#and i got so stressed out by the illusion of free will that i quit and never came back

[mohglet]

what is pathologic even about all the posts I have seen about it make me think its about someone stumbling into a Russian theatre mid-performance and then making friends with the actors

[thekatfuzz]

Shadow of a Doubt (Preview)

So how about that episode 2 huh?? 👀 when I saw Loki using his shadow magic for the first time in the trailer even before the episode released I knew I had to write a fic about it. So here 'tis!

Pairing: Loki x TVA Hunter Reader

Warnings: eventual smut, shadow magic, use of restraints, slight non-con, slight dark!Loki. **contains slight spoilers for Season 2.**

Rating: M

London, 1977

Night in the city never slept. It wasn't a stressful or rushed state of being awake, but it was rather just alive and existing. The distant sound of sirens from a fire truck nearby, some honking cars here and there, and the distant music and chatter of people on the phone or couples talking to each other walking past you. The ambiance and the world around you seemed distant and unimportant in comparison to your important mission--compromise Variant L1130-- also known as Loki Laufeyson.

You've seen him before, at the TVA and in files that you read. He thought he was the God of Mischief or something. At least thats what Mobius said. You didnt know what he saw in Loki. Mobius has always been interested in such strange things.

Of course, the Variant was mysterious--and not to mention, quite handsome. The mugshot on his file depicted a good-looking man with chiseled cheekbones and raven black hair. Sure, you thought he was good looking, and you wouldnt kick him out of bed if you found him there, but of course you wouldnt go out actively wanting to sleep with a rouge Variant--no matter how hot they were.

You had your assignment. And you had your warnings. Loki's file had mentioned his use of magic and illusions and the image of big, impact text on the file flashed through your head:

"IF CONFRONTED, PROCEED WITH CAUTION."

But you weren't worried. You were in disguise anyway. Your Tempad and pruning stick tucked away cleverly and your determination on display. You've dealt with hundreds of so-called perilous Variants before, how different could this one be?

You got to a shadowed intersection and you looked around. It seemed quieter here. Flickering streetlights lit the slick cobblestone streets as low footsteps and indistinct chatter could be heard. A few people could be seen walking here and there a distance away, but there wasn't much here. All of a sudden, you could have sworn you saw a person appear out pf nowhere out of the corner of your eye. You would have usually just shrugged off as your eyes playing tricks on you in the dimly lit street and kept walking, but something didnt feel right.

The air felt colder and it felt like the sounds of the world were even more further away now as a chill ran up your spine. You felt alone but at the same time, like you were being watched. You looked around frantically, not even knowing what you were looking for. Your hand went quickly to where you hid your pruning stuck, ready to fight or fly.

Suddenly a shadow caught the corner of your eye on the wall. You turned to face it, but it was gone.

What the hell?

Your breathing became faster and you leapt into action, running away. You barely made it a few feet until you felt your arm be tugged backwards, halting you. You shot your head back to see who was holding you back, fully ready to fight back--only to see in surprised confusion that there was no one holding your wrist. It was like a ghost was gripping your arm with invisible fingers but very real strength.

It took you longer than it should have to notice the towering shadow on the wall. It was definitely a human, a male probably, holding your arm. It was like the shadow, somehow, was restraining you.

"What the...." you whispered aloud.

You tried to wriggle free and managed to for a few seconds, until you felt another similar invisible hand grip your other wrist. The next thing you knew you were pinned with your back against the stone wall, looking out at the end of the alleyway where light poured in through a rectangular opening.

Heart thundering and mind racing, you extended your neck a bit in front of you and looked up at the wall you were held against. Two large shadows this time. They looked the same, each holding your arms out to the side like you were shackled to the hard stone wall.

Then, you saw it. First from one shadow, than the other-- a set of sharp, curving horns began to grow out of the black shadows' heads. You watched in surprise as the horns began to bloom and didnt even notice the man striding towards you, eyes glowing an otherworldly green.

"Well, well..." purred the voice, in a velvety English accent. "What have we here?"

Loki.

The infamous Variant stepped out the shadows in a very elegant suit with a white ruff in his chest and a neat bow tie. His hair was slicked black and his hands were clasped behind his back. He sauntered over to you, smirking. Looking like a spider who had just caught a decadent fly in its web.

He waved his hand again, and your clothes changed as your breath hitched. Your disguise melted away to reveal your black TVA hunter armor. You gritted your teeth. This was annoying, but this wouldnt stop you. So what he knew you were from the TVA. He would be incarcerated there soon enough.

You jerked and struggled against the shadow bonds as Loki chuckled.

"Don't bother, darling." He mused. "Shadow magic--quite useful, actually. Very hard to break out of it's grip."

"Loki Laufeyson--" You said, hoping your voice carried more confidence and certainty than you felt. "You are under arrest by the Time Variance Authority for crimes of sabotaging the Sacred Timeline."

He raised an eyebrow. "Am I?" He said in mock surprise. He looked around. "So I've been told before."

He stepped closer to you, his features sharp in the dim light. "Go on then hunter, arrest me." He put out his wrists in an exaggerated act of surrender. He paused a moment then looked back up at you. "Oh dear, but you can't though, can you? You seem to be a little...incapacitated, darling."

"Don't call me that." You spat, blood boiling. Maybe you wouldnt even take him back to the TVA--maybe you would just give yourself the satisfaction of pruning him right here and now.

He looked taken aback.

"Trust me Variant, when I'm free--"

"I'll be sorry?" Loki said, sounding bored. "Yes, yes. Heard it all before. You hunters are so cute when you try to threaten me."

He stepped closer yet again to your restrained body, closing the space between you. You could nearly feel his breath on your face now as he looked down at you with his piercing green gaze.

Your heart hammered in your throat, loud enough that you hoped he couldn't hear.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked, running a finger down your cheek, making you shudder.

Your face flushed, praying he couldnt see it in the darkness.

"Of course I do." You choked out. "You're a villain. A Variant. A threat to Time itself." You stabbed. Loki smirked.

"Am I?" He said, amused. "You seem to have such strong opinions about me. Did they warn you about me, Variant? About how dangerous and horrible I can be?"

"I'm not afraid of you." You said boldly. "I haven't even seen you do anything more than your silly shadow puppets and your outfit-changing trick."

"Oh." Loki growled. He came even closer to you and grabbed your chin, his chest pressing you against the hard brick wall behind you. Your wrists felt cold and ached from the restraining phantom hands.

"Well..." Loki said, lifting your head up forcefully. He lowered his voice to a growl, and locked his gaze with yours. "Perhaps I've just been waiting for a moment like this, so I can do terrible, awful things to you."

[sporesgalaxy]

good morning on this fine friday at 5am my time! circe clawthorne jumpscare.

I truly think this is very very close to final, moreso than usual lol. I'm quite happy with this

I really can't tell if it would be more difficult for me to try and convert this into proper paragraphs or make it a comic...

well here it is. but wait there will be more!

•••

?: [distantly] Philip?

?: [closer] Philip!

?: Philip Wittebane!!!

P: [weirded out cuz hes in the middle of the woods] What in the–

C: [running up to him excitedly] Philip!!! It’s SO good to see you again!!!

P: [backing away] See me again? Do we know each other, Miss?

C: !

C: Come on, Philip!

C: Surely the King of the Witch Hunters can recognize the Dread Witch Beezelbella when he sees her!

—

P: …

C: [smile falters nervously] ...

[Philip bolts]

C: Wh- Philip!

[He sprints through the woods as fast as he can, but weaving between the trees slows him down.]

[Circe suddenly cuts Philip off, riding on her staff]

P: [flinches away from her so violently that he falls on his ass] GAH!!

C: What are you running away for?!

P: [shielding his face, peeking at her erratically, as if afraid to look directly at her for too long] You’re not real!! You’re some cruel illusion!!

P: Sent to– to torment me, or tempt me to forfeit my soul to the devil!

P: Well it WON’T WORK!! So– gh– [flails his hands in her general direction] BEGONE!

–

C: No no no no! No tricks, I promise!

C: [REALIZES SHE IS LEVITATING] Ah!!! Er…

[she jumps off the staff and holds it behind her conspicuously, too frantic to remember to store it as a palisman]

C: [smiling nervously] I meant to save that for later!

P: [STARING]

C: Here. :) [holds out her free hand to help him up]

P: [looks somewhere btwn angry and scandalized]

[Philip pushes himself further away from her before standing up on his own. He struggles a little because he now seems reluctant to take his eyes off her. Circe looks saddened but not entirely surprised.]

C: Really, I--

[tries to gesture, but is still holding the staff in one hand, and ends up accidentally swinging it towards Philip.]

[Philip flinches again, and stares at it like it might explode.]

[Circe quickly reduces the staff to just a bird and pockets the palisman in her cloak]

C: [smiling apologetically, holding up palms to show she’s unarmed] I’d never dream of hurting you!!

C: [looking at him and still smiling but with pleading, sad eyes] You know that, don't you Philip? No matter how we've changed, I...I'll always love you.

P: [mentally recalculating] …I...see.

C: [beams] Yes!! I pinky promise! [holds out pinky for a second, but quickly drops it]

P: [less defensive body language, but still clearly a little wary] Hm…

–

C: [a bit nervier] Ah-- before we go any further, I need to re-introduce myself!!

P: [skeptical] Re-introduce?

C: [trying to stay chipper but looking more stressed] I know I look different, but it’s…it’s still me!! [she pulls her hair back into a ponytail, looking a bit uncomfortable] See?

P: The…Dread Witch Beezelbella.

C: [frustrated] Your sis– your sibling!!! You know, the one who raised you?? Who spent all those years putting gruel on the table??

P: [frowning] The one who died seven years ago.

C: Er– well– I had to...go away for a while. But I’m here now!!

C: [trying to bulldoze through it] And really hardly anything has changed!

C: I've simply learned I’m much happier being your sister! That’s not too complicated, is it? You understand, don’t you??

P: I…suppose–

C: [bulldozing again] Spectacular!!!!

C: So, you’ll call me Ci– [seems to realize something] Er…just C.C. is fine for now! [nervy smile]

[Philip gives her a perplexed look]

C: Probably easier and, er…good for an Adjustment Period! [nods to herself]

P: [mostly just baffled] …C.C.

C: [nodding more] You've got it!! Same person, new gender! None of the old name and no man words, pretty please!

P: --

C: [before Philip can reply] Great!!!

C: Now, with all THAT out of the way: It’s YOUR turn! [stepping closer to him, as though she wants to hold his hands] Tell me everything! How are you?! What’s happened while I was gone? What have you been up to??

–

P: [leaning away] Oh. Er…

P: I’m…doing very well. I… [“thinks”, bringing a finger to his chin a little too theatrically]

P: …Goodness, so much has changed, I’m not even sure where to start!

P: Really, you ought to just visit the house with me and see what’s changed for yourself. [grabs her arm and gently tugs]

C: [Withdraws, very nervous] Oh, no no no, I can't go into town.

C: You and I of all people should know how–!

C: --!

C: [Squints]

P: …Is something the matter?

C: [Squints harder]

C: ...Do NOT Witch-hunt me, Philip!!!!

P: I have no idea what you’re talking about. I'm only trying to show you--

C: Oh for goodness' sake, NO!!!! I will NOT set foot in that town EVER again!!

P: ...Then you should wait here for just a moment, and I'll return shortly– [beginning to walk away]

C: [Grabs his arm to stop him leaving] [exasperated] I am not an idiot, Philip!!!

C: [sighs] Look, I know this is going to be difficult for you to accept, but magic didn't turn me evil! I'm still just ME!

P: [MAIDENLESS STARE]

–

[Circe continues holding Philip’s arm to keep him there, and for now, he lets her.]

C: As it turns out, you DON’T have to sell your soul for magic! We were completely wrong about it!

P: [EXTREMELY skeptical] Is that so?

C: [frustrated] It’s true! I could prove it to you!

C: ...Well, I guess I can’t PROVE that I still have a soul. Not that I know of. [to herself] I wonder if there’s a spell for that…

P: [extremely sarcastic] Perhaps we ought to enlighten the entire town to the existence of this fascinating *benign sorcery*.

C: [annoyed] Really, Philip?

P: Well, why not?? Since you can *prove* that it’s harmless, let's go prove it to everybody! It would make our lives *so* much easier…

C: Stop it.

—

P: Why, no one would have to do chores ever again!

C: Philip!

P: Maybe we could all be in one big witch’s coven together--

C: ENOUGH!!

C: You've been clear enough already!!!! You still don't like magic, and you don't trust me!!!

C: [takes a deep breath] ...

[Gently, Circe lets go of Philip's arm, which she had been gripping rather tightly.]

[She watches as though expecting Philip to bolt again, but he doesn't.]

[She fidgets with her sleeve as she continues.]

C: Philip, please. Just...just listen to me for a moment.

P: [Opens mouth, looking indignant]

C: [cutting Philip off] You don't have to believe me! I know that you...probably won't. I had hoped--

C: [doesnt finish that thought, looking bitterly sad]

C: ...There's something I need to tell you, but I want to know you'll listen.

P: [scoffs] Why bother if you know I won't fall for it?

C: Because...! Because I have to do something!

C: ...Philip--

[She reaches toward him, and he shrinks back.]

P: You've been gone for nearly a decade.

C: ... [confirmingly guilty face]

P: It took you that long to-- to bother telling me anything?!

P: Why in the hell would I want to believe that?!

—–

P: How could I?!

P: How could I possibly believe that you’d *vanish without a trace,*

P: and then– *reappear out of thin air,* just because-- what, the whim finally struck you???

C: No--! It-- it wasn't a whim, Philip, I would never--!

P: [pulling at his hair] AGH!! Then where have you *been??!!!* Why come back *now??!*

C: I-- it's difficult to explain--

P: I spent YEARS trying to hunt down that *witch*–!

[Circe grimacing/wincing rxn shot]

P: [gesticulating wildly] YEARS hopelessly wondering what might’ve become of you!!!!!

P: I WASTED my LIFE searching for answers!!!!

P: Of course I don't want to believe this!! That you could have come back this whole time, but-- [voice breaking]

P: ...But you chose not to.

–

C: 😟

P: [still angry, but quieter now] And what a cruel joke it would be, for you to finally be here.

P: [hand gravitating towards knife on belt] After I’d finally managed to give *up* on you.

[Circe wants to hug him. She wishes he were still small enough that she could pick him up and squeeze him with all her might. But she thinks better of it. No matter how much she loved Philip, she couldn't afford to trust him right now.]

[Philip's hand is hovering over the spot where Circe knows his knife sheath to be. She feels her heart break a little more.]

[She steadily meets his eyes and keeps her hands at her sides, ready to pull out her staff if necessary. She won't be able to hurt him the way he's apparently resolved to hurt her, but she could run away.]

[She had desperately hoped that Gravesfield's claws wouldn't be sunken so deeply into him, but she knew what it took to survive there. And he had been forced to survive it even longer than her.]

C: ...I’m sorry, Philip.

P: ...

C: I'm sorry for leaving you in Gravesfield alone.

C: I didn't think I had a choice.

[Circe shifts her weight uncomfortably. It feels wrong, measuring how she speaks to Philip, her brother, the person who knew her better than anyone not too long ago. But he isn't the only one she's protecting anymore.]

C: ...truthfully, I…

[It feels loathesome to admit after so many years of spending so much of her energy hiding it.]

C: …I thought you would be better off without me.

—

P: [genuine confusion] ...What?

C: You're a genius, Philip. I knew you could do anything you put your mind to. Make a real future for yourself.

C: But I-- I could barely even keep us fed until we--

C: [looking terribly guilty] ...started working together.

C: I thought that once you could take care of yourself...

C: You could have a normal, happy life. Without me.

P: [pissed] And how do you know that you couldn't be a part of it!? You ran away before you even tried!!

C: I tried for years!! All my trying ever did was put targets on our backs!!!

C: [bitterly] Because I couldn't hold down any job but the most dangerous in Gravesfield.

---

P: What targets?! We were heroes!

P: If you had just stayed, if you had never listened to that witch, we still would be!!

P: Did she say I'd be better off without you?! Is that how she convinced you to leave?!

C: [low, serious] No.

C: I... [ashamed] ...I made up my mind before I met Evelyn.

C: I had already decided you were better off without me.

C: [intense] She's the reason I'm still here to discuss it with you.

P: [shocked, unsettled, doesn't want to process that]

P: That...that can't be true! Everything was fine until she came along!! This was all her fault!!

P: You'd still be normal if it weren't for her!!!

C: [angry on Evelyn's behalf] No!!! I was never normal!!!!

C: And you were the only person who couldn't seem to tell!!!

C: [tearing up] It was going to get us both killed, sooner or later!!!

C: *I* was going to get us killed, because I'm like this!! Because *I* can't live a normal life!!

C: I wanted to protect you. To make your life easier than mine had been, but--

P: You were protecting me just fine before you ran away!!!

P: And what's this nonsense about us getting killed?! We were heroes! We saved the whole town from evil!

C: We were never heroes! We weren't saving anyone!

C: We punished people who didn't fit in!

P: Didn't "fit in??"

P: We punished monsters!! Demons who tortured our neighbors!!

P: Any one of those witches would have sacrificed all of Gravesfield to the Devil had we not stopped them!!

C: And what about us, Philip?!

C: Is there anyone in Gravesfield we wouldn't have sacrificed, had the court willed it?!!

C: [crying] We were such hypocrites!

C: The suspicion, the accusations-- it was exactly the way they used to treat us!! We were outsiders, too!!

P: [falters. that kinda gets to him but he wants to pretend it didnt]

C: [miserable] I justified so many awful things to myself. To you.

C: All because I was too scared to see the truth.

C: And once I finally did...I was too gutless to ask you to face it.

C: We were never any better than anyone else.

C: All of it...

C: It was just murder.

P: [not as much conviction] Don't be ridiculous--!

C: Don't be naive!!

P: ...

C: ...

C: ...I am truly sorry, Philip.

C: I'm sorry that I got us into this mess.

C: I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you like I was supposed to.

--

C: I was rash. And stupid. But I only ever wanted to keep you safe.

C: ...I still want you to be safe. I'd hoped you could understand, but...

C: [difficult for her to give up on him] ...if you refuse to listen...there's nothing that I can do.

P: [trying to not want it to be real] ...

[Philip looks conflicted, frustrated, trying to find his anger and righteousness again]

P: I-- rrgh!! You're impossible!!!

[He begins to walk in one direction, pulling at his hair, then suddenly turns on his heel and walks the other way again]

P: [exasperated, tring to convince himself] Literally! This is-- this is all impossible...!

[He buries his face in his hands and plops down on a log with an angry grunt]

[Circe watches him, wondering what he’s thinking now.]

[After he just sits there with his face in his hands for a moment, she slowly approaches and sits carefully next to him.]

P: [he is resting his elbows on his legs. He clasps his hands, uncovering his face, forehead against his intertwined fists.]

P: ...

[shot of Circe looking at him sadly]

–

C: …Are you happy in Gravesfield?

P: [Hands still clasped, his eyes open, looking into the woods] …

C: Philip?

P: [flatly] That doesn’t matter.

C: [Leaning forward, trying to look in his eyes] …It matters to *me*…

[Philip unclasps his hands but remains hunched over. He instead holds his elbows, which still rest on his legs. Does not look at Circe.]

P: [cold] So you say.

[Circe shrinks back]

[the two sit in silence for a moment. Birds chirp, and the bare tree branches sway in the breeze above them.]

–

C: [quietly] …are the trials as bad as they used to be?

P: …

P: [even tone] Less frequent.

C: [hopeful] That’s good.

P: … [furrows his eyebrows]

C: Do you still–

P: Yes.

C: [saddened] …

P: I am protecting people.

P: I’ve prevented what happened to you from happening again a dozen times over.

[Circe pales. Philip still is not looking at her.]

P: [clearly bitter about something] I’m *careful.* [seeming more vexed than proud] I’ve done more research than *anyone.*

C: [examining his face] …Research?

P: …

C: [dawning ] Do they *understand* that’s what your doing?

P: [intensely, looking only at the ground] It doesn’t matter. I can prove it.

C: [scared] Philip, are you in danger?

P: [breaks a twig off a branch on the fallen log with his left hand] [curtly] *No.*

P: [looks annoyed at the stick momentarily. passes it to his right hand] Because *I* am not a witch.

P: [slightly hesitant] …obviously.

—-

[Philip starts doodling in the dirt with the twig]

C: [losing patience with his stubborness] Do you honestly still believe that only real witches get accused? Get *punished?*

P: [stops drawing. gives her an angry sideways glance. then glares at the dirt again] …

P: …*Yes.*

P: As long as you do it *correctly.*

C: [furrows eyebrows] ……

[Philip resumes, scratching the dirt more forcefully.]

C: But–

P: Witches die because they are born doomed.

[as he says “doomed,” Philip finishes drawing The Belos Mask with a final, forceful scratch]

C: That’s what we were *told*. That doesn’t mean it’s true.

[Circe looks at Philip, expression somewhere between grim and pleading, but he won’t look up from his sketch]

——

P: [darkly] What does that mean for you, then?

[Circe is taken off-guard]

P: Do your witch-friends know what you used to do?

P: Or are you lying to them, too?

C: I–!

C: …

C: [quieter] …Not all of them know.

P: [snidely] Hmph.

C: [with a bit more conviction] But the ones that *do* know…

C: They know that I was scared. And trying to keep us safe.

C: There are people who understand that I truly thought I was doing the right thing.

C: [guilt] That I would give anything to undo it now…

C: [focusing on Philip again] They trust me, and love me, even though I’ve made…terrible mistakes. Even though I’ll *always* make mistakes.

C: [trying REALLY hard to get through to Philip] *Gravesfield isn’t all there is.*

P: …

[Philip scratches out the doodle forcefully.]

P: [unhappily] Good for you.

—-

[a prolonged beat of silence, save Philip’s stick scraping against the ground as he scribbles slowly, randomly on the spot where the doodle used to be]

C: ...If you want–

[suddenly, Philip throws his stick to the ground and turns to Circe]

P: [frustrated noise] Would you just get this over with already?!

C: [taken aback] What?

P: For Christ's sake, I don’t care what you want anymore!! Just take it!!!

P: You win! Enough with this awful vision!!

C: [baffled] Wha–! I-I’m not–! You still don’t believe that I’m real?!

——-

P: You *can’t* be!

P: [breaking a little] I only *want* you to be real!

P: I *want* you to be *alive*!

P: I don’t *want* to be *alone* any longer!!

P: But you insist on dragging out this awful charade!!

P: [becoming more desperate than angry] Why can’t you just lie to me?!

P: Tell me that you never wanted to leave at all!! That you're back for good! That nothing’s changed!!

P: *Something*– *anything* that’s actually easy to go along with!!! Isn't that what you're supposed to do?!

[Circe looks hurt]

P: Don't I even get to die thinking that I could be reunited with– with you?!

P: [losing steam] …What could you possibly want that you haven’t had the chance to take from me already…?

[a beat. Circe’s expression has closed off considerably. Philip rubs his face for a moment, then looks up again.]

P: Please. Get it over with. Kill me, or whatever it is you came here to do.

P: Or for God’s sake leave me be.

[wide shot of them sitting in unhappy silence]

——

C: [very quietly] …Alright.

[Circe stands, brushes her skirt off. Philip remains sitting, not looking at her]

C: I suppose I’ve done all that I can, then.

P: …

C: I won’t disturb you again.

P: …….

C: I’m still thankful that I could see you one last time.

P: ………..

C: [trying to keep composed] Please…stay safe. Take care of yourself.

P: ……………..

—

C: I love you.

P: …………… … …

C: [offscreen] Goodbye, Philip.

[she walks away]

[a beat passes]

[Philips resolve breaks. As he looks up–]

P: Ca– C.C., I–

[–he realizes he is alone again.]

P: ….

P: [slowly, he stands. brushes his jacket off. walks away.]

[angelodamiano]

Oh, is that ANGELO D'AMIANO? I heard the TWENTY-SIX year old is RESOURCEFUL. But don’t let that pretty face fool you, they are also ANXIOUS. Makes sense seeing how they are a DIRTY civilian allied with THE SERPENTS who works as a PARAMEDIC.

pinterest

full name: angelo dante d'amiano

nicknames: leo, doc, angel

faceclaim:  froy gutierrez

birthdate: june 21st

alliance: serpents/the founding families

gender: cis man

pronouns: he/him

occupation: paramedic (emt)

hometown: manhattan, new york.

sexual orientation: bisexual disaster

relationship status: single

height: 5"11

red and blue flashing lights, the burn in your eyes before tears well over, amaretto sour, a tremor in your hand that never quite goes away, biting your lip until it bleeds, the softest cashmere sweater you can imagine, the stillness of the world the moment you take the first step into fresh snow, a silver chain dangling from your lover's neck against your chest, overlapping chatter in italian, espresso and a cigarette for breakfast on the fire escape, the stinging bite of stitches, someone falling asleep on your shoulder on a long car ride.

(tldr angelo is a bastard d'amiano who is basically carmy from the bear. youngestish sibling baby vibes, my man has an anxiety disorder FAMILIA, he can't do organized crime! but then he works as an emt because he can only thrive if he's constantly anxious ✨ is trying to stay out of The Life but can't stop giving free under the table medical care 😭 )

leo had childhood cancer and still needs an inhaler. perfectly healthy now but this lead to him needing extra care and coddling when he was small. people never really expected much from little angelo, he just needed to focus on getting better. because of being in and out of hospital he deals with a pretty minor case of contamination ocd that he's worked on since he was a teenager.

mama and papa d'amiano had a fairytale italia love story from his perspective, slow dancing to dean martin after dinner and making the kids gag. this was before they found out that angelo was their half-sibling, a result of infidelity and shattered the illusion.

doesn't talk about his parents at all, can't because he instantly chokes up.

leo had brains, that much was clear to see as he started running with the family business he showed a quick mind for logistics, details and solving problems in a pinch, he could macgyver their way through most situations. earning slaps on the back as he earned respect for his actions not just his blood.

though, he mostly remembers this as gi describes it back to him.

as he rode the adrenaline down from a job well done he'd spiral into anxiety attacks that made him sick and eventually start blacking out with their intensity. his heart would race, hands, knees shaking but instead of gasping loudly for air he'd withdraw to some place far inside and go deathly silent. as the world caved in around him and his pulse roared in his ears and the static overtook his vision, he wondered how long he could keep going like this.

someone very important in his life [wanted connection] talked him around to mostly leaving the life behind, worried he was going to get seriously sick from the stress. he tried to go into a less practical more academia-focused field but the quiet nearly drove him insane. he had tried to abruptly draw himself out of the never ending bustle of that life but learned quickly that he had no idea who he was without it. the stress is why he liked it so much.

leo is a classically trained pianist who got into juilliard but realized that performing live would put his life and his family in unnecessary danger so quietly declined. teaches ice skating at the weekends in a nearby rink, as he used to play hockey as a teenager.

angelo attempted to join the army medics but his asthma discounted him from active duty. changed gears into pre-med but once again after four years the stress was nearly overwhelming. leo now rides manhattan's streets and area hospitals in an ambulance: as long as other people were panicking or needing him he could remain totally calm. has a surprisingly incredible bedside manner for someone known to be sarcastic as hell and highly strung.

very often gets pulled into doing emergency surgery in the back of a truck with nothing but a hello kitty flashlight in his mouth and a dream. okay, the serpents mostly make it to facilities but things happen. won't tell his family but he pretty much patches up anyone if he stumbles across them in need. is mostly 'out' of the game but really he's always got one toe over the line back in.

doesn't know how to cook for himself and never will. think of robert pattinson microwaving tin foil pasta. is it wilful incompetence? or is he just that kind of rich kid? he's italian enough to know what good food tastes like. i guess we'll never know. likes to throw himself dramatically over furniture like an 1800s novel heroine and sigh pathetically until someone brings him coffee in the morning. doesn't know how to drive, obviously.

angelo has never worn a matching pair of socks in his entire life and can fall asleep anywhere. always cold, probably wearing a scarf rn. doesn't take care of himself properly, 'wdym gi? i know tons of people who cry every day'.

lives in a shitty little apartment in brooklyn, the price of trying to remain self-sufficient with his nose clean. has insomnia and works way too much, hates being alone in his apartment even though he wanted independence so badly?

self-conscious and prideful in equal measure, a little sheltered and naive in ways but also speaks five languages fluently. can be spiky, cranky with a sharp tongue to hide his anxiety and a bit of a cry-baby brat to be honest. craves and hates attention at the same time.

[whitleyschn33]

RWBY V9 E08 Liveblog

I’m early again and already spoiled by the thumbnail, thanks a lot Crunchyroll (using the free trial until my usual sites fix themselves.)

- Another vague content warning, content warning are only useful if they warn about the actual content, RT. (It’s suicide/sucidial actions AGAIN just say suicide for fuck’s sake)

- Little, when have you ever actually guided the girls anywhere?

- I like that Ruby is breaking, but I wish the tone wasn’t quite so... grumbly? Like, the tone of voice sounds more petulant than upset, if that makes sense.

- Well... I do hope Little does actually knows the way back to the village, otherwise Ruby just left them there to die acres away from their home.

- ...What is this transition? It’s so abrupt, Ruby just arrives at the house. No shots of her reaction to her surroundings, no real look at what this acre looks like, no reaction to the house “appearing” (I say that as if it wasn’t just there, like the camera didn’t just cut to it without any establishing shot). This moment just feels so rushed, why?

- Is that the Roman Holiday cover art? And I’m assuming the little girl is Neo, so is her hair and eyes not natural, or did she unlock her semblance incredibly young?

- Hi Roman, by the way

- And all that hesitation Ruby was showing about using her weapon before? Gone. Could just be instinct overriding the trauma, it’s different being spooked into a fight vs rushing into one, but whatever.

- Can Neo just make her illusions speak now? Why?

- Even dead, Roman steals the show. Man, I’ve missed him.

- Very generic “hey, maybe Ruby’s cracking under stress” talk

- She... apparently didn’t walk that far.

- Is this entire house made by Neo? The chandelier shattering seems to suggest that, but the house stays later in the episode implying that it’s not.

- And like... has Neo been around enough to know about all of this? About Pyrrha, Ozpin, Clover, Ironwood? This is an incredibly cathartic scene (and once again I wish we could have gotten to all of this earlier), I’m very much enjoy Penny’s and Ironwood’s lines, but I’m confused on just how Neo is doing it.

- ....Dead Oscar illusion is kinda sick, nice job animators, but this poor boy can’t catch a break even when not actually here.

- Hey, they remembered Qrow existed! 

- Good kitty with laser beams.

- ...Not good kitty. Darn it, Robbie Daymond. And “my maker”, is this how we’re going to tie this back to the main Remnant plot, because his maker can’t be Alyx or Lewis (I’m settling on this spelling because I finally got it through my dense skull that it’s a reference to Lewis Carroll, which makes me wonder if it was actually Lewis that made it out and Alyx that never came back, as the twist), so maybe it’s Ozma or the God of Light?

- Nice effort, Little - I do enjoy when they actually try to help in whatever ways they can, like with the doll at the auction.

-...So, will Little ascend, or because Neo killed them, are they dead dead?

-These reactions are so incredibly flat. If you’re going to do this, go all out with the team’s reactions, don’t just have them gasp and stare. They’d be doing so well with the facial expressions on Ruby, why cheap out here?

-Ew. Also, he’s alway gone in through the heart, why the mouth now?

-Oh yeah, wasn’t one of the theories of Neo’s fairy tale illusion the Cheshire Cat? Well, that’s confirmed now in horrific fashion.

Once again, I am asking why couldn’t we have cut out the fluff and gotten to this point sooner? It makes no sense that Neo is suddenly strong enough to do this, but at least it’s interesting and furthering Ruby’s character and arc along, and with only two episodes left and so much to deal with, this finale is going to feel rushed as all get out, I’m afraid.

[maiji]

Hi I'm not too late for a reading am I? If i'm not my numbers are 7 and 23 and I guess my question is "What's stopping me from putting myself out there?" Thanks in advance and the cards look beautiful by the way!

You're not too late! You got in just in time before yesterday's deadline. You are the second-last reading! :)

#7 was The Heart, and #23 was The Fish!

Both of these cards have already come up before in previous readings here (The Heart) and here (The Fish). You can check out the links, as well as the overview document to see some of the basic and common meanings.

These are both cards that generally have quite positive associations, so it's interesting because in the context of this question - "What's holding me back?", we need to really think about how we can look at them through this lens.

One of my immediate thoughts was - The Heart could also be attachment. Is there something we may be more attached to and are reluctant to let go of? Something we fear losing more than we think we could gain by putting ourselves out there?

In a similar vein (haha), is it also possible we may be afraid of success (The Fish)? It's neither a facetious question nor a ridiculous idea. Putting ourselves out there can be scary because we don't know what might happen. And the reality is that even "good" change can be immensely stressful. When something is unfamiliar, when we have uncertainty and speculation, any kind of change can be uncomfortable and scary. Success and what we think success could mean or bring can be really scary. Becoming more known, even for something positive, can be really scary. Having to live up to something over and over can be a great weight.

Similarly, The Heart can also be associated with outreach and giving of yourself. That can be difficult especially if we're already feeling strained and juggling a lot, and sometimes we may not be fully aware of just how much we're carrying - whether it's physical or emotional - until we're on the verge of collapse. And if we think of The Fish as representing a more neutral sense of money (instead of specifically monetary wealth and profit) or resources of any sort (as opposed to financial resources), potential constraints or changes in your relationship to the supports you have (including people and environment) could be another underlying concern.

Looking at the artwork itself:

The Fish shows two fish swimming in opposite directions. It brings to mind the old saying about the spirit being willing but the flesh being weak, basically referring to the motivation or desire being there but other things (e.g., the physical limits of the body, but in this case it could be other variables) not being fully aligned in supporting that.

The Heart illustration is inspired by the story of Bi Gan. In this legendary tale, a man who had his heart cut out managed to stay alive through magical means until he was tricked into thinking about his missing heart after he hears the words "empty heart" (I go into a bit more detail about the story in the overview document, but that's the crux of it). How strongly do you feel about putting yourself out there, in the purpose/cause/need, or does it feel more empty/hollow when you reflect deeply on it? And on the theme of illusions and telling stories for ourselves to believe in - are there things you are assuming that may or may not reflect a more objective reality?

I hope this offers some food for thought!

---

Thanks for requesting a limited time free reading to celebrate the new edition of the Fortune Lenormand oracle/art deck!

Want to dive deeper?

Fortune Lenormand oracle/art deck - there's a free downloadable overview of card meanings!

humangray.com/lenormand - more info and resources/links!

(Note: these readings are being done with my old card deck from the original printing. There's not much difference with the new edition available in the link above - the biggest one is that the new edition has a custom box ooh ahh!)

[gayofthefae]

Thinking of El and Mike and this feeling I got on my rewatch watching El skate away from Mike through the crowd crying of "I don't want you to comfort me right now, you don't even love me" and how her lying was very much to create Mike's visit as an escape, an escape the problems they were having broke once they came up - that she tried to deny when she saw "From" on the flowers but couldn't anymore once the ruse was up anyways.

And how Mike has always been her escape. Literally and figuratively. She escaped from the lab to him in season 1. She escaped from Hopper's cabin to him in season 2, but again, when she was disappointed by seeing him with Max not granting that expected reprieve, she left, understandably. At the Snow Ball, she escaped into one night of normalcy with Mike. Then Mike was her emotional escape because she couldn't leave her house to much but she could bring him to her - a figurative escape, bringing the world to her because she couldn't go out in it, in a sense.

But then she found more of that from Max as well. She found both physical and emotional escape at the mall. She found escape from Mike, something new to try: freedom from "stupid boys" that she hadn't had without losing her attachment to normalcy and peace. Then she could be more content with both because being able to be attached to more people also meant that it lived in her the most, not dependent on them.

Within the stress, she could go to both of them. Her and Mike's light relationship troubles - "silly fights; stupid fights" as he put it - still felt secure and so they offered a different point of focus in the stress. For instance, in the store scene ("blank makes you crazy"). Then Hopper was gone. Her dependent figure. So that was back to Mike. And she was moving away from Max, who was also becoming more depressed and likely less consistent than Mike's daily communication. So it all fell more on Mike.

And Mike was the one visiting, so she almost prepared this one-week escape for herself. She would tell these lies that everything was okay and they would live in a world for just a week where everything was okay. And as it came, of course, little things arose that she hadn't prepared for. Like how the card on the flowers said "From". Or how she would have to avoid her brother because knew too much about her lies and so to maintain them she had to distance herself after he called her out too much at the airport.

So when it all came crashing down, there was no use for any part of it anymore. If the illusion is broken, it's broken. Everyone hates her. And her boyfriend can't tell her he loves her; he can't even write it. And she's tired of lying to him that she doesn't know too. She's just emotionally exhausted - too emotionally exhausted to let "care" slide this time.

So this time she escapes into being a superhero again. That feeling. That high. Because she can't be normal and she can't seem to be loved. Not how she wants to be, at least. She thought she had nothing left, but she could become a superhero again.

Then she escaped NINA. She escaped the government. And she did it herself, albeit with a getaway van. And she just escaped. She didn't escape to anyone or anything, in a way. She was going somewhere, but once she took that helicopter down, she had escaped.

She was free. And independent. And she was going to free Max too. But she didn't. Not quite. Not in time. She saved her. But she didn't free her. She escaped. She saved Max. But she didn't free her.

She failed on her own. When it mattered most. And Hopper came back. And Mike was there and loved her. They're dependable. But that doesn't mean she has to be dependent on them.

I'm hopeful to see her journey, but I do still think there are steps to it because she got there and stepped back with her failure, to interdependence. She can do things on her own. But she doesn't have to. And she can balance those. Carrying all the weight is bound to crush you. You do that too long, you'll tire and you will fail. They don't need to hold her up. But she can let them support her.

[observerblock23]

Ok, story idea.

High school setting. 40% of the world’s population has superpowers (because I like superpowers and they make things interesting)

Super heroes and Super villains run amuck just about everywhere. Everyone wants to work for/as a superhero.

First main character. She’s a girl. Short, about 5’ even. Sounds cute, right? No. She’s a powerhouse. More muscular than most professional athletes and can easily beat most strength-enhanced supers in a fist fight(or any other kind), and she proves this fact quite often.

She’s got no physical enhancement powers, she just works out and trains in mixed martial arts(take your pick). She does have a power though, and that’s absolute spacial awareness. She knows the exact position of every single thing around her, and exactly how it’s moving. Think constant spider sense.

She’s also a natural combat talent. Give her literally anything (power, item, situation) and she can figure out how to use it almost instantly. For anything outside of that though? She’s a slow thinker at best. A good thinker, a thorough thinker, but slow.

She’s usually pretty cheery, and can get along with most people a-ok, but the more stressed she gets, the less she can think. The less she can think, the more nervous she gets. The more nervous she gets, the more likely she is to go “Fuck it!” And do/say the first thing she thinks of.

She also likes cute things. Likes being cute too. She’s always to nervous to try because she thinks she doesn’t have the personality for it.

Main motto for discrimination is “we’re all human here, so can we please just stop with the pissing contest already?” (She’s aware there’s more to it than that, but it’s still her general stance)

Second main character. It’s a guy. Around 5’8”, looks rather androgynous and doesn’t really care about it. He’s mute. No one’s sure if it’s selective or natural, but everyone just accepts it. Except, of course, the bully. (Basically just a cocky jock who once looked up the term “Alpha Male” and thought it was a good character model) He is not strong. At all. He’s good academically, but most of his brainpower is for his chosen career.

Which is . . . . (drumroll) . . Fashion Design! For basically anything. Video games, plays, movies, pranks, parties, comfort, fighting demon lords (don’t ask him about the last one though he has PTSD about this one thing) and he’s really good at it.

His power helps with this to, him being able to cast an illusion over his vision, except he’s the only one who can see it, and since he’s mute, only his friends (I imagine fellow fashion enthusiasts and/or people who want free clothes.) know he even has one. It’s not like it effects reality at all, anyways.

(It doesn’t. Right?)

He doesn’t particularly care how he dresses, typically just picking a hoodie and jeans or sweats. Only bothers dressing to impress when he feels like it. (Pettiness, proving a point, making a statement, showing off, or literally just because the can and they felt like it. This can be played with)

The guy comes off as cold hearted, but he’s actually just really shy and bad at reaching out to those who he doesn’t know, and even those he does. But after you get to know him, he’s one of the most expressive people in the room, signing faster than most people can even read.

And yes, sign language. They all know at least a little sign language. Some old super popular hero made it popular and the hype carried over a generation.

So one day, the Bully is doing its thing, and oh no! His victim is the Male Main Character! The bully goes on with insults that the MMC has heard thousands of time before, and their kind of just wondering if they’ll ever hear anything original from this guy.

Sensing his “victim’s” nonchalance, the bully prepares to get physical. Suddenly, he’s stopped by none other than —

The Female Main Character! Who proceeds to absolutely destroy every single bully there. After the dust settles, MMC and FMC lock eyes for the first time.

An overpowered drifter, with no real plans in life, and no intention to change that, takes an interest it the quiet boy her age that has intellect to his eyes and a dream in his soul. Said quite boy finds the short, buff girl that the world has thrown in to his life just as interesting and worthwhile as his friends, with her “the-devil-can-shit-himself” attitude and carefree calling endless drawing him further and further in.

I just wanna see two teens on the way to adulthood with only one traumatic event between them (seriously, do not mention the demon king) work through social barriers and discover an unusual, but healthy relationship.

Also strangers to friends to “their dating but they don’t know it yet” shenanigans sound fun so yeah

Have fun!

[nameless-ken]

“ just because i happen to hate everyone else, doesn’t mean i don’t want to spend every second of my day with you. “  for andy barber please <3

Thanks for the request! My first Andy writing, hope you like it <3

Warnings: illusion to smut, swearing

Requests

Masterlist

You just got home from a long day at work. Your boss has been super intense lately about a new client. You felt your stress levels at an all time high and Andy hasn’t been much different. 

Your home has become the only place where you two have found some sort of peace and comfort. Especially with each other. 

You walk through the front door, carrying a few bags from your stop at the grocery store. You decided to cook Andy’s favorite dinner since he’s been working so hard. As you close the door behind you, a loud voice booms throughout the house. 

“I told you to fucking handle it. Why is it so hard for you to do you fucking job. Why are you still here?” 

This is the first time in a while that Andy has dealt with work at home. We’ve both tried keeping it a pact to keep all work out of our home so it stays a stress-free environment. 

You wouldn’t want to be the person on the other end of that conversation. Andy can be quite scary when he’s angry. Not that he’s ever been personally angry towards you but you’ve seen it with other people. 

You take your groceries to the kitchen, pulling out all the ingredients for dinner. 

“WHY DO I HAVE TO KEEP REPEATING MYSELF?! GET HIM ON THE PHONE AND SORT THIS OUT!” 

You sigh, knowing it’s going to take quite a bit to calm him down after he’s finished. But you also think of the many times like this where you guys had the best sex of your lives. You smirk remembering those moments. Maybe you should thank whoever is on the phone call?

“I”M DONE. DO YOUR FUCKING JOB OR YOUR FIRED!” Andy screams from his home office before you hear the door open and slam behind him. Loud footsteps come down the hallway and stop at the opening of the kitchen. 

“Rough day?” You ask, looking up at him while you mix together a salad. 

“Mhmm.” He groans, walking over to the bar and pouring himself a glass of whiskey. 

“I think there’s a game on if you want to sit and relax for a bit while I cook dinner.” You suggest, knowing how his mood is after a tough work call like that. 

“And leave you to handle everything?” You feel him walk closer to you, setting his glass on the counter. 

“I thought you’d like to kick back your feet and enjoy something that brings you peace.” You grab a tomato, starting to cut it. 

“Honey, just because I happen to hate everyone else, doesn’t mean I don't want to spend every second of my day with you.” Andy wraps his arms around your waist, laying his hand over yours to stop your movements. You drop the knife, relaxing against his chest. 

“Forget about my day. How was yours?” He leans down, pressing a kiss to the side of your neck. 

“I thought we said to keep work out of the home?” You retort, turning around in his arms. 

“Yeah, you’re right.” He sighs with a small smile creeping onto his face. 

“I’m what?” You smirk, wrapping your arms around his neck. “Say it again.” 

“Oh, don’t let that go to your head now, honey. You know I’m always right.” Andy leans down brushing his lips against yours. 

“Fine.” You roll your eyes playfully. 

“Did you just roll your eyes at me?” Andy grips your hips tightly, stern look on his face. You always forget that rule. 

“Upstairs. Now.” Andy instructs and you don’t even try to argue him on this one. 

You slip out of his arms, making your way out of the kitchen, leaving behind your dinner plans. 

“Clothes off, honey. Don’t make me ask twice.” Andy speaks from the kitchen as you climb the stairs. 

“Yes sir.” You smile to yourself, knowing this was coming after his call today. You slip your clothes off as you walk up the stairs, letting them leave a trail to the bedroom. You climb on the bed, resting near the end just as Andy likes you. 

He appears in the doorway, holding your panties on one finger. 

“How should I punish you honey?” He steps slowly into the bedroom. 

“However you like, sir.” You try so hard to hold in your excitement. 

“I like the sound of that. Maybe I’ll even reward you for being such a sweetheart today.” He stops in front of you, caressing your face. “But right now, you’re going to let me take out my frustrations on you. How does that sound, honey?” He slips his thumb over your mouth. 

“Good, sir.” You open your mouth, sucking his thumb in. 

“Good indeed. Hope you’re ready because I’m not stopping no matter how much you scream.”

[lady-of-endless]

Seong Gi-hun (456) x reader headcanons

Author's Note: Forget about those, please. There's nothing serious. I just got way too invested in this tv show and Seong Gi-hun and got carried away.

- His hugs are the best if you can get one. There is no in-between, his embraces are either incredibly rare or quite often, between the games. When the pressure is too much, he either appears reserved and closed off or he'll simply come to you for hugs with no other explanations. He'll get embarrassed like a teenager if someone points out that physical gesture between the two of you.

- It is already known that he is cautious with everyone, reasonable or dangerous. Expect to be approached by him during the first few rounds when he thinks that having a team is an efficient idea. Once he learns that you're a sensible and kind person deep down, he'll promptly invite you to his team for your safety.

- Honestly has no idea of what he's doing strategy-wise during the games so he'll be willing to listen if you'll come up with ideas (we've seen this happen before with Sang-woo).

- He sure acts like an extrovert but there is so much overthinking behind all of that. Also, there is a slight indecisiveness in his morals. That kind of gets you closer to him faster though!

- There was this one time you tried to warn him about Sang-woo but his illusion of that friendship only made Gi-hun doubt you. You'll even try to warn him before the honeycomb game and make him choose an easier shape but you'll only discover how stubborn and devoted he is to the ones he cares about.

- If he starts falling for you, expect to find him glancing at you a lot. You'll have to snap him out of it (which is very cute). After a tough round, your recovery will certainly come from seeing him relieved that you survived. This thing goes the other way around as well. He can't remember when was the last time someone was so enthusiastic to see him, besides his daughter.

- He's not going to open up so fast despite his warm and sympathetic way of being but stress slowly cracks him. He will ask himself if telling you more about him is a good idea before doing it hesitantly.

- Close to the last rounds when he starts overthinking hard, Gi-hun will even start thinking about how your presence in his life before the game would have changed everything in good.

- He is pretty motivated to stay alive and be a good father for his daughter. These motivations for the future seem to include you as well lately. He wants you to be happier, he wants you to stay alive as well. Gi-hun will fantasize about both of you getting out of that hell, even if he knows it's egotistical.

- After the glass bridge game, you offer to clean his cuts. Even if Gi-hun is extremely tense and only looks at Sang-woo, one of his hands will grip your free hand tightly. You can feel all of his anger and deception. Please calm him down and take care of him.

- He openly wishes you good luck before each game even if you get closer to each other romantically or not.

- During one lunch, out of instinct, you moved one of his curly strands of hair out of the way and he froze. Ali asked him something and Gi-hun started stuttering nonsense. (just wait until you see his smile and you’ll be the stuttering mess)

- Because of the exhaustion, he might get cozy in your bed by accident when the light shuts down one night. Don't wake him up though. He's a warm guy naturally, you'll be having the best sleep ever during this stressful period, ironically. Gi-hun will pull you closer in his sleep by instinct. His face will be unforgettable in the morning when he understands what happened.

- Oh and after the honeycomb game, you could not make straight eye contact with him. That technique and position were the things that slowed you down a little when you noticed. Let's be honest.

[theresthesnitch]

Lost time is never found again

For Sirius and Harry Saturday, and Sirius’s death date, I’ve written this angsty little piece. vaguely a twist on the prompt: Sirius comes back from the veil wrong.

The veil is thick.

It looked thin when Sirius stood next to it, fought next to it, but it was thick, suffocatingly so. It felt like he was swimming through custard, breathing in custard. Whatever the spell was that Bella hit him with was rooted in his chest, immovable and anchored into the soul of him, a great ball of heat and pain that Sirius could almost feel but wasn’t quite reaching him.

Couldn’t quite reach him through the thick veil.

He wasn’t dead. That was the only thing he was really sure of. He had spoken with enough ghosts at Hogwarts to know what death felt like, and this was not it. Death was light, freeing. Unrestrained from the daily pains of being human.

But the veil was thick, heavy. He was weighed down by the heft of his life decisions—those that he made and those that he never got a chance to make. It was painful, hard, difficult. He felt like he might break underneath it.

He was adjacent to death, he thought. Occasionally, he thought he could feel James reaching for him, could hear Effie crying for him, but he couldn’t reach them.

He felt Peter go past him, and he reached out, clawing for him, scratching at him. Peter saw him, but acted like he did not.

He saw Remus too. Remus reached for him, but they could not touch. His fingers brushed almost close enough to feel, but Remus was dead, and Sirius was stuck.

He saw Harry glide through, and Sirius screamed his name. Harry didn’t see him. Sirius screamed more. Then, he watched Harry go back, and it was the first time that it occurred to him that back might be possible.

He spent his time trying to get out. It worked sometimes, he thought. He felt himself slip closer to the doorway sometimes, though sometimes he slipped the wrong way.

He couldn’t tell how much time was passing anymore. There were no sunrises and sunsets. He couldn’t put little ticks on the wall for how many days he spent in the veil like he did in Azkaban. The mass of the veil around him seemed to press the days out of him, and he could have been there for a single day or a thousand years, and he’d have no idea.

He stopped looking for people he knew passing through when he thought he saw Fleamont. Fleamont was dead well before Sirius, so he was sure the veil was taking what was left of his mind, too.

Finally, he shifted one day and felt himself slide out of the veil toward the doorway. It happened fast, and he wasn’t really sure what made it finally work, but he tumbled out onto the floor, coughing.

It looked just like it did when he fell through. The air felt a bit different, but Sirius was sure it was just because he had been squeezed out of the veil like toothpaste from the tube.

He looked around, and his eyes fell on Harry. He was older than Sirius expected—clearly more than a few days had passed like Sirius hoped, but age seemed to have softened him. The cracks in his appearance like stress fractures under the burden of his destiny seemed smoothed over in his age.

“Harry? How long has it been?”

The face in front of him gave a small smile, and the illusion fell. Harry did not have that nose, or freckles like that. There was no scar. His eyes were brown. “I’m not Harry, actually. I’m James.”

Except that was wrong, too. James and Harry looked similar, but Sirius had always been able to see where they were different. This person wasn’t Harry, but he wasn’t James either.

“I knew James, and you are not him.”

The man fully smiled now. “No, you’re right. That James was my grandfather, though I never met him, and Harry was my father.”

The weight of the word was fell somewhere behind his ribs, but Sirius ignored it for now, unable to deal with it.

“Harry’s your father, so you must be…”

“James Sirius Potter, son of Harry and Ginny Potter.”

Tears stung Sirius’s eyes. He’d missed far more time than he realized. A soft hand fell to his shoulder.

“Do you know where you are?”

Sirius had to clear his throat a few times before he could speak. “The Department of Mysteries, right?”

“That’s right. You are Sirius, right?”

Sirius could only nod.

“We could hear something behind the veil, and I knew from my father’s stories that you had fallen through. We never suspected you were still in there.”

Sirius opened his eyes again, taking a minute to focus on James. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

He nodded. “I’m so sorry.”

“And Harry?” Sirius choked on the word, needing to ask but not wanting to.

“I’m so, so sorry.”

Sirius sobbed, covering his face with his hands. He had lost so much, and the irony that Harry’s son was now comforting him—Harry’s son who, by the looks of it, was older than him—and that he had lost another generation of Potters he loved. Would he be around to lose one more?

“It happened a few years ago. It was age related, if you believe it. He laughed on his dying bed that he always suspected he’d die loudly, in battle, and so death was quieter than he expected.” James cleared his throat, still pained by the memory. “He talked about seeing you again. He was excited for that.”

Sirius cried harder now. “What do I do now? I’ve lost everything.”

James spoke quietly, offering Sirius a place in his home, but it felt wrong. He was being saved, once again, by James Potter, but in a way that felt like missing a step instead of coming home.

He was so tired of missing steps in his life.

He was so tired of missing home.

[sleepingdeath-light]

reading the crossover headcanons for TOH was amazing!

i wanted to request a crossover with TOH and Steven Universe if possible! (also with Hunter x Reader) You can decide between reader being half-gem, like Steven, or fully gem! If you can't or don't want to, that's okay! Aand I really love your headcanons! You make them long and detailed! It's truly amazing.

Crossover Headcanons | SU x TOH [Hunter x Gem//Hybrid!Reader]

thank you for requesting, anon

These are written with a gender neutral reader in mind and have a general chronology from the reader’s last moments in little homeworld until they end up with Hunter, so apologies if this gets long!

Note : this is the first time I’ve written for the SU canon, so I’m not as experienced with that universe. Also my portrayal of these characters is still pretty rocky, so I may rework this in the future.

The first few months you spent in Little Homeworld had felt almost like a dream come to life; freedom to be yourself and explore a world full of organic life without the restrictions placed on you by the diamonds? It was fantastic! However, that feeling of unrestricted feeling soon started to grow stale as you realise that the growth of the small colony had already started to stagnate—and that not all humans were welcoming of intergalactic immigrants like your kind.

So to ease your mind you opted to take the warp to the next star system over—craving that same sense of excitement that you had during the gem war

Simply standing on the warp again was enough to get your blood pumping with a reignited vigour for exploration

A feeling so palpable that you failed to notice the array of spindly cracks that spanned the surface of the device, and the way that a sickly dull light pulsated beneath your feet (the sight accompanied by a warning hum far too low for you to notice)

Though you couldn’t ignore the way the warp didn’t immediately go off like usual, nor could you neglect the searing pain that spread through your veins and constricted your throat; leaving you in so much pain that you couldn’t even move or scream before your vision was engulfed in a glitching, sickeningly bright light

It must have been several hours later when you woke up, based on how high the sun was in the sky… was the sky that red before?

Your head was pounding and although your vision was blurry, yet you couldn’t ignore how different your surroundings were from the earth you were used to

The sky was a faint red and the ground beneath your feet was dusted with deep maroon grass—it was soft and warm under your fingertips but with how much organic matter there was you knew that this wasn’t a colony

Hell, you didn’t even arrive on a warp on this end, so either you had been transported to somewhere else because a malfunction (unusual, but likely) or someone had taken you from the receiving warp and dropped you off in the middle of a clearing (far less likely)

Suddenly struck with worry, you sat up and moved your clothes to get a good look at your gem, letting out a relieved sigh when you saw it undamaged (clearly you’d landed where you woke up as most organics would have tried to remove it from your body before dumping you)

Realising that you were mostly safe you slowly rose to your feet and decided to explore your new environment, hand hovering near your gem in case you needed to defend yourself from whatever creatures had made their home here—trying to make yourself appear as small, quiet and unnoticeable as possible as you went

However, your efforts seemed to be in vein as you were quickly greeted by an excitable and loud human girl who practically screamed her welcome to you

You were torn between fleeing and fighting her when she offered her hand and introduced herself as “Luz the human”, her demeanour quite closely mirroring what you’d heard about Steven when he was younger from his mothers—it was almost endearing how much she tried to hold in her joy at seeing another “human”. You almost didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth as she walked you back to her home.

You were accosted at the door by an organic tube with an owl’s face that quickly and gleefully introduced itself as Hooty—the creepy, but rather friendly, house demon

Luz made an effort to hastily brush him off and hurry you both inside where you met with the other two inhabitants of the home as well as Luz’s “awesome girlfriend”, Amity.

Eda, an older witch with grey hair that hardly suited her age, greeted you with muted suspicion, not even taking her eyes off of you as she addressed the human at your side—seemingly unsure of your motives but trusting herself to be stronger than you (if her grip on her staff was anything to go by)

King, however, was much more brazen and blatant in his distrust of you, stomping over and pointing an accusing claw up at you as he threatened you in every way he could muster (even if all that got him was a halfhearted coo from you that left the creature more frustrated and downtrodden than before)

The guest, Amity, meanwhile, looked over at you with disinterest before she caught a glimpse of your (colour) gem peeking out from your clothing—immediately pointing it out and questioning you about it, much to your chagrin

This inevitably led to a very long and semi-complicated conversation discussing the intricacies of your species and how, no, you’re technically not a human

No you weren’t trying to deceive Luz, either, you just felt too awkward to correct her

But when all was said and done (and you were all out of steam after a several hour session of intense questioning and frustration at miscommunications) they seemed much more relaxed around you—even willing to let you stay with them, at Luz’s request, so long as you pulled your weight around the house and helped to keep them safe

And, really, how hard could that be? You fought in an intergalactic war so taking out a few organics should be a piece of cake (as Steven would say)

After spending a few weeks in this strange new world you had come to realise one specific thing; it wasn’t easy. It was, in fact, the exact opposite.

If you had to bubble one more guard you were going to scream

What had they done to make this Emperor hate them so much?

It felt as though half of your time was spent bubbling, blocking or disabling people that had made their way to the Owl House—and the rest was spent painstakingly explaining your abilities and species to Amity, Lilith and Luz

Granted, that wasn’t the most stressful part of your stay

No

That was hands down the stresses that came with visits from Luz’s friends from Hexside: the endlessly kind and protective Willow and the ever-curious and annoyingly quick witted Gus

That being said, you did appreciate their enthusiasm to learn about and accommodate you—even if the look Willow gave you when you spoke about the empire’s treatment of organic life did leave you rather shaken

So what little free time you had was spent learning about the local culture and sharing your experiences with them

Training with Amity and Eda

Helping Willow with her plants in whatever way you can based on your gem

Creating gem clones to help Gus perfect his illusions even further

Teaching Lilith and Luz about your abilities as well as those of your fellow gems, even helping the latter learn to write using gem glyphs

It was heartwarming to see others so passionate about your home, even if their insistence on pushing you to your limits could be rather frustrating (especially early in the mornings when your patience ran thin)

However, the longer you spent there the more members of the Emperor’s Coven (amongst others) you ended up coming across. One particularly memorable instance occurred when you were escorting a fretting Amity through Bonesborough with the twins (who’s presence you had grown rather fond of as their visits became more frequent).

Ed had dragged Em back to the library a good few minutes ago, leaving you and Amity to your own decides as you weaved in and out of the foot traffic—only to stop completely when the youngest Blight suddenly froze before grabbing your hand and darting off to an adjacent alleyway

As you went to protest, she promptly clamped one hand over your mouth and gestured rather violently for you to stay quiet before nodding towards a figure just a bit away from you

From the golden mask and white cloak you knew they were a member of the Emperor’s Coven—but you’d seen them before, on the posters littered around the city, each exploring passersby to join their coven

Golden Guard

That was a definite threat

So you passed the girl a spare cloak and did what you could to mask your own appearance before carefully making your way back home, shopping be damned—one hand over your gem just in case he happened to notice you

Though thankfully he didn’t

Not that it stopped you from filing him away as someone to be wary of anyway; he was the emperor’s right hand man, after all, so there was no such thing as being “too cautious”

And for a while that’s exactly what it was, not that you saw much of him that is, but from what you’d been told about Luz and Amity’s run ins with him you were glad to have never seen him face-to-face. If you had, you were almost certain he wouldn’t come out unscathed—teenage protege or not.

So with all that in mind, the last that you were expecting to see on a relatively peaceful Saturday evening was the unmasked Golden Guard practically unconscious and leaning on Luz and Eda for support as they burst through the door

Completely ignoring Hooty as usual as they carefully laid him down on the seat beside you (after you’d hurriedly gotten up, that is)

He looked to be in an awful state, with his visible skin bloodied, bruised and scarred whilst his usually pristine uniform was tattered and caked in dirt and what seemed to be even more of his blood

Seeming to notice your distress, Eda briefly addressed you and her sister before sending you all off to gather supplies (or heal if your gem allowed it)

“The kid’s been through a lot, but he’s with us now. Trust me, I wouldn’t have carried him all this way if I had any doubts about it.”

And that was that

It took Hunter (as he introduced himself) over a week to even be able to get out of bed and walk around unassisted—and whilst he actively avoided speaking about what had happened to him, you had a feeling that Belos was somehow involved

Though things were still rather tense for a month or so after he arrived, no matter how hard Luz tried to integrate him (and no matter how polite and welcoming Willow and Gus tried to be)

And you didn’t even want to recall the shouting match that occurred when Amity saw him in the living room with Luz….

It seemed as though he was just more content to shut himself away with L’il Rascal and only interact with Luz and Eda; the former to learn from her and the latter because she wouldn’t let him get away with anything but

That wasn’t even mentioning the palpable tension between him and Lilith (she would only say that it was from their time in the coven—and Luz suspected he’d annoyed her a bit too much—but nothing else would come of it)

But the others were worried about him, so you were sent in as a neutral party to talk with him about… things. You weren’t really told what and you didn’t have the time to ask.

Initially he was incredibly closed off and would only address you briefly, barely even acknowledging your presence as he gave his full attention to the scattered papers on his desk, each depicting a different spell and each ever so slightly off

So, as gently as you could you took the quill from him and drew a simple glyph on a spare scalp of paper, carefully leading him through the motions before leaning back and activating the spell (and smiling at his much more openly interested expression)

That then sparked a deep conversation about different types of magic—specifically wild magic and glyphs—as you shared what you knew about the topic with one another, every so often breaking off into laughter or patient silence as he’d run across the room to show you his notes or books he’d found

Naturally this would lead to him asking you about where you came from and you discussing your origins with him

Homeworld

The Diamond Authority

The gem war

Colonies

Soldiers

Shattering

The Crystal Gems

Everything

He was incredibly easy to talk to as he listened with a genuine intensity to what you said, nodding along and even asking well thought out questions about your world where appropriate

Depending on how close you were, he may even ask to see your gem and ask about its purpose

If you let him touch it, he’d be so very gentle, almost treating you as though you were made of glass—maybe even sketching it down and noting down your abilities and weaknesses in his personal notebook and apologising if it was weird

This mutual interest in magic and your shared experiences of either having to conform to a specific role your whole life [full gem reader] or feeling out of place and weaker because of your shortcomings [half gem reader] would be the basis of your friendship turned relationship. The transition between the two would be so incredibly seamless and slow that you wouldn’t even notice it happening—one moment you two were best friends sparring and the next you were hiding your blushing face in his neck as he hugs you and apologises for hitting you a bit too hard with his magic.

Your relationship would be sweet and slow and genuine

Hunter is new to receiving any kind of affection, so you’d probably have to teach him a thing or two—but he’d learn quite quickly so don’t worry

He’d spend hours studying your culture and language just to write you notes or offer you affirmations in ways unique to your culture, even calling you “my (Y/n)” after a while

Likewise, the first time you called him “my Hunter” he was left red in the face for the rest of the day (he loved it, though, so don’t stop)

But the moment someone makes a teasing remark about how soft he’s gotten (usually one of the Blight siblings or his own younger sister figure, Luz), Hunter will partially revert to being cold in public (whilst still being affectionate and openly touch starved in private)

In short, your relationship with him would be built on a foundation of mutual trust, affection and understanding that sprouted from friendship and honest conversations about your passions and pasts

[thefanficmonster]

Bouquet

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: None

Genre: FLUFF, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Having come clean about being single for a very long time now and considering herself completely out of the dating scene, Y/N’s confession is taken and responded to with a ton of kindness, especially from a special someone...

Requested by Anon. Hi hun! Thank you so much for your lovely request, it was such a joy to write! I’m so sorry for the long wait you had to go through but the fic is finally here and I hope you enjoy reading it! Love, Vy ❤

I roll out of bed with little to no desire to start my day. We haven’t got a scheduled stream for today and the clouds glooming in the sky seem to be promising rain so really what do I have to get up for except that it’s a rule society installed?

Just kidding, I’m basically stalling and that’s all.

So what happened was the streamer gang and I were playing Among Us last night and our conversation during the pause between rounds somehow swerved into relationship territory. I stayed quiet the majority of if not all the time because I had no valid input to offer. 

If you know me you know I’m not one of the performers on the dating scene. I have never really confirmed it with my fans - well, until last night, that is - but I bet they have picked up on that fact considering I’ve been on YouTube for around a decade and have never had a partner. That being said, I’d have to also mention that I have in fact dated but someone but it was before my YouTube era started. Me choosing this career path, which back then was just a hobby, had nothing to do with the relationship ending but it still motivated me to not to actively look for a relationship while I’m still focused on my career. It’s too much work, too much stress and requires a lot of balance I most certainly either don’t have or I don’t have the energy to put in balancing my romantic and professional lives. Luckily, no one’s ever pressured me into finding a significant other, not yet at least, so no societal pressure for me!

But I gotta admit I felt real awkward admitting all this last night.

“Hey Y/N what do you think? You’ve been awfully quiet?“ Rae asks, causing me to jolt in my seat from where I’ve been reading my chat for the past five minutes, my mic muted.

I quickly unmute to reply, blushing ever so slightly, “Um, sorry I was reading my chat. What do I think about what?”

“The gesture of giving flowers to your significant other, is it romantic or a waste of money and plant murder?“ Rae explains, still managing to catch me off-guard with her question.

I ponder what my response should be for a little bit before deciding to level it to a neutral level where I almost sound indifferent, “It is in fact plant murder basically and artificial flowers would definitely be a better gift - plus they’ll last longer.”

“Mhmm yeah that’s true.“ Poki agrees with me, “But there’s still the question of whether it’s a romantic gesture or not. I personally don’t think it’s overrated or cheesy, I actually quite like it. What about you, Y/N?“

And now she’s got me in a real trap that I can’t wiggle out of without speaking my truth. I don’t know where this sudden anxiety around the subject came from but it now resides within me rent free and makes me feel self-conscious and embarrassed of the confession I’m inevitably make.

“Um, I wouldn’t know for certain, I’ve never received flowers myself...“ I say sheepishly, cringing at the sound of my own voice, “It’s not like I’ve dated plenty of people and the one guy I did date wasn’t really romantic or anything, I mean - we were teenagers, after all. But when I think about it in theory I think I’d like the gesture: it’s thoughtful, plus you get a temporary but beautiful piece of décor out of it.“

I’m gonna hope I didn’t sound too pitiful or desperate. Of course I’m not gonna check afterward on the stream cause I’d rather live in the illusion of having sounded humorous rather than be given the confirmation that I didn’t.

“Wait, wait, wait, did you date your last boyfriend like a decade ago?“ Corpse is now the one talking and that makes me feel even more anxious. This is not the impression one would want to give to their crush, is it? Oh well, no turning back now.

“Correct.“ I reply with a laugh that I hope didn’t sound as nervous as it was.

“And you’ve never, like in your whole life, received flowers from someone?“ He sounds astonished which sort of makes me want to shrink up in my shell like a turtle. Too bad I don’t have a shell though. I’m genuinely thinking of the option to rip the router out of the outlet right now to save me the troubles but I’m not that immature. I’m surprised I’m even reacting this way - this topic doesn’t usually bother me at all but now for some reason I’m red as a tomato and shrinking in my chair. 

I know what the obvious answer is but I’d rather die than admit to it.

“Yeah, yeah, I know it sounds bad but I really don’t care.“ I make an attempt at changing the subject, swerving it back to the main topic rather than my lack of a love life, “I do, in fact, find the gesture sweet - it adds vibrancy to the relationship just like the flowers would add vibrancy and color to the space they’re put in.“

“Oh my gosh, that’s such a cool analogy!“ Rae gushes, “You’re totally right, it might be an old trick, but it’s aged like fine wine.“

Phew, God bless you Rae.

“Exactly, exactly.“ Corpse agrees as well but I don’t think he’s fully heard what Rae said since he sounds to have fallen in deep thought.

At least I got away with it with only making a SLIGHT nervous wreck of myself.

Yikes, was that horrible, though I don’t people will remember it for long. Sure, my fans have sent me thousands of lovely messages and pictures of bouquets and will maybe continue sending them for another day or two - which I highly appreciate, don’t get me wrong. I’m severely touched by this gesture of theirs and it almost makes me glad I finally ‘came clean’ about my romance-less life - however, it’ll fade overtime. I mean, who the heck cares if I’m single or not?

As I pour the milk over my cheerios which I’ve been snacking on dry for the past half hour as I rifled through the many notifications clogging up my lock screen, I hear the doorbell ring. I’m understandably puzzled by this, seeing as how I never get visitors so that doorbell rings only when I’ve ordered something, be it takeout or a random item off Amazon. However, I can’t remember ordering anything, at least not anything that should be arriving at the moment or even anytime soon - that glow-in-the dark curtain isn’t supposed to arrive until next week.  I make my way to the door, unbothered by the fact I’m still in my pajamas, and take a look through the peephole.

It’s a delivery guy...and he happens to be holding a huge-ass bouquet.

“What the...“ I mutter to myself as I unlock and swing open the door in the blink of an eye, “Hi?“

“Hi there, are you Y/N L/N?“ The delivery guy, who I’ve seen many times before and who I’m on pretty friendly terms with, asks me jokingly, sending a wink my way.

“I sure am.“ I reply, my gaze fixated on the breathtaking flowers he’s holding, “But those can’t be for me, that’s for sure.“

He fishes looks at his clipboard one more time, nodding before he looks back at me, “I double and triple checked, Y/N, they’re for you. Here, have a look if you don’t believe me.” He turns the clipboard  for me to see and he is actually telling the truth. I mean, I doubt he’d have any reason to lie to me but mix-ups happen all the time.

“Um, ok thanks. Sorry for the halt, it’s just...I’d hate to be the recipient of the flowers meant for another girl.” I apologize as I take the bouquet for him, still in awe of the fact I’m the one it was made and meant for and sent to.

I say a quick ‘bye’ to the delivery guy before practically running inside to inspect this bouquet for a card from the sender. I have my guesses: it has to be someone who was present during the stream last night and someone who knows my address. Hopefully it’s someone from my friend group and not a fan who watched the stream and just happens to know my address. I’d still appreciate the gesture, but I’d also install security cameras if that was the case.

Something about the color scheme of the flowers - pink and black - gives me Rae vibes since she constantly teases me about my aesthetics contradicting each other. But then again, Poki does it too so it could be her as well....

Oh...OH GOD IT’S NEITHER OF THEM

                                                               ~ ~ ~

I’ve been sitting here, keeping myself a safe distance from my phone so I’m not the first one to send her a text. So I don’t ask if she got what I sent her. So I don’t ask what she thought of it, how the bouquet looks in her living room, how it smells, how it makes her feel. I have so many questions so that phone is best off at a major distance from me. I’m the one who’s better off with such a huge distance between me and the device, to be perfectly honest.

Was it a bad idea? Should I have slept on it - or just thought about it longer cause sleep and I don’t get along? Should I have at least waited a day or two? Should I-

My phone vibrates with a notification and I practically fly to it from across the room, grabbing it and unlocking it asap. My heart sinks and takes off like a rocket simultaneously when I see I’ve been tagged in Y/N’s Instagram story. I nervously tap the notification that sends me to the picture of the bouquet I sent her with some text written over it.

“Thank you, Romeo ;)“

Somehow that one sentence answers all those aforementioned questions.

Is this what people refer to as butterflies in one’s stomach? Cause it feels significantly more like a crush...oh wait.

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[kj-1130]

Nothing For Me

Part 5

(gifs not mine)

Main Masterlist

Part 4|Part 6

It was a strange sense of deja vu; except this time you weren’t staring at the glow in the dark stars that still lingered across the ceiling, you were staring at the back of your eyelids. Your thoughts still played loud in your head. They were like a playlist that was on repeat and you couldn’t press the pause button.

It was noisy but empty, if that made sense. A strange, but not unusual feeling to you.

The demons crawled into your head, made it their home and decorated it. And you just couldn’t find the strength to kick them out.

The back of your eyelids became something you had grown accustomed to staring at. If you weren’t awake and suffering at the will of your own mind, you were sleeping--hoping that your thoughts would turn off then.

You couldn’t see the light from the tv, but you could hear it. The ‘f.r.i.e.n.d.s.’ theme song was quite an interesting mix with the yells of ‘no one cares,’ ‘you’re invisible,’ or ‘just disappear.’

But you couldn’t sleep because the music was so damn loud. Apparently, the avengers retrieved the scepter and were celebrating. You were invited to attend by Natasha, but you didn’t have the willpower; to talk to perverted business men all night or to get out of bed--either one.

So you tried to ignore the sound of faint chatter and clinking glasses. Or maybe you would listen to it; it was undoubtedly better than whatever was going on inside your noggin.

Time passed. You didn’t know what time it was. Time is an illusion anyway.

The days were all just one big blob of nothingness to you at this point. Everyday, you felt the same, did the same thing, thought the same thoughts. So what’s the point of trying to tell whether the darkness you saw was from outside or from the back of your eyelids.

The back of your eyelids. What a strange sense of deja vu…

-

Stars reminded you of Michelle. The two of you always watched the stars together. It was your thing.

You’d never thought you’d have a thing with anyone. You were glad you had one with MJ.

You opened your eyes. The stars that were stuck to the ceilings seemed like they grew dimmer over the years--just like your eyes.

It was significantly quieter than it was before. You guessed everyone had homes to return to. What was a home?

Your mom was your home. But she’s gone now.

Maybe Michelle could become your home. Yeah. She keeps you warm and you do the same for her. Maybe she could be your home.

-

Pounding footsteps were heard throughout the hall. As tired as you were, your curiosity won out. You slowly sat up despite your body’s protest and made your way towards the door. Yeah, if you were in a horror movie, you definitely would’ve been dead by now.

Just as you were about to reach out for the handle, the door flung open causing you to jump back. Looking up, your eyes connected with red ones.

“You’ll do just fine, little Stark.”

-

The two former agents sped down the long halls of the tower. They reached the door and saw splinters all over the ground.

Natasha slowly walked in on high alert. She and Clint searched around the room; the bathroom, closet, anywhere where someone could hide.

The redhead faced her friend with a forlorn look on her face. Her head shook slowly.

“She’s gone.”

-

You were in your room--your old room. There was music playing downstairs; Whitney Houston. An artist your mom would listen to during her free time.

“Mom?”

You ran down the steps into the kitchen and stood at the entryway. She stood with her back to you. Her fro was pulled into a messy puff and she was wearing her robe; the same robe you would wear as a cape.

It smelled like french toast. You always ate french toast together on the second Saturday of the month. It was tradition.

“Mom?”

Her head lifted and she turned to face you. Instead of her glowing and blemish free skin and that beautiful, gentle smile, all you saw was a decaying body. The jaw was hanging by one side. It was as if tissue or muscle was stuck to her face and just gradually melting off.

“Hi sweetheart.”

You gasped and backed into the well causing one of the paintings to fall.

Your mom chuckled and when you looked back, her face was normal.

“You’re always so clumsy.”

Your breathing was still labored. You watched as the woman you knew as a mother picked up the piece of art. It was the one she got from her mother--your grandmother.

“You okay? You’re looking a little flustered.”

She strode towards you and rested a hand on your cheek and then your forehead.

You resisted the urge to flinch as her cold skin made contact with yours.

“C’mon. Let’s eat.”

Your body was on autopilot as you followed her to the counter. She passed you a plate and took a seat next to you.

“Useless,” was whispered and disappeared into the wind.

You looked behind you with furrowed eyebrows and a frown.

“You okay?”

You glanced at your mom before nodding.

“Yeah. Thought I heard something.”

“I’m glad I died.”

You whipped your head towards her and found the mummified version looking at you once again.

You stood and set your fork down before running up the stairs. You entered the bathroom and locked the door before sliding down the far wall.

The door was thrown open before her figure flew over to you.

-

Your eyes shot open and you sat up with a gasp.

Everything hurt. It all hurt.

Frantically, you pushed yourself to the corner of whatever room you were in regardless of what the throb of your head was telling you.

The rocks began crunching as if someone was walking on them. Your head whipped around in every direction trying to figure out where the noise was coming from.

“Your father took everything from us.”

“Yeah. Well he’s a taker not a giver.”

Your mom always told you your mouth would get you in trouble. You just hoped she wasn’t right at this moment.

Looking up, you were met with two pairs of eyes; one a woman the other a man.

They both seemed significantly older than you. The woman walked closer and bent down in front of you and her eyes started glowing red. You began hyperventilating, praying she wouldn’t harm you.

She lifted her hand to your temple and rested her fingers there.

“It’s time we get our revenge.”

All you saw was a decaying body. The jaw was hanging by one side. It was as if tissue or muscle was stuck to her face and just gradually melting off.

“Hi sweetheart.”

-

Your head was pounding and your neck was killing you. Groaning, you craned your neck and searched your surroundings.

Hands touched your shoulders gently. But it didn’t matter how gentle it was because you didn’t want anyone touching you with their hands that could kill you with the right movements.

You swatted them away from you--with your own hands that didn’t stand a chance against a lot of people.

“Woah, hey, hey, hey. Kid, calm down.”

Rubbing your eyes, you looked around as your vision cleared. In front of you stood Clint. His face was decayed; just like your mom’s.

You scrambled back and curled up in the corner of the corner closest to you.

“Hey. You’re safe. You’re okay,” he said gently.

Your gaze transferred from one area of the jet to another frantically. You wanted something to stand out at you; make it’s obnoxiousness force the visual of it in your brain. Anything would be better than seeing her face like that.

You didn’t even notice the archer moving closer to you until he rested his hand on your shoulder. You flinched hard and gently pushed it off of you.

Clint nodded in understanding and continued to kneel in front of you.

“We’re about 15 minutes from a safe house, alright? You can eat something and then rest there. That okay?”

Nodding your head, you leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath, trying to calm your racing heart.

The most powerful thing you knew of was Cap’s shield. Seems like that witch was taking that spot.

-

True to Clint’s word, the jet landed less than 15 minutes later. You were the last out although Steve did end up waiting for you. His hand landed on your shoulder and when you turned to look at it, all you saw was bones and tissue. You stumbled back and hit your back on the quinjet.

The supersoldier looked at you with worried eyes before slowly walking away.

You watched the backs of the superheroes get smaller as they walked towards the porch of the safe house.

Is that what they were? Heroes? Everyone always described them as these indestructible beings that would always be there to help civilians and save the day. But who was going to save them?

They didn’t look so indestructible. They just looked like a group of people with the weight of the world--no universe on their shoulders.

Watching everyone enter the house, you decided to follow a moment later. Cap, ever the gentleman he was, held the door open for you and let it shut once you slipped inside.

“I know all your names,” the woman who stood next to the archer said. She scanned the group before her eyes landed on you, her head tilting slightly.

You tuned out the rest of the conversation as you looked around the house--no home. It looked like a home. Not some model house that some cookie cutter family lives in. A home where parents were raising their children to be themselves and nurturing them with love and care.

The room wasn’t spotless. There were legos and toys on the floor. It didn’t smell like cleaning supplies. It smelt like a homemade meal; one that would make any stress from the day just melt away.

A hand tugged on the sleeve of your shirt causing you to glance down. It looked just like the other ones; just a decaying, withering hand.

You flinched in response and quietly stepped away, not wanting to cause a scene. Rubbing your eyes, you looked down and saw a little girl that didn’t even seem the slightest bit fazed by your little episode.

“Can you play dollies with me?”

“Actually,” Clint cut in. “She needs to rest. (Y/n) can play after a nap, alright?”

The little girl nodded and went to minding her business.

The archer placed a gentle hand on your back and you tensed under his touch. You heard him whisper to his wife before the two led you up stairs.

“You good to clean yourself up?”

You grabbed the towel and extra clothes out of his hands and sat them down on the bathroom counter.

“I’m fine, Clint,” you muttered while pushing him out of the room.

-

You sat in the bed of the spare room that Clint’s wife, who you learned was Laura, said that you could stay in.

A knock reverberated through the room, the sound of the door opening following suit.

You felt a dip in the bed, but you refused to look up from the spot on the covers.

You didn’t want to see a decaying face.

You didn’t want to see someone dead.

You didn’t want that image stuck in your brain like a starred picture on google photos. You didn’t want to give your mind a chance to somehow twist it all around--inside, over and out--and convince you that it was all your fault.

You just wanted to have a few seconds of peace instead of the roaring tides that were washing through your head, even if it was false.

“What did she make you see?”

You swiped your tongue over your dry lips and shook your head.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

There was a moment of silence and continued to mess with the unraveling thread in the blanket.

“Look at me then.”

You hesitated, but eventually lifted your head.

“I said look at me, not at the wall. Look at me.”

Taking a deep breath your lip began to tremble.

“Please.”

“Don’t make me do it,” you whispered.

A hand was turning you towards her before you could even stop it, but you managed to close your eyes.

“Whatever she showed you is not real. I’m here and I always will be.”

You only saw her ivory skin and forest green eyes. There were no visible bones or muscles. Just her red hair and sad smile.

Your eyes fitted around her face, making sure that it wasn’t a cruel trick your mind was trying to play on you.

Natasha lovingly patted your cheek and pressed a light kiss to your forehead.

“Let’s get some rest, alright?”

-

You couldn’t rest, long story short.

It was so noisy up there and you just couldn’t get it to calm down.

Every time you closed your eyes, somebody’s dead body was infiltrating your mind. Whether it was Clint or his kids, Natasha or MJ.

MJ. Oh shit.

You threw the covers off your body and slowly lifted yourself from the bed. Making your way downstairs, you heard some chatter coming from near the kitchen.

“I thought you were dead.”

A hand immediately flew up to your mouth as if that would stop the words that already came out of your mouth. Muttering a ‘my bad’ you walked up towards the group of adults while simultaneously scanning your surroundings.

“I am,” replied Fury.

Clearing your throat you took in a deep breath. But before you could speak, somebody beat you to it.

“What are you doing here, kid?”

You rolled your eyes and prepared to talk.

“Does anyone have a phone I can borrow?”

Practically everyone raised their eyebrows at you in confusion. You let out a sigh and started wringing your hands

“I-I need to call MJ. Please.”

When it was clear that desperation was shining through your eyes, Laura was quick to get up.

“Sure, honey.”

Everyone else was left confused.

“Who the hell is MJ?”

Laura gave you a phone and told you, you could call from the couch.

You were swift to dial her phone number and bring the device to your ear. You bit your lip, waiting for your friend to pick up which she did after the fourth ring.

“Who is this?”

While you were grateful the phone was picked up, it wasn’t who you wanted to answer.

“I-it’s (y/n). I-i-i’m just calling from a d-different number. I-Is M-MJ home?”

You knew all the adults were staring at you and as much as it made your skin itch and crawl, you didn’t care about it as much as you cared about talking to MJ.

There was shuffling on the other side so you could only assume that her mother was traveling around their apartment.

“Thank goodness. I thought you died or something,” she chuckled.

A smile rose to your face before you could even think about it.

“I mean, close but no.”

“I-You know what? I’m not even gonna ask.”

“It’ll probably be on the news by the end of this week anyway.”

You had finally relaxed into the couch and pulled your knees to your chest. You could still feel them staring holes in your skull and it was making you feel like you were exposed and vulnerable.

It was silent for a moment before you heard let out a sigh MJ let out a sigh.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Do you wanna come over and talk about it?”

You let out a hum before answering, “I can’t”

“Why? A-are you hurt? If so, I can come over there and-”

“No. I literally cannot-”

“It’s not a big deal. I can-”

“I’m in another state.” There was a pause on the other side of the call. “Or country. I-I don’t know where I am.”

You heard the girl clear her throat before taking a deep breath, obviously processing what you just told her.

“So that’s what you meant when you said-”

“Yeah…”

You clicked your tongue a couple of times, wondering what was going through Michelle’s head at the moment as the silence lingered.

“I guess you’re not in Kansas anymore.”

You let out a small chuckle, something you only seemed to do in MJ’s presence.

“No longer in Kansas.”

The conversation could no longer continue as you heard your friend’s mom yell for her.

“Well, I gotta go.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

The two of you never said ‘goodbye’ to each other not wanting it to feel like it was the ending of something.

You handed the phone back to Clint’s wife and made your trek back to the stairs before you stopped.

“Where am I exactly?”

The archer blinked owlishly at you while you stared at him with a raised eyebrow. You shrugged before continuing your way to the room you were staying in.

“Eh. I’ll figure it out.”

“What’s that even supposed to mean?”

“You’ll see.”

-

They left. Again. Not surprising.

You should be used to it by now. They had people to save anyway.

It was late at night and you couldn’t sleep--what’s new?

You didn’t want to bother anyone but you just couldn’t stand the commotion. You couldn’t stand that being the only thing you’re focused on.

You decided to go to the kitchen to see if Laura needed help with anything considering she did just have a whole team of unexpected guests.

The scene downstairs, kind of seemed… upsetting to you. The lights were dimmed, it was quiet, and the woman you were searching for was hunched over a cup of tea.

“Are you okay?”

Stupid question.

The brunette’s head snapped up and she met your gaze. Her eyes held a melancholy undertone in them and you just couldn’t imagine what was swirling in her mind.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

You took a seat next to her on the couch and fiddled with your hands.

“I just… worry sometimes, you know?”

“Yeah. Clint can be an idiot sometimes.”

You both shared a chuckle but the deafening silence still returned. The air flowing through the home could be heard. You could probably hear the kids’ breathing if you tried hard enough.

“Why are you still up?”

“Why are you still up? Isn’t that like, bad for the baby or something?”

Through the corner of your sight, you could see Laura shaking her head at you as a small smile danced across her lips.

“I asked first.”

You let out a sigh and shrugged your shoulders.

“Just...couldn’t sleep I guess.”

The woman nods in response and takes a sip of her tea. It was obvious to her that something else was on your mind but she didn’t pry and you were thankful for that.

Instead, she just grabbed the remote and turned the television on, an episode from the sitcom Living Single playing quietly.

A weight was felt on Laura’s shoulder and she looked down to see the young teenager resting with small breaths escaping her parted lips. The woman was careful to free an arm and wrap it around your shoulders, you subconsciously snuggling in further.

-

Walking down the halls of the compound, you searched all the doors. As you reached one, you raised your fist to knock only for the door to fly open before you could.

You clear your throat before looking towards the ground.

“May I, may I come in?”

The person nods and you hesitantly step inside the room and take a seat at the desk.

“I’m sorry about your brother.”

“Me too,” Wanda nods.

There was this awkward, tense silence that just floated through the room that seemed almost impossible to get rid of. It was suffocating.

“I’m sorry about the uhhh, whole mind thing.”

You too nodded in response and gave your reassurance, your mind focused on her accent. It was comforting to say the least.

It had been at least two weeks after the whole ultron thing. Tony was obviously oblivious to what happened to you.

When he ignored or neglected you, it was like a paper cut--never acknowledged or thought about until something provokes it.

You had passed the witch a few times in passing, but never truly held a conversation with her.

You knew of the passing of her brother and you knew how hard it was--is to lose a loved one. Especially if that loved one was the only one that made you feel like you weren’t completely and utterly alone.

“I know it’s not my place to say but,” you paused to take a deep breath. “Don’t let this hold you back. I-I was never given the chance to grieve my m-mom properly and, and I don’t want what happened to me to happen to you, I guess.”

At this point, you felt like you were just spitballing. You figured she already knew what was going on in your head so why not just be open about it.

“And I’m pretty sure the others will come around. Clint seemed to like you.”

The corner of Wanda’s mouth lifted a little and she gave a breathy laugh.

“And I guess, I like you too.”

“Thanks.”

You took a moment to gather yourself before heading towards the door.

“I guess I’ll see you around.”

-

“So to recap, you were kidnapped by a robot with murderous tendencies, got your mind manipulated by an enhanced individual, and now you’re living and somewhat acquaintances with said ‘enhanced individual’.”

“Yeah, that’s about it.”

Michelle chuckled in response and shook her head in disbelief.

“That’s crazy.”

You shrugged with a frown and scooted closer to her. Your shoulders were touching but neither of you moved.

“Eh, I’m kind of getting used to the crazy.”

You were watching the stars on the roof of her building again. MJ brought some snacks and a blanket which the two of you were currently snuggled up in.

The food was eaten quite quickly and silence was quick to wash over the two of you. But the silence wasn’t like it was with Wanda or even Laura. With MJ it was a peaceful and serene moment; like the two of you were in this indestructible bubble that only you two were allowed in. With her you felt safe.

You turned your head towards Michelle only to find her already looking at you. Both of your faces heated up but neither of you could look away. Instead, grins rose to both of your faces before the girl pulled you closer to her.

Yeah. Michelle was home.

----------------

Taglist

@leahnicole1219 @thebadasssass @littlegasps @lengendarymcnuggies @stillmanicc​

[nightswithkookmin]

Heyyyy I hope you're feeling better now I've missed you😂😂

Well you're the first blogger whose entire timeline I read when I started shipping jikook

On a recent post you agreed to sizzlingpatrolfox 's comments on jikooks relationship timeline about them dating only since 2019 or the assumptions about them living together. I'd love to hear you elaborate on that. Because I've believed that they've been dating for a very long time now so to hear that some of Yall believe they've been together since 2019 got me curious as the how you view their story.

I did??? 👀

Was I high or sommin? lol.

Must have been worms on mi brain child.

Seriously though, I don't think that was the bits of her piece I was agreeing to....

That much should have been pretty obvious since I've shared on here my Jikook timelines and dating theories a countless times and it certainly predates 2019😫

I've even gone back and forth with her on this a few times in the past. It's not my job to convince anyone Jikook is real or spell out the details of how they are real. I'm just here to ship, support and go my merry way. You can come with if you want. Good vibes only.

All that matters to me is that their bond isn't invalidated at the end of the day. As for the specifics we can agree to disagree on it.

We all base our opinions and perspective on information available to us and we filter those pieces of information through our personal experiences and understanding of the intricacies of human relationships. That's her perspective and I respect that. I don't agree with it but I'm not vehemently against it too cos free speech.

I could poke a ton of holes in her argument but frankly I don't wanna do that back forth

My ghetto days are behind me.

And quite frankly I just love to listen to or read alternative theories sometimes. I think diversity of thought is a beautiful thing. For all you know, she may be right and I could be wrong or someone else could be right and we are both wrong.

Anything is possible in this realm of delulu.

Since Jikook isn't officially out, I think we are all allowed to have perspectives on them as unique as those perspectives may be and I really don't think anyone is right or wrong when it comes to these things because we all don't know.

There are those who don't believe Jikook are dating at all. Some who think it's a possibility but aren't sure. Some who think they started dating from day one, 2015 and now 2019. In a few years to come someone will jump up and say they only started dating in 2020 or 2021 or 2023💀

If you've been in the fandom long enough these things aren't suprising. At the end of the day you just have to stick to your truth and this 2019 stuff simply isn't my truth.

Not because I'm obnoxious. I just tend to like my perspective on things a lot better most of the time because I trust my intuition and my analytical mind- it's one of my best features- if I say so myself😏

Of course, that's until I find someone else's opinion I like and prefer even more so than my own and then I'm kicking my delulu perspective to the curb😎

As it stands, I don't like her perspective more than my own unfortunately because that would leave a lot of plot holes in my head and would require me to pretend certain things that I saw and that I thought happened all those years before 2019 didn't happen.

It would require me to play dumb, disorient myself, play with my own intelligence, lie to myself, bamboozle myself, bulldoze my brain into seeing what is not there, believe illusions, and strip away my own experiences of sexuality. And that sounds ound like a lot of work to me so....

I'll stick to my own delusions.

There's no need to stress my brain like that

Jikook is really not hard to read. Whether you wanna read them as enemies to lovers, friends to lovers- they really aren't hard to read. They are either screwing or not screwing. In which case they are just really good friends who lack emotional boundaries and do really questionable things.

Whatever they are, they know it best.

All I know is...

they've. been. done. the. gay.

No one can convince me they weren't doing the gay before 2019. It's just not realistic. They had plenty of opportunities, and had the right incentive to do the gay from day 1

With all the time they lived together, I don't think they'd suppressed their hormonal teenage urges out of the goodness of their gay hearts or out of regards for the rules to wait till 2019 to decide it's the right time to fuck💀

Neither of them strike me as the patient type. Hell it's not even two years and the memory of performing on stage is fading from them and shit. Whatever sexual tension was brewing between them all those years would have dissipated if not acted upon or kept alive. Y'all heard Tae Kook talk of drifting apart right??? And they lived and worked together for years. YEARS.

Jimin constantly talking about how Jungkook flirts with him even casually- unless Jungkook was practicing flirting on Jimin and Jimin offered up himself to be used for flirting exercises by him-

I'm sorry but I don't have that much faith in men to believe that two boys waited that long to consummate shit. Much less two gay men. Much less two teenage gay Idols from Korea. Much less Jimin and Jungkook.

Especially Jungkook.

They did it your honor.

Jikook did the gay😢

Personally, I think in 2019 they were gearing towards the end of a journey not the beginning of one. Sis was just late to the party if you ask me. The best of Jikook is behind us not ahead- as far as the crazy stuff they do goes- its when they had less attention on them and when they were young naive reckless and driven by childish desires.

As they mature, as they head towards adulthood they have to dream a future, assume responsibilities, develop life goals and career paths, decide if living together is good for them, decide if coming out ever is on the table, decide if a relationship is feasible or just their fantasy.

There's a lot of adulting that's gonna go into their relationship. A lot of negotiations, a lot of we are not kids anymore are we doing this or not and where are we going with this. And to me, 2019 marks the shift in that trajectory.

Unless they decide to reinvent themselves and put some of us to shame... But then with this whole everyone suspecting they are gay thingy- good luck catching their best innocent carefree young love phase- which in my opinion happened a long time ago. Long before 2019💀

If they only started dating in 2019 then let's all agree at the very least that they were having vigorous gay sex before 2019🙂

I think it's an interesting perspective to have. But as I said, I see that particular time of 2019 as them being on a precipice, at an end of something that slowly begins as the dawn of another. Zero O'clock if you will.

2020 and 2021 has been and to me still is a transitioning period if I were to psychoanalyze them or look through my crystal balls🤣🤣🤣

It's a lot of individualism, putting the individual needs first, a period where each is embarking on a journey to rediscover themselves and find themselves. I've said it before and they each have been affirming it. From Jungkook asserting himself to Jimin working on himself.

Jimin recently talked about thinking a lot of his life purpose. He went through a similar phase in 2018 when the members later revealed they were thinking of disbanding.

Whatever is going on in their personal lives behind the cameras we don't know but it is clearly impacting all of them in subtle yet obvious ways. Let's not make too much of it and just enjoy the ride.

When that ship docks we can all reflect on it retrospectively. As I said, I don't like to theorize about a period when it's ongoing. 201 to this day and beyond is a dark phase for all of us with the pandemic looming over our heads. If they started something in this period damn for them. Really, damn for them. Because it's not gonna be as fun for them with the depressions their dealing with and shit. And shit.

If they started dating in 2019- was it before or after Jungkook's dating scandal? Or Jimin's Paris Scandal? Or Rosebowl or their new Jersey Vlive? Or MAMA, or Jins bdae Or Bon V 4? Were they together during bon v 4? Just curious.

Then there's the issue of boundaries that suddenly appeared within certain dynamics before 2019 which all pointed to a shift in Jikook's dynamic... I wouldn't know what to do with that.

When we say Jikook are dating, it's not just because they look happy together at a given time. It's a culmination of a lot of things especially as pertains to their dynamic with the other members and even the company.

In my opinion of course.

We are in a phase of rediscovery. I'm talking them refalling in love, or reconnecting, rediscovering things they like about eachother, re trying to spark things up or bring back old memories or things they both used to do or loved to do etc

It's Jimin reminding Jk during live, hey remember when we did this and that etc. I think I've talked about this???🤔

No?

I'm looking at Jungkook mostly to see what his energy is about. I don't know yet.

Jimin talks about wanting to get through his day at work so he can go home. He stays on the couch mostly, or goes to the gym and what not. He says he's changed in certain ways especially his being on his own- at first he'd talked about how he couldn't be alone by himself but now he says he's not like that anymore. He got his own place. He's fixing things on himself he didn't mind to fix before- there's a lot going on with him on an individual level and it shows. As a unit, him and Jungkook, not so much. And I can't tell if it's by design or sheer accident.

I'm waiting for Soop.

I respect the lessons this period presents to them and I love how much they are each changing and growing individually and however anyone wants to interpret it is equally admissible.

GOLDY

[liquid-luck-00]

My Life is One Complication After Another 2

Some cursing 🤬

Ao3 *** Previous *** Next

~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay so where were we?" she smiled turning and sitting back down with Fang.

"As Damian had asked are you in reality my biological child," Bruce took back control automatically.

"You can't be serious Brucie!" Jagged went and began to squish Mari's face. "This little ray of sunshine related to your broody majesty. I don't buy it."

"I am not broody Jared." Bruce defended.

"I'll believe that when Ladybug dates Chat Noir." he joked.

"So it is possible" Bruce responded with a straight face.

Now it was Mari's turn to laugh, "Not a chance. Ladybug and Chat Noir dating is as possible as Atlantis resurfacing." she finally stopped laughing. The Wayne's tensed as if they knew more than others about Atlantis. "I honestly don't know if I am your child. I have no objections to taking a paternity test if you want, but I already have parents who love and support me, but I am not opposed to adding to my family though." she again smiled like the sunshine she is.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng What the Hell!?!" Chloe screamed storming into the room.

"What did I do!"

"How are you trending and you never told me" she gave a mock gasp.

However it was not the same for Mari. "I'm what." She opened her phone and sure enough she was trending. "How did this happen?"

She went into the first article she could and backtracked, through the sources and timestamps. Then it all made sense. She was on the Ladyblog, an interview with Lila claiming she was friends with a Wayne. The media then believing her a lost Wayne which explains why she is sitting with the Waynes and them asking about her paternity.

"How did you not know. M."

"All my accounts are private and I've been busy. But this explains the reporters now huh."

"M you are ridiculous, utterly ridiculous" Chloe grumbled. She was now sitting on the armrest Mari was leaning against next to Jagged. "At least tell me you remembered to send the photos and interview." Mari sprung up, Fang having sensed the impending jump. "logged into my laptop" Chloe yelled throwing her key to Mari.

"Meet you at the hospital. 20 minutes. bye" she yelled as she ran down the hall taking the stairs faster.

Chloe and Penny got up followed by Jagged heading to the door.

"Whatcha wait'n for Brucie come on" Jagged called to the billionaire.

Slowly the Waynes stood and followed the others to the hospital, sharing looks and texts the entire time.

True to her word Marinette met with them 20 minutes later on the dot in the hospital.

Both Marinette and Bruce had a blood sample and a mouth swab taken. The doctor then came back an hour later with the results.

"Alright. By the genetic markers that were tested. I can say quite confidently that M. Wayne is the biological father of Mlle. Dupain-Cheng." The doctor handed them a folder. "I'II leave you to process."

Marinette didn't need long to process. In fact her only thought was, Well one more for the list. Everyone in the room was watching her. "Okay" she jumped down from the bench, crap. Forgot about that. Her smile never faltered but her eyes were closed a second too long.

In that second Chloe had taken her purse and was holding up a pair of athletic gloves. “Care to explain!” She held the gloves waving them towards Marinette.

"Um, Well, You see" Marinette started to mumble.

"Why don't you explain in the car" Penny came to her rescue.

"We'll get Pizza and have a Rock' n time" Jagged lightened the mood.

Everyone nodded, walking out Mari kept her hands in her pocket. She was putting on her second pair of gloves, Tikki in her hood, she needed to think and running always helped. Mari was only a few yards away when Chloe noticed, Mari spun to face her when she heard her.

"Red!" Chloe yelled. She noticed how two boys froze, Jason and Tim if she is correct.

"Goldie!" she responded, not missing a beat. She heard Chloe behind her.

"Cat." Penny stated.

"Bird." responded Jagged further confusing the Waynes as they neared the hotel.

Tim was the first who noticed the two girls in front of the hotel. Meaning he was on his phone mapping and timing the route.

"Pizza will be delivered in 10." Mari spoke as the other seven stepped out of the car.

The two girls went ahead of them, but instead of the elevator they took the stairs.

Half way through the second of three pizza did Tim finally speak. "How did you two get back so fast." Tim set down his Pizza as he began to gesture frantically. "There is no way for you guys to have beat as it is a fifteen minute drive and a 30 minute walk, 20 if you run. Wait how did you get there in 20 minutes with a detour." Tim surprisingly still had breath.

"The fastest way from point A to B is not through C." Was Marinette's response as she took a bite. Yet that didn't seem like a sufficient answer as her now brother's eyebrows were still knit in confusion, so she took a breath and said. "Free running, it's a great stress reliever." she finished.

"What did you hit this time?" Jagged gave her a semi serious look.

"I didn't hit anything," a pout on her lips. "The pigeon flew into me."

Dick started laughing "she is definitely yours B, I can say for sure even without that paternity test." Another two hours had passed before she noticed the time and bid everyone goodbye. She gave her number to her father and brothers, Damian begrudgingly because Dick put it in and gave it to Mari.

Her parents had closed early for a date so she was home alone. She went to the couch to sketch a few gift ideas for her newly extended family. She was finishing a semi formal coat with a hidden sling for a katana for Damian. He kept grumbling that if he had it, the way the sword appeared in his akuma form, and she is pretty sure Jason's jokes were more literal by everyone's expressions. When her parents came home.

"Bon soir Maman, Papa," she cheerily greeted them.

"How was your day sweetheart." her Papa smiled kissing the top of her head.

"I met a handful of interesting people." she really didn't know how to broach this subject.

"What's wrong sweetie," her mother must have noticed her be uncomfortable. She sat down next to Mari, and her papa sat across from them.

"Did someone or did these people hurt you." her papa's words began to ring with a hard edge.

"Non, nothing like that. It's just, um," bitting her lip then looking up. "Your not my biological father, are you?"

Her parents froze, and had a silent conversation.

"Marinette, your biological father is an important and busy man. Who has no time for children." Her Maman spoke gently and calmly. "His name is Bruce Wayne."

Okay hold up, she tilted her head empathizing her confusion. "He didn't seem to bad, in fact he has four boys."

"That was who you met today," her papa affirmed, seemingly surprised.

She nodded her head and told them what had occurred today, leaving out the akuma and her free running. When she finished her parents once again held a silent conversation.

"Why don't we invite him over tomorrow for lunch. While you show his boys around." her maman smiled.

"Okay I'll send them a message then." Mari smiled taking out her phone.

Tomorrow will be interesting.

But first she had to survive tonight.

Tonight Ladybug, Todd Tenko, and Emeraude Racer were on patrol. Meaning she had the evening with the Couffaine siblings. Since both were holders it wasn't uncommon for them to swap. Meaning Luka would either be Todd or Viperion, and Juleka could be either Racer or Kitsune.

They each knew what was their designated route, and because of the akuma sent earlier the chance of Hawkmoth striking again was less likely. Each one of the heroes went their separate ways and made their rounds. So when the three heroes went to their rendezvous at Notre Dame's bell tower it ways almost two hour later. However, she noticed she had a tail when she passed the Eiffel tower. So she called Todd and Racer to set an illusion and ambush at the bell tower.

When she stepped on the bell towers stopped in the center and so did her tail with four others, forming a 'v" behind her. Todd's illusion left a Ladybug in the center of the tower while she moved to an ambush point. Four figures swung in and stood at each corner, a Todd Tenko, Emeraude Racer, Honey Bee, and Chat Noir.

"Shouldn't all of you be in Gotham?" Ladybug asked for her.

That seemed to take the vigilantes in her city by surprise.

"We heard about the situation and we just want to help." Nightwing, she is pretty sure, spoke up.

Chat Noir scoffed, "huh as if we would believe that."

"Tt. believe what you want. That is the truth." Robin spoke this time. Interesting.

"Yes after being ignored and called liars for three years really builds trust." Honey Bee's hand curled on her top as she spoke.

Batman seemed like he was going say something, but she jumped down from her perch breaking the Ladybug illusion. As they watched her materialize fifty feet up, followed by Racer and Todd flanking her mere seconds later.

"Todd," her eyes never left the five in front of her as she spoke.

"What!" Red Hood jumped in surprise, "How?"

"Curious. But Todd," this time she turned. "can you drop Mirage." Her teammate nodded and the four illusions disappeared. "Do you need to recharge?"

"Already did LB", he smiled.

"Okay," she pulled out her yoyo, and a box fell out into her hands. "who wants a snack before heading back out."

"Me!" Racer rushed to the box pulling out a strawberry eclair.

It is almost a good thing she always makes eight eclairs for patrol. Seriously she makes two for those on patrol, but after Adrien always left them with one and ate four, did she start bringing more.

Before leaving to do a final sweep of patrol. The three Parisian heroes spoke with the visiting vigilantes.

"We could send them Pinky's way," Ladybug responded to Batman's ask for more information.

"Do you think that's smart?" Todd asked.

"Who is Pinky?" Red Robin stepped into the conversation.

"She is our civilian contact and reserve hero." Racer answered.

"Why isn't she a permeant hero?" Nightwing brought up the question.

"Her identity was compromised but and we aren't sure how many know. So she is kept an back up." she answered.

"Who is she and how do we contact her?" Batman demanded or asked in his case.

"She is Multimouse, her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng." All of them seemed to flinch and paled slightly. "And she'll find you."

The three Parisians stood and left.

Yup, tomorrow is going to be interesting.

Extra:

“So was I supposed to find out the Wayne’s were the Bats on my own or would you have told me?” Mari scolded her boyfriend over video call when she got home from patrol.

“I knew you were smart but less than a day you really are a lucky bug.” He smirked at her.

She crossed her arms and glared at him.

“Okay, okay.” He rose his hands in surrender. “But how did you figure it out anyways?”

“Apart from Tim and Jason flinching when Chloe called me Red, Damian’s katana grumbles and Tt., Jason freaking out because Todd was on patrol with me, and all of them paling at my name. It wasn’t to hard to piece together after that.” She shrugged.

“You know you’re scary sometimes right?” He feigned chills a goofy grin on his face.

“You love me though.” She teased him.

“I know I do but I know to keep in your good graces.” He responded now completely serious. “By the way, why was my idiot in Paris?” '

“I apparently made headlines a a lost Wayne.” She waved. “Which has more truth than the media knows apparently.”

“You’re serious!”

“Turns out your idiot is my adoptive idiot brother.”

“So are you related to Dick or Tim?”

“Try Damian.”

“To Demon Spawn! How?!”

“Bruce is my biological father.”

“The bug is a bat. Great!” he rolled his eyes, “I knew you weren’t normal but this is ridiculous.”

“You aren’t exactly normal yourself.” She replied pointedly.

“Ya but you love me.” His goofy grin was back.

“Yes I do.” She smiled in return.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

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