#because I think they’d weasel him into doing stuff with them that he doesn’t understand at all. like. he can not for the life of him

[designernishiki]

friend and I have been talking about the concept of an alternate timeline where they didn’t kill off mine and instead, while laying low and trying to unlearn being Evil basically, as both penance for his actions and as a tojo-mandated involuntary vacation, he’s sent to okinawa (with some sort of supervision, of course) to work for morning glory. ie; mr. orphan hater has to help babysit orphans to pay for his orphan-related crimes and hopefully learn something in the process. shenanigans ensue.

[forthehpfanboys]

Admirable

Pair: Harry Potter x Reader; he/him.

Summary: Harry convinces you that you’re worth it.

Warnings: Kinda Smutty (MDI), kinda fluffy, swears.

Fluff Prompt 21 and Smut Prompt 44: “Say one more bad thing about yourself! I dare you! Go on! Do it and I’ll give you the biggest fucking hug!” and “I wish you could see just how beautiful you are.” 

~DO NOT REPOST ANYWHERE~

-

Harry strolled out of class, happy for it to finally be over. The bickering of his friends had him rolling his eyes so hard he wondered if they’d pop out of his skull. Personally, he didn’t care enough to argue over the importance of stirring a potion in the correct direction, so he left them be. He looked behind him, noting how Ron and Hermione were still packing their stuff while chewing each other out, before looking down the hall to the many students heading to their next classes. That was when he noticed the figure on the floor through the reflection of his glasses. 

You were sitting on the floor, across the hall from the entrance to the classroom. His green eyes followed your gaze, which was casted down to your hands that were fiddling with the sleeves of your robe. Harry found himself wondering what caused you to sit on the cold tiles of the dungeon, clearly battling with the thoughts plaguing your head. He knew you had a free period while he had potions, so it must’ve happened within that free time.

When Harry turned to his friends, who had stopped bickering at this point and stood just beside him, they gave him an understanding nod, to which he returned with a soft smile and a wave. The pair hurried off to give you guys your space, both hoping you were ok. So, with a deep breath, Harry took the last few steps to stand in front of you and sat down to your right. When you didn’t look up, he reached out for one of your hands and separated your hand from your sleeve and held it gently.

“Love? Are you ok?” Harry asked, a soft grin on his face. He didn’t want to be too intrusive, but he knew something was up. He let out the breath through his nose when you looked at him. He noticed the puffiness of your eyes and the redness of your nose.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just um,” you paused to lick over your lips, “Malfoy starting stuff, like usual. I’m fine.” Your voice was nasally. You’d been crying. Harry gripped your hand harder when he realized you’d been alone when you were at your most vulnerable.

“That’s why the weasel wasn’t in class.” Harry grumbled to himself. He gently gripped your chin with his other hand and began looking for any cuts, bruises or hints of damage to your profile. “He didn’t touch you, did he? Merlin, if he did, I’ll kill him.”

You couldn’t help but give him a small smile. He was always protective of you. He loved you, he needed you and longed for the day the two of you could be safe and happy and sharing an apartment somewhere and getting a dog and-

“No, no. He didn’t touch me, Harry.” You gently pulled his hand from your chin to plant a soft kiss against his palm that made his heart flutter in his chest and a blush to spread across his cheeks. 

“Then what did he do?” Harry tilted his head, but immediately regretted it when his hair fell into his eyes. He tried to shake it out of the way, but stopped when you reached up to move it for him.

“Just started talking shit. Said I was worth less than the gum on the floor of muggle bathrooms, said you deserved better than a mudblood.” You shrugged like it was no big deal. “Said the Chosen One should be with someone of a worthy status and that you’re wasting time on someone as low as me. It just got me thinking.”

Harry’s eyebrow twitched during your short story. His hand not holding yours clenched tight enough his dull nails dug into his palms and his knuckles turned white.

“Thinking what?” He hoped his voice didn’t give way to his frustration, but it still managed to show it’s way in. He dug his teeth into his bottom lip when your eyebrows furrowed together. He didn’t want to make you feel worse. He swallowed thickly when you hesitated to answer.

“Thinking he might be right. I mean- I’m no one, Harry. Why do you love me? I’m not the brightest, or the funniest, or anything special.” You leaned your head back against the rough bricks of the dungeon, ignoring how it caught and tugged on your hair. You chewed on the inside of your cheek before continuing. “I mean, even Malfoy has better grades than I do, and if that twat can ace deviation, I’m fuc-” Before you could finish, Harry all but exploded.

“Say one more bad thing about yourself! I dare you! Go on! Do it and I’ll give you the biggest fucking hug!” Harry shouted, his finger jabbing into your chest. This fucker was challenging you and it managed to lighten your mood a smidgen. You looked between his finger and his challenging eyes. “No, don’t you dare!” He shouted when you slowly opened your mouth to say something.

“Mr. Potter! Would you like to explain why you are shouting in front of my classroom?”

Harry looked up at Snape, blinking dumbly a few times before he responded.

“Well, for starters, they don’t exactly keep chairs in the hallways, so we must sit on the floor, professor.” He spoke smugly while you hid a laugh behind your hand. “And I’m only shouting because it’s necessary. My boyfriend doesn’t quiet understand he’s the best thing that has every happened to me and it’s hurting my feelings.”

“I could not care less about the complications of your relationship, Potter, but must I give you another detention for your insufferable lip necessary?” Snape raised an eyebrow at the silence. “I thought not. Please leave my classroom alone and handle your,” his nose crunched up, ”love life else were.” He shut the door behind him dramatically as he turned and returned to his classroom, flinging the door shut behind him. 

“Arse.” Harry muttered, standing up. He held a hand out to you after dusting himself off. Once you took it, he helped you stand up. The noirette wrapped an arm around your waist as he led you down the hall. “Seriously though, don’t focus on what Malfoy said. He’s got less brain cells than the boulder holding up Hagrid’s hut.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the comparison and lean into his side. You slid your hand through the opening of his robe so you could rest your hand against his rear as you walked side by side.

“You’re not wrong, hun.” You said, giving his butt a few playful taps before wiggling your hand into his back pocket. You didn’t have to look at him to know he was gawking at you. A satisfied grin stretched across your lips.

“Oh, so you’re feeling better, yeah?” Harry’s sassy tone had you breaking out into a fit of giggles again. “Then how about we head up my dorm? We could do a bit of snuggling or snogging-”

“Why does British slang always involve an s?”

“Hush! I’m trying to be romantic!” Harry whined, bumping his hip against yours. You were worried for a second you’d actually pissed him off, but his beaming smile countered his whiny tone easily. With a roll of his eyes, he continued. “I could show you how much I just- I adore you.” 

“Yeah, that isn’t cheesy at all.” You sassed, your eyes rolling dramatically. Before long, the two of you passed by the dinning hall and straight up the moving staircases to the Gryffindor common room. You spoke the password, barely giving the women in the portrait a second to begin her famous rants. 

Once you stepped in, Harry grabbed your wrist, tugging you against him and slamming his lips against yours. His hand cupped your cheek gently, a stark contrast to the way he nipped at your lip, not caring who saw. You fell into the kiss easily, much like you always did. Your arms wrapped around his waist while he slowly backed you up against the wall just in front of the stairs.

Your hands gripped solely onto his school robes when his hips began to grind into yours. A hum vibrated between your lips before his tongue managed to slip between your teeth. He could feel your cheeks heating up from the very, very short distance and, after dominating your mouth with his tongue, he slowly pulled back. 

His emerald eyes ran along your now swollen lips and half lidded eyes and lazy grin. He reached up, gently swiping his thumb along your lips to wipe the saliva away from the messy kiss. 

“Are you feeling better?” Harry smiled when you nodded your head and planted a soft kiss against the pad of his thumb before taking it into your mouth. The Chosen One shivered when your tongue slid against his skin. “Godric, I wish you could see just how beautiful you are.” His voice was a lazy purr, his eyes getting darker the longer he watched you have your fun. “Come on, let’s head up so I can show you.”

[spencerspecifics]

Okay i got this idea while talking to @criminalmindsvibez earlier and I just h a d to write it out

Imagine: the team taking one of those “teamwork building” days during the fall and Hotch has no clue what the team could do together to build their teamwork morale because they’ve literally had to save each other from murderers in a time sensitive manner so like??? Wtf are they supposed to do? Solve a jigsaw puzzle? So Garcia gets the task of figuring out what to do and she decides pumpkin patch/corn maze because fuck it. It’s fall.

-they get to the pumpkin patch, immediately Rossi is like “I don’t need to buy a pumpkin. It’ll end up rotting on my doorstep”

- Garcia points out that doesn’t help the team morale so he better quiet down

-he shuts up, they get inside the farm area and the entire team is just sorta standing around cuz when is the last time any of them went to a patch??? They aren’t sure of where to start. There’s stands that sell apple cider and hot coco and kettle corn and there’s some hinky dinky country music playing in the background. It’s nice but they have no clue where to start

-Garcia decides to take over, because fuck it, she got put in charge of this, and Hotchner looks like a fish out of water. Put him in a beauracratic setting and the man knows how to operate, but this? He looks so lost, it’s almost funny. Garcia’ll command this group of idiot life savers.

- she decides the team should start in the corn maze, that sorta helps the team morale. They gotta find a way to get out, after all. Spencer doesn’t want to go in until he sees a map of it, though, so he can check where they are. So they have to awkwardly go to an employee and ask where the map of the corn maze is located

-Derek finds it in a pamphlet that the employee handed to him, he gave it over to Spencer, who gladly accepts it and stares at it for what feels like two seconds before being like “ok let’s go”

-even though finding that damn map took like ten minutes because the pumpkin patch has so many customers so employees are all over the place. So everyone is like “goddamnit dude” at spencer before moving ahead into the maze

- Derek and Garcia take the lead, Spencer in the middle, then J.J. and Emily towards the back, with Hotch and Rossi in the very back.

-Hotch doesn’t wanna have to take charge of how to get through the maze unless absolutely necessary

-J.J. and Emily just end up having some very much needed girl talk while Garcia and Derek bicker about which way to go

- “Get a babysitter so we can have a girls night” “I’ll do that when you call that hot british dude that you met at the bar last week back” “I don’t need him. I have Sergio.” “Cats don’t replace real relationships with people, emily.”

-meanwhile Derek and Garcia aren’t sure which way to go. “Let’s take a left.” “No, we just went that way. We should take a right.” “That just keeps us in the middle, doll ” “isn’t that what we want?!”

-Meanwhile, the entire time, Spencer has been thinking of the turns and loops and steps they’ve taken and calculated exactly where within the maze they are based on the map

-Eventually Spencer takes charge, after Derek made them take two dead end turns, “Guys- no, we’re towards the edge of the maze. The quickest way to the end is through the center, so we need to go back and take two rights, then a left.”

-Hotch and Rossi are just walking through in silence for the most part, taking in the scenery around them. The crisp autumn air, it’s nice. They do break their silence for conversations. They speak about Jack’s upcoming soccer game, and how tiring it can be to work with children.

- “I’ve never been more grateful that my three ex wives and I never ended up with kids- god, it’s enough going to see Jack’s stuff and help coach the team.” “You have no obligation to show up if you don’t want to, Dave. If it’s too much I understand.” “Aaron, I would rather get arrested for a murder I didn’t commit and convicted before leaving Jack’s games.”

-Garcia ends up falling back with the girls, where the conversation shifts to Prentiss talking about how much the corn maze reminds her of the children of the corn movie

-“ew! Why did you have to say that! All their parents end up dead! That’s so sad!” “Garcia, it’s the corn that reminds me of the movie” “Well duh- we’re in a cornfield! But don’t think about that movie. Think about something nicer.”

-Prentiss is drawing a blank on nice fall themed things, so J.J. pipes up with “what about that Charlie Brown movie?” Garcia points out that doesn’t take place in a corn field

-“well. Only corn field movie that’s coming to mind is children of the corn.” So emily continues to talk a bit about it to J.J., all while making Garcia want to run away because “Ew no it’s such a sad movie! Let’s talk about something nicer!”

-Meanwhile Derek and Spencer are solely up front, Spencer is using that big dumptruck of a brain of his to know exactly which turns to take. Derek’s just walking alongside him, trying to weasel from flirting into conversation casually

-“how about after this I get you some cider, pretty boy?” “Do you know cider on average has to ferment for fifteen days?” Spencer isn’t really listening, if that isn’t already obvious. He heard what Derek said, but he’s just thinking of every next twist and turn they have to take to get out. So he isn’t very conversative

-meanwhile the girls have changed conversation topics to what kind of pumpkins J.J. should get Henry (this conversation change was obviously brought on by Garcia) “you should get him a cute tiny one! That would be so adorable” emily on the other hand is saying to get one bigger than him “wouldn’t it be funny to have a pumpkin taller than henry?”

-J.J. doesn’t know which size pumpkin she’ll get for Henry. But she lets emily and Garcia sway her opinion in both directions, because a comically large pumpkin would be funny. But one as small as Henry would be adorable

-meanwhile the old men duo in the back are still just enjoying their walk. Hotch had mentioned how Jack would’ve loved to come to the patch, before silence fell over them again. Rossi asked a few moments later if Hotch knows if jack’s school would be taking a field trip to the patch, “I’m not sure. I’m assuming they will.” Rossi doesn’t say anything more, but he secretly plans on double checking that, emailing the school, and explaining that he and Hotch would like to be volunteers on the trip. He’d like to see that happen.

-Derek hasn’t fully given up on his flirting game with Spencer. But he’s holding off for now, as Spencer is way too focused on the maze layout. So much so that he started mapping out in his mind where the best spot to place a body would be as an unsub. “If someone was to drop a body in here- the ideal location would be the upper left sides second dead end. Geographically, it’s the farthest point from landmarks and least traveled area within the maze.”

-Garcia hears that and butts in, “No murder talk! No dead body talk- there is no dead body! Today is supposed to be a good day! Shut off your brain for one day, Spencer”

-Spencer doesn’t say anything more about the best spot within the maze to dump a body, though Derek is sure Spencer is bored and thinking out a billion separate scenarios within the maze. Mazes were good for hiding and concealing things, after all

-Garcia accidentally mishears Spencer’s directions of “turn left” and she walks directly into the wall of corn that the maze is made out of

-the team all stops for a second to help her untangle herself out of that before promptly laughing at her

-ok Derek and emily laugh the most, emily tells her to steal an ear of corn “It’s not like they’d miss it. It could be compensation for running into it”. J.J. and Spencer sorta stand there chuckling a lil bit, Hotch and Rossi are more like “as long as you’re all good we should continue on” but they had little smiles on their faces too

-They finally get out! The employees at the exit are like “good job, that was very fast!” And everyone on the team is like “thanks we tried” meanwhile Spencer is standing there thinking “no y’all didn’t I did it cuz I memorized the maze smh”

-the team stays as a unit after that. It wasn’t on purpose, but they all had the same thing in mind, the pumpkin patch

-they walk over there, it’s not too far, immediately Spencer makes his way over to the large containers of pre-picked pumpkins, gourds, thise tiny as hell pumpkins, those white pumpkins, and those red pumpkins. He’s one second away from grabbing a pumpkin at random from the container so he can grab a pumpkin and go, when Derek is like “Hey man what are you doing? You’re not picking from the patch”

-Spencer then has to awkwardly explain how the only times he ever went to the pumpkin patch was in elementary school before he skipped ahead grade wise and the kids in his class made fun of him that day really bad. Like they called him names and left him “trapped” in the corn field (tho he had seen a map and was able to figure his way out easily that time.) and so whenever he has to buy a pumpkin he just gets them from the grocery store because he gets anxious at the thought of coming to a pumpkin patch

-immediately the entire team is like “wtf man you should’ve told us!!! Do you want to leave??? We should leave” and Garcia is immediately like “Spencer I am so sorry oh my god I didn’t know” and he has to sorta awkwardly be like “No it’s ok. I wanted to come. I want to try and get a better memory than last time.”

-Derek pats him on the back for that, “You’ll get much better memories this time, I promise. But let’s get a pumpkin from the actual patch instead of from these containers”

- Derek makes it his soul mission to make sure spencer now has an amazing time in the pumpkin patch. So he stays with him the entire time as they walk around, inspecting pumpkins for just the right one

-meanwhile the girls are looking at the biggest pumpkins possible. Namely Prentiss, she wants to get a big one. “Can you even out that out front of your apartment door?” “I don’t know but I’ll make sure it stays until it rots”

-Hotchner is busy looking for a pumpkin he could bring home for jack to carve, though he does guess that jack would be making his way to the pumpkin patch with his class too. It couldn’t hurt to have a third pumpkin to carve.

-Rossi doesn’t want a pumpkin, he’s already decided that they’re messy and smelly and he doesn’t even like pumpkin seeds or pumpkin pie enough to warrant the mess of cutting and getting the pumpkin guts out. So he just stands and watches

-Garcia notices that immediately and is so not happy with that “you’re serious about not getting a pumpkin?” “I told ya” “ughhh Rossi- you could get a tiny one!” “I don’t wanna carve and deal with a mess” “you don’t have to carve a tiny one!”

-“what’re you thinking pretty boy?” Derek asked Spencer, who had been staring down the same pumpkin for like two minutes, which was definitely unusual. Spencer doesn’t answer, leaning down and picking the pumpkin up instead. “Does it have any abrasions on it?” He asked Derek, as he turns it over in his hands to inspect it. “Not that I can see, no”

-Spencer decides on this pumpkin, and they find some wheelbarrows provided by the farm to put his pumpkin in, they give Hotch the duty of rolling the wheelbarrow around as they meander away from the rest of the group

-Spencer then is like “oh shit. Wait Derek. Your pumpkin. We need to find you one.” Derek just laughs a little bit and is like “I’ll find one lol but you gotta come with me” so Spencer agrees as they go to find one for Derek

-Garcia ends up nearby the tiny pumpkins, deciding to buy at least three to litter her front doorstep with

-she is so distracted she doesn’t even realize rossi making his way over. “You’re right. Those ones are way too small to carve.” He says, she just agrees, “Yes, so you should get some!! C’mon. Get that festive spirit.”

-Hotch shows up pushing the wheelbarrow from behind, listening to the tail end of rossi and Garcia’s bickering match. “You should get some, Dave. It would look nice.”

-That makes rossi cave. He mumbles out a “fine. The things I do for you all, I swear” before picking two up and putting them in the wheelbarrow, next to Spencer’s pumpkin.

-Garcia is b e a m I n g she is very happy with the fact she got this fall grinch into getting a pumpkin. So much so that she ends up getting a fourth tiny one, because damnit they’re too adorable.

-Hotchner still hasn’t found a pumpkin for him and for jack so he’s standing in the patch, still surveying like a lost old man. Garcia and Rossi end up helping him.

-Meanwhile J.J. and emily are looking through the medium sized pumpkins to find something for will and Henry. “I’m thinking a medium sized one, because then it’s sort of a mix of what you and Garcia said.” J.J. explained to Prentiss, who nodded along in agreement.

-the team is all pretty quiet at this point as they try to find their own pumpkins. Derek finds his, a large one that’s very vertically elongated. He takes it back to the wheelbarrow, with Spencer trailing along behind him.

-Hotch finds two round, smaller sized pumpkins. And he decides that those are his, they look great and would be easy enough to carve, so he grabs them up, getting them back into the wheelbarrow

-J.J. finds a medium sized pumpkin for Henry, and two smaller ones for her and will. Meanwhile Prentiss is like “Hey Jayge that Charlie Brown movie is applicable now since we’re in a pumpkin patch” Garcia hears that and is like “y e s good fall vibes yes”

-they finish up in the patch, everyone putting their pumpkins into the wheelbarrow as they head towards the checkout

-Derek pays for Spencer’s pumpkin, saying it’s not a problem

-Spencer literally can’t stop blushing at that even tho it’s the most mundane thing e v e r and it’s adorable

-the team gets their pumpkins sorted and paid, before taking the wheelbarrow back towards the stands that sell cider and hot coco and kettle corn.

-the girls go off to get hot chocolate, Dave and Rossi go to get some bags of kettle corn, and Derek and Spencer go get cider

-“If you make hot coco with anything but milk, it’s evil” “emily what about lactose intolerant people who use water?” “They’re on thin ice.”

-Spencer thanks Derek like five times in a row for helping him get a pumpkin and buying it “you didn’t have to-“ “you better stop talking before I buy you a cider too, pretty boy”

-Derek does buy him a cider in the end, which isn’t any surprise

-Dave and Hotch argue over which type of kettle corn is the best. “It’s caramel, Aaron. Why on earth would cheddar kettle corn be good?” “It’s savory as opposed to sweet, it’s better” “That doesn’t matter if it tastes bad!”

-Garcia ends up coaxing the hot coco barista lady into adding a shit ton of extra chocolate sauce and stuff to her drink

-so much so that it’s literally too sweet for her but she dug her grave she will fuckin lie in it like a winner

-J.J. and emily immediately make fun of her, “I can see the regret in your eyes!”

-the team finishes up buying their drinks, pushing the wheelbarrow out to the parking lot.

-“See, not so bad for a team morale building day after all!” Garcia says happily, she’s glad her idea was a success

-it was. The team is happy, they got hot sweet drinks and bags of delicious food, not to mention a shit ton of pumpkins they shove into the trunk of the SUV

-Spencer’s happy he made new memories at the pumpkin patch, Derek was just happy to help build those for him.

-Garcia’s happy her day went so well, emily is glad she got a pumpkin to carve, J.J.’s happy she got good pumpkins for will and Henry, Hotch is happy that he’s not stuck in a stuffy office building in an uncomfortable suit talking about another murder investigation, and Rossi is happy to be with his found family on a day out

-it was a good day at the pumpkin patch :)

[avatarnao]

Zukka!

who’s the werewolf and who’s the hunter

Sokka would like... 100% be the werewolf. 

I could imagine Zuko riding into town on horseback ala Zuko Alone. 

Maybe Sokka, Katara, and Gran run the local inn together and Sokka’s the overly flirtatious bartender (or something).

Zuko decides to stay in town for a bit (Sokka definitely didn’t talk to him into staying) and begins to hear rumors about strange creatures terrorizing the local sheep and farmers

Zuko like... makes it his mission to track down the creatures and help protect this village with the happy innkeeping family letting him stay there free of charge

Sokka obviously knows Zuko’s trying to hunt him and they have a bunch of encounters in the woods. Katara, also a werewolf, doesn’t trust Zuko and worries Sokka’s gonna get hurt. 

Something, something, they end up together and work things out with the local farmers/agree not to kill their sheep anymore. 

who’s the mermaid and who’s the fisherman

Probs would be similar to my Selkie!Sokka AU but instead, Zuko’s a fisherman and accidentally catches Sokka in a net while out fishing. 

Zuko swears he won’t tell anyone about the existence of mermaids but of course, Katara has concerns (maybe their mom was poached by fishermen and died or something)

Sokka is completely taken by Zuko, especially when Zuko just lets him go. He journeys onto land and discovers that Zuko kept his promise not to tell anyone. 

Maybe they form a strong bond and through that and magic, Zuko becomes a merman himself and they can live in the ocean together (because I’m tired of the mermaid becoming human and living on land)

I think the antagonist in this case might be Zuko’s dad who discovers more mermaids and wants to profit off their scales. That would obviously cause a rift between Zuko and Sokka so... drama!

who’s the witch and who’s the familiar

Oh, I love the idea of Witch!Sokka and familiar!Zuko

I think Zuko would be a wolf and loves to catch rabbits, deer, etc and bring them home for Sokka to cook

Sokka likes to braid flowers into his fur/hair

They live in a forest somewhere together and Sokka runs an apothecary or something in the nearby town

I just imagine this AU being super soft and peaceful as they live out their days together

who’s the barista and who’s the coffee addict

Sokka is 100% the coffee addict and Zuko is the barista who can’t understand how he pumps so much caffeine into his body all at once

Yet Zuko always knows his order and always has it prepared when Sokka walks in

Sokka’s probs one of those overworked, underpaid interns at some big tech company. He gets approximately 8 solid hours of sleep total each week and survives off the delicious coffee prepared by his favorite barista. 

I’m thinking Suki is the one who pushes Sokka to finally ask Zuko out.

who’s the professor and who’s the TA

Hmm... Zuko being the unfortunate TA of one of Sokka’s class just seems super entertaining to me

Either way, they’d absolutely fall behind on grading tests and papers together in favor of making out in Sokka’s office. 

The whole class would be secretly taking bets all semester of when they’re finally going to get together (because they’re dating in secret)

Zuko hears about the bet (maybe when he’s in the dining hall and a passing student mentions it or something) and begins amping up the flirtation in class

The class just spends all semester on the edge of their seats as the sexual tension between the two grows

Maybe on the last day of class Sokka decides to propose to Zuko in front of everyone (either way, a lot of bets are lost that day and someone walks away with loads of cash)

who’s the knight and who’s the prince(ss)

I know it’d be super fun to flip this and make Sokka the prince but... bodyguard Sokka having to chase after hotheaded Prince Zuko and help him weasel out of increasingly ridiculous scenarios is just too priceless for me

“You can’t just run off and fight a dragon, Zuko! Are you out of you mind?”

“It was trying to burn down the village!” 

Sokka begrudgingly helps him come up with a plan that won’t get them killed to stop the dragon and save the village.

who’s the teacher and who’s the single parent

Zuko would absolutely be the single parent, and Izumi is such a perfect child that Zuko only comes for PTA nights/school events/etc

Sokka makes it his mission to get to know Izumi’s mysterious attractive father and finally (somehow) convinces the man to chaperone a field trip to the aquarium

Idk... stuff happens and Izumi is very happy to find she has a new dad

who’s the writer and who’s the editor

Zuko’s the writer and Sokka’s the editor

Zuko spends a lot of time doing everything but writing, much to Sokka’s dismay

They have deadlines to meet but Zuko doesn’t seem particularly fussed about such things. It drives Sokka crazy but he tolerates it because Zuko always comes through and meets his deadlines somehow

Zuko’s a really famous author but his writing is... actually kinda all over the place. Sokka’s the only one capable of wrangling him in and making sense of the whole thing

They’re a very dynamic duo

[rockshortage]

Your post about Hector from the other day actually has me wondering, what you think might happen if a trip to the memory den actually did end up revealing some of the stuff that happened in the vault. Of course, it doesn't even have to be some of the more intense stuff that happened, like maybe he gets lucky and it just shows a memory of him in the living quarters with nothing incriminating

But then, it's also very 👀 to consider some of the other stuff that could come up, like the experiments before everything got bad, or what happened after it got bad, or even Hector after he snaps and starts eating people

This is kind of disjointed but hopefully it still makes some sense

He’d at least handle the immediate aftermath a lot better than the childhood memory since it’s not completely coming out of left field, even if it happened to show one of the worse times spent in the vault.

Since it’s something he’s trying to hide about his past, he’d do his best to play it off. Normal and non-incriminating residency or lab scenes get played off as one of the many research jobs he’s had in the past. Nothing special, all boring, we should totally change the topic now :))

If it does show the experiments for example and there’s no mistaking that this is about FEV, he’d likely pretend he didn’t remember. Minimize his involvement, try to act like this wasn’t a secret he’d been actively keeping from everyone. 

Except they’ve seen Hector have genuine reactions to learning about shocking stuff he did, so he ends up looking more like

It’s already bad enough that he’s done this stuff in the first place - he feels a lot of guilt and regret over some of the choices he made. Not just after things got bad but also long before then - namely when the research stopped being about curing the plague and moved over to fucking around with FEV in increasingly shady ways. Even if they didn’t know what they were working on at first, at some point there’s just too much bad stuff to ignore.

But then he also actively kept it a secret from everyone, which just kinda makes it worse. And then he gets outed by no choice of his own, which makes him look bad yet again. And since it’s Hector “I run away from my problems” Messerli, he tries to do exactly that

In short, he’s very worried that it’ll make people change their minds about him. That friends he so treasures decide that actually Hector really sucks and he’s not worth their time. Especially not after he didn’t trust them with this knowledge.

Butch and Darryl have personal, traumatic experiences with Vault-Tec affiliated scientists. Gage doesn’t, but all those factors coming together might be a bit much even for him.

So while I do think Hector worries a bit too much, he’s not entirely unfounded. It’s likely not enough to make them completely denounce and leave him, but they’re gonna need some time to process it.

But maybe it really does change some things in the long run? I don’t know, I find it hard to say. Like if some of these things remind Butch or Darryl too much of their bad experiences or bring up negative opinions on X and Y, there’s a good chance for emotions to be running high. As rational as they are as people, they’re still human. And I imagine Hector trying to pathetically weasel his way out of things while they’re already a bit high strung may be especially infuriating.

The best solution probably comes down to communication again. If Hector just sits them all down, tells them everything and answers all their questions, they’d probably understand. Or at least the job part of it - he wasn’t entirely innocent in this affair, was probably too naïve going into it, but was also a victim because the government sucks and it would’ve had bad consequences for him if he tried to stand up against it.

The other part about him just losing it isn’t explained from a rational standpoint that easily, but I figure they all understand that people will do some fucked up shit in survival situations like that. Though in some ways he really did go a little too hard. 

I’m very curious if you had any thoughts on it

[thatsamericano]

Some Stuff with Antonio Moving Forward

Antonio is going to briefly suspect that Romerica might be mutual after Savino proposes the idea of letting Alfred take him to the cemetery to see his dead parents. (He doesn’t know Alfred will actually be going to talk to them with Vinny). This annual tradition is something only Antonio or Nonno Vargas have done for him before, so Antonio is astounded that Savino is letting someone outside the family take him to the cemetery. This ritual is so private for Savino that no one in the family openly talks about what Vinny does each year, even though they all know where he’s going and what he’s doing. (They talked about this ages ago when Savino was younger and agreed to just be extra nice to him on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day, and this generally extends into Santa Stefano too.) Including Alfred in this way shows a huge level of trust that makes the idea of them being just “best friends” a little less plausible for Antonio, but he’s not going to say anything, because as much as he wants to wait before talking to Alfred, he would really want to wait with Savino because of what he does on Christmas Eve. And he’s less sure about Savino’s possible feelings, because from his POV, Alfred has been showing more signs of having feelings for his son than the reverse (in part because Antonio has been thinking about this for the past 2 1/2 days and looking for signs in a way he wasn’t with Savino). Savino also made a very convincing case for why Alfred should be the one to take him this year (he never knew these people, so it’s less emotionally difficult for him than Antonio or his nonno, and Alfred is capable of helping him travel that distance if he gets some specific instructions about where to go and the number of the taxi company to call after Savino is done with his visit).

If Antonio hadn’t been having conflict with FrUK over their Romerica suspicions, he would have said something on the 23rd like “I have to take Savino to the cemetery to visit his parents and his grandmother tomorrow. This is something Savino needs to do every year, and the only way he can handle visiting them is if he does it on Christmas Eve. Savino is very sensitive about their deaths, especially his parents’, so please be as gentle with him as possible over the next few days and don’t say anything to him about this, even to express your sympathy.” But now, because of the conflict with them and the times he’s seen Savino arguing with FrUK because they’re acting suspicious of him (or the way he just went full Italian rage on Arthur in Alfred’s defense, which Antonio knew was about the suspicions too), Antonio is much less inclined to talk to his partners about the Christmas Eve ritual. He knows, based on how FrUK reacted to Alfred running off after Chiara, that there’s no way they’d be okay with Romerica going off alone together somewhere much further than Alfred went with Chiara even if they didn’t think something was going on between them. Antonio is more reluctant to let this happen that he would have been if the Chiara thing didn’t happen, because he doesn’t want to upset his partners, but he gives in because he’s also really reluctant to stop Savino from doing something he clearly wants in relation to visiting his dead parents and grandmother. 

In the Christmas Eve fight, I think Antonio might give more credence to the possibility the hickey was from Alfred in his own mind, but he’s so ticked off at Arthur for starting shit on Christmas Eve and upset that Savino is getting this conflict he doesn’t need that I don’t know how much he thinks about it consciously. He might also wonder on Christmas Day, because Savino’s expensive present for Alfred (along with Alfred’s expensive present for him) makes more sense if they’re in a relationship. But Antonio has resolved not to bring this up, and he’s still trying to figure out how to approach either of them (and with Savino, reluctant in case they really are “best friends” and talking with him exposes Alfred’s unrequited feelings). When the Vespa plot line happens, the story Alfred tells makes more sense than the idea of them being in a relationship, because Antonio knows Savino wouldn’t try to weasel a boyfriend into buying him an expensive present he can’t afford. (He’s incredibly confused by the fact Savino was being so irresponsible with his money, however, because up until now he was pretty good with managing it. None of Antonio’s ninos act like this with money, because they know their Nonno was relatively poor as a child and young adult, so they have a different attitude to money than most people who are as wealthy as they are. Antonio, like FrUK, didn’t even consider the possibility that Marcello was blackmailing them.) He also gets a very genuine vibe from Alfred when he talks to him after he confesses to being in love with Savino, so he’s inclined to believing Alfred’s story. Alfred was telling the truth to explain a lot of things Antonio didn’t understand and drawing on very real emotions to convincingly fake how he would feel if he believed Savino didn’t love him and saw him only as a friend/stepbrother.

[tfw-no-tennis]

the animorphs continues, david trilogy style

here we are...we finally arrived....the david triology

I did remember a good amount of these books from when I read these when I was like 11. but I also forgot a lot an hooooly shit 

WHERE TF DO I EVEN START. so that shit slapped obvs. it really felt like the series has been leading up to this - all the characters have had to make really difficult no-correct-answers decisions, and it leads up to this - the ultimate shitty situation with absolutely no good, clear solutions, and everyone gets to contribute to the awful conclusion! 

one thing that really stood out to me is that with David's inclusion as this kind of ‘outsider’ within the group, even though none of it was from his POV, we still get a huge sense of the animorphs being an extremely well-oiled team, who all know and trust each other very well - especially w/Jake as the leader - Jake has to make a lot of decisions in these books but the other animorphs always listen to him 

this all probably didn’t help David, who was already thrown into a completely crazy situation, and who now has to deal w/this group of kid superheroes who work very well together. it also doesn't help that David doesn't really try to find his place on the team 

anyways I love how much wild shit happens in animorphs always. like they try to steal the blue box as birds and then David chases them off w/a bb gun? and then they end up in this huge alien showdown with visser 3 and his troops in David's house? batshit

also the hilariously 90s part w/the email...lmao. like its the 90s so there's no way to shut off the automatic email remotely, they HAVE to go to David's computer, and they also can just unplug it...lmao they should've just taken out the phone lines tbh

also I completely forgot about the whole plot w/the world leaders meeting and the yeerks and stuff. that really served to ramp up the tension and also make it obvious that David was an outsider as he consistently fucked things up then played it off

also KAA did a masterful job of making David juuuust a little sympathetic in book 20, but still Off enough that you're like ehhhh I don't know about this guy...then he goes full awful creep and it becomes obvious that there’s no way they’ll be able to let him stick around in any capacity 

the bit where David kills the crow for no reason is the first Real indication that this is gonna go seriously wrong. but even before all that, his conversations w/Marco gave me like, school shooter vibes 

these books are full of some REALLY good tension. the whole end of book 21 was so tense - they've been gearing up for this mission for days now, and they’ve had to do some crazy stuff to get where they are, so the realization that it’s all a trap is completely chilling 

and then when David tried to betray them to visser three...the gravity of that decision is unmistakable, because then the yeerks would find out that the animorphs are (mostly) human children, and they’d even know who they are, and that would be the end

I loved the part where David tries to act like he was just setting up an ambush w/his betrayal to the visser, and Jake immediately has everyone play along - and they do. earlier in the series someone - probably Rachel or Marco - likely would have ignored Jake bc of how slimy David was acting, but they've basically become a highly efficient military squad at this point, and it was a perfect slow slide into that over the last 20 books, and now is the time when the reader kinda realizes this (at least for me)

even if they don’t agree w/Jake and think they should just address the David problem right then and there, they all trust Jake as their leader to make that decision 

also the fact that these are the first books to do the ‘to be continued’ thing rather than wrapping the plot up...it really made it feel all the more tense 

in other books I normally look at the page count and go ‘ok so this conflict will be solved in this scene cause there are only 15 pages left’ (which is st I do a lot I now realize lmaooo I can pretty much gauge what’ll happen based on how many pages are left - and I do this when I read fanfic too, by looking at where the scroll bar is...anyways)

BUT w/these books its totally up in the air cause they can end anytime and just get continued next book, which makes it so much more tense imo

also I fucking loooove the part in book 21 where they’re hiding out with that little pool of yeerks - and I actually bookmarked some pages for these liveblogs, so I have quotes, this one from Jake - 

‘There was something wrong about killing defenseless slugs. I was pretty sure about that.’

Oh, Jake, that opinion is gonna change someday....

it is a little ironic considering he jacuzzi’d those yeerks in like book 7 or w/e. but alas its still a fantastic line that serves to show in the end how much things have changed 

also I love that the decision not to kill those defenseless yeerks end up helping them later - the yeerks check the pool bc they’re so certain that if the andalite bandits HAD snuck in, they surely would have killed the helpless yeerks. but they didn’t, so that means the andalite bandits didn't sneak in....

I like when the characters do a morally good thing and are then rewarded by the narrative for it - it’s pretty rare in this series, where there are usually NO morally correct choices (such is life) or they’re actively punished for making a ‘good’ decision (one could argue that the decision to make David an animorph instead of letting him become a controller was a morally good decision, but it had dire consequences). 

Ok and the part I have to talk about w/these books of course - everything w/Rachel. bc damn Rachel really goes through it in this trilogy. I absolutely LOVE the character development she gets, and I especially enjoyed the way her and Jake's relationship was developed

anyways, one of the best and most fucked up quotes of the series, from Jake’s POV in book 21  - 

<Ax? I think Tobias is dead,> I said. <I think David killed him.> <That would be a most terrible thing,> Ax said.  <Yeah. Get Rachel. If David’s killed Tobias, we may have to do a terrible thing, too. Get Rachel.>

AUGHHHHH fucking chills I swear. also eternal love for them saying dead/killed/etc and never shying away from it. it really wouldn't have the same impact if they used the normal kid-safe PG words 

but yeah Jake asking for Rachel when he thinks that they may have to hunt down and kill David? phewwww. 

and the significance of this is never downplayed. this essentially confirms that Jake sees Rachel as the one who is willing and able to do the dirty work - and specifically in this case, it’s also likely bc it was Tobias who was ‘killed’ and he knows how Rachel feels about Tobias

but like, that’s so fucked up, I love it. they give this situation the exact amount of weight it requires - ch1 of book 22 has this part from Rachel - 

‘If David had hurt Tobias, I would... But what was the point in making threats? I didn't need to make threats. I knew what I would do. So did Jake. That’s why he’d sent Ax for me.’

at first, it seems like Rachel is on the same page as Jake, but when it becomes clearer later that Jake sent Ax specifically to get Rachel bc she could do the terrible thing that had to be done - instead of just bc they needed reinforcements and she was closest - then things change 

but even when Rachel gets rightfully upset later over this, you get the sense she still never really sees any option other than to kill David. it’s not even the ‘killing David’ part that upsets her, it’s that Jake, her cousin, immediately thinks of her as the person to do the deed 

so, another fantastic quote from Rachel - 

‘Tobias was dead. Jake might still die. And I was going to have to go after David. I was going to have to hunt him down.  I was going to hunt him down and destroy him.  No, not destroy. That was a weasel word. It was vague, meaningless. I was going to kill him.’

fucking WOW. like really. that bit right there is just perfect quintessential dark animorphs. it just subverts the classic kid-friendly phrasing, using words like ‘hunt down’ and ‘destroy’ instead of kill. But Rachel says it like it is. she’s not going to destroy David, she’s going to kill him. 

But then a few pages later, after Ax tells her the quote where Jake asks for her specifically - 

‘It definitely made me feel strange. Jake had called for me specifically. Because he wanted someone who would do precisely what I was planning to do.  Like I say, I’m not big on feelings, but something about that felt wrong.’

I say it a lot but wow do these kids need So Much Therapy. these are like...8th graders. jesus christ. when I was in 8th grade I was busy planning sims-playing get-togethers w/my fellow 13 year old friends. christ animorphs 

and fuck, the part where Rachel threatens David’s family, and shoves a fork in his ear? jesus. and the fact that Jake knew that Rachel was going to threaten David and let her go do it...

and then afterwards, Rachel says - 

‘I felt...not exactly ashamed. But I knew I never wanted to talk to Cassie about what I’d just told David. Or Tobias. Or even Marco.’

I'm gonna make some leaps here but I think it’s really interesting that Rachel even mentions Marco here, and says ‘or even Marco.’ like, the ‘even’ seems to imply that Marco would otherwise be somebody she WOULD talk to about something like this.

which...kinda tracks, tbh. Marco is Mr Ruthless, he’s a cold, pragmatic strategist when he isn’t cracking jokes as a coping mechanism. it makes sense that Rachel would talk to him about things like this - he would make jokes, but he’d also understand 

I'm just so interested in all the highly varying dynamics that exist within the group okay 

and then right after Rachel says - 

‘But I swear at that moment I hated Jake far more than I did David.  I should have told them all what had happened. But Jake already knew, didn’t he? Jake, the smart, determined leader, already knew all about me.’

that's fucking daaark okay. It paints this picture of Jake having become this master manipulator who knows all about Rachel’s violent tendencies and is using them to his full strategic advantage

Oh my god okay and then all the stuff w/Saddler, christ. I had completely forgotten about that plotline but there was so much fucked up stuff there, too

and the scene where Rachel gives some good life advice to her little sister, and it’s a good bit to remind the reader and characters of the world outside of animorphs conflict...and then David speaks up. 

that was such brutal mood whiplash, when you realize that David is morphed and hidden in Rachels room somewhere...fucking chilling 

that whole scene just oozes disgusting creepiness. David’s fixation on Rachel specifically, and his rage at being ‘bested’ by her, really feels like misogyny to me. while David butted heads w/Marco, you never got the same sense of anger and disgust that he displays towards Rachel.

and the line where he says ‘hey, enjoy your shower’ made me shudder in disgust. christ. there are a lot of revolting, dark implications there.

also, book 22 obviously does a ton of fantastic character work for Rachel, but it does the same for Jake, too. and Cassie, but ill get to that later

we get to see so much of Jake as a leader and a strategist here, and pitting him and Rachel against each other (so to speak) makes for some excellent characterization, like when Rachel starts questioning why he asked for her - 

“I thought David had killed Tobias. I thought he might kill me. I wanted...firepower.”  “I see. You wanted me for my morphs.” It was a good answer. It could have almost been true. 

and then we get a brief pit stop at the children's hospital where the fucked up parade continues - David morphed Saddler, Rachel and Jake’s injured/dying young cousin, and is pretending to be him, miraculously recovered from his accident

and meanwhile he DUMPED THE REAL SADDLER’S BODY DOWN AN ELEVATOR SHAFT. I literally cant, what the FUCK. 

and they never really follow up on it but the whole family and all the Drs think its this miraculous recovery against all odds, but then obviously David disappears and therefore so does Saddler - do they ever find his real body? how completely fucked up that must have been - so much worse than if saddler had just died from his injuries - the miraculous recovery completely overturned by a bunch of stuff that doesn’t even make sense to anybody except Jake and Rachel....

anyways, after all that completely fucked up bullshit, we have the Jake and Rachel confrontation, Jake’s whole speech about Rachel is amazing, but here are my highlights - 

“I think you’re the bravest member of the group. I think in a bad fight I’d rather have you with me than anyone else. But yeah, Rachel, I think there’s something pretty dark down inside you. I think you’re the only one of us who would be disappointed if all this ended tomorrow.”

I mean, christ. imagine your fellow 13 year old cousin saying this to you. oh MAN. and I love so much that Jake isn’t wrong, but he also is? he understands what Rachel will do, but not why she’s doing it. and I talked abt it before but Rachel has found herself in this box of ‘the brave/reckless blood knight,’ and feels pressure to live up to that reputation. 

so how much of it is a façade that she puts on bc she’s expected to, and how much of it is how she really feels? well, she got that reputation initially for a reason, but she gets pushed more and more in that direction as the series progresses, both bc of the unintentional pressure to live up to her role as the Xena of the group, and bc it’s really, really useful to have somebody like Rachel on your side

Then Rachel says -

‘I tried to look at myself the way Jake saw me. Was it true? Did I love this war?’

I'm gonna lose it, these poor fucking middle schoolers. Rachel, listen, you’re 13, you’re a child soldier, of course you don't love the war you’re fighting...I need every child therapist on the block to come here right now

like jesus being 13 is hard enough without all this nonsense. it’s such a tenuous time in development, and add something like this - someone like Rachel, who is somewhat pigeonholed by society as ‘vapid, pretty blonde who loves to shop’ would of course flourish in an environment where she gets to show how much of a 3-dimensional Person she is - she can love shopping and also kick ass! nice! but also, like, trauma. 

So then Rachel says this about Jake - 

“Jake, you’re a leader now. You make life-and-death decisions. All the time. You’ve learned to do that. And,” I added bitterly, “you’ve learned to use people. You use them for their strengths and their weaknesses.” 

Fucking read, wow. I feel like Rachel is absolutely correct here, if not simplifying things a lot. like, yes, Jake does make these unfathomable decisions on the regular, but he’s got tons of conflict over every single thing he does, and there was a lot of uncertainty and trial-and-error leading up to this. but she is correct that he’s learned, and is clearly a lot more comfortable in his role as a military leader now. 

I just love the contrast these two have. Rachel, with the burden she carries as the bravest - the fighter of the team, who must be relied on in battle and to do the things that nobody else will do - and Jake, the leader, who has to make decisions knowing that he could get his friends killed at any time, and still trust that they’ll listen. 

And then Jake says - 

“But everyone draws their own line[...] For example, see, I used to think my line was drawn at using my friend, my cousin, to do my dirty work. Guess that turned out not to be true. Sorry, Rachel.” 

And then they hug and vow to murder David together, as a team. Heartwarming cousin bonding! Again, so much therapy. 

So yeah I love that scene. especially when you take into consideration Rachel’s ultimate fate, and Jake’s part in it. excuse me while I go weep. 

Anyways, to the end. THE ENDING....it gets me every time. I’ll never be over it. I don’t remember much about animorphs from when I read it at age 11 but I really really remember the ending to book 22. The way they masterfully set David up, the rat morph, the pipes, THE LEGO, the reveal that they planned the entire thing, the moment when David realizes what’s going to happen to him....oof. It’s not something I could forget, even w/my notoriously horrible memory when it comes to media 

Also I feel like there was more subtle misogyny when David insists on humiliating/subjugating Rachel, just because she proved earlier that she was stronger and smarter and better than him...eugh David is just such a disgusting creep that you don’t even end up feeling bad for him even though he’s a middle schooler being handed a fate worse than death. I mean, he tossed a dead/dying kid’s body down an elevator shaft in a children's hospital. I’m pretty sure he deserves this. 

And here’s the part where I talk about Cassie. because even though she didn’t get a POV book in the David trilogy, she still got some brutally fantastic character development. here we see David starting to realize what’s happening - 

‘Cassie was crying.  David hadn't asked who the mastermind of the plan was. Who it was who had so accurately appraised his emotions, his need to build his ego, the fact that he would choose me to be his “companion.” Cassie, of course. Cassie had worked it out, step by step, after Jake and I had failed to come up with anything.  For Cassie, it was an improvement over the alternatives. See, no one was going to have to die.  But David’s life would end, just the same.’

CASSIE. The dark horse, except not really, bc this is perfectly in line with what we know about her, especially coming off book 19, her last POV book before this. in that book she makes some absolutely awful decisions, all to avoid having to kill somebody. 

After all of Jake and Rachel’s badass vows to take David down, it’s Cassie who finds the solution. 

To a lot of people, David’s fate could be considered worse than death. To Cassie, it’s a better alternative. That speaks volumes about her, and I love it. 

Also, the MANIPULATION. Cassie in the David trilogy really gets to flex her interpersonal manipulation skills, which I love to see. It’s such a fascinating aspect of her character; a really interesting use of empathy

Like the scene in book 20 where David freaks out as a roach and she manipulates him into not giving them away by pitting him against Marco, someone who David doesn’t get along with, by saying ‘if Marco can do it, can’t you?’ because she knows he’ll fall for it. And he DOES. 

And then the part in the cafeteria where she basically plays the ‘good cop’ to everyone else in the group’s ‘bad cop.’ Not ONLY does she manage to get David to shut up and listen to her, she also posits her theory that he wants to blue box to trade it for his parents - which his reactions to her questions confirms as true. and nobody else in the group suspected this. 

She lures him into a sense of security by talking kindly and quietly about how she understands how he feels, then hits him with what she knows and gets him to confirm it, which then allows Rachel to accurately threaten him. 

And then Cassie, offscreen, comes up with the entire plan on how to trap David as a rat, because from the beginning she had him figured out. David didn’t pay much attention to Cassie - more misogyny tbh, as Cassie is the girl on the team who isn’t an aggressive, feminine blonde - and that ended up being a huge reason for his downfall. 

David also didn’t pay much attention to Tobias, and clearly didn’t see him as human at all, and that made Tobias very valuable after David assumed he had killed Tobias. 

Ok, back to the ending - the fact that it was Rachel and Ax who stayed there to wait the two hours for David to become a nothlit....

Rachel says - 

‘Jake’s a good leader. He knows when to use us. He knows when to protect us. He knew he had to protect as many of his people as he could from what was going to happen.’ 

fucking brutal. TWO HOURS of listening to this awful kid beg and threaten and barter. I can’t even imagine. 

And Ax too! He gets overlooked a lot as an alien, and it’s probably true that all of this impacts him differently than the other human animorphs, it can’t be in any way pleasant to have to sit there for two hours and act as a living timer to count down this kid’s life. Ax is a kid, too, and an isolated one at that, being the only Andalite on the team. 

So yeah that scene is awful. Rachel even says - 

‘Two hours. But that two hours of horror will last forever in my mind. If I live a hundred years, I will still hear his cries, his threats, his pleading, each night before sleep takes me. And beyond sleep, in my dreams.’

I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but jesus christ, THEY NEED SO MUCH THERAPY. The fact that one of the constants in all of the POVs is the nightmares that all the animorphs consistently have....geez

Okay so I know in my last two liveblogs I ended them by comparing animorphs to another series - hxh and mtmte - but I honestly am drawing a blank for this...

I guess the only thing I can think of is to compare it to mob psycho 100, which is another very good, very subtly subversive series 

In mp100, the entire Point is that the very powerful psychic middle schoolers DON’T end up using their powers to fight life-or-death battles against adult enemies in order to save the world and whatnot. the Point is that that’s fucked up, and these kids shouldn’t be responsible for something like that, no matter how powerful they are 

and basically the character who says all that is Reigen, an adult who actively prevents the middle schoolers from joining what would be some very traumatizing fights 

basically my point here is less to compare the two shows and more to say - the poor animorphs could really use a Reigen huh. like, they seriously need an adult who’ll step in and say ‘wait a second, these kids are doing WHAT? hold the fucking phone, no way, get some actual adults in here to solve this shit. not today!’

the closest they could've come to an adult figure in their lives is Elfangor and he dies like 5 minutes after giving them superpowers, soooo....

man mp100 slaps I should rewatch it. anyways yeah the theme of this post is ‘the animorphs need therapy and also a stable adult figure in their lives to help them not get traumatized all the time’ thank you for coming to my ted talk

[wrestlingisfake]

Hard to Kill preview

Kenny Omega & Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Rich Swann & Chris Sabin & Moose - When Kenny Omega won the AEW men’s world title on December 2, he completed a long-simmering heel turn by forming an alliance with Impact Wrestling executive Don Callis.  Omega and Callis began showing up on both Impact and AEW programming acting like Omega is “the real world champion,” which irritated Impact world champion Rich Swann.  Omega also reunited with Impact’s men’s tag team champions, Gallows and Anderson, who had already been having issues with former champs Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley.

This match was originally booked as Omega/Gallows/Anderson vs. Swann/Sabin/Shelley, but the day before the show Impact announced that “unavoidable circumstances” prevented Shelley from traveling to the show in Nashville.  Shelley’s last-minute replacement is Moose, who has recently been feuding with Swann.  For over eight months, Moose has been calling himself the “TNA world champion,” presumably to set up a “who’s the real champion?” match with the Impact world champion.  But that seems kind of silly now that Omega and Swann are kind of doing the same thing, but with more credibility.  So I was hoping they’d get Swann vs. Moose wrapped up before Swann vs. Omega got going.  I certainly wasn’t expecting Moose to be involved in this match.

Because of Omega and the AEW interpromotional angle, this may well be the biggest show Impact has run in years.  So Impact is motivated to deliver the best they can for whatever new audience this match will attract.  The big question is whether AEW is invested enough to send a few of their guys to appear on this show for a hot angle.  Any unadvertised AEW wrestler causing any kind of ruckus on this show will get people talking.  But AEW and Impact seem to be taking their time with this storyline, and they may not think now is the time to drop the next bombshell plot point.

To me, the likeliest finishes are a) Omega’s team dominates and wins to get more heat, or b) Swann scores the winning fall to set up an Omega vs. Swann singles match.  The best setup for that match would be Swann pinning Omega, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.  But if they sell it like Omega’s team are the heavy favorites, and that Omega’s ego is bruised by an upset even if he didn’t lose the fall, then that can still work.  But then again, that was my gut feeling before Moose was added to the match.  Now it feels far more likely that Moose will turn on his partners or walk out on them, which could change the entire complexion of the match.  That uncertainty has me pretty interested in how things unfold.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan - This is billed as a “barbed wire massacre” match, so the ring ropes will be replaced with barbed wire, and objects wrapped in barbed wire will be provided at ringside to use as weapons.  Obviously, in this sort of match nobody is going to be disqualified or counted out. 

I can’t say I understand the storyline leading up to this.  Edwards and Callihan had a vicous feud following a 2018 incident where Callihan botched a spot and hit Edwards in the face with a baseball bat.  Then they seemed to go down separate paths, and then recently Sami and Ken Shamrock started picking on Edwards and his wife for some reason.  The idea now appears to be that these two will never be able to settle it, except that they both clearly put it all aside for the better part of a year.  In any case, they’ve run out of hardcore stips to use in their matches, so here we are.

I believe this is the fourth “barbed wire massacre” match Impact has booked.  The first two were on pay-per-view in 2005 and 2008.  The third was taped for television in 2018, but was only streamed on Twitch because it was “too violent for TV.”  I remember watching the first one (Abyss vs. Sabu) in 2005 and being too squeamish to enjoy the performance.  In matches like this you have to hope the wrestlers know what they’re doing and don’t go too far just to create a “moment.”  But with Callihan and Edwards, that doesn’t apply, so I just have to hope the match was taped in advance, so that if one of them was gravely injured we’d have seen reports about it by now.

Both of these guys are pushed as top acts in Impact, but Callihan always seems to come up short in big matches like this.  I can’t see either guy accepting defeat and letting the feud end.  But if this is really the final chapter, then I think Edwards needs the last laugh more than Sami does.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taya Valkyrie - Purrazzo is defending the Impact women’s championship. Valkyrie held the title from January 2019 to January 2020--the longest single reign in the title’s history--but after losing the belt she spent 2020 preoccupied in comedy stuff with Rosemary and John E. Bravo.  So Taya’s doing the whole “you’ve only done so well as champion because I haven’t gotten around to facing you” bit.

I haven’t been able to get into Impact’s women’s division.  I suppose it’s because so many of the characters seem superficial and unserious.  Like, Purrazzo is presented as a solid in-ring performer, but outside the ring she’s the kind of self-absorbed chicken heel who plots with her sidekick to devise ways to duck upcoming challengers.  Impact is full of characters like that, but the women’s division in particular has almost nothing else.  Hell, Taya was playing that role when she was the heel champion.  So I can’t say I’m very motivated to see these two fight.  I also don’t really believe we’re going to get a title change at this point.

Manik vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju - This is a three-way match for the X division championship, so whoever scores the first fall over any opponent will win Manik’s title.  This story started with Bey as champion and Raju as his crony, but Raju was the one henchman in wrestling history who managed to manipulate his boss to his advantage, so Raju won the title from Bey in a three-way with TJP.  Raju was so worried about losing his belt to TJP that he arranged a stipulation where TJP could no longer challenge him.  Then Raju issued an open challenge answered by Manik...the masked man character originally played by TJP.  So now Manik is the champion and definitely not TJP, but Raju and Bey aren’t buying it.

I don’t really care who wins this.  Every time they do a multi-man match for the X title, they demonstrate that multi-man matches don’t settle anything, because there’s always somebody who’s like “Well I wasn’t pinned, so I should get another match!”  So if, for example, Bey pins Raju, you know it’s just going to lead to Bey vs. TJP and/or Manik later.  Except Raju is going to weasel his way into the situation, for another three-way.  (Unless Crazzy Steve is free that weekend, and it’ll be a four-way.)  There’s no direction here. The best thing that could happen to the X title (aside from retiring it as an obsolete relic) is if some AEW guys came in to fight for it.  And I don’t expect that to happen soon.

Havok & Neveah vs. Tasha Steelz & Kiera Hogan - This match is the tournament final to decide which team will be awarded the Impact women’s tag team championship.  The title was originally introduced in 2009, but a lack of interest in booking it properly led to ODB teaming with Eric Young to win the belts in March 2012.  The last title defense I can find was in May 2012, although it took over a year for Impact to officially abandon the championship.

I can see why Impact was motivated to bring the title back, since throughout 2020 most of their women’s roster was paired off in various alliances: Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary, Deonna Purrazzo & Kimber Lee, Kylie Rae & Susie, etc. But just because most of the women on the roster have a natural partner doesn’t mean there are enough women to fill out a tag team division.  I suspect these two teams are going to end up rematching a lot for the tag belts, while the teams they eliminated in the tournament go back to focusing on singles action.  If just having women’s tag titles automatically meant expanding the women’s roster and pushing more women, then that would be great.  But we’ve seen that it doesn’t work that way, not only in WWE, but also the last time Impact tried it.

My gut feeling is that Steelz and Hogan have more future potential, so I’d probably prefer to put the title on them.  But Havok and Neveah have the edge in size and meanness, and I could easily see Impact wanting them to dominate as the champions a la the Road Warriors.

Eric Young & Cody Deaner & Joe Doering vs. Cousin Jake & Rhino & Tommy Dreamer - This is being called an “old school rules” match, which is Impact’s way of saying “ex-ECW guys are in this so we want to say ‘extreme rules’ but WWE trademarked that.” Basically there are no count-outs or disqualifications.  Cody and Jake were a tag team until Deaner became obsessed with proving himself against Young; when he failed, he turned on Jake and joined Young’s group.  Rhino tried to help Jake out, but it wasn’t until Tommy Dreamer got involved that they were able to even the odds.  I’m pretty sure Young’s faction is just getting started and they are going to destroy the babyfaces here.

Ethan Page vs. The Karate Man - Page is one half of The North, which spent most of 2019-2020 dominating the men’s tag team division.  Karate Man is the alter ego of...Ethan Page.  So he’s fighting himself.  That’s always fun.

The backstory here is that the North struggled to recover from losing the tag title earlier this year, and Page grew increasingly desperate to convince Josh Alexander that they could regroup. The tipping point was when Alexander was wrestling Brian Myers and Karate Man interfered, causing Josh to get disqualified.  Page did a skit where he tried to get therapy from Karate Man, before they decided to fight instead.

The bigger story behind all this is that Page’s contract with Impact Wrestling reportedly expired at the end of 2020, so he’s technically not even with the promotion anymore.  Reportedly, this “match” was taped weeks ago.  Just because Page is a free agent doesn’t mean he won’t simply re-sign with Impact at any moment.  But this looks to be his swan song before he moves on...or the pivotal angle that sets up how he’s staying.

Obviously this is going to have to be pre-taped with Patty Duke Show special effects.  I’m not sure if that means it’ll be a ~*~cinematic match~*~ though.  They could do a weird brawl in a weird location like the Boneyard Match or Stadium Stampede, or they could just do it on the normal set in a normal ring and not do anything weird except the split screen effects.  I honestly don’t know what to expect.

Rosemary & Crazzy Steve vs. Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb with a K - Rosemary and Steve used to be in The Decay together years ago, and occasionally Impact remembers that and has them interact.  Tenille is formerly Emma from WWE, playing a stuck-up Instagram influencer gimmick with Kaleb as her personal assistant.  Rosemary already beat Dashwood in the setup to this match, and I don’t think Kaleb is going to last long against Steve, so I guess the weirdo babyfaces will triumph.

Josh Alexander vs. Brian Myers - This is scheduled for the pre-show.  As noted above, Alexander and Ethan Page had some issues that came to a head when Page caused Alexander to lose a match to Myers.  So Josh wants to avenge that loss.  It’s kinda funny to me that the serious match about wins and losses and professionalism is on the pre-show while the “Ethan Page beats himself up” comedy is on the main show.  But anyway, it seems like Alexander is headed for a singles push, so he might as well get that started with a win.

[somedayonbroadway]

omg i will actually cry of happiness can you do a frozen au please?-

Okay! Okay! YES!

I LOVE this one!

Frozen AU

So,

Characters

Jack Kelly - Elsa

Racetrack Higgins - Anna

Crutchie Morris - Olaf

Spot Conlon - Kristoff

Drake - Hans

Medda - Bulda

Weasel - Duke of Weselton

Kloppman - Grand Pabbie

Okay so…

It began with two brothers…

Jack and Tyler James were inseparable from the second the younger was born. Four years apart in age didn’t stop them from being best friends. Their parents knew from the moment Jack held his baby brother for the first time that they’d be as thick as thieves.

They were right.

While Tyler grew, Jack was by his side, every step of the way. The giant palace didn’t deter them from sharing a bedroom. Oftentimes the king and queen of Manhattan would find their little princes curled up in Jack’s bed. Tyler James was their little snuggle bug and Jack knew the boy tended to get cold in his bed all alone.

The boys loved each other dearly. The kingdom loved them too.

The royal family was perfect.

But every family had their secrets.

It was never anything the young princes had known to be dangerous. It was magic. One that took Tyler’s breath away every time.

Jack loved to make his brother smile with the ice and snow that he could create with his own two hands.

Their parents warned Jack to be careful. They always told him that he wasn’t allowed to freeze the floors, especially not when they had subjects coming in and out of the castle.

So the brothers would wait until it got dark. Tyler would jump on Jack’s bed and ask him if they could build a snowman. If Jack didn’t answer right away, he’d begin to ramble. The quickness of his voice and tiny legs is what got the boy his nickname.

Racer.

Jack never minded being woken in the middle of the night. Not if he had the chance to get a smile on his baby brother’s face.

But the days where the boys were young and carefree couldn’t last forever.

The night it all happened felt like any other. Tyler wanted to build a snowman. So Jack snuck them downstairs. And he made the foyer into a winter wonderland.

Jack and Race loved to make a specific snowman. One they lovingly named Crutchie after Jack sculpted a boy meant to look similar to Race, and one that the younger boy tried to help with, only to form a twisted up leg.

(Crutchie looks like a boy. Just in case anyone was wondering. Not necessarily when the boys are younger, but later)

Crutchie loves warm hugs. To the brothers, he’s family, even though he may not be real. (Yet).

After playing around in the snow Jack created, Race begins to jump on small mounds of it, begging Jack to take him a bit higher in the air. Though, true to his nickname, the boy begins to go too fast and Jack’s magic hits his head, rather than beneath his feet to keep him from falling.

Race fell to the ground and Jack cried out for him, running to him and scooping him up in his arms as the ice around him began to crack and frost over. Snow fell from the ceiling in Jack’s panic. He couldn’t stop it.

He screamed for his parents and they came running. Their father gently took the baby, only six years old, from a ten year old Jack’s arms and found he was as cold as ice.

Their mother held Jack tightly as she knew exactly where they had to go.

Deep into the forest.

They readied a carriage and they were off. Their father held Tyler the whole time. Jack couldn’t stop crying or staring at the stripe of white hair that was now at the front of his brother’s blond curls.

Deep in the forest, their mother finds a tribe only known as “The Hidden Folk” and begs them for their help. One of them, looking to be the leader, rushes forward without much prompting. He is introduced as Kloppman. He takes Race into his arms, though their father is hesitant to let go.

They are a royal family after all, in a very vulnerable state. And that’s his baby boy.

But Kloppman is gentle and he sits with the boy, holding him in one arm as he waves a hand over the child’s head, where he was struck with Jack’s magic. Jack hides behind his mother’s leg the whole time.

Kloppman then reveals he was able to get the ice out of the boy’s mind, but only by also taking the memory of Jack’s magic too. Jack is horrified by this, but their father just pets his hair and tells him it’s for the best.

The white strip never fades from Racer’s hair.

The tribal man then asks Jack if he was born with the powers of cursed to which Jack reveals he was born with them, only now ever feeling like they were a curse. Kloppman warns Jack that though his magic may be beautiful, it is also dangerous and fear would be his enemy in the ways of controlling it.

Jack is terrified at that and snow begins to fall around him again.

Kloppman tries to get the king and queen to fully understand what he meant, but they thank him and take their sleeping son back, promising to get Jack’s powers under control.

The next day, Prince Tyler James wakes to find that Jack’s bed is being moved out of their room. He finds Jack’s stuff being relocated. He jumps out of bed and tries to find his brother, only to find Jack crying as he’s led by his father into another empty bedroom at the other side of the castle. He tries to ask what’s going on, but no one will answer him.

Tyler thinks maybe Jack is upset with him. Maybe he’d done something wrong. But that doesn’t stop him from trying to talk to his brother.

Every night the younger prince would knock on his brother’s door, asking him if he’d like to build a snowman, still remembering that that had been their favorite thing to do. He never gets a response.

What he doesn’t know is that every night, Jack is sitting just on the other side of that door, waiting to hear his little brother’s voice every day.

It’s the only thing that makes him smile anymore.

The gates to the castle are closed as the king and queen are scared someone might find out their eldest son’s secret and come after him. Jack believes it’s all his fault.

As they grow, Tyler is more and more hesitant to knock on Jack’s door. But he always comes back. No matter what. In fact, even if he didn’t knock, he’d sit right outside. Jack could always hear him. And that was enough.

Jack is always on the other side, his father with him most days as he tries desperately to help Jack control the powers that now frighten the once carefree young prince. He tries to teach Jack how to meditate, how to breathe through the fear, he lets Jack draw on the walls and any surface he can, he lets Jack build the same snowman again and again to just try and relax, but it doesn’t stop Jack from being afraid of himself. So they try gloves, they try to cover what seems to be the source. His hands.

The gloves calm Jack down some. But he still doesn’t want Race to see him. He’s afraid he’ll hurt the kid again.

Sometimes he doesn’t even let his parents in the room in fear that he’ll hurt them.

But every night when Racer sits outside his door, sometimes babbling nonsense about his day, Jack is right there, sitting on the other side, hanging on every word.

About ten years later, their parents reveal they’re going on a trip. They’ll be back in a few months. Race hugs them goodbye, but understands.

Jack begs them not to go. He can’t control it on his own. He has no idea what he’s gonna do if they leave.

But his father promises him he’ll be alright.

And they go.

A few months later is when the two princes get the news.

The king and queen are not coming back.

Their ship went down.

Race breaks at the news. Right outside of Jack’s door. And Jack wishes beyond anything that he could just hug the kid.

But he can’t.

It takes Race a week to be able to breathe again, properly. He wanders down the hall to his brother’s door and knocks, just like he had so many times before. He asks Jack if he’s okay. He tells him that people are worried, that he’s worried about him. He asks Jack to let him in. That they’re all each other has left.

Jack still doesn’t open the door.

So Race asks Jack if he wants to build a snowman.

Jack is sitting on the other side of the door, snow falling all around him and ice skewed through the walls. He nods, but says nothing.

Race doesn’t leave the door all night.

Neither does Jack.

A few months after this, Race is woken and told it’s coronation day, to which he is ecstatic. Because today is the first time in eleven years that the gates are going to be opened up and people will walk down the halls and he won’t be alone anymore.

Jack is not quite as excited. In fact, he’s terrified.

He tells himself it’ll be alright. He just has to make it through today and he’d be okay.

When the gates do open, Race rushes outside, exploring his kingdom for the first time since he was a little boy. Almost seventeen now, the kid hardly recognizes the streets and almost nobody recognizes him. But he’s okay with that.

He's just so excited he can’t stop running.

And he runs right into someone.

Someone very charming.

The man looks to be about Jack’s age. He’s very kind and charming and infatuated with the young prince who gets very flustered and nervous very easily. The young prince takes a moment, but finally introduces himself and the young man says the pleasure is all his, and that Race can run into him anytime, even if it were to be on purpose.

Race is walking on air at this, but quickly excuses himself as he has to get back to the castle for the ceremony.

Jack is told that it’s time. So he leaves his room, trembling and trying like hell to keep it together.

While he’s being led to the throne room where hundreds of people were waiting to watch him be crowned, he sees Race being led there too.

His little brother’s face lights up when he sees him. And the boy waves.

Jack’s racing heart calms a little bit at that.

It’s the only thing that keeps him steady while he walks down the aisle of that room. Race is standing there at the edge of it, smiling at him the whole time.

Jack arrives in front of the priest who holds him crown and bows his head as a prayer is prayed over him. The large, heavy crown is placed on his head. The priest instructs him to pick up the orb and scepter, stopping Jack when he tries to pick them up with the gloves he wore.

Shakily, the prince would take them off and hold the things with his bare hands standing to face his people as the prayer continued. His hands would be shaking and he’d bit the inside of his cheek to try and keep calm. But a frost would begin to settle around his hands.

The second the prayer was over, Jack would whirl around and set the things down, almost frantically pulling his gloves back on.

But Jack would look over at his brother and Race would be cheering for him. His little brother would be nodding at him, silently telling him that he had this. That he could do this.

And Jack would smile.

The prince and new king would be led away from the people, to be presented at the party.

Jack first, and Race after.

Jack would be placed in the center of the room on a small stage as people danced around him, celebrating him. And Race would be announced as was placed at his brother's side.

Race wouldn’t expect to be so close to him. He thought maybe Jack wouldn’t like it. But the young man would hook their pinkies together, like he’d done when they were both very little.

And Race would feel something warm surround him.

For the first time in eleven years, They’d talk to each other. They’d laugh with each other, even if only for a minute.

And for that minute, Jack wouldn’t be worried about the secret he held.

It would be a few minutes before the Duke of Weselton, Mr. Wiesel, asked Jack to dance. Jack would politely decline, introducing Race as the dancer in the family. And before Race would even be able to protest, he’d get pulled away.

Jack would just laugh at him. He’d genuinely laugh for the first time in years as he watched Race try and dance with this ridiculous man.

Race would work his way back to him eventually. And he’d lightly punch Jack in the chest. Jack would just chuckle and nudge his shoulder a bit. Race would say offhandedly that he wished everyday could be like this.

Jack would agree.

But they couldn’t be.

Race would try to ask why, but Jack wouldn’t answer. He’d just say, they couldn’t be.

And he’d walk away, feeling guilty and awful and just wanting to get away.

Race would try to follow him. But he’d trip.

Luckily someone would be there to catch him. It would be the prince he’d met before. Prince Drake of Harlem.

And Race would feel better already.

Him and Drake would explore the castle, finding out how similar they truly were. Drake comes from a large family, but being the youngest of thirteen, he was ignored for a lot of his childhood. Him and Race would have this instant connection. They’d be convinced they were soulmates.

So after spending the whole night together, Drake would propose, saying that he just knew this was who he was supposed to spend his life with.

Race agrees, believing he was in love with this man. And they go to find Jack.

Race asks for Jack approval in marriage to Drake. And Jack thinks it’s a joke at first. But the more Race talks, he realizes that it’s no trick. Race is infatuated with this man.

Jack begins to get anxious when Race says Drake could move into the castle and they could all live together and the wedding could be held there and all Drake’s brothers could come and go whenever they pleased. Jack tried to talk to Race in private, not trusting this man at all.

He’d try to take Race to an empty room, fully planning on revealing to him the reason why the gates couldn’t stay open. But Race refuses. So Jack sighs and tells his brother that he can’t marry a man he just met and that he knows nothing about true love.

Race would get angry and ask what Jack knew about love. All Jack knew was how to shut people out.

The words hurt. Jack would want to cry. He’d tell the guards to get everyone out. That it was time to close the gates. Race would try to argue and he’d chase after his brother who was desperate to get away. He’d pull one of Jack’s gloves off of his hand and Jack would start to panic.

Race would ask Jack what he was so afraid of and Jack, while seemingly angry, would be completely terrified.

He’d turn to tell Race that that was enough. But, a thick layer of ice would cover the floor and a barrier would form around him and his people.

Jack is mortified. Race is looking up at him like he’s some kind of monster.

The Wiesel demands that someone grab Jack, branding him a monster. Jack fleas into the mountains, unknowingly setting off an eternal winter in the middle of summer. His subjects all watch him run off, afraid of him and what he’s done.

Race tries to go after him. Drake tries to stop him.

But the boy knows he has to find Jack.

While Jack is running he comes to the realization that if he stays up in the mountains he no longer has to be afraid of his powers as there’s no one around that he can hurt. And the thought comforts him.

(Here’s a YouTube video of Jeremy singing let it go like the queen he is)

The young king throws his crown away, allowing his powers to fly free as he lets the snow fall around him and builds himself a castle made of ice to reside in alone. He’d been isolated for most of his life anyway, he doesn’t understand why it would bother him now.

Only, he supposed, Race wouldn’t be there to knock on his door anymore.

Back in Manhattan, Race puts Drake in charge as he sets off to find Jack, promising he’d be careful but stating that he had to do this. That Jack would never hurt him and it was his fault this whole thing had happened.

While on his way, Race meets a man and his reindeer, upset and angry at the sudden cold weather. The man introduces himself as Spot and his reindeer as Coffee Bean. When Race asks why he’s so upset, Spot explains that he’s an ice salesman. Race almost laughs, but stops himself when he realizes that would only make things worse.

He asks Spot to escort him up the north mountain, where Spot offhandedly states the storm is coming from. It’s only after Spot learns that Race is the prince that he agrees.

The pair don’t quite get along at first as Race explains that it’s his brother, the King of Manhattan, who set off this winter and why. Race states he was going to marry a man he’d only just met that day. Spot is concerned and a bit frightened at this and Race gets offended, telling him that he knew it was love.

Spot asks him if maybe Race just hadn’t had much affection or attention growing up and was maybe desperate for that now. Race doesn’t have the chance to answer before they realize they’ve stumbled upon a pack of wolves.

The pair are chased over a cliff. Spot saves Race’s life by putting Race on Coffee Bean and sending them across to the other side of the small canyon. Spot jumps off his own sleigh, letting it crash and almost falling to his own death. Race grabs him just before he can, saving his life and calling it even.

Race says he understands if Spot doesn’t want to help him. But Spot states that he has to, otherwise Race will surely lead himself into his own death. The pair walk along together, getting a bit more acquainted with each other as they stumble across someone else.

Someone that scares them both out of their minds.

A boy made of ice.

Race doesn’t recognize the boy at first, though the boy knows him by name and immediately wants to hug him. It’s only after that that Race realizes this is Crutchie, the “snowman” that he and Jack used to build when they were kids. He asks how this is possible and Crutchie doesn’t truly understand the question.

Race takes in the fact that this boy looks so real and lifelike, complete with a crutch made of ice beneath his right arm. Crutchie says that Jack always wanted him to be able to walk like they do, so he made him a crutch.

They take Crutchie with them on their journey, Spot realizing how similar this snowman is to Race and Race not quite making the connection.

Eventually, with Crutchie’s help, they stumble onto Jack’s castle. Race asks Spot, Bean and Crutchie to stay outside while he talks to Jack alone. Spot is worried, asking Race if he’s sure Jack wouldn’t hurt him. Race says he is and goes in, admiring the beauty of the castle and walking up the stairs to find his brother, looking at peace with himself.

That peace is disrupted the second he sees Race.

He asks Race to leave him, that he’s better off without him and so is Manhattan. He says that he doesn’t want to hurt Race again. Race asks him what he meant and Jack can’t explain. He just tells Race to go.

But Spot and Crutchie come in.

Jack is shocked at the sight of Crutchie, alive. He asks how that's possible and Crutchie just tells him that he built him and gave him life as innocently as is ever possible because Crutchie is an innocent, naive being.

Race begs him to just come back down the mountain with him, explaining that Jack set off an eternal winter. Jack is horrified by this, explaining to Race that he doesn’t know how to stop it and Race says they can figure it out together and they can become as close as they once were when they were both just children.

Snow starts to fall inside the castle as the storm around Jack swirls harder at this newfound panic. He tries to beg Race to run again, but Race won’t and Jack lashes out accidentally, striking Race in the heart with his magic.

Spot finally intervenes, grabbing Race and pulling him away as Jack forces them out with a snow monster who forces them to jump from a cliff.

Race is upset and angry, but all Spot can focus on is the fact that the other boy's hair is beginning to turn white, more than just the original stripe that had been there. Race is a bit horrified at this but Spot seems to know that it’s because Jack struck him.

He immediately leads Race away and towards a part of the forest that’s somewhat familiar to Race. He’s greeted by The Hidden Folk which he reveals is his adoptive family. His mother comes out to greet him, a Medda, and she’s ecstatic at the sight of Race, believing Spot brought him home to marry him.

Race tries to keep up with the chatter around him as these people ask him all kinds of questions, but eventually he realizes that he seems to be freezing from the inside out and becomes fatigued, falling into Spot’s arms as Kloppman comes out to greet them.

He takes Race in his arms like he had all those years ago and says that the boy’s heart has begun to freeze and only an act of true love can save him. Spot takes him into his arms and wraps his own coat around him, trying to warm him up as he gets him onto Coffee Bean’s back. He cradles Race to him, trying to keep him warm as he promises to get Race back to Drake, his true love.

Meanwhile, Drake and the guards of Manhattan begin to worry about their young prince. They ask the acting leader if they might go out to look for him. Drake says he’s going too and leads the search.

Wiesel takes two of his guards aside and explains to them that should they encounter the monster, they kill him on sight.

They hike up into the mountains and find Jack’s castle, finding the young king in a haze. He’s frantically pacing his castle, knowing he’d struck Race but not knowing how bad it was. He wanted to know where his brother was and he wanted to protect him.

He contemplated putting an end to himself. Maybe it would end the winter. Maybe it wouldn’t. But one thing was for sure, he couldn’t continue to hurt anyone if he was dead.

He only dismisses the thought after he remembers how badly their parents' deaths affected Racer. He never wanted to put him through that. Though he believes he may be a monster, he continues on, trying to figure out what to do.

(Omg can you imagine Jeremy singing “Monster”? Ugh <3)

Once Jack hears the guards in his castle, he knows at least some of them are there to hurt him. So he tries to protect himself. He almost kills the ones that were sent to destroy him, but Drake reasons with him, telling him they already believe he’s a monster and that would only make it worse. So Jack stops.

But one of the guards, though pinned down by Jack’s ice, raises a weapon at him, ready to shoot. Drake rushes to save him, redirecting the thing up at the ceiling, causing the thing to fall.

Jack barely makes it out of the way before being crushed, but suffers a head injury, rendering him unconscious.

Jack wakes up in a prison cell in the basement of the castle, shooting up when he sees a window on the opposite wall. He stands off the bed to try and rush to it, only to find his hands encased in metal cuffs that were chained to the wall behind him.

He’s not angry. He’s just scared.

Drake comes down into his cell and Jack begs him to just let him go, that he is a danger to his own kingdom and it would be better for everyone if he were to just leave. He tells Drake to get Tyler James.

Drake tells him that Race has yet to return. This only caused the room to get closer as frost spreads on the walls.

Meanwhile, Spot and Crutchie are in the ride of their lives trying to get Race back to Manhattan.

Once they arrive at the castle, Race is greeted by the palace guards who take him and tell Spot he’s not allowed to come with him and he must leave. Spot tries to push past them, realizing that this boy has grown on him quite a bit. But eventually, he agrees to leave as long as Race is safe.

Crutchie, however, sneaks around the back of the castle and blends right in with the snow, letting himself into the castle.

Race is handed off to Drake who scoops him up and holds him close, taking him into a secluded room where Race begs him to save him. Drake smiles at a Race and pets his white hair back, telling him how naive he is. He then puts out the fire in the room and explains to the boy how he never cared about him in the least, it was the kingdom he was after.

He’d come to Manhattan in attempts to win over Jack, but Race just fell right into his lap. Drake planned to marry Tyler and poison Jack in attempts to take the crown. Trying to insult the man, Race tells him that he never would’ve been good enough for Jack anyway. Drake just laughs at him and takes away any semblance of warmth the boy had promising that he’d die soon and Jack would be joining him.

Race tries to hurt the man, but is too weak and is locked in the room all alone, left for dead.

He curls up on the ground, freezing as he lets himself cry.

Jack paces his cell, trying to figure out what to do. He has to find Race. He knows he’s in trouble. He doesn’t know what kind of trouble. But he knows his brother needs help.

Without even thinking, his cuffs are frozen. It isn’t until Jack hears them crackle that he knows what he has to do.

He breaks them by banging them on the wall and uses his magic to break a whole through the barred window. And he runs off to try and find his brother.

Drake tells the dignitaries of the castle that Race has died in his arms, but not before they were able to exchange wedding vows, leading them to believe that Drake was the only suitable leader they had left. He orders Jack’s immediate execution on the charge of treason.

It’s only then that it is revealed Jack escaped.

Race can’t move anymore. He accepts death, though he doesn’t want to. He knows he can’t save himself. He’s alone.

But someone opens the door from the outside.

It’s Crutchie.

Crutchie rushes to him and hugs him, revealing that Jack made him to be a mix of the both of them after Race tells him Crutchie’s hugs reminded him so much of Jack.

Crutchie builds him a fire which warms Race up, if only a little, as Race cries that Jack was right, that he knew nothing about love. Crutchie hugs him and tells him that’s okay. Because he knows all about love. He tells Race that love was what Spot felt for him and he showed it by leaving Race forever in the hopes that it would be what saved him.

Crutchie starts to melt by the fire and Race tells him he has to get out of there, but realizes that if Spot does love him, there’s still a chance he could be saved.

So Crutchie and Race set out to find Spot, out in the never ending blizzard. Race can hardly walk, but he manages.

Drake sets out to find Jack at the same moment, finding him in the middle of the fjord, looking around wildly for his brother in a panicked daze. Drake lies to him, telling him that Race returned from the mountain weak and cold. He tells him that he tried to save the boy, but his skin was ice and his hair turned white. He tells Jack that Race was dead.

He tells Jack that Race was dead because of him.

Jack falls to the ground in agony and everything goes still. The snow freezes in place in the air and the wind stops blowing and Jack sobs out, in physical and emotional pain at the loss of his only family and the only thing that had given him hope that things would get better.

Race is relieved when the winds stop and he can finally see Spot. He can hardly keep moving, but he tries his best to make it to the man.

It’s when he’s only a few feet away that he sees him. His brother, sobbing on his knees whilst Drake holds a sword above his head.

Race looks between him and Spot and shakes his head, pushing himself forward as he steps defiantly in between his brother and the sword, raising up his hand and screaming just as the ice takes over his body.

The sword hits him just as everything goes white and he’s frozen in place.

The sword shatters and Drake is thrown backwards.

And Race lets out one more breath.

Not understanding, Jack looks up to see the sixteen year old standing above him, completely encased in ice.

And all he can do is scream his brother's name as he pushes himself up.

He doesn’t care that everyone’s watching. He hardly even notices. But Race looks so scared in the place he was frozen. Not scared for his own life. Scared for Jack’s.

The king can hardly touch him. His hands hover over the boy’s crystallized face for a long while as he mutters out please for it all to just be a nightmare.

Eventually, he collapses against his baby brother, hugging him even though he knows Race won’t hug him back. And he just sobs.

It’s a long moment that people mourn for their young prince. Jack can’t take it. He’s terrified of being all alone, without this boy.  

But the boy’s heart began to melt the second he’d been frozen in the first place.

Jack doesn’t expect arms to circle around him, holding him tightly and fiercely. And all he can do is sob harder.

Jack doesn’t understand what’s happening. But Crutchie lights up. He repeats Kloppman’s words “an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart”.

Race smiles and tells Jack that he loves him as they cling to each other.

It’s only then that Jack seems to understand what he needs to do. And slowly he lets go of the boy, looking around raising up his arms, watching in amazement as the ice lifts off the ground and the snow disappears.

They rise on a ship in the fjord, as people watch them, some of them happy, others still skeptical.

Jack makes Crutchie his own personal flurry to keep him from melting and Crutchie rushes to give him a hug.

Drake gets up and tries to find his sword, Jack gets angry, almost marching up to him to give him a piece of his mind. But Race stops him, walking up to Drake on his own and punching him square in the nose, sending him overboard into the ice cold water.

The Duke of Weselton is sent away and told he’s no longer welcome in Manhattan, and Drake is put under arrest and transported back to his own kingdom to face the consequences of his actions.

Jack stands in front of his people with his brother by his side, telling them that Manhattan is his home, and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to protect it and them. He tells them that he is their king and while some of them don’t like that he’s different, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s their leader.

There’s still some that want him executed, that think he’s not worthy of being their king. But most of his kingdom accepts him when they see Race standing so loyally by his side.

Jack wraps his pinky around his little brother’s and they stand there together.

Later, Race grabs Spot and tells him he’s got a surprise for him, leading him to a new sleigh and telling him that the king has declared him official palace ice master, to which Spot replies is a made up position, but thanks Race anyways, telling him he loves it and picking the boy, twirling him around before he kisses him.

Embarrassed and a bit shy, they both pull away. But Race smiles and rolls his eyes before turning back to him and pulling him in for another kiss before leading him towards the castle where Jack has invited anyone and everyone who wants to to go ice skating in the middle of summer.

It’s a party.

Two thirds of the kingdom shows up and Jack places his hands on the ground, letting a layer of ice cover it catching Race as he almost slides to the ground.

Race, Spot, Crutchie, Jack and Coffee Bean stay close after that, becoming their own little family unit.

And all is well with the world.

That is, before Jack begins hearing voices.

Alright, that was a long one, but one well worth it because I love this story so freaking much!

If anyone would like to read the outline for a Frozen 2 AU, just go ahead and leave me an ask! And to see any scenes fully written out from this one or any other AU’s I’ve previously written, go ahead and slip me an ask for those too, I’d love to write them!

For more AU’s, check out my list by clicking here! I honestly add to this list so often, it’s ridiculous.

Thanks for reading!

[chyrstis]

Hana/Sharky or Hana/John for the Ultimate Ship Meme?

@raisinghellinotherworlds

I’ve got Hana/Sharky here, so let’s give Hana and John some attention, especially since this next fic I’m working out should give them a lot more to work with. :D

--

Hana Vao / John Seed

General:

Rate the Ship -  

Awful | Ew | No pics  pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do  it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all  other OTPs - I’m a bit quieter about this one due to wanting to develop it more, but it snuck up on me and I love it)

How long will they last? - There’s a hell of a lot that the two need to work through and work out, but once they do, they’re in it for the long-term.

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - It’s not love at first sight by any means of the word. John eyes her during the initial arrest, but is dismissive. Hana’s only set on looking at Joseph once his attention starts boring into her, and hardly registers that the other siblings are in the room. After that, and once Hana really starts laying into John’s operation, he’s infuriated and intrigued, and Hana’s all too glad for the opportunity to piss him off. But John does fall first, and it’s not too long after she tries to capture him that feelings start entering the mix. Hana’s much further off, but by the time John does start finding ways to ‘help’ her and they seem genuine, any feelings towards him start warming faster than anticipated. There’s a bit of a rift that forms before the two go underground, but over the next few years they’re able to repair it, and start a relationship on much more even footing.

How was their first kiss? - Their first is incredibly ill-advised. It’s during an attempt to capture him, and Hana’s injured and desperate and in the middle of grappling with John when a thought pops into her head. ‘Sharky said he’s into me. Maybe I can use it to weasel out of this? No big deal.’ So, she kisses him. Kisses him and goes, ‘Oh, shit, he’s actually pretty into this’, and then punches him in the dick right after. Their first real kiss is a different kind of desperate later on down the line, and luckily for John, doesn’t require any dick-punching. He does make sure she actually wants this before continuing, however, and once she does confirm that, proceeds to pour every feeling he’s tried burying into it.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Hana! It’s honestly something that they never sat down to discuss officially, but she has no doubt in her mind that she wants to ask John once the idea’s been planted and she has a ring to do so.

Who is the best man/men? - There’s no ceremony for them, and considering John’s previous role (and the amends he’s trying to make), he would find it difficult to fill this position. Sharky would 100% try to volunteer, though and at that point would just be dragged into participating in the actual wedding himself, so....

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Hana would also find her hands a bit tied, and understandably so.

Who did the most planning? - Hana, though by planning it’s more ‘get John alone so she can talk to him’ and luckily for her manages to catch him working in his room. Then when she’s about to get the ring out, fumbles it, and has to dig it out from under his desk while he’s sitting by it. She doesn’t hesitate to propose once she gets her hands on the ring after that, and John’s honestly left speechless for a good minute once he realizes just what she’s doing.

Who stressed the most? - John. Up until that moment he’d drawn a few conclusions he shouldn’t have, and Hana’s glad to prove him wrong.

How fancy was the ceremony? -

Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big. -

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - N/A - Technically no one was invited since there was no official ceremony, but I think it’s safe to say that Joseph’s invite would've been lost in the mail. Or set on fire by Sharky.

Sex:

Who is on top? - They do tend to switch, but there’s been plenty of times where Hana’s put John right on his back, and he’s hardly tried to stop her.

Who is the one to instigate things? - They’re both pretty awful teases. It’s entirely a game of how much extended eye contact they can hold across a room and during conversation before the other cracks or gets the hint. John also enjoys trying to see how much innocent innuendo he can come up with, while Hana goes for small touch after small touch, seeing how close she can get to him before trying to leave the room. If it’s in an isolated area, she usually doesn’t have the chance, but if not, John’s usually not far behind.

How healthy is their sex life? -

Barely  touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple  weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other  on the couch right now - It would be a ten here, but their moments together are a bit more spaced out at the start of their relationship. Once they’re officially living together, though...

How kinky are they? -

Straight  missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff  and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a  horse’s head

How long do they normally last? - At least a couple of rounds depending on how much time they’re able to have together. Ideally there would be no rush at all, but they don’t always have that luxury.

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - It’s certainly something they try for, but John would enjoy casually losing count whenever she'd try to tally them up. And would likely be in the process of trying to get an extra one out of her just on principle. The jerk.

How rough are they in bed? -

Softer  than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking  and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so  vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could  collapse the next time they do it. - They really have two speeds here. Some night’s John’s softer, caught up in the fact that she’s actually there with him and wants to be, and he can’t help but want to look at her, touch her gently, and take his time. Others, it’s only a matter of waiting for a second of privacy before they’re trying to tear the other’s clothes off.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? -

No  touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the  couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more  often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory. - John gives her a little space from time to time, but it’s hard for the two not to touch each other in bed, and he won’t hesitate to wrap himself around her. It’s reassuring to have her that close, and more often than not, he’ll actually start drifting off due to the level of contentment setting in. But most affectionate gestures remain behind closed doors for them, so there’s no heavy doses of PDA going on, no matter how badly they’d want to express it otherwise.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - One, which John was nervous about to start, but relaxed as time went on. I’m thinking William (Will? Billy?) for his name, mostly because John didn’t like Theodore (if she can’t honor Ted, she’d honor Bill), both Bruce and Wayne were also shot down, and J-names were right out. (and Hana might’ve shed a tear that night over how many of her action heroes were actually named John)

How many children will they adopt? - N/A

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - At first it’s Hana due to John’s nerves in handling the baby for any period of time, but he’s able to adjust and let go of that fear once they talk their way through it.

Who is the stricter parent? - They’re even at first, but as John gets more comfortable with the idea of parenthood (and makes more peace with the fear that he’ll be just like his parents), he’s able to be more of a disciplinarian. But it really takes very little for him to crumple like a wet paper bag.

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - John. He doesn’t have to try too hard with Will, but has a cautious word to share just in case Will thinks of ever being half as much of a daredevil as his mother.

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - John’s got a system down, but Hana’s there to sneak in added things to boost their kiddo’s day, like extra fruit, or a cookie.

Who is the more loved parent? - They’re both evenly loved, but Hana’s laid-back nature definitely leads to more partner in crime bonding opportunities (and good-natured pranks on John).

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? N/A – In a No-Cult situation John would be able to     finesse his way through these in a way Hana never could. And she’s all too glad to skip them entirely.

Who cried the most at graduation? - N/A, but Hana would be swiping at her eyes, and trying to badly hide the fact that she’s sniffling.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - John. John 100%.

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - John will try to get her out of the kitchen to bear the brunt of the cooking, but never fully succeeds. 

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - John, if only because he’ll actively try to stick to a balanced diet.

Who does the grocery shopping? - John would probably take the reins here if only to get specifics, but Hana would definitely want to tag along and sneak a few extra things into the cart.

How often do they bake desserts? - It’s not a common thing at all, but the minute Hana mentions missing desserts and cakes, John might make it one of his priorities. Even though he’s terrible at it.

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - If Hana had her way it’d be mostly meat, but John gently twists her arm into getting a bit more variety into her diet.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - John, and it’s a struggle at first learning to do without a lot of the items he kept in his kitchen, but he slowly learns, and goes as far as thinking of mood lighting, music, and the like. It’s a brand of romance that Hana would call ridiculous at first glance, but secretly swoons a bit over.

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Hana would for ease, really. John can stress a little too much about making sure every last part of the meal’s perfect, and no matter how many times she’ll tell him it’s fine, he still tries to go that extra mile.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidentally while cooking? - It’s actually about 50/50 for these two. 

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - John, mostly because he seems like the type to stress clean and reorder things as a means of centering himself, and poor Hana has no hope of ever being that neat.

Who is really against chores? - Neither’s against chores, but Hana does draw a line with the extent she’ll deep clean things.

Who cleans up after the pets? - These two don’t have pets at first, but the cats that Hana ends up attracting lead to more than a few guests sticking around, and she tends to keep up with them.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - This is a rare case of neither, unless Hana’s exhausted and wanting to put it off until tomorrow and John’s back is turned.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - John. Things must be in order and staged well, even if the guest in question is a human tornado.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Hana. She’d probably pretend to do a magic trick with it afterwards, being incredibly obvious about where she’s trying to pull the money from (his pocket, behind his ear), but John would play along, using just enough fake awe to get her to crack and start giggling.

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - John. With the shower he used to have, it was the ideal environment to relax and think in.

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - These two don’t have a dog, but there have been times when Hana’s been out (or John), and a few of the cats will just start following them. That totally counts, right?

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Hana loves decorating, but John turns it into an event, and he’s so over the top elaborate with it she can’t help but laugh and love it all at once.

What are their goals for the relationship? - To build and keep trust and respect between them. To try harder, and be better.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - Neither normally, but John’s odd sleep schedule might leave him sleeping until noon if he was up until 3-4 AM getting work done the night before.

Who plays the most pranks? - It’s actually closer to even than Hana expected it would ever be, but she wins this one.

[mittensmorgul]

Hello. Is there a chance that you know when the decision about Chuck beeing the villain of the entire show was made? And more specifically was season 9 written with this point of view?

Hi there! I’m sorry this has been sitting in my inbox for a few days, but I’ve been turning it over and over in my head trying to figure out how to actually answer. Because I don’t think this is something that was like the writers just suddenly decided, and began plotting everything else in the story around that fact, you know? And while it might be interesting to puzzle over, it doesn’t affect how I personally engage with the show.

I’ve written many times about the difference between a Watsonian Reading of a text versus a Doylist Reading of a text, and why sometimes understanding the Doylist might inform the watsonian read you’re willing to accept, so I can understand the interest in wondering if there was a moment in the writing room where it was declared that Chuck Was Not A Good Guy, and that the entire story should be told with that underlying assumption. For me, personally, it’s been clear since 4.18 that Chuck was not really a good guy, long before it was revealed that he was really God.

Was this always the intent of the writers? We just don’t know. I don’t think it matters. He always came across to me (ESPECIALLY in 5.22) as a self-important dick... but I know a lot of people really love his monologue on everything, and have always had rather warm feelings about it. So was their intent to make him seem smugly self-satisfied from the start, or is that an angle that later showrunners and writers seized upon and played up? Does it even matter when the story has made it clear now that Chuck has been the villain of the entire show from the start?

I understand how my personal opinion from the start here has probably made it easier for me to roll with the more recent canon revelations about Chuck than it would be for folks who have always believed that Chuck was a Good Guy from the start, that God would ultimately be on their side, or that if God wasn’t actively helping them, it was only because he was testing them or having them prove themselves to themselves or whatever. I understand people have clung to the notion that he was essentially still a good guy, even through all the shadiness. I just... could never see him that way.

ESPECIALLY after s11. I don’t think Chuck’s characterization has really changed since then. It’s just been... unmasked for what it really is. I think everything Chuck The Prophet was saying back in 4.18 about being a cruel and capricious god was... pretty on the nose. Then again, I’m fairly sure that Andrew Dabb took over the showrunning duties in mid-s11, and began setting up what he knew would eventually become the series endgame run, with Chuck as the final big bad. So that run up to the end of s11... was Dabb’s doing...

I don’t really know how much Chuck’s character (his fictional being, in addition to just... his personality, like how we’d talk about the character of real people, the quality of his essential being or whatever) played a part in the writing from 5.22 when he “vanished” through 10.05 when he appeared to tell Marie “not bad” at the end of her musical, and then again from that point until he dragged Metatron to the bar at the end of the universe in 11.20. I’m fairly certain that as soon as they began writing s11 and determined that Amara would be “God’s sister” that they knew that Chuck would have to make an appearance eventually. And the entire storyline of the MoC having been derailed and repurposed in mid s10 likely facilitated the escalation of the story. But again... I’ve written heckloads of stuff about s10, the accordion plot, how Carver had been writing toward a series finale in 10 until they got word they’d be renewed and wanted to keep going, and jerked the whole story onto a completely different narrative track in the back half of s10. As a seasonal arc, s10 will forever be my least favorite, because it’s just... a mess. Yes, even s6 comes across more coherent than s10, just looking at the overarching narrative structure. Episode wise, s10 probably wins for a few stellar entries, but yeeeeeesh, it’s a structural disaster overall.

But I have a tag for that, and lots and lots of posts, and Carver himself saying that this was exactly what happened there, so... I think it’s probably valid to say that the writers really hadn’t even thought much about Chuck until the MoC became about the Darkness in 10.23, and then they had to invent a whole mythology to bring in this super-powerful God-level power to the story, and “God’s sister!” sounded like a solid plan...

So I’d say that Chuck was being set up at that point to have to answer for his “original crime” of locking up the Darkness, you know? Though I don’t know how much of how it played out by the end of s11 was Carver’s doing, or Dabb’s. I am fairly certain that from the moment Dabb took over (quietly mid-s11, and possibly knowing he’d be tapped to take over before then and beginning to lay down tracks toward his eventual story plan, and then completely by 11.23) that what we’re seeing play out in s15 was always his intent.

But in s9? I don’t think Chuck was really even on any of the writers’ radar, at all. Even if they all were working from the perspective that he was God in the Supernatural universe. I just don’t think it affected what they were writing, you know?

Well, I mean, there’s earlier episodes where God was referenced... I mean 5.16 Dark Side of the Moon (hey, written by Dabb!) where we learned that God knew all about their problems, but he didn’t think it was HIS problem... I mean from that moment on, it’s really difficult to think of God as a charcacter who’s on their side, you know? And the end of the story he’d been content with was Sam in Hell for eternity, and Dean miserable in suburbia for eternity, and Cas probably being subjugated by Heaven and the Apocalypse starting again anyway... I mean... ew...

Or in 6.20, when Cas prayed to God, begging for a sign, begging for help, to do the right thing, he got NOTHING in return, zip, zilch. He did the only thing he could, and in retrospect, wasn’t releasing the leviathans something Chuck was probably deliriously happy about? More monsters and mayhem! A beloved hero character becoming the villain in the process! I mean, in s9 when Metatron was “Playing God” and trying to write his own story of the universe, isn’t this exactly the story he wanted to create too? Kinda on the nose there, even if they weren’t actively portraying Chuck himself as the bad guy here. They were explicitly telling us that Metatron was literally rewriting God’s playbook as self-insert fanfic.

So even if they weren’t actively writing Chuck as the big bad, they used Metatron-- the scribe of God-- to fulfill that function. In 11.20, when Chuck talks with Metatron about his turn playing God:

CHUCK: You know, you really are a terrific editor, Metatron.METATRON: (Chuckles.) Well, I was a terrible writer. A worse god. It's good I've got something going for me.CHUCK: (Takes off his glasses and stops typing.) Yeah, you know, I have to say, I didn't see the whole evil-turn thing coming.METATRON: Mm-hmm.

CHUCK: (Chuckling.) Why did you try to be me?METATRON: That was just a sad, pathetic cry for attention.CHUCK: (Chuckling.) Who's attention were you trying to get?METATRON: Yours.

He takes all of this and tries to turn it around, to deflect blame from himself as if he hadn’t literally done everything Metatron did, and more.

METATRON: It wasn't just the saps who were praying to you. The angels prayed, too. And so did I – every day.CHUCK: I know.METATRON: You want to sell the best-selling autobiography of all time? You explain to me – Tell me why you abandoned me. Us.CHUCK: Because you disappointed me. You all disappointed me.METATRON: (Stands up and looks at CHUCK with wet eyes.) No, look. I know I'm a disappointment, but you're wrong about humanity. They are your greatest creation because they're better than you are.(CHUCK starts to look more guilty as he looks at METATRON.)METATRON: Yeah, sure, they're weak and they cheat and steal and... destroy and disappoint. But they also give and create and they sing and dance and love. And above all, they never give up! But, you do!

But even after Metatron’s sacrifice, even after everything nearly falls apart, Chuck STILL tries to weasel out of responsibility for anything, still tries to deflect and minimize, even blames Amara for why he had to lock her away in the first place. And that hasn’t changed about him one whit, from the start right through the present. It’s always been an essential part of his character, and he’s been called out on it repeatedly in s15 by Becky, by Amara, by Sam, by Dean... probably by Michael, too. Like... this is how he’s always been, it’s how he’s always been written, even if the intent had never been to explicitly unmask him as the ultimate big bad of the entire series until the end of s11.

Like Amara accused him in 11.22:

Chuck: I'm sorry. For this, for everything.Amara: An apology at last. What's sorry to me? I spent millions of years crammed in that cage... alone... and afraid, wishing -- begging for death, because of you! And what was my crime, brother?!Chuck: The world needed to be born! And you wouldn't let me! Amara, you give me no choice.Amara: That's your story. Not mine. The real reason you banished me, why I couldn't be allowed to exist... you couldn't stand it. No, we were equals. We weren't great or powerful, because we stood only in relation to each other. You think you made the archangels to bring light? No. You made them to create lesser beings, to make you large, to make you Lord. It was ego! You wanted to be big!

and he admitted to Becky in 15.04:

CHUCK: Things were said. Uh… Now I’ve found msyself low on, um… resources. I went to ask my sister for help, and she rejected me. ‘Cause she sucks. And now I’m just… stuck. So, I thought I’d come see you, my number-one fan. And, I don’t know, see if you can help make me feel big again.BECKY: So, you want me to… fluff you?CHUCK: I mean, no.BECKY: You do. You thought you could just come back to me, your pathetic ex, your number-one fan, and get what you’ve always gotten from me… a nice big crank on your ego.

Meanwhile, in 11.22, Amara had asked him if he wouldn’t change, why should she? Yet... she DID change, beginning in 11.23 when she reconciled with Chuck. Only... he never did change at all.

So... to finally circle back to your question again... I don’t know if it’s relevant what the writers were thinking about Chuck and any random potential for him to return to the story in any capacity, let alone as God, let alone as the eventual Ultimate Series Big Bad back when they were writing s9. I don’t even think God/Chuck was on their radar at all, because I don’t think the entire MoC storyline was crafted with the end result that it would be the key to the Darkness’s prison. At least not way back in s9 when the MoC was dreamed up. It only ever evolved into that because of the narrative disaster of the s10 plot accordion. Which is why, while I fucking HATE s10 for it, I can’t be all that mad about what it unwittingly brought about, either.

Heck I hope any of this makes any sense whatsoever. This is one of those subjects that’s just like “insert key, wind mittens up, watch her go” :’D

[onisiondrama]

Killstream w/ Onision 3/30/2020 - Summary Part 1

Re-Upload

(Unless specifically stated, everything written is from Greg / James’ words. Parenthesis are my notes/thoughts.):

Greg / James asks what the host’s relation to him online is. Host says none really. Host says he talked about Greg on stream a few times. (Host doesn’t introduce himself so Idk what to call him.)

Greg asks if host thought the Kombucha video was real. Host says no, they played it on the show. Greg says Hansen thought it was real. Says there is a video of Hansen at his house realizing it was all bullshit. (Why would he show up to your house if he thought those videos were real when the plot line had you divorced and homeless at that point?)

Greg says grooming is only when you get someone to do something illegal. Says someone on his discord told him that.

Sarah said her mom beat her, so they brought her in their home. She thought something was going to happen and Greg had to get in through her head it wasn’t. Kai was dating Billie. Sarah got so upset when she saw Kai and Billie kissing in a theater that Greg had to pull her aside and tell her she's part of the house, but not part of the relationship. He wanted her to still feel included, but know there’s no future for her.

When she found out nothing’s going to happen, she sent a text saying if Greg found out how she felt, she’d be kicked out. He says he only found out about this later on down the line. 

He was mean to her, like Meg Griffin. Someone jokes “treat them like dirt, they’ll stick to you like mud.” Everyone laughs, but Greg. He says no.

He says one time she asked him to c-m in her when she was 18 1/2, but he was upset because the relationship wasn’t supposed to be just himself and Sarah. He didn’t want to have babies with her. (He just jumped right into that. I swear I didn’t skip anything.)

She said she’s only going to sign an NDA if they fuck her. He can’t believe they were put in this situation.

Sarah was pushing so hard to get with Kai. It’s hard because she was constantly trying to “UwU” Kai and Billie left a gap when she left. Greg stopped treating Sarah like shit because she was an adult. She knows she have a chance now she’s an adult and has shown loyalty. He was trying to find someone to make Kai happy.

He told Sarah there was no potential for her to be with himself if Kai doesn’t want her. Greg says Sarah kept trying to kiss Kai and one day when she was 18 1/2, she planted a kiss. Kai jumps back and made a weird face. Sarah says “fuck”. (He’s skipping the part where he told Sarah to kiss Kai. He admitted to this in one of his 30+ rambling videos from January.) Someone asks if Sarah was thinking about that kiss since before she turned 18. Greg says he doesn’t know. (He just said before she wanted to be part of the relationship since she was 16. He even acknowledged this publicly back then.)

Kai tweets about Grey from Grey’s anatomy being hot and Sarah was upset, like Kai was cheating. Sarah and Kai have a falling out.

Ayalla comes out and says they groomed Sarah. At that point the only thing that happened was Sarah planted a kiss on Kai. Greg asks Sarah to make a video and to be honest. After he saw the video she made, he realized how much she liked Kai. She would say people that trashed Kai were terrible people.

He says Sarah tells them she was raped by a black man. Greg’s hero complex takes over and he wanted to help. She flew back out and she proposed an actual relationship.

Greg says he told Sarah when she was 17 he was shitty to her because he wanted her to stay away from him. Late 2018. They were more chill after that, but he didn’t want to explore the idea of a relationship until Kai approved. It was a mess because Kai didn’t feel like it was appropriate.

Greg says at this point she hadn’t lived with them for a while. She lived in her own state, had her own car, job, etc.

Greg hates that he works constantly and Kai doesn’t have someone to spend time with. (I hate this excuse so much. If that was the case why does he always get involved in the relationships?)

He says Sarah put her mouth on Kai’s genital region the first time. The second time, Sarah shoved her boob in Kai’s mouth. Kai said he tried not to vomit. Kai laid there and did nothing both times except kiss. (He’s not mentioning he was also part of these incidents.) Kai was upset and teary. It was horrible for Kai so it’s whack when people make fun of him for crying. He’s the one that suffered. Greg says it’s not going to work and Sarah went back to her life. 

He says there’s a leaked text of him arguing about virginity. He says he was talking about vaginal and mouth virginity. He says it was stupid. He told Kai he took her mouth virginity ? He felt bad for Sarah and was telling Kai he wasn’t being fair to her.

He comes up with idea where he can be with Sarah while Kai figured out if he wants to be part of the relationship. Sarah was cool with it and Kai told them 7 days only. If it doesn’t work out, they’ll all move on. They lasted 2 days. After the cum inside me thing, he couldn’t handle it.

They saw Aladdin together and she kept looking up at him like she wanted to make out. He was really irritated. She was guilt tripping him for not making out with him. This combined with the c-m thing, he realized Sarah doesn’t give a shit about Kai. Otherwise she wouldn’t be so desperate for his attention.

She accused him of using him for sex. He asks then why would he only be with her for 2 days when they had 5 more?

They weren’t allowed to have vaginal stuff. He weaseled around it by having his hand in front of his junk. Says if you give him an inch, he will find a way to manipulate it.

Greg says the only instance of anything underage was when he was with Kai when he was 17, but Kai was able to consent because of their state laws. (Shiloh was also 17.)

The police showed up with Shiloh because they thought they were making porn in their hotel room. He was just a Youtuber with a tripod. The police looked through his laptop and said he was fine. He thinks this Hansen doesn’t want to talk to him because Greg has a huge history of not breaking the law.

The host asks about the hand thing. (Greg goes into detail. I don’t want to write about that, sorry.)

Later on when Sarah was at the airport, she was crying saying she just wanted a boyfriend. He asks, if she just wanted a boyfriend, what the fuck was she doing? She didn’t have it through her head she would be dating two people. (I don’t understand this argument. They both would have been her boyfriend, no?)

Someone asks if Greg has time for a job with all this relationship stuff. Greg says he’s a Youtuber so he makes his own hours. (So he can make time for thirds, but not Kai?)

Greg says Sarah turned the relationship into being with one person instead of the other and tried to get pregnant.

When Sarah was at the house they’d hand out together, talk about memes, group wrestle. He would take them both on, but win every time.

Greg says he doesn’t want to be with anyone under 25 now. (What happened to his I only want to be with sex dolls plan? Does he have his eye on someone?)

Greg says he criticized people with BPD and Sarah lost her mind. Greg says he thought he had BPD before, but you have to be diagnosed. He says Sarah was diagnosed twice, but was underage. Her symptoms freaks her out. He asked her to give him a baby and she made a gremlin face while holing the baby.

Someone asks how she got the baby. He said she would help out a lot. He says before she was 18 she would do everything she can to win them over, but nothing was going to happen. He wasn’t interested in it because she was underage.

After he said he was done with stoners and people with BPD, she made a tell all livestream.

She blackmailed them into having sex with the NPA, so he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to talk publicly about it. The host asks about the blackmail. Greg says she told them she could destroy their lives. The host says he can’t imagine how. Greg says that’s why he didn’t take it seriously and it was a “ha ha” thing at the time. Greg says he had a Patreon member who visited and some of his friend sign an NDAs. He wished he made one with Cyr so they wouldn’t attack each other publicly. They could still be friends. That taught him to have his friends sign NDAs. The host makes fun of the NDAs and Greg says it’s common for celebrities to have people sign sex contracts to prove it was consensual in court.

When he asked Sarah to sign the NDA, she said only if she gets what she wants, implying sex. At the time he thought it was kinky. They warmed up to each other because everything that happened that day and the vibe was good. (Did he just admit it wasn’t blackmail then?)

Way down the line he slept in his garage because he was afraid she was going to kill him because people with BPD give off a certain vibe when you piss them off. They go from extreme love and hate.

Says he went through that with Shiloh a lot. She would have mental breakdowns and he would have to call the cops. She wouldn’t leave him alone in his room and body slammed the door. She kept bashing it open. It was hard for him to hold it closed because she was 180 lbs and 5′ 0″.

[spaceskam]

weren’t we birds of a feather?

Summary: Michael and Alex follow a lead.

"Are you absolutely sure this is the guy? This doesn't feel like the guy." 

"Shut up, Guerin." 

Michael let Alex have his mini-stare down with him because it didn't change the fact that this didn't feel like the guy. They'd searched high and low to find someone who might have information on Project Shepard from back in the day, someone who was no longer affiliated but still might know something. That brought them to some old guy's secret basement in Colorado that was beneath a secret house that almost got them shot when they turned up unannounced.

But, aside from the shotgun entrance, the guy didn't seem like he ever was some top-secret military personnel. 

“Here’s some wine,” Col. Klein said, handing them each sparkling little glasses with Rosé filled to the brim. They took them, but neither of them drank. “I’m assuming you’re here about the aliens.” Michael looked over to Alex with nervous eyes. Okay, maybe it might be the guy.

“Project Shepard, sir. I’m‒”

“Captain Alexander Manes, son of Major Sargent Jesse Manes. And this is Michael Guerin,” Col. Klein said, giving that sweet old man smile that could’ve been mistaken as not threatening but Michael knew better. He took a step in front of Alex only to not-so-nicely shoved behind him by the Airman himself.

“Yes. I’ve been looking into Project Shepard and working on dismantling it, but there are a few pieces missing and you’re the only one on record to no longer be affiliated and survived,” Alex said simply, his military tone in full force as he placed the glass down. Col. Klein didn’t seem even a little phased.

“That’s because your father’s a meatheaded bastard. No offense, son,” he said. Michael quickly turned his eyes to Alex, only to see him smiling. He wasn’t sure if it was real or for show just yet.

“None taken.”

“Come, come sit,” he urged, ushering them over to the little tattered couch. Col. Klien sat across from them on the equally tattered recliner, sipping on his own glass and gesturing for them to drink. Michael again checked with Alex who nodded, simultaneously taking a sip. Alex’s face screwed up at the strength, but Michael had definitely had worse. Even if it was really fucking strong for wine.

“Is, is there anything you can tell us? Like, if there are any more bases we should check out? Anyone as high up as my father?” Alex asked. Col. Klein sat back, a thoughtful expression covering his dark features.

“Well, it’s been a minute, but I’m sure your dad has some bullshit up his sleeve. I have never met a man so full of himself unless you wanna count his father and grandfather. You come from a long, long line of meatheads, Captain, though I know you’re a bit better than them,” he said, smiling as he gestured towards Michael. The alien shifted in his seat. There was something he really didn’t like about being trapped in a basement with a man who knew all about how to subdue aliens and had weapons lining the walls. He was sure if he was alone, he would’ve hauled ass before he made it to the door.

“Thank you, sir, I do my best.”

“Back in the day, when I was still workin’ with ‘em, you know, it was a real shitshow. These men who I’d known for years and years and who I thought were good people were just… so willing to be hands-on with torture just because they were a little different. I still to this day don’t get it, how they so willingly hurt these people who look like us. And then I think back to the war, to the people I’ve probably hurt without even knowing it and it makes me wonder if I’m any better,” Col. Klein said, shaking his head. Michael balled up his hands in his lap, focusing on the floor in front of him. He wasn’t too sure how prepared he was to hear about the torture of his people.

“I understand, sir,” Alex said because of course he did. His hand mindlessly reached to Michael’s knee, squeezing and giving him the comfort he needed.

“I never, never personally hurt any of them, son,” Col. Klein said and it took a moment for Michael to realize he was talking to him. He made sure to make eye contact after downing the rest of the wine. “But I stood by and that makes me just as bad. And I started to realize that as I aged and I didn’t want to be that person. So I tried to help them.”

“So did we,” Alex said, nodding his head. Michael’s jaw clenched.

“I set off the escape security bullshit and blew up the entire prison,” Michael grumbled. Col. Klein filled his glass again.

“I wasn’t even ballsy enough to do that. I just started trying to befriend them, really. I would try to talk to them and I’d make sure they got fed and would try to talk my way out of their experiments. I don’t think it was much, but I saw a few smiles and, honestly, it made me feel better,” he explained, nodding his head. Michael finished off his glass and went to grab Alex’s. This was a horrible, horrible idea. “But eventually your father found out what I was doing and weaseled his way into getting me discharged.”

“How? You were at a higher ranking, how did he even do that?” Alex asked. He gave a sad little smile.

“Your father is an expert at getting what he wants, son,” Col. Klein said. No other information was needed though Michael really wanted some.

“I understand. So, we’ve found Caulfield and the bunkers in Roswell and in Marfa. But the records stop being regularly updated around 2010 when the government pulled funding, do you know of anything? Anywhere else we should look?” Alex asked.

For a moment, there was silence. Then Col. Klein stood to his feet. They both watched as he slowly made his way to the cabinet in the back corner. Michael instinctually grabbed Alex’s arm, even as the Airman sat up straight and placed his arm protectively in front of him.

But then the cabinet opened and revealed a massive map with plot points all over the country and stacks of information.

“I stole a lot of stuff before I got discharged, figured it’d be safer with me than with reckless men,” Col. Klien said proudly, gesturing for them to come see, “Go on. Take a look. You can do much more with it than I can.”

For the next three hours, the three of them poured over the information. There were entire essays on each of the aliens, discussing their abilities and how they worked. Every once in a while, they’d come across one that Klein had befriended and he would correct some of the essay’s information. It led Michael to believe that all of them had some falsehoods, namely the more violent aspects of them. He was admittedly a little tipsy through it all, but he did come out of it feeling satisfied that he’d finally gotten some answers.

“Guess we’re going on a cross country road trip to find all these places, Guerin,” Alex grinned, slumping back on the couch a little tipsy himself.

“Cheers to fixing some wrongs!” The colonel said, holding up his glass.

“Fixing some wrongs,” Micahel and Alex agreed, clinking glasses and downing them.

“You guys’ll have to keep me updated, I’d like to hear about them getting what’s comin’ to ‘em,” Colonel laughed, reaching forward to fill their glasses again.

“Oh, no, we can’t. I’ve gotta drive back to Roswell still,” Alex said, waving it off. Col. Klein raised his eyebrows.

“Drive back to Roswell? Tonight? It’s nearly 2 in the morning!” he scoffed, “Just take the guest room, it’ll be safer.”

They shared a look.

“I mean, it is pretty late and I drank too much to really split the driving,” Michael said softly. Alex nodded before they both looked back to the Colonel. “Could I sleep on the couch?”

The old man furrowed his eyebrows. “Why would you wanna do that? Got a little lover’s quarrel? Or do you just wanna pretend since you’re in the presence of an old man? I’ll have you know, I went to many Pride Parades back in my day. Though, they were less parades and more protests, but still. Fought for the rights. I don’t mind.” Michael felt his eyes go wide as a laugh bubbled in him.

“No, no, we’re friends,” he said.

“Yeah, just friends,” Alex agreed. Colonel Klein grinned.

“Well, I don’t believe that for a minute!” he laughed. Michael looked over at Alex again only to see him putting more space between them. “You two have been attached at the hip since you got in here, you constantly are speaking without saying anything, and you both care enough about each other that you came to some old Colonel’s basement and didn’t mind being shot at if it meant getting answers for each other. You both scream love if I’ve ever seen it.”

“No, we just…”

“I didn’t even mention the fact that you got all that shared trauma. Brings people together, you know? Maybe it hurts, but you gotta find solace somewhere and it’s safest with the person who gets it. Trust me,” Col. Klein said, winking at them before pouring his own glass before he stood up. Michael looked down at his hands. “You can sleep on the couch, I won’t stop you, but, if I were you, I’d just share the damn bed. You guys have a good night.”

Neither of them had any words to say as he climbed the stairs, leaving them to their own devices.

“A-are you sure you want the couch? You can take the bed,” Alex offered. Michael looked at him like he’d gone insane.

“No offense, but you would literally have to kill me to take the bed. Go on,” Michael argued. Alex gave him a sweet, probably slightly tipsy little smile.

“Okay, Guerin,” Alex said, standing to his feet, “Goodnight.”

Michael forced himself to get comfortable on the little couch, staring blankly at the floor as he processed the words the Colonel had said. Shared trauma. Safest with the person who gets it. That had to be bullshit. Or, at least on some level. That’s why he even went to Maria all those months ago. The shared trauma is what made it hard to go to Alex. Sure, they hadn’t worked and he and Alex had made up and the trauma they shared definitely made him feel protective as hell, but it didn’t mean they had to be together.

Mindlessly, Michael stood up to go to Alex only to see the Airman already walking out of the door.

“Um, hi,” he fumbled. Alex licked his lips.

“We weren’t attached at the hip all night, were we?” Alex asked. Michael shook his head.

“Absolutely not. And, if we were, it’s because we literally just got shot at and, like, safety in numbers,” Michael explained.

“Yeah, right, and the shared trauma thing? That, that pushes people apart.”

“Exactly! Yeah, and, and he was‒”

“Drunk! So drunk! And he doesn’t know us, we’ve just spent a couple hours with him and he just thinks he’s got it all right.”

“God, okay, yeah, I’m so glad we’re, we’re on the same page.”

“Exact same page, we’re so fine.”

Micahel nodded, finding himself rendered silent as he took in Alex. He had taken off his jacket and his jeans, leaving him in a t-shirt that had to have been bought before the military muscle and tight briefs that look too good for a tipsy mind to handle. He hadn’t even taken his prosthetic off. Micahel shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Right, right, okay, goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

They both made their way to their respective spaces. Michael sat on the couch, his fingernails wedging between his teeth as he softly tapped his foot against the floor. His mind was flooded with images of Alex and the swirled possibility that maybe, just maybe, Colonel Klein was right. Maybe he had been handling the whole trauma thing wrong. Maybe Alex should be his safe place.

Michael made his way towards Alex’s door again to have a revised conversation. He barely raised his fist to knock when Alex threw open the door. Michael blinked a few times and opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly silenced by Alex pushing into his space and giving him the sweetest little kiss. It led to another kiss and another and another and Michael decided Colonel Klein was the smartest person in the world. Who would’ve thought that acknowledging their shared trauma would make him realize just how much he needed him?

“Are you sure?” Michael whispered, cradling the Airman’s face in his hands for the first time in way too long. Alex smiled as he pulled him into the room.

“Absolutely.”

[awinchestershell]

Whumptober Day 15: Scars

Peter found himself making his way up the stairs in search of Tony. He was simply bored and looking for something to occupy his time. He figured he’d ask Tony if he wanted to work on something in the lab.

That is until he walked into Tony’s room. The older man was holding his shirt in his right hand, the fabric crumpled into a ball, while he was running his fingers along a particularly rough scar on his chest.

Shock was enough to freeze Peter completely. He’d known that Tony had been through some rough fights, and that that implied he’d have a few scars, but this was way more than he was expecting.

The scariest one was a large burn, completely healed by now, that covered almost a fifth of chest, right in the center where his arc reactor used to be before he got it removed.

“Peter.” Tony suddenly says, dropping his shirt and turning to face the young avenger, who was still frozen in the doorway.

“Mr. Stark?” He asks, feeling his feet moving forward without his permission. He found himself standing in front of Tony, gently poking at the large burn.

“What happened to you?” Peter whispers, glancing up at Tony.

Tony sighs, leading Peter over to the bed and sitting next to him.

“How much do you know about Aldrich Killian?” Tony asks, a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“Only a little bit. I mean Coronel Rhodes told me some of the story, but he didn’t give me any details.” Peter admits, still staring at Tony in shock.

“But he told about how hot they got? The people infected by Extremis?” Tony asks, making eye contact with Peter. Peter only nods.

“Well, when I was in one of my suits, Killian got me on my back, and he warmed up his finger and pressed it right into the suit right here.” Tony pauses to tap the middle of the burn scar, before continuing.

“And the metal of the suit got so hot it started to melt, right on top of my skin. And it burned me pretty badly. A few seconds later I managed to get Killian off me, and I ignored the burn as best I could so I could finish the fight and save the President.” Peter seems wide eyed with awe, like this is the most interesting thing Tony’s ever told him.

“What about this one?” Peter asks, gently placing his fingers over a smaller, different kind of burn.

“Ah. This one's from my time in Afghanistan. Most of my scars are. What do you know about that story?” Tony asks carefully, making sure he didn’t scare Peter by telling him he was tortured for three months.

“I know the basic story. Natasha told me that your childhood friend hired some terrorists to kill you. And I know that they kept you in a cave for a long time. And that that’s where you built your first suit. But that’s all I’ve been told.” Peter tells him, and Tony can tell the kid is trying to be gentle. As if he’s afraid of upsetting Tony.

“Well that’s the gist of it. What they didn’t tell you is that those men were not very kind to me in that cave.” Tony’s edging around the truth, not wanting to drop a bomb in Peter’s lap. The kid frowns for a moment, before looking up at Tony with sad eyes.

“Did they torture you?” Peter asks, although it’s nearly a whine. And Tony nods gently.

“This particular burn is from a taser. Or maybe it was a cattle prod. I really can’t remember.” Tony says, allowing the memories to come back to him. It had been years since his time in that cave, and by now he was mostly healed, not only physically but emotionally.

“And this one?” Peter whispers, tracing a long and smooth scar that trailed down the side of Tony’s stomach.

“That one, you were there for. That’s from the day that we fought Thanos on Titan. Do you remember that day?” Peter flinches, but nonetheless he nods.

“I remember most of it. I remember meeting the Guardians, and I remember almost winning. But then Mr. Lord got mad and Thanos escaped. Everything after that is a little blurry. Up until I turn to dust.” Peter shivers, and Tony spares the kid the pain of asking about it.

“Well, while you all were unconscious, I tried to stab Thanos. But he grabbed the blade and turned around and stabbed me. I froze it up, and to be honest I don’t remember much of the pain because I was a little distracted by everyone around me disappearing.” Tony sighs, glancing down at Peter.

“What about these?” Peter asks, and Tony feels his gentle fingers following three long lines going down Tony’s back in all different directions. Tony sighs. He was worried Peter might pass out if he explains this one.

“Those are also from Afghanistan. Are you aware of what a bullwhip is?” Tony asks, watching Peter warily to gauge his reaction.

Peter freezes, and Tony swears the kid looks like he might cry, before he takes a deep breath and forces himself to relax.

“I think so. Flash joked about using one during sex once. But I didn’t believe him. I thought they were meant for fun?” Peter asks, and the innocence behind the question makes Tony’s heart sting.

“Most of the time now, they are. But when they were first invented, their purpose was to punish people. Bad men would string little metal beads onto the leather of the whip, and they’d use it to punish people who misbehaved.” Tony explains, trying his best not to remember how it felt to be strung up. And how it felt for little metal balls to slice through his skin. And how it felt for blood to drip down his back.

Again, Peter stills. It’s almost a minute before he’s able to speak again. “Is that what happened to you?” Peter asks. Tony nods.

“I don’t understand. I thought Mr. Stane wanted the terrorists to kill you. Why were they hurting you instead?” Peter asks, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Because the terrorists decided that if they had me, they could make me useful. So they asked me to build a weapon for them. And I refused. This,” Tony pauses, gesturing to the scars on his back, “was their way of ‘motivating’ me.”

“What about this one?” Peter asks, gesturing to a crescent moon shaped scar on Tony’s right shoulder. Tony forces himself to take a deep breath. This is something he’s never talked about with Peter, or to be frank, with anyone before.

“That’s from a beer bottle. It uh… got stuck in my shoulder.” Tony says, silently hoping he can weasel his way out of a further explanation. He wasn’t upset with Peter for asking, he’d be curious too, and he knew he could always refuse to answer. But he promised Peter full honesty from now on.

“How’d that happen?” Peter must sense that this topic makes Tony uncomfortable, because his question is careful, his voice barely above a whisper.

“My father, Howard, he got angry one day. And there was a broken bottle on the table. Looking back at it I think he only meant to threaten me. I don’t think he wanted to hurt me. At least not that day.” Tony mumbles the last part, unable to stop himself, and he glances up at Peter anxiously.

Somehow, this upsets Peter the least of all his stories so far. Tony watches as Peter absorbs the information, processes it in his head, and then lets it go.

“And this one?” Peter asks, already moving the subject along. Tony glances down to find Peter’s hand hovering over a small, circular scar. Tony smiles. Finally an easy one.

“That is from getting shot while escaping the afghan cave. I’ll admit, it made it a little hard to walk through the scorching desert.” Tony chuckles, and Peter struggles to find the joke.

“How come none of this bothers you anymore? I feel like any normal person would have really bad PTSD from this stuff.” Peter seems genuinely curious, and Tony really has to think about his answer.

“Well to be honest Peter, most of it does bother me. Or at least it used to. But when we experience traumatic things, sometimes it gets us down for a while. And that’s fine. It’s normal to be upset about things like that for awhile. Maybe years. But eventually you move on from those scary things, and you learn to accept them and to live with them.” Tony is in full dad mode now, and Peter listens graciously.

“I know that what happened with the Vulture and with Thanos still scares you sometimes. And I want you to know that it’s normal. Just because you’re an Avenger doesn’t mean you don’t have trauma. We all have bad memories. Even Captain America has trauma. But eventually we move on from it, and we get better.” Tony seems to be done with his speech, and Peter frowns, resting his head on the older avenger’s shoulder.

“How do you stop being afraid of it?” Peter asks, fidgeting with his hands. Tony sighs.

“You talk about it. Not all scars are visible, Pete. But talking about them, and letting others help, can sometimes make them hurt less.” Now it’s Peter’s turn to sigh, and Tony smiles as the kid nuzzles into his shoulder.

“If you ever wanna talk about the Vulture or Thanos, or anything for that matter, you can always come to me. Or Natasha, or even Rogers. You know that, right?” Tony asks, leaning down to look at Peter’s face.

Peter nods, and the two drift into silence. Tony is rehashing old memories in his head, and Peter keeps him company, letting his mentor work through it in peace.

[iwritefanficsometimes]

I Told You We Were Waiting For Someone

So I’m trying to decide if this is going to fit into a wider universe of my in progress afterlife fic, or if it’s just a one-shot with a similar premise. I could 100% fit it in, and I think I might want to? But I’m still thinking about it

This is a really roundabout fic, and has way too much dialogue in some places, but that’s just how I write now, apparently? I did my best. I know that the style changes in a few places, and that’s not in purpose, but it’s not too jarring (I hope) so just give it a chance?

Endgame: DrPepperony, contains endgame spoilers, duh. AO3 link to come.

———————

Stephen going to Pepper and apologizing for the timeline.

Pepper forgiving Stephen and inviting him to have some coffee. “Or tea? Yeah, you seem like a tea guy.”

Morgan wants to know why his cape is like Thor’s.

Stephen tells her it’s because Thor copied him.

Morgan accepts this without question and then calls her uncle Bruce to tell him Thor is a copy-cat.

Bruce doesn’t tell Thor.

Pepper gives Stephen a standing invitation to stop by, because she’s intimately familiar with how quickly Tony can get under people’s skin and burrow into their hearts.

She doesn’t know the half of it.

Stephen stops by once a month or so, and Morgan gets used to the sight of him.

So does Pepper.

She likes it when Stephen comes by and they have a chance to talk.

So does Stephen.

“Doctor Strange, why can’t you use your magic to bring back my dad?”

The question isn’t accusing, she seems to understand that the answer must be a negative, she just wants to know why.

“Because bringing back people from the dead is a very dangerous kind of magic, and if I did it, he might not come back the same Dad you knew.”

She nods, considering this.

“So you can, but he’d just be bad.”

“Yes.”

She nods again and hugs him around the legs.

“If he wouldn’t be bad, would you do it?”

He answers too quickly.

“Yes.”

Morgan stays clinging to him for a minute before she’s satisfied with the answer and Stephen.

“Mom says you can stay for dinner. I helped mix the salad.”

Stephen smiles.

🖥

It’s not until Morgan is nearly 15 that they find the AI.

Turning him on is an accident. If they’d known they would’ve left it alone. Great timing for Tony to forget to label an AI

AI Tony doesn’t remember Morgan, or marriage, or a farm. He’s stuck so far in the past he’s almost unrecognizable.

Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy spend a lot of time talking to this version of Tony, Pre-Ultron, and they find that the more they tell him about the present the less and less he responds.

Eventually Rhodey makes the executive decision to get Friday involved.

She is understandably unsure of her own abilities, but she does her best to bring AI Tony around.

After three weeks of near constant interface, Friday and Tony emerge in their holograms, and Tony still looks down, as much as any AI can be down, but he wants to interact with Morgan.

There’s not much footage of Tony interacting with Morgan, just lots of pictures. Pepper is the one who tells him about his relationship with Morgan, so he can talk to her.

They talk for an hour, and Morgan cries into the shoulder of the Iron Man armour Tony is controlling, and AI Tony is just trying to reconcile himself with a child.

They don’t talk much after that.

Tony is less like a ghost and more like a shell.

Morgan is less like a person and more like a figment.

It makes Pepper and Rhodey both sad to see it.

Eventually, they ask Tony if he wants to go offline.

Tony says yes.

They shut him down and pack him up in a box labeled “Tony.” No one touches it for forty years.

🖥

Morgan is 55 when she’s going through her mother’s personal effects. She finds the box labelled “Tony” and opens it up, curious.

She recognizes the programming that contains an AI immediately. She knows it’s her father’s digital replica.

She puts it back in the box.

Three days later she takes the box back out again. All she has left of her father is a 50 year old hologram, every design he’d ever made, and this AI.

She turns it on.

It doesn’t recognize her, and she didn’t expect it to.

“Hey! Where’s Rhodey? Pepper? I thought we agred I was going offline.”

“Change of plans. Try the house on for size.”

“Are you making me a butler?” Tony souds entirely offended, and Morgan smiles.

“No. You’d be terrible at it.”

“I really would. So what’s the about... whoever you are?”

“I just think it’s time you got to stretch your legs, that’s all.”

“Technically speaking, I don’t have legs. I’m a string of binary code.”

“Don’t get smart with me or I’ll make you share a charging station with Dum-e.”

“He’s still around?” He asked, looking aroud him, and Morgan smiled.

“Interface with the house and find out.”

It was the only permission AI Tony needed, and suddenly things were turning on and off at random, and there were dozen things happening all around the old farm house where she grew up.

“Hey, wait a minute!”

She leaves before he can tell her what he’s indignant about. She shuts down the internet access just in case.

🖥

“It’d take a genius to figure this out. Not that you’re not a genius, Morgan, but you’re in bio-tech, and this is... not that.”

Morgan looks at Harley quizically. “Are you saying you can’t figure it out?”

“Of course I can figure it out, but it’s going to take time we don’t have.”

“What if I said I had someone who might be able to help us.”

“And you’ve been sitting on them this entire time!?”

“It’s... complicated.”

🖥

“You aren’t a little scamp any more. Hell, I think you might be older than I am. Which means I’m really old. Shit.” Tony says to Harley as he sorts through the data they’ve given him access to.

“This will never work, an AI doesn’t have the same creative capabilities as a-“

“Got it!” Tony said, displaying a hologram that... actually looked like it could work.

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” Morgan smiled. “Great work Tony.”

“Sure thing.”

Harely looks at Morgan quizzically.

Morgan doesn’t look back.

🖥

“And who are you?”

“My name’s Elizabeth. I’m ten. You’re dead.”

“Smart one. Yeah, I heard. Say, Elizabeth, shouldn’t you be monitored by someone with... I don’t know, a body?”

“No. Mom said that I’m old enough to go wherever I want in the compound so long as I don’t do anything that might get me hurt.”

“Like walk into an active training room?”

“Basically.”

“Fair. Alright, well, your mom...”

“Morgan,”

“Morgan-” He said it and suddenly things made sense. “Morgan Stark.”

“Yup, and I’m Elizabeth Stark. You’re Tony Stark. That’s Harley. Hi, Harely. I’m not supposed to be here so don’t tell Mom, okay? Thanks.”

“Elizabeth, come on. Morgan wouldn’t want you to be hanging around in here.”

“He’s right. I’m a bad influence.”

“Shut up, Tony.”

“Watch your language, sir, there’s a lady present!”

Morgan laughed. “You sound like Mr. Rogers.”

“He’s still around???”

“Barely.” Harley mumbled under his breath. “Doesn’t keep him from trying to act like he’s still in charge of everything.”

“Mr. Rogers is bossy. Mom and Harley hate it. Peter says it’s fine. I think he just says that to be nice thought.”

“Sounds like it. Who’s Peter?”

“Oh, he’s Spider Man. You used to know him.” She squints at him, like she’s wary now that he’s not remembering all the parts of the past that he should. “Before you did the snap, you knew him. You gave him his first good spider suit. And then took it away. And then gave it back.”

“Sounds like me. You gonna take her back to her mom?” Tony asked Harley, and Elizabeth whined.

“No..! Come on, Uncle Harley, please??”

“Don’t Uncle Harley at me, you know that stopped working years ago. Come on, we’re doing lunch, and you’ll want to be out of here before Morgan gets an alert.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that, Harley,” Friday’s voice says apologetically, and Harley sighs.

“Figures. See you around, Tony. We’ve got some stuff to talk to you about later.”

“Yeah, sure thing! It’s not like I’m being held prisoner in my own lab!” AI Tony calls after Elizabeth and Harley.

“You’re not a prisoner, boss. Just on house arrest.”

“How can you call me boss and be the holder of the keys to my cell?”

“Not a prison.”

“Feels like a prison.”

“When given free reign of the house the first time you were brought online, you broke eight different electrical appliance. For the safety of the inhabitants, you’ll have to stay here.”

“We’re not worried about me breaking the lab? I could do some real damage here.”

“But would you?”

“...No.” Tony sighed, as much as any AI can sigh.

🖥

“What’s with the secret keeping Morgan? I feel like a piece of dirty laundry.”

“Captain Rogers would have a lot to say about an AI of you. I don’t want to listen to any of it.”

“So he’s Captain, now? Lizzie called him Mr. Rogers. Like from the tv show you’re too young to remember and I never actually watched.”

“Trust me, I’ve heard plenty about it over the years.” Morgan laughed, working across from her father’s hologram, but never looking at it. “But that’s just how Lizzie is. Everyone else she just calls by their first names, but Steve started putting a fuss up about it, so she started calling him Mr. Rogers instead.” She smirks to herself. “He’s gotten fussy in his old age.”

“Fussier. He was always fussy. He just wore a righteous look and an American Ass and everyone called him a patriot.”

“Well, two out of three of those things are still true.”

“No! He lost the ass?”

“He’s over 150 years old, Tony.”

“He’s a super soldier. He’s not supposed to loose the ass.”

“You’re kind of obsessed with Captain America’s ass.”

“I used to make his suits.”

Morgan laughs and it hits AI Tony in a very real way that he is talking to his daughter. He made his daughter laugh.

💻

“Tony! Mom gave me permission to visit.”

“How’d you weasel that out of her?” Tony asked, turning his hologram away from the manipulation station, despite his mind still definately being on it. It’s great to be an AI.

“I promised to clean my entire room.”

“Oh wow. That’s a hefty promise.”

“I’m not really going to do the entire room. She ever checks under the bed.” She rolls her eyes, and Tony raises an eyebrow at Friday’s security camera.

“I’m thinking she might this time around.”

She rolled her eyes in a way that was so familiar Tony was caught off gaurd for a minute.

“Tony. Hey! Tony!” She waved her hand in front of his face and he snapped his processing power back to attention.

“Hey is for horses, young lady.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes again, and AI Tony felt fond.

He felt.

“Tony! Why do you keep ignoring me?”

“I’m not ignoring you, Lizzie. I’m thinking deeply.”

“But you’re a computer. You have enough processing power to focus on other things and think deeply.”

“You’re right, but I’m running a little slow in my old age.”

She wrinkled her nose at him, “you don’t look that old.”

“Holograms don’t age. I’m a lot older than I look.”

She frowns. “Does that make you sad?”

Tony is about to say no, because he is an AI and incapable of feeling anything, let alone sadness, it’s all just predetermined choices and algorithms except... “yeah, it does.”

She patted the console that was closest to her like she might pat a sad cat. “I’m sorry you can’t get old like everyone else, Tony.”

“Me too.”

🖥

There’s a commotion happening that Tony can pick up even though he only has access to the mics in the lab. There’s some yelling, some smashing, and then there’s a bunch of sparks forming a portal into his lab and a weirdly dressed man with shaking hands and grey streaks in his hair is standing in his lab. Staring at him.

“Can I help you?” Tony asked, reaching out to Friday to activate security protocols and start shutting down anything and everything even remotely vulnerable in the compound.

“I think maybe I can help you, Tony.” The man says, and Tony cocks an eyebrow at him.

“Um, no offense, but I’m actually a computer. An AI. I’m not being held captive or whatever weird conspiracy theory has been floating around the internet. The real Tony Stark is dead. I’m just a copy.”

The man shakes his head and Tony keeps pushing Friday to tell her what’s going on, but he’s been bugging her so much lately that she’s ignoring him. Great.

“You’re not just a copy. You’re a part of his soul.”

“What?” Tony asked, staring at him like he was off his rocker (he was.)

“I second that.” Morgan said, glaring at the newcomer from the doorway.

“Morgan, I made you a promise years ago, that if I could bring him back-“

“He’s been dead for fifty years, Strange. Even if you could bring him back, what good would it do, aside from easing your guilt?” Her eyes are hard and Tony can tell this must be a touchy subject for her. That’s why he feels it pertinent to interject.

“Is that why I’m having feelings? Because AIs don’t usually have feelings.”

Stephen gestured at Tony like an argument had just been won and Morgan glared.

“You’re not touching him.”

“There’s a piece of his soul trapped here, Morgan.”

“He’s a computer!”

“Mom,” Elizabeth murmurs from the doorway. “Ama said she wants to talk to you.”

Morgan’s face falls into her hands and she digs the tips of her fingers into her scalp.

“Mom?”

“I’m coming, honey.” Morgan told her daughter, still frozen and clutching her head. “Tell Ama I’ll be there in a minute.”

Elizabeth left and then it was just the three of them.

Stephen was the first to break the silence. “If you leave him here, there’s always going to be a piece of his soul haunting you.”

“He’s fine right there.”

“He’s not. The longer he stays the more disconnected this piece of his soul becomes from the rest. With enough time it could break off entirely, and the chaos that comes with splitting a soul...” strange sighed. “If you’re not willing to let me try summoning the rest, at least let me send this piece back.”

“I can’t lose him.”

“I’ve been gone for a long time, honey.” Tony spoke up from where his hologram was trapped in a console. “Keeping me here isn’t really helping you anymore. It’s time to let go.”

“You’re a computer!”

“He’s a computer with a piece of your father’s soul, Morgan. It’s understandable that you’re attached, but the longer you leave him here, the more likely his soul will split. It could wrench Tony out of whatever afterlife he’s living and make him miserable for the rest of eternity.”

“Morgan.” Tony said, when Morgan still wouldn’t look up at them. “I don’t know who this guy is, but I think I might agree with him.”

“Stop it.” She said, nearly too quiet for his mics to pick up. “Stop it. Shut up. He’s.. he’s fine. It’s fine. There’s not.. it’s just an AI.”

“An AI with feelings and the capacity to be creative. You have to know that’s not normal.”

Morgan is silent for a few more minutes before shaking her head and straightening her back. “Do whatever you have to.” She tells him, and both Stephen and Tony are struck by how much she looks like Pepper in that moment. She walks away with her head held high and doesn’t even look back to say goodbye.

It hurts.

🖥

On the Astral Plane, Stephen guides Tony’s soul through the process of rejoining it’s larger half, and Tony finds it hard to believe that he, a network of processing power, can project an astral form.

“Do you see how much more translucent you are than I am? It’s because you’re only a fragment. Tony put his soul into designing this AI just in case, and you were so similar to him that his soul might not have recognized his death.”

“Ghost soul. Cool. I actually haven’t heard weirder things, which is odd, but a pleasant surprise. When do I get dead?”

“I have an incantation I can try, but it might hurt.”

“Just do it.”

🖥

“Look who’s back.”

Tony opened his eyes to see the roof of the porch of his dream house with Pepper. He sat up and was greeted with Pepper drinking an ice tea and smiled at him. Pepper, who looked as young as she had been when they’d gotten married. He knew objectively that she’d gotten older, but he hadn’t been online for her death. It was like jumping back in time to before he was an Artificial Intelligence. “You were gone for a while. Glad to have you back.”

“I put a part of my soul in the AI.”

“Yeah,” She nodded, handing him an untouched and perfectly cool glass of tea from the tray beside her. He took it without hesitation, shocked to feel the condensation, the smooth glass, the hard edge of the bottom of it. “I mean, I didn’t know that was where it was, but I knew that some part of you was still trapped there. You had that way of looking off into space sometimes, I think that was when you were over there.” She took another sip of her tea and Tony mimicked her, tasting something for what felt like the first time in fifty years. Probably because it was.

“Was I here before?” He asked, and Pepper nodded.

“You were here when I got here. Waiting for me like we were still newlyweds. Even carried me over the threshold.” She smiled, reaching out and stroking her hand down his cheek. Tony closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. “Figured the least I could do was be waiting for you with some sweet tea.”

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” He reached for her free hand and dragged her closer to him, needing to feel her solidly against him to prove to himself that it wasn’t just a dream.

“You became a great man. That makes you deserving of just about anything you want.” She followed where he pulled her, settling into his lap and wrapping her arms around his waist. “And now we just have to wait for our baby.”

“Oh god, don’t say that. I don’t want her to be here.”

“And I do?” She laughed, pulling a strand of his hair back into place. “But we all come here. She’ll come and visit us, sometime. It’ll be nice, I promise.”

“I think she hated me, at the end.”

Pepper frowned and ran her thumb over his eyebrow, calling his attention to her. “I know our daughter, Tony. Morgan may have been frustrated, you’re a frustrating man,” she laughed and kissed his forehead, pulling him into a hug. “But she loved you with her whole heart, and nothing could have changed that.”

“I hope you’re right.”

🖥

“Huh,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow at a newly deceased Doctor Strange. He and Pepper were the only ones left in their little afterlife, everyone else having reincarnated long ago and moved on to other after lives. But not them. “I told Pepper we were waiting for someone. Pep! We have a guest.”

“What?” She asked, coming out from the house, a smudge of paint on her right cheek. “Tony who-? Oh! Doctor Strange!”

“I told you we were waiting for someone. Didn’t I tell you?”

“You did, and it’s just as insufferable to hear you say it now as it was a millenium ago.” She leaned down to kiss Tony on the cheek and then looked back up at Stephen. “Won’t you come inside? If I’d known you were coming I would have had something ready for you, but Tony and I stopped bothering with food centuries ago.”

“That’s not entirely true. I still soul magic up a cheese burger every now and then.”

Pepper rolled her eyes and smiled at Stephen’s flabbergasted look. “You don’t have to just stand there, Stephen.”

“Yeah, Strange. Come sit down, take a load off. I’ll keep you company while Pepper does food.” He said, looking at Pepper for approval. She waved him off.

“He’s actually not as useless in the kitchen as he used to be, but it’s been so long since he’s done anything but cheese burgers he might have forgotten.”

Stephen felt like he was watching some kind of television show, an outsider looking into the afterlives of two souls who were obviously extremely close. What was he doing here?

“Honey, I think we broke him. Strange, you with us pal?” Tony got up from his chair, setting aside the bits and bobs he’d been tinkering with for the last 100 years or so. He came down the stairs slowly, hands outstretched to Stephen. “Stephen? Hey, did you leave a piece of your soul back on earth too?” He laughed, trying to break the tension.

“I don’t understand why I’m here.” He said finally, shrugging off Tony’s hand where it touched his forearm. Only then did he realize that his hands weren’t shaking. The scars were still there, but his hands were as steady as they ever were. When he looked back up at Tony his right arm was also heavily scarred, but his face was unmarred. He looked back down at his hands and Tony caught the drift.

“It’s pretty easy to hide scars here, if that’s something you want. I can show you. Pepper’s skin is flawless, but I’ve got a few doosies that I’ve gotten pretty good at hiding. I mean, I know scars give a man character, but not the expense of this face.” He ran his scarred hand over his unscarred cheek. “You wanna take a minute? Let’s sit down.”

Stephen followed Tony’s lead to the porch and sat down to listen to Pepper and Tony recount their experiences in the afterlife.

🖥

Souls don’t really sleep, so when Stephen opens his eyes it’s not because he’d really been sleeping. If he tried hard enough, meditation was nearly sleeping, but there was no astral form to project into while he was “sleeping.”

There was no need. The fate of the universe belonged to someone else now. As much as he hated giving the duty up, Tony and Pepper were right about him deserving a retirement.

Pepper was the first to stir, reading a newly published (on earth) book by the reincarnation of her great grand daughter. “Such talent. Honestly. I wish we had done more of the liberal arts, Tony.” She passed the tablet to Tony, who touched it and knew the entire contents of the book. Pepper still preferred the act of reading, while Tony preferred to cut to the chase.

“I hate the liberal arts, but it is a good book. Strange.” He passed the tablet and Stephen handed it back to Pepper after learning the book’s title.

“I’ll read through it later.” He laced his fingers through Tony’s and let himself play with Pepper’s soft hair. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

There was a long pause and Stephen looked up at Tony and Pepper. They were having a silent conversation, and Stephen felt something like dread settle in his stomach.

“Pepper and I have been thinking.” Tony started before handing the reigns over to Pepper.

She rolled her eyes at Tony and then turned on her side to face Stephen completely, Tony leaning up on his elbow to give himself a better view of them. “We want to reincarnate, Stephen.” She said softly, laying one hand over his cheek. “We love being here with you. We do.” She reiterated when he looked like he was about to protest. “But everyone else we all know is long gone, back to the land of the living. We aren’t talking about any time soon, we want some more time with you here, but... We do want to go back, and we want you to come with us.”

“I can’t imagine living another life without you, Strange. What do you say?” Tony’s hand settled on Pepper’s hip, but his eyes were pleading at Stephen. “Come with us?”

Stephen looked between the two of them, momentarily lost for words before he finally said, “I don’t know how I could say no to that.”

“Ideally, you don’t.” Tony smiled, leaning across Pepper to plant a kiss on Stephen’s cheek just above where Pepper’s hand rested. “And since this is the afterlife, everything’s pretty ideal.”

Pepper elbowed Tony to get him to get off of her and leand in to give Stephen a kiss of her own, just a soft peck on unchapped lips. “I can’t wait to live a life with you, Stephen Strange.”

“Ditto.” Tony said from where he’d collapsed back onto the bed.

“I love you both.” Stephen smiled and Pepper smiled back.

“Ditto.”

[mdelpin]

Small Sacrifices - Chapter 2

Gratsu Bingo 2019 Prompt: Friends AO3 | FF.Net | Tumblr: Ch 1

Chapter 2:

Gray looked up from his textbook as soon as he heard the sound of keys jingling outside the door. A smile played across his lips as he waited patiently for Natsu to open the door to their small apartment.

"Hey, welcome home," Gray greeted, but his words went unheard as Natsu was on the phone laughing with someone.

"Okay, gotta go, Sting, I just got home, see you tomorrow," another laugh and Natsu hung up already walking towards Gray who had gone back to his textbook to hide his frown.

Natsu put his keys down in his usual place and collapsed on the sofa, arms instantly reaching out for Gray. "How was your day Snowflake, did you get a lot of studying done?"

Gray allowed himself to be held briefly, but before Natsu could kiss him, he mentioned, "You were out late tonight, where were you?'

"Laxus asked me to substitute for one of the players on his Ultimate team, I figured it was okay since you were studying," Natsu replied but noticing Gray's guarded expression he asked apologetically, "Should I have called?"

Gray knew that Natsu had a hard time during his exam period, he felt like he had to be quiet around him, and that was hard for the naturally boisterous male. So a lot of the time his friends would invite him out to keep him out of Gray's hair, and he was sure that this was what Laxus had intended but…

"Did Sting play as well?" Gray asked, trying to sound uninterested as he pretended to look down at his book again.

"Yeah, he did," Natsu scratched his head, puzzled.

"You've been spending a lot of time with him lately, don't you think?"

"I guess," Natsu studied his boyfriend carefully, trying to figure out what he was missing when all of a sudden his eyes lit up, and he laughed. "Don't tell me you're jealous!"

"What?! No!" Gray spluttered, and he wasn't, he trusted Natsu completely. He knew Natsu would never cheat on him, just like he wouldn't either. It was something they had promised each other early on.

"Then what?" Natsu challenged, not understanding what could be upsetting his boyfriend.

"Natsu, it's obvious he likes you, and you spending all this time with him, it's sending him the wrong message."

"You're being absurd. Sting doesn't like me like that."

Gray rolled his eyes at him. Natsu was the most oblivious person on this planet, and he would know. It had taken him almost a year to get the idiot to realize he had feelings for him.

"He also thinks we're just roommates," Gray commented drily.

"Now that's just ridiculous! Everyone at work knows we're together."

"Lyon told me Sting asked Erik about me, and he told him that we had been roommates for years."

"Why would he do that?" Natsu asked, looking genuinely bewildered.

"Because all your friends are assholes, and Erik thought it would be funny since he knows Sting likes you," Gray explained hating to see the confusion in Natsu's eyes.

"Well, why didn't Lyon set him straight then?"

At that, Gray had to chuckle, "Because Lyon is an asshole too."

"So he really likes me?" Natsu seemed decidedly uncomfortable with the concept, and Gray couldn't blame him.

He'd been on the receiving end of a similar situation the previous year, and it had gone very badly. The girl had refused to accept that Gray was in a relationship and had become decidedly stalkerish. When she'd broken into their apartment with the intent to hurt Natsu, they'd had to get the police involved. They still had a restraining order out on her.

"Yeah, hot stuff, he does," Gray repeated matter of factly.

Natsu grinned at the nickname, sneaking a kiss before speaking plainly. "Do you want me to stop hanging out with him?"

Gray froze, knowing that Natsu would do whatever he asked. It was tempting, but he had no desire to cage Natsu. And to be fair, he liked Sting just fine.

"No, I just want you to be honest with him," Gray paused before adding quietly, "Sting's a good guy. I don't want to see him get hurt."

Natsu startled at Gray's words. His boyfriend was an amazing man. Where others would be jealous about their partner spending so much time with another man, he was trying to look out for Sting.

"Alright, I'll talk to him soon," Natsu promised. While the idea of bringing the topic up with Sting was making him decidedly uncomfortable, he'd have to figure out a way to do it. Gray was right if Sting had a thing for him he'd have to let him down. He grumbled, already trying to come up with a way to get back at Erik for this.

Gray rewarded him with a kiss and satisfied with Natsu's promise went back to his book. Natsu sat quietly for a few minutes with his arm draped around Gray's shoulders as he watched his love study. When he began fidgeting, Gray gave him an irritated glare, which was his cue to go to bed.

This was their routine during exam weeks. Natsu hated it, but he knew how important it was for Gray to keep his grades up. If he didn't, he'd lose the scholarships he'd earned.

It wasn't a full ride, but without them, they'd never be able to afford to pay for school. Natsu leaned in for one last kiss and went to bed already thinking how best to breach the dreaded topic with Sting.

Xxx

"Where am I?" Natsu asked, looking around the white room in confusion. He felt like there was something he should remember, but he just felt strange all over, and out of it.

"You're at the hospital, Natsu, " Lyon answered helpfully. Natsu peered at him and didn't particularly like the concerned way he was looking at him.

"Am I going to be okay?" he asked drowsily.

"Yeah, but listen, there's something I have to tell you," Lyon started to speak, but Natsu wouldn't let him continue.

"You didn't call Gray, did you?" Natsu asked worriedly, "Today was his dessert presentation."

Lyon managed a small laugh before correcting him, "Dissertation, moron."

"Whatever, just tell me you didn't call him over this."

"I had to, you know he'd kill me if something happened to you and I didn't tell him," Lyon gazed down at his brother's boyfriend with a fond smile.

"Oh man, he's gonna be pissed," Natsu complained, and Lyon couldn't help but wince because he knew Natsu was right, especially once his brother found out what had happened.

He was about to try to comfort the man he already thought of as his brother-in-law and offer to help him talk to Gray when their conversation was rudely interrupted.

"I believe I told the nurses family members only."

"I am his family," Lyon scowled at the dark-haired man that had entered the room followed by a white-haired assistant who was scribbling on a clipboard nonstop while speaking on a cell phone.

"Funny, I don't remember seeing you before," the man answered haughtily, "I'm Zeref Dragneel, Natsu's brother, who the hell are you?"

"I'm Lyon Vastia and I'm--," Lyon began, but he wasn't allowed to finish his sentence as Zeref's assistant shoved him out of the room with surprising force, closing the door in his face.

Lyon was furious, but all he could do was watch through the glass as Zeref talked to Natsu. He could tell Natsu was enraged even though he couldn't hear the words. It was obvious the two brothers were arguing, which was probably not great for Natsu's condition. He felt arms grab him from behind.

"I came as fast as I could, is he okay?" Gray's clothing was a mess, his shirt was buttoned incorrectly under the strap of his school bag, and his belt was undone, telltale signals that Gray had caught himself attempting to strip and tried to remedy it, a childhood habit that only ever popped up when he was anxious.

Lyon gave his younger brother a hug, trying to relax him and then helped him button his shirt correctly, letting him fix his belt on his own.

"Sorry, I can't help it," Gray shied away from his brother's knowing look before asking what had been freaking him out since he got the call earlier. "What happened?"

"Don't worry about that now, Natsu's brother is here, and he's not letting anyone but family members in."

"Zeref is here?" Gray looked through the glass, his expression one Lyon couldn't easily interpret.

"You know him?"

"Not exactly, I know of him," Gray explained, "He's the reason Natsu ran away. Shit!"

"Chill, man. You're both adults, it's not like he can take Natsu away or anything."

"I know," Gray hissed, "It's... complicated. I should get in there," Gray muttered, sounding like he was trying to convince himself of the fact. He looked to Lyon suddenly, "Tell me what happened."

"Shouldn't you worry about that later?" Lyon hedged, trying to weasel his way out of being the one to tell him what had happened.

"Lyon?"

"Fine, it was an accident, Sting was supposed to turn off the electricity, but he was distracted, and Natsu was electrocuted," Lyon winced as he saw the fury on his brother's face. "They're still running tests to determine how widespread the damage is."

"What do you mean Sting was distracted?"

Lyon cursed his luck, of course, Gray would hang on to that word. The man was obsessed with Natsu's safety at work. Lyon knew it was a constant source of anxiety for him, he'd lost so many people in his life he was terrified Natsu would be next.

Lyon sighed, "Natsu finally got around to having that talk with Sting you wanted. He didn't take it well."

"Are you trying to tell me Sting did this on purpose?!" Gray growled, and he felt horrible guilt, knowing that he'd been the one to ask Natsu to do this. He began to have flashbacks of his stalker, and the room felt like it was darkening around him.

"Of course not! It's nothing like that girl, I swear. Like I said he was just distracted because he was upset," Lyon put his hands to Gray's face trying to bring him back to the present, "I had to talk Laxus out of firing him, as it is he got suspended without pay for two weeks."

Gray calmed down at Lyon's words and began to look through the glass again, wanting to talk to Natsu and assure himself his boyfriend was alright.

"Look, I don't know enough about his condition, but he was awake and talking, he already chewed me out for possibly ruining your dessert presentation," Lyon grinned, he loved to tease Natsu, but he really did care about him a great deal. He made Gray happy, and after everything his brother had been through, that's all Lyon cared about. "Did everything work out?"

Gray immediately chuckled at Natsu's phrasing, "Moron," he uttered fondly. "Yeah, I explained what happened to my advisor, and she rescheduled the meeting for next week. She's the one who called the cab for me," Gray explained, "I was too shaky."

"The doctor should be able to tell us something soon," Lyon soothed, not wanting to be the one to have to tell his brother that besides the burns that Natsu had on his hands, his internal organs could be fried along with a whole lot of other issues from the fall he'd suffered as his body jolted from the massive amounts of electricity running through it.

Gray drew in a long breath and glanced at Lyon before grabbing the door handle, "I'm going in."

He opened the door and walked in to hear the two brothers fighting. Gray watched with growing concern as he saw how agitated Natsu was.

"I don't care, Zeref," Natsu yelled, "If she's still waiting for me that's her problem, not mine. I told her quite clearly it was never going to happen."

"Natsu," Gray hurried over to the bed, putting his school bag down on the floor and wrapping Natsu in a protective embrace before kissing him, which is something they didn't tend to do too much in public spaces, aware that it made some people uncomfortable. He heard Zeref mutter the word fag under his breath but ignored it. He had better things to worry about.

"I'm fine, Snowflake," Natsu tried to assure him, but Gray was having none of it.

"I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Natsu seemed puzzled and then frowned as he realized Lyon must have told him what happened with Sting.

"It was just a stupid accident," Natsu was quick to shrug it off, I'll be up and around before you know it."

"You were electrocuted, Natsu," Gray reminded him, "It's not like when you managed to staple your finger with the nail gun.

Natsu flinched at the memory, that had been undeniably painful, and Gray had been a mess then too.

"When are you going to stop this charade and come home?" Zeref shouted at him as he watched the two men with disgust.

"I am home, Zeref," Natsu declared as calmly as he could, "Gray is my home, and I'm happy. I'm glad to see you're doing well, but if you still can't accept me for who I am, then you should leave. "

"This isn't over, Natsu."

"Yes, it is," Natsu announced forcefully, "Please leave."

"Fine, but I'll be back," Zeref promised as he stormed out of the room, shoulder checking Lyon on his way out.

Natsu refused to stare after his brother, focusing on Gray and the fear on his face at his brother's appearance.

"We're going to be fine, Princess. We both knew this day was going to come eventually. We're adults now, there's nothing he can do to split us up."

"How did he find us?"

"Honestly, I'm surprised he hadn't found me before," Natsu shrugged it off, trying to keep Gray calm.

"I'm sorry, Natsu. Freed called him, it's the first accident since he started and he was just trying to follow company protocol," Laxus walked into the room followed by Lyon. "It won't happen again, I removed the number from your file."

"Why was the number even there?" Gray's forehead furrowed in confusion.

"Gramps," Laxus explained, "You remember how reckless Natsu used to be, Gramps wanted to make sure he could reach his family in case something serious happened. It was a condition of his employment at the time."

"Is your brother gonna be a problem for you guys?" Laxus glared at the door Zeref, and his assistant had just exited.

"I don't know," Natsu said truthfully, his eyes getting a faraway look, "He did say one thing that was interesting, my father is back."

Gray startled at Natsu's words, he knew that Igneel had abandoned both boys years ago and that Natsu had never given up hope of seeing him again. But was he really back or was Zeref dangling that in front of Natsu in the hopes that he would bite? Things were getting more complicated by the second, and it was making him decidedly uneasy.

"Well, we'll deal with him if he does," Laxus smiled at them as he patted their backs being careful of Natsu's injury, "We're your family now."

Lyon nodded in agreement, and both he and Laxus sat in the room's chairs as they waited for a doctor to tell them about Natsu's condition.

Natsu didn't have the heart to tell his friends that if Zeref were really determined to bring him home, he would find a way to take them down one by one. It was what his brother did best, and he never showed any remorse.

Natsu cursed his luck, he'd really thought he'd left this mess behind when he'd run away from home all those years ago. He felt Gray tense up and made room on the small hospital bed for him, letting Gray hold him in his arms and play with his hair, reinforcing the fact that he was here and he had no plans to go anywhere.

A/N: I kept thinking about these two and my brain came up with a backstory for them. I meant for it to be one additional chapter but it got too long so I split it up. The next chapter should be up in a few days.