#a time in clarks life where his father is gone and he just has his mother to look after seems like it would be

[supurman]

[spider-jaysart]

For the Supersons week 2023 bonus prompt: In another life

@super-sons-week

(Click for better quality)

This is an au of mines called Species swap where Damian's an alien and Jon's a human instead. Besides my apocalypse one, this one is also one of my most faves! And for fun, I also named it Earth 59

(More under the cut)

Damian and the Batfamily, plus the Al Ghul's, are hero aliens instead of humans (though, the Al Ghul's are more like warriors here like Tamaraneans are for example) and Jon and the Superfamily are the humans in this au who save people on earth with their highly trained combat skills and helpful gadgets.

The Al Ghuls live on a far away planet called "Lazarus planet" and Damian grew up there with them (just like in his origin). All aliens there were trained to fight very skillfully. Damian too while growing up there was trained to fight very skillfully as well, since he's going to be the ruler of that planet one day when he grows up.

But then Talia had no choice but to send Damian to his Father's planet on his 10th birthday, since some vicious aliens from another planet had came to invade their home and wanted to assassinate all of their people during that day, so she had to do it to keep him safe until the war was over. She quickly leaves their planet and uses one of the mini traveling spaceships to drive Damian to Bruce's planet, which is Gotham. After landing there and finding Bruce, she leaves Damian there with him to be taken care of while she's gone.

So for the mean time while Damian has to stay on Bruce's planet, he begins to finally get to know his Father and finally learns about the rest of his unknown Batfamily members for the first time as well. And while all of that's happening, after some time, the Al Ghul's later win the war on their planet and Talia goes back to go get Damian. Though, Damian has already become attached and didn't want to just leave his Father and his other family so soon after getting to finally know them for only just such a short time, so Talia lets him stay a little longer because of that. After that, her and Bruce both later decide on an agreement about sharing equal time with him, letting him usually spend one week on Lazarus planet with the Al Ghul's and the next one on Gotham planet with the Batfamily so that it'll be fair

With the Superfamily, Jon, Clark, Lois, Kara, Kon, and Chris live on earth as humans and fight crime protecting people (just like the Batfamily as humans). They train a lot to stay strong and also own a lot of gadgets. And just like how the Batfamily would, they have things like a Superrang, Supermobile, and etc. They also all wear masks to hide their identities

Damian's never been to earth before, not even his Mother. Though, he's always heard stories from his Father, brothers, and Grandfather about earth and it's humans, since they're the ones who have actually been there before. He was always curious about what it was like over there but he never dared to visit it, especially since he was always told by his family that he wasn't ever allowed to because of certain reasons that could possibly endanger him

One day though, during a mission in space with his brothers when he was 12 years old, which involved a bunch of dangerous aliens who owned powerful electric, laser guns, he fell down to earth after being severely shocked and knocked out by a strong laser blast. He fell down in planet earth's direction, later crashing into a video game store while Jon and his family were nearby, busy dealing with a mission of their own. Jon, after hearing the crash, went to go take a look at where and what the loud sound was caused by and saw Damian just laying there knocked out in the store with the ceiling rocks on top of him, since he had destroyed the stores roof during his crash into the place

After the rest of the Superfamily found out about it, they took Damian with them to the Fortress of solitude to find out who he was (he was still knocked out), since they knew he wasn't from earth after looking at his unique outfit and long unusual sharp, large sword. As soon as Damian woke up, he tried to fight them and escape, feeling endangered since he didn't know them, but they calmed him down and then kept him inside of a clear cube that he couldn't break through at all with his super strength so that he could stop, which just got him upset again but even more than before

They let Damian out once they found out that he wasn't a threat and tried apologizing to him. Jon excitedly then tries to become his friend and tries showing him around Metropolis during that same day until they can get him back home. Damian's clueless about earth things and only knows a little bit about the things that his family has told him about it before, so Damian ends up curiously asking Jon a lot of questions about everything around earth and in Metropolis, while Jon tries to answer them all for him (he thinks that Jon is a very smart person cause he knows all the answers to his every question lol). So they both get to bond a little and know eachother better that same day (they also fight some crime together while walking around the city)

Meanwhile, the Batfamily and the Al Ghul family are both panicking very much and are trying to find Damian as fast as they can since he's still missing. So once the Batfamily and the Al Ghul's got to earth, they got into a mini fight with the Superfamily, thinking that Damian's in danger with them. But then Bruce remembers Clark being the same exact boy he had met as a kid when he himself accidentally crashed onto earth many years ago in the past and got his help to go back home, so it all gets figured out in the end and peace is quickly made between them both and all is finally understood

Both of Damian's family finally found him after that and tried to take him safely back home, but he refused and didn't want to leave since he found everything so interesting on earth, plus he was also just starting to like Jon too. After arguing back and forth, they decided that he could visit sometimes, but only with supervision from whoever is available to go along with him during those times to make sure he's okay. Damian was pleased with that decision.

So after everything and as time went on, Damian and Jon later became the duo team named Supersons and also best friends in the end too (with crushes on eachother)

Some facts:

Damian and the Al Ghul's are the ones who rule Lazarus planet since they're the royal family there

Those from Lazarus planet are called "Lazarens" and those from Gotham planet are "Gothamites", so that makes Damian a mixed alien who is considered a "Lazamite"

Most characters who are aliens in canon are now humans in this au instead

All planets like Tamaran and Krypton don't exist in space in this au and are instead just big cities on earth. Tamaran city is corrupted under Blackfire's control over it and Krypton is a city that was destroyed many years ago, so it is now abandoned and no one ever visits it

Damian is pretty reckless on earth while fighting and using his powers on humans who are criminals, since he's used to being that way when defeating enemies who are very strong like him back in space. So Jon has to sometimes remind him to be more careful about what he's doing and how he has to be more calmer when handling humans and certain other things

Just like how Damian always visits Jon on earth for patrol together or just hangout or have sleepovers at the Kent farm, Jon also visits Damian's planets sometimes too and they get to do many of those things together there as well

Damian wanted to find a way to be around Jon more though after becoming his friend, so after hearing that Jon goes to school in the early day, he immediately wanted to be registered in too (it's also because they don't have many schools in space for alien kids and he was homeschooled for years by Talia, so he wanted to know the experience too). Talia and Bruce didn't want to do it since they were afraid that he could get caught as an alien if he were to make any kind of mistakes around the civilians over there, but after being constantly asked over and over by their son and seeing how much he wanted it, they finally did it for him. The Superfamily decided to help him out by making him a holographic bracelet that makes him look human (which makes him look like how he always does in canon)

Damian doesn't have his canon pets with him in space in the beginning (only Goliath and Batcow who have some type of alien DNA in them) and has no idea what earth pets are like either because of this, but he does meet them on earth later on. After escaping their everyday cages, they all unexpectedly run out of a nearby pet shop while Jon is showing Damian around the city and they happily run towards the Boy Wonder. Damian prepares to defend himself since he isn't very trusting of them at first, thinking they are going to try and challenge him with an attack like other creatures he's fought before, but he was immediately met with the complete opposite after getting pushed down to the ground by them, getting a bunch of doggy and cat kisses to the face instead. This unexpected love from them quickly made him change his whole view on them, causing him to fall in love with their lovable, fluffy cuteness. The pet store owner tried to take them back inside, but Damian threatened him with his large sword so that he can leave them alone. It scared the poor guy away and Damian happily left with his new pets. After seeing that, Jon had to quickly go after Damian to tell him that's not how things are done on earth and that he has to actually go back and adopt them first for real instead of just leaving with them. After all of that, Damian later puts special collars on them (made by the Batfamily) that help them breathe properly in space so that he can take them home with him

When Jon gets married to Damian in the future when they're both adults, he also becomes a king on Lazarus planet too like Damian

In this au, Damian and the Batfamily destroyed Eberos (the creature from Dceased who was made by Darksied to start the apocalypse) before he could even do anything to earth

For abilities and other little things:

Damian has flight, Superstrength, Superspeed, laser vision, laser beams, and flame blasts that he can throw from his hands. And also, while it may be a learned skill for him in canon, it's actually a natural born ability of his to be able to imitate many voices in this au

Whenever he gets really mad, Damian's hair turns into flames until he calms down again

Lazarens have Lazarus blood in them, so whenever they get cuts or are severely injured, their wounds just close back up (after an hour) and they regenrate whatever part of their body they lost (which usually takes almost a month). They can also live up to 2000 years or even longer because of this. There are also multiple Lazarus pits on Lazarus planet

Damian's big sword is way too heavy to actually be held by humans, so only those with super strength like him can hold it. He can also transfer his abilities to the weapon while holding it during battle and make it light up in green fire, which helps him create bigger damage against enemies and make fast clean cuts through anything too

Not one of them, but Damian is allergic to these giant "shrimp" like creatures in space and will grow a big headache and will also be sneezing out whole fire breath sneezes as if he's a dragon if he's too close to them for too long. He can even take out almost a whole battle field with it too, that's how bad it is (inspired by my friend @paladin-of-nerd-fandom65 's headcanon where Damian is allergic to shrimp). After finding out about this allergy, Jon created an antidote for him that makes it go away faster whenever they bump into these creatures

Lazarens only fall in love once with someone and aren't able to go through it again with other people

Bruce is a Gothamite who is born with a lot of rare abilities that many other Gothamites don't have, so some of them were passed onto Damian too. They're: Super high intelligence, the super clear ability to observe things much better than a human as if they're like robots, astounding quick memory, and the ability to move any shadows with them when they need to stay hidden

Damian's system allows him to eat whatever he wants, especially weird stuff, without any kind of problems. He's still a vegetarian though and even tries to be one with earth food too (sometimes he doesn't understand what any of the meals actually are though and needs help from others to tell him if they involve meat or not)

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Clark Gable (Gone With the Wind, It Happened One Night)—There's no proof that Clark Gable stripping in It Happened One Night caused the sale of undershirts to take a nosedive, but there's also no proof that it didn't do that. And either way, him saucily undressing for bed in front of a woman who was married—not to him—is too deliciously scandalous to ignore. He deserves votes for this scene if nothing else. He got an Academy Award for this movie! He could play comedy just as well as drama, he earned medals for his bravery as a bomber gunner in WW2, he competed in car races, he has a great mustache and perfect eyebrows for sexy smirking, he's just HOT.

Sidney Poitier (Lilies of the Field, To Sir With Love)—an unbelievably beautiful man, a complete class act. Something about his eyes breaks my heart every time.

This is round 3 of the bracket. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage man.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]

Clark Gable propaganda:

"Listen, he was "the King of Hollywood" for a reason and a suave motherfucker. Also a Major in the air force during WWII!"

"So Clark Gable was the king of Hollywood for a reason but honestly what makes him hot to me is his relationship with his wife Carole Lombard like if she loved him so she can't be wrong. Their relationship is so tragic like they met first when they filmed No Man of Her Own in 1932 and like there was nothing between them then but in 1936 they met again at a Hollywood party and this time things were different. Basically from that moment on they were inseparable and had to carry out their romance in secret until his divorce was finalized (he was separated when they met again at the party) and then they eloped in 1939 when he had a break during filming Gone With The Wind. They had a 20 acre farm together with horses, cows and chickens and they loved to do all those outdoorsy activities together. When they were apart for various work obligations they would send each other goofy gag gifts. In 1942 Carole was on a trip to sell war defense bonds when on the flight back home her plane crashed in the mountains of Nevada. Her death devastated Gable he flew to Nevada and demanded he be taken to the spot where the plane crashed despite the dangers posed by its location. Amongst the wreckage they found a hair clip he had given her for Christmas. Her death forever changed him he became more reckless and signed up for the US Army Air Corps in 1942 and he kept her bedroom unchanged in their home. He never stopped loving her when he died in 1960 he was buried next to her. I know Clark wasn't a perfect person and their is some speculation that she was racing home on that plane to him because she was worried that he was having an affair or something but relationships are complicated especially ones occurring in 1930s and 1940e Hollywood amongst two of the biggest starts at the time. (I just wanted to include this so ya know I'm not just looking at their relationship as all sunshine but like you can't deny the love they shared)

"They had an ineffable quality in romance, the ability to have fun together... they were soulmates who thought life was delicious, and they made everyone's life delicious around them" -Esther Williams

"GWtW is an epic stretching across years so Clark has a chance to show off a whole bunch of different sides, from Hot Outsider to Husband to Father and so on. But his most attractive is his final line of the movie, made only better by the story that he lobbied the Film Industry to ‘Let Rhett Curse!’ And who is more classic 30s Hollywood than this man?"

"Also apparently his name was Billy Gable then Glark Gable before finally landing on Clark Gable. A fact that I cant forget now glark gable lives in my mind now"

Sidney Poitier propaganda:

[ijustthinkhesneat]

Okay but realistically imagine what Bruce would do when Jason came back.

Chasing this knee criminal who keeps referencing his dead son. Pushing his buttons. How dare he presume to know anything about Jason. The lost light of his life, his baby boy. He can feel that darkness creeping around the edges of his mind. That pit of anger and murderous rage he is scared he will never pull himself out of.

Hearing that robotic voice taunting him about failing Jason, failing to avenge him. He tried, god he tried. He was so close he had the knife against the jokers throat. And then he was being pulled away. Clark stopped him. Told him that he wasn’t acting like himself.

God he loves Clark but he can still feel that small pit of resentment fester whenever he thinks about bleeding that clown.

How dare he say he never loved Jason. He would have given everything to have him back for even a moment. His wealth, his status, Batman, his soul, Gotham itself. There were only three things he would never trade away. His sons. His precious boys. He would destroy himself without a second thought for their happiness. If there was anything he could give, any price he could pay to just see his baby one more time he would do it happily.

Then they are alone. He’s cornered the Red Hood. An abandoned warehouse, a bomb. He should tear him apart where he stands. He dares to make a mockery of his greatest failure? How he failed Jason. His son. His baby. His world. He will make him suffer.

Then the helmet comes off. A young man. Gentle black curls with a shock of white running through them. A domino mask over his face. It can’t be. And the mask comes away. And Bruce sees them. Those beautiful blue eyes that have haunted every sleepless night. Filled with hatred. Swimming with green fury.

But none of it matters. All the anger in Bruce is gone. He tears of the cowl, he has to see, has to see his baby’s face. Jason has a gun leveled at him, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters because Jason is here. He is alive in front of Bruce. Every wish, every regret is washed away in that moment.

Bruce falls to his knees, it’s too much, more than a wretched creature like him deserves. Jason is stunned. His hand shakes slightly. He moves forward, places the gun against Bruce’s temple and still there is no fear, just wonder and adoration in Bruce’s eyes.

“Is it you Jaylad? Please this has to be a dream, please let this be real.” Jason is shocked he expected anger, disappointment, bargaining, but all there is is a father, a broken man looking upon his life’s purpose renewed before his eyes. Bruce reaches up, slowly, reverently, like at any moment Jason will disappear, he takes Jason free hand and holds it against his cheek and then Bruce’s weeps. Not silent tears or stoic crying. He weeps, snotty and red, hiccuping sobs wracking his body. He can only repeat Jason’s name like a prayer.

Jason doesn’t even realize he has dropped the gun. His Dad is caressing his hand, wailing and babbling apologies and platitudes. Jason feels himself sink to his knees. Tears spilling from his own eyes. His Dad still loves him, never stopped, he doesn’t even care that Jason had only a week ago filled a duffel bag with human heads. He is holding onto Jason like he is sacred and he can feel the anger breaking under the desire to be engulfed by his father.

In that moment they both know that no matter what happens, they’ve come home and for the first time in a long time they both feel whole.

[pinkiemachine]

Superman: Origin Story! 🎉

Part one involving what became of Krypton and the rest of the El family will be linked below.

Lara and Cal crash landed together on Earth (specifically, outside of Smallville Kansas) in the summer of 1977 with their escape pod badly damaged, and Lara bleeding out. As luck would have it, a young couple was driving through that part of the country and saw what they thought was a plane of some sort crash land. John Kent jumped out of the car and went to check to see if there were survivors and found a Kryptonian escape pod, steaming and smoking, with a woman and baby inside. Lara could tell that she didn’t have much time. Attempting to speak to John (though, he didn’t understand her language) she asked that he would take care of her son and bring help. Along with Cal, she also gave John a small, hand-held device that he couldn’t figure out the purpose of. Then… she died.

John was left standing there, not knowing what to do for a few seconds. Ultimately, he figured he ought to bury the body out of respect, so he ran back to his wife to give her the baby. By that point, though, there were already dark shapes on the horizon. Martha spotted them. Black helicopters. The Kents got in their car and sped away as quickly as they could, not wanting to get tangled up in whatever conspiracy this was. John didn’t take them back to house that night. Instead, they kept driving until they reached his sister Emma’s house where they would lay low for a while.

Martha was still holding baby Cal and she couldn’t bear to let him go. She had suffered a miscarriage just a week before and immediately fell in love with the boy. There would be no getting rid of him now. They decided to name him Clark, after a word John thought that the woman in the pod had tried to say to him.

After the black helicopters had gone, and after the crashed pod had mysteriously disappeared, John and Martha went back home and continued on with life. Naturally, they had a million questions, but answers would be very tricky to supply unless they wanted to poke their noses into uncertain places. So they kept to themselves. Clark, meanwhile, was growing up fast and strong. Literally. By the time he was two, he was lifting things he really shouldn’t be able to, running faster than they could keep up with, and falling out trees on purpose (not sustaining any injuries) because it was fun. This was their first inkling that Clark might not be human. (After all, Kryptonians do look a lot like humans.)

I would also like to mention that in this version, Clark has siblings. Yes, a few years after saving Clark, Martha gave birth to another son, Micheal. Then came Sean, then Rueben, and finally Suzie. They all worked together on their father’s farm, though it was kind of an open secret who did most of the work. Clark would out-perform his brothers constantly, and it had become quite the sore spot in the family. But, when the tractor breaks down, who’re you gonna call to get it back to the barn? Probably the superhuman son who can lift it with one hand and fly. They did have a lot of good times as well. They got up to so much stupid stuff…heheh… story for another time.

Clark was told from a young age that he was allowed to use his powers on the farm, but nowhere else. Especially not in town. John and Martha were worried the black helicopters might come back. So Clark did his best, but rumours still abounded. Some of the other kids in his class at school even called him an “alien” because of how weird he acted sometimes. Naturally, he had been told his origins by this point. When he was six, his parents sat him down and explained about the pod and his mother and John gave him the small device that Lara had given him. The moment Clark touched it, it activated. It was a holo-photo projector, and it displayed a portrait of the El family, baby Clark included. This was proof that Clark was from the stars, and from that moment onward, he became obsessed with outer space. By the time he was in middle school, he had star maps and rocket posters pinned up in his room, he tracked down every scrap of alien news and conspiracy theories that he could find, and tried to send out radio signals into deep space with his own dinky, homemade system in the family tree house. He loved his adoptive family, he did, but he also wanted to know what had happened to the rest of his birth family. Were they out there? Did they know where he was? That he was alive? He had so many questions!

Alas, time flew by, and no answers appeared. He had a falling out with one of his brothers (involving Clark losing control and accidentally hurting one of the family dogs with his laser vision) and after high school he left to get a degree in investigative journalism, later taking a job at the Daily Planet in Metropolis. He still talked to his brothers and sister and Ma and Pa, but he felt alienated. He didn’t really belong anywhere. That’s why this job was so important. He would scour the ends of the Earth to find answers.

Little did he know, though, that the escape pod and Lara’s body had been taken by the government and were being experimented on. Head of the classified project currently: Amanda Waller. Most invested investor: Lex Luthor.

Part one here 👇

[devine-fem]

I love to see how Damian keeps showing he is a responsable and caring with kids. Looks like he learned to balance being a hero and taking care of a child meanwhile Jon still has trouble with both. Damien saw his focus more on his job and decide to do it better kind of how Dick showed him. I would love to have your head canons of Damian as a father.

ooo ask. these are one of fav headcanons of mine. and father? no, damian is absolutely the mother.

damian pulling memories and experiences he learnt from talia that at the time provided him warmth and comfort is so incredibly special to me.

i also feel like it heals the idea in his head(i even headcanoned before knowing this) that he thinks children would be near impossible for him because of the life he lives. if anything he’d want to give that child as much love as can bleed out of himself and show them a traditional happy life and without that… he thinks it’s hopeless. i feel like his relationship with trinity could be healing that. he’s even said this before

i feel dick perhaps could come over to see if the kid is still breathing but he’d be pleasantly surprised to find that trinity is very happy and healthy.

damian would adopt the mother hen traits a little too easily than he’s willing to admit and he’d be entirely fine with that

jon’s childhood (as short as it was) could even be somewhat lived through trinity, not in a possessive and overbearing way but in a passive and healing way

jon could be pulled in one direction but his duty as a hero but that could also make him understand why his dad was gone so often for him - often at times feeling neglected - him finding a new found respect for clark

jon has flight and super speed nearing that of speedsters and his absence is not exactly easily excusable and damian will remind him of that relentlessly

jon and dami might fight but they’re just so happy to be with one another as usual

jon really admires how dami stepped into the role though its not easy for him

just the idea of dami taking care of trinity and jon taking care of dami is so freaking cute

jon really wants to be around the two as much as he can, he even calls off the legion or young justice, etc if they don’t have a good enough reason to waste quality time

“mission? nope, im busy tonight” and he hangs up just to watch some animated movie theyve seen twenty times because trinity is obsessed with it

they bicker like an old married couple but its almost a show of how much they really care for trinity

while jon is out he is always thinking about what to get for trinity as trade for his absence, toys, candy, foods… he’ll go all the way to thailand to get thai food or china for chinese food the traditional way and not tell the either of them of the hurdles he went through to get it

trinity doesn’t even notice that jon may be absent no where near as much as jon is drilling it into his own head. the kid has no idea how good she has it

jon’s definitely the type to be like “why does it matter how much it cost?” because the smiles on their faces pay him back in full

when nights get silent they almost forget their not home

thank you for the ask. i had fun talking about this. domestic damijon is so special to me

[coochiequeens]

Update on a crime the news media refuses to call femicide

TINLEY PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- A father has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his three daughters and wife inside a home in Tinley Park on Sunday.

Maher Kassem, 63, was charged Tuesday with four counts of first-degree murder, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. At his initial court appearance, prosecutors an argument led to Kassem using two guns to first shoot his wife and then, after stepping over her body, his three daughters. 

Maher KassemTINLEY PARK POLICE

The victims were identified as Majeda Kassem, 53; twins Halema Kassem, 25, and Hanan Kassem, 24; and Zahia Kassem, 25. 

Officials said Kassem shot his wife, Majeda, seven times, and each daughter was shot twice. The Kassems' 19-year-old son was in the home but was not physically injured. The women's bodies were found in the basement. 

Authorities also said Kassem was cooperative with police and admitted to the shooting. Kassem indicated the fight started over the family's finances. 

Prosecutors said the shooting took place after an argument on Sunday morning between the father and one of his daughters. That prompted his wife and two other daughters to get involved and urge him to calm down.

CBS 2 first reported Monday that there was a witness to the crime. That witness was identified in court as Maher Kassem's 19-year-old son.

Amid all the yelling, the son – who was sleeping at the time – woke up and went to see what was going on. He would later hear gunshots and first found his mother and two of his sisters fatally shot. He walked in moments before his father shot the third daughter.

Police said the father never turned the gun toward his son.

Left: Halema Kassem, Right: Zahia and HalemaPHOTOS SUPPLIED TO CBS

Around 11:20 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a report of the shooting in the 7400 block of West 173rd Street.

Village Manager Pat Carr said a male - who police later said was Kassem - made a 911 call saying someone was shot in the residence, and and police found his wife and four daughters dead at the scene. Police recovered two guns at the scene.

When police asked Kassem where his family was, prosecutors said, "the defendant pointed in the direction of the basement. The officer asked the defendant who else was there, and the defendant stated, 'They're gone.'"

Prosecutors said Kassem appeared to be disgruntled over how he was treated at home.

"The defendant was recorded volunteering things about having just retired, and that 'She treats me like a [expletive] dog," said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Scott Clark. "'I worked 40 years.' and 'I worked all my life to give my family a better home and they treat me like [expletive].'"

Police said there had been no record of police interaction at the home.  

Meanwhile, hundreds of mourners gathered at the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview for a prayer in honor of the four women who were killed in what police called a senseless act of domestic violence, something they hope is addressed more in the community.

"It's about not only mental illness, but control and abuse so it's something that it's important," said Fida Zoubeidi, who attended the prayer service. "We need to keep our eyes open."

Funeral services for the women were held Tuesday night. Mourners gathered one by one for a vigil – hours after the mother and three adult sisters were buried.

Hanan Kassem had recently graduated from St. Xavier University with a master's degree in speech therapy.

"I would say that she lit up a room - you know, like you could talk to her about anything," said classmate Corinna Olsen.

Olsen wishes she could talk to her friend one more time. Instead, she and so many are puzzled with the circumstances of the quadruple murder.

"Very, very shocking," said Olsen. "You know, expect this to happen to someone that you know."

Off camera, the nephew of Maher Kassem said the family is torn – shocked at the crime his uncle is accused of committing against a family for which he seemed to care so deeply. 

The nephew added that the family does not know the man who prosecutors are portraying as having committed such a crime. He said prior to Sunday, his uncle really would have done anything for his family members.

Kassem will be due back in court on Feb. 16.

I'm going to take a guess that once he retired he expected to be waited upon like the "man of the house". Instead he was asked to pick up after himself. And instead of accepting that he's s grown man he complained about being treated like a dog. Just based on how a lot of couples divorce after one of them, usually the man, retires and becomes a pest around the house.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Lost Boys

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam, Superfam

Summary: After Jonathan Lane Kent wipes himself from existence by canceling his own timeline, he finds himself stuck in the afterlife where he meets Jason Todd. He still wonders about the life un-lived on Earth, and how his parents would've felt about him.

Jason Todd, who is making the most of being dead, struggles with the reality of what he's left behind. He has one wish and one wish only: to send his family one final message.

Chapters: 6/?

Characters: Jonathan Lane Kent (Laney), Jason Todd, Catherine Todd, Boston Brand, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, John Constantine, Raven, Talia al Ghul, Ra's al Ghul, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake

Relationships: Platonic JayLaney

Additional Tags: Angst, Platonic Relationships, Magical Jason Todd, Resurrected Jason Todd, Queerplatonic Relationships, Canon Divergent AU, POV Multiple

Chapter Six: Happy Trails (Jason's POV)

After my resurrection, I started seeing things and hearing voices, but they weren't talking to me. They were talking about me. After my dip in the pit, I knew I was stuck with them. Sometimes in the daytime, I would lie awake and listen to them talk. The spooky one would come and go, but the one in the weird Superman costume never left my side. Sometimes I felt like I knew him from somewhere. Sometimes he would sing songs to me when we were alone or talk as if he didn't know I could hear him. I wanted to give in and speak to him most times, but I was afraid that I'd lose my mind completely if I did.

I didn't realize how much I would need him until I found out about Tim Drake. "You all right?" Talia asked. Her voice was clear, calm, and tinted with a hint of concern.

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be all right?" I lied. Once she was gone, I could hear the faintest whisper from my imaginary friend. I started to cry as I continued to try to ignore him.

"Jason, I'm so sorry," he said loud enough for me to hear. I looked away from the wall and directly at him. "Jason? You can see me?"

"What do you want from me?" I asked in tears. I finally succumbed to it. It didn't matter to me anymore if I was losing it or not. I just wanted to talk to somebody.

"Jason, it's me. Have you been ignoring me this whole time?" he asked. I nodded.

"I don't know who you are or if you're real. I just—. Can you sit down?" I asked. He nodded and sat at the table. I pulled myself together and sat back down. "Who are you?"

"Jason, it's me," he pleaded with me, "It's Laney. We're best friends. Why don't you—? Jason, don't you remember me?"

I shook my head and laughed. "No... I don't know who you are because you aren't real. You're not. This is just my brain damage and emotional trauma manifesting itself," I rationalized. Laney frowned. I pushed a hand through my hair and took a few nauseated breaths.

"This isn't who you are, Jason. We used to talk about it all the time... You said you wanted to tell Bruce you loved him, that he was a father to you. I know you're hurt, but has that changed?" Laney asked. I didn't answer him. "You don't believe me, do you? How can I prove it to you?"

"Prove what to me? I don't even understand what you're—."

"I'm a ghost. We were friends in heaven or the afterlife or whatever it was... And you disappeared, but Boston and I—. We uh—. I don't exist anymore, but you can do everything that I can't. You have a second chance, and Catherine wanted that for you," Laney whispered, "Jason..."

I started feeling panicked when he mentioned Ma, but I pushed the feelings back and went to bed. He stayed with me even after our conversation. When I woke up, Laney was still there, and his friend was back. "I'm not leaving him... Boston, I promised myself I would never leave him. So you can give me the address of the nearest person who can see ghosts, or you can come with us and help me prove that we're not just hallucinations," Laney snapped. I lay still and listened.

"The closest person I know isn't the kind of guy you ask for help. He's more trouble than he's worth—."

"Who is he, and where is he? Boston," Laney pleaded angrily through his clenched teeth.

"If he can prove that you two are real, I'm game... Actually, matter-of-fact, if you two are real, I'll do whatever the hell you want me to," I replied. Laney floated above the ground in a seated position, biting his nails. "Scout's honor."

"Jason, you were never a scout," Laney replied, "If we can prove that we're real, I want you to do just as we planned. Talk to our families."

I nodded, and Boston shook his head. "Jason, kid, you don't wanna go on and learn the hard way. Why can't you just take our word for it?" Boston asked. "Jay..."

I looked at Laney, and he softened up. "Jason, if you can't remember me, then you can't believe what I mean when I say that I know you in ways that you don't even know yourself anymore... And you won't be able to see that I just want to help you."

I wondered if he loved me. The way he spoke to me was like nothing I'd ever heard. I sometimes thought my mind made him up for comfort. Maybe he was real, and he was trying to protect me. I knew one thing for sure, everything he said was what I wanted to hear. I think that's what scared me the most. If he wasn't real, all I was doing was second-guessing myself.

They continued to argue back and forth, and I took my shower and got dressed before cutting out. Laney followed closely behind me. "Two choices. San Francisco, but you run the risk of seeing your brother or Louisiana meet this Constantine guy, and I hear he's more trouble than he's worth," Laney offered. Both choices sounded terrible, but I think he knew I'd pick anything over the idea of running into Dick. "Jason, I know you don't wanna risk seeing Dick if he's in San Francisco, but—."

"But nothing. I'm not risking everything I have planned. What happens if you're just my mind's way of sabotaging me?" I asked. He looked over my shoulder and waited for me to make eye contact.

"I don't want to sabotage you... I'd never do that. Jason, I know you're scared of what he'll say or think or do... But, just try to think. If this Constantine guy is as unpredictable as Boston says, don't you think you'd be safer if—."

I stopped just as I realized how crazy I must've seemed, talking to thin air. "Listen, on the off chance that you're real. Cool, great, good. But, on the chances that you're just a pretty little kindhearted and nurturing hallucination, my mind made up to change me back into the sweet boy you're saying I used to be... I don't wanna take any chances on screwing this up," I mumbled.

"You weren't always sweet. You were just as stubborn dead as you are alive. Either way, I promised your mom I'd find you, and I did. You're alive. I can't take that away from you, but I can look out for you," Laney whispered, "You don't have to talk to me out here. I know what it looks like. Just know when you find out that I'm not a hallucination and that there is actually someone on this planet that would move heaven and hell for you... I won't rub it in."

Secretly, I kind of hoped he was telling the truth. I needed him. Like it or not, I didn't know how I'd be able to bear the loneliness without him. So that was it. I was on my way to Louisiana to see a man about a ghost.

[idabbleincrazy]

We Make Our Own Destiny: Ageless

Fandom: Smallville

Rating: E (overall)

Pairing: Clex

Characters: Clark Kent, Lex Luthor, Martha Kent, Jonathan Kent, Lana Lang, Evan, LuthorCorp staff

Word Count: 5041

Warnings: angst, emotional h/c, s4 au, episode rewrite, Lana is trying, so is Jonathan, fluff

Summary: Evan and his found family visit the LuthorCorp labs. Lana and Clark talk. Lex comforts where he can.

Chapter Four:

The next morning saw the little farmhouse in a buzz of action. Martha hadn't come home until Clark was already making his bed on the couch after checking in on Evan, so he had only told her the gist of what had happened while she was at the Talon before she headed to bed. Amazingly, Lex had woken with the dawn along with Clark and the two of them were soon busy getting boxes unpacked, sorting through the clothes and toys Lex had ordered the night before. 

Evan had awoken by the time they were done, and Lex had happily volunteered to bathe and dress the boy as Clark sped through his usual chores before his parents woke. Lana had stopped by just as Martha was putting the coffee on and listening avidly to Jonathan's retelling of the night's events, so as Lex bundled Evan down the stairs, he and Lana took him out to the barn to keep him occupied and to give Clark some privacy with his parents to discuss the more tenuous aspects of the situation. Lex felt a wave of gratitude through the bond, and he tried to convey a comforting hug in return.

The scientists Lex had emailed were currently in a bustle of their own, getting equipment ready. They had estimated they would have everything set up by noon, so Lex had convinced Clark and Lana to head off to school after breakfast and come back at lunch to accompany him and Evan to the lab.

“Where is Evan now?” Martha asked as she set out makings for a quick lunch for her growing brood.

Clark did a quick scan as he grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.

“In the loft with Lex and Lana. And, Mom, I've never seen anything like it. Last night he was just a baby, and then suddenly, he's ready for first grade. Speaking, and apparently he's able to read already.”

“His growth spurt was really amazing.” Jonathan came into the kitchen, washing his hands as he spoke.

“And frightening.” Martha paused in her preparations, turning to look at Clark and Jonathan. “Evan needs to be seen by a doctor. We have to take him back to the hospital.”

“What are we gonna tell the doctors, Mom, he's some second generation meteor freak? He'll either wind up in Belle Reve or a laboratory for the rest of his life.”

“I don't know, Clark, but we owe it to him to do something.” Jonathan dried his hands on a dish towel and stood beside Martha.

“Look, I need you guys to hear me out on this before you go shooting me down. Lex has agreed to have his meteor-focused scientists take a look at Evan. He’s having the lab set up to look into what caused the sudden aging. He’s just as worried as the rest of us about the little guy, and wants to find out if he's okay.”

Jonathan sighed heavily, torn.

“Clark, I realize that Lex has helped us in the past, and that me and him have been trying to get on a better footing with each other, but I'm not sure I'm ready to just put this young man's life in his hands. I'm not sure I trust him that much yet.”

Clark pushed down the anger he felt rising at his father's obstinacy when it came to Lex, he didn't want the emotion to bleed into the bond and worry Lex. 

“Dad, if I were in trouble and Lex was the only one who could help, what would you do? Lex has helped out so much already, and besides, don't you think if he had any evil intentions towards Evan, they would both already be gone? He cares about him just as much as any of us. More. The way he is with Evan, it's like he…like he's found something he's been missing all his life, Dad. I trust that he would never intentionally do anything to hurt Evan.”

Jonathan thinks about it, seeing Clark's point, recalling how Lex had been with the baby the past two days, and how eager he was this morning to take charge in caring for the boy. He hadn't seen such a quick attachment since Martha had picked Clark up in the middle of a chaos-ridden field. 

Martha watched Jonathan consider Clark's words, ready to interject on Lex’s behalf if her husband got stubborn. She had seen Lex with Evan, saw the light in his eyes that hadn't existed before. Martha had always seen how Lex was, deep down. He'd never admit it willingly, but the young man needed to be needed, a caregiver through and through. He had all this love locked up inside him, and needed someone to let him share that love. And what better conduit for all that unconditional love than a child? Yes, she knew Lex would do anything he could for Evan, just like she would do anything for Clark.

“Alright. We'll give Lex the benefit of a doubt on this. But, I swear, if he hurts one hair on that boy's head-”

“He won't, Dad. And, thanks.” Clark swiftly kissed his mom on the cheek and hugged his dad, before running off to get the others for lunch.

Martha smiled at Jonathan, pecking him on the lips.

“They'll be fine, Jonathan. Lex isn't the monster you've imagined him to be. He's not his father, and you just need to keep looking beyond his name to see that. Clark and Lana are growing up, and Lex is still so young himself. The three of them will do the best they can for Evan, we just have to be there if they need us.”

“I'm trying, Martha, I just…”

“I know.”

Clark walked up the steps to the loft, silently, not wanting to interrupt the scene he'd spied. Evan is sitting on the couch, sandwiched between Lex and Lana, reading aloud from a storybook. Lex’s arm is wrapped loosely around the boy's shoulders, and Lana is staring down at him in quiet amazement.

"You must be very kind to him, to teach him all he needs to know in Rabbit Land, for he is going to live with us forever and ever."

“You know how to read?”

Evan sets the book down in his lap, looking up at Lana.

“I've already read all of Clark's old books, and most of the new one's Lex got me, but this is my favorite. I also like the encyclopedia.”

Lex let out a chuckle, ruffling Evan's hair proudly. Clark could feel the swell of pride through the bond. Lex looked over the back of the couch towards Clark and winked. 

“The encyclopedia, huh?” Lana is smiling down at Evan, not sure whether the boy is being genuine or spinning tales. “That's a pretty long book.”

“I know. I stopped at W. Windmills. Did you know they were invented in Persia?” 

Lana lets out a soft gasp and looks from Evan to Lex. Lex nods, confirming the unbelievable. He had been up here with Evan for hours, watching him devour book after book, like a real live Matilda. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Um…” Lana shakes off the surprise, smiling down at Evan. “You are a very, very special boy, Evan. I think that you are the most special little boy that I have ever met.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Evan looks from Lana to Lex, and Lex nods in agreement. “And you're really lucky, because there are so many more books for you to read and so many places for you to see.”

“Like what?” Clark can't help but grin from his hiding place at the excitement in Evan's voice.

“Like a real windmill. And when you stand up on top of it, the whole world stretches out around you.” Lana thinks fondly of the windmill in Chandler's field, where Clark had taken her, despite his own fear of heights, just to show her that they weren't as cut-off from the rest of the world as she had thought, Metropolis sparkling, bright and alive, in the relatively near distance. 

“Can we go? Right now?”

Clark takes that as his cue, clomping up the rest of the steps, pretending he hadn't been skulking in the shadows. 

“Where are you going?”

Evan jumps off the couch and runs into Clark's instinctively offered embrace. Lex stands and follows at a more sedate pace, safe enough in Lana's knowledge of them to hug Clark in greeting as the teen lifts Evan up.

“Dad! Mom and Papa are taking me to see a real windmill! Wanna come?”

Startled by the assigned titles, Clark carries Evan back to the couch next to Lana. Lex, Lana, and Clark exchange uneasy glances as the two men settle on the couch beside Evan.

“Um, Evan, listen. We're not your real parents.”

“Everyone's supposed to have parents, and they're supposed to love each other very much, just like you all do. I felt it, last night.”

Lex and Clark shared an awkward look with Lana, the young woman feeling the loss of Clark sharply once more. 

“The three of us care about you a lot, Evan. That's what matters.”

Evan looks between them, a heavy sadness on his face.

“If Lana's not my mom, and neither of you are my dad, where are they?”

Lex takes Evan's hand in his, his heart aching for the boy. 

“We don't know. But wherever they are, I'm sure they love you very much.”

“We even have a friend of ours helping to find them, okay?”

Lana leaned over and pressed a kiss to Evan’s forehead, the tension breaking as Evan made a very age-typical yuck face. Clark stood, picking Evan up again and hefting him onto his hip as the trio headed for the stairs.

“Hey, after lunch, you want to go for a ride in the truck?”

“Are we going to the windmill?!”

“Uh, we will. But first, Lex wants to show you where he works. We've got some things we need to figure out about you, and Lex has people who work for him who know a lot about people who are special, like you, and how to help them.”

“Oh, like a hospital? I'm not sick, am I? I mean, I don't feel sick.”

“That's…that's what we want to make sure of, buddy. It's not a hospital, though. It's Lex's personal lab. You'll be safe there.”

Lex felt Clark's apprehension and tried to soothe it, but considering his own anxiety, it may not have worked as well as he hoped. He followed Lana and Clark back to the house, trying to keep his emotions off his face. 

The second they all stepped into the house, it was hard for the three of them to focus on their worry. Evan was taken into Martha's smiling embrace, cooed over as was expected, before being led to a table laden with sandwiches, fruit salad, and a plate of fresh baked cookies. Milk was set out for Evan, coffee poured for everyone else, and Evan dug in dutifully as the three younger adults let themselves be buoyed by the happier atmosphere. 

They decide it would be easier for all of them to pile into Lana's Envoy, Clark sliding in beside Evan in the backseat as Lex took the passenger seat. Lana drove up to the fertilizer plant in anxious silence, steering at Lex's directive towards the back parking lot closest to the laboratory that was expecting them. 

Inside the lab, a man in a crisp white lab coat hurries over to greet them. Lex is wearing his business mask, but Clark can feel the trepidation thrumming through their connection, the older man just worried as he and Lana. 

“Dr. Turner, I trust everything is ready?”

“Of course, Mr. Luthor. If you'll just follow me.”

Dr. Turner leads them across the lab to a room at the back, and Clark fights back a rush of fear at the sight of the stark metal table he sees through the room's glass walls. Machines lined up around the table, beeping and whirring, and Lex has to place a hand at the small of Clark's back before he remembers to breathe. Lana looks over at him in confusion, Evan's hand in hers as she leads the boy along. 

“It's okay, Clark. I promise.”

Clark gives Lex a discreet smile and nod of thanks at his whispered comfort, following the others into the room a little less dizzily.

Lana helps Evan out of his shirt at the doctor's direction, lifting him up onto the table so that Dr. Turner can attach the wire leads to his chest and start gathering readings from the various machines. Evan lays back on the table and Lex takes a blanket from a nearby chair, covering the boy from the sterile cold. 

Another of Lex’s scientists steps in, and Lex gestures at Clark and Lana to follow him out into the hall. They watch as the new guy injects Evan with a syringe of clear fluid, Lana cringing in empathy as the boy grimaces at the pinch. Beyond the minor discomfort though, Evan seems unfazed, looking over at them and waving.

“I hope we've done the right thing.” Clark can't help but be twitchy in this place, despite Lex's assurances, the fear of experimentation too ingrained. He's grateful for the soundproofing of the glass. “If we put him through all this for nothing…”

Lex pulls Clark into a loose hug, guiding him and Lana to a sitting area nearby.

“Clark, it looks a lot worse than it is, I swear. I won't let them do anything more than take a few blood samples and readings. Just to conclude whether Evan is indeed meteor-affected and if this is going to happen again.”

Lana watches Lex being so gentle with Clark, squashing down the residual jealousy as she realizes how much Clark needs someone like Lex. Someone to take care of things when he couldn't, someone to lean on. Things she had always needed from him, but didn't yet have the strength to give in return. 

Just as Clark is assuring Lex that he's just being a worrywort, Dr. Turner comes out to request that he speak to Lex. He waves the doctor off ahead of him and presses a quick kiss to Clark's temple, hugging Lana mostly as an afterthought. 

Lana sits down next to Clark, bumping his shoulder playfully. Clark flashed her a quick smile, nudging her back.

“Hey. You really love him, don't you?”

“Lex? Yeah, I do. I'm sorry, Lana, that I-”

“Don't. Don't be sorry, Clark.” Lana reached over and took Clark's hand in hers. “I see how the two of you look at each other, and I realize…you've always looked at each other that way. You look…happy. Like you both finally found peace. I'm sorry I couldn't be the one to give you that, but I'm glad you found someone who could. I won't say I wasn't surprised, or that I'm not a little bit jealous, but I won't tell anyone about it, and I won't go all Fatal Attraction on you. You deserve this happiness, Clark, you both do.”

“Thanks, Lana, really. But, you deserve happiness, too.” Clark squeezed her tiny hand gently, his smile turning sad. “I'm sorry that we didn't work out, even after I said that things would be different. I'm sorry you couldn’t find with Jason, what I found with Lex. I do feel love for you, Lana, just…”

“Not the same as you feel for Lex. I get it, Clark. If we're both honest with ourselves, I think we've always been meant to only be friends. We saw each other as an ideal, what we thought we wanted, but didn't see we weren't what we needed. And, hey, I'll find my own Lex someday, I can be patient.”

Clark stood, pulling Lana up with him and into a hug, kissing the top of her head. He would always care about her, but Lex was the one he had chosen, and probably always would. Lex was the one person who, when Clark thought about losing them, the prospect hurt more even than Alicia's death had. More than Kyla's. The thought of losing Lana that way stung, but not in that soul-crushing, can't breathe around the pain in my heart, kind of way that losing Lex would bring. 

“Still friends?”

“Always, Clark.”

“Good. Let's go check on Evan.”

As they walked back towards the glass room, Lana chuckled ruefully. 

“You'd think after the past four years, I'd be used to this kinda stuff, but these past few months have definitely been the strangest yet.”

“And for Smallville, that's saying something.”

Looking through the window, Lana squeezes Clark's hand, worried at the expression on Evan's face.

“Clark, he looks so scared. I hate doing this to him.”

“So do I, but it shouldn't take long. Lex has his best scientists working on this.”

Just then, Lex comes down the stairs at the back of the lab and steps up beside them. His face is a mix of wonder and fear. Clark can feel the warring emotions wafting off the older man, his own anxiety ramping up.

“And they've already come up with some intriguing, albeit startling, discoveries.”

“Lex, is he gonna be alright?”

Lex doesn't answer right away, looking from Lana to Clark, and turns his head to watch Evan for a moment.

“Lex, tell us what's happening.”

Lex sighs and pulls his gaze away from the boy being poked and prodded at, pushing away memories of those agonizing months he'd spent in the hospital after the meteor shower. 

“I had them looking at the data based on my theory about that flash of light we saw just before we found Evan. The results are only preliminary, but everything indicates that Evan's body is storing energy, like a battery charging.”

“Charging for what?” Lana's voice is full of fear, and Lex lays a hand on her shoulder, uncertain how to comfort her.

“The conclusion we've come to is that once enough energy is stored, it's expended to fuel a burst of extremely rapid cell division.”

“That's how he was able to go from a baby to a seven year old in one day.”

Lex nods at Clark, knowing Clark is struggling to keep his angst from flooding the bond.

“Is there any way to stop it?”

“My team believes a bone marrow transplant might slow the growth and bring his metabolism back to normal.”

“Can they use my bone marrow”, Lana asks. “If I’m a match?”

“Well, it's not that simple. His genetic makeup is highly unusual. For this to work, we'll need an exact match with a living donor, which means a biological parent.”

“Chloe found the recording of an emergency call made just before we found Evan.” Clark frowned, and Lex's heart surged at the pain in his voice. “We think his mother died when he was born. We're still trying to find his father, it sounded like he ran off just before the explosion.”

“What's going to happen to Evan if we can't find him?”

Before Lex can answer, the lights in the lab start flickering. A huge blast from the room sends one of the doctors flying through the glass window and he falls to the floor in the hallway between them.

“Evan!”

The three of them hurry through the shattered window, to Evan's bedside where he is sitting up. Lana touches his arm, shocked.

“Evan”, her voice a whisper of disbelief.

“Unbelievable.”

Clark can't even find words as he stares at Evan from Lex's side. Sitting up on the metal table is a teenaged Evan, the blanket pooling precariously around his waist. Eyes wide with fear and confusion, Evan looks between the three he's grown to consider parents, then down at his hands.

“What's wrong with me?” His voice is deeper, cracking slightly in the middle, puberty in action.

Dr. Turner steps up beside Lex, a little less flabbergasted than anyone else in the room.

“We can have the Level Three facility prepared for his immediate transfer, Sir.”

“No. You're not taking him anywhere.” Lex promised Clark Evan wouldn't be made to feel like an experiment, and God knew the boy had to feel overwhelmed enough right now. “I’m having that sector shut down for a reason, and I will not have him subjected to that environment.”

Clark takes off his jacket and puts it around Evan's shoulders, relief coursing through him and through the bond. 

"But Sir, we need to isolate him while we run more tests. If this happens again-”

“I just want to go home.” Evan is gripping Clark's hand tight, tears welling in his eyes.

“Turner, he's just a boy. I said no. Any other tests can be run with the samples you've already taken.”

“We understand you're trying to help, and we appreciate it.” Clark looks at the doctor, ready to act if he doesn't concede to Lex's orders. “But he's been through enough. We're taking him home.”

Lex stares Dr. Turner down as the scientist splutters, trying to convince the CEO to change his mind. Clark and Lana help Evan off the bed and walk him out of the lab, Lex striding behind them without another word to the frustrated doctor.

Evan is set in the front seat of Lana's car, Lex adamant about joining Clark in the back. He can feel Clark's fear and pain seeping through the bond despite the brunette's efforts to hide it, and as the SUV passes the gates of the plant, Lex wordlessly draws Clark into his embrace, letting him sag against his side. Lips to the young man's forehead, he whispers an attempt at comfort.

“We'll figure this out, Clark. I swear, we'll do everything we can to keep him safe.”

Once back at the Kent farm, Evan darts out of the car and up to Clark's loft, the young boy apparently finding it as much a place of comfort as Clark always had. The trio of concerned adults drag themselves from the vehicle, various lost looks in their eyes. Inside the kitchen, Clark mutters something about clothes and heads towards the stairs. With an apologetic glance at Lana, Lex follows after. 

Lex shuts the door quietly behind them, even as he hears Martha joining Lana downstairs. He feels slightly better that she has someone to vent to now, but Clark is his priority. Watching Clark rummage through his closet, clothes discarded in a blur, he waits. It doesn't take long.

Halfway through the top drawer of his dresser, Clark crumpled into himself, falling to his knees in stages, a broken sob renting the air. Lex is there instantly, kneeling beside him, drawing him into his arms. He feels Clark's pain through the bond as the brunette finally lets his barriers down, knows his own is felt by Clark when the hands that had gripped at his shirt loosen to wrap around his back instead. They sit there, in the middle of Clark's room, surrounded by shirts and jeans, holding onto each other like a lifeline. Soundless tears streak Lex's face, counterpoint to the sniffles and weeping coming from the lips muffled against his salt-dampened shoulder. 

“He's gonna die, isn't he?” Clark's voice is hoarse when he finally speaks, thick with the agony of the loss he knows is coming. “It's not fair, Lex. What good are all these powers if I can't use them to save people like Evan?”

“I know, Clark, I know it's not fair. And, I know it hurts. But you can't save everyone, Clark. Sometimes, people die, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it.” Clark's face is nestled into his shoulder now, and Lex lays his cheek on top of his head. “The world isn't always fair; sometimes it takes good people away too soon. Innocent people. Children, like Ryan, like Julian, and like Evan. Like Kyla and Alicia. And, you can't always stop it. And, it hurts. It's a pain that doesn't completely go away, that only lessens, but lingers for as long you remember them. But, we can live for them, make it so they don't die in vain. We can be happy again, because they would want us to be. Trust again, because they wouldn't want us to hide ourselves away from the world. We can care about and love other people, even knowing we could lose them, because those we've lost wouldn't want us to be alone.”

Clark sniffled again, blinking away the tears that blurred his vision as he lifted his head. He remembered the promise that he had made to Ryan, when they were drifting high above Smallville. To not be angry or sad at his loss, to never give up. He pushed away the pain again, letting Lex's comfort and words bolster him against the urge to just give up. 

“So, no, it's not fair that this happened to Evan. But it's not over. We still could find his biological father, get him to help us save him. My team could still find another way to stop this. Listen for him, hear his heartbeat. As long as you can hear that, and as long as we keep trying, it's not over. But right now, there is a fourteen year old boy up in that loft, alone and scared, and waiting for the only people he's seen as parents to come help him, to comfort him. Evan needs us, Clark. He needs a change of clothes, and the three people who care about him.”

“You're right”, Clark stands up, wiping tears from his face and pulls Lex up beside him. Brushes a quick kiss to Lex’s damp cheek. “I know, you're right. Help me pick something out for him?”

Lex gives Clark a watery smile and they search through the small wreckage of clothes, settling on one of Clark's older plaid shirts and a pair of worn jeans Clark had outgrown by seventh grade. None of Clarks shoes are small enough, so Lex makes a quick call for a pair of sneakers to be bought and delivered to the Kent house within the hour. 

After another few minutes of comforting each other and a tender kiss or two, they finally head back downstairs. Martha is on the couch, consoling Lana with gentle words and a hug that only a mother could give. Her head turns at the sound of Clark's boots on the steps, a sad smile on her face as she takes in their reddened eyes.

“Are you boys alright? Lana told me about Evan, I'm so sorry it happened again.”

“We're not resigned to his fate, Mrs. Kent. My men are working on a back-up in case we can't track down Evan's father.”

“Lana, we're gonna take him these clothes to change into. Give us a minute before following?”

Lana nodded, composing herself as she reluctantly straightened from Martha's loving embrace. Her motherly care had felt wonderful, something Lana had missed for so long, warmer and more real than what Nell had been capable of giving. 

Lex and Clark climbed up the steps to the loft, finding Evan still wrapped in the blanket as he huddled on the couch. He looks up at their entrance, tears shimmering in his eyes, but accepts the scrounged up clothing wordlessly and slips the boxers on under the blanket before standing. 

He's lanky, but not quite as tall as Clark had been at that age. The plaid button-up is a size too large, and the jeans will need to be rolled at the cuffs to keep him from tripping. Clark feels his heart squeeze painfully at the sight of the boy, and knows what his parents felt every time he'd outgrown another set of clothes. He feels Lex rub his shoulder, and tries to convey a look of assurance when he glances over at him. 

Evan is just settling back down on the couch as Lana joins them, sitting next to the boy and taking his hand in hers.

“I'm dying, aren't I?”

“Evan, don't say that.”

Lex settles on the arm of the couch at Evan's other side, and Clark settles on the coffee table in front of them. Both young men reach out, one hand on a knee, the other on hunched shoulders.

“No, I- I read the average lifespan of a man is seventy-four years. I've aged from a newborn to a teenager in forty-eight hours.” Evan looks between the three people he considers parents, the only people he knows, with absolute certainty, love him unconditionally. “Do the math.”

“Evan, we're not gonna give up. Lex has got his team working on a cure right now.”

“And if we can find your father…”

Evan stands up and walks over to the window, his back to them. He knows they just don't want him being scared, but he's trying to be realistic, trying to tell them not to get their hopes up.

“Do you really think they're gonna find a cure for me overnight? It's like my life was just some sort of trick that was played on me! All that stuff I read in the books that I thought I was gonna see...I'm not…” He turns around to face them. “Am I?”

“Don't talk like that, all right? We just have to keep trying.”

“It's not fair. This whole thing...it's just not fair!”

Evan runs down the stairs and out of the loft. He needs to get away. Their hope is too hard to bear.

Lana looks between Lex and Clark, lost. 

“We have to do something. We can't just let this happen to him.”

“Would you go see if he's okay? I need to find his father.”

Lana nods and hurries after Evan. Lex stands and Clark pulls him into a brief hug.

“While you go get Chloe's help on tracking down Evan's dad, I'll head back to the plant. See if they've made any progress.” Lex hands Clark a burner cell. “Call me if there's any luck with Chloe.”

Clark rushes out of the barn as Lex calls for a car to come pick him up.

*****

@leatafandom

[isfjmel-phleg]

In the "Return of the Hero!" arc, Triumph/Will MacIntyre returns to a thoroughly demoralized JLA that consists almost entirely of B-listers. Maybe more like C-listers. They've recently been though the death of a teammate, followed by media backlash and a betrayal from another teammate. Most of the heroes that Will knew are gone: Barry is dead, Clark and Arthur and Dinah are otherwise occupied, and Hal is currently...evil?...for some reason?

Will is not impressed and makes that clear. None of the current JLA know who he is, and they don't find him particularly trustworthy. He and they finally, begrudgingly agree to work together, but he's just as disdainful with them as he was ten years before with the original team. And yet he's starting to reflect...

(Justice League Task Force #16)

Fights break out, culminating in a particularly heated one with Martian Manhunter which lands Will nearly drowning in the reflecting pool of the Lincoln Memorial.

And it's in this all-too-symbolic reflecting pool that Will finally has his moment of clarity. It really has been all about his ego.

So, this is it. This is what death feels like. Cold, dark, and lonely. Abandoned. It feels right. Feels like the way death should feel. It's what I deserve. Trained for this since I was thirteen. Since I knew I had the power. Dedicated my life to becoming a hero. And only now, years later, do I see the fatal flaw--the hero I created has no soul. No real reason to be a hero other than that's what I wanted to be. I was working the suit. Using just the right pitch in my voice as I barked orders and took command. Never really understanding that real heroes are often thrust into those roles by some tragedy...some pain in their lives. They don't just wake up one day and decide to put on a costume. The uniform means something to them. It's a symbol...a reminder of the price they've paid to wear it. Amazing how, in death, your vision crystallizes and you see clearly for the first time--I have no right calling myself a hero. I don't even know the meaning of the word. And now, as death approaches, I can only beg--forgive me--please--teach me--

(Justice League International 1994 #68)

This is perhaps the most honest he's ever been with himself. And even so, it's still not entirely honest--as emphasized by his emerging from the pool only to ignominiously fall again at the feet of the statue of Abraham "Honest Abe" Lincoln.

Setting aside the inconsistencies with what he will later tell another team about the timeline of his training and acquiring powers, the dishonesty is that he did have more of a reason to become a hero than simply wanting to be one.

He did it to spite his father, a supervillain's henchman who put his family through an unstable existence before finally going to prison for decades. Eight-year-old Will resented his father and determined to be everything that he wasn't. There has been tragedy behind Will's heroism--the tragedy of a broken family and a hurt child--but where other heroes have met their tragedies with altruism and a desire to right the world's wrongs, Will has responded by locking himself away behind arrogance and detachment. Saving lives isn't an end in itself for him; it's the means by which he can feel he has worth and superiority.

That plea for forgiveness and teaching is quite a comedown for him, quite uncharacteristic humility. Even so, however, it's only voiced in his thoughts. He never admits his shame and desire for forgiveness to his teammates. He and J'onn do finally make up, but without actual apology. It's basically just a truce.

The moment of clarity would have been an expected place for the culmination of an arc. But it's not that simple for Will to learn the error of his ways and become a model of humble heroism henceforth. This is only the beginning of what will become a pattern of jerkish behavior, remorse and identifying the problm, resolve to do better...only to fail again. There was so much promise in what he realized in the reflecting pool, yet nothing but irony in how he will proceed to ignore every word of it.

Except perhaps the part of about having no soul, in the end.

[bloodtiesstilllives]

Spending Time With Living History

An interesting thought struck me on a day where I planned to do nothing. This is a bit of genre pushing, but it was fun to think about so I going to do it.

I thought about Lex Luthor from Smallville (before his relationship with Clark imploded) and Henry Fitzroy meeting and hanging out for a hot minute.

Let me set the stage. Henry is in Metropolis and is obviously walking around at night. Lex catches sight of him as he is leaving Luthor Corp for the night.

It's a city and there are a whole lot of young attractive people, but this guy, this guy is different for some reason. First off he's alone this late at night. He is very well dressed. He does not appear to be high or drunk. He isn't in any sort of rush. All of these things put together paint a very intriguing picture.

Oh and there's one other thing that Lex is only subconsciously aware of, this stranger reminds him of his father. (Lex can be such a masochist in regards to his father.)

He casually rolls the window down and asks if Henry is lost. Henry actually is lost. He's new to the city and was looking for a good night spot. Lex knows a great place. Not some big old, loud night club. He just got off of work and does not have the bandwidth for all of that.

It's actually perfect for Henry's needs. After Lex finds them a place to sit, Henry orders a bloody mary and then "goes to the bathroom". It was real easy and real quick to get a quick feed in before sending his donor on their way, memory all fudged. He goes back to sit with his new friend, wondering for only a split second how the evening was going to go. He was more of a go with the flow guy nowadays.

The drinks haven't arrived yet, but that's ok because he hadn't been gone that long. Lex is sitting there not looking as tired as he should at this hour. They exchange names as their drinks arrive. Henry pretends to take a sip and puts his drink down.

He has no idea about who Lex is let alone the name Luthor. That surprises Lex, but it was a pleasant surprise. Lex had s bit of a laugh at hearing Henry's name. He does what he always does and starts to tell Henry about his namesake. Because how many modern people would think about someone from centuries ago if it isn't for some history test.

It amuses Henry to hear Lex go on about the Henry Fitzroy of the past. It's obvious that Lex loves history as he get more animated as the minutes pass. He even shared that he was named after Alexander the Great.

Henry says, "You have a noble bearing with the mind of a scholar." This stops Lex short. He has been complimented.

Lex raises his glass and says, "As do you."

Henry figures it's time to leave after a while. Lex noticed that he didn't drink too much, but didn't comment on it or worry. It was nice to be listened to. The only other person who takes the time to listen is Clark. It's just nice to be around someone his own age.

Henry did manage to finagle some lodgings for his short visit to the city. As Lex drops him off he asks if He was busy tomorrow. Henry keys him know his night was free. So they are going to hang out the next day. Lex was supposed to go back to Smallville but what's one more night in the city.

Lionel is curious about Lex not running back to small town life, but when he uses his usual interrogation tactics he doesn't glean anything interesting so he let's it go for now.

When Henry awakens he goes to get something to eat before Lex shows up.

They didn't set a time and did not share contact information. Lex came to the proper conclusion and just knocked on the door. Henry got back about a half hour before, so he opened the door and welcomes Lex in. Tells him to make himself comfortable and provide him a drink.

It's weird for Lex because he feels comfortable with a complete stranger. They have a few mo.wnts of silence before Henry talks.

"You love history and that touched something in me. I wanted to give you a gift. Ask me anything and I will answer to the best of my ability."

"What are you some sort of Genie?"

Henry laughed and shook his head. "No. I am a vampire and I'm nearly 500 years old."

"And there goes the other shoe." He finishes his drink and gets up to walk out. "I'm sure you spent all day looking up what I told you."

His had touches the knob and then Henry calmly says, "I can prove it."

Lex being ever curious but also ready to commit violence if this guy steps wrong turns and say smugly, "Prove it."

Lex sits back down and looks at Henry go from fanged and black eyes to normal in an instant.

"So you are actually...?"

"Yes."

He doesn't waste more time with the how's and why's. He asks and Henry answers what he could. Lex get answers to questions he didn't even know he had. They speak of power and rulership.

It's hours before Henry let's Lex know that he will have to go soon. Lex is reluctant but understands. He asks about tomorrow. Henry doesn't say, but he won't be in Metropolis tomorrow. Instead he asks Lex to come and see something before he leaves.

Henry mesmerizes him to forget where he got his knowledge and forget that they met. To go live his best life. Lex leaves and goes on with his life forgetting this stranger, and yet he never really does.

[skylarmoon71]

Lex Luthor (Smallville/X-Men) AU - Fanfiction - Chapter 4

You’re grateful for the quiet. 

Lex is at his desk. Previously he had been working, but Clark walked in and he seemed to shift into big brother mode. You’re very observant on how close they are. In a weird way, it's a reminder of your own sibling. 

Victor may have been misguided, but growing up, he always had your back. There was a time where you thought you could survive anything as long as you both were together. 

“Let me grab that book for you, Clark.”

Those words cause you to turn as Lex heads into the direction of his bedroom to get said book. Your eyes move back to Clark who is now awkwardly smiling in your direction. Your facial expression hasn’t changed.

“Are you picking a fight Kent?” 

“What? N-No!” 

You do your best not to crack a smile. It’s fun to mess with him sometimes.

You walk over. 

“I appreciate you looking out for Lex.” Clark says the moment you’re standing right next to him. 

“It’s my job.” 

Clark nods. 

“I know, but it was your day off.” 

You don’t comment, and this time his smile is easy. 

“Lex is my friend. I know people say a lot of bad things, even my dad isn’t completely sold but he’s..he’s a good person. He deserves to be happy.” 

“I don’t see what that has to do with me. “

“I’m just asking you to look out for him.” 

There’s a double meaning behind those words, because you already protect the guy. From Clark’s expression, you can almost read the insinuation. For once, that wall you’ve built feels a bit shaky. You’re certain Clark hasn’t told Lex his secret, but he knows yours and he’s still pretty nonchalant. You figure that has more to do with the fact that he himself isn’t very ordinary. Maybe that’s why you feel you can make this confession. 

“I care about him, and I’ve already decided to protect him with my life.”

It’s an honest statement, one that you’re confident in. Clark’s smile returns. 

“I guess I was right after all.” 

That confuses you. 

“Right about what?” 

He just continues to smile. Now you’re curious and annoyed. 

“Right about what.” You demand. 

“It’s nothing.” 

“It doesn’t look like nothing. Don’t make me hurt you.” 

“You wouldn’t hurt a high schooler.” 

“Try me.” 

You lift your hand and the metal claws appear. Clark swallows, just as Lex walks in. 

“Stop threatening Clark (Y/N).” He speaks casually. 

Your claws retract. 

“Fine.” 

“How do you do that?!” 

Clark asks Lex who merely laughs. 

Yes, your temperament might need some work. But Lex has come to realize where your heart is. As much as you try to pull back, keep that distance, he can tell that you’re more attached than you’d like others to know. Maybe it’s just that you’re comfortable that way. Maintaining a safe and careful space from the things that you can’t have, or are afraid to. 

He’s been there too many times to count. Usually Clark would be there to pull him back. An anchor, or compass. But this time, it seems a conversation has gotten the best of him. 

That particular night he finds himself a bit more sullen. 

His father had visited earlier with some choice words. 

“You’re misguided if you think you’re different, better than me Lex. You’re a Luthor. Embrace it son.” 

It was a fact. 

He’s known his birthright since the day he could understand his place in the world. That’s why he’s seated on the couch with an empty bottle of bourbon. He frowned when he realized it was all gone. Standing, he intended to head over to his collection to get some more, maybe actually feel the buzz. He supposed he’s become sort of used to it by now. 

His metabolism sure picked a shitty day to let him down.

[valentineforlemonandcherry]

Foxtail & Wolfsbane 37

Summary: Your lifelong obsession to hunt down the Nine-Tailed Fox has not gone as expected, and seventeen years later, you find yourself coming back to the place where it all started: Hogwarts. However, with Sirius Black’s escape from Azkaban and Headmaster Dumbledore’s hire of a certain Professor R. J. Lupin, you suddenly find yourself intertwined in the fates of those with whom you thought you had parted ways with long ago.

[Multi-Post Story] [Rowan Scamander x Reader] [Remus Lupin x Reader] [Young Sirius Black x Reader] [Tristan Graves x Reader] [Severus Snape x Reader] *Note: Rowan Scamander, Tristan Graves, Susana Holmes, Cas Carneirus, Henrietta Weiss, Thomas Picquery, and Magdalene Clarke are OC characters.

Note: Part 37 does not contain any smut.

*Please do not repost or copy my work without my permission. Thank You!

☾ Click Here for Foxtail & Wolfsbane Home Page (All Chapter Links) ☾

Percival Graves gazed at his son with quite a serious expression. “This pocket watch has been passed down from generation to generation, Tristan. It is the first artifact created that embodies all of the principles of the sorcery of metals. Now, as you know, mythical metals do many things - they can preserve energy, they can bind people together, and they can even create illusions. However, this watch is special, because it is the ultimate achievement of metal magic.”

“What does it do?” young Tristan asked, staring skeptically at the watch before him.

“It tells time,” Percival replied. “But not just any time. It tells you the timing of your fate. It tells you when your fate will come to meet you.”

“Isn’t that a curse?” Tristan wondered, suddenly afraid. “Why would we want to have that knowledge at all?”

“You’re right, son,” Percival agreed. “It’s not the kind of knowledge that is easy to reckon with. But I’ll tell you why it’s important. The value of knowledge does not lie within the information itself. It is what you do with it. And what we, as keepers of this ancient magic, do when our time is near, is we use the knowledge of our fate to protect others. We accept that our time has come and we face it head-on, so that others may slip away, unharmed.” 

Tristan stared at his father, hating what he was hearing. Wasn’t his father, in essence, asking him to sacrifice himself when the time came? How dare they ask that of their own child?

Percival sighed. In fact, he and his wife, Mary, had never meant to have a child because the curse of this magic would be handed down to their child. Yet, they had been blessed with one, and they were so very fond of Tristan, for he was a clever child, if not a little too stern for his years.

Percival reached over and gently patted his son’s head. “I’m sorry, Tristan. Fate is a tall word, I know. And those of us who come to know this truth must find ways to stand even taller. Then, when we come full circle and meet fate, we meet it as equals and not as lesser.”

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Rowan turned the pocket watch over in his hand.

Cas and Susana had come by Grimmauld Place, though Susana had remained downstairs, in the doorway, while Cas came upstairs to find Rowan and very quickly tell him the news.

Rowan closed his eyes. How could he believe that Tristan was dead?

That arrogant prick was all about life, Rowan thought bitterly. Hell, he even told others how they should get on with their lives. He was the one that was telling me to do something with my life – to join the Order, to commit to a real relationship, to become a proper Magizoologist…

Rowan remembered the night that he and Tristan had shared drinks together. Tristan had said, “Believe me when I say that I don’t at all enjoy wasting my precious time arguing with you. I am asking you these questions because I am trying to get you to open up your thick skull, for once.”

Rowan traced the outline of the pocketwatch with his thumb as he wondered, Did Tristan purposefully have that conversation with me because he already knew that he heading towards death?

Rowan sighed heavily.  God damn it – save the world all by yourself, did you? Go out like a hero, did you?

Just then, Rowan heard the sheets shuffle behind him. Right now, Rowan was sitting on the edge of your shared bed, repeatedly turning the pocketwatch over in his hand. Rowan had been taking care of you ever since he had brought you back from Topper’s Hill. You had fallen unconscious as Rowan carried you back. Rowan had stayed with you, to keep you warm. In fact, he’d covered your entire body with hot, pressing kisses, making you moan softly in your sleep. “Rowan,” you’d murmured, recognizing his loving kisses even in your half-sleeping state. You’d clutched at his hair as he’d made his way down your body, covering you all over with kisses. Soon, your body warmed up enough that your fox ears slipped back into nothingness. By that point, Rowan could tell that you were only sleeping.

It was somewhere around that time that Cas came knocking softly on the door and Rowan had to slip out. They had spoken quietly in the hall. But now, Rowan was back at your side, to make sure you were all right, even as he dealt with the shocking news of Tristan’s death.

Hearing the blankets shift, Rowan looked over his shoulder. He saw you, gazing up at him. Rowan could tell at once that you’d actually been awake for some time.

“You’ve been awake?” Rowan murmured.

You nodded. “Since I heard Cas knock on the door.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t want to interrupt,” you said softly, speaking in a whisper. “You seemed like you were deep in thought.”

Rowan reached out and gently touched your face, brushing your hair off of your forehead. “How are you feeling?”

Your eyes fell to the pocketwatch in Rowan’s other hand. “Never mind me. How about you? I heard what Cas said in the hallway. About… Tristan.”

Rowan gazed at you for a moment. You could see in his eyes that he was somewhere quite far away.

You quietly got up onto your knees. Shuffling forward on the bed, you said, “I know you’re angry with me, Rowan. I haven’t forgotten. I know I owe you some explanations. But could I hold you, at least for now? Even if you’re mad at me, I think you need someone right now.”

“I’m not angry with you anymore,” Rowan said softly. “What happened with Tristan – Well, I’d be a fool if it didn’t put things into perspective, right?”

You draped your arms around him. “I’m sorry, Rowan. He was a good man – truly as good as they come. I can’t believe he’s gone.”

“He was a good man,” Rowan murmured. “He protected you.”

“He did,” you agreed. “But he protected me because of you, I think. He loved you, Rowan.”

Rowan turned his face against your shoulder. “He was the most unbearable little prick when he was younger, you know. I was constantly looking out for him, getting him out of fights because he had such a sharp, stingy mouth. But then he became my friend, and then, somehow, somewhere, he outgrew me and he became an older brother to me.”

You soothingly rubbed his back. “He grew into himself – is that what you mean?”

“Yes.” Rowan lifted his face and looked at you. “I think the Nine-Tailed Fox chasing out the Obscurial from his soul had a lot to do with it. Tristan always used to be on edge and he was bitter about himself and his lot in life for a very long time. But everyone who was close to him could tell that it was because he was struggling with something, and that that wasn’t his real personality. Once he was rid of the Obscurial, it was like he came home to himself. He became a much lighter person.”

“The Nine-Tailed Fox is a fair spirit,” you murmured, thinking of both Tristan and Severus. “She gives as well as she takes.”

“I can see that,” Rowan agreed. “But I guess even the Fox’s help wasn’t enough to save Tristan.” He clutched the pocketwatch tightly in his hand. “I just can’t believe he’s gone. I could’ve sworn he’d outlast all of us.”

“I thought the same too,” you agreed.

You stayed with Rowan for a long time, simply holding him in your arms.

Finally, when evening fell, you noticed that Rowan looked very tired. His eyes were red from his silent crying. You realized that neither of you had drank or ate anything at all.

“I’m going to go get us some tea, all right?” you said. “I’ll be right back.”

You pulled on your bathrobe and slipped out, going down to the kitchen.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

When you left, Rowan tiredly fell back onto the bed. As he did, his hand naturally opened atop the sheet. He looked down to see that he was still holding onto Tristan’s pocketwatch.

What am I supposed to do without you? You were the only one who understood the weight of the inheritance I was both blessed and cursed with.

People think I’m good at faking it, at coming off charming. But you, Tristan Graves, are on another level. Pretending to be fine while knowing that you were going to die – you selfish bastard, how dare you trick us all like that? And if it wasn’t pretend, if you really were fine with the idea that you were going to die…

Rowan swallowed hard. How did you find that sense of peace within yourself? How were you okay with that? And how did you make it all seem so easy?

You were even more of a prodigy than me, and you didn’t even have parents beside you, the way I do, and you knew you could never be with the woman you loved, and yet you still held your peace and your grace. How…?

But even as Rowan wondered that, he heard Tristan’s voice in his head, giving an answer: “If you keep holding back because you’re afraid of disappointing the world, you’re going to lose all the things that are important to you.”

I have to commit to what’s important to me, and I have to be honest about it, Rowan realized. And I have to start now.

Rowan suddenly sat up. Commitment and honesty… towards what is most important to me…

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Remus, Sirius, Arthur, Molly, Bill, Tonks, and Emmeline were all gathered in the kitchen, discussing what the Order needed to do next.

You came in, intending to head quietly to the counter to prepare some tea.

Just then, the entire table jostled as someone hurriedly stood up, awkwardly interrupting the conversation at the table.

You instinctively looked up to see Remus, standing there, looking rather haggard. That soft, singular curl fell in front of his face. He hurriedly reached up and pushed it out of the way. Then, he opened his mouth and a hoarse murmur came out, as he said something you didn’t quite catch.

Sirius, who was sitting next to Remus, reached over and made him sit back down.

For a moment, you stood there at the doorway, feeling the hurt in your heart crash over you once again. You didn’t tell me. And I called you “cruel” – I didn’t mean to. It simply slipped out. But you are, you know.

Feeling the familiar frost coat your heart, you hurriedly looked away and made for the counter, turning your back firmly against Remus. I can’t deal with this right now. I have to take care of Rowan and I have to – I’m trying not to think about it, but I feel my own pain and my own grief at thinking that Tristan’s no longer with us. I think I relied on him much more than even I knew. He took care of everybody around him and he promised me that, if I was ever in trouble, he’d come track my pawprints all the way over to wherever I was. It was such a kind promise, and I believed him. And now, he’s gone…

The Nine-Tailed Fox spoke out from your soul, Little one, Tristan Graves passed away from this world on his own terms. Yes, we cannot see him anymore, but the bravery and honesty of his decisions means that he will forever remain with us, through our thoughts and our memories.

The Fox’s tails swished as she whispered, You cannot fathom this easily, because of your constrained notion of time, but death is truly merely a passageway into a wider world.

Like the mythical realm? you wondered.

Hm… The mythical realm, too, is merely a ghostly ship in the waters of the afterlife, the Fox told you. Now, mind the tea.

Huh?

You’re oversteeping it.

Oh! You made to grab the end of the tea bag thread when all of a sudden, Rowan entered the room. He walked in with such purpose that everyone stopped talking and looked at him. But Rowan ignored everybody and made a beeline straight for you.

“What are you doing down here? I’m almost done with the tea. I’ll bring it right up,” you told him, pulling the tea bag out of the teapot.

Instead of answering you, Rowan grasped you by the waist and turned you around, clearly asking you to look at him.

Surprised, you asked, “Is something wrong?”

Rowan steeled himself. His hands tightened on your waist, before he stated boldly, “Look, I know that you’re working through some things still – old wounds and the like– but I am, too. When I said that I didn’t believe in love, you accepted that about me. That can’t have been easy. And while I can’t pretend that your – your preference for someone else doesn’t affect me, I can work through that with you, as long as ultimately, you really want to be with me.”

You began to reach out to touch his face. He’s got such a good heart.

“Is that what you were thinking about?” you murmured. “You’re so kind. But you don’t have to make excuses for me. I’m sorry for all of it. I was in the wrong – of course I was. But right now, let’s just make sure you’re all right.”

But Rowan wasn’t finished quite yet. “I am all right. I’ve been all right, because I’m with you,” he replied. Then, he carried on and proposed, “Let’s get married.”

Your hand froze in the air and your eyes widened in shock. “Married?”

“Yeah.” Rowan stepped closer to you. He grasped your hand in his and squeezed it tightly. “Marry me.”

You stared up at Rowan, completely taken aback.

Rowan said hastily, “I know it’s sudden. But I want to commit to you. Don’t you… want the same with me?”  

Rowan’s expression, so honest and vulnerable, almost pitifully so, tugged at every single one of your heartstrings. “Oh, Rowan, of course,” you murmured lovingly.

All of a sudden, an explosion of cheers and claps rang out. You and Rowan both whirled around, surprised by the outburst of noise as the two of you had all but forgotten that there were other people in the kitchen.

Molly cheered enthusiastically, “How wonderful! Congratulations!”

Bill whistled celebration; Tonks hollered and clapped loudly, and Emmeline held up her glass of water and let out a whoop.

“It’s just what we need, after such terrible news,” Bill said. “Congratulations, you two.”

Arthur beamed at you. “I’ll let your mother know then, shall I? I’m sure she’ll be pleased! After all – Rowan Scamander, that’s quite a catch, eh?”

Finally, at the very back, Remus gave a small smile as he raised his hands to join in on the clapping. Sirius followed Remus’ lead, but he shot Remus a concerned look.  

As you stared out at the clapping and cheering group of people, you thought to yourself in a small, stunned voice, Oh. Oh, my.  

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Blushing profusely, you managed to wrestle your tea set out of the throng of people trying to crowd around you to congratulate you. Finally, you brought the tea set back up to your and Rowan’s room.

Rowan came in after you, also having just escaped Molly’s many hugs and Tonks’ cheerful shoulder pats.

As you made to pour the tea (more to give yourself something familiar to do, so as to ground yourself than from any actual want of tea), Rowan came over to you.

“So?” Rowan pressed. “You didn’t actually answer me. What do you say?” He knelt beside your chair and put his hand on your shoulder. “You know, to being together? Properly, I mean.”

You slowly put the teapot down on the tray. Turning to Rowan, you tried to make the words come, you tried to say “yes” as a part of your heart truly wished to. Only, the words got all tripped up on the way and what came out was, “I – I - ”

Rowan’s eyes slowly dimmed. After a moment, his hand slipped off of your shoulder. “Oh.”

“Rowan,” you said hastily, “please - ”

Rowan got up off of the floor. With a heavy sigh, he fell back on the bed.

Abandoning the pretense of making tea, you quickly got up out of your chair and went over to the bed. You crawled on top of it, coming over to Rowan, as you begged, “Rowan, wait, please. I’m – I’m just – It’s so sudden - ” You reached for Rowan, trying to press your hand against his cheek.

Rowan caught your wrist and stopped you. “You’re right,” he murmured. “It was very sudden.” He pulled his hand away, letting your hand fall atop the bed, as he continued softly, “But that’s not the problem, is it?”

You sat there, chewing on your lower lip, unsure of what to say.

Rowan closed his eyes. Slinging his arm over his face, he breathed out tiredly, “So, it’s not simply something we can pass over, is it? Your feelings for him… I was right when I said that it wasn’t a mere fancy that you felt for him. If it was, we could work through it together. I know we could. We mesh rather well together, you know. We could get through most things.”

You nodded fervently. “Yes, of course we could! You’re so good with me, Rowan. You’re so good for me. You’re my friend and my protector and I owe you so much - ”

“But if it’s more than that,” Rowan continued knowingly, “if you truly feel for him, of course there’s nothing I can do about that – except get out of your way.”

You burst out, “Remus isn’t the one! Rowan, come on, I’m with you.” You clambered on top of him and pushed his arm off of his face. As Rowan opened his eyes, you kept speaking. The words tumbled out of your lips one after the other in quick succession, as you tried your very best to express the genuine and deep love that you had carried for him all of your life. “I’m yours. You were my first love and you’re my best friend and when I’m with you, I feel - I feel as safe and loved as I have ever felt in my life.” You tugged at his hand and made him press his hand to your chest, where, through your silk robe, he could feel the knotted scar on your chest.

“I wouldn’t be here without you,” you whispered, reminding him of the incredible depth of your gratitude towards him. “I couldn’t be more yours. Can’t you feel that?”

Rowan’s eyes glittered. He remained quiet as he stared up at you.

His silent stare broke you. You were nearly in tears as you pressed, “Why, why can’t you believe me? I keep saying I love you. In fact, I’m the one who says it to you all the time. You say you don’t even believe in love, but here I am, with you, loving you – and I even tell you so, all the time. So, why can’t you believe me?”

Rowan kept gazing at you.

“Rowan, how come you – how come you keep looking at me like you don’t believe me? I said I love - !” Unable to take it anymore, you burst into tears.

Rowan let out a soft sigh. He sat up. Reaching over, he tenderly wiped away your tears. In a low, pained voice, he murmured, “You know, if I was anyone other than your best friend, I could believe you.”

You blinked, and a few more tears escaped. “I said I love you,” you repeated feelingly, in a small voice. 

Rowan’s hand came back to your face and he once again patiently wiped away your fresh tears. “Yeah, I hear you. It’s not that you’re trying to lie to me. You mean it, in your own way,” he acknowledged, as he swiped his thumb against your cheeks. “I know that. I’d be a fool not to feel your love for me.”

“Yeah, you would,” you agreed, hoping he’d catch on now.

Rowan’s hand drifted down your neck to your chest. He gently opened your robe, so that he could see your scar. “But you can’t hide from me. I know for a fact that there is a part of you that you cannot give to me.” He gently traced around your scar. “Remus Lupin… He’s the one responsible for the hollow in your soul, isn’t he?”

An icy blast suddenly flared up in your chest, right where Rowan was tracing. With a soft gasp, you pulled away and wrapped your robe tightly over your chest with trembling hands.

Rowan watched you with sad eyes. “I see it now. Remus Lupin is the reason the Nine-Tailed Fox was able to possess you in the first place, and it’s because you’re still in love with him that you can’t force the Fox out. I felt it when I saved your life – that I couldn’t gather all of your soul pieces and put you back together, even then, in that mythical realm. It all makes sense now.”

In a shivering, scared voice, you whispered, “What makes sense?”

Rowan’s eyes met yours. “That it’s not me you want to be with. It never truly was.”

You shook your head furiously. You grabbed Rowan’s arm and leaned into him heavily. Pressing yourself up against his warm body, staring up at his guarded, yet wonderfully thoughtful and compassionate brown eyes and seeing that familiar, boyish spray of freckles on his otherwise quite sharp and masculine face, you felt your heart crack open and spill over with love for him.

“Rowan,” you whispered fervently, “why would you say that? I’m telling you that it is you. Besides, Remus isn’t – He’s not - ” You struggled to put together what it was you wanted to say, and all of a sudden, you heard yourself burst out, “He didn’t even tell me the truth about himself!”

Rowan’s brow furrowed, as he suddenly lost track of what you were talking about. “What?”

“He didn’t even tell me that he’s a werewolf. That just proves how we never had a real relationship, how we never – How could he not tell me? When you and I, we tell each other everything. We’re so honest with each other. We’re as a couple should be. We let the other person help us whenever one of us needs it. You’ve helped me more than I’ve helped you, I know, and I feel guilty about that, but – but, you know, it means we trust each other. Whereas with Remus, he – he didn’t even tell me.”

Rowan watched you all throughout your outburst. Finally, he asked, “Well. Are you hurt because you’re disappointed by the fact that he’s a beast or are you hurt because he didn’t trust you enough to tell you?”

“What?” you said, shocked by how clearly Rowan pinpointed your feelings.

“Thought so,” Rowan murmured, seeing your heart at once. “His being a werewolf means nothing to you. You still want him. You’re just upset that he didn’t tell you the truth about himself because it means that he didn’t trust you as much as you trusted him.”

Your mouth fell open.

Rowan, seeing how hurt you were, tried to bring it back down by teasing you softly, even in a moment like this. He whispered tiredly, “See? Told you there are other creatures. When will you learn?”

At this, you shook your head at Rowan. Refusing to be sidetracked, you insisted, “Well – Well – Whatever Remus is, this is about you and me. I only – I only need some time. Yes, that’s what it is. Just some time. Can’t you do that for me? I know that I’m asking you for a lot. I know you’ve been by my side this whole time. But, would you stay just a little longer? Because that’s all it is – a need for time.”

“You’re speaking in circles, love,” Rowan pointed out.

“But it’s true,” you pressed. “All I need is some time. Then, we can get married. And you and I could be happy. You have my heart, Rowan, and I’d be so happy to have yours, when you’re ready to give it.”

A slow, affectionate smile appeared on Rowan’s face. It didn’t reach his eyes, not at all, for his gaze stayed somber. But he smiled softly at you as he said, “Come on. Who do you think I am? It’s like you said. I’m your best friend, your first love, and your love now.”

“Yes,” you agreed passionately. “Yes, you are.” You grasped Rowan’s face and, leaning forward, you kissed him quite heatedly.

Rowan kissed you back, but it was a tame, almost perfunctory kiss. When he finally drew back from you, he caught you by the shoulders, stopping you from kissing him again.

“But not your love for forever,” Rowan said. “Not even for much longer. In fact, not after… this moment.”

“Rowan,” you gasped softly, heartbroken.

Rowan suddenly dropped his hands away from you. He turned, shifting until his back was turned to you. In that moment, his careful, charming mask cracked entirely in front of you. Burying his head in his hands and pressing his palms hard to his eyes, Rowan whispered, in an altogether broken voice, “You know what kills me? It’s that, after all of these years - God, we were so close to our happiness.”

“Rowan, Rowan, Rowan,” you whispered, while pawing at his back. “Don’t cry. Look at me.  Please, look at me.” Although you were telling him not to cry, you were crying as you desperately tried to get him to look at you.

Rowan got up from the bed and he grabbed his cloak, all without looking at you.

You fell back on the bed, sitting there on the sheets, clutching at the covers between your legs, unsure of what to do, while your face was an ugly, blotchy mess.

Rowan pulled on his cloak. He checked for his wand and the pocketwatch. He started to head for the door –

“Wait! Where are you going?” you called out.

Rowan took a deep breath before he looked over his shoulder at you. “I don’t know,” he confessed. He managed to pull together a weary smile for you, as he said, “But I’ll be all right. You take care of yourself now, little nymph. Don’t let that Fox get ahold of you, you  hear me? Or else I’ll have to come back and bully you some more.”

You half-rose from the bed. With your hands out pleadingly before you, you whispered, “Rowan. Don’t leave…”

Rowan’s smile faded quickly. He blinked hard as his eyes sparkled with sudden tears. “Good-bye.”

Snap. The door snapped shut. Your hands fell to your side. Gone… Rowan was gone… The lion-line, sunfire soul that kept you safe with whiskey nights and cinnamon kisses, who would rather die than let down a single one of his many walls, yet broke them all down with his own hands to get to you each and every time you needed him… He was gone.  

You meant to fall back on the bed, but, in your numb state, you slowly slipped off the edge, and you found yourself sitting on the floor.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Late evening passed into a cold, dark night. Outside, the blustery winds whistled past the bleak walls of Grimmauld Place.

You were freezing cold. But you couldn’t find the strength within you to move.

What a strange world, you thought, not blinking as you stared at the bright silver moonlight curling up at our feet. When I asked to stay with Remus, he told me to leave. When I asked Rowan to stay, he left.

You were shivering all over. You hugged yourself tighter and buried your head against your arms. It’s… so cold…

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

You were still awake when the sun came up. Although the sunlight came in dimly, your bedroom didn’t face east, so the room remained as dark and gloomy as ever.

Finally, still in your thin silk robe and a ragged pair of pajamas, you made your way out of the room. You wandered about, following the pattern of sunlight at your feet, which seemed to be growing stronger as you went further down the hallway.

All of a sudden, you realized why – the hallway opened up to a set of stairs. You slowly and carefully climbed it, only to find yourself in a small attic space.

You breathed out. A little piece of a familiar place. A place where I can dream and not be seen. Good, I’m home.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

It was Artemis who found you – and, on Artemis’ tail, there was Remus.

Remus had tried to keep his peace and do what Sirius had advised – namely, stay away from you.

All night, Remus had paced in his room. He wanted to congratulate you on your engagement with Rowan, but he couldn’t quite seem to find the heart to make it come off genuine. He even practiced in the mirror for a minute – fake-grinning stupidly at himself and trying equally terrible variations of “Congratulations!” but Remus swore that instead of sounding more genuine, he was simply beginning to sound more Irish. Throwing up his hands in defeat, Remus finally went to the dresser where he kept his pajamas. The nights were getting quite cold here. Remus tapped a small glass jar by his bed so that bluebell flames sprang up, but he also made to pull on a sweater.

It was as Remus was rummaging around for a sweater that his hand hit something quite small and fluffy. Frowning, Remus pulled it out – and then he realized what it was. Folding his hand over it, he thought, Perfect. This is it – the ice-breaker I need.

The next morning, Remus had come out into the hallway, only to see Artemis morosely wandering up and down a side staircase that Remus knew led up to the attic.

Remus frowned. “What’s got you in such a bad mood?”

Artemis didn’t say anything. She simply shuffled away. Actually, Artemis was depressed because she had tracked your scent from your bedroom all the way to the staircase but then, two things happened: one, your scent disappeared entirely at the entrance and two, Artemis couldn’t quite get the door open. As she lived in Grimmauld Place, Artemis had learned that if she stood on her rear legs and pressed her paws down on the doorknob, she could open just about any of the doors here. However, the attic door was set atop a very narrow step on the staircase and Artemis couldn’t rear up on her hind legs without slipping off the edge or knocking her head against the door.

“Have you been fed?” Remus wondered. “If not, I can bring you food and water.” He studied Artemis for a moment, only to remark, “But you look – well, don’t take this the wrong way now – but you look quite plump. I don’t reckon you’re hungry.”  

Artemis ignored Remus and made to scramble up the steps again. When Remus started to follow her, Artemis sniffed the air before turning her head and giving Remus a displeased look. When you move, it stinks. Don’t follow me and stink up the hallway, please.

Remus stopped. However, he leaned over and craned his neck to see Artemis go up the staircase. He watched as she tried pitifully to get at the doorknob, only to fail again.

Remus sighed. He went up the staircase and, ignoring Artemis’ clear scowl (How does a fox scowl so clearly? he wondered vaguely.), he opened the attic door.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

When Remus saw you, he had to stop in his tracks. For you were staring up at the skylight and the sun was pouring down on you. The way that you were sitting, and the way that the sunlight graced you all over – Remus was struck by how you looked exactly as you did when he first saw you in the attic at Hogwarts.

She looks a mythical creature herself. Remus had thought that about you back then and he thought that about you now. The way the light dances around her – I’ve never seen the light be so bashful and playful around anyone else.

You didn’t seem to notice Remus at first. It was only when Artemis came over to you and pawed at your hand that you looked down and then, noticing Remus standing in the doorway, you turned to look at him.

Remus swallowed. Oh, wait. I wonder if she’s all right being in the same space as me. She must be disgusted by me now, knowing that I’m a werewolf.

“Is it all right that I’m here, with you?”

You nodded.

Remus cautiously stepped forward. “I promise I’ll speak briefly. I simply have something I need to say and something I need to return to you.”

You simply sat there and watched him.

“First of all, I wanted – I needed to tell you how sorry I am for all of the things I didn’t say to you. Of course, most importantly, I’m sorry for keeping my – my condition a secret from you. But there are other - ” Remus suddenly cut off. “Well, but that’s neither here nor there anymore. Which brings me to my second point – here.”

Remus stepped forward. He pulled something out of his pocket. A soft twinkle and the smallest of flashes glimmered before you as an old keychain – a foxtail keychain – dangled from Remus’ hand.

You blinked in surprise. “Isn’t that - ?”

“Yes. It’s yours. Your foxtail keychain.” Remus smiled ruefully as he recounted, “You and Sirius were fighting over it and it went flying. The Whomping Willow crushed it to pieces. I went back that day and fetched the pieces and put it back together for you.”

“Why didn’t you give it back then?” you wondered, as you reached up and took it from him.

Remus came and sat next to you, as he explained, “Well, when I went to give it to you, you told me that you thought that it was a good thing you lost it, that it was time for you to move on.”

Your eyes blinked, as you remembered that moment. Yes, that’s right. I had decided to move on from Rowan then.

“If you were trying to move on, I didn’t want to make you take this back. It could have been an unwanted reminder,” Remus said. “But now, well – it’s come full circle, hasn’t it? You’re engaged to him now. So, I thought it’d be a welcome reminder now – a reminder of how much he’s always meant to you.”

Your hand slowly closed over the foxtail keychain.

Remus paused. From the time he had first walked into the door and seen you, he felt that there was something slightly off about you, even beyond the wonderful light that you always seemed to emit. He couldn’t quite place it. He figured maybe it was all of the overflowing sunlight in here or that maybe you had been wary to respond to him given how upset with him you were. Sitting next to you like this, Remus was sure that there was something extremely different about you. Only, he didn’t know how to point it out without making you uncomfortable.

“Are you very angry with me?” Remus finally asked.

“I want to be,” you murmured. “But there’s too much going on.”

Oh, of course, I’m not that important to her anymore, Remus realized. Silly of me to think that she would keep spending her energy on me when she’s likely grieving over Tristan and when she’s going to be engaged.

Remus murmured, “Right. Well, I’m very happy for you. He’s a stable person. He’ll be a good partner, I reckon.”

You drew yourself up into a ball and rested your head atop your arms.

Remus frowned. Is it just me or does she look quite… pale? Is it because of the way the sunlight is coming down on her?

Just then, you murmured, while your eyes slipped closed, “He appears that way, doesn’t he? But he’s just like you, Remus - He has more love in his heart than he knows what to do with.”

Remus didn’t quite know how to answer that question.

It didn’t matter, however, as you went on to say, “But now you have Tonks, so I’m sure your feelings will find a home.”

Remus opened his mouth, but he still wasn’t sure what to say. He wracked his brains to try to think of a neutral answer, but he ended up just nodding his head in reply.

You didn’t even see him, as your eyes were shut. You mumbled, in a soft, but very melodic voice, “Remus, I’m sorry to ask this of you, but I’m feeling rather tired. Would you mind if I were to lie down?”

Remus hesitated. She’s truly ill, isn’t she? Her cheeks and lips are pale. She looks exhausted. She didn’t look this way before, even just yesterday evening, when I saw her in the kitchen. What’s happened to her?

Worried, Remus suggested, “Should I bring you a blanket, perhaps? You seem cold.”

“No,” you replied at once. “I simply want to lie down.”

Remus shuffled over, so you could lie down. You did, tiredly falling over and lying within the wide circle of light that was coming in through the sunlight. You closed your eyes at once.

Remus, not satisfied with your answer that you were fine, reached out and managed to grab Artemis, who had been sniffing at the cardboard boxes in the corner.

Artemis started to let out a mew of protest when Remus whispered in her ear, “Bring a blanket. And my wand, please.”

Artemis pawed at Remus’ chest, clearly wanting to be set free. Remus let go of her. Artemis raced off.

Remus turned back to you. He remarked, as easily as he could, “Your hair’s back to blue, I see.”

“Hm? Oh. I s’pse it is.”

Remus gazed at you, for a far longer time than he had allowed himself to in the many years that had passed since the two of you had been together. It was relief, to be able to look at you without having to hide his own face. However, the relief only lasted for an instant. Remus was now entirely sure that there was something not quite right with you. Your very features seemed to have changed: your cheekbones, nose, and lips were decidedly delicate, and your body literally glowed with a subtle silver light that could not be easily attributed to sunlight. Besides that, not only was your hair back to blue, but it was had to be several inches longer than just last night.

“You - ”

“What?”

Remus chewed on his lower lip for a moment, before he said, with caution, “You don’t seem fully like yourself. Are you all right?”

At this, your eyes fluttered open. Unexpectedly, you gave Remus a soft smile. “If I asked you to lie down beside me, would that be too strange?”

Remus shook his head. Slowly, he lay down next to you. He stared up at the skylight and he found that the sudden glimpse into the vast sky beyond made him dizzy. He shut his eyes tightly.

“Are you uncomfortable?” you wondered, seeing his expression. “It is too strange, after all, isn’t it?”

Remus turned to his side, so that he could look at you instead of the sky. “No, it’s not strange. This is all we used to do, some time ago. Don’t you remember? Back in our school days, in that hiding place of yours. You’d pore over books about the Nine-Tailed Fox. She was merely a myth back then, wasn’t she?”

“She’ll return to being a myth very soon.”

Remus paused. “What do you mean by that?”

“Remus,” you murmured, “wish for what it is that you want. Wish real hard, all right?”

“What?”

You stiffened slightly and you took a long, shuddering breath. Through a soft, almost trembling voice, you repeated, “Close your eyes and think of what it is you want most. Please.”

Remus frowned. He got up onto his elbow and reached over to touch your face. When his fingertips brushed over your cheeks, Remus shivered. You were colder than ice. Remus was now beyond worried about you. Keeping his voice to a whisper so as not to upset you, yet speaking quite urgently, he said, “I don’t mean to be overbearing, but are you sure you don’t want me to bring you something? My coat, perhaps? Or a - a cup of tea?”

You gazed up at the sky through the skylight, as you murmured back, “I’m sure. Please don’t go anywhere. Just think about your wish.”

Just then, Artemis entered the room, pushing her way through the half-open door. She’d brought a blanket with her and she’d brought – not Remus’ wand, but your wand.

“Good fox,” Remus breathed out, relieved. He put the blanket over you. But when he reached for Artemis’ wand, she snarled at him. Dodging’s Remus outstretched hand, Artemis instead disappeared under your blanket as she snuggled up to you, with your wand still clamped in her mouth.

You absent-mindedly petted Artemis, though she whined when she felt how cold your hand was. Artemis also kept sniffling and burying her nose against you. She just couldn’t seem to pick up your scent and it was worrying her.  

“Are you thinking about your wish, Remus?” you asked.

Remus frowned. “My wish?”

“Yes, your wish. Your deepest, most desired wish.”

“Why are you asking me to think about my wish?”

You reached over Artemis and took Remus’ hand in yours. Your hand felt even colder than your cheek. “Please, do me this one last favor. Think about your wish.” Before Remus could respond you suddenly breathed out, in a very shaky voice, “Remus, I’m so g-glad you’re h-here with me. I’m so very t-thankful.”

Your eyes fell onto Remus. Remus’s brow furrowed as he realized that they weren���t your eyes at all. Your irises were pure silver.

Remus grasped your hand tightly in his. “Lovely, what’s wrong? Please, tell me. This isn’t like you. You’re so cold, and – and you don’t even look like yourself.”

Frost began to appear all over your body, including your hands.

Remus gasped in horror. He had seen this before. “Lovely - !”

You interrupted him in a soft, gentle voice, as light as winter air. “Your wish, Rem. She’ll grant it for you.”

Remus made to hug you, to pull you into his arms, so he could warm you and stop the frost from taking over your body. But you’d closed your eyes and fallen back onto the floor already. And as Remus reached for you, he found Artemis somewhat in the way. Before he could reach around her – FLASH!

There was the most brilliant, blinding flash of silver light. It filled the whole room, defeating even the skylight. In fact, the skylight cracked and then broke with a loud shatter. Glass shards rained into the room, and a fierce wind came surging into the room.

With a cry, Remus fell backwards. He could hear Artemis yelping, but he couldn’t see her. He couldn’t see you, either.

“Lovely!” Remus shouted, fighting against the wind. “Where are you!?”

Remus tried to get onto his feet, but an icy wind, not as strong as the wind surge, but far colder and broader, roared to life and blasted through the attic. He was knocked back onto the floor. As his head hit the attic floor, Remus found himself having all sorts of vague thoughts:

Lovely, got to get to Lovely…

What’s going on?

This strange, wintery magic…

She asked me to think about my wish. My deepest, most desired wish.

Snowflakes swirled before his eyes. Remus tried to reach up, but his arm felt so heavy.

My consciousness is… going, he realized. But I – I’ve got to get to Lovely. I want to… I want to be with Lovely…

Remus’s vision slowly fizzled out, and he sank into a strange sea of darkness, where flashes of silver lights kept jumping out of the dark waves. It took him a moment to realize, in his sleep, that those flashes weren’t actually lights, but tails.

Two children, safe in an attic, with one teaching the other a Patronus Charm to try to cheer her up after she had been cruelly bullied that day. He held her in his arms, and she cried out bravely, “Expecto Patronum!”

A silver figure sprouted from the end of her wand and then dashed about the room. Slowly, the two children began to recognize the creature.

“That was a fox, wasn’t it? How many tails - ?”

“Nine of them… Nine Tails! We were the first ones to see the Nine-Tailed Fox! We saw it together!”

The one figure caught the other, and the one that was being held murmured, “You have… really nice hands…”

Hands… to hold her with… Where is she? I want to hold Lovely…

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Sly, silver eyes blinked open from behind a powerful spray of flashing silver tails – one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine – yes, she was finally a full-fledged Nine-Tailed Fox.

Tagged Users: @areomalfoy @saltstacks

[fuckyeahvanhalen86-95]

In a new interview with Q104.3's "Out Of The Box With Jonathan Clarke", former Van Halen bassist Wolfgang Van Halen was asked to weigh in on the upcoming summer 2024 tour featuring vocalist Sammy Hagar, bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham that will focus largely on the music of Van Halen. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, that's super cool, man. I'm stoked for it. I'm actually, I'm gonna be seeing Mike in Vegas, so I'm stoked to give him a hug."

Two months ago, Wolfgang, who joined Van Halen at just 15 years old, told 97.9 GRD's Tommy Carroll, about what it was like performing with the legendary rock act for the first time at such a young age: "It was really… I don't know. It was sure nerve-racking, but we had rehearsed so much, for years at that point, that it felt right; it felt like something we'd been working towards for a long time."

Asked if reproducing the backing vocals originally recorded by Anthony helped him develop his own vocal style, Wolfgang said: "Yeah, I'm sure. Doing that for a long time was certainly quite the workout. So I'm definitely sure about that."

In September, Wolfgang, who shared the stage with his father, legendary Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen, together from 2006 until 2015, five years before Eddie's death, told Australia's "Everblack" podcast that "there were a lot of positives and a lot of negatives" to him playing with Van Halen at such an early point in his life. "I think it really forced me to mature very quickly at a young age," he said. "I think at 15, I couldn't be a regular 15-year-old. So in a certain way, I couldn't be a regular teenager anymore once that happens, and I experienced a lot of stuff, I think, that most kids that age wouldn't really normally experience. But that's my story and I wouldn't take it back for anything. It's what has led me to where I've gone my entire life. It was a really important thing to be there and to support my dad, and that's all that was really on my mind. And being able to play with my family for that long is something I'll never forget."

In recent months, Wolfgang has repeatedly said that "drama" in the Van Halen camp has prevented a proposed all-star Van Halen tribute project from materializing.

Wolfgang played three Van Halen songs over the course of two Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts in September 2022 alongside Foo Fighters members Dave Grohl on bass, Josh Freese on drums and The Darkness's Justin Hawkins on vocals.

Wolfgang, who played "On Fire", "Hot For Teacher" and "Panama" at the Hawkins tribute concerts, told Classic Rock magazine that he was no longer actively interested in pursuing the idea of a standalone Eddie Van Halen tribute event. "I think I already did it with the Taylor Hawkins tributes," he explained. "I feel a lot of closure because my part of the show was a tribute to my father."

"When it comes to Van Halen and entities surrounding the band it's unfortunate, certainly compared to Foo Fighters who have their shit together with interpersonal relationships," Wolfgang added.

"I don't know what it is with some bands but certain personalities just can't get over themselves to work collectively for one purpose. That's been the curse of Van Halen for its entire career. So my playing at the Taylor shows delivered that catharsis without the stresses of dealing with the Van Halen camp, and the players involved. Their camp is very dysfunctional — everyone! Hell, it was difficult to make plans even when the band was active."

Eddie died in October 2020 at the age of 65. The legendary Van Halen guitarist passed away at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California.

Hagar and Anthony previously worked with Satriani in the supergroup Chickenfoot. They recorded two albums between 2009 and 2011 and toured across America but never performed any Van Halen material. More recently, Hagar and Anthony have played some of the Van Halen catalog with guitarist Vic Johnson and Bonham in Sammy Hagar and The Circle.

Hagar mended his relationship with Eddie Van Halen months prior to the legendary Van Halen guitarist's passing.

Sammy, Eddie, Alex Van Halen and Michael last teamed up in 2004 for a U.S. summer tour. In exchange for taking part in the tour, Anthony reportedly had to agree to take a pay cut and sign away his rights to the band name and logo.

Produced by Live Nation, the 28-date "The Best Of All Worlds" tour will commence on July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida and will conclude on August 31 in St. Louis, Missouri.

"We're gonna go deep into the Van Halen catalog," Hagar told "The Howard Stern Show". "If you're gonna go deep into the Van Halen catalog, you need Joe Satriani."

Although Hagar and Anthony normally play "five or six Van Halen songs" on the road with The Circle, Sammy told Stern they are planning to only play "five or six of my songs" alongside Van Halen classics and deep cuts.

"When we go out next year in July, it will be almost exactly 20 years since Mike and I did a reunion with Ed and Al in '04," Hagar said. "Mike and I just said, 'We can't wait another 20 years. How long can I even sing these songs? How long can I do this stuff? I just thought it's time to serve the fans."

"There's stuff we're going to do on this next tour that we haven't played since that tour in 2004," Anthony added.

Regarding the challenge of learning legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen's parts, Satriani said: "There are things that are so iconic, you have to nail it. But if you go deep with what he did live, he never played the same thing twice. He kept evolving; he kept pushing. He'd do the recorded version a little bit, but then he moved on."

"It's a daunting task when you do the deep dive into what he did," he continued. "But it's good to start at the beginning, and then you just learn all his little improvs and you get the idea of what he was trying to do. It's thrilling; it's fun."

[about-faces]

Since I think this is mildly divisive among fans, I was wondering what you think-of all the MGS4 dubiously natural or non-convoluted retcons, the lovable, quirky support staff from Snake Eater turning out to be the assholes responsible for everything turning to shit, was genunely amazing. Right?

MGS4 is my least favorite of the eight-ish canon games, so I definitely have lot of problems with it. But the retcon/reveal of the Snake Eater crew is not one of them.

I think it fits the ongoing theme of the series exemplified by Big Boss: the people who fucked up the world weren't brilliant, scheming supervillains (or a faceless Illuminati, a trope I've come to detest, especially after seeing where that belief has taken my country), but just a handful of fucked-up, stupid, goofy-ass losers. If Big Boss could have gone from a lovable dope who believed in Santa Claus and shat his pants at the thought of Dracula to a full-blown war criminal who wanted endless warfare, then why the heck is it any weirder that Para-Medic could become a mad scientist? Besides, these guys were all CIA and black ops, it's not like they didn't already have "ruthless bastard" baked into their personality, no matter how likable they were.

As a whole, MGS is about Solid Snake and Otacon having to deal with the sins of their fathers, working to dismantle the mess made by Big Boss. It only tracks that Big Boss wasn't the sole responsible party for how it got so bad by the time Solid Snake showed up.

If anything, I'm sad we didn't get to see the actual life stories of the Snake Eater crew, and only heard about their heel turns from EVA (in one of MGS4's many, many endless cutscenes of exposition; that could have been a Codec call!). I wish we could have seen their villain arcs just like we saw with Big Boss in Peace Walker.

But at least V gave us (through optional recordings! As it should have been!) a look at what Zero had become, and how he was both less and more of a monster than we'd been led to believe. I finally had a better idea how Major Zero went from the guy he was in Snake Eater to the guy who manipulated Paz and engaged in a cold war with a man he admired, dragging the whole world into their bullshit.

I tried to do my best to give Para-Medic/Dr Clark the same treatment, in one of the only fics I've completed over the past decade. But I wish there had been more canon to work with. Same with Donald Anderson. I'd still like to know their stories, but alas, we almost certainly never will.

[dragonflight203]

Latest DC comic is Batman: Hush. It’s another comic I frequently see referenced and feels like vital reading for the Batman mythos.

It’s also by Jeph Loeb, so it made sense to knock it out as another of his works.

Overall Opinion

-A fun read that once again stumbles over itself at the end.

It’s not as complex as The Long Halloween or Dark Victory, but it’s a good romp.

Art

-This is the first comic with art that I liked. Jim Lee is a fantastic artist.

General

-After Huntress rescues Batman, he says he should speak to the others about accepting her. He never does this on page.

-There is no way Bruce should be back on his feet so quickly after brain surgery. That’s just ridiculous.

There really is something in Gotham’s water.

-Bruce suspects Perry White knows Superman’s identity, and that Jim Gordon knows Batman’s.

-These iconic lines I see frequently quoted are from this comic when Batman and Superman fight:

“Deep down, Clark’s essentially a good person… and deep down, I’m not.”

-Great lines when Gordon prevents Batman from killing Joker:

Batman: How many more lives are we going to let him ruin?

Gordon: I don’t care. I won’t let him ruin yours.

-This comic justifies “Jason’s” return as from a Lazarus pit. Is that where the idea to actually revive Jason came from?

Jason’s grave is empty. It’s possible Edward found it that way.

-This line will haunt Bruce later: “Even in the end… Jason knew how much I loved him.”

-Two-Face is supposedly gone, but Harvey Dent doesn’t hesitate to kill Thomas Elliot.

Yeah, I doubt that Two-Face will never be seen again.

-This is also the comic where Superman uses his heat vision to perform brain surgery on Batman.

-Why is Edward wearing his Riddler outfit when he meets with Batman in Arkham Asylum? Shouldn’t he be in inmate clothing?

-This comic has so many moments that would make any one comic memorable:

Batman vs Superman

Batman nearly killing Joker

Two-Face’s scars being repaired

“Jason” returning from the dead

Bruce revealing his identity to Catwoman

It feels like Loeb went all out to make it as spectacular as possible, but at the same time this rapid pace means some points don’t have much time spent on them. Barely anything is done with with Two-Face’s scars being repaired, for example.

Story

-Loeb’s trend of complex build up that can’t quite pull itself together for a finale continues.

Elliot’s the driving force of this plot, and I’m left scratching my head over his motivations. All this because Bruce Wayne’s father saved Elliot’s mother?

Logical enough for a madman, I suppose, but that feels like yet another excuse for the story Loeb wanted to write rather than a true reason.

-It’s obvious that Elliot’s death isn’t real. Too much time is spent introducing him and building him up in the first half of the comic to kill him off like that.

-The audience finding the Harley Quinn fight part of the show is ridiculous. This is a Gotham audience; they’re accustomed to the Rogue’s bullshit and showing up everywhere.

-Bruce nearly killing Joker because of Elliot’s death feels forced. He’s held back after Barbara and Jason, but Elliot is the snapping point?

I suppose it could be considered one last straw, but it doesn’t work for me.

-Riddler’s introduced about half way through the comic, but he still needed to be introduced earlier to be the main villain.

Besides the Lazarus pit dirt, I also don’t recall any foreshadowing that it’s him.

-Harold needed to be introduced earlier for his betrayal to work. He just comes out of nowhere. That’s sloppy writing.

Characters

-Bruce can be so bitchy. He notes that he’ll drop by the Daily Planet because it’s always good to see Lois. No mention of Clark.

-Bruce gets pissy when Wallers takes Killer Croc, and promptly drags Poison Ivy back to Gotham. He does not like the Rogues leaving his city.

-At the funeral, Bruce notes how there are many people in his life and how he’s better for it. Tim, Dick, Alfred, etc.

Selina also repeatedly notes how Bruce has many “strings”, i.e. people he cares for (that can be used against him).

-Bruce is horrible about Jason in this comic:

“Jason never had the skills that Dick had. I should never have let him put on the costume. No matter what differences we’ve had through the years, I’ve always know that Dick had a gift. Jason only had… rage. And I thought… hoped… that if I could channel that rage into something more productive…”

“Dick saw being Robin as a thrill. It’s probably why he outgrew it. Jason saw being Robin as a game. It’s probably what got him killed. But.. Tim… I have to hand it to the boy… He wants to be the world’s greatest detective. And from what I’ve seen so far… he will be someday.”

“My opponent is counting on Jason’s appearance to affect my abilities. Play on whatever guilt I harbor for Jason’s death. His coordination. His speed. The acrobatics. It’s all… too familiar. Bottom line… Jason was never that good.”

-Why is Poison Ivy obsessed with money?

That feels out of character for her. Isn’t her deal an obsession with plants?

-Loeb writes Thomas Wayne as a bit of a dick.

In Dark Victory, he refused to comfort Bruce because he had to learn to stand on his own.

In Hush, he disapproves of Martha getting Bruce into literature and cinema because they’re not real.

Opera’s fine, though.

-I have mixed feelings about Riddler’s involvement in this. He’s certainly clever enough, but I question his people skills to get everyone onboard.

Also, one of Riddler’s key motivations is attention. That’s why he leaves riddles at crime scenes. This plan does very little to put the focus on him.

One can blame it as a side effect of the Lazarus pit, but that again feels like a cop out.