. Their barrier against that crazy monster was weakening, it was weakening and they wouldn’t be able to fight her like this. But the worst question was yet to come, the most terrible and the most terrifying one that Snatcher wanted to avoid thinking about at all cost. But he didn’t have the choice anymore.

-“Do you…” The words got stuck in his throat, his breath becoming heavier and heavier as he struggled to talk again, fighting against the dread that was settling over him: “Do you think she noticed anything yet?”

If Vanessa had noticed anything… Then that would only announce a terrible danger. It wouldn’t take her long to understand that the Forest was soon unprotected… And that she would have the perfect opportunity to strike.

-“I don’t… I don’t know,” answered Moonjumper trustfully as he glanced elsewhere, visibly just as scared as he was: “I haven’t felt anything different coming from the manor yet, so I would guess not, but-”

However, the corpse was cut short in his reply by a high pitched voice that was very, very familiar to the two spirits.

-“What are you two talking about?”

The duo turned in the direction of the voice… Only to find the two little girls, standing up in front of the door leading to the engine room, a confused and worried expression painted on their faces. Both were glancing at them repeatedly, looking for an answer to their question, any answer. But the fear on their faces were already more than a good indicator of what was happening. Soon, their own faces crumpled as they started to understand.

No matter what they had to do to reverse this whole situation… Then they’d have to speed up the process, as much as possible.

Snatcher would not let Vanessa freeze the entire forest again.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Hehehehehe another cliffhanger, woohooo- Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter ! See you in the next one !

=> Chapter 17

[archived-gtronpa-account]

hmmm while Im getting around to the reqs and asks here have an old oneshot I've had taking mold in my drafts for a couple months or so n pls enjoy

Fic of @sizeshiftingrobot 's au

Shifter!Leon

Word count: 1400

Summary: In the middle of a near panick attack, Leon's emotional shifting kicks in and causes him a world of trouble.

____

Fifteen highschool boys and girls stuck together in a killing game. Each having a motive to try to get out no matter the cost; a gruesome video to plant a seed of corruption in their frightened minds.

Leon paced around the dark hallways of the school. He'd seen his own video, bodies of his old team, mangled and battered to a certain death, then cut to show his little cousin, Kanon, alive but face bloody and swollen. A clear threat to get out pronto before things escalated. Hearing the gasps around the video room had confirmed that his video wasn't the only horrifying one, and far from the worst.

Sayaka had nearly fainted, Mondo had looked about ready to beat someone to death, Sakura looked positively strong too, and there was the possibility of Genocide Jack being among them. Someone was bound to start the killings. Leon had already let himself look like a weak, nervous mess. No way in hell he'd let himself be a victim, he still had a bright singer's carrier waiting for him outside, and he wouldn't let anyone crush his dream to save theirs.

His head hung low, eyes fixated on his feet, tapping on the cold ground faster and faster to the rythme of his racing heart. Maybe he could hide in his room until everything was over, maybe he needed to strike first. The crushing darkness threatened to swallow him, breathing was getting harder, more painful. He couldn't think like that, he couldn't bring himself to take someone's life, could he? Even if it was to save his own?

"Oh, my my~ what do we have here?" He frowned and looked up, but bumped head first into a wall.

"Ow..." Leon groaned, rubbing his forehead. He frowned, confused, and squinted his eyes at the wall of leathery black facing him. It took him about two seconds to realize what felt wrong; the voice he'd heard came from far too high. As he rapidely stepped back, it took him another second to realize the next thing that was off about the situation; the leathery black wall was a boot the size of a bathtub.

"Dammit...!" He hissed and craned his neck up. A massive, grinning Junko towered over him, looking down at him with a glint in her eyes he did not want to see. As if he wasn't enough of a target already, he had to screw things for himself and show his worst weakness. He should've listened to Kanon and worked harder to control his size-shifting.

"Hey, Junko! Don't say a thing, just let me explain- Ah!" He didn't get to finish his sentence. He saw the fashionista kneel down and reach a gigantic hand out towards him to snatch him up, a heartbeat after that, he felt an agonizing pressure on his upper body, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"Aww, what a cute little guy you are! So easy to just-" Junko made a squelching sound, the pressure around him increased, threatening to pop his lungs and break his ribs, "-off you."

He had to stay calm. He had to focus to grow out of the fist. Fear gripped Leon's body tight, tying his limbs up with an invisible rope he couldn't grow out of.

"L-Let... go...!" His head got sickeningly lighter. He saw the trunk sized finger around his neck get closer to his chin as he shrunk further under the pressure. Junko looked down at him with an amused smirk, like a a child testing how easy it would be to break her newest toy; there wasn't an ounce of pity in those large blue eyes.

He was going to pass out, and he couldn't do anything about it. He was going to be killed, and he couldn't fight back- He had to fight back. He couldn't die in some blond bitch's fist like an insect.

"Stop it!"

For a split second, Leon had thought the rush of heat and blood in his tense body was from the constricting grip around him, rendering him powerless. Turned out, it was a wave of rage, flowing through his veins like lava; and Leon was ready to erupt.

A familiar, comforting sensation overtook his body, the tension in his muscles loosened and was replaced with an almost ticklish tingling. The pressure around his body disappeared, leaving him to plummet to the ground. Focus! The tingling grew stronger, invading his body, shadowing any pain and any emotion.

The fall was short. His spine didn't crack and his head didn't explode. Leon tentatively opened an eye he hadn't realized he'd closed, and he found a midget Junko, standing a few feet below him and trapped between his spread out legs. He'd grown back to a safe height- even bigger than he wanted.

"Wh... What the hell? You bitch!" Still frightened and panicked, his hand acted on its own and slamed the small girl on the closest wall. It was so large it completely engulfed her torso. He felt her frantic squirming under his fingers. Junko, the girl who had almost become his killer seconds ago, who's grip was merciless and eyes cold, was looking at him with those same blue eyes wide with fear. A hot, choking rage still lingered in his body. No, he wouldn't lash out on her, but she had tried to murder him in cold blood so she at least deserved a taste of her own medicine.

Leon pressed his hand harder, until he felt the squirming body go still. His hand grew on the small form, larger and larger until he could barely see tiny feet and a bit of hair poking out. Junko was his only witness, so he could make a gruesome scene no one would be able to investigate without knowing his secret. The tingling in his body never faded. His head met the ceiling, he had to shift to a kneeling position before he got squeezed between four walls. If he didn't calm down soon he'd either break something or get seriously hurt, but he'd already started his handiwork. He only needed a few more seconds to make the perfect unsolvable case, to see Kanon again and save her, if only the muffled screams under his palm would die down...

"Guys! Are you alright?" Makoto rushed out of his room, gasps and monstrous creaks filled his ears. It all died down as soon as he scrambled into the dark hallway. He found Junko, leaning against a wall and clutching her chest, and Leon, crouching down, sputtering and coughing. He'd heard a crash, and the scene in front of him made it seem like they had been fighting, but there was nothing out of the ordinary that he thought could have made such terrifying explosion.

"Leon!" Makoto knelt besides him and rubbed his back, an attempt to calm his coughing fit and hysterical breathing.

"Hmph," Junko huffed, although it sounded like she was holding back a cough. Makoto eyed the girl; she looked like a shriveled mess, a stark contras to her usual impecable look. "You shouldn't trust this guy so easily, Naegi. He might be hiding one hell of a dark secret," she turned on her heels and staggered off, with a slight yet noticeable limp. Makoto was confused, but his attention was on the boy on the ground. Whatever had happend between the two seemed to have left him on the verge of passing out.

"Come on, Leon," he helped the taller boy stand up and let him lean against him for support. A quick trip to the bathroom to freshen up would do his classmate good.

Even leaning, Makoto noticed that Leon was much, much taller than him. And good lord, he was so heavy, it was hard for the shorter boy to even take one step with all that weight leaning on him. Well, he'd never met a baseball star in real life, so he supposed they were that much stronger and taller than an average guy like him.

____

Done! Looking alright already, I had fun with this one esp that unexpected part where Leon got murderous, I didn't plan for things to go that way! Just wanted a nice lil thing with the anxious boy being helpless and getting saved by hope itself, not an angry baseball star ready to kill. The pacing is kinda weird tho, but I don't feel competent enough to be able to fix it, so I'll just leave it as it is.

[the-nado-hunter]

So i just finished watching infinity train book 3, and god damn i’m thinking a lot about all the characters with trauma in animation and whether they get a redemption arch or not.

So when should a character get a redemption arch? When should they not?

I wound up thinking about some of the paralells between simon and catra, both of them have similar bouts grasping for power and control, both of them do some really bad things, and both of them blame someone else for “making” them do bad things.

So what’s the difference? Why did Catra end up redeemed and Simon died in probably one of the most horrific ways I’ve ever seen in modern western animation that’s generally aired with a familly audience in mind (save for maybe the hanging scene in Tarzan)? What’s the difference between the two?

I think for one Catra was actually manipulated, and Simon only thought he was being manipulated. Simon was convinced anything that didn’t align with what he thought had to be a lie. He was abandoned, even if on accident, that’s hard for a kid in a scary place to go through, and he latched on to Grace early on but he retained trust issues after that.

Catra was abused and manipulated by shadow weaver who had pit her against adora since they were children and never ever given the attention and love she needed as a child. She learned that climbing for power in the hoard was the only way to not be hurt. In her mind, everything would be fine if she could gain control.

Simon also felt that control was the best way to cope. Being a part of the Apex as a leader by Grace’s side meant he felt fulfilled and never had to deal with either the consequences of their actions due to the apex members convincing themselves that non-passengers were all liers/manipulaters, so it made it easy to harm and destroy them because they convinced themselves they didn’t need to feel empathy for them because they were “nothing”. Even if people like Lake, Hazel, Tuba, Samantha the Cat, and Atticus have all shown us to this point that they certainly do have feelings and act in self preservation as well as feel loss on a deep level. Its actualy being around and getting to know Hazel due to mistaking her for a passenger that lets Grace begin to see that... but Simon resents Hazel from beginning to end, wheels Tuba and feels no regret for it, even before knowing she wasn’t a passenger he didn’t treat Hazel with any empathy despite Grace begging him to “think of how you felt when you lost your friend when you were her age”, and treated Hazel as a means to an end at best. Because Hazel upset the status quo he felt initially, his control was slipping, he couldn’t tell everything that was going on with Grace all the time, and he reacted violently.

Then in She-Ra... eventually Catra listened, she felt guilt, she was open to being wrong, while she had her moment of anger of being treated unfairly and tried to blame adora for all her problems despite adora offering to help and let Catra come with her numerous times... she realized she needed to change, she realized she needed to work through things, and realized that if she wanted adora to stay in her life, she had to show Adora she cared and stop pushing her and everyone else away out of fear.

Simon on the other hand... never questioned himself. Even when repeatedly hurting and trying to kill someone he supposedly loved. When he hurt Grace he didn’t feel remorse, he felt there was something wrong with her for feeling hurt. When Grace didn’t act or say the things he wanted, he got angry and violent. He invaded her memories and her mind and forced her to relive trauma- giving the excuse that if she hadn’t lied to him, this wouldn’t have happened. This a tactic a lot of abusers use, they blame the victim for making them act that way. Its a way of control by trying to tell the victim “if you do what I say, you won’t get hurt” Sure, when he shoved Grace off the train and thought she had died, maybe somewhere deep down there was a thought of “oh god what have I done” but he still reacted violently. His trauma consumed him, because he didn’t want to change, he was unable to see anything wrong with what he was doing because he was right. I’d theorize that even in that moment where his expression shifted then shifted back, even then he was justifying in his own mind that it was necessary, that Grace made him do that.

The train couldn’t help someone who can’t change. Its tragic, because when we see a character like that on screen and watch him through the lighter moments in the show you... hope that he’ll be redeemed... right? Have a change of heart? But he didn’t. If he had any remorse at all, it was too little too late. That is a real thing that happens, you hope that people will change, get help, turn around and redeem themselves... but sometimes... that doesn’t happen. And it’s not on the people around that person to “fix” them, its not their responsibility to feel guilty for not “doing enough” or “doing the right things” when that person refuses to do anything differently and continues to harm people and act in violence. That’s full on victim blaming, and no one ever deserves that.

Even when Catra is in full villain mode, as Double Trouble pointed out you can tell her heart isn’t in it. What she did to Entrapta in a moment of panic haunted her, loosing Scorpia was a wake up call of how she pushes people away. She came to the conclusion that she wasn’t right, then in the last season she stopped blaming everyone else, she stopped blaming adora, she and adora both stood up to shadow weaver for constantly trying to tear them apart and torturing Catra to try and make Adora do what she wanted.

Catra... broke out of it. When she saw Adora and how angry she was after Catra opened the portal, when Double Trouble gave her a reality check, and I’d argue especially after she was rescued from Horde Prime and Adora, incredibly hurt said “you don’t have to see me anymore” fully realized she has to figure out how to stop pushing others away, because she doesn’t like that she’s hurt her friends, and she accepts responsibility and tries to help. She’s not going to be perfect, we still see that she lashes out and pushes people away here and there even after being saved from horde prime, but the difference is she wants to change, she wants to do good, she not only wants adora in her life, but wants adora to be happy, and it infuriates her when Adora feels like she has to sacrifice herself for everyone else.

Simon didn’t stop when he saw Grace was hurt, crying, scared of him, growing away from him, and instead of feeling sympathy, sitting down and talking to her not going “what’s wrong with you??”. When grace realizes Simon is hurt when in the cabin with Samantha, she immediately goes after him and says “this must be hard for you, i’m sorry I didn’t see it... this is why I’ve been distracted.” But even then, Simon still seems to take Grace’s problem as a threat, something that needs to be fixed so things can go back to “normal” I.E. when he felt in control. Grace herself pointed out he was making everything about him. Because at all points when he sees her upset, he blames her, tells her she’s been brainwashed, that she’s not acting “normal”. He blames her every step of the way then plays victim. By the end he’s become an abuser through and through, the whole time blaming everyone else for his own actions. He invaded Grace’s mind, forced her to relive her most traumatic memories to trap her in her own mind, then tried to kill her right after she saved him.

I think that’s the difference between the two. One wanted to change and recognized their actions hurt people and felt guilt for it... anything Catra did is a byproduct of what the Horde raised her to be, for anyone that was found as a child by the hoard and manipulated and played against Adora by Shadow Weaver. She was trained to be a soldier, and told she would suffer if Adora fell out of the Hoard’s control. When she has her breakdown when she’s supposedly at the top of her game, its because she deep down doesn’t want to do this, she’s climbed her way to the top hoping that she’ll stop feeling and be “happy”, but she’s got to the top, and lost everything that she really cared about, and it gets to her.

The other insisted they were right and if someone was hurt by him they made him do it right up until the end. He became the leader of the Apex, his whole body covered in numbers, more than anyone - but as long as Grace was around to question him, his control wouldn’t be absolute. There’s still a certain amount of doubt to be eliminated.

And that’s why one got a redemption arch and was given the chance to change... and one was completely destroyed by their own actions. Catra (and also Glimmer honestly) shows how you can come out of trauma on the other side and begin to heal while still acknowledging that your trauma doesn’t justify your actions when they hurt people, but you can take steps and accept help that make it so your not having to face it all alone.

Simon is a cautionary tale about how when trauma goes un-dealt with, when don’t want to change, accept help, or even consider any other view point , and don’t take accountability for the damage you inflict on others, it consumes you and inevitably destroys you. And eventually the trauma he inflicted on everyone else came back to bite him.

Last thing I’ll say is fucking good for Grace for telling him to his face she’s not responsible for him and his actions, and no longer taking all the blame he was throwing at her for daring to have empathy, be kind, and want things to be different.

Those are my thoughts at least. I’m so glad these shows are taking a serious hard look at these topics, and now we can say we have shows that cover these topics in an adult way and don’t sugar coat it. Simon is a well written character, because it shows how someone can become abusive and violent resulting from trauma... but unlike a lot of movies about serial killers and whatnot, it doesn’t for a moment try to say he’s justified in anything he does. We feel the very real emotions from Grace coming to terms with changing her own views and also the horror and hard emotions that come from this guy that was her closest friend turning on her and hurting her like this. Those are some really... really complicated emotions to go through in a short animated show, but god damn... they did it

[darkpoisonouslove]

More GxV Headcanons for the Soul (and Mind)

@ the anon that said they’d like to hear more of my Griffin and Valtor thoughts - I have some more that I just remembered. Hot from the oven even though I have had some of these ever since I first came back to this fandom last year.

I see Griffin and Valtor as complementary opposites if that makes sense. She is the water to his fire so to speak. Now we haven’t been told what element her magic revolves around and have only been given some general magical abilities she has so her element could as well be water, though I headcanon her magic is more related with space bodies and draws power from the cosmos. I look at the fire/water duality in a metaphorical way. We’ve seen Valtor’s temper on the show. He is definitely quick to anger and explode while he also can give you anything you want to warm your heart so to speak. And what we’ve seen from Griffin definitely places her temperament under the symbol of water for me in all of its states. We’ve seen her get angry much like boiling water turning to vapor, we’ve seen her be cold and calculating like ice and we’ve seen her being adaptive towards the shift in circumstances. To me she is the perfect embodiment of water as an element and the perfect complementary part to Valtor as she can both hold him back by being the rationality to his recklessness and she can match his temper to match him in his thirst for victory.

Now even though I don’t think her magic actually has anything to do with water, I headcanon Griffin as coming from a realm that is heavily water based and fares on producing crops. It’s what made her so good with plants as she knew all about them from a child and her specialty are herbs in particular. I like the idea that Griffin is actually pretty good in healing magic but she refuses to utilize her natural gift because she is tired of people reacting like it’s unheard of a witch to have healing powers. She got a lot of shit for that when she was younger so she’s suppressed that side of her powers even if it is her best and destructive magic requires a lot more effort than the healing spells that come naturally to her. Now all of this works to make her even more an opposite and simultaneously a complementary reflection of Valtor since his Dragon Fire is the thing that created all life but he is using it for destruction instead. Btw in one of my “drabbles” I wrote that in Griffin’s realm they didn’t have fireworks and all usage of fire was closely monitored due to the production of crops. You know, just for the heck of it as it made her partnership with Valtor an even more interesting dynamic. I even headcanon that she was wary of his fire powers at first just for the fact that it was fire and she was not exactly used to having someone so explosive around her at all times.

Also somewhat on the same topic, in 3x25 when Valtor used the spell of the elements against the realm of Magix, he sent water to CT and fire to Alfea which has been interesting to me to dig into. It may not have held a lot of significance as a choice to the writers but I think it rather makes sense because Valtor was so mad at Griffin about her betrayal that he thought she didn’t “deserve” to be ended by fire which is his element. And on the other hand, he was pretty pissed at Faragonda and there was already one unsuccessful attempt at permanently getting rid of her when he trapped her into the tree (unlike Griffin who he only imprisoned) so he wanted to make sure he’ll be rid of her once and for all and what better way to do that than fire? Also, of course, sending fire to Alfea aka Bloom makes sense and the Alfea/CT opposition of fire/water could have been based on the opposition between fairies and witches. Either way, I like to tie this to my personal headcanon about his and Griffin’s relationship on a symbolical level as well as his rage over the betrayal. I think it makes sense whether that was intended or not.

Speaking of CT, I have a fun question to ask right here right now (that I have actually been asking for over a year and a half now but never shared). Where does Valtor sleep in CT? We all know that he wanted to take everything Griffin had as revenge for leaving him which was why he chose CT as his new headquarters when he relocated. He’s mostly been shown to reside in her office after he took control of CT and only ever left it if he had to attend to something else (which I blame on the fact that the show was mostly like “We’ll make the villains so evil that you can’t even imagine them sleeping because that would imply a level of vulnerability that seems OOC.”) Hell, even his entrance during the confrontation with Griffin supports the idea that he wants to take her place since he made himself comfortable in her chair instantly (and Icy called him the new headmaster later). So after all of this, it would be logical to conclude that he sleeps in Griffin’s room and in her bed which I think has so much deliciously irresistible potential for angst on both parts. Like, it’s her space, her very personal, very private space that he has invaded. There is nothing sacred that he won’t touch in his quest for vengeance against her. But on the other hand, it is her space and everything in there will remind him of her and of the life she’s had after she left him for dead so to speak. Just think about the tragic implications that this set up has, soak them in, let them drown you in angst. I hadn’t shared this headcanon because I wanted to write a fic about it but that derailed and I haven’t found a good way to bring it back on track yet so I decided to finally talk about it because I just need it to be out there in the world. JUST. THINK. ABOUT. IT!!!!!!!

Another headcanon I have about them is that because they were partners and so close (it is strongly implied in canon that they did convergence together and that it was super powerful) and they were also in love and spent a lot of time together, Griffin got a feel of the Dragon Fire and can recognize the vibe it gives off so to speak. She just got attuned to the magical presence of the Dragon Fire and she can sense it even if she’s never had it herself. She’s felt it flowing together with her own magic and tangled so deeply with it that it’s almost entering her veins so many times that she’s learned how it feels and can recognize it instantly. And that is not true just about Valtor’s Dragon Fire but also about Marion and Bloom’s as well. In fact that is my explanation about her behavior in 1x06 when she attacked Winx in the library of CT. Her reaction is too overexaggerated to be normal in the situation (she legit tried to kill them for heaven’s sake) and I like to think that it was because she instantly noticed the similarity that Bloom bore to Marion and Oritel’s lost daughter but she didn’t sense any Dragon Fire coming from her because Bloom’s powers were still pretty dormant after not having been used for 16 years. Griffin thought the girl was an impostor so she attacked because she was mad about the painful memories of both Valtor and Marion and Bloom being invoked by this obviously fake “heir”. And one last thing here that I’ve already written out but it will take ages to find the post - Griffin got so used to Valtor’s fire that is was hard to be without it later so she literally conditioned herself into having a resistance to cold because she refused to be left shivering in the stead of his loss.

(I think I might have bitched about this already but I have more rage to spare and some new points to bring to the table so let’s have at it again.) Now is time for a little rant I have had ever since I rewatched s3 for the first time in the beginning of last year. It has to do with my last point in that regardless of whether Griffin can sense the Dragon Fire specifically or not, she can still sense other magic. We’ve seen it in 1x25 when she and Faragonda both sensed the Army of Decay even though it was still too far away for them to actually perceive it via any of their other senses. And we’ve seen it in 2x16 when she knew Lucy was eavesdropping despite the door that was in the way. That second one especially pisses me off so much because Lucy was a student - aka much weaker than Griffin - and she wasn’t using any magic while she was eavesdropping and Griffin still sensed her even though Ediltrude was talking to her and distracting her at the time. But then Valtor - literally the most powerful individual at the whole realm and possibly the universe at the time AND someone that she has closely worked with for years - teleports in her office which means that he used his immense power and she didn’t sense that and was surprised by him showing up. How does THAT make any sense? No, please, this is just ridiculous. She should have sensed him at the very least. I have no illusions that she stood a chance against him either way but it would have been good if they hadn’t made her look totally incompetent and had also let her throw a spell his way at the very least. They had a good opportunity for a battle there that they totally disregarded and I will be forever salty about that.

We all know that magic comes from emotions, right? Well, I have had an interesting idea which I have already included in two of my fics. What if you can read emotions through magic? We’ve all seen those moments when a character is so mad that they literally start glowing in a magical aura and their rage is tangible to everyone around so that had me thinking that perhaps the magic carries the emotional charge that powered it. And if you get attuned enough to it, you can start reading the emotions tangled in the magic. If they spawned it, it would make sense that there are traces of them left in the magic. And it could make perfect sense when it comes to convergence as the binding element in the spell. Like, we know Winx all have different elements but are able to pull off convergence seamlessly  because of the harmony in their feelings. The emotions could very well be acting like the common thing between the different sets of powers that ties them together to allow them all to flow towards the same goal and the spell to be completed. And since I have a headcanon that Griffin is pretty good at reading magical auras and we know that Valtor was literally carved from magic, it would make sense that the two of them would be able to read the emotional charge that a spell carries. I actually like to imagine it was Valtor that taught Griffin how to do that but she got even better than him at it with some practice because she is more in tune with her own emotions and has higher empathy. Also headcanon that they have done that with each other and it helped strengthen both their romantic relationship and their partnership. It was what made Valtor especially mad after she left because that was undeniable proof that she hadn’t been faking her feelings for him which he wanted to pretend was what happened so that it would hurt less. It’s not something anyone can fake.

I also like to think that Valtor taught Griffin a lot about magic and he did it in the way in which he understood and practiced magic. Aka he taught her a more instinctive approach to magic rather than the more academic and removed approach that the magical schools teach. Formal magical education looks at emotions as something that powers magic and thus has to be controlled because it can be dangerous. Magic itself is treated as a weapon or a servant to the magic user which to Valtor seems ridiculous since he is literally made of magic. He was magic before he was a person so for him the two are inseparable. It was exactly what he taught Griffin - that magic is not some tool you use whenever you need it. It is a part of you that you need to accept as equal to your other parts and your consciousness. If you do that, it unlocks a greater potential for power due to the closer connection you have established with your magic. It sort of has the magic user and the magic become one and it is hard to tell who is controlling what. It’s a more dangerous approach because instincts can take over and steer things in uncontrollable directions which is why it isn’t taught in magical schools. Griffin was bitter at first when she learned how much more there was to her magic that her education didn’t teach her about but the more she used the approach Valtor taught her, the more she realized why that was. And especially when she became headmistress of CT, she knew it would be irresponsible to teach young and inexperienced witches that kind of approach to magic. Still, she feels like she takes away from them by not teaching them about the full extent of their powers so she has been looking for ways to include more about getting in touch with one’s own inner feelings for better access to their magic in her lessons so that the witches can use more of their powers.

[mandobls]

the mandalorian and the caretaker | one - bounty

pairs: the mandalorian x reader

genre: fluff, action!! force-sensitive!caretaker!reader, s2f2l, slow?? burn??

warnings: one swear, canon-level violence

word count: 2.8k

description: it always starts like this. a job.

a/n: the parts of this series are gonna be a little longer! i had to rewatch some parts for this lmao. i try to keep it on the short side when i start accounts, but i think i’ve had enough of 300-word-long drabbles for the time being. i’m gonna keep these to two-ish chapters each part, but we’ll see lol.

masterlist | series masterlist | taglist

“i have a camtono of beskar waiting for you upon delivery of the asset and its caretaker,” the client hisses.

“alive.” the mandalorian’s attention is drawn to the man on his right. he’s nervous. it might have something to do with the way the hunter’d threatened to blast him earlier.

“yes. alive.” the client leans in conspiratorially, as if sharing a trivial secret. “although i acknowledge that bounty hunting is a complicated profession. this being the case, proof of termination of both is also acceptable for a lower fee.” 

the mandalorian stalks out, glancing down at the newly-acquired tracking fob in his hand. unconventional, but the promise of payment looms large. 

the fob would have to do.

upon arriving at arvala-7, the ugnaught called kuill--too kind for this age--proves to be generous.

he has arrived at the encampment far quicker than he would have alone. peering through his periscope presents a sight he isn’t the fondest of. he groans quietly. a bounty droid.

“...subparagraph 16 of the bondsman guild protocol waiver compels you to immediately produce said asset.” there’s a beat, then the sound of blaster bolts. 

the mandalorian pushes onto his feet with a sigh. “droids.”

the exhilaration of taking the whole encampment down almost makes up for the shot he’d caught with his just-smelted pauldron, courtesy of the droid.

“well, now we just need to get the door open,” he mutters. 

the machine gun catches his eye.

as soon as the two step over the fallen door, their tracking fobs beep rapidly.

“my sensors indicate that there are two life forms present,” the droid says. the mandalorian pulls his fob out, pointing it towards a curled-up figure and a covered egg of some sort, just to be sure. they step closer.

a press of a button has the egg opening. he steps back in alarm, but there is little movement within it.

“wait, they said 50 years old,” he says, peering into the egg.

“species age differently. perhaps it could live many centuries,” answers the droid beside him. 

his attention turns to the figure

it’s a girl, legs tucked below the floating egg, wearing a loose white tunic and brown, flowy pants. the mandalorian nudges her lightly with the barrel of his blaster. she doesn’t stir, but her chest rises and falls with her breath.

“is this the 50-year old one?” he asks, mostly to himself. (the damned droid answers, though.)

“most likely not. i detect signs of the girl being human, and her description fits the asset’s caretaker.” the mandalorian nods, eyes lingering a little longer on her face.

the droid raises his blaster-

“no. we’ll bring them in alive.”

“the commission was quite specific. the asset and its caretaker were to be terminated.” the droid raises his blaster again, pointed towards the girl.

a blast rings through the room. the droid, now fried, drops to the floor with a clang.

the mandalorian studies the two, reaching hesitantly towards the child. its three-fingered hand reaches back. 

he quickly connects the egg to the controls on his wrist and glances back down at the girl. she’s still asleep. he cuffs her quickly and sighs, gathering her legs in one arm and her lower back in the other, picking her up with a light grunt.

it’s a trek back to the ship. mud splatters around his heavy footfalls and the heat is nearly unbearable. the limp girl in his arms doesn’t make it any easier. the child is very much awake, making noises at the reptilian creatures following them. 

the mandalorian stops. he feels uneasy here.

a shadow flits past, and he places the caretaker next to the egg. the child’s eyes follow her figure. he places a wary hand on the blaster at his hip-

a snarl sounds at his right. it’s another bounty hunter, weapon pointed at the child. the mandalorian pushes the egg away, pulling his rifle off his back while keeping an eye on the girl, still knocked out in harm’s way.

two others jump into view, and he takes them down, shooting the last one into dust as it reaches for the girl. 

there are no others, but a still-beeping tracking fob is on the ground, where the now-disintegrated bounty hunter once was. he walks over, crushing it under his boot.

a quiet groan comes from the girl, and the mandalorian spins around. she’s in cuffs and can’t escape, but he keeps a hand on his blaster in case. 

she rises to her feet, and he tenses as she staggers over to the child, paying him no mind. the kid coos with a toothless grin, and he can see her relieved smile from where he stands. 

“hey, love,” she whispers, one hand pulling the other with it as she strokes the child’s head. she glances over at the mandalorian with a smile too sweet for the situation she’s in.

“not going to run?” he asks, strapping the rifle onto his back, grip on the blaster loose.

“you won’t hurt us.” he almost scoffs aloud.

“how do you know that?” she shrugs, placing a gentle hand on the child’s back.

“just have a feeling.” 

he studies her for a second. “let’s go. it’ll be dark soon.” the mandalorian sweeps past, having deemed her harmless. the egg follows, and she yelps. “keep up.”

the sun is already down when he decides to rest. the girl is across from him, next to the child as he cauterizes his wound. as soon as he got a better look at it earlier, the girl looked ready to throw up. he looks up to make sure they don’t try anything, even after her calm demeanor earlier. the girl is asleep again, head leaning against the egg as the child grabs at her hair. his eyes follow the bridge of her nose, the curve of her slightly-open lips, the-

“shit,” he mutters, tearing the cauterizer from his skin where it burned him. he needs to focus.

the child is relentless, getting out of the egg somehow and reaching up. he does it again before the mandalorian closes the egg, laying down to sleep warily.

he’s shaken awake lightly, warm hand resting somewhere below his pauldron. his eyes open to the same sweet smile as before, and he has to blink a few times to remember where he is. sitting up abruptly and almost knocking foreheads with the girl, he checks the cuffs around her wrists, still intact, and the egg, still occupied by the green child. he lets out a sigh of relief, studying the girl beside him.

“you seemed tired, so i let you sleep, but i heard voices just now, and i think we should get going soon. if not now.” he nods, checking over her once more just in case.

he’s never captured a bounty so kind to him before.

“let’s go,” he says, standing and leaving her to follow. 

she does, of course. the child is programmed to follow him, and she is programmed to follow the child.

they reach his ship, and it’s in disarray, jawas invading the area, stripping it of its parts. the mandalorian curses, reaching for his rifle.

“stand back,” he grunts, and the girl does, pulling the child with her. he can only take a few shots before they’re retreating. the ship is already tarnished, though, and he stalks down the hill.

“listen.” he turns towards the girl. “i’m leaving the child here. it can’t be moved, so don’t try to run with it. stay here.” she nods, watching as he sprints off. he’s far behind the jawas’ ship, but desperation is far greater than logic.

he returns soon enough, body sore from electricity and defeated. the girl leans against the hole-littered wall, watching the child sleep. he silently thanks the stars he doesn’t have to worry about escaped quarry.

just in case, he trudges to the cockpit, flicking switches even though there are gaping holes in the ship’s walls. nothing, of course. he turns back to the girl, who is already standing.

“come on.”

they walk until it’s dark, the girl with at least one bound hand on the egg at all times. the child happily coos as they walk, even though the only scenery is dune after dune of sand. kuill is working on something when they approach.

“i thought you were dead,” he says, turning and eyeing the mandalorian’s new companions. 

the caretaker lifts the child from the egg, setting him down so he can play. she watches him fondly.

“they were what was causing all the fuss?” the mandalorian ignores the question, focusing on his immediate problem.

“my ship has been destroyed. we’re trapped here.”

“stripped, not destroyed,” says the ugnaught, grabbing something from his shed. “the jawas steal. they don’t destroy.” he hands it to the bounty hunter, and he gratefully takes it to fix the electricity-worn control panel on his forearm.

“stolen or destroyed, makes no difference to me,” he mutters, glancing at the child and his caretaker. “they’re protected by their crawling fortress. there’s no way to recover the parts.”

“you can trade,” the ugnaught suggests.

“with jawas? are you out of your mind?”

“i will take you to them.” kuill takes the repairing device back. “i have spoken.” 

the mandalorian sighs behind his helmet, turning back to the child. he points, bewildered, turning to the girl.

“is that- can he-” she looks at him with a slightly regretful expression and a small smile, nodding as the child swallows a frog whole. he sighs again, shaking his head.

it’s raining as they start on their way to the jawas’ ship. the mandalorian sits on a platform that a bluurg drags slowly. the child’s caretaker sits uncomfortably beside him, so he can keep an eye on her. the egg is closed beside the girl, and she shields herself from the rain with a piece of scrap metal haphazardly welded to an electrostaff too beat up to ever work again. morning arrives by the time they finally reach the jawas, and kuill greets them with a wave. 

“they really don’t like you, for some reason,” he remarks as they raise weapons warily.

“well, i did disintegrate a few of them,” the mandalorian replies, paying no mind to the caretaker, whose eyes widen as she covers the petal-shaped ears of the child.

“you need to drop your rifle,” kuill calls over his shoulder.

“i’m a mandalorian. weapons are part of my religion.”

“then you are not getting your parts back.” 

he sighs, starting to put it away.

“fine.” a jawa exclaims something as he gets off.

kuill translates. “and the blaster.” 

they poke at him, setting off his temper when they demand his beskar and insult his pronunciation of their language.

“you understand this?” he asks, flamethrower on his wrist exploding outward and roaring as the jawas scramble.

a hand (that is definitely not kuill’s) is placed on his shoulder, then moves to pull his forearm backward and shut off the fire. the girl (who he didn’t even realize had approached) kneels in between the two as the jawas recover.

“he is of mandalore,” she says in jawa. “he cannot trade his beskar.” the jawas seem to consider this, considerably more pleased with the new arrival. “is there anything else we can trade?” (to say that the mandalorian is caught off-guard is an understatement, but he doesn’t show it.)

the jawa that was speaking stands taller, pointing at the child and speaking its language. the caretaker stands with a start. 

“get away from him, please!” she cries, walking over as they scatter.

“there must be something else,” kuill says as they turn back to the jawas. they huddle, considering what else they can ask for. they turn around, and the mandalorian already knows it’s nothing good. they make their request, and he can pick out two words with his broken jawa vocabulary.

“the egg? what egg?” he asks. 

they chant the whole way, as if it didn’t get on his nerves the first few times. he’s stooped in the cockpit, obviously made for jawas. the girl has a little bit of an easier time squeezing in, but they both hit their heads against the ceiling at a particularly violent bump all the same. he sighs, but she just laughs, obviously amused. 

the three, a mandalorian, a girl, and a child, exit the ship, walking down the ramp.

it’s still a bit of a walk, and they make it in uncomfortable silence.

she hesitates for a second before asking, “uh, do you think that you could take these off?” his head turns toward her, silent. “just for a little!” she says. “it’s just that, if there’s anything dangerous i want to make sure i can protect-” he stops the two, grabbing her bound hands and unlocking the cuffs, hanging them on his belt for later.

“until this is done.” he starts walking again, and she smiles brightly behind him.

“okay!” she says, jogging up on the other side of the child, making faces and exaggeratedly showing off her wrists. raw and tender from the cuffs, but free. the child squeals, sensing her excitement. the mandalorian watches from the corner of his limited vision. he can’t imagine what would happen to her if he hadn’t been the one to find them first.

they finally reach the cave the jawas had described, and they regard it in interest. he turns to her.

“stay here.” she nods, watching as he checks his weapons are in place and carefully ventures into the cave.

he’s launched out only moments later, slamming into the ground with a groan. the girl scrambles back, pulling the egg with her. the beskar in his pauldron and the pain weighs him down as he stumbles onto his feet. (it feels like something helps him do it, but there is no one behind him.)

his rifle (which would be incredibly helpful in this moment) is jammed, and he struggles with it a bit too long, flying into the air as the mudhorn charges him. he thinks he can hear the caretaker gasp to his right. the muddy animal turns to the child and the girl with a growl. 

she grounds herself, gripping the egg with one hand and raising the other, as if she’s going to stop it with just her hand. 

the mandalorian, exasperated and panicked, connects the egg to his wrist, flinging it to the side, subsequently pulling the egg and dragging the girl through the mud with an oof.

the mudhorn crashes into the rock where they once were, grunting as it catches sight of the mandalorian again. he unleashes the flamethrower that scared the jawas so well earlier. it does nothing against thick skin, and the mandalorian is driven into the mud by its horn.

he activates his grappling hook, at it catches around the mudhorn’s eye. he almost celebrates, but is cut off before he can. the beast drags him along the ground, and he’s forced to roll away before he’s launched back into the cave. he’s charged again, slamming back into the mud with a vision-blurring impact. 

all he has is his knife, and he weakly brandishes it as the mudhorn rears to charge again. it approaches, closer and closer and-

it stops. then starts to float. he watches as it kicks the air in confusion. the mandalorian has time to catch sight of the girl somewhere to his left, hand raised and eyebrows furrowed as if... she’s the one doing it. 

she gasps, eyes flying open as she drops the beast on the ground, giving him enough time to stab through its thick skin and kill it. he retrieves his knife, turning back to the girl, who’s unsteadily walked a little closer.

“what was that?” he demands, looking at the now-dead mudhorn again. she grins sleepily.

“wasn’t all me,” she says, looking back at the child, completely knocked out in the egg. “lost my concentration when he passed out.” she looks into his visor again. ���sorry ‘bout that.” 

he’s about to respond, but she turns away, walking towards the cave. 

(and it’s a good thing too, because he might have blurted out something about how beautiful she looks with mud in her hair.)

he follows, turning on the light attached to his helmet to find her feeling for “the egg” already.

he never gets the chance to put the cuffs back on her.

it proves to be enough for the jawas, and they return to his ship with all of the parts. with everyone’s help, the ship is fixed quickly, and it is time. the ugnaught denies a job, finished with his life of servitude. the mandalorian understands.

so, they are alone. the mandalorian is in the pilot’s seat, and the girl is in the passenger’s seat with the egg on her lap. the bounty’s seat. he finally remembers what she is here for.

but he doesn’t want to.

the mandalorian and the caretaker taglist: @twofacedbassy​, @peggers-n-beggers​, @krissykat0207​, @holybatflapexpert​, @cosmichellfire​, @optionl, @dreamxcollide​, @disasteren​, @honestlystop​

permanent taglist: @llama259, @lustriix​

[sneky-sneck]

Hero of Hope

Name: Esmerelda Estrella

Nicknames: Esme

Birthday: March 3

Height: 5’5”

Orientation: Bisexual

Gender: Demigirl

Pronouns: She/They

Occupation: Hero/ Psychic/ Astronomer/ Former assistant of Shibabawa

Hero Name: Esper Onza

Family: Esperanza (Younger sister), Sneck (partner), Anakon (daughter)

Weapon: A crystal ball that is actually a puzzle so she take them apart to small shards. Esper powers

Fighting Style: She does know some self-defense moves (and more taught by Sneck), but that’s only for people. On monsters, she would use her esper power, but her main attack is using her crystal ball and slamming it to monsters. If that doesn’t work, she will undo the ball to small sharp crystals and have them move together. She would often make them resemble a raven. Either way they will move together to trap ,omsters in thier plae, try to cut through them or get them inside the monsters to force them out. She is not as strong as the esper sisters (maybe almost to Fubuki’s level). However, she can sense people’s emotions easily. Also may have the ability to see the future, but it would knock her out for several days as Shibabawa was supposed to teach her how to control it. 

Personality: At first glance, with her robes on, she would give a mysterious aura as people who don’t know her speculate that she is cold and quiet but very odd. Heroes and people who actually talk to her is the opposite of what people say. The looks were to intimidate monsters, but she is not close to that. She is very cheerful, optimistic, and kind. However, she is rather talkative and tries not to talk over people. She is also ready to help people out by either fighting monsters or reading people’s horoscopes. Because of being the ex-assistant of Shibabawa and her powers, it attracts heroes to her room. However, she is very doubtful of herself, thinking that she isn't as strong as Fubuki and wonders why she can’t rise in ranks (reality is that Fubuki is sending her group to places near her so if there is a monster nearby, they would get there first). Another is that she gets very caught up in work. She would often get lonely and questions about her friendships with others.

Clothing: Normal attire would be very long but flowy skirts or black pants (sometimes) with either turtleneck sweaters or nice blouses. Usually black shoes with long black socks or pantyhose. Occasionally a leather jacket. The colors she would wear would be purple (main), blue, green, gray, and black. Most of the time she would wear a gold headband. Accessories would include gold earrings that are either stars, moons, hoops, or suns. It also goes along with her golden necklaces. Hero clothes are purple robes with a dark blue cloak, long fingerless gloves, and a gold circlet. 

Appearance: Very long straight black hair that reaches below her hips. She does have bangs that sometimes cover one of her eyes. She has a heart shaped face that is tan with freckles (and the rest of their body also has freckles). Brown eyes with long lashes.  Also, she has black rectangular glasses. 

Other info: Her house has a large room for her clients or for other work. She even has heroes going to her too. And because of that, she made friends with some and even got to go to events for A-Class. Since she is also an astronomer, she is very knowledgeable about space and decorates her workroom with a space aesthetic. (I know that there are no other countries but I want to say that she speaks Spanish) She has a cat named Luna. Knows how to play some instruments (favors piano). 

Her work: Other than hero work, she likes studying space but that was not the only thing she studied. She also studied psychology and uses that when she is looking at her client’s horoscopes. And with the ability to read emotions, she helps a lot of people and kinda acts like a therapist. 

Family: Lived with both parents when she was younger until her father left. Years later, she was 18) the father that left had a child but because of monster attacks, he died. The woman he married was not that good with the child so Esme fought to gain custody over her and won after the other parent gave her up. Her mother’s side of the family lives far from where she is but she used to work at the family restaurant as a waitress. 

Esperanza: Younger sister (18 years apart). As much as she loves her, Esper is too much to handle. As I like for Esme to speak Spanish, Esperanza can only speak spanish (little English but it’s going) Esme made her hero name after her sister if she couldn’t get custody of her. They have a good relationship but can be a bit too energetic for Emse to keep up. As she also has weaker esper powers, Esme helps her how to control them. Also can be a bit of a troublemaker that Esme had to scold them 6 times this week as it was only Monday. Also, they have a telepathy connection to talk to each other however, Esper has stronger mind powers that she can invade people’s thoughts and sort of mind control them. 

Sneck: He did hear of her before from other heroes but never went to look for her fortunes as he is a bit skeptical about it. He has seen her before in Hero Events but never talked to her. But after a very hard day, he went out to drink and sat in a bar. Without realizing he sat next to Esme (and without her robes, the only thing he had seen her wear) who asked him about his day. He admitted that it wasn’t a good day and they started talking. Sneck actually felt better and the next day they ran into each other then decided to stay in touch. Usually, they would patrol together or eat at some restaurants. Esme was happy to have a friend but was worried that she might scare him away if she talked too much or was annoying. However, Sneck actually wanted to listen to Esme’s strange rants about space, her work, and even her life. He doesn’t understand it but he couldn’t help but love to hear her talk. After a while, he realized that he had feelings towards her. And at the same time, it was the same for Esme. But they both had the fear that the other might not felt the same way for different reasons. Also, every other hero who know them, knows that they like each other but are betting on who will confess(if anyone wants me to talk about their relationship more I will be happy to be more in-depth to why they are attached to each other). But in the end, Sneck confesses and now they are both together.

[holyhellpod]

[TRANSCRIPT] 1. Pilot

Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Instagram | Patreon

Trigger warnings: discussions of death, fridging, child abuse, child death, alcoholism

[Music]

“In one sentence, this is X-Files meets Route 66. Two brothers, cruising the dusty backroads in their trusty ‘64 mustang, battling the things that go bump in the night.”

These are the first two sentences of Eric Kripke’s pitch of Supernatural, dated August 30, 2004. Based on iconic media such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, On The Road, The Odyssey, and The Matrix, Kripke considers Supernatural to be Star Wars in Truck Stop America. He went through over two dozen rewrites of the pilot to get to what we know today: grimy, gritty, horror-filled hero’s journey of the lives of two extremely damaged individuals who don’t really like each other personally or have anything in common, but love each other to death. They save people. They hunt monsters. That’s the family business.

The original pitch for the pilot had Dean informing Sam that supernatural creatures are real and they killed their mum. Sam spent his whole 21-year-long life believing that their father killed their mother, and now their father’s body has been found with Dean as the lead suspect in the murder. Sam has to make the choice to run back to their aunt and uncle’s house in LA where he can spend the summer interning at a law firm before he starts at Stanford, or help Dean fight monsters, and you KNOW which one he chooses.

In the pilot that aired, Sam knows about the supernatural. He and Dean grow up trained as warriors by their father John to hunt supernatural creatures, kill evil, and save people. The plot goes as thus: Sam, a 6 month old baby, is in his crib when an unknown man appears. Mary, Sam and Dean’s mother, walks in. John, their father, comes in as well to see what’s wrong, and finds Mary pinned to the ceiling with a slash across her womb. The house catches on fire, Dean as a four year old takes Sam out of the house, and John follows soon after.

Cut to 22 years later, Sam is a college student at Stanford with a beautiful girlfriend Jess whose resemblance to his mother is, ah, uncanny. He reveals that he’s got an interview on Monday with the law school at Stanford. His idyllic, apple-pie, safe life is interrupted by the appearance of Dean, who asks Sam to accompany him in finding their Dad. That’s the premise of the first season: finding Dad.

Sam makes a deal with Dean that he’ll help on this one last case before he embarks on his life as a lawyer-to-be. Dean takes the deal, but when they realise that John left the case unfinished and skipped town, it’s up to them to follow in John’s footsteps and pick up hunting again, as a fambily. However, Sam reiterates that he needs to be back at Stanford for his meeting that will determine his future, and Dean drops him back. But of course, this is not to be. When he finds Jess pinned to the roof of their bedroom, her womb slashed open, and the apartment starts to burn down, Sam is forced into repeating the history of intergenerational trauma that traps them in the hunting life. The trauma their father inflicted on them is a Promethean circle that leaves no one unscathed.  

John is a hard man. While it’s evident in the first scene that he loves his boys, his grief coupled with his military history twists him into a drill sergeant who works his kids to the bone all in the name of the fambily business. He often puts his own needs above that of his kids, especially Dean, who often acts as the go-between Sam and John. From the very beginning, Sam is positioned as John’s mirror, pulled back into the hunting life when his girlfriend dies just like his mother. Both John and Sam have their lives upended by the death of their significant other, except for Sam, he has Dean, and John had his sons. Bringing them into the life meant leaning on them when he couldn’t handle his grief and the exhaustion of the job himself, but this is a caustic dynamic: your children are not your partners. Dean should not have gone on a hunt by himself at 17 to lay to rest the ghosts of two closeted nuns, when he was closeted himself. John should not have put the burden on Dean to look after his brother while John was away on hunts, because Dean was a child. It robbed Dean of his childhood, forced him to grow up too quickly, and left him with a saviour complex and control issues that he carries well into the last season of the show.

The abuse Sam and Dean suffer at the hands of their father is something that permeates the entire show, all the while the characters apologise for him and little commentary is made on how badly he messed them up. In the pilot, We don’t see him in the present, only in 1983, and then sporadically throughout the rest of the show, notably in seasons one, two, four and five, as well as in the show’s 300th episode “Lebanon”. He is a ghost that controls the fate of these two men, as he directs them where to hunt while at the same time refusing to even show his face in times of dire need. In the episode “Faith”, Dean is dying and John doesn’t make an appearance. In the episode “Home”, Dean calls John scared and crying and begs him to come back to their childhood home of Lawrence, Kansas. Again, John doesn’t show up for them.

There are many moments throughout the show that seem to hinge on one decision, and John’s decision to become a hunter and raise his kids as hunters too is one of them. Another decision is Dean’s choice to die in the last episode. Cas’s choice to partner with Crowley and suck all of purgatory’s souls into himself in season 6. Sam’s choice to settle down with Amelia in season 8.

But it all comes back to the very first decision: Sam deciding to go with Dean to find John. We know now that the demons Azazel and Brady were just waiting for the opportunity to kill Jess when Sam was at his most oblivious and unguarded, which they took after Dean re-entered his life. the repercussions of this reverberate throughout the entire show, most obviously in Sam choosing not to settle down with a woman for the first 7 seasons. But Jessica’s death is the impetus Sam needs to start hunting again, just like Mary’s death was the impetus John had for starting to hunt in the first place.

But actually, with the last episode of the series in mind, another choice is made clear. Dean’s choice to go to Sam.

If the first season would have you believe, Sam Winchester is the protagonist of the series, and Dean is his second in command. He’s one of five main characters throughout season 1, including Dean, John, Mary and Azazel the demon. Azazel begins the narrative by invading Sam’s childhood bedroom and killing Mary, but after the ordinary world of their lives before we hit the call to adventure, Sam is shown as an ordinary guy who just wants to make something of himself. He admits to Dean in some truly spectacular exposition that he swore he was done hunting for good, and that he’s put that life behind him to live safely with his girlfriend and college friends. Of course, being Supernatural, it doesn’t turn out like that.

If you take the last few seasons as gospel, it’s clear that Dean is the emotional heart of the series and Sam exists as his narrative foil. Somewhere along the way their roles got reversed. It’s Sam’s emotional journey we follow throughout the first season. It takes us until episode 4, “Phantom Traveler”, to find something that Dean is afraid of. As the season wears on, it becomes increasingly clear that all he wants is to have his family back together — Sam and Dad, all under one car or motel roof again. Sam, in the Winchester tradition, wants to find Jess’s killer, suspecting that the thing that killed Mary is the same thing that killed Jess. This obsession drives him throughout the first two seasons.

Sam’s motivation in the pilot is laid out clearly: he has to make it back to Stanford on time for his interview for law school. While it’s normal for regular people, it's about as far from the Winchester normal as can be, and that’s what Sam likes about it. It’s normal, it’s wonderbread, it’s safe. It’s freshly baked cookies and a tab at the only bar on campus. It’s your girlfriend in a maid outfit on Halloween, which you still don’t celebrate because it reminds you of what you gave up to be there. It’s getting a 174 on the LSATs but not telling your family because you don’t talk to them anymore, and you haven’t for years. It’s fine.

And then it all comes crashing down, and Sam’s motivation changes. He’s the hero accepting his journey while grieving the loss of the most significant person in his life since he ditched his family at 18 to live in the world instead of saving it from the sidelines. He’s the one our story hinges on, and it’s his reactions we live and die by. When Mary dies, we hardly know her. We don’t know John, either, so it’s hard to gauge how broken up we should be by her death. While I wouldn’t say we know Jess necessarily, we do know Sam, so when he grieves we grieve. The framework through which we view all of these events is Sam’s perspective, even if we do see Dean without Sam. I’m pointing this out because it’s important to know who we sympathise with most, and whose story a narrative is trying to tell. What exactly the narrative is saying is completely dependent on who is saying it.

One of Dean’s defining traits is that he’s great at getting laid. In the original pitch, Dean was supposed to be covered in tattoos and smoking like a James Dean-type. Nevermind that James Dean was queer, as is Dean from On The Road, the character the eldest winchester is named after. Dean chases tail like he’s a dog chasing bumpers, and he’s attractive and charismatic so it works out well for him. He doesn’t take it hard when a woman rejects him, which is something that a lot of men need to learn.

Sera Gamble, staff writer, executive producer, and showrunner of seasons 6 and 7, said about Dean:

“Dean always has a great comeback line, so it’s always fun to write him. Dean’s introduction to us in the pilot was him hitting on his brother’s girlfriend, specifically pointing out her boobs.”

But this is not all Dean is. He’s first and foremost Sam’s protector. In Dean’s second scene of the pilot, Dean is shown to rescue his brother from their house as it burns down, carrying him out of harm’s way. Dean, as the older brother, knows it’s his job to protect his younger sibling. It’s been drilled into him since he was four years old that he is supposed to protect Sam above everything, even when Sam ditched their family. Before the pilot, Dean and Sam hadn’t spoken in two years, and Sam hadn’t seen John in four. But by the end of the episode we realise that Dean hasn’t given up the mantle of protector. He rescues Sam from the building where Jess is being burned alive. First and foremost, Dean will always protect Sam.

At 26, Dean has seen things and done things that no one should see or do. Where Sam is sullen and quiet, Dean is loud and brash, getting into trouble, jumping headfirst into situations he shouldn’t be in. The situations he shouldn’t be in include: a crime scene, a river, a motel room, a haunted shack. Places he should be include the police station, because Dean winchester is many things and one of them is a felon.

We can’t find ourselves sympathising too much with Dean as a main character just yet because we don’t have any attachment to his weaknesses. Yes, Mary died, but she is such a non-character it doesn’t register (unless of course you’ve been through a similar tragedy, then sympathise away). Yes, he loves his car and his guns and his leather jacket, but we find out later that they are handmedowns from John. Dean’s personality is a carefully curated list of acceptable likes and dislikes, inherited from the abusive, alcoholic father John is to him and the woman, wife and mother he thinks of Mary as. In the pilot, Dean is the lovable scamp, but his desperation is lying in wait beneath the mask of finding his father. He wants his fambily back, but more than that, he wants his fambily safe.

We see Sam and Dean’s strengths play out through the episode. In their first encounter with the Woman in White, she possesses the Impala and drives it towards them. They both jump off the bridge, but while Sam clings on, Dean hurls himself into the river. Thus the death-defying stunt ends up a funny gag as Dean drags himself out of the muck, and Sam is positioned as the smarter brother. I mean, he got into Stanford, right? so he’s smarter, right???

Another moment establishes the bulk of their characters in two lines. Sam says, “What I said earlier, about Mum and Dad, I’m sorry,” and Dean replies, “No chick-flick moments.” Within this simple exchange lies the heart of their differences: Sam wants Dean to be okay. Dean would rather push Sam away than offer up his feelings like a charcuterie platter for anyone to pick apart.

From what we know of John, he is a man obsessed. Sam reveals that their whole lives have been based around trying to find the thing that killed Mary. John trained his sons to be hunters from an indeterminately young age, after finding out about the supernatural from various side characters and piecing the rest together himself. From how the other hunters talk about John, he is a master in skill and execution, and Dean and Sam take after him. Sam is smart and coordinated enough to be good at everything, and Dean is naturally gifted in intellect, tactical skill, and weapons. Together they make a formidable team. By the time the show really gets going, John, Sam and Dean are legends in the hunting community. Dean comments in a later episode that he’s famous, and other characters point out the same thing. Characters introduced later know who they are before the boys know who the other characters are and what their connection to John is.

The implications of John raising his sons are hunters are multitudinal. Because Sam and Dean have been raised this way, they have saved a lot of people that otherwise would have died. But it’s at their own expense. They can never live normal lives, and even when they settle down in season 8 at the Men of Letters bunker, the echoes of their loneliness and isolation are still present. That’s why it’s not enough to focus only on Sam and Dean, or introduce more characters just to kill them off, because the brothers are fundamentally lonely and isolated. And the point of any story is to have your characters progress (although in the case of a short story, it’s to reveal something about a character), so when they start out a certain way they need to have outgrown that stasis that they were trapped in by the end of the series. Sam deserved to build a life for himself in the hunting world, with another hunter and/or the queen of hell, making connections and a home for other hunters to stay in and, as one tumblr user says, a monster rehabilitation centre. Dean deserved to outgrow his trauma and simply grow as a character instead of being stuck as an depressed alcoholic with anger issues.

On the surface of the show, Dean is supposed to be Han Solo and Sam Luke Skywalker. But the first thing we learn about Sam to do with his family is that he left them as soon as he finished high school and had a chance to escape. Dean, however, stayed loyal to John and continued hunting. This dynamic of Sam rebelling against the the God figure of their father and Dean’s dependency on their father’s approval continues into the fifth season and parallels the storyline of the angel Lucifer rebelling and his brother Michael staying loyal to God. It certainly is an interesting dynamic, which I  just realising as I type this paragraph was repeated in my own family. Me, the youngest rebelling against my abusive father around the time I started watching this show while my older brother continued to live with him, in squalor and destitution. There were no Gardens of Eden in our family, only a hell of our father’s making. My dad loves muscle cars and heavy metal, too, and I haven’t spoken to him in three years.

The motel room they find John occupying before he takes off is something you’d see in a serial killer’s lair. There are articles printed out and stuck to the wall, a line of salt encircling the room, various talismans and charms, and information on the woman in white. From what we see, John lives up to his legendary status, putting together a pattern of strange deaths and disappearances over the course of 20 years for his sons to eventually solve. But we already know by now that he puts hunting above his own children, and it becomes clear as the episode goes on that he is sending them out on hunts that he himself either can’t or won’t finish. He disappears and leads them on a proverbial and literal ghost hunt as they chase him across the country.

The universe of Supernatural started with monsters but encompasses a lot more than that. Kripke’s vision, which personally I think he executed really well, was small town Americana meets monster of the week. It’s ghosts on highways, cannibals in forests, and spirits in lakes. It’s a possessed car on a bridge aiming straight for our protagonists. It’s gas station junk food and driving 16 hours across multiple states on a hunch. It’s sleeping in your car and brushing your teeth at the side of the road because you couldn’t afford a hotel for the night. It’s grit meets slime. It’s real and fantastical at the same time. When I say this show activates the part of my mind that lives for road trips across a barren country through miles and miles of desert, I’m not lying. I used to love road trips as a kid, just staring out the window with my gameboy in my hand and Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little Pill album in my discman. I long for those days.

The lore is one of the most interesting things about the show. in most episodes, the characters are seen to flick through physical books to gather information about what they’re fighting, which seems to take hours if not days. At one point I’m pretty sure that their father figure Bobby digitises his library, but then that’s never brought up again, so maybe I imagined it. There are hundreds of different creatures throughout the seasons, including some the show made up (Jefferson Starships in season 6), others they’ve taken from folklore and legends and put their own spin on. The interesting ways they present creatures, some pure evil, others sympathetic, is one of the reasons I loved this show from the beginning. All I ever wanted to write was urban fantasy, and this show presented it in an accessible way. I grew up in small towns with populations of less than a thousand people, so watching the characters go through small towns, back roads, truck stops and service stations in the middle of nowhere just hit me right where it hurts.

The lore of the woman in white is thus: a husband cheats on his wife, and the wife, in a moment of insanity, murders her children. When she comes back as a vengeful spirit, she finds men who have been unfaithful and murders them. The character of Constance hitch hikes along the road waiting for men to pick her up, and even if they haven’t been unfaithful she seduces them before she kills them. Spirits are shown to have special powers: they can move objects, wield weapons, and kill with their hands or minds. They can also appear and disappear at will, making them hard to fight.

As with all episodes of tv shows, the problem they face is something out of the ordinary. The Woman in White is a ghost, something they’ve hunted before with ease. Sidenote: this show can be summed up as Pru from Ride or Die podcast says, “the Winchester school of boys who fight ghosts real good.” While a normal ghost would be taken out by salting and burning their bones, laying Constant Welch to rest isn’t that easy. Before they can find her bones to burn, she appears in the Impala while Sam is driving. But Sam figures out a plan: drive the Impala through the house she can’t go home to where her children are lying in wait to drag her into the underworld. And the monsters only get more interesting from there.

Now that the show has finished, it's interesting to examine what it could have been. We know what it is: a 15 year long experiment in family dysfunction and queerbaiting. We know it’s about choices and free will. But what could it have been? It could have been more than family dysfunction. Throughout the entire show, the premise has always been about two brothers, and that’s to its detriment, as there’s only so many times they can rehash the premise of brothers betraying each other. The showrunners were so bent on keeping the show about Sam and Dean that they neglected the other storylines that could have proved more interesting and killed off all the characters that were a threat to their dynamic. It could have been about characters becoming their own creators in stepping outside the narrative, usurping their writers and choosing love instead of violence. It could have stayed about found families, instead of focusing solely on Sam and Dean in the last episode, which undid all of the groundwork they’d laid out in the last 7 or so seasons.

But what we have is what we get, and while the show falls down in some respects, especially with regards to its treatment of people of colour and the queer community, it is still a show that I’ve loved since the Howard administration, and something that has changed and improved my life in numerous ways. If I hadn’t started writing Supernatural fanfiction, I wouldn’t have majored in writing, and I wouldn’t have the experience to write four books and some novel length fanfiction. Supernatural has inspired me so much over the years, and I will always considered it kismet that it entered my life. I know others feel the same, and you only have to step into the fandom for a day to realise the impact that Supernatural has on people all over the world. Few shows have had both the gall and opportunity to shape television in the way that Supernatural has and do the things that it has done. Falling in love with it again at a time when I was outgrowing a previous hyperfixation, feeling lost and adrift, and burnt out from writing 150,000 words in the middle of a pandemic, has been extremely serendipitous, and I can’t wait to dissect every single thing about this show.

You can find the show at holyhellpod on Instagram and tumblr, and patreon dot com slash holyhellpod. I’ll talk to you soon.

[Outro music]

[void-knights]

Hygge : Chapter One

Pairing: Loki / Original Character,

Chapter Rating: Teen

Tags: Slow Burn, Romance, LGBT Themes, Oc has ADHD, injury mention, Standard Tragic past, Mentions of Loki's past toture, Mentions of past child abuse (OC), Sickness, Near Death, Body Dysphoria, Gender Dysphoria, Prosthesis, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Extremis 616, Starboost Armour, Strangers to Friends, Friends to Lovers, Loki cooks, Loki teaches,

A/N: Right hello! I need to WARN YOU.

This fiction deals with an OFC that eventually realises that they is Genderfluid, using all the pronouns, but is assigned female at birth (AFAB). There will be mentions of body AND gender dysphoria due to a tragic childhood™  under the care of her biological mother/grandparents that occurred before she was in the care of Tony Stark. I do not go into graphic detail with the abuse, but it is mentioned.

This is a slow burn fic planned out to be a LONG story so the OC and Loki will not get together until a little into the story. Instead, I wanted to focus on building their friendship at first. Eventually (if all goes to plan) I intend to have the OC identify as Genderfluid, but unlike Loki the OC won't have magic and therefore will always be female in terms of physical sex.

While this might seem like a bit of a spoiler I like to forewarn people about these things as they can be potential triggers!

Anyway I got the idea of a character in Iron-Man style armour, and then I thought it would be fun to just have a Stark OC. I've got the timeline lined up so the ages to allign with canon. Masterlist | AO3 Link |

The avengers weren’t sure what they should do with Loki, Odin in his infinite wisdom had ‘bestowed’ his younger son upon them in a long-winded speech that left Barton spacing out, Tony disinterested and distracted and Bruce trying to work out how such an old man seemed so strong.

Only Natasha and Steve were paying attention by the end, the TL; DR was that Odin didn’t want to deal with Loki, so now he was the avenger's problem.

Nick Fury suggested locking him up, only to retract the idea a few minutes later, Loki was dammed persuasive, he could seduce any guard sent to keep him under lock and key. They did not know the full extent of his magical abilities and while he was bound (somehow, Odin didn’t bother explaining what they had done to Loki and merely assumed the Avengers wouldn’t care to know the finer points) they didn’t know the limits of the binding.

Thor claimed his brother could shapeshift, so a prison would need to be airtight otherwise a snake or spider could happily slip out. Then there was the issue that he was a god with god strength and probably the second smartest person in the room, or maybe the smartest, but Tony wasn’t about to admit that to the god.

All in all Odin had left them with a mess and the only support came in the form of a confused, angry and betrayed Thor. Which was never good.

This was compounded by the inescapable feeling that they only had half the story, why did Loki invade Earth? Tony had theories, theories that would make Clint punch him, but he couldn’t shake a feeling that something was off about the god of mischief.

Thor would agree, or not. Their relationship was never explained, it turned out communication was not a gift the gods of Asgard possessed much to the chagrin of the Avengers.

So this was the plan, Loki was to stay locked up in the tower, well only on certain floors. He would share a floor with Thor, where he would have his own bedroom with en-suite bathroom, but Fury was rather insistent that Loki shouldn’t be made too comfortable.

Tony was starting to wish he had never gotten involved he would make a poor jailer. He wasn’t responsible enough, Jarvis as amazing as he was would be worse, Loki had tricks, he could trick Jarvis.

It was a fucking mess, made much worse by not having the facts nor support to keep Loki. What were they supposed to do with the god? He was going to outlive them all, did Odin expect them to pass Loki off to other people? To keep him locked away for the rest of his life?

He would rather face the Chitauri again, or Vanko and Hammer or even Stane. Loki was more dangerous than all of them combined and what made it worse was the fact that Soleil was also living in the tower now.

He shouldn’t have suggested she live here, Fuck, he needed a drink or a whole bottle. The billionaire found Natasha and Bruce already at the bar, her with Vodka and Bruce with something fruity looking.

Tony settled for whisky and wondered what the fuck he was supposed to do now.

Loki was still chained up when Soleil walked onto the floor, the god recognised the human mortal from his research leading up to the invasion. He had gathered information on mortals who may pose a threat to his plans and worked to see them brought together (in brief moments of clarity before once again the mind stone seized control of him), Stark’s life was short as it was (by Asgardian standards) was quite fascinating.

Naturally Loki looked into every aspect of the potential avengers lives seeking weaknesses that would bring the avengers to him. The easiest targets were family, friends, loved ones who could be exploited as they had few or no protections. Soleil quite literally was the weakest link in the Stark equation.

Though he had come to realise she could have been a great asset to him should he have had need of an engineer with a deep and vested interest in space. Rather odd that SHIELD would have such detailed files on Soleil, almost as if they had been considering her as an alternative to her father and Iron-Man. Though what use such a fragile human would be was beyond the god.

She hadn’t noticed him, to busy tapping away on a screen and wrinkling her brow at something that vexed her. He watched her as she grabbed herself a bottle of water, she was halfway back to the elevator when she finally paused and turned to him.

“You look like shit,” she said after a moments pause looking him up and down as he remained trapped and bound.

He’d be offended if he had the energy, he felt like shit, months, years? Trapped in the clutches of Thanos and his black order, leading the invasion, not resting or sleeping in weeks, months, his meals just enough to keep him alive but never satisfied, he could not even recall if the paste he had been given (and reluctantly eaten after too long starving) had even had a taste to it.

“As you mortals say, that is pot calling the kettle black,” he attempted to sound above her, casual to the point of nonchalance.

“Yeah but I have an excuse for looking like shit, what’s your excuse?” she asked him sipping her water, he tried not to look hopeful that she might share something with him. Even lukewarm tap water would be bliss compared to whatever liquids the Black Order had supplied him with.

“The beast you call Hulk,” Which was partly true.

“Ooo, that explains the hole in the floor,” she cringed, “How the fuck are you still in one piece?”

“I am a god,” he reminded her.

“I had just assumed that was all a lie, you know psychological tactics?” She paused thinking it over, “Make us believe the gods are real, and you’re one of them, so you can claim dominion over us.”

“That would be a fair assumption to make,” he said leaning his forearms on his knees, “But I can assure you that I am in fact one of your gods.”

“Well you’re not my god, I don’t worship you or any gods,” she shrugged.

“We had noticed the loss of faith from mortals,” Loki nodded.

“Blame the Abrahamic religions, as soon as they went mainstream you pagan lot were more or less kicked to the curb,” she answered, before he could ask what she meant she asked, “So are you hungry? You look like you’re hungry.”

“I am in no risk of starving Stark,” he insisted.

“How’d you know I was a Stark?” she asked him suspicion finally creeping in, for someone who was supposed to be one of Midgard’s greatest minds she was rather stupid.

“SHIELD have files on you,” he said her lack of surprise told him all he needed to know, “That and you resemble your father.”

She brought a gloved hand to her jaw, “It’s the chin isn’t it?” she asked taking a couple of steps towards him, a glass and metal table separated them as she set her glass bottle down upon his surface.

“The general area yes, and you share his eyes,” he confirmed now that he could see her up close he could see the partial heterochromia, showing chocolate-brown flecks in each soft brown eye. She shared his jaw, lip and chin shape and brow colour, her hair was tucked up inside a hat, and he thought that her ears might resemble her father as well.

“But that doesn’t answer my question, never mind I’ll assume you’re hungry, what do gods eat?” she asked.

“You would feed your enemy?” he asked surprised by this, Asgard had a policy of giving their prisoners food, but basic food, food that would keep their enemies alive and nothing more. He was able to empathise with those trapped forever in those dungeons now.

“Yes because I have basic human decency,” she said shifting her weight mostly onto her left leg, “So food, what do you eat? Can you eat earth food being an alien and all that?”

“Of course I can,” now that she had brought the matter up he wondered if he could, there were some things that an Asgardian was told to avoid eating on Vanaheim and Alfheim, not that he was biologically Asgardian.

“Well if you die of an allergic reaction please don’t haunt me,” she said pulling out another device, a phone, a smartphone he recalled one of the scientists under his command using a similar device.

While she typed out whatever it was she needed Loki observed her. She was atypical in her physical body, her clothes hung from her, not because they were ill-fitting but because of sudden loss of weight. They were designed for a woman larger than what she was now, despite her rather cheerful demeanour she looked quite exhausted. She looked how he felt.

The leather right sleeve to her jacket shifted in a most bizarre manner, he watched as a small(ish) serpent poked its head out resting contently on the back of her hand. It flicked it’s slick tongue out at the air scenting Loki, she could taste him, she knew he was there.

“I think it’s safe to just get a range of food,” She said slipping her phone back into her pocket she rose her fist to her eye level, “You doin’ okay?” she asked the snake who slid back into the sleeve. “She’s shy,” she said to Loki who had not asked.

“You carry a snake on your person?” he asked curios, he could not imagine anyone in Asgard doing that. Snakes were dangerous creatures, not pets. Humans however seemed to ignore that rule quite often.

“Yeah she’s my ESA, but I make sure she’s some place warm, otherwise she’ll get ill,” Soleil explained.

“ESA?” he asked.

“Emotional support animal,” Soleil said which did not really answer Loki’s question, she needed the support of an animal for her emotional state? “They are animals to help calm and relax people. I wanted a cat, but dad says a dog would have required to much training and looking after, so he got me Macbeth.”

“How does a snake provide emotional support?” he had to ask, the concept baffled him.

“She’s a reassuring presence when the world is overwhelming,” Soleil answered.

To the god it was still a strange concept, but his curiosity got the better of him, “May I see her then?” he asked.

“Um, sure?” Soleil gently shook her arm, Macbeth got the message, as loathed as she was to leave the warmth of the jacket she was all too happy to slither her way around Soleil’s shoulders until she was hanging lazily.

Gently lifting the snake off her shoulders she set the snake down on the sofa, wise to keep a distance from the god of mischief who remained shackled and bound. Macbeth lifted herself up fascinated by this new thing, this god in her home, she stared at Loki curious to know why he was here.

⸢You are not human⸥ said the snake curios to know what he was, he smelled familiar, like kin yet was clearly more than that, more human, more than human.

⸢No I am not⸥ he answered utterly amused when the snake did a double take, stunned that the god would be capable of speaking her language. He detected the barest hint of offence on her next words.

⸢Then you are a lie, a false thing, I do not like false things⸥ the snake replied studying him closely, ⸢You are a danger to my human⸥

⸢I am a great danger to many a human, yours however has done nothing to earn my anger⸥ Loki replied, the smart little snake thought on this for a while.

⸢You claim that now. But my human has a way of frustrating the surrounding humans, they are so easily brought to anger⸥ came the serpent's response as she finally slithered her way over to him.

⸢There are many creatures brought to anger easily⸥ Loki responded lifting the snake up into the air to prove his point the snake hissed angrily.

⸢Unhand me liar, I shall not be handled by the likes of you!⸥ the snake protested with a rather loud hiss.

Up close, she was a rather pretty thing a mixture of soft pastel colours with the blackest eyes he had seen on a snake. A thick uneven stripe of orange and lavender ran the length of her spine and top of her head. Her belly was an off-white, her most dominate colour a rather fetching shade of yellow. She was indeed a strange patterned creature but lovely to look at.

⸢But you are so pretty, I think I may keep you⸥ he teased the snake who managed to throw him such a filthy look that it took him by surprise.

⸢You, are unworthy of me liar⸥ she snapped back.

⸢I am a good little serpent, far beyond your mortal caregiver⸥ he pointed out.

⸢Indeed? You must be the god of pomposity to say such things⸥ the snake complained turning her head away from Loki, ⸢My human is good and kind even as the sickness weakness her, you cannot compare to such a charitable and loving being⸥

⸢For something so small you certainly have a rather inflated sense of ego⸥ he said lifting her up to eye level, she turned her head away from him.

⸢Says the creature that wreaks of despair, I might be small, god of pomposity but at least I know happiness⸥ he’d never been tempted to toss a snake out of a window before tonight.

Soleil shifted on her feet confused, “Are you talking to her?”

“Of course, I am a god,” he answered petting the snake who recoiled deeply offended by his touch.

⸢How dare you touch me!!⸥ she hissed in discontent before slipping herself free from Loki’s hands and slithering back to Soleil who collected her up into her arms. ⸢You are unworthy pomposity, be gone!⸥

“That is a rather charming pet you have mortal,” Loki answered deigning to ignore the snake and her uppity attitude, “Though she might be pretty she has a rather terrible attitude.”

Soleil looked at Macbeth who looked at her, “Riiight she has the terrible attitude,” smugly the snake turned back to him beaming brightly.

⸢See my mortal understands, she shall not be easily swayed by a false serpent⸥ the snake happily slithered her way back up Soleil's sleeve.

“I have never before laid my eyes on a serpent with such markings and colours, is that typical of Midgardian serpents?” Loki asked leaning back on the sofa which had become uncomfortable thanks to being pinned down in one fixed spot.

“Uh, well ball pythons are kinda common I suppose, they are docile in nature,” Loki did not believe that for a second, “So they’ve been bred as pets for a while, some breeders try to create unique colour and pattern styles. Morphs. Macbeth is a Banana Cinnamon Blade Clown Ball Python for instance.”

Loki knew what each of those words meant individually but strung together like that they may as well have been pure nonsense.

His disbelief or confusion must have been evident on his face because she instantly launched into the details of snake breeding, how morphs came about, what each word meant and the genetic factors that went into selecting the right snakes to breed together to create the perfect offspring.

Trust humans to meddle in things that needed no intervention, he thought as she went into detail to explain a subject he had long since lost any interest in. She was passionate about her pet, about snakes in general, and so she babbled making her obsession quite evident.

It was no wonder her dammed pet was so smug, she probably praised it at every opportunity, it’s inflated sense of self coming from an overindulgence of love and flattery.

“Bee,” Jarvis cut her off saving Loki the indignity of having to amuse her babbling for longer, “The food has been placed in the elevator, do you require assistance in moving it?”

“I’m not that weak, Jarv,” she grumbled half stomping her way across the floor towards the elevator. Loki could feel the AI’s eye roll somehow.

It took her some time to set out the food given the ridiculous quantity that she had purchased. He did not recognise half of what was laid out but to Loki none of that mattered, all he could do was feel his mouth water at the prospect of finally having food that did not taste of grit and nothing.

“So we got Korean, Indian, Italian, Greek, American, Japanese, Ethiopian, Thai, Arabic, Mexican, Balkan, Caribbean, Chinese and Jamaican,”

“Bee,” Jarvis said.

“Yeah I over ordered,” she grumbled slipping her phone back into her pocket, but she hadn’t known what a god might like to eat.

It didn’t seem to matter, Loki was already tucking into a container of whatever was nearest to him.

He almost wept in pure bliss as he devoured the Tokushima ramen without haste, even the strangeness of a raw egg in a soup alongside pork belly and noodles (which he had never had in life) did not slow him down. The god did not slow down even as Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Thor walked onto the floor slightly confused.

Jarvis had alerted them there would be food and that Soleil was apparently friendly with Loki. Jarvis had been somewhat right, Soleil was keeping a great distance between herself and the god, but she had ordered him a lot of food. Enough food to feed an army in fact.

“I don’t know what gods eat,” she immediately said as defence before her dad could ask, she did the same thing whenever he caught her doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing. “So I got whatever, if he dies of an allergic reaction you’re not allowed to blame me.”

“You’d be doing us a favour Bee,” her dad joked, she grinned a little unsure while Loki finally slowed down. That was good, just watching him devour container after container was giving her indigestion.

“We do not suffer the aliments of mortals little Stark-”

“Little stark?” Soleil whispered at Steve and Tony both of them grinned sympathetically.

“-This is quite the feast,” Thor beamed at her and all of a sudden she could see what Jane Foster might see in the glorious blonde bastard, though if she had to go for a blonde she’d still choose Captain America.

The avengers and Soleil watched as Thor easily sat himself down beside Loki acting as though nothing was wrong, even Loki was a little on edge about that, Steve and Tony shared a look™ one that suggested they were in on something. Something Soleil was not allowed to be part of.

Thor without hesitation (must be a god thing) dug into the food complimenting Soleil as though she had laboured over the meals, she hadn’t.

“What is this?” Thor asked as the others finally settled, Tony made sure Soleil was one super solider and a father apart from the god of mischief.

“Curried goat,” Soleil answered taking the carton of Tom Kha soup for herself.

The look of betrayal startled her as he was torn between heaving his stomach into the nearest container or eating what was a delicious meal. Loki being the sympathetic brother he was grinned from ear to ear watching Thor have an internal meltdown.

They did not eat goats on Asgard due to Thor’s love of them, they were scared in some strange way. Loki suspected interest in eating them was already so minimal that Odin had no issue outlawing their slaughter and consumption.

“Are you okay Thor?” Steve had to ask as Thor gingerly put the container down.

“Yes Captain, I… find I cannot in good conscience eat a goat,” Thor said picking up another container and studying it.

“That’s chicken,” Tony reassured him passing a box that contained a triple cheeseburger with plenty of onions, “Try this it might suit you.” Thor immediately approved of the burger, it wasn’t easy to go wrong with a good burger.

Though the company was unwanted Loki found a sense of comfort in the noise and activity, listening in as Thor and Steve asked questions about the food for the Starks to answer. If the Starks did not know then Jarvis would provide information, Loki cared not about the province of food or what it contained, food was food and this was the best food he had tasted in a dreadfully long time.

He listened into the varying conversations, Soleil debated baseball with Steve, apparently he took offence at the LA Dodgers, none of this made sense to Loki, what made even less sense was Hockey, even the Captain did not seem to understand her love of Hockey.

The older Stark chimed in once in a while or talked at length to Thor about various things, places the god should see since he would be spending time on Midgard and perhaps the acquisition of a phone – communication device. Loki knew how that would end, Thor had never been great at keeping in touch.

The four talked at length about everything and anything, Loki was more fascinated by the Korean barbecue than what was considered the best dessert.

According to Steve Rogers you could not beat a good apple pie with a dollop of thick cream or ice cream. The older Stark insisted on Tiramisu which combined alcohol and coffee. Whereas the younger Stark insisted that New York style cheesecake was the best dessert, though ice cream (of any type) was a close second.

He noticed that Rogers was rather experimental with his choice of food, wishing to try everything at least once. Thor ate whatever had the most meat, Stark knew what he liked and stuck to that while his daughter seemed filled by the small tub of soup she had half-eaten.

“Jane has mentioned you little Stark,” Soleil did not appreciate Thor’s new nickname for her.

“Okay?”

“You are an engineer?” Thor asked.

“Yup, my main focus is space, aerospace engineering if you will, but I am not confined to one area of study,” She said setting her half-eaten carton down.

“Jane had mentioned that you are attempting to colonise your moon?”

“Me personally no, but I wanna find a way to make the moon liveable, so we can continue our research,” she said taking a long sip of water.

The floodgates were opened up and Thor could only sit uncomfortably as she prattled on about her designs on space, how they might once again reach the moon and this time stay there. She had ideas with regard to terraforming, to establishing a liveable base, not just on the moon but Mars as well. They would be the first destinations in this new space race she dreamt up.

Loki recognised the blank look on Thor’s face, he had long since lost interest and Soleil quickly realised. Twiddling her fingers she fell silent, ashamed even, this made Loki frown. Her father wrapped an arm around her whispering something, she perked up a little.

Thor turned to Steve to start an entirely new conversation, which made Soleil wince. Tony reassured her all was well and rubbed her arm, only to annoy Macbeth who popped her head out to see who it was that was rubbing her.

“Sorry my scaly grandbaby,” Tony grinned at the indignant snake.

⸢Oh another one, what is this one the god of the farm?⸥ the snake complained looking a surprised Thor over.

⸢I am the god of thunder, serpent⸥

⸢I stand corrected oh great and powerful goat fucker⸥

“I do not recommend getting into an argument with it, it thinks anything other than the younger Stark is beneath it,” Loki said trying a slice of pizza, he found the combination sweeter than expected.

“So they’re both Dolittle’s?” Tony asked Soleil who shrugged she didn’t get it either, but apparently they could understand Macbeth in some way. She certainly reacted to whatever they said back to her.

“I don’t get it either,” she admitted.

“So she doesn't like me?” Tony asked Loki while Thor continued to glare at Macbeth, the snake in return glared back at Thor (somehow).

⸢You may tell him that I enjoy his company, the red machine is most comfortable for resting on and he is a delight for a human being!⸥

“She thinks your armour makes the perfect place to rest,” Loki translated.

“Well it’s good to know I’m useful for something,” Tony grinned rubbing the snakes chin as she leaned up to him.

⸢You did not tell him that I enjoy his company nor that he is a delight tell him, tell him!⸥ Macbeth snapped at Loki

⸢It must have slipped my mind dull scales⸥ Loki grinned.

⸢Pompous false serpent⸥ she complained slithering her way onto Tony’s shoulder, Steve wasn’t as sure about the snake, but Tony was used to her by now.

“She’s tame and a pest if you let her loose in a workshop but tame,” Tony assured Steve who still wasn’t sure meanwhile Macbeth curled herself up on top of Tony’s head, she liked to feel tall.

“She’s inquisitive not a pest,” Soleil insisted gently cooing at Macbeth wondering how it was that the gods communicated with her.

“She likes to nap in places she shouldn’t,” Macbeth was not pleased by this, it wasn’t her fault she found nice warm places to rest in his workshop. She slithered her way back to Soleil deeply offended, Tony rolled his eyes.

“Well maybe you shouldn’t leave your workshop unlocked,” Soleil argued as the serpent coiled herself around her right arm once again.

“Dum-E likes to roam the house, you know this Bee,” Tony argued, yes she did know, she had spent a childhood learning to know when Dum-E was out and about. She loved him, she really did but Dum-E was not built to handle fragile things, especially fragile children.

“Yes but should he be trusted to roam the house?” Soleil asked grinning when he failed to find a suitable answer. Everyone knew it wasn’t a good idea, Dum-E lived up to his name and while he was adorable he vastly overestimated his own skill and abilities.

Tony blinked several times, nope a reasonable argument still failed him, there was no good reason why Dum-E should be unleashed within the house, “So Point Break, what’s this about coffee and pop tarts?”

Thor lit up with a glorious and adorable smile, “My lady Jane introduced me to such wonderful refreshments.”

“And you were worried about feeding them actual food,” Tony whispered to Soleil who grinned to herself, “Well Point Break we do have coffee-”

“-Dad you can’t feed Thor your coffee,” Soleil protested as her dad made his way over to the coffee machine.

“What’s the worst that can happen?” Tony joked.

“It comes with a health warning!”

“It’s not that bad,”

“By buying it you accept all the dangers that coffee presents, you have to sign legally binding documents on the website, you can’t give it to an alien!” Tony wasn’t seeing the issue, those aliens were gods, “It literally killed three people last year.”

“You shouldn’t have said that,” Loki muttered at the exact same time Thor lit up, “Let me test this coffee!”

Soleil buried her face in her hands, Steve offered her a spring roll in consolation, she took it, to exhausted to care that she was full up. Trust her dad to find the one alien that would enable his terrible habits. Fuck this was going to be a long year.

The avengers (well Tony, Steve and Thor) discussed what they should do with Loki, the god of mischief had no say and Odin had decided to leave it in their hands. The obvious answer would be to lock him up, lock him away where he could cause no harm.

There was no place suitable on Midgard that the avengers were aware of, Loki knew of several places but would rather not assist any further attempts at incarceration. He watched them struggle amongst themselves to come up with the ideal solution.

“I can’t keep him here,” Tony protested to Thor who insisted this was the best place, “I have staff and my kid to consider.”

“You have a goat here?” Thor asked.

“Soo, allspeak translates things literally?” Tony asked perplexed, Loki rolled his eyes, no it didn’t, Thor had simply mistaken the context of the word which would have supplied the answer.

“Kid is slang for child, he’s talking about his daughter Soleil,” Steve told Thor who stood there just realising what Soleil was to Tony, “You didn’t know?”

“The big fella showed up in the middle of this mess, I don’t think he got the briefings,” Tony reasoned, “Sol’s my kid, child, offspring whatever you wanna say, point is while Bumblebee’s here I’m not hosting Loki.”

“Loki shall not harm your daughter Stark,” Thor half lied, in truth he might harm Soleil, Loki had done a lot worse in his past though usually that was for the sake of Asgard or the protection of his family.

“Look all you have to do is sneeze at my kid and boom, in hospital,” Tony argued.

“Your daughter is that fragile?” Thor wondered if it were an age thing, Darcy looked to be of a similar age and seemed hale.

“Yep kid’s a medical wonder, impossibility even, so unless I have proof that Loki can’t hurt my kid you’ll have to have him live somewhere else,”

“Why not call SHIELD?” Steve offered, Thor considered this, but Tony had the most peculiar expression one that made Loki take note.

Tony shuffled on his feet, “I’m not saying that… look Loki took out quite a few SHIELD agents, Phil included, everyone loved Phil. I’m not sayin’ he’d approve out loud, but I’m sure Fury would be willing to turn a blind eye if anyone… took advantage of Loki’s situation.”

To Tony’s surprise Steve agreed, “What other options do we have? Thor are there any other territories, realms or worlds that would take Loki?”

“The majority of the nine realms are overseen by Asgard, they would not be willing to risk Odin’s ire by inviting Loki – even as a captive – amongst their numbers,” Thor reasoned.

“Why do I get the feeling when you say overseen what you really mean is-” Steve elbowed Tony in the ribs to get him to shut up.

“Can’t you build a containment around a single floor in the tower?” Steve proposed.

“Yeah and then what happens, he tricks Jarvis or someone else to let him out. Hell Bee would let him out if meant she could learn some weird alien shit, or fuck, she’d let him out to… you said Puente Antiguo?” he turned to Thor.

“Yes?” the god of thunder blinked confused. “I landed there, it so happened that Jane Foster and Agent Phil were also there.”

“Riiiight, well fuck,” Tony ran a hand through his hair, “If he stays here… how much do you two know about engineering?”

“The sciences were Loki’s subjects not mine,” Thor answered.

“We can’t keep him here,” Tony insisted to Steve who was just as confused as everyone else.

“Tony the tower is the best option-” Steve was about to argue, but Tony was adamant against the idea.

“-No it’s not because if Bee finds out-”

“-If Bee finds out what?” Soleil asked, Tony jumped curing Natasha (back when she was Natalie) for teaching Soleil how to be sneaky.

“I do not see why Puente Antiguo is so important to my brothers confinement,” Thor frowned not understanding what was going on at all.

“Did you say Puente Antiguo?” Soleil rounded on a surprised Thor, he did not understand.

“Is this some mythical town I should visit?” Steve asked it had been mentioned a lot in five minuted.

“No, no Bee he didn’t, he said-” Tony tried to correct not realising Thor did not like to be called a liar.

“-Do not make me a liar Stark,” Thor threatened.

“Yeah Dad how dare you make the most venerable god of thunder out to be a liar, honestly have you no shame?” Soleil said placing her hands on her hips, Thor nodded in complete agreement.

Loki rolled his eyes at how quickly Thor soaked up the praise and attention, it was honestly embarrassing how easily the fool could be manipulated and it had taken a mortal one afternoon to discover this weakness.

“Puente Antiguo was where I met my Lady Jane, Darcy, Selvig and your beloved Agent Son of Coul,”

“You mean Coulson, he’s American, we don’t use Patronymic or Matronymic surnames. At least not in the way you’re probably thinking of them,” Soleil corrected, “He was just Coulson, His father was probably not named Coul. Like how I am Stark and not Anthonysdóttir.”

“I see,” Thor muttered, “That explains the oddity of Jane’s family name.”

“Yep so if you and Jane married on Earth, and she decided to take your name, just as an example off the top of my head-” Tony and Steve finally caught on, she was buttering up the god of Thunder, and he was eating it up, “-She would be Jane Odinson, which I suppose would be awkward in Asgard but normal here.”

“That does seem odd?” Thor admitted hating how it sounded, it made her sound his like his sister.

“So you met in Puente Antiguo, I once read it’s romantic to get married where you met your love, but a desert town seems… inappropriate for a wedding to a god, especially with it still in need of repair.”

“Yes, the destroyer created so much damage when it walked through the town,” Thor turned to Loki who sat back utterly amused that Thor had so easily fallen into Soleil’s trap, of course Thor read his amusement wrong.

“The destroyer?” Soleil asked.

“Yes, The Destroyer Automaton is a weapon and guardian of Asgard, it was sent by Loki to kill me,” Thor glared at Loki again, “I wonder if it is still where we left it?”

“You really think SHIELD would have left something called the destroyer alone after what we saw with the tesseract?” Steve asked not understanding Soleil’s interest.

“How dangerous is this thing?” Tony asked.

“It levelled a town Tony, it’s dangerous,” Steve reasoned.

“Hush that’s not important, so the destroyer was sent by Loki to what attack you? Did you defeat it battle then?” She asked.

“Yes, with my godhood and power restored I used my strength and lightning to best the destroyer in combat,” Thor proudly announced.

“That’s sooo amazing,” Loki rolled his eyes the falseness wet unnoticed by Thor, “So like, it’s no longer functioning?”

“No, I knew I could not best it if I attacked the body, so I attacked it’s core it’s power source, rendering it inoperable,” Thor answered.

“Amazing,” Soleil continued, “So, any random idiot can command it?”

Thor laughed at the jab at Loki, Loki just sat deeply disappointed in his brother who allowed his ego to be bolstered like this, “No, it can only be commanded by the king of Asgard.”

“Loki was king?” Tony asked.

“What Asgard’s never had a queen?” Soleil asked.

“How do you go from being King to invader?” Steve asked.

“Expansion of the empire?” Tony proposed, “One land beneath the Asgardian sun and all that.”

“So what, you get named ruler of Asgard, and you’re in automatic control of its weapons? How does that work?”

“Through the Odinforce, Gungier acts as a tool to harness this power and through the Odinforce any ruler can command the destroyer,” Thor answered wondering why she was asking this, “Why do you ask little stark?”

“But I imagine Steel or iron would easily break under the strength of Mjölnir right? So how did the destroyer withstand your combined might?”

It was hilarious how quickly Thor turned from suspicious to eager to explain just how incredible he was.

“The metal from which the destroyer and my Mjölnir is forged is known as Uru, it can only be forged in the megastructure that surrounds Nidavellir. The dwarves harness the power of their sun Nidavellir to forge Uru, they are the only race capable of such a feat,”

“Only because they guard their secrets like paranoid dragons,” Loki muttered.

“Dwarves?” Steve asked.

“Did he say megastructure surrounding a sun?” Tony asked

Soleil vibrated, actually vibrated.

“Soo how does someone get into Nidavellir?” Soleil asked.

“With charm and plenty of gold,” Loki answered

“I can get gold,” Soleil whispered loudly, “How much gold do you-”

“-Bumblebee I know all this is very exciting,” Her dad began to steer her away from the gods, “But this can wait until tomorrow when you’ve had your ten hours now go, sleep.”

“Ugh fine, oh,” She pulled out a piece of paper from her jacket pocket and read out loud, “Pepper says pick up the fucking phone, or she’s leaving you for a man called Seamus.”

“Shit,” he’d forgotten to call Pepper to reassure her he wasn’t dead, he still made sure to push Soleil out toward the Elevator, “Stick him on your floor for now Point Break.”

“My Floor?” Thor asked.

“Oh, oh right, you all have your own floor Jarvis will send you to the correct ones,” that was that. The Starks were gone.

“Why do I feel manipulated?” Thor asked.

“You are catching on much faster these days' brother,” Loki grinned.

Steve sighed, he wasn’t getting paid enough to deal with this bullshit.