#canon compliant ISH

[typically-untypical]

The Fall of Roman

AU: Canon-ish

CW: Cussing, self-depreciation, minor fight scene

WC: 1631

Date: February 8th 2023

This should have been like any other day; Remus should have woken up, ready to cause chaos and sow the seeds of violence but as he stretched out his neck, something was wrong. He looked down at his usually black outfit, tilting his head to the side as he took in its now grey coloring. The realization hit him all at once as he scrambled out of bed, turning around like a dog chasing its tail as he looked for his emblem. Eventually, he was able to twist the lower half of his body and see that in fact, his emblem had changed. Its usual horror and exuberance were missing, replaced with a muted version, something he expected more from Roman.

"Roman," Remus breathed out, rolling his eyes as he made his way out of his room, waving his hand to change his outfit, but it was spiffy, completely not something he normally would like to wear. "Gross, I'm turning into some prissy hero or something." He said quietly, frowning down at his outfit. Was Roman just in one of his moods or was something else going on here? Remus frowned, making his way to his brother's room. Though his steps were hurried he didn't bother moving about the quick way. It couldn't be that big of a deal with the changes being as subtle as they were, then again, the fact that there were any changes at all was problematic. 

"Remus, where are you going this early in the morning?" Janus asked, looking at him from the kitchen, but Remus didn't stop.

"Light side's."

"Try not to cause too much of a mess."

"No promises."

Remus burst into the common area and immediately knew he should have been more concerned. The room was completely shrouded in shadows, an eerie quiet echoing through the space. On any other day, this would please him, he would be overjoyed with the horror movie vibe, but there was a stirring in his soul, a change trying to force itself upon him. He felt the need to be the hero, to fix the problem to save the day. "Stupid fucking brother, making me be all noble or some shit, I'm going to make him regret this." Remus stalked towards his brother's room where the darkness was heaviest, he summoned his morning star, only to find it was a broadsword instead. "Oh for fucks sake." Remus rolled his eyes, making his way into the room anyway, shaving open the door. He wasn't sure where the other light sides were and honestly, he didn't really care, they weren't his problem. Even if he never wanted to play the hero, Remus also didn't think he was the villain. He didn't mind when he was thrust into that role but he had his own uses, his own purposes and his intentions were to make everyone question their normal. His purpose wasn't to destroy his brother. He also wasn't happy making sure his brother was okay, but he could play the good guy for once. 

Stepping into what should have been a pleasant field filled with flowers. Remus had left in alone whenever he snuck in, mostly because it reminded him of the grass fields they would draw when they were kids, and didn't have much talent. He would never admit how much he loved that field with its stupid basic flowers, but now it was just ash. The green field was a mix of yellow and black, burned from above by something that breathed fire though there were no fires currently remained. How long had Roman been here destroying the things he had worked to build?

As he continued to walk forward, Remus saw houses destroyed, towers toppled and in the distance a castle that certainly belonged more on his side of the imagination than in Roman's. His brother didn't seem to even enjoy or revel in the idea of being a villain, everything was in disrepair. "You are so dramatic." Despite his words, he could feel the worry running through him as he powered through the decay, each step seeming to change his outfit into something more befitting a prince. No, he wasn't the prince, or the hero in this story, the best he was willing to be was the villain that saved the hero, the one who had always been supportive just from the shadows.

"What are you doing here Remus?" His voice was tired, and Roman was sitting on an obsidian throne, clad in black and red. 

"Unfortunately if you are going to play the destitute villain I'm being forced to play the hero, and I'm not about that life."

"No one asked you to play the hero," Roman sounded so defeated, and Remus hated that that sound would ever enter his brother's voice, so he began walking towards his twin, gesturing to his outfit before sitting on the arm rest of his brother's throne.

"Look, we both know that you were always sorted to be the hero and I was sorted to be the villain, and I'm content with that. So, why don't you tell me what has you so wrapped up in your own mind that you've destroyed everything you've built."

For a long time, Roman was silent, almost as if he was trying to stop Remus from being involved, but the more chaotic of the two twins was actually the better at playing the silent game, so he sat and waited until Roman finally broke.

"Remus, get out!" He shouted now, standing from his throne with a sword in his hand. "You have always been happy to play your part, happy to do whatever whims you pleased or fancied, I'm not like that, I didn't have that luxury. I have to fit into a mold!" He swung his sword at his brother but it was lackluster at best. 

Remus was able to easily perry his brother's onslaught of attacks, not moving to reciprocate. Roman had so much frustration built up in him and he so rarely allowed himself to let it out. Sure Roman would insult his favorite movies or even people, and sure he would come up with nicknames but none of that was him really letting loose, really telling off everyone who had hurt him, or just screaming out his pains.

"You don't understand the pressure I'm under to constantly be perfect, to constantly live up to impossible standards of originality and cleverness. You can just exist and that's enough!" Through the anger Remus could see the tears, that was where he would make his move. Waiting for Roman to leave him an opening, Remus charged forward, dropping his weapon as he tackled Roman, clinging to him in a forceful hug. For a moment, Roman was stunned, then came the anger and the yelling.

"Let go of me! Get off!"

Then finally the resignation and the tears, and Remus began to gently rub Roman's back.

"I can't do this. I'm no good at being good, every decision I make is wrong and I don't know what to do anymore."

The brokenness in Roman's voice was awful, and Remus just held his brother, rocking back and forth on his feet. There was a wave that passed between them and he watched as both his sleeves and Roman's began to mute out to the color of ash, a soft grey. So many people thought ash meant death, but it could also mean growth and rebirth. Roman would rise above this, because that's what a hero did.

"You've just hit a stumbling block Ro, you are going through so much shit and don't know how to handle it all, and that's fine, because it's you, you're going to get through it."

"How can you be so certain?" Roman asked, voice shaking. "How can you be sure that I can rise above all of the quagmire and treachery?" He looked down at his own outfits. "How am I going to escape the shades of grey?"

Remus shrugged. "No idea, but I know you can figure it out because that's just who you are. You are Thomas' creativity, builder of the mindscape, creator of the imagination."

"More like destroyer."

Remus frown, gently leading Roman out of the throne room and towards a spire where they could see the kingdom better. It was hard to look at the scene, at the destruction wrought by his brother's hands.

"You aren't the first creator to go postal on your creations, and you won't be the last, hell I do it pretty regularly, but that doesn't matter." 

Roman was sniffling, and Remus continued to hold him, continued to be a support, "Because you remember it, and you can rebuild."

"But... what if I can't? What if I can't take on that position anymore, king, prince, hero? What if they are all lost to me?"

Remus shrugged. "It doesn't matter, because no matter what, I'll be right here by your side. I'll stay with you until the title of "King", "Prince", "Hero", or whatever other bullshit you want to call yourself feels right. I don't care if not a single one of those other idiots stands by your side. I'm your brother, and I'm an asshole, but you will always have me. The world could turn boring and peaceful, all the problems could be solved leaving nothing entertaining to do, and I will still be by your side, because like it or not, that's what siblings do."

Roman wiped his tears away on his white sleeve, standing tall with his shoulders back as he stretched out his hands, ready to create again. "Your motivational speeches need some work." Roman laughed, and his voice still wavered. There were still tears in his eyes.

Nevertheless, with his brother by his side, he persisted.

Tag List: @simplestoryteller @fantasticfangirl21 @joylessnightsky @melaniidarling

[hellcheerficdatabase]

spring breaks loose, but so does fear

Author: @seedsprouts

Rating/Warning: General

Chapter Count: 1/1

Description: The forest scene, except Chrissy and Eddie are already together.

Tags: Alternate universe, canon compliant ish, established relationship, fluff, drabble, Chrissy POV, one-shot, status: completed

[localcanadiancreature62]

My Thoughts on Fiddlestan

Okay you people are literally all or nothing with these mfs,like it's either all gut wretching angst or all tooth rotting fluff. So i raise you,"what if it was both?" aka i made them have a good time but they also have Issues ✨. @misteria247 you might wanna see this one cuz i know you love Fiddlestan lol.

So first things first,their first meeting. They would meet soon after the portal incident when Fidds' sanity is slowly starting to slip from the first several usages of the memory gun and he ends up going to Ford's house after having a vague familiarity with the place as well as a desire to make amends with his friend while he still remembers him,only for him to see Stan at the door. A man wearing his best friend's face. Stan lets the guy in while still keeping the ruse of pretending to be his brother after he just faked his death,trying his hardest to pretend that he knows what Fidds is talking about regarding the portal and Ford's time in college.

A few weeks pass,and Fidds get the slight suspicion that he's not actually talking to Ford as "Ford" brushes off his science-y ramblings with "I don't understand" or "I'm too tired to hear about it maybe later",when he knew that the real Ford would know exactly what he's talking about regarding his ideas for modern computers or Schrodinger's cat as well as gladly ramble along with him even if it's 2am at the time instead of ignoring it. He also realizes that "Ford" surprisingly knows nothing about anomalies and either tries to shoo creatures away or just beats the hell out of them rather than studying them whenever they have an encounter with gnomes or something,plus the fact that he gets jumpy whenever an eye-bat appears. Fidds is still sane enough to notice these "tells" and so he confronts the man about it despite Stan already being nervous about not being able to keep up the act. Stan decides to come clean after the southern man literally backed him into a corner while interrogating him about who he is and where the real Stanford is,he explains the truth about Ford's disappearance and that he's trying to fix the portal while having no idea about how his brother's science mumbo jumbo works. Fidds' expression of anger and fear changes into guilt sympathy and even intrigue as he regrets trying to aggressively gouge the man for answers,when the grifter turned out to care about Ford all along instead of selfishly stealing his life for success. He wondered about Stan's relation to Ford and the man explains that he's Ford's twin brother and that they had a rough patch in their brotherly relationship which lead to this whole mess. Fidds then offers to help fix the portal since he's the one who co built it and Stan couldn't be more than happy,although with the condition of no more lies as that impersonation fiasco genuinely scared him which Stan agrees to. They didn't get along at first with Stan's stubborn personality and tendency to tease others at random while Fidds was just really tired and he wanted to get Ford back so that he can get out of this whole mess,but they managed.

Throughout the building of the portal,the two begin to bond regarding their history with Ford and how the man inadvertently screwed them over with his ego. Then talking about how they always felt inferior in comparison to everyone else (Stan with Ford,Fidds with his rough and tumble ranch family who roughhoused constantly while he was a scrawny nerd),discovering that they weren't so different as they thought. Stan ends up taking his partnership with Fiddleford more seriously as he soon realizes that they only have each other,while Fidds starts to humor Stan's teasing and occasional goofing off since he doesn't have anyone else to turn to with Emma may and Tate still refusing contact from him ever since the divorce (just so that Fidds wouldn't yknow. cheat on his wife). They soon become friends who often look out for each other with Stan trying to stop Fidds from overworking himself while Fidds teaches Stan about quantum physics as he tries really hard to understand despite being the "dumb" twin.

Fidds' use of the memory gun becomes less frequent as he didn't have a reason to blast himself with it anymore due to finally having someone that understands his troubles with Ford and the darn triangle feller,no longer feeling as though he had to forget everything as he had someone to talk to about all of this (i mean in canon he wouldn't never went insane if Ford fucking talked to him and explained why he's still going through with the portal with his desperate desire for approval). Stan sees his steadfast love and support be appreciated by someone besides his ungrateful brother,while Fidds sees his unwavering loyalty and handmade gifts be cherished by someone who cares rather than ignored by his egotistical friend.

The fact that the two found someone who cared even when they have their own troubles means a lot to them,this steadfast love and concern was what made Fidds and Stan slowly fall for each other. Stan finally found someone who appreciates him and sees him as worthy even with his many mistakes or occasional stupidity while Fidds finally found someone who won't waste his loyalty and kindness in favor of their own selfish wishes (*cough* Ford *cough*). They're finally happy,after dealing with so much pain. They had their happy ending,or did they? 😏.

While they WERE in a healthy and loving relationship,things weren't all sunshine and rainbows. Stan outright refuses to talk about his problems in fear of being a burden to his nerd plus the emotional walls he put up were too strong even when he tries to be open toward the southern man which always ends in him not wanting to talk about it,meanwhile Fidds opts to metaphorically run away from his issues by using the memory gun to forget every argument and misunderstanding he had with the drifter (which were mostly caused by the memory gun in the first place). Whenever they have a problem with something that the other does that isn't related to the portal,they don't set boundaries they don't talk about it they don't confront the other about it,they do NOTHING.

Fidds slowly starts to go insane again as he starts forgetting about Stan at times with his use of the memory gun whenever they have an argument which is a LOT of arguments as every couple doesn't always agree with each other,he lashes out and has a paranoia episode over either imagining Stan being a stranger that wants to hurt him or him being Ford that wants to take revenge on him for quitting the project which obviously upsets the drifter but he doesn't do anything about it as he cannot afford to lose the one thing he has left because of his dumb problems (little does he know,is that he's already doing it. he's already losing Fidds cuz of his issues). Stan on the other hand,starts treating Fiddleford with the same codependency that he gave Ford with him expecting the hillbilly to always be there for him and always put HIS interests at heart despite the man having his own wants and needs with his Mcgucket Labs project. Thus Fidds is being taken for granted again while Stan is confused and angry over why this hick is ignoring him and trying to abandon him like Ford did (Stanley your brother issues are showing).

It only gets worse in the moments culminating to Fidds' insanity,where Stan doesn't even know who his hillbilly partner anymore while Fidds is completely unaware of the torment he's putting Stan through with his erratic behavior and amnesiac ramblings. Stan was there for the tapes,he was behind the camera with every transition as the southern man told him it was a little experiment regarding the memory gun and he believed that at first only to soon realize that Fidds was literally frying his own brain with that gun after reading his notes about the electricity that erases the memories plus the side effects of prolonged use. By the time Fidds had that car crash,he quit the project again and stopped seeing Stan as he left the drifter alone to fix the portal by himself albeit with more knowledge of how it works due to the various quantum mechanics lessons the man drilled into him. He just needed to figure out the elaborate codes to actually activate it. Stan missed Fidds as he was guilty about their last interaction being an argument about the memory gun and even encountered him but with a new red robe while the man went on and on about some memory cult,but he knew that the man is too far gone for him to make amends with.

Stan then ended up using Fidds' Mcgucket Labs money to support himself but then he realized that it won't be enough as that business was just a start up gig that didn't had the chance to become successful due to the portal and the memory gun,so he had to come up with another way to survive all alone. Then he went to the Dusk 2 Dawn convenience store and saw that everyone was interested in Ford's weird mad scientist house,taking everyone there as he saw that people's interest in the freaky things in that house would make great revenue for him. The Mystery Shack (originally the Murder Hut) was born,and Stan had finally left his life of being a miserable grifter behind. However.. he still saw his Fiddleford rummage in the trash or make killer robots in the news sometimes. He yearns for what could've been yet he shakes his head as he knew what he had with the nerd was currently unsalvageable in his current insane state.

[phoebebuggers]

send me actually good byler fic recs guys

[star-lights-up]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Hank McCoy & Charles Xavier Characters: Charles Xavier, Erik Lehnsherr, Hank McCoy Additional Tags: Whumptober 2024, leave the lights on, Sleep Deprivation, Charles Xavier in a Wheelchair, Charles Xavier Whump, Hurt Charles Xavier, Charles Xavier Needs a Hug, Not Beta Read, Song: Delicate (Taylor Swift)

Summary:

After hearing about JFK's assassination and Erik's arrest on the news, Charles accidentally thought-projects himself into Erik's cell in his sleep. And then there's the aftermath.

 TW: Alcohol abuse

aaaaaaaand as an extra....

here’s erik only, because i decided to try a new art style and charles turned out awful lmao. 

@whumptober​

[lilyoffandoms]

Wake the Dead

I do so love a complete set! There is something so pleasing about it!

My Art ish Tag: @storyofmychoices @aallotarenunelma

WtD Tag: I know you’ve seen this but tagging you anyway @jerzwriter

[basilibino]

Season 8 was like 6 years ago(I feel old) and I know ppl have differing opinions on the Mr Echo thing (but it was intended, made it to storyboard and blocked animation and then dropped, soooo) but. I can see his recruitment p easily tbh. Bc the whole reason Dr J was in that lighthouse was because he was resurrected, forced there, and ordered to build Skulkin vehicles by Samukai. But Samukai in the flashback we see has already been deposed as leader of the Skulkin/Underworld. Which means the orders to do so most likely came from Garmadon.

And since Mr. E is one of the head honchos, he's likely an early arrival to the team, so I don't think Harumi has a whole lot figured out at this point, she's just got her Trauma and some Bad Influence Friends and an obsession with Lord Garmadon. So. Like. Plausible deniability road trip that she's just visiting important markers of Ninjago's recent past, all of which involve Lord Garmadon in some meaningful way; its sightseeing, its cathartic, and it gives her time to develop her dream Motorcycle Gang/Resurrection Cult. She's not looking for anyone at the Lighthouse, but she is looking for vehicle blueprints so she can be the Koolest leader on the block. But oops she looks in the basement and there's an Echo.

And she's flipping out bc??? A Ninja???? In the Lighthouse basement??? I mean it makes sense that it would be this one but???

Except this rusty old robot has no idea what she's talking about with this Ninja stuff, he's just waiting for his dad to come back.

And Harumi pauses.

Because how long has he been waiting? He's not sure, he had no proper way to measure time in the basement, and he doesn't have the best view of his clockwork heartpiece. But it was after his father saw a strange ship docking; Echo was worried it was the People who had locked up his father in the first place, but instead his dad sounded happy when he saw whoever was out there. It could have been a front, though, as clearly it was never safe to let Echo back out. Then Dr J popped down briefly, while everyone above was resting, to tell Echo he was desperately needed elsewhere, that it wasn't safe to bring Echo, but that he'd be back in no time.

And the pieces are fitting together for Harumi. And she's like. Your dad's dead, bro.

And he's like. What? Did he die doing what was needed of him?

And she's like. Oh, no. He died a few years later.

And he's like. Why didn't he come back for me????

And she's like. Probably because they kept him away.

And he's like. Who's they?

And she's like. The Ninja I was talking about earlier.

And it surely can't be hard in universe to find pictures of Zane and Dr J post s2-pre s3, so she pulls one up and shows Echo who is freaking out bc why is that one kind of like him and Harumi explains that that was the droid his father created first, that he became a Ninja, and that hes probably the one who took their father away and kept echo waiting for years.

But Echo has doubts, shocked as he is abt a new older brother, he wants to believe the good in the situation so he's unsure. But Harumi mentions that the Ninja's failures to uphold more than their self preservation/interests has led to uncountable losses and devastation in Ninjago time and time again, before delving into her own story. And she seems so kind, and so hurt, and I do think there's a genuine connection btwn these two that forms from this shared emotional torment that they decide came from the Ninja, and now Echo is more receptive.

And then Harumi gets to start her Garmadon pitch because wait! If Echo was made here, then that could only have happened because of Lord Garmadon. And she reiterates that he's the reason she and her city could have even survived The Great Devourer. And maybe Echo's family-by-creation left, maybe they were untrustworthy and lacking, but that's OK bc if you look at it all a certain way, Garmadon is more of a father to Echo than Dr J was. And Echo is a vulnerable, overwhelmed mess who just found out his dad fucked off for years without him and also died, and also he has a brother??? Who their dad clearly seems to have favored??? Did they even know about Echo??? Did they delight in their life free of him???

Basically. Kinda Spinel-core but getting abandoned and left completely alone does that to you. Especially when the first person to find you after being abandoned is a deeply hurt and misguided teen who is probably kinda desperate for someone, anyone else to see the Ninja the way she sees them.

[thebreakfastgenie]

Would the Men of the 4077th Buy Pads/Tampons?

Hawkeye: He would but he'd text you ten times to make sure he had the right kind.

Trapper: He would buy the wrong brand, but ones that would work and he'd be so earnest you'd forgive him.

Henry: He would buy dinner napkins instead of sanitary napkins. You don't want to know what he'd buy instead of tampons.

Frank: He would ask why you can't just hold it. Absolutely thinks tampons are sex toys.

Radar: He would faint if he stepped foot in the "feminine hygiene" aisle.

Margaret: She would give you some of hers and also a mildly judgmental lecture about always being prepared.

Klinger: Absolutely yes and he finds the right ones on the first try.

Mulcahy: He keeps a stash but they're the worst store-brand ones.

BJ: He would get a little flustered finding the right brand so he takes a while but he also grabs some of your favorite candy on the way out.

Potter: He would call for the nearest woman to help.

Charles: He would just pay someone else to go get them for you.

[yb-cringe]

Lazily tagged as Arkanis until they have an official tag!

“You’re doing it again.” Bagi startles, her hand paused in Matt’s locks. Her finger pad is paused mid-trace of the diameter of his horn, his cheek resting on her chest. She squeezes him in apology.

OR; Arkanis is going great guys. I love Arkanis and I’m not in tears at all!

[say-hi-intrepid-heroes]

so hypothetically if i were gonna write fic again what would yall want to see me write

[brighterdaysarebeforeus]

So, this turned out to be a lot longer than I was expecting it to be, so like…now in parts!! I guess this can count as part one. Hopefully I can get a second part up soon, if people are interested…

When Miles celebrated his thirteenth birthday, it started with his mamí waking him up for a birthday breakfast, a (relatively) small block party that lasted the entire day, sparklers for all the children to mess around with, lots of cake and presents, and ended with him starting a three day rut.

It isn’t exactly surprising that Miles turned out to be an alpha; even though parental designation doesn’t particularly matter (his amma and appa, for example, are both betas and they ended up having one alpha son and one omega one), his dad is still an alpha. Once Miles’s rut is done, there’s another (relatively) small block party where everyone congratulated Jeff and Rio (even though Miles was the one who had spent three days in bed, sweating profusely and hovering protectively over a small collection of monos and priceless collectibles) and Miles over his presentation, and then it’s off to school.

If Miles thought that presenting as an alpha would change things in regards to schooling, he’s dead wrong. Not only do his parents insist on him going to Visions Academy now, they pile more expectations on him than he knows what to do with. It’s like, now that he’s presented as an alpha, they can add more pressure on him because he’s meant to hold it together now. They want him to succeed in Visions academically (when all he wants to do is go back to public school with his friends and not these people he barely has anything in common with), they want him to be a model alpha (despite the fact that he barely wanted to be one in the first place, and all the alphas he’s interacted with at school are…kind of jerks, like the security guard always on him and some of the boys in his physed class), and they want him to be a model son (even though they’re the ones pushing him further and further away by never even listening to what he wants when he talks to them).

The only time he doesn’t feel immense pressure is when he’s with his uncle, so he sneaks out when he gets the chance to go and hang out there for a couple of hours. Uncle Aaron listens to him vent and lets him hit the punching bag a couple of times to let off steam, and doesn’t try to push any kind of agenda on him. He offers advice and by the time Miles gets back to Visions, he usually feels better.

So he makes it a thing; every couple of months or so, usually after spending three days in the nurse’s office, Miles makes his way to his uncle.

The last time Miles went over, they went through the subway and Miles let out some frustration in a more artistic manner than normal; this also happens to be when he gets his Spider bite, and while he doesn’t think anything of it at the time, it definitely opens new doors (portals) for him. At the very least, the whole portal debacle only lasts a couple of days, at the most, even if it was an interesting couple of days.

(When Gwen admitted to being an alpha as well, Miles did feel his heart flutter a little. He’d thought she was cool and pretty, and even though his mamí is an omega, both of her parents were alphas so it wasn’t like Miles didn’t have a chance. If, you know, he could manage to shoot his shot without messing up.

Peter B., as Miles had taken to calling him to differentiate from his original Peter, had looked at them bemusedly while admitting he was a beta. Noir just looked confused about the entire dynamic, and Peni had designations but hadn’t presented yet? She mentioned turning out as a beta because both of her parents were, which Miles found interesting. Ham apparently, surprisingly, didn’t have designations at all. It was an interesting couple of days for Miles.)

The point of the matter was, Miles got his designation and his bite around the same time, or close enough that it didn’t particularly matter, except.

Except.

“Mijo, por qué estás tan chiquitito?” His tía pinched his cheek, frowning in concern as she looked him over. Miles had just seen her last week, and she’d asked the same thing then too, so he wasn’t quite sure what to say aside from an awkward chuckle. She leaned back, yelling into the kitchen. “Rio, did you listen to what I said to you the other day? About helping Miles?”

“I heard, I heard!” Rio called back, appearing in the doorway so she didn’t have to yell over the music coming from the living room. “He can’t bulk up so quickly, Maggie, things like that take time, you know?”

“Sí, sí, lo entiendo, pero Jeff — ”

“Yes, but Miles isn’t Jeff, Maggie — ”

“Anyway!” Miles said brightly, giving her a kiss on the cheek, “it was great seeing you, Tía Maggie, but I’ve gotta just — ”

“Oyé, Miles,” his tía called after him, “make sure you drink those protein shakes, yes? I’ll give your mother some more!”

“Ok, tía!” Miles ducked past a couple of the girls from the block, twisted around several of his cousins, and escaped into the comfort of his room. His mamí would be irritated at his hiding out, for sure, but every single time there was a get together or a block party, they were like this. Tía Maggie with her protein shakes. Tío Luís with his constant offers to take Miles to the gym with him to work out. Matteo with his playful wrestling, as if the more he put Miles in a headlock, the buffer he would get trying to break out of it. Miles had to go easy on his cousins all the time, Matteo and Tomás and all the other alphas who were big and buff like his dad was because he didn’t want to hurt them with his Spider strength.

It was exhausting, and Miles had to deal with it every time he came home from Visions. It was hard; he’d tried to listen to his tías, but the protein powders they recommended tasted gross, and while the diets were easy to follow, his Spider metabolism meant he couldn’t follow the diets for long lest Spider Man fall unconscious during a fight. He’d tried exercising more, with his cousins and his tíos, but he never seemed to bulk up the way he should. His added strength gave him an advantage, but it wasn’t doing anything for the amount of muscle mass Miles was “supposed” to have.

In a fit of desperation, Miles had even turned to May and asked her if Peter ever had any issues with his designation, only to find that the man had been a beta before his death. He could theoretically ask Gwen, or maybe Peni if she’d manage to present yet, except he couldn’t exactly teleport to other dimensions to ask them. He didn’t even have a way to get in contact with them, which was the more frustrating part because he had no one to talk to about this. Nobody who knew how to be an alpha and a Spider at the same time, at least.

And then his dad’s promotion. And Gwen’s arrival.

[lihhelsing]

Bring me back

A/N: I wrote this in one go and I have no idea where it's going or even if it's going somewhere. So it's more of a half fleshed out idea than anything. CW: Angst, mentions of grief, MCD (but it's temporary, in the big scheme of things). Steddie | 1.4k words | Angst | Rated M

Steve knows he shouldn’t be here. He could hear the sounds coming from downstairs and he was pretty positive that meant dinner was going to be ready any minute. 

He was pretty sure he was gonna be summoned any minute. 

And maybe he was hiding, but who could blame him? 

Steve always thought that if he checked enough of his boxes by the time he was approaching 30, he would be happy. All the sadness of the past would stay in the past, and like everyone kept telling him: Time heals all wounds. 

So he crawled out of hell when he was 19 and he made sure hell wouldn’t follow him. 

He made sure everything stayed in the past like it was supposed to. 

His birthday is coming up in two weeks and Steve is doing good. He is doing great, actually. Minus the part where he shut down every meaningful relationship he ever had because he couldn’t handle dealing with all the bad memories. 

He talks to Robin on the phone sometimes, and she’s not even mad at him anymore. She’s… Resigned. She knows Steve loves her, of course he does. How could he not love her? 

But looking at her… It hurts. So Steve pulled away, and Robin let him because she figured it would be best for him. 

When they talk, they don’t talk about that. Don’t talk about him. 

Steve is doing great. 

But he is organizing his office because he read somewhere that making a big cleanout before a new cycle is supposedly good for him and Steve needed things to be good. And that’s how he ended up with the box. 

He had forgotten about it. The box was hidden on a shelf that he never looked in his office and it had a coat of dust in it like it hadn’t been touched in ages. He knew he hadn't touched it in ages.

He doesn’t know what makes him do it now. 

The box is not exactly what he remembers. There are a few old pictures that make his chest ache in a bad way. In a way that means he would do anything to turn back time and fix it. 

He’d completely forgotten about how all he wanted to do was fix it. 

His fingers move through the box, touching all the different textures of the stuff inside. There’s something cold and sharp and it takes him a second to remember it’s a medal he won, even if he didn’t consider himself a hero. He considered himself a fucking joke, but he had stood there with a fake smile plastered on his face knowing full well that this was the proudest his parents had ever been of him. 

There are a few plastic figurines and underneath it all he touches the long necklace that found its way into this box, somehow. Steve doesn’t remember how exactly because he remembers Dustin holding on to it and he remembers him giving it to Wayne. 

And now that he’s thinking about it again, he remembers Wayne sliding it into Steve’s pocket when he thought Steve wasn’t looking. 

His chest hurts again and it’s filled with guilt now, and he urges himself to close the box and put it back because this is tearing him apart piece by piece. It’s breaking him slowly and he had just spent the last 11 years trying to stay in one piece. It's too much time for him to throw away in a few seconds and because of a few trinkets.

It’s useless because his hands start to move again before his brain can understand the command. He touches something else. It’s a rectangular thing. Hard. Rough on one side and smooth on the other. 

When Steve pulls it out, he sees it for what it is. An old cassette player. One that didn’t belong to him but no one else wanted it, so he took it. 

There are no tapes in the box and Steve has no idea when was the last time he saw cassette tapes, but he soon finds another box filled to the brim with it. 

None of them are to Steve’s taste. 

He grabs the first one and it’s a DIO tape. Holy Diver. It’s old and dusty and Steve doesn’t even think it’s going to play. He still puts it on. 

In the background, he can hear footsteps on the stairs and he knows he’s running out of time. Knows she’s gonna chide him for being covered in dust right before dinner. She will tell him he’s doing it on purpose because her parents are coming to dinner tonight and they are gonna need to tell them their pregnancy didn’t work out again. 

It’s the third time and she’s gonna tell Steve she can’t take this anymore and Steve won’t know what to say because he also can’t take any of this anymore but he doesn’t know how to change things. Doesn’t know how to not be stuck in an unhappy marriage, with no friends and an infinite regret list. 

So he listens closely to the static sounds coming from the tape and there’s something so nostalgic about it that it makes his chest hurts again. Even if the tape doesn’t play, Steve feels like this could–

Oh there it is, Steve thinks. He hears Dio’s voice and feels something shift around him. He closes his eyes, hands holding tightly to the cassette player. His stomach drops like it does when he dreams about falling. 

And then, it feels like he’s falling, indeed. He tries opening his eyes but everything is black and all he can hear is the song playing and he can’t tell if he’s dreaming or not. 

Steve’s whole body spasms and he kicks his feet and closes his eyes and everything stops. Not the song, though. The song is still playing.

He opens his eyes and he’s lying in bed and he wonders if this was all a weird dream. It wouldn’t be the first, but Steve’s been taking some meds that prevent him from dreaming because he couldn’t sleep knowing he would see his face. 

The song is still blasting in his ears and the room is dark until his eyes start getting used to it. He looks around and… This is not his room.

It’s not his room and he might be dreaming again and maybe he forgot to take his meds tonight because he knows this room. Knows it like the palm of his hand. Knows it even after 11 years without seeing it.

He knows every place the paint is chirped. Knows how the posters on the wall are unglued at the corners. He could get up with his eyes closed and walk through the room without ever bumping into anything, no matter how messy it was. Because he knows this room and he knows the person it belongs to. 

Steve should will himself awake. But he never dreams about this room. He never dreams with so much detail and precision. It’s like nothing has changed in 11 years. Like he's walking right through a time machine. 

He hears noises outside and he thinks this is it. He thinks his wife is about to open the door and wake him up from this dream and he wants to hold on to it as long as he can, so he shuts his eyes. 

“Steve? What are you doing?”

His head must be really fucked up from all the times he got hit because even the voice sounds���

“Open your eyes, Steve.”

He does it because he can’t believe it. His brain must be playing tricks on him and once he looks at her he will know it’s all a dream. But when he opens his eyes... He’s there. 

It’s impossible. It’s absolutely crazy. DIO is still blasting and he’s right there and Steve thinks he’s gonna faint. 

“What’s wrong?”

He doesn’t know what to say. Knows his words will get caught up in his throat. He swallows and his Adam’s Apple bobs up and down. 

He stares. And he keeps staring, afraid to blink. He’s afraid that moving will make it disappear. Will make him disappear. And Steve can’t handle losing him. 

Not again. 

“Sweetheart, you’re scaring me.”

And that does it. It snaps Steve out of his trance and he gets up in one swift motion, closing the distance between them, and then he’s touching. He’s burying his face in his neck and inhaling him in and he smells like cigarettes and leather, just like Steve remembers.

Steve feels arms wrapping around his waist and when he pulls back he stares into Eddie Munson’s face, and he has no idea how because Eddie has been dead for 11 years but this? This is real. 

[localcanadiancreature62]

Fiddlestan au memory tapes quick drabble

@maya-custodios-dionach this one's for you.

"So Mcgucket,are you ready to see your memories?" "I don' know. What if ah don't like what i see?" "You have to,it's your only chance of knowing who you are" Mabel remarks as Mcgucket then nods and watches as the braces girl puts in the memory tapes. A young Mcgucket appears on the TV screen as the twins hear a familiar raspy forced cough. "Fiddlesticks,are ya sure that you wanna do this?." Young Stan asks in the background of the video as he holds onto the camera while Fiddleford glares at him. "Of course i'm sure,darlin'. Now get the darn camera rolling. Anyway. My name is Fiddleford Hadron Mcgucket,and i made this new invention so that i can unsee what i just saw. Something terrible. Test 1. Subject name,Fiddleford Mcgucket." Fiddleford remarks as he closes his eyes and blasts the memory gun on himself. The scene then switches to an amazed Fiddleford as the second test comes around. "It worked!. I don't remember a thing!." Fiddleford exclaims as Stan rolls his eyes behind the camera as he does NOT want to do this although he compromised for the sake of his southern nerd. "But ya still remember me,right?." Stan asks as Fiddleford looks at him once more. "Course',Stan sweetheart. Now onto the next test." Fiddleford replied as he left the frame but then before the next tape plays,Mabel gasps in shock from discovering that Stan was actually dating Mcgucket. "GRUNKLE STAN WAS BOYFRIENDS WITH MCGUCKET?!. WHY DIDN'T HE SAY ANYTHING?!." Mabel yells as Fiddleford looks at her confused,as he too doesn't remember being with the con man. "Now i've seen everything. I can't believe it. Grunkle Stan,and the town kook?." Dipper says as he shudders in slight disgust. Fiddleford then expectantly looks at them both. "Look children,ah don' know about me datin' yer uncle either. But before ya start jumping to conclusions,let me see the rest of my memories first " Fiddleford remarks as the twins nod and play the tapes again. A more deranged Young Fiddleford appears onscreen with various crossed out eye symbols in the background. "I made a community where people can use my invention to unsee the things they saw!. The experiment is a success!." Fiddleford exclaims happily as Stan sighs in disbelief in the background. "Fidds,isn't this getting a little out of hand?. This sounds kinda nuts with the whole 'community' thing." Stan asks as he refers to his southerner's cult while worrying for his sanity. "You're nuts!. I'm finally picking up mah life again after that insufferable bastard ruined it and now you're going to get in the way too?!." Fiddleford shouts as the grifter starts to grip the camera harder,if the audible static-y sounds of him playing with the camera are anything to go by. "Jeez. Relax. I'm just worried for ya,y'know?." Stan replied as the southern man ignores his comment and the scene switches to an even more unstable Fiddleford. "I did somethin' bad. This was a mistake,i'm forgettin' my name my job and everything!." Fiddleford says as the scene quickly switches to Day 189.

"I accidentally hit someone with mah car. I feel tegible,t-terrible. Terrible. I've been forgettin' words lately. And Stanley.." Fiddleford remarks as even in his slowly slipping sanity,he holds onto the memory of the grifter whom he has already abandoned at this point. "I seen something!. Something big!." "I realized that i've been losin' mah hair,so i got this hat from a scarecrow!. Get outta here ya darned critters!." Fiddleford says as he tries to shoo various animals away from his place at the dump. Fiddleford then utters incoherent gibberish as he makes a triangle symbol with his fingers over one of his eyes as the tape ends. "Oh, McGucket, I'm so sorry." "Aw, hush. You kids helped me get my memories back, just like you said." "But did you want those memories back?" "After all these years,I finally know who I am. Maybe I messed up in the past, but now that I seen what happened, I can begin to put myself together again." "I won't be able to put MYSELF together again after hearing that you and Grunkle Stan were apparently lovers." Dipper remarks in disgust as Mcgucket and Mabel laugh. The rest of the episode goes exactly as canon,with Mcgucket saving the gang from getting their minds erased by using his own empty mind as a shield as Dipper then erased the Blind Eye Society's memories of their own cult as he and Mabel go home after happily helping the town kook.

[dargorian]

Fourth chapter is now up!

Once more - this is kind of an AU as everyone (and I mean everyone) is one year older. I've started pecking at the next story of this AU btw.

There's kind of sandwiches in this chapter. Do not read this fic if that is not your thing.

Content warning just in case.

[minusboy]

happy march 15th, to celebrate i offer you this. read here.

[everydayfrimmel]

May 29th, 2024

“Polishing”

500 words, canon-compliant

This one got his chin all wrong.

There's no reason at all for Frieren to take note of that. She has seen dozens, hundreds of these statues, most of them imperfect in some small way. A good three-quarters of those don't look quite right: he is too tall, or his build too lean or too stocky; his nose isn't quite right or his facial expression is one that, in all of ten years, she never saw on the real Himmel's face. She's no longer surprised that even people who sculpted Himmel during his lifetime couldn't get him right all the time.

But there is really no reason she should even remember what looks right and what doesn't anymore.

It's been eighty years. His face should be fuzzy in her memory by now, and when she tries to recall it, it is. But the moment she is presented with an imperfect replica, she purses her lips, displeased, and remembers with clarity that shocks even herself how different he looked in life. Even though she had been the first to argue that all of these statues were excessive back then, the wrong ones make her a little bit peevish.

Even after half a life spent away from the rest of the world, Frieren has seen more faces than she knows what to do with and forgotten them all. She tries to tell herself that it's curious that she remembers this one well enough to criticize a statue for failing to capture him well, but if she is honest with herself, she knows why.

Just like she knows, whether she will admit it or not, that he knew what a mirrored lotus meant, and that she knew what the way he looked at her meant, somewhere in the back of her mind, only chose every single time to pretend she didn't know as much as she did. Just like she knows now that she was very, very foolish to hide, to be so confused and frightened of something as warm and safe as Himmel. Perhaps the statues - the immense, gaping knowing that it takes to look at a bronze rendering and be able to point out how it fails to capture the original - is her strange sort of penance for that hiding-away. She comforts herself with the thought that it has to be.

"You'd have hated the way they did your chin," she murmurs, polishing - by hand, there is no spell that gives the feeling of having done her proper duty - a rusted cheek. The cloth rubs off nothing but a thin layer of dirt, and the copper of his face is still green beneath. "You always were too vain for your own good."

Perhaps she should thank him for that, though. It's that vanity that's kept his face so fresh in her mind, years after she ought to have forgotten what it looked like.

(Or maybe she's lying to herself. Maybe there is no preservative in the world as powerful as affection.)