#dont mind the one where shes missing her bracelet

[zeninix]

ELISE AND LUC ART DUMP!!! they're all i can think about guys

[mcprincessdiaries-archive]

Asking Eggcellence Timeline (v1)

hey gamers heres something thats been a long time in the making (3 years to be exact lol). if u arent familiar with AE it is pretty fucking extensive and convoluted so i figure why not try to make it less so. keep in mind this timeline doesnt have everything, just most of the major story beats up to a specific reveal.

tetra isnt included in this because shes Special and i need much more time to figure out where the fuck she slots into everything, and i dont wanna rush it just to make this post, so i will likely put out another one with her in the future. i might also start including splat3 events if i have them established by then

anyways, HERE WE GO!

JUNE 2015

Captain Cuttlefish catches the attention of an ambitious young inkling named Florentine, and begs her to help him retrieve stolen zapfish from the underground domes of the Octarians. Seeing it as an opportunity to stick it to some friends that had been giving her trouble, she accepts the challenge, and she is dubbed Agent 3. 

At the end of her journey she clashes with the cunning and imposing leader of the Octarians, DJ Octavio, in what would come to be known as a legendary concert featuring the Squid Sisters and their smash hit, Calamari Inkantation.

Poe, Ched, Cavi, Vee, Shelly, and Tamago are all present at this electrifying event.

NOT LONG AFTER:

Florentine quits turf wars, and even stops going to the Plaza in order to avoid her old team. She has fully dedicated herself to her work as an agent of the New Squidbeak Splatoon.

Shelly leaves for Inkopolis, with the intent of finding Agent 3. She never does, but she does befriend a pair of nice inklings (Edd and Sonnie).

Nothing of note happens after this so it's for a 

TIME SKIP

July 2017

Poe, Ched, Vee, and Cavi execute a plan to escape Octo Valley. They split up into pairs, and things go bad when they’re discovered by strange blue Octarians. Poe and Ched are both captured, the former making it to the surface before running into Agent 3 and Captain Cuttlefish. Vee sacrifices her own escape to assure Cavi’s.

Cavi arrives in Inkopolis alone. 

Vee wakes up with no memories of who she was, her only sense of identity being the number 10007 on her bracelet. She partakes in a series of strange tests with the hopes of reaching a “promised land”, and struggles to complete them. During one test she injures her right eye in an accident and is unable to make any more progress.

Fritta moves to Inkopolis. At the square she ends up following a mystery squid down a grate, who turns out to be Marie. She’s recruited to the New Squidbeak Splatoon as Agent 4 and tasked with exploring the Octarian domes in search of the missing zapfish (and Callie).

After many difficulties she eventually confronts DJ Octavio in a battle reminiscent of the one from two years before.

Ben, Cell, and Tamago are present at this concert.

MEANWHILE

An amnesiac octoling wakes up deep underground, immediately discovered by Captain Cuttlefish. She’s temporarily recruited as a member of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, dubbed Agent 8, and the two of them press on to explore the dark subway. Not long after starting the metro’s trials they run into another octoling with the same number as Eight. He decides to join them, and together the three of them make their way for the “promised land”. 

NOT LONG AFTER

Tamago leads Ben and Cell to the surface.

Newly named Poe and Ched begin settling in to Inkopolis. They both chose not to stay with the NSS, and lose contact with them for the time being. 

They try proper turf wars for the first time, but Poe finds herself overwhelmed as she correlates the casual game with the panic felt during the fight against Tartar. She decides maybe turf wars aren't for her, and contents herself watching Ched from the sidelines.

Radio, a former partner of Ched’s, is tasked with searching for the awol soldier. This takes him deeper underground, into the bowels of Kamabo Co., where disaster strikes as his team is ambushed. He’s partially shoved into a flooder, instantly scarring his face and losing a good portion of his memory. 

With nothing but an octoshot and a photograph he spends several weeks wandering aimlessly in search of a face he no longer recognizes for reasons he no longer remembers. Eventually he finds his way to the surface in Inkopolis, deciding instead to make a new life for himself.

SOME TIME IN AUGUST

Florentine decides to return to turf wars. There she meets Sonnie in a lobby, and they get along pretty well. Afterwards she gets invited to the square where she meets Edd and Shelly. 

~SEPT-OCT

After spending some time together, Edd, Sonnie, Shelly, and Florentine decide to make a formal league team. Under the name Asking Eggcellence, they enter a tournament for fun.

There, they run into the Runway Renegades comprised of Ben, Cell, and Tamago. Angry at Shelly’s abandoning of them, Ben makes a wager, that should they win the tournament she would have to return home with them.

Asking Eggcellence triumphs, and it is revealed the wager was a bluff, and Ben had just been caught up in chastising his sister for leaving.

Edd meets Fritta during a Salmon Run shift.

JAN 2018

Edd introduces Fritta to the group during the Action vs Comedy splatfest. She officially joins the team afterwards.

EARLY MARCH

Shelly meets Ched in a lobby. After some charger shenanigans they return to the square, where Florentine happens to be waiting. They catch up briefly, and Ched invites her home to meet Poe, which she eagerly accepts.

Shortly after, Poe decides to rejoin the NSS as Agent Eight, and they both join Asking Eggcellence

JUNE

After obtaining an old military radio from Florentine, Ched becomes desperate to remember something from his past. His frenzied efforts result in using a specific frequency to hear the ghostly calls for help of a young girl claiming to be stuck deep underground.

With Poe’s help, he returns to the Deep Sea Metro, and the two of them locate and rescue this girl, now named Vitelle (Vee for short).

Due to Vee’s rescue, Poe decides to focus her endeavors as an agent on exploring Kamabo Co. further.

???? (no specific date)

Fritta decides to join a second, more competitive league team with the introduction of X rank. She ends up on one called Hollow Tide, along with members Quin, Maggie, and Radio.

Cavi half-heartedly joins the Runway Renegades, usually only playing during league and not whenever they have private matches with AE. 

Eventually, however, he does join for one, and is completely shocked when he comes face to face with his sister (and Ched), who at that point he believed to be gone forever. Unfortunately, they barely remember him.

He follows them home and tries his best to come to terms with things as he learns what happened (though they do omit some details like the blender and the fight against the NILS statue). He is also pretty distraught they don’t seem to remember their missing 4th member…until later that night Vee sneaks in and startles the hell out of Cavi. At first he mistook her for the sanitized octolings that had chased them in their escape, but upon looking closer he realized she was in fact that missing fourth.

Poe and Ched got woken up by the ordeal, and the they all spend the rest of the night trying to sort out their feelings. Vee even reveals she had known about her past with Poe and Ched the whole time, but never told them as she didn’t want to burden them with that knowledge.

[shoutoismybaby]

Omega Shame Part 1

Summary: After spending most of your life on suppressants and ignoring your second gender, you finally decide to embrace who you are with your alphas support. But what happens when your alpha Bakugou walks in on you nesting and sparks memories of your past trauma?

warnings: ABO, Nesting, ANGST ending with fluff,

***

Nesting. This was something you hadn't even attempted since you were but a small pup. Both suppressants and fear had kept any desire for this activity far away from you, until a couple months ago. That was when you got a courting proposal, your first ever.

It was a necklace, and not just your typical alphas 'just learned how to make jewelry with string'. No. This necklace required welding, a skill you had no idea about, but that just made sense for your alpha to poses. The chain was a simple silver, leading down to a locket with intricate holes on its top layer, creating an almost explosive like design. The cloth that sat inside was a ruby red color that matched the alphas eyes, and the scent it held was strong of caramel and ash.

Of course if Bakugou was to make a courting gift, his was going to be the best you had ever seen.

You had wasted no time in placing the necklace around your neck, relaxing as his scent filled your nose. It was from this point that you knew Bakugou would make an amazing alpha for you. After all, if he put so much effort into the courting gift, you could only imagine the effort he would put into courting you. Even then in typical Bakugou fashion, he passed all expectations.

It started with the way he would make you lunches, walk you to wherever you needed to go, and made sure to give you a thorough scenting only after he got permission. He always showed concern for your physical and mental wellbeing, stopping you from pushing yourself too hard in training and even scolding you for your self deprecating jokes.

“No one gets to talk down about my omega. Especially not my omega.” He had growled at you once. Again Bakugou did something unexpected, making your omega purr at a growl.

It felt so nice to have someone who cared about you. Someone who encouraged you to stop hiding your second gender from everyone but those in your own class. Not that you had even let your class discover on purpose, but the stressful situations class A had gotten in over the years did wonders for wearing off suppressants and scent blockers. 

He, along with your other classmates, had been building up your confidence in your secondary sex for years now. Bringing you to the realization that being an omega didn't mean that you were weak or any less than betas or alphas. Momo and Ochako were omegas after all, and they were some of the strongest people you knew. So once you had gotten an alpha your omega was basically begging to be set free, and you didn't feel like you had to deny it anymore.

So here you were, after 3 months of being off of the medications your hormones and instincts were finally leveling back to normal. It was something you had never experienced before, but you had Bakugou to help support you along the way. That's why you needed his scent in your nest. No matter how nauseous you felt walking into the young alphas room while you knew he was training, your omega refused to continue the day without at least one peice of his clothing. More than that and you were sure you would be sent into a panic attack. You had no idea how he would react to you doing this. Would he be disgusted? Angry?

Ironically the only thing calming your thoughts was to continue building the nest. Pillows upon pillows methodically shoved between various stuffed animals and blankets became nest shaped as the time passed. Soon enough you were left with just one item left, one of his favorite skull shirts. You had wanted to take something he would miss less, but they weren’t drowned in his scent like this one was. You sat back into the middle of your nest to take a thorough look around. You didn’t want to take too long to decide a place for it by now as you were getting tired. Not to mention you were going to go out on a movie date with Bakugou so you also needed to get ready for that. You would have checked the time if you weren’t so fixated on your task, and that would turn out to be a huge mistake.

You had finally found the perfect place for his shirt when you heard your door open from behind you. In the middle of slipping the clothing item over your pillow you froze as your heart began to race. Your omega knew it was an alpha before you knew who it was and she let out a chirp before you could stop it.

All you could remember was the first time this had happened, an Alpha walking in on your nest. You were seven, not old enough to even present as an omega but tendencies could show early in childhood. You were excited and happily humming as you arranged your blankets, stuffed animals, and your parents best smelling clothes into small yet sturdy walls in the shape of an oval on your bed. You couldn’t help but feel safe, like you would no longer fall off your bed in the middle of the night, or that monsters or other intruders would quickly avoid hurting you once they got just a single sniff of your parents alpha scents. You were proud when you were finished and immediately snuggled into it for a nap, only to wake up to the scent of rotting eggs. A clear indicator your father was both near and very angry. All the yelling and trashing of your hard work that happened next was just a blur. But you could remember how you felt the entire time so vividly. The way your lungs seemed incapable of taking in air, the trembling of your hands and especially the weakness in your knees. Most of all, you remembered the absolute terror as your safe space was invaded. Adrenaline pumped through your veins as fast as your heart would allow it, and you could only sit back and watch.

It was that day that you first became aware that there was something wrong with you. Something gross, weak, and worth hating.

That’s why even when the scent of Bakugou filled your nose, your heart still didn’t slow down. In fact, it only sped up when you finally turned around to look at him, all of the hope you had gotten by convincing yourself he would be happy you were embracing yourself quickly diminishing. His brows furrowed more than normal and his mouth was set in a deep scowl, slightly open just enough that his naturally large canines poked out.

He was angry.

“Do you not know how to answer your fucking phone?! You were so eager to force me to agree to this date and then you don't even respond when I-” Your thoughts were racing far too fast to actually hear what he was saying. Your omega could only think of one thing, your alpha was angry with you. You messed up and now he was angry with you. It was just like your parents, you should have listened to them when they told you it was stupid to nest.

But you had worked so hard on it, and it made you feel so good. You didn’t want your nest to be torn apart again. The smell of smoke wafted from the alphas' palms as you were too caught up in your memories to really hear him. Hear how he was angry with you for forgetting about your date, angry that you had stood him up and too busy being upset to even notice that you were sitting in a nest. The smell of smoke invoked just another event in your mind, one that happened when you had first presented as an omega at 13. Something that caused the damn behind your eyes to finally break.

“PLEASE DON’T DESTROY MY NEST” You Omega sobbed, distressed chips flooding from your chest like air. “Please, please!”

Your outburst startled the Alpha into silence. He could only stand there and watch as his omegas scent was filled with fear as she wiped at her eyes aggressively. A first he was confused, letting his body pump out comfort pheromones instinctually as he let himself observe the situation. You were dressed only in your school uniform, clearly having been building the nest that surrounded you from the time you entered the dorm room to when he had burst into your room, now far past dark. You were trembling too, body curled up in on itself as you hiccupped and begged.

“Please, I'm sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorryyy! Just please dont destroy my nest.” Your voice cracked and it resonated painfully in his ear and his heart dropped. Why did you think he would destroy your nest? Sure he wasn't the best alpha but he wasn’t a monster. Did you really think he would destroy the one place where you felt safest? A weight grew in his chest that left as a deep growl,

“Here.” He growled, “Probably best if we just end this bullshit.”

This was all your fault. If you hadnt built this stupid nest in the first place, or even started crying like a fucking baby then this wouldnt have happened. But you were a weak omega, and just like your parents said, no one can love someone so weak. Especially not someone as powerful as Katsuki. You shouldn’t have let yourself believe that they were wrong for even a second. You had thought that Bakugou would be the one who would love you for who you truly were. But that was naive. No one could love such a burden. No one could love you.

The drop of the crafted bracelet to the ground seconds before your door slammed, leaving you alone once more in your room, proof enough of that.

Your parents were right.

A flame of anger lit in your chest. Why were you so unloveable just the way you were? Why couldn’t you just be different? Why couldn’t you be an alpha like your parents had wanted?

You could feel your nails extend into claws as the hair on your body raised. You glared at the soft material weaved together around you as hot tears built up behind your eyes. This time instead of being fueled by fear they were fueled by rage and resentment.

You were so angry. So angry at youself, at your weak omega, and especially at your stupid nest. You couldn't help but let a couple tears fall as you let your anger get the best of you, and you didn't stop it until you were heaving in the middle of your disaster of a room. Surrounded by torn pieces of fabric and the other contents of your room scattered by your tantrum, you finally let yourself breath. 

You turned around to see the item you had been avoiding, your pillow with bakugou's shirt. With a deep breath you grabbed a hold of the object, digging your claws into its plush softness. The caramel ash smell that permeated the air only helped to break down the remaining bits of your anger. And you didn’t want to be left alone with your despair just yet.

With the release of your breath a ripping sound could be heard. The shirt split and cotton popped out from the opening like popcorn. Once you had successfully dissected what had been a comfort item you threw it somewhere away from you and took another deep breath.

Now you were finally alone. Just you and your reality. You could really feel how much pain your omega was in as your hair began to lower and your normal nails returned. You had heard about this pain before. A deep one in your chest, heartbreak. Your omega seemed to curl around that feeling. Of rejection. Self hatred. That no one would ever need you, let alone want you. You could feel yourself start to slip into the limbo of numbness and searing pain.

An Omega Depression.

You remembered learning about it back when you were in middle school, most people were beginning to present as their second sex. Your teachers had emphasized how important it was to get medical attention at the first signs, you knew how dangerous it was, but all you wanted to do was lay there on the floor. You were tired, and what was the point? No one cared about you, not your parents… not Bakugou. Your throat strained painfully at that thought. Bakugou didn’t want you, and it was your fault.

[isitbussinjanelle]

I got this idea a while ago as an ask from someone but I don’t remeber who asked. I don’t wanna say the idea cause I don’t wanna spoil it.

WARING: this is a little on the longer side.

*In Heart*

Boun: Ha! I reached the farthest Lilly pad! See if you can beat that, miss ‘datu.

Sisu: ah, keep talking hot shot. [cranks up arm] I am an expert at all things water.

Boun: uh huh.

Sisu: [skids a pebble across the water]

Boun: woah.

Sisu: yeah woah. I’m amazing.

Boun: you almost reached that small island. Fist bump! [holds out a fist]

Sisu, with a bemused look: uh…

Boun: a fist bump. Just bump my fist with yours. It’s something humans do to congratulate eachother.

Sisu: oh! Well then [holds out a furry fist] fist bump back at ‘cha captain!

Boun: [chuckles] okay dork. I’m gonna go fetch some more pebbles by the far side of the lake. [runs off]

Sisu: hurry back dork! [stretched arms] I’ll be ready.

*At the far side of the lake*

Boun: okay um…there they are! The real shiny ones. Perfect skippers.

Raya, sort of in distinctively: [giggles] Namaari quit it!

Boun: is that Raya? [goes towards the laughing sound]

*Over there*

Boun: Ray-

Namaari: ha! I found your sweet spot. That will come in handy. [still tickling her]

Raya: NAMAARI- NAMAARI AHAHAHAA STOP PLEASE

Namaari: there’s that laugh I love. Feeling any better?

Raya: kinda…but not really.

Namaari: what was that? Did I hear ‘please tickle me Namaari’?

Raya: [backs away laughing] NO NO PLEASE XD

Boun: [mumbles] what?

Namaari: c’mon, let me see that pretty smile.

Raya: [smiles goofily up at her]

Namaari: [chuckles] okay I’ll take that.

Raya: thank you Namaari. For cheering me up. And being there for me all the time. You really didn’t have to be here…hearing my sobby shit. [scoffs]

Namaari: hey. [takes her chin] I love you. Wether you’re mad as shit with me, or happy as hell, I will always be here for you Raya. You don’t have to worry about that ever.

Raya: [tearing up] thank you. [pulls her in for a kiss]

Boun: [gasps and whispers] wha…huh…?

Namaari: [pulls her in closer]

Boun: they…she…no…

Bouns mind: but she’s supposed to be with me.

Boun: no no…NO [covers his mouth]

Raya and Namaari: [both pull away at the sound] huh?

Boun: [rips off his bracelet and tears up] I-I’m sorry I- just keep doing what you guys were doing…[backs away while crying]

Raya: Boun? What are you doing out here- and wheres Sisu? Wasn’t she supposed to be with you?

Boun: [yells] NONE OF THAT MATTERS RIGHT NOW OKAY?!

Namaari: [stepping closer to him] hey buddy, what’s the matter, are you crying? You know you can talk to us. To me.

Boun: [kicks pebbles at her] I DONT WANT TO TALK TO YOU. I DONT WANNA TALK TO ANY OF YOU. [throws bracelet on the ground and runs off]

Raya: wha- [shouts] BOUN COME BACK HERE!

Namaari: [stands back up straight] what the hells the matter with him?

Raya: look don’t take that too personally…I think he’s upset about something….

Namaari: yeah I can see that- HE KICKED PEBBLES AT ME >:(

Raya: Namaari.

Namaari: [sighs] sorry. Look do you wanna go talk to him? I mean clearly the little scamps got some beef with me-

Raya: Namaari!

Namaari: what?

Raya: he’s a kid! And he’s upset!

Namaari: and…?

Raya: “scamp”? “hE kIcKeD pEbBlES AT mE WaAAaAaA”, really?

Namaari: [sighs] your right. My bad. But….

Raya: I know. I probably should go see- [gasps].

Namaari: what?

Raya: my- his bracelet. H-he took it off. Threw it off. I made this for him when we became kumandra again.

Namaari: ouch. I guess you really do have to go talk to him huh?

Raya: your right. Your right! Wait- you okay here?

Namaari: [sits back on the ground] I’m a big girl, I can handle being by my self. You just keep those lips warm for me. [makes a kissy face]

Raya, blushing: [giggles and runs off] you dork…

*with boun*

Boun: [still crying]

Raya: [walks over] Boun- BOUN! I’m glad I found you-

Sisu: [hugging and comforting him] Raya. What did you do.

Raya: um…

Boun: [sniffing] I don’t wanna talk to you.

Raya: buddy what did I do?

Boun: STOP CALLING ME BUDDY! AND STOP TREATING ME LIKE A LITTLE KID, O-OR YOUR LITTLE BROTHER! [runs off again]

Raya and Sisu: Boun!

Raya: [tears up a little from earlier and sighs] Sisu what did I do? Why is he so mad at me? And Namaari?

Sisu: I don’t- wait he’s mad at ‘maari too?

Raya: he kicked pebbles at her.

Sisu: yikes.

Raya: but for real what did I do? I’m sure he told you something.

Sisu: girl I don’t know. All I know is that the kid came to me with an eye full of tears. He started mumbling like, “why doesn’t she love me like she loves her” yada yada. I was too busy comforting him to listen.

Raya: [mumbles and repeats it to herself] why doesn’t she like me like she likes her…I don’t get it! It doesn’t make any sense..

Sisu: I know. But this is somehow on you, so I think you should go check on him.

Raya: I know. That’s what I was trying to do. [runs after him] THANKS SISU

*with Boun again*

Raya: Boun? I heard you sniffling over here. C’mon I just wanna talk.

Boun: [behind a large rock] I’m here.

Raya: whew, there you are. For a second I thought I would have to run all over Heart to find you. [chuckles]

Boun:

Raya: tough crowd.

Boun: I’m not in the mood to laugh.

Raya: well, are you in more of a mood to talk?

Boun: no.

Raya: jk, that’s wasn’t an option little guy. [kneels by him].

Boun: stop calling me little.

Raya: look, I don’t appreciate the way you were talking to me back there. And I don’t like the way you kicked pebbles at Namaari. Neither did she.

Boun: WELL IM SORRY FOR HURTING YOUR PRECIOUS GIRLFRIEND. [ducks his head into his knees and cries].

Raya: [is about to shout at him but realizes that’s probably not what’s best] hey. Talk to me please. [puts a hand on his shoulder].

Boun: [sniffles] I kinda have a crush on you or whatever. [wipes tears]

Raya: a crush…on me? Is that why you were all upset? With Namaari kissing me…

Boun: [mumbles in a tearful voice] y-yeah. I have ever since we met on my boat…

Raya: awww..

Boun: see?! That’s what I was trying to avoid? The whole “aww he’s cute for having a crush on me” thing. I wanna be taken seriously is that so much to ask?

Raya:

Raya: [sighs] look, I get it. The whole, wanting to be taken seriously thing. I go through it.

Boun: you do? But your a princess.

Raya: yeah. A young one. 18 is the legal age that Princesses are aloud to join council meetings, and I’m usually the youngest one. I’m also usually the only female. I’m not taken seriously a whole lot.

Boun: oh.

Raya: yeah. I guess we’ve got that in common huh? [bumps shoulders with him]

Boun: yeah. [wipes nose]

Raya: I’m flattered that you like me, but you know I’m too old for you, right? Plus I don’t even like guys.

Boun: [laughs] yeah, yeah I know.

Raya: but hey, I know that one day, when your older, or even now, you’re gonna be breaking hearts left and right.

Boun: you think?

Raya: I know. Girls love a man who can wipe it up in the kitchen.

Boun: I guess that is one of my many skills. [flexes]

Raya: [laughs] Boun, you are too funny.

Boun: :D

Raya: [looks at the bracelet in her palm] you Uh…dropped this…

Boun: [gasps] oh I am so so so sorry…I was just so mad and at the moment, it seemed like the only thing to do that would make me feel better…it didn’t.

Raya: it’s alright.

Boun: [puts the bracelet back on] all better.

Raya: looks great on you.

Boun: agreed. Really brings out my eyes. :)

Raya: [giggles] it does.

Boun: :)

Raya: hey [holds her wrist up] let’s never stop being friends, okay? No matter where life takes us?

Boun: never [connects his wrist and bracelet with hers]

Raya: [pulls him in] love you man.

Boun: love you too Ray.

Raya: you know your not off the hook yet. You’ve got to apologize to Namaari.

Boun: ugh. I know…

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Similarities

Switch AU

A JSE Fanfic

Y’know I realize there hasn’t been that much advancement of the plot in this AU as of late. Sorry bout that. But hey, no story is all action all the time. And we get character development! In this, Jackie stays over with JJ and Marvin, and talks with the latter about some...experiences. Emotions are involved. Two characters grow closer. Stuff like that. It was nice to write, so I hope you guys enjoy :)

More of this AU found here

“And then! And then Kristy gave me this bracelet. She gave one to all the girls in class, I mean, but look at it! It’s my favorite colors!” Michelle shook her wrist, causing her new red-and-yellow beaded bracelet to spin wildly around it. “And I’m the only one who got the star charms!”

Jackie smiled, leaning down to ruffle Michelle’s hair. “Sounds like a fun last day of school.”

“It was! And now we’re on holiday, and that’s always great!” Michelle flopped down onto her back, now laying on the living room floor, and looked up at her dad sitting on the sofa with wide eyes. “And about holidays, what did you get me for Christmas?”

“I can’t tell you that! It’ll ruin the surprise!”

“I’ll like it anyway.”

Jackie laughed. “That’s probably true, but the surprise makes it even better. Why, is there something you really want?”

“Don’t worry, I already wrote my letter,” Michelle said proudly. “I gave it to Ren.”

“Oh that’s great!” Jackie said. Rama showed him the letter earlier; Michelle had included a detailed list of toys she wanted Santa to bring. “Right, I forgot they told me they dropped it off at the mailbox. They also said your writing is looking really good.”

“They did?!” Michelle beamed. “That’s so cool.”

Before Jackie could continue, the alarm on his phone went off. He dug it out of his hoodie pocket and turned it off, sighing. “Well, looks like I have to go now.”

“Aww.” Michelle’s happy expression turned to a pout as they sat up. “Can’t you stay more? I never see you anymore.”

“Sorry, sweetie, Dad has to go to work,” Jackie said regretfully. “But I’m really glad I stopped by before I had to.”

“Stupid work,” Michelle grumbled. She held out her arms. “Hug?”

Jackie bent over and gave her a hug, squeezing tight as he lifted her off the ground and onto her feet. “I’ll see you again later.”

“Bye, Dad.” Michelle waved as Jackie grabbed his coat and walked over to the front door, heading out.

It was a bit after noon, the sky partly cloudy. Jackie had taken to picking up shorter afternoon and evening shifts at the hospital. He was fine with taking more, but his boss still insisted he didn’t work as much, after the...ordeal he went through a few months ago. Part of him wondered if she was trying to get him to quit or something, but he wasn’t going to do that any time soon, so it was a misguided strategy if that was the case.

Rama was outside, trying to do yard work in their small front garden. Jackie stopped for a moment, watching. They quickly noticed and stopped, standing up straight and turning around to ask, “Enjoying the view?”

“Hey, I-I didn’t—I wasn’t—” Jackie stammered, blushing a bit. “You’re wearing a coat. I was just thinking it looked a bit difficult, pulling up dead weeds in the—in the hard winter dirt—”

“I know, Jackieboy,” Rama chuckled. “Leaving so soon?”

“Yeah,” Jackie said regretfully. “I already said goodbye to Michelle.”

Rama hesitated, then slowly asked, “Have you...thought about moving back in...any time? In the near future, I mean.”

Jackie paused, thinking about it as he turned to look over the house. It was so familiar to him. It was his home—or at least, it had been, up until...everything happened. And just being inside put him on edge. “You know...it’s not just that it’s ours, i-it’s any place that...sort of looks like the place where...” He trailed off. After all this time, he still hadn’t told Rama anything about Distorter. He wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t a good idea to keep secrets from your spouse. But just...something like that...it seemed like the more people knew about Distorter, the more they were pulled into this situation. They’d already lost Michelle for a bit, he couldn’t bear if...

“I understand,” Rama nodded. “But...we miss you. Even though you visit so often.”

“I know, I miss you too.” Jackie thought about it. “I—I still get pretty anxious, but I’m working on it. With Lisa.” That was his therapist. “Maybe sooner rather than later?”

Rama went silent, then clapped their hands once. “Okay. We’ll buy an apartment.”

“Wh-what?!” Jackie gasped. “Ramram, you can’t do that! It’s expensive, and we’re putting most of your book money towards Michelle’s education—Not to mention it’ll be a whole change, the move might be hard on Mich, especially if it’s too far away from the school and she has to transfer. And we’re in the suburbs because of the quiet for your writing—No, i-it won’t work out, I can’t make you two do that.”

After a moment, Rama slowly nodded. “If you’re sure. Take care of yourself, mi corazón. Do what’s best for you.”

Jackie walked over and gave Rama a quick squeeze of the hand. “I will. You do the same.”

They leaned close and kissed him on the cheek. “Have a good time at work.”

“Thanks. I mean, I’ll try. I’ll see you guys later.”

And with that, he headed over to his car and got inside. Before driving off, he waved at the house one more time. Rama waved back, standing in the yard, and Michelle did, too, watching from the front window. He kept looking at them as he pulled away.

——————— 

That evening, Jackie was driving back from work, tired after a long day, when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Who could be texting him now? Rama, maybe? Did they want to continue the conversation they had before he went to the hospital? Or maybe it was similarly important. Curious, Jackie pulled over to the side of the road and parked, taking his phone out to check it really quick.

The message was from JJ. Hey Jackie. Sorry, but it’s happened again.

Jackie knew what that meant. He unlocked the phone and replied, Marvin? Whats the problem this time? Symptoms?

Fever again. Sometimes coughing, no sneezing. I thought it was just a cold, but I think it’s getting bad.

Bad? Jackie asked, already worried.

Maybe I’m just paranoid. Thinking about that time he had to stay in the hospital last year. But I’d rather be safe than sorry. Can you pop over?

Jackie didn’t hesitate. Of course. I’ll be right there. But first, how long has he been sick?

JJ paused, probably thinking. Well it really only started the day before yesterday, but about a week ago he got a little sick. He was better by the next day, so I assumed that was it.

Yknow he mightve been pretending to be better?

If he was, I’m going to kill him, JJ immediately replied. 

Jackie let out a huff of laughter. Dont kill him before I get there. I’ll be there in ten minutes, tops.

Got it. Thanks.

He put his phone back in his pocket and pulled back onto the road. He really hoped it wasn’t a repeat of what happened last year. That situation had been...worrying. Stressful, even. Because Marvin hadn’t had any official paperwork, they couldn’t get him to the hospital right away, not until Anti could forge some stuff. Poor Marvin had to suffer through a lot before they got everything together. Luckily, they’d gotten him up-to-date with paperwork and vaccines since then, but even so, winter seemed to especially affect his health.

It was unlikely that this would be a similar situation, but just in case, Jackie stepped on the gas.

———————

He arrived at Marvin and Jameson’s house nine minutes later and hurried up to the front door, where he knocked and waited. Almost immediately the door swung open to show Jameson inside. So glad you could make it, he signed. I hope I didn’t message you at an inconvenient time.

“Huh? No, it was fine, I was heading back home, anyway.” Jackie stepped inside, and JJ closed the door behind him. “Is he in his room?”

Unless he left in the last minute, JJ said.

That might actually be a possibility, given Marvin’s attitude towards being sick. Jackie hurried down the hall to his bedroom. The door was closed, so he slowly eased it open and poked his head in. “Marvin? It’s me.”

The lights were off, and the dark room was filled with the sound of an electric fan whirring. Something moved on the bed—probably Marvin rolling over. “Y’got t’be more specific. ‘Me’ coul’ be anyone,” he mumbled.

“It’s Jackie.” As he said this, Jackie reached over and flipped on the light switch, so Marvin could see him as well as hear.

“Ah!” Marvin squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden brightness. “Jackie? Huh. Come for a visit..? No, wait...y’here for somet’ing?”

“Yeah, I’m just uh...stopping by for a bit.” Jackie took a step into the room, JJ following shortly behind, and walked over to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“‘M fine. Jus’ grand.” Obviously, this was not the case. Marvin was sweating enough to make his hair damp, and his skin had a sickly pallor. But despite how hot he seemed, he was shivering, and had the comforter on the bed pulled up. Mr. Fluffington was sitting next to the pillow, purring furiously. Marvin reached over and petted him for a moment before flinging his arm over his face and covering his eyes. “Ev’ryt’ing’s Jake.”

“Yeah. Um...clearly not.” Jackie looked over at JJ. “Can you go get the—”

Already anticipating what he was going to ask for, JJ walked over to the nearest chair and picked up their first aid kit, coming back over to hand it to Jackie.

“Oh. Thanks.” Jackie took it and started rummaging about inside. “Marv, I’m going to take your temperature, do you mind?”

“A-ha. So it’s a fuckin’...fucking’ check-up I get it...” Marvin trailed off into mumbling under his breath, but didn’t protest as Jackie pulled out the thermometer and took his temperature. After it was done, he rolled over onto his side, practically burying his face in Fluffington’s fur.

Jackie looked down at the thermometer and frowned. 39.2 C...that wasn’t good. Wasn’t good at all. “Marvin? How do you really feel? Like...on the fatigue scale, where would you be?”

Marvin looked back over at him, head rolling lazily. “Hmm...se-seven? Seven and a half?”

“You have a really high fever. Is there anything else, like a headache or something?”

“Well...” Marvin paused to think. His eyes were a bit glazed. “T’ere’s a tickle in my throat. Won’ go ‘way. My nose is all stuffy. Felt a bit sick...sick like...the stomach issues sick. Couldn’ eat anyt’ing ‘cause...bad.”

Jackie glanced over at JJ, hovering nearby. I can second that, JJ said. He didn’t have dinner.

“Alright. It’s probably just a cold,” Jackie said. Yet a note of uncertainty remained in his voice. “A bad one, but you’ll probably be fine.”

So what do we do then? JJ asked.

Jackie hesitated. “Well...” His instincts were telling him not to take any risks, to stay and make sure everything stayed fine. “Given past experiences, is it okay if I spend the night? Just to keep an eye on things.”

“Wha...?” With a fair amount of effort, Marvin sat up. “No, don’ stay over, you’re...you’re prob’ly all busy. Ye jus’ said it was alrigh’.”

“Alright...for now,” Jackie said darkly. “Right now you’re on the edge of ‘a bad cold’ and ‘a serious issue.’ Things could easily get worse in the night, but by tomorrow, it’ll be clear if this is the worst it’ll get or...if there’s more.”

JJ’s expression was filled with anxiety. Is there anything I can do to help?

“Yeah. Get him to take his shirt off.”

Marvin snorted. “Whoa, Jackie, you know Jems and I aren’...aren’ a pair. Not t’at type of pair.”

Jackie rolled his eyes. “Seriously, you need to change your shirt. I know your feelings on short sleeves, but this is making your fever worse.” He turned back to JJ. “Anyway, you know what else. Ibuprofen, water, all that. You already got the fan on, that’s good.”

JJ nodded seriously. Got it. You really want to stay over?

“Well...better safe than sorry, you know? If it starts to go bad, I can recognize it, and we can get him to the hospital really quickly. Is...is it okay?”

Of course it is! You can stay whenever, but especially in this situation. You’re the doctor, after all. JJ smiled gently.

Marvin groaned. “Fffffine, Jackie can stay.”

Jackie smiled a bit at Marvin’s acceptance. But really, him not protesting more was a sign of how bad he felt. At this point, he probably recognized that he needed help, and it wasn’t worth the struggle. “Great. I’ll just have to call Schneep and tell him what’s going on, so he doesn’t get worried when I don’t show up at the flat. But right now, where do you keep the Ibuprofen?”

———————

Marvin and Jameson’s town house didn’t have a guest bedroom, so Jackie had to set up in the living room. Luckily, they did have lots of spare pillows and blankets. But Jackie wasn’t going to sleep right away. He was staying over to keep an eye on things, so that’s what he did. First, by making sure Marvin actually changed clothes into something cooler and more lightweight. Then, by teaming up with JJ to make sure Marvin actually ate dinner. He still didn’t have much of an appetite, but between the two of them, they convinced him that he needed the energy. Oh, and water. He needed lots of water.

In the meantime, Jackie watched some YouTube videos on his phone to pass the time. JJ offered to lend him a book, but Jackie turned him down. He wasn’t in the mood to read, and besides, it would probably take him days to finish with his new work schedule. Every so often, he got up and went into Marvin’s bedroom to check on him. Maybe too often. Marvin quickly got annoyed, though he didn’t have the energy to snap at him.

“Hey, do you need anything?” Jackie asked on perhaps his fifth check-in.

“I need...t’not be so hot,” Marvin replied, a faint note of sarcasm in his voice.

“Do you feel worse?” Jackie asked. “Maybe you need to take off the blanket?”

“No.” Marvin briefly buried his face in the pillow before realizing that he couldn’t breathe like that, not while his nose was all congested. “‘f I take off the...the blanket, then ‘m too cold.”

“Ah. Well, maybe a thinner one, then? Here, lemme take your temperature again.”

Marvin didn’t say anything, just allowed the temperature-taking and the blanket-switching. Then he rolled over and closed his eyes, presumably falling asleep immediately.

JJ bounced between being on his computer, being upstairs in his magic workroom, and checking up on and bringing things to Marvin. He constantly seemed distracted, unable to commit to one course of action. Jackie couldn’t blame him. His best friend was sick, and there was a distinct possibility that he could get worse and would need to go to the hospital. Anyone would wander around, unsure what to do.

One time, JJ came into the living room with his laptop and sat down, writing. “What’re you doing?” Jackie asked.

JJ looked up. Work stuff. A lot of emails, mostly.

“Ugh. Work emails.” Jackie shook his head. “Y’know half the time the emails I get aren’t even relevant to me. It’s like ‘Notice: thing in the operating room’ and I’m like ‘you do know I’m just a GP, right? And for kids, too, right?’ Like, I think I’ve been in the operating room twice.”

JJ chuckled weakly. It’s a bit different for me. I have to coordinate rehearsals and effect supplies, book venues, and generally manage and schedule a bunch of people.

“Really? What about your manager? What’s her name, uhhh...Darla? Doesn’t she do that stuff?”

Sort of. It’s like a joint effort. I’m technically in charge, though, so I at least have to approve everything.

Jackie shook his head. “I could never do that. Too much. How do you manage?”

I was a theatre kid, JJ said, shrugging with a half-smile on his face.

“Does having actual magic help?”

Not really, not with all the organizational stuff. If anything, it can make things more complicated, as I have to figure out a trick that I can use with real magic but cover up with tricks and effects. JJ sighed. I really need this to go well, Jackie. It’s the first show since my voice was damaged, it has to work out.

Jackie smiled at him. He leaned over from his position on the sofa and put a hand on JJ’s shoulder, which he could barely reach as JJ was sitting in a different chair. “You’ll do great. Your shows have always been fantastic, and the voice thing isn’t going to change that.”

JJ smiled a bit. Thanks, Jackie. Glad to know you think so.

“We all do. We belieeeeve in youuuu.”

JJ laughed a bit, and returned to his emails.

Eventually, night came. JJ wrapped up his work and reluctantly headed to bed, not wanting to leave Marvin alone and sick. But Jackie assured him that it would be fine. He would be staying up, and if Marvin wanted to talk to JJ specifically, he could go wake him up. Or Marvin could text him. Mostly reassured, Jameson went upstairs to sleep, leaving Jackie awake in the living room.

Jackie checked on Marvin a couple times more, but found him asleep. Exhausted from all the fatigue he was feeling. Good. If he slept well, he’d probably be better in the morning, and they could all relax when it turned out to be a terrible cold, and nothing more.

Watching YouTube videos eventually got boring, so Jackie decided to plug his phone in to charge and do something else for a bit. As it turned out, Mr. Fluffington was still awake as well. So Jackie found a laser pointer in a table drawer in the living room and played with him for a bit. Until, after a while, Fluffington got tired of the red dot, and even the cat went to bed.

Bored again, Jackie put the laser pointer back. He was considering JJ’s offer of lending a book to read, and was looking over the titles of the ones on the living room bookshelves, when he heard...something. Some sort of distant sound. He paused, going still as he listened.

For a while, nothing happened, and everything was silent. But then, he heard it again. A voice? Someone saying something? Maybe it wasn’t words, but instead just sounds...distressed sounds. After a few moments of listening, Jackie realized with a start that the voice was coming from down the hall. The direction of Marvin’s room.

Something must have been wrong. Immediately, Jackie unplugged his phone and pocketed it—just in case—and headed down the hall, half-running. He reached Marvin’s door soon, finding it closed. He didn’t hesitate to open it and step inside. “Marvin?! Is everything okay?”

The room was dark again, pitch black in the night. The fan was off. Strange, it was on last time Jackie was in here. Had Marvin woken up and turned it off? That didn’t matter. He could clearly hear Marvin, crying out and whimpering. Jackie flicked the light switch on and walked over. “Marvin? What’s wrong?”

Marvin didn’t answer, just kept mumbling and crying, sounding frantic. Then, Jackie noticed his eyes were closed. Ah. So he was asleep. Having a nightmare. And a bad one, by the looks of it. His blankets and even his shirt were all twisted around him, which only upset him more, as he seemed to be trying to fight against them. Jackie reached out and put a hand on his head, then immediately pulled it away. He was so hot, the fever burning him up. Jackie turned the fan on and checked the bedside nightstand for anything else. There was a half-empty glass of water and a damp cloth. That would work.

He picked up the damp cloth and tried to put it on Marvin’s head. But Marvin cried out and yanked his head away, shouting...something. Jackie couldn’t quite catch it, but he thought he heard ‘go away’ and ‘don’t want your help.’ “Marvin, it’s me. I-I want to—can you wake up? Wake up, it’s fine.” He reached out to try and untangle the blankets.

That turned out to be the wrong thing to do. Marvin started flailing wildly, tossing, turning, kicking, waving. The blankets restricted his movement, but it was still enough to make him roll off the opposite side of the bed. “Marvin!” Jackie leaned over the bed. “God damn it. I’ll get you, don’t worry.”

As he walked around to the other side, he stopped for a moment. The edge of the blankets were tucked into the gap between the mattress and the footboard. Jackie pulled them out, letting the blankets go free. That made them somewhat less restrictive, but it also meant that Marvin, still moving and struggling, ended up wrapping them loosely around his legs. Which...actually probably didn’t help in the long run. Well, too late now. Jackie knelt down on the ground next to Marvin. “Hey, calm down, it’s fine,” he said, trying to sound soothing as he went about untangling the blankets around him.

It took longer than he expected. Marvin kept wriggling and flailing, but still had his eyes firmly shut as he remained asleep. Jackie tried to wake him up, but to no avail. And he kept muttering the whole time, occasionally whimpering or crying out as if in pain. His words ran together, slurred by sleep-talking, but some distinct phrases popped up: “Get away!” “Don’t you dare...” “Leave me alone!” “...don’t want it.” “Don’t want you.” It hurt Jackie’s heart to hear. Was it the fever causing this nightmare? Or something more?

After a good few minutes, he freed the blankets, leaving them on the floor as he tried to pick up Marvin. Again, the struggling made this difficult. Marvin actively tried to push him away at times...though that mostly turned into him weakly slapping Jackie’s face and arms. But Jackie was determined, and managed to get Marvin back on top of the mattress. Once there, Marvin gave up and went limp, lying there still. Jackie sighed in relief and pressed his hand to his head. Still hot, and his pale skin was damp with sweat. He should wake him up soon, get him to drink some water to replace what he lost with all the sweat. But first, he picked up the damp rag again, using some of the water from the glass to wet it more and make it cooler. He laid the cloth across Marvin’s forehead.

The moment he did, something...unusual started to happen. Marvin whimpered, turned his head to the side, and started to cry. Tears leaked from his eyes as he quietly sobbed and continued to mumble something. The words had changed. Now, Jackie could hear a lot of “No” and “Please don’t” over and over and over. As he listened, stunned, these were broken up by adding “I’m sorry” and “I’ll be good” to the mix, which only shocked him further.

“God. Marvin,” he whispered to himself. No more waiting, he had to wake him up now. He couldn’t handle the thought of leaving him to whatever horrible nightmare he was having. “Marvin, wake up. It’s me, it’s Jackie.” He leaned over and started shaking him. Gently at first, then gradually harder as that failed to wake him up. His voice slowly raised. “Marvin. Marvin! This is Jackie. You need to wake up!”

After what felt like ages, Marvin stopped mumbling. He groaned, and slowly opened his eyes, staring up at Jackie. At first, confused. Then slowly getting his bearings. He reached up and weakly grabbed at the damp cloth on his forehead until he managed to take it off. Then he tried to sit up, but gave up once the fatigue proved too heavy. “Whoa...” he muttered. “I...where...? When...?”

“You’re in your room. In the house you live in with Jameson,” Jackie explained patiently. “It’s...” He checked the time on his phone. “Ha, it’s midnight on the dot.”

“What...?” Marvin swallowed dryly. “What’s the date?”

“December 10th.”

“...the year?”

“2018.”

“Right.” Marvin nodded a bit, then stopped, looking a bit dizzy. Once again, he tried to sit up, and this time Jackie helped him prop himself against the headboard. “D’you...have any water?”

“Yeah.” Jackie grabbed the water glass and offered it to him. Marvin grasped it weakly, and Jackie only let go once he was sure he could hold it securely. 

Immediately, Marvin lifted the glass to his mouth and drank, draining the glass. “Th’nk you,” he said, handing it back.

“No problem,” Jackie said, taking it. “I can go get more, if you want. Colder, too.”

Marvin took a deep breath, looking unsure. Actually, he looked more than unsure. He looked...shaken.

“You were...having a bad dream,” Jackie said gently. “I-I could hear you making noise, talking and...shouting and...and crying. So I came to check on you. You were rolling around and fell off at one point, but now you’re awake. A-and you’re alright. You’re safe.”

Marvin stared at him for a while, then looked away and closed his eyes, taking another deep breath. Then, strangely...he laughed. “Bad dream,” he repeated. “‘Tis always a bad dream. T’at’s...only time I remember. Which ‘s...strange...isn’ it? T’at’s not how mem’ry works.”

“Remember?” Jackie blinked. “Remember what?”

A pause. Marvin opened his eyes, but didn’t look directly at Jackie. “If y’coul’...go get water I’d…’preciate it.”

“Do you mean...the time you were with him?” Jackie asked softly.

Marvin stiffened. “How’d you...?”

“How did I guess? I just...” Jackie looked down at his hands. He traced the scars on his wrists and shrugged. “It sounded...familiar.”

The silence that followed stretched on. Jackie was worried he’d overstepped some boundary and was about to leave, when Marvin pulled his knees up and gestured to the end of the bed, now clear without his legs there. “Sit down.”

Jackie sat. “Did I—do you not want to talk about it?”

“You...you r’member, righ’?” Marvin asked. “What happened...when you were with him?”

“Of course. I-I-I couldn’t forget.” Jackie laughed humorlessly. “It’s actually a problem, so much reminds me of it. I had to make Volt throw out his zip-ties, and put away his knives and half his cleaning stuff when I moved in with him, since just looking at them freaked me out. I mean, he’s taken them out again now. ‘Cause it’s a bit better. But I can’t...can’t go home, or into any house that’s even a bit similar to that place, can’t spend too much time inside...” He trailed off. “You...don’t remember anything?”

Marvin hummed, leaning his head back against the wall. “‘T’s strange for me. I don’...I don’ remember how I got here. To the...the ‘when,’ I mean. But I...I’m startin’ t t’ink that...he’s the reason for that.”

“Like...he brought you to the present?” Jackie asked.

“No.” Marvin shook his head a bit, but gave up, wincing a bit. Jackie guessed a headache or something that made the motion worse. “I don’ t’ink he coul’ do t’at. It...it doesn’ really fit him, or...or what he can do. Y’know? But...after I got here, however t’at happened, I...I t’ink I ran into him. A-an’ he decided someone so confused woul’ be an easy target.” He paused for a moment, just breathing. Jackie waited patiently. “I didn’...didn’ r’member any of t’is at first. I forgot ev’ryt’ing between bein’ home, and meeting Jems. But...when I go to sleep, I remember. In my dreams.”

“Well...that can happen sometimes,” Jackie said slowly. “Your brain can block out upsetting stuff. And having nightmares about what happened to you is a common trauma response. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.”

“No, no, I know t’at, but it’s...diff’rent for me,” Marvin insisted. “It’s all...too clear. Like it’s happenin’ for the first time. And...I know the dreams r’lly happened, because...I have scars...that match up.”

At that, Jackie glanced down at Marvin’s arms. He’d noticed the scars before, but hadn’t really thought too much about them. Maybe that said something about him as a friend. Or maybe he just didn’t want to pry. But they definitely existed. Most of them were short lines, probably caused by something sharp, but there were also a few burn scars on Marvin’s upper arms. They were all usually covered by his shirt. Jackie suddenly made a connection. “Is that why you always wear long sleeves?”

“Don’ t’ink so,” Marvin mumbled. “Everyt’ing I say, about proper dress and wantin’ t’keep to a routine and not wantin’ any random people grabbin’ my arm...that’s all true. But...maybe it is a reason, but I jus’ don’ realize it. Is that why you wear your jacket all the time now?”

“Hmm.” Jackie tugged at the cuffs of his hoodie. “No. I mean, it’s related. I just...” He paused, getting his thoughts together. “I didn’t have this while I was with him. I-I left it behind. Or...he did, when he showed up. So it’s just...a reminder that it’s all safe now.”

“Reminder,” Marvin repeated, and nodded, once. 

Jackie let out a long exhale. It was really easy to talk to Marvin about all this. He’d had to work up to sharing details like this with his therapist, but now, he was letting them spill. It must have been because he knew Marvin would understand. “I guess if you don’t remember anything, you don’t need a reminder. Right? Ha. I-I wish I didn’t remember.”

Marvin pressed a hand to his head, as if he could feel the empty spots where the missing memories were supposed to be. “I don’ know. I think...I think I’d rather jus’ know. Because...he must’ve done it. He must’ve made me forget. But...why? For what? What’s the purpose? Is there...somet’ing I still don’ know? T’at he wanted to keep secret?”

“Huh. I...didn’t think of that.” Jackie frowned. “You’re right.”

“T’ere’s a lot missing. I’ve dreamt about how...about how we met, but how’d I get out? I dreamt him takin’ my set of playin’ cards, but...why do I feel...they were so important? More t’an just bein’ mine, I mean. And what...what did I do?” Marvin said that last part in a hushed tone.

Jackie stared at him. Then he stood, took a few steps closer to Marvin, and sat back down on the bed, now next to Marvin. He leaned against the headboard instead of sitting on the edge, so the two of them were mirroring each other, side by side. It wasn’t particularly comfortable. The bed was narrow, so he had to sit very close to Marvin, still burning with fever. But...he wanted to. And Marvin didn’t protest. “If you did anything, it wasn’t your fault,” Jackie said softly. “You can’t...do anything in that state.”

Marvin rubbed his eyes. They were starting to water. “You...know?”

Jackie nodded silently.

Taking a shaky breath, Marvin asked, “What...h-how bad...were the things he...made you...?”

After a long moment, Jackie replied. “No one died. But...some were hurt. I think...if I stayed there any longer, it would’ve gotten worse.” He had to stop for a moment. He’d...never told anyone about that. “But it’s...it’s not our fault. It’s Distorter’s. We called him that because he distorts thought, a-and that’s exactly what he did. We aren’t those thoughts he put there, o-or the actions he caused.”

Marvin couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. He buried his face in his hands, but Jackie caught a glimpse of them flowing before he could hide them entirely. “I jus’...wish I coul’ remember.” A sob caught in this throat. “I remember feelin’ horrible, I remember screamin’ at him for what he made me do, I remember tryin’ to fight against it...but I don’ remember what I did. I t’ink...I might dream the memory one day. A-an’ I...don’ know...how I’ll react.”

Jackie leaned against him. Reaching up, he took Marvin’s wrist and slowly pulled his hand away from his face, revealing the tear stains and bloodshot eyes. “We aren’t those thoughts,” he repeated, quietly, but firmly. “Those actions weren’t us.”

Marvin stared at him. Then nodded. He looked away. “Will you...stay? For a while?”

“Of course.”

The two of them sat in silence for a long while, the night stretched before them.

——————— 

The next morning, Jackie woke up to the familiar sounds of someone making breakfast. He opened his eyes and sat up, wincing a bit at the ache in his side and neck. The sofa was clearly designed for sitting, not sleeping. He stretched to try and make it better, then stood and went into the kitchen.

JJ was the one cooking. He waved at Jackie, then asked him for help carrying food to Marvin, still in bed. Jackie agreed and the two of them went down the hall.

Marvin was awake. Sitting up, in fact, with Fluffington in his lap. He thanked the two of them for breakfast. While he ate, Jackie gave him a quick check-up, taking his temperature and asking him basic questions. The fever had distinctly died down, and Marvin reported that he felt really tired, but not nauseous, and he could breathe easier. Jackie and JJ were both immediately relieved.

“So it’s just a cold, then,” Jackie concluded, relaxing for the first time in a full day. “Sorry about all the trouble, you two.”

“Eh, better safe t’an sorry, right?” Marvin shrugged. “And ‘t was...nice to have you over.”

Jackie gave him a gentle smile. Then he said, “I’ll be going now, then. It was nice to be over, too. Though sleeping on the sofa kind of sucked.”

Well you’re wearing jeans, JJ pointed out.

“That’s not a problem, I sleep in jeans a lot.”

What?! JJ gasped, looking personally offended. Jackie, you didn’t tell me you were absolutely out of your mind! How can that be comfortable?!

Jackie laughed. “You get used to it.”

“No, ‘m with Jems on t’is one,” Marvin said, his words slightly muffled as he was speaking into his cup of apple juice.

“I used to take long night shifts at the hospital years ago, and I was so tired that I didn’t even bother to get into pajamas when I got home,” Jackie defended himself. “I mean, I don’t have night shifts anymore, but that’s still a leftover quirk.”

Marvin rolled his eyes. “Didn’ ye say you had to go?”

“Yeah, I told Volt I’d be back in the morning before he went to work at ten. I’ll tell him how you’re doing, by the way. Anti, too.”

“T’anks.” Marvin looked at him. “For...ev’ryt’ing. Be seein’ you.”

“Be seeing you,” Jackie repeated. “And thank you. Goodbye.”

JJ looked confused. He followed Jackie as he headed down the hall to the front door. Before he could leave, he asked, Did something happen?

“Oh. Uhh we had a talk last night,” Jackie said. “About some...serious stuff.”

Ah. I won’t pry, then, JJ said, backing off. Hey, Jackie. Thanks for coming over and staying and everything. I hope it wasn’t an inconvenience.

“It’s never an inconvenience to help a friend. Or, you know, even if there wasn’t a problem, I’d be happy to stay over any time.” Jackie laughed a bit. “Just gotta prepare a bit better next time. Get an air mattress.”

JJ smiled. Still, thank you. It...it really means a lot, you know? I’m sure Marvin’s glad you stop by to check on him when he’s sick, even when he protests. But remember to take care of yourself too, you know?

Jackie nodded. “Thanks, J. I will. But you have to remember that, too. I know you’re busy with your show and now Marvin’s sick and everything, but keep your stress levels down. You worry a lot about everyone else. Might spread yourself too thin.”

JJ sighed. It...has happened before. I’ll try.

“No, you won’t try. You will take care of yourself. Or let Marvin or one of us do it.”

Alright, I get the point, JJ smiled a bit. Hey, by the way, the show starts in January. Opening night is New Year’s Day, actually. You and Henrik and Anti can come see it for free, if you want. The families, too.

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Jackie said cheerfully. Rama and Michelle would probably like that. “I’ll see you later, then?”

See you later. Bye, Jackie.

“Bye, JJ.”

Jackie headed out, hurrying to his car, still parked where he left it last night. A few loose snowflakes started to fall from the sky as he climbed inside and turned on the heater. 

That was...a night. An unexpected one, but...one he needed. He reflected on it as he started to drive away. Then, he took the turn that would take him to Rama and Michelle’s house—his house. There was still time before he said he’d be back at Schneep’s apartment. He wanted to be with his family again.

[synchlora]

oh my god PLEASE talk abt jet and ghoul. how did they meet? do they have any things they like to do as just the two of them? inside jokes? do they ever argue and if so how does it get resolved? do they give each other gifts?? where are they in a firefight?

YES!! okay fuck yeah!!!

how they met

so ghoul and jet meet uhh. in an. interesting way..... so jet and kobra r the first two of the fab four to meet so they basically start a mini-crew before poison and ghoul join. so one day, jet and kobra are out on a supply run to test out kobra's new vend-a-hack and things. happen.

to make a long story short, a newly-escaped (and. Extremely Dehydrated and desperate) ghoul decided it would be a good idea to. attempt to rob some killjoys?? man was desperate alright. so xe. climbed up onto the vending machine and jumped on top of kobra while he was distracted w the vend-a-hack.

a let me paint u a picture here bc im not sure if this is clear: imagine you're out on an early morning supply run before it gets too hot w ur one and only crewmate, someone uve known for quite a while now. ur out here to test a new device he's made!! something that'll make it easier to steal from BLi, so obviously u both decided to try it out asap. and while u have ur back turned tending to your half-broken motorbike, you hear the shriek of your crewmate, spin around, and see a teenager with greasy black hair (no, literally grease, like that's fucking motor oil in their hair) currently on top of your crewmates shoulders wrestling w him while holding a mildly pointy pen in their hand held (uselessly) like a knife to ur crewmates throat.

so that's how ghoul and jet met achsbscshsbs ghoul attempted to rob them and jet was like COOL!! let's take them home (much to kobra's displeasure having just been "violently attacked" by a "fucking sharp-toothed city kid." to be fair, ghoul did bite him).

things they do / inside jokes

literally nearly impossible to ever find them not physically touching in some way. whether they're leaning against one another in a fire fight, in a tangle of limbs lounging around at the diner, or bumping shoulders/hands while working on their own separate projects-- they're almost always within each other's space

ghoul likes to make bracelets and other jewelry and jet tends to sit still a lot just reading or writing. so there's a lot of lazy afternoons where ghoul is making jewelry literally onto jets wrist while jet just sits around chatting idly abt what they're reading

jet knows nothing abt mechanical shit but loves to sit around in the garage w ghoul if she's ever feeling lonely out there. which is a lot of the time

ghoul knows nothing abt the stars but loves to sit on the roof w jet and hear them infodump abt all their favorite constellations

ghoul is the only one that can use it/its pronouns w jet (it actually makes her rly happy!! only from them tho, it's abt trusting the connotation and person addressing them if that makes sense)

jet's the only one that uses a lot of ghouls other names. they are the only one allowed to use any of the bird-related ones (once again, abt trust and knowing jet's intentions using those names)

arguments

oh my god they get into arguments so much

they get along incredibly well but are so concerned for one another, mainly when it comes to firefights

jet is very bold but also values his crew mates above all else and wants to ensure that they all make it out of the fight alive. she's lost too many people in the past to be careless in a fight

ghoul on the other hand is reckless and will throw xemself out into danger at any chance. they want to go down swinging and they dont value her life as much. he doesn't want to die, but it's more abt trying to prove that she's a "real killjoy" because xe was previously a scarecrow apprentice

they fight a lot abt keeping one another safe in fights, arguing either of their points to no end

what tends to solve these is one of them finding the other and sitting down wordlessly for a little while. these situations usually end w a quiet hug and a lot of tears

the arguments are always out of concern and they both understand that. it's just hard to see the other's perspective and accept that sometimes

gifts

oh these bitches love gifts (both giving and receiving)!!!

as i mentioned above, ghoul loves making jewelry but also likes making little trinkets and metal figures. hes hardly ever keeps anything xe makes and instead will put it on the others or put up the figures as decorations in the diner

jet loves to write, but not poetry or stories. she likes creating rly beautiful calligraphy of random shit their crew has said. it's a lot of fun to see whatever new curse ghoul has invented written in fancy script

jet also believes strongly in beads and has made each of the fab four a strand

ghoul is the type of gift giver that will basically straight up ask you hey do u want this? so there's no surprise w his gifts (though they are still just as wonderful)

jet however will keep a secret to her grave in order to surprise their crew mates with a gift

firefights

despite their differences, their unique strategies rly do work well together in fights

ghoul tends to go to the edges of the fight and take out dracs before they're anywhere near the crew

jet stays closer to the center, keeping mindful of cover and taking out any dracs that ghoul missed in xir reckless attacks

but they can both take down a patrol very effectively, even without the venom siblings with them (which is why ghoul and jet tends to get paired off for supply runs so often)

[thoughts-of-the-unheard]

oh nothing in a book has ever made me as angry as fucking pissed off as i am now about the end of chain of iron and i have a lot to say on it (i have more to say on the last few chapters of chain of iron than i did on the entirety of the folk of the air series)

ill start with being glad lucie was able to raise jesse but definite reylo vibes there and im ignoring the end of that so watch me ignore if lucie dies ill be like yea ya know shes just,,, somewhere else but i hated how many secrets she kept from fucking everyone i mean she didnt tell a single person the whole truth of anything shes got secrets on top of secrets and thats not good but hey matthews drinking isnt good either and no one but the lucie and cordelia ever really say anything about that so theres that and im not counting james’ you dont love anyone as much as you love that bottle or w/e he said bc that wasnt talking to him to try to help and get him to stop drinking that was just a hit bc they were fighting and i hate that i hate that they were fighting bc they wouldnt have been if it wasnt for that fucking bracelet and which has caused so many fucking problems that i could cry in indignation bc its not its not fucking fair james spent the last what three years of his life in a fog not being able to feel and not being able to notice his parabatai slowly spiraling into a drunken depression from something thats not his fault at all i mean yes it is his fault that his mother took the potion but it is not his fault that the baby died thats no ones fault but whoever sold him the potion and yea he shouldnt have bought it in the first place but he was kid and he thought that was the only way he could get the truth and its unfair its fucking unfair and alistair god alistair he knows what he did in school was wrong but he saw it as the only way and now hes trying to make up for it and apologise and be a better fucking person and thomas sees that and thomas loves him for that and alistair wont let himself be loved and its not fair and anna oh anna talk about not letting yourself be loved she put on such a good front she did but she shouldnt have ariadne loves her and wants to be with her fully with her but anna has to understand the stigma of that and why ariadne cant come out yet hell thats still a problem today but we wont get into that because anna clearly loves ariadne but shes too afraid of getting hurt again and frankly she should just go for it i mean so what if you get hurt again at least youll finally feel something because i know she feels nothing for all those other girls i know theyre just replacements for ariadne and it isnt fair and speaking    of   replacements    fucking grace fuck grace but fucking grace just casually destroying james life listen i dont give a shit how she grew up i couldnt care less about how tatiana treated her and how scared she was of her because if shed just fucking helped then she wouldnt have to worry about a damn thing from tatiana i mean theres a number of things grace couldve done she couldve told the merry thieves everything and they couldve defeated belial like they are now and then no one would be around to help tatiana and grace couldve told anyone in the clave about all of tatianas shit and then they wouldnt have underestimated her and she wouldve been in a proper prison and thus unable to escape so damn easily and thus not fucking able to get to grace okay shes a fucking idiot and i hate her and i hate reading about her and im fucking disappointed in her for not taking the damn bracelet off okay i had very fucking low standards for her but i hoped she would take the bracelet off and at the very least i thought she could fucking not manipulate him further like god damn girl james is a much nicer and understanding person than i am and he would try to protect her from tatiana if he knew that grace was being threatened by her if grace took the bracelet off and told him the truth he would help her i fully believe that but since he had to find out on his own he was furious as he should be but i dont think he had to be nice to her when she showed up at the end there i mean i wouldve just yanked her in the house and started yelling at her right there fuck pretending his still under that enchantment fuck talking to her in private okay id chew her out in the entryway its not like cordelia doesnt need to know she fucking does and i think her finding out by overhearing james arguing with grace is actually a fantastic way to find out because she gets to hear everything all of what james feels and all of what grace did completely unfiltered not that james would try to hide it from her but hed definitely try to soften the blow and i just think she needs to hear the whole truth and AND i really fucking hate when characters overhear only part of something and assume the worst and run away its so common and i hate it so much and i hate how she ran to matthews because i knew it was going to happen and i knew matthew was in love with her and that it was already straining their bond because no one fucking realised that james was madly fucking in love with cordelia because of that fucking bracelet have i mentioned have i mentioned how much that bracelet pisses me off i dont think i have lets get into it so how james was unable to feel properly for three years and how his head was so foggy he was unable to think properly too and how because of that he missed matthew becoming a drunk and how the merry thieves look to james as their leader so if james isnt saying anything about it then there must not be anything to say and how james was already in love with cordelia before the bracelet and thats part of why grace couldnt control him and how he loved her for years how he was in love with her for years how no one knew this not even him because everyone thought he was in love with grace how cordelia was in love with him but thought he was in love with grace how cordelia got married to him knowing she was in love with him and thinking he was in love with someone else how she could tell he wanted her but thinking he just wanted her body and that he was still in love with grace how she’d rather have some of him than none of him at all how he picked out everything in their house with cordelia in mind how he remembered that she loves chess and she never thought he would how he learned a whole other language for her how he immediately checks on her after every battle how everyone, especially cordelia, just writes all this off as who knows what because he cant be in love with cordelia if hes in love with grace and hes obviously in love with grace how no one could ever notice there was something wrong because they were feeling the effects too how james was so in love with cordelia that that love unintentionally broke an enchantment made specifically for james by a Prince Of Hell one of the most powerful beings the entire species will ever meet and i think that covers the gracelet situation but i keep thinking of the scene where the bracelet cracks when grace first went to curzon street and kissed james and james’ mind literally thinking it was cordelia because who else would he be kissing and afterward grace saying ‘i dont know who you think you were kissing, james herondale, but it wasnt me’ and im like damn right bitch get fucked but back to cordelia running to matthews okay i know she didnt know matthew was in love with her so she wasnt doing anything wrong going to him but i kept thinking they were going to kiss or something because we all know matthews in love with her and there were a bunch of hints that cordelia might be attracted to matthew and she was upset about james and i just kept thinking something bad would happen and i was right but shit i didnt think id be like that i had no idea matthew was leaving for paris and even less of an idea that cordelia would join him and the thing is i cant even be mad i cant blame her i would probably do the same thing hell id probably ask to go with and im very proud of her for saying she’d go If matthew stops drinking i really appreicate that and i hope he gets better but the all those misses how james left the house only minutes after cordelia and arrived at matthews only minutes after they left and how he could see them at the train station could see them getting on the train and leaving and leaving him behind because his sister is missing and he shouldve ran and caught them and begged them to stay if not just to help find lucie because they both think of lucie as a sister and they absolutely wouldve stayed to help her and then there would be the chance for james to explain the gracelet situation and everything would be fine it would fine eventually and everything would be okay but NO and ive said a lot but i havent even mentioned cordelia being a paladin for fucking lilith yet where did that come from i was not expecting that ill tell ya see i thought it was odd that wayland the smith would still be alive and that it wasnt mentioned in any of the other books and i thought it was odd that some apparently god-like blacksmith would be wearing such an elegant jeweled necklace and i thought it was odd that magnus would be back from the spiral labyrinth for just a day and would be staying with hypatia instead of ya know his own place but shit id never have put it together as one person let alone lilith and i cant say it came out of nowhere because it said that edom used to be liliths so it would make sense that she would want belial gone so she could have it back but still that was unexpected but im not disappointed i mean im obviously upset that cordelia is now pledged to the mother of demons and feels like she cant even touch a weapon speaking of which what did she do with cortana where did she put it she said she dealt with it which makes me nervous but we know she couldnt have broken it or anything a) because i dont think she physically can and b) emma has cortana later but i think cordelia should keep cortana close since its the only thing that can mortally would belial and apparently he only needs one more before something happens im guessing before hes like gone gone so she definitely needs cortana and lilith wants her to kill belial so i think she should and if shes stuck as liliths paladin after that and never wants to touch a weapon again so be it but get rid of belial first ya know anyway i think there was something else i wanted to say but i cant remember so if you read all of this holy shit im sorry thats a lot i hope it was entertaining at least and i hope i didnt also get you pissed off

[infizero]

“Star” Teaser Analysis

(disclaimer: this is less of an “analysis” and more of a “pointing out possible connections to past lore without really theorizing on what it could mean” since im not good at coming up with actual theories ;;)

Well, I wasn’t expecting Loona to drop a teaser out of nowhere, but here we are! Even in this short teaser we can see that the lore is continuing from Why Not. Analysis under the cut!

ok so first off, the pairings we get in the group shot are very interesting. we get a close-up of everyone. first is chuu and go won:

who have obviously been paired together before via their scenes in so what:

as well as just both being members of yyxy. (although during why not they weren’t in the same subunit)

next, we have jinsoul and kim lip:

aside from both being members of OEC, them in particular out of the 3 are connected, as they worked together in love cherry motion to lure choerry to cosmos/the middle world (jinsoul leaving the cherry & kim lip using the flashing mirror thing)

^^^ (seen in the “reveal” teaser)

^^^ (kim lip is seen in the LCM field in the “reveal” teaser so this is most likely her)

anyways, then we have the final group before we go to solo shots of the girls sitting by themselves; olivia hye, yves, and heejin:

heejin and yves don’t have any particular connections as far as I know, (let me know of anything if there is!) but olivia has connections to both yves and heejin. let’s start with yves.

obviously they’re both members of yyxy, but as most of you know, it runs deeper than that. i’ll try to summarize since there’s a lot to their relationship.

the lyrics of egoist seem to imply that olivia trusted yves at one point (and perhaps even loved her), but something happened that severed their bond, known only as “letting her fall” - it’s unclear if that’s literal or a metaphor for something else, but the important thing is that olivia gained a deep-seated anger (what she in yyxy represents as seen in “one”) towards yves.

(this possibly led to olivia killing vivi in order to hurt yves, but that’s a whole other theory, let’s get back on track lol)

anyways, in hi high, we see olivia being reluctant to join the rest of loona, but eventually she jumps down from eden after seeing yves smiling up at her from earth, so it seems in the end olivia forgave yves for whatever happened.

they seem to be on good terms, since olivia is literally resting her head on yves’ shoulder, but if this is the same altered timeline as why not, then it’s possible that in this timeline nothing bad ever happened between them.

we get a rehash of egoist in why not, but it only parallels the aesthetics of that mv - it’s unclear if olivia was doing what she was doing because of drama with yves like in the og predebut timeline or for some other reason.

anyways, what matters is they are connected. now let’s move onto heejin.

olivia and heejin are ALSO pretty obviously connected. heejin is the first girl to be revealed, and olivia is the last. they meet at the end of egoist:

and have been seen to parallel each other during the likes of so what and other material. while heejin is often interpreted to be some kind of god-figure in the loonaverse, a force of good, olivia is often made out to be the bad guy - burning the moon in so what, refusing to join the rest of loona in hi high, etc. this can also be seen in their outfits - heejin in white, olivia in black.

anyways, that’s enough about olivia. let’s get back to the teaser. after getting close ups of all the girls in the first group shot, we get this:

a shot of two hands separating, a close up of heejin opening her eyes, and a shot of heejin waking up in a bed of pillows and looking around. now what does this remind you of?

that’s right - it’s egoist babey!! you thought we were done with olivia? HAH

ok, on a more serious note. this clearly parallels the opening of egoist in which we get a shot of hands (which from promo pictures we know to be yves and olivia’s) separating, and then olivia opens her eyes and wakes up on a matress.

it also seems to somewhat parallel olivia’s appearance in the XIIIX teaser, where she wakes up at the bottom of a staircase.

back to the star teaser, we then get this shot:

from the blurry reflection im gonna tenatively say this is hyunjin, but it could also be choerry. or who knows, maybe it’s both! they are counterparts after all.

(if it is choerry, it’s interesting that we’re getting her staring at her reflection again - perhaps another appearance of the other choerry from the flipped side of the mobius strip?)

we then see go won standing in front of the same window, looking somewhat surprised or intrigued. go won has connections to both hyunjin and choerry, so either one makes sense.

go won made the bracelet that the cat delivers to hyunjin in around you, as seen in see saw when she completes it and gives to said cat:

(along with a cat also appearing in go won’s solo mv one&only)

go won also set out a table for choerry in her castle, as seen by the cherries on the plate in one&only. choerry also directly appears in the one&only mv, delivering an apple to go won by yves:

so whether it’s hyunjin or choerry, the connection makes sense.

after go won’s window shot, we get a shot of chuu sitting on the floor. this seems to be one of many “filler shots” - there for the mv, not the lore. all loona mvs have them - most dance breaks, any shots where they’re singing directly to the camera, etc. i will be skipping these since i dont see any lore significance in them - if you or someone else does, great! i probably just missed it lol

anyways, the next shot i want to talk about is the one right after the chuu one.

we see heejin walking into a circle with the other members. there aren’t any connections i can think of so to speak, (other than the fact that heejin is standing beside hyunjin and olivia, both whom have connections with her) but we get another shot of this scene after one of heejin amongst the stars.

satanic ritual with the girls xoxoxo

ok but in all seriousness, i feel like this post has significance. loona is no stranger to magic (1/3 literally cast an “arcane spell of love” to rescue yeojin in sonatine), so it’s possible that they are doing some sort of spell or something.

 the pattern on the ground seems to resemble the sun, but knowing loona’s long-standing connections with the moon, and the burning moon in why not that appeared to be the sun, this could also be the moon; specifically, the moon after olivia set it on fire in so what.

perhaps they’re trying to “heal” it/return it back to normal? we see them dancing on the (perfectly ok) moon in why not, so perhaps this scene takes place between the burning moon scenes in why not and the moon dancing scenes? who knows.

another big thing i noticed is that they’re organized by subunit AND reveal order!!!

if you start at heejin and go counter-clockwise around the circle, they’re all in reveal order!!! 

heejin -> hyunjin -> yeojin -> vivi -> kim lip -> jinsoul -> choerry -> yves -> chuu -> go won -> olivia hye

that’s just... so cool to see aksjgjkagshjk ;;;

ok let’s continue. 

this next shot (aside from being really cool, im sure this is gonna become plenty of people’s headers lol) sort of reminds me of the og midnight festival teaser image. idk, maybe it’s just the twinkly stars and chuu looking back at the camera. as a sidenote, the arrangement of the girls in this shot doesn’t seem to have any meaning.

we get a bunch of filler shots of the girls (looking stunning as always!!) and then we get THIS:

ONCE AGAIN, HEEJIN & OLIVIA!!! this was the first scene in the teaser to actually make me squeal out loud lol. 

this part seems to signify what’s been shown before - heejin and olivia are parallels, counterparts, opposites. heejin is the first girl; she is light, good, regal and godly. olivia is the last girl; dark, “evil”, lowly and broken.

i find their expressions interesting. heejin once again has this very regal look about her, and while olivia gazes directly at her, heejin is focused on their touching hands. she looks almost.... bored. it gives me this sense of like “ugh, i cant believe im having to associate with HER” kinda vibe. idk, maybe that’s just me.

olivia on the other hand doesn’t seem to have any sort of distaste in her expression, she just has this focused, intent look towards heejin. i wonder if there’s any significance in the fact that olivia is looking right at heejin, while heejin avoids eye contact and instead looks at their hands?

a few filler shots later, and we get this one with yeojin and go won:

the first thing i thought of when i saw this was that part in the “#3″ teaser for so what with go won and chuu:

although it’s interesting to note that while in that shot, both go won and chuu turn around to peek at the camera, in this one, only yeojin turns her head while go won stays faced away.

at first i was a little confused, since connections between yeojin and go won didn’t immediately pop to mind. but then i remembered a connection between them i had been thinking about literally like a week ago - they’re both princesses!

go won seems to live in some sort of castle in one&only and is repeatedly seen with crown imagery or actual crowns:

yeojin’s princess imagery is a bit less obvious, but she wears a white dress with a tiara and is seen dreaming about princes and becoming a princess.

there’s also some theory that states that this flower thing yeojin wears on her chest in her main outfit for the mv is supposed to represent royalty IRL or something like that (i dont remember)

so there is a connection there, even if they haven’t really interacted one-on-one before.

after the shot of yeojin and go won, we get this shot:

choerry’s divorced moms

KFJSKGHJ OK IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, why do they look so.... passive aggressive?? they’re not smiling, they’re just staring at each other in this relaxed yet oddly confrontational way...

we’ve already gone over their connection, but i wanted to leave this in since i feel it has significance of some sort.

after a shot of hyunjin’s hair blowing in some unseen wind, we return to the first group shot, with them all admiring the floating stars together, and that’s where the teaser ends.

Whew! That was a lot! I’m sorry this got so long, once I started analyzing there was more than I thought there was.

Please reblog or reply with your own observations or theories, I’d love to hear them! I’m very excited to see what this new MV brings us this Wednesday!

- infizero

[too-gay-for-marvel]

i want to come home pt.6

a/n: aight yall, this is the end, the grand finale, the end of the line. this was the start of this blog and yall stuck with me through it and i love yall so much. yall have really been amazing and make writing worth it. i hope in the future i can continue to write things yall enjoy. now lets finish this thing

a/n pt 2: i also wasnt gonna post this till thursday but i just remembered today is my bday so this is my gift to yall because i would die for yall. dont @ me for forgetting my bday

Word Count: 2738

Warnings: Mason being an adorable little asshole

Pairing: Natasha x Reader

(pt.1 pt.2 pt.3 pt.4 pt.5 pt.6)

I can do this, you think as you decide to take the stairs up to your 9th floor apartment. She’s just a kid.

My kid.

It shouldn’t bother you as much as it does. You’ve co-parented Mason for five years. You literally grew her and pushed her out of your body. So why were you so nervous to have to parent her alone for a few days?

Because you’re not okay, your mind tells you, but you ignore it. You’re fine. Everything is fine.

You want to run away, but it’s fine.

And as you open the door to your apartment and see Mason drawing, you don’t want to run away anymore. You haven’t gotten to spend alone time with her since- well, it doesn’t matter. You missed hanging out with her and having some alone time.

So you make the best of it.

It’s not as bad as you thought it would be. She helps you make meals. Well, she bosses you around (like her mother, you think) while you do the work. You play, you watch movies, you have sleepovers. One night you even made a fort.

“What’s the password?” Mason questions you from her spot in the fort.

The very same fort you built and she kicked you out of.

“I love you,” you offer.

“No! Try again,” she giggles. “I love you, too,” she quickly whispers after only a moment’s hesitation. Much better.

“I have pizza,” you offer again. She sticks her head out just enough to catch you in your lie before hiding once again.

“Mommy is a better liar.”

Well, she’s got you there.

“Is it…” you look around, hoping to find some clue as to what the password could be. In truth, you think she’s just making it up as she goes. She spends enough time with Nat that it wouldn’t surprise you.

“Hurry hurry!”

“I need a hint,” you practically beg, really trying to ham it up. “Pretty please?” Mason may be just like Nat, but she has a few of your qualities.

One of which is that she’s a sucker.

“I’ll make a deal,” Mason says as she sticks her little hand out of the fort. “Pay the entrance fee.”

Where did she even learn this shit?

“Name your price.”

“10 pieces of chocolate,” she says while wiggling tiny, always sticky fingers.

“That’s too high, three,” you counter.

“Nine.”

“Two.”

“You’re going the wrong way!” Mason giggles and finally sticks her head out of the fort.

“I’ll give you five,” you tease as you lean forward and touch your forehead to hers, scrunching your nose when she laughs even harder. “Take it or leave it.”

“No deal!” She practically screams, and you flinch back from the noise.

The scream of metal twisting in ways it shouldn’t. The team in your ears, your own screams deafening as you-

“-Momma?”

Your eyes shoot open and you look into Mason’s green ones, and you’re home again. Not on the mission, not trapped, just home. Your daughter is right there, looking at you, and you just have to reach out and touch her.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper. It’s not enough. You know it’s not enough.

“It’s okay,” she says softly before leaning forward and giving you a sticky kiss on the forehead. It’s gross. You love it.

You’re okay. You’re fine. You have to be fine.

Natasha is set to return on a Sunday. Mason had woken up early, far too early for anyone to wake up on a Sunday, but she wanted to get started on breakfast. We can’t let mommy come home to no breakfast, can we? Yes. Yes you can.

But you get up anyway and let your daughter boss you around about what breakfast should be made: eggs, toast, pancakes, waffles, bacon, oatmeal, coffee, tea, chocolate milk, the list goes on. It’s as if she thinks Nat has never had breakfast in her life. You both know Nat only ever just eats fruit.

Hell, Mason even put the leftover Thai food out.

She was definitely Nat’s child.

You’re desperately trying to listen to Mason talk about her dreams while also not getting distracted and burning the bacon when someone knocks at the door. Who would be knocking so early?

Nat had a key.

Before you can stop her, Mason runs to the door calling for Nat. You don’t think she’s old enough to understand your wife can get in if she wants. It’s a rush to move the bacon and turn the stove off so you can stop Mason from opening the door for a possible stranger.

“Uncle Nick!” Mason cries, and you can hear her giggling.

And you hear your heart stop.

Nick doesn’t come over unannounced.

You aren’t sure if you want to go greet him at the door. Nothing good comes from unannounced visits, especially not from Nick. Who does he think he is to show up when he knows Nat is away on a mission.

She’s on a mission. She’s fine. You’re fine.

“Don’t say it,” you whisper when you make it to the kitchen entry and see Nick holding Mason.

“Say what?” He asks, looking straight at you.

“Don’t,” you say even quieter, if it was even possible.

“Is mommy home?” Mason asks, and you give Nick a look. A look that says you’ll kill him if he tells your daughter that something happened to Nat.

Nothing happened to Nat. She’s fine. You’re fine.

“It’ll be a little longer, kid,” Nick says. “But she sent you a gift.”

He puts her down and hands her a small box of chocolates that he got from his pocket. Mason cheers and runs off to the kitchen to open the box. Her sweet tooth was too big for her to ask if they wanted a piece.

“Y/N-”

“I said don’t, Nick,” you say, more forceful now that Mason is slightly out of earshot.

“She’s fine,” Nick says. He reaches out to you but you step back. “It’s safer to extend the mission than to pull her out now.”

She’s fine. You’re fine. Everything is fine.

“You would tell me,” you shoot back. “Right?”

“I would tell you,” he confirms, and you nod and invite him to breakfast.

He wouldn’t lie. He couldn’t lie.

What was supposed to be a short, few day mission ends up going past two months. In that time you have to manage taking care of Mason, getting her to school, doing your work, training agents. You worry about Nat the whole time and feel on edge every time someone comes up to you at work.

Maybe that’s how Nat felt when you died. But you were fine.

Maybe throughout the time, when Mason can’t see, you break down. Maybe you cry in the shower because you’re scared and the water agitates your cybernetics that Tony says are flawless. And maybe you can’t sleep because you have nightmares, about dying, about Nat, about Mason.

But you’re okay. You’re fine.

And you’re absolutely fine when Mason says she doesn’t feel good and asks if she can go to work with you.

That’s fine, too.

You know she’s lying. She always bites her lip when she lies. But she’s your daughter; if she asked you to steal the moon, you would do it. So you help her pack a day bag and get her in the car.

When you look in the rear view mirror, you can see her practically bouncing in her seat. At least she’s happy.

Her purple Hawkeye backpack is bigger than she is when she puts it on. You have to fake a cough to hide the laughter as you reach out for her to hold your hand. She grabs it eagerly and you both walk into the Compound and head to your office.

It’s nothing fancy, just a small office. As a “higher up,” you at least get a semi-private office, but it still made you claustrophobic. Not that it mattered because you were fine. And you were even more fine when Mason sat at the little desk you had against a wall.

A desk just for her.

You know she’s going to cause trouble. You can feel it in your bones. She’s too quiet while you fill out paperwork, and every now and then you hear her giggle. But when you look over at her, she’s just colouring.

Why was she so suspicious?

“Hey boss,” you hear, and you look over to see Luke standing in the doorway. “Hey Little Boss,” he says soon after with a wink at Mason.

“Hi, Uncle Luke!” Mason calls and tries to wink back, but she used both eyes. Well. It’s the thought that counts.

“Need something?” You asked as you leaned back in your chair, trying not to groan as your skin stretched over the augmentations.

You were fine.

“Mind if I take Little Boss with me on a few errands?” He asks. The way Mason practically jumps up leads to more suspicion.

But you see her smile, and how can you tell her “no?”

“Please don’t teach my daughter bad things,” you plead, but you know it’s useless. She was raised around the Avengers, after all.

“I’ll keep him out of trouble,” Mason says with a serious look on her face. You gesture for her to come closer and give her a quick kiss on the head before shooing the both of them out of your office.

And once they’re gone, all hell breaks loose and everyone knows it’s your fault.

It starts when Tony stops by your office only half an hour after Mason and Luke ran off. You didn’t have to ask what happened when you see Tony with damp, pink hair.

“I’m sorry,” you say even though you want to laugh until you can’t breathe.

“She’s evil,” is all he says before walking back out. You can’t argue with him.

The next disaster happens 15 minutes later. You were trying to brew some more coffee to try and fight your nightmare-induced fatigue when you hear someone clear their throat behind you. You have to bite your cheek to keep from smiling.

“New friendship bracelets?” You ask as your eyes land on Bucky’s and Clint’s hands.

“Who gave her handcuffs?” Bucky asks as he holds his wrist up, forcing Clint’s hand to follow.

“Did you ask her?” You shoot back.

“She was too busy running away laughing,” Clint grumbles, but you can see the blush creep up his neck when Bucky’s hand grazes his own.

“You’re handcuffed to an assassin, Clint,” you say softly, “have him pick the lock.”

“We’re not done talking about this,” Clint says as he pulls Bucky away to take care of their problem. Maybe while Bucky picks the lock, they’ll take care of all that sexual tension between them.

It only gets worse as the morning goes on. Two of your agents come up to you with tears in their eyes and donuts in their hands. Apparently the donuts had been filled with mayonnaise.

Bruce comes to your office with his hands stuck to a hand sanitizer bottle. One that was now filled with clear glue instead of sanitizer.

Nick came to you with half an oreo in his hand. An oreo that smelled suspiciously of mint toothpaste.

Your personal favourite was the screams of agents that was soon followed by the overwhelming smell of Febreze. When you looked out your door, four empty, zip-tied Febreze cans were piled outside.

When Mason walked back into your office with a guiltless grin, you wanted to have her explain. You knew you should tell her that she can’t just prank everyone at work just because she wanted to.

But it made the day… interesting.

What harm was there in a few little pranks, right?

“Don’t tell me about it,” you say as you hand her the sandwich you had made for lunch. “I need to be able to claim plausible deniability.”

“What’s that?” Mason asks as she scrunches her nose and takes a bite of her sandwich.

“It means I can keep you out of trouble,” you tease before kissing her scrunched nose and eating your own sandwich.

You teased each other as you munched on your small lunch. Sometimes you would steal a chip from her pile, other times she would reach over and “steal” a bite of your sandwich. At one point she ended up tossing grapes at you and laughing when you couldn’t catch them.

It was just… mundane. You were okay.

“Busy?”

Both you and Mason turn to the door to see Maria standing there, arms crossed over her chest. As usual. She looks as professional as always and you can definitely see why Nat used to have a crush on her.

“Hi, Auntie M,” Mason says around a mouthful of sandwich.

“Hi, Little M,” Maria shoots back with a small smile.

“Whatcha need?” You ask as you set the last few bites of your sandwich down and wipe your hands off on a napkin. Normally you would use your pants, but Mason doesn’t need to learn that habit.

“Nat’s jet is landing soon,” Maria says. She keeps eye contact with you. It’s comforting.

“Mommy’s home?” Mason asks. She drops her sandwich when she stands up and rushes out the door as your heart races.

“Mason wait!” You call and run after her, but she’s got a good start.

You hate when she runs off.

“Mason stop!” You shout after skidding around a corner and seeing Mason still heading toward the hangar. She doesn’t answer you, and she definitely doesn’t stop.

How was she faster than you?

How was she in better shape than you??

You jumped off the stairs to the hangar to try and land in front of Mason, but the landing jars you too much and you groan and fall to your knees. Good as new, you think cynically to yourself, what a load of bullshit. Tony was going to get an earful later.

The jet had already landed and Steve walked out as you managed to push yourself back up to your feet. You’re almost desperate to see Nat, but you feel a million times better when you see Mason jump into your wife’s arms.

She’s okay. You’re okay.

You walk the rest of the way, stopping just far enough away that Nat can’t touch you. It makes you want to cry that you’re worried about touching your own wife. But you’ve hurt her, you died, you can’t just pretend like everything is fine.

Even though it is fine. You’re fine.

Instead you stand there and cross your arms defensively over your chest. At least Mason is happy, and Nat looks happy to be home. They’re both chatting and laughing and smiling and that’s all you want. And you wait patiently until Nat looks up and locks eyes with you.

And it’s like everything around you disappears. You get the same feeling you had when you first saw her, and your palms get sweaty and your mouth is dry. It’s like nothing ever happened, nothing had gone wrong, you were just the happy family you used to be.

But you see that pain in her eyes. There’s a desperation that you only recognise because you’ve seen it in the mirror. And you know you’re going to have to talk about it, and you’re going to have a lot of talks about it. But you can see that she knows it, too.

Maybe that’s a start. But that’s okay. That’s fine.

So you step forward and wrap your arms around the both of them. Nat doesn’t stiffen like she has since you came back. No, this time she melts into you and you swear you hear her whimper, almost inaudibly. So you squeeze them tighter because you won’t hurt them again.

You pull back just enough to look at her, and only then are you so bold. Leaning down enough to kiss her, sighing into the feeling that you had missed more than life itself. That feeling of home.

“Gross,” Mason teases, and you feel Nat smile against your lips before pulling back and giving Mason a kiss on the nose.

“Any after-mission-requests?” You ask, and Nat just looks at you for a moment with teary eyes that she blinks back.

“I want to go home.”

And you both smile.

“Home sounds good.”

[stellarune]

ok but i am a firm advocate of the enby keefe headcanon, and so, dadwin with demiboi keefe hc go

first off, keefe is comfy with he/him AND they/them most of the time

they/them always works thoigh, on the few days the Dysphoria Is Strong

so they dont really feel the need to come out to their friends about their gender bc they dont mind he/him, and o. the few days they do, they can just blame it on a bad night of sleep or something

he does really want to grow his hair out though

and hes very afraid of telling elwin because the time he asked his parents ended quite badly for him

they end up telling elwin on a very bad dysphoria day where they just wqnt to say fuck it and be done with it

theyre kinda phased by the lack of reaction from elwin who is just like "yeah i had long hair when in the golden tower too" *shrugs*

it takes a while, even with some elixirs for it to get to a lenght they like, but theyre so happy when they can braid it however they want, make any hairstyle really

biana loves it and always asks to do his hair, and he always says yes even if that day is a masc day

he wishes he could tell her

he almost does a few times but stops himsemf everytime

he knows she wouldnt mind, linh had came out as enby months earlier and it had been ok but you know, impostor syndrom, anxiety and i ternalized transphobia

he comes out to linh first

it seems like the logical choice, to come to the other trans person

ofc, linhs only questions are about pronouns and name

still, it takes him a few minutes for his hands to start checking, evne after she hugs them

they come out to biana next

relly, they feel like fitz would have been the nzxt logical step, but they just dont feel like its as much of a secret as it is between them and bianat

hey feel like theyre holding somethi.g back everytime biana does their hair a.d the last time they felt like that they were planning on joining the neverseen

biana also asks what their pronouns are, and if she should change anything in the way she does their hair

its a smol moment, and ghey know biana gives them all her support by the little purple and yellow beads in their hair (sophie showing them flags had been the best idea)

dex sees their hair, and gives them a thumbs up and a high five when they see eachother

keefe recieves a text asking for pronouns, name and when he could use them

tam just knows

no one knows how, bc keefe didnt tell h and he didnt see their hair that day or anhthing, but on every bad dysphoria day, tam either only uses keefes name or they/them

fitz and sophie ate entirely oblivious

they miterally dont notice eveyone using they/them that one time

bi, dex, and the twins have a betting pool

keefe joins when he hears wind of it

he does end up telling them, because honestly, its been at least a month since every bet has been unvalidated and he jist knows theyll never figure it out on their own

"i love you bro, it does change anything wait can i still call you bro ?"

"how did i miss this ? like, how ?"

sophie just keeps asking herself how she missed it even as she hugs him.

shes still mumbling under her breath afterwards, but keefe knows it doesnt change anytjing atvall for her, he can literally feel it

he doesnt tell elwin

he wants to, he does, but this is the one good thing in his life hes afraid to lose more than anytjing

je knows elwin will suport him, but theres still that part of him just sxreaming to suck it up and not sqy anything

turns out he doesnt need to, even though he does.t realize it

elwin picked up pretty early on on the occasionnal they thrown keefes way

he doesnt mention it though because he feels like this is something that should com from jeefe in their own time on their own terms

and they do tell him

they almost have a panic attack while doing so, but elwin is there and rubbing circles on the back of their hand even after they talked about their pronouns and gender and everything and keefe manages to breath

there are a lot of "i love you"s and "im proud of you"sthat day

elwin gets him a pronoun bracelet a few days later because he hates just thinking about misgendering keefe again

a few days later, keefe asks him to tell the rest of the relevant adults

jjst, demiboi keefe being happy with a supportive family

[lokihzra]

Brother

Summary: Loki x avengers au, idk man Loki isn’t dead, he missed Thor, nobody trusts him, Tony and Banner feel bad, Loki is slightly losing it but won’t tell anyone

“Loki!” Thor hears Thanos growl as he picks himself off the ground, Rogers is on the ground beside Thanos, Loki holding the gauntlet, if it weren’t for the purple kool-aid man yelling his name Thor would swear he’s dreaming “drop-“ Thanos starts to growl again, starting to stand “lovely to see you again but i must be going now” Lokis smirks before disappearing in a green light. Thor feels his knees wanting to give out but he doesn’t let them “where is he” Thanos growls grabbing Thor by his throat and lifting him off the ground “i., dont, know” Thor wheezes out trying breathe better. “here” he hears his brothers voice to his right, so faint he barely heard it “snap now” Loki states and he looks over to see Loki standing beside banner as the latter screams in pain as he veins light up different colours and then Thanos drops him, he wheezes, catching his breath as he watches Thanos running over to them and without a thought he throws stormbreaker at him and the overgrown eggplant trips over it as Loki holds his palms out and spreads them apart. Thor stops getting up as he sees a green barrier surround his brother and Banner. “Bruce!” Loki spins around to face the man in his hulk form and he replies with a snap. For some reason Loki expects himself to fade away, like ash but he opens his eyes to all of Thanos’ men, ships and the man himself slowly dissolving into thin air. He lets the barrier down watching as the man that tortured and controlled him weakly walked over to a pile of rubble and takes a seat on it “good to see you again reindeer games” Tony pants from a couple feet away before he lays back down exhausted I did it.

“How the hell are you here?!” Natasha threatens sitting on top of Loki and holding a knife to his throat “brother, help please” he looks at Thor who’s still shocked standing still not saying anything “shut up” she snarls pressing the knife harder into his throat, now if it wasn’t his own dagger he wouldn’t be scared “let me up and i’ll tell you all everything” he stares her directly in the eyes hoping that she can see that he’s being honest for once in his life, after a second of glaring she hesitantly removes the knife and stands,never stopping her glare. He lets out a sigh before getting up “did you all really think it would be that easy for me to die?” he asks “well he did see your dead body” clint says obviously disappointed while pointing at Thor, he notices his brother still never moved “brother?” he tries to get his attention ignoring everyones eyes on him, doesnt work “brother” Thor doesnt respond and Loki lets out a mix of a groan and a sigh “can you smack him or something?” he asks Bruce and the man frowns “he was kicking your ass on Sakaar don’t worry about it” Bruce’s mouth moves up and down in surprise before finally saying “you’re Ragnarok Loki?” and he frowns “you’re the Loki that fought and died for his people, not the 2012 Loki that was trying to take over New York” Bruce simply says “god you guys are slow” Natasha sighs before turning and punching Thor in the face, it does the trick but doesn’t hurt him which kinda hurts Nat’s ego “i saw you die” Thor says offended and Loki smirks “so you’ve said before” his smile drops and he sighs going to sit on the couch, Thor, Banner and Tony following right away “so i actually did die but since Hela also died, the names in Hells book wouldnt apply, basically Hell was closed until it found a new owner, there was no other place for me to go but reincarnation, took 5 damn years for my body to regenerate though” he smiles happily “then where will Thanos go” Nat asks and Loki can hear the fear in her voice “oh he’s going to Hell” Loki nods smiling harder “i thought you just said Hell’s closed” Tony frowns taking a sip of his drink “not anymore” he takes Tonys drink and downs it in one gulp ignoring the mans offended look instead focusing on Peter i think that’s his name as he asks “then whos the new owner, or ruler?” He’s sitting with his arms crossed on the armrest of the chair that Doctor Strange is in “me” Loki smirks looking directly at Doctor Strange showing that i am completely unfazed by your suspicion of me so stop glaring “wait why’d you show up after the snap?” Tony says taking a seat again with a new drink and Loki barely stops himself from flinching when did he get up? “my soul was stuck in the soul stone so when you snapped my soul took that opportunity to reunite with my body and then I had to become the ruler of Hell so i took a bit longer than everyone else” 

“can we trust you?” Steve asks standing beside peter and doctor strange 

“No you cant, i saved the planet for nothing” Loki states sarcastically he then sighs becoming serious “i’ll admit it, i was under mind control when i tried to take over new york but i knew what i was doing, i couldnt say anything because thanos and his people had a psychic connection with me” he looks at Thor knowing he remembers the fight on Stark Tower but he flinched when stark places something around his wrists “this will disable your magic and shock you if you try and leave the building, just until we trust you” Stark adds on when he sees Loki tense “in the meantime you can train people” Stark gets up and downs his drink placing the cup in the sink “i’ll have FRIDAY and Happy make up your room” and Stark walks out almost everyone follows behind him excluding Natasha, Banner,Wanda and Thor. “you so much as act suspicious and i’ll kill you”  Nat snarls

“you think you can win against me?” Loki smirks looking up from the little silver bracelets around his wrists “i got you down 10 minutes ago” she smiles and Loki loves that the smug look on her face will be gone soon

“i don’t favour hitting girls” he leans back placing an arm over the back of the couch and smirks when Natasha gets up and leaves

“what the hell is there to do around here?” he asks “can’t use my magic so what can i do?” he looks to Thor  but his brother still looks kind of shocked   ”it’s no fair putting me up against you if you can bend yourself at 90 degrees” Natasha pants as Loki holds out a hand for her “your enemies don’t care what’s fair” she takes it as he pulls her up with ease “to them it’s simply an advantage” she frowns at him while raising her fists and getting back into a fighting stance and without hesitation she throwing punches faster than a storm but Loki has no problem dodging them. As he dodges one he grabs her arm and moves so that hes standing beside her, her arm straight out and pressed against his chest he pushes down on her chest at the same time that he kicks her legs out from under her but before she can hit the ground he moves his left hand to the back of her head saving her from smacking it into the floor i don’t know how weak these mortals are.He lets go leaving her on the ground panting once again “you’re not skilled enough for me to train” he states walking over to a boxing ring and sitting on the edge “is that a challenge?” she raises her brow easily standing up with confidence “no, it’s a fact” Loki says seriously and Tony barges in “he’s right Cruella DeVille” clearly a jab at her platinum blonde and auburn hair, he points towards the door “can you take off please? i have to talk to Rock of Ages alone” Tony whispers once hes close enough to Natasha and she glares at Loki not wanting to leave him alone with Tony but does as asked.  

“you look weird in normal clothes” Tony states once Natasha’s gone studying his grey sweater, black sweatpants and green t-shirt peeking out from under the sweater “you came to talk about my clothes?” Loki asks but Tony dismisses him waving his hands “no no no no” he places his hands in his pockets “just came to warn you that if you so much as act suspicious” he points towards the ceiling “i’ve asked FRIDAY to crank the heat up in whatever room you’re in until you pass out” and in response Loki raises his wrists looking to the silver bracelets “lucky i cant do anything then” Tony smirks “trust is a two way street Diva, i’m willing to trust you so you gotta give us something” he paces a bit “i let you snap these on me without killing you” he raises a wrist again “if i recall, if it weren’t for me you would be dead right now” Loki leans back against the boxing rings barrier and smirks a bit at the shock on Tonys face “what?” he asks after a second “you’re almighty Doctor Strange didn’t tell you?” Loki leans forward resting his elbows on his knees and for a second Tony can see 2012 Loki “you were supposed to snap” Loki states lowly and Tony feels numb.

“how did you know?” Doctor Strange directs at Loki who’s sitting calmly on the couch despite the chaos in the room but Tony interrupts “ah, don’t try and change the subject Bonnie Bennett” Doctor Strange frowns in confusion obviously not knowing who that is “you knew i was going to die thats why you gave Thanos the time stone?” Tony asks and states at the same time “Loki was already dead, you were the last hope” Strange says solemnly and it pisses Tony off “don’t try and act like you feel guilty, you would do anything if it meant saving the planet including letting my daughter grow up without a father” Strange didn’t know what to say because he couldn’t deny it, so instead he turned to Loki who still sat calmly on the couch “how did you know?” he asks no emotion and Loki leans forward slightly eyeing him “how long have you been studying Mystic Arts?” Strange looks up in thought and quickly answers “almost 4 years now” Loki looks disappointed like he expected longer “i’ve been studying every single form of magic for over a thousand years, you really think i haven’t mastered prophecy? my mother was the goddess of prophecy” he leans back relaxing and he looks surprised when Thor speaks to him, they haven’t really talked since he got back “mother taught you prophecy? Loki nods with an “mhmm” 

“Mother” Thor asked walking up to his mother who sat on the bench on a balcony “Why do people hate Loki?” he asks taking a seat beside her, Thor was a curious kid “i don’t think they hate him they’re just-” she paused looking out towards the scenery of Asgard while thinking “biased” and Thor looks at her in pure confusion “well my dear son, It is taught that men are meant to fight, that they’re supposed to be strong and at the head of battle, but your brother fights differently, he doesnt go for throwing punches, he prefers things to be quick because he doesn’t like fighting that much so he uses magic as an advantage” she says looking her teen son in the eye “and because of that people think he’s weak or scared but you know what I think” she asks and Thors anger turns back to curiosity “what” he smiles widely making Frigga smile too “I think your brother can be the best fighter there is, i think he can be a healer, a sorcerer and that’s what makes him special, thats what makes people fear and loathe him”

“I only use it when needed” Loki looks at him and Thor tries to hide the fact that he zoned out by trying to make it look like he was thinking “the sun will shine on us again” and Loki doesn’t look ashamed or mad he simply smirks with a nod “all of you are needed for that” Loki looks at everyone in the room “so where are the Gaurdians?” Loki ignores Thors frown because Loki shouldn’t know about them and Steve shakes his head with his arms crossed obviously weary of Loki “we don’t know” Tony walks out “they went to find Flash Gordons woman” Natasha rolls her eyes “can’t you ask that Bifrost keeper of yours if he can see them?” she questions and Scott budges in “yeah lets just go to the new Asgard and ask” he says enthusiastically “Heimdall is dead” Loki and Thor say at the same time and Loki frowns at it “Thanos killed him for sending Banner back when Thanos destroyed our ship” he gets up and heads into the connecting kitchen behind the couch Loki is on “so we have no way of finding them” he says grabbing a beer out of the fridge and Loki wants to fucking stab him “Heimdall wanted me to be his successor awhile ago” Loki says turning to face Thor and he sees his brother almost spit out his beer i wish he did “taught me how to see people but im not as good as him, i don’t know if i could see them considering they could be anywhere” Thor takes another swig of his beer “well practice for a couple days” he says nonchalantly and walks away 

“he’s probably just not used to you being here after 5 years” he hears Tony behind him and senses how close he is, he spins around catching Tony’s hand before the man can pat his back in comfort “try and touch me again” Loki snarls squeezing Tonys hand so tight the man cant help but groan lightly “and i’ll break all 14 knuckles in your hand” Loki stands up and let’s go of Tony hand harshly walking out and leaving everyone stunned he was making such good progress “im gonna kill him” Natasha says happily going to follow after him but of course Steve has to stop her “even without magic he’s stronger than us” Nastasha frowns at him he looks at Tony still rubbing his left hand in pain “Thor crushed your suit with his bare hands, I imagine Loki can snap those bracelets off like nothing, we shouldn’t push him” 

The next day Loki sat quietly on the couch reading a book, Thor at the other end, Peter sitting in an armchair playing with a colourful cube and Bruce in the other writing things down in a notebook, “hey i’ve always wondered” Peter says and Loki looks up to see him looking right at him and Thor “Asgardians dont speak english so how can we communicate?” he fiddles with the colourful cube in his hands waiting for an answer “it’s called an AllSpeak, it allows Asgardians to speak any and every language” Loki says still flipping through his book he resists flinching when stark bursts through the door with a clap a group of people following in behind him “ok meeting in session” he says with a smile “cap please stop fucking around with mewmew we know you’re worthy” steve stops and drops mjolnir before anyone can see him and gets serious “its mjolnir” Thor retorts and Tony brushes him off “we got a signal on Rockets ship, they got here about 20 minutes ago so they should be here soon” Natasha sits down beside Loki careful not to touch him “and,Peter” the teen straightens up in his seat “Loki is going to train you” Loki doesn’t react but he hears the kid let out a nervous laugh “im just a kid i can’t win against a god” Loki can see Peter point at him out of the corner of his eye and he resists the urge to snap his wrist nobody here is going to hurt you, you are fine, you are safe “you’re the only other person that can compare to his agility and flexibility, not to mention you got spidey sense” Peter raises his eyebrows looking at Steve like he’s lost it “he’s a sorcerer, surely he can block me from sensing him” Loki smirks and closes his eyes concentrating, drowning out the  conversation and once he thinks he’s got it he whips his book at Peter and the teen catches it a split second before it hits him, letting out a breath that he held “Loki!” Thor says like he’s scolding a child “guess i can’t block you out” he holds out a hand towards Peter and he looks confused “the book?” and Peters face drops in realization before throwing the book back to Loki “what if you could block him out?” Steve says and Loki can hear the anger “then a book would have hit him in the face” Loki states going back to reading “someones coming” Peter states looking towards the door the second he feels the hairs on his neck stand up “oh it’s probably the Gaurdians” Tony says sitting beside Peter and he’s right when the door busts open 2014 Gamora, Nebula, Drax, Rocket, Mantis, Quill and Groot walk in “My friends” Thor gets up happily to walk over to them and Loki hides his jealousy, Thors been out of it for days so he turns to see who got his bubbly brother bubbly again and then Loki couldnt breathe, he felt like mjolnir was sitting on his chest when the hammer was clearly nowhere near him, he could barely hear, he felt like he was being held underwater “you’ve heard of my brother” he hears Thor through the drowning in his ears and no matter how much Loki wants to run he cant panicking, trying to swim back to the surface, screaming for help but nothing comes, “Loki?” Gamora says like she couldn’t believe her eyes, she couldnt believe he was alive is the first thing in Lokis mind “you know him?” Thor turns to Gamora frowning he feels his nerves turn to ice, ironic since he’s a Frost Giant “my father made me torture him” Gamora says quietly and Loki can hear and feel her remorse but that isnt enough. That doesnt make up for the 547 days that he was tortured, the 547 days he begged for his brother and mother, the 547 days that he thought he was safe only to be met with Thanos and Gamora again and again, the 547 days he tried to keep himself together, the 500 days that he kept his pride together, the 47 days that he wished for death, the 47 days that he prayed to any God that it would be over soon it doesnt make up for the 547 days of pure agony and suffering, filled with illusions, blood, broken promises and so much pain. 

He must’ve froze in shock because Bruce snaps him out of it “Loki? hey?” Loki looks at Bruce trying to control his breathing then back to Gamora, Nebula and Thor, he couldn’t do it. He snapped the bracelet off his left wrist like glass, Natasha grabbed his wrist trying to stop him but he twisted her wrist causing her to fall to the floor and before anyone else could get close enough the second bracelet was gone and so was he. “what the fuck just happened” Natasha said sitting up on the floor “Thor go check your brothers room” Tony points at him Thor looks between him and Gamora obviously trying to process everything “go!” Tony yells and finally Thor listens ignoring his heartbeat in his ears “Loki wouldn’t be in his room” Steve spits “we gotta check the perimeter, ask Valkyrie to check around Asg-“ 

“No, Loki wants us to trust him and if that’s true then he’ll be in his room” Tony emphasizes the last part walking out past everyone to the elevator “FRIDAY check for Loki on the cameras, get back to me as soon as you find him” He doesnt look at anyone as the elevator doors close “Yes boss” FRIDAY says automatically.

continuing on AO3

[jihyosforehead]

please I need mina and jihyo being soft?

theyre v soft babies prove me wrong!!

mina sometimes plants herself in jihyo’s lap randomly:

in between their sets backstage during concerts;  

while theyre hanging out between takes for a variety show theyre filming;

a movie’s playing and everyone’s squished themselves into their living room to watch;

(samo are sprawled across each other as usual, nayeons talked chaeyoung into sitting into her lap somehow, tzuyu is content to sit with her back leaning against jeongs shins, dahyun is off to the corner but close enough for sana to bother. and minas firmly situated in jihyos lap, with a heavy knit blanket thrown over their shoulders) 

on the dance practice floor when theyre taking water breaks - minas sitting in the natural v, jihyos legs make;

she’ll crawl into jihyos lap and settle herself comfortably there - honestly, mina reminds jihyo of a very young kitten

wedging herself into an impossibly small ball and curling herself under jihyos chin, nudging herself in the spaces that jihyo hadnt realised were mina spaces

jihyo lifts her arms up, just high enough to allow mina to crawl in, to be held 

it’s in the little things too: 

mina plugging jihyos phone in to charge when shes fallen asleep; sometimes setting an alarm (or two) so jihyo doesnt miss an early appointment

jihyo falls asleep in some of the oddest positions 

mina’s caught her asleep while setting her alarms for the next day, hands still gripping onto her phone, the screen lit up to show the clock alarm app 

other times, mina makes an extra mug of ginger-lemon-honey tea after a gruelling concert, to soothe jihyos throat (jihyo always does her best and doesnt think to also make herself a mug of tea after checking in on everyone)

jihyo takes the mug in both hands, not before encasing minas hands under hers, absentmindedly noting how the spaces between her fingers slot perfectly with mina’s, misses the way mina’s cheeks tinge pink at the casual affection

jihyo lets mina steal the blankets at night, lets her take all the sheets to her side of the bed and roll around in them, leaving jihyo freezing at 3:22am 

(jihyo snatches the heavy throw blanket laying at the foot of the bed for this exact reason - mina apologises to her the next day by making her a steaming mug of coffee, fixed extra strong with soy milk)

sometimes jihyo will have a really hectic, full on day -

(makeup at 4:30 am for a 7am photoshoot that runs for 3 hours, followed closely by an interview, theres a short break for lunch - eaten in the car on the way to a brand event. her day ends with a work-out session and running over tomorrow’s schedule with her managers) 

- and mina greets her with takeout boxes from jihyo’s fav spots, dorm cleaned and the other girls are preoccupied doing their own thing. jihyo exhales a breath she hadnt realised she was holding, the tension leaving her shoulders almost automatically, when mina grins up at her over her phone

when they go on tour, jihyo catches minas gaze from across the stage and there are reassuring messages left unsaid, but they echo loud and clear in minas mind (“youre doing well” -  “im proud of u” - “i love u!”)

mina thinks jihyo is adorable for wanting to learn how to play animal crossing or whatever other game jihyo digs out of minas organised game shelf

other times they just sit in the living room, or side-by-side on the couch doing their own thing

jihyos scrolling down her twitter feed, randomly liking posts while mina’s furiously chopping trees down on her animal crossing island;

quietly eating breakfast together because theyve somehow managed to wake up before everyone else and the dorm is uncharacteristically peaceful. the only noise comes from their hushed chewing or an occasional yawn

their eyes meet and jihyo internally notes that mina’s sleepy smile is probably the cutest thing shes ever seen and will never grow tired of seeing it

minas not rly a morning person

if she had the choice, she’d permanently start her days after 11am, but she might need to rethink that bc of the way jihyos face lit up after she’d agreed to an early breakfast, truly put the sun to shame

they stay up late chatting, lying on their sides talking about nothing and everything. its dark, and the room is dimly lit by their bedside lamp, but mina still notices how sparkly and brown and wide jihyos eyes are

they just really enjoy each other’s company;

they dont rly have much time outside of their busy days just due to the nature of their job, but theyd willingly forgo that time alone, to spend with each other

mina just wants to be alone with jihyo and talk about the weather

always has an urge to talk to jihyo. shes got nothing to say, nothing to talk about even. but she wants to tell jihyo all of her important nothings 

wants to tell her shes a fossil short of completing her museum; saw a dog on her morning walk with the exact same shade of gold fur like ray has; shes figured out how to make the double arrowhead pattern on her friendship bracelets

and jihyo is the same: this funny thing happened to me on the way to the gym this morning, and mina is the only one she’ll tell 

jihyo brings the girls home to her family during the holidays, and while nayeon and jeongyeon are fond, but lovable menaces, mina is gradually growing to be her mother’s favourite 

mina introduces jihyo to her family when they go to japan for their first tour

mina’s never seen her dog warm to someone so quickly before

jihyo, meanwhile, has found herself trapped under a sleeping puppy whenever she visits

more often than not, mina feels lost, out of place, overwhelmed and jihyos there holding her hand, with gentle reassurances, and soft smiles reserved just for her

mina hardly knows where to begin, but jihyos a safe place to start 🥰

[dazzledamazon]

Break Free 1/1

 Ella handed Hank his beer,”You are honestly telling me that you’ve never watched the original 1931 Dracula? Seriously?,” she asked him skeptically,

“Seriously,” he smirked, taking a swig of beer,

“I can lend you my dvd. There’s two versions. The Bela Lugiosi version and a Spanish version filmed at night on the exact sets after the other crew left. I’ve watched it. Pretty cool,” Ella grinned.

“You watched the Spanish version? Have you been teasing me the whole time saying you didnt speak Spanish?,” he asked suspiciously,

“Nope. Subtitles,” she grinned. “I’d never lie to yall,” she laughed, “You never did answer my question big guy. Ya wanna borrow my copy? Has special features and everything.”

“How about you bring it over and we do movie night at my place?,” Hank quietly asked.

He shyly looked at her. They had flirted but neither had done anything about it. She was really shy. Ella’s blond hair fell in front of her face, She looked at him from under her lashes, her smile lit up her face.

“Sounds like a plan. You just tell me the time and place.”

Before Hank could say anything, Riz yelled something at him and Ella’s cell rang. The smile quickly fell from her face after she answered it. 

“Hold on,” her normally soft voice became sharp,

Hank put his hand on hers, “El, you ok?”

She smiled at him,”Yeah, I have to take this real quick, Family bullshit, I’ll be right back,” she said, grabbing a beer, kissing his cheek and basically running out of the bar.

Hank joined Bishop, Riz and Taza at a table. They’d all watched their brother finally make a move on Ella only for this call to disturb the mood.All of them knew what it meant when Ella left taking a call from her family. She was related to Emily Galindo distantly, somehow. Like 5th or 6th cousin twice removed. 

“Think she’ll be ok?”, Taza asked.

“Hope so, El is so damn loyal to them. They treat her like a piece of fuckin shit. Yet they keep calling her,”Bishop sighed.

Ella had worked at the clubhouse as bartender for about 5 years. Every family holiday she spent alone. Always given excuses as to why she couldn;t be allowed to celebrate with them. One of the guys found out that Ella was the blacksheep of that family. Always had been. It was something about her father. No one really knew why especially her. She was the oldest of her siblings. 

“Your sister is getting married next week.”

Ella took a huge sip of her beer,”Why am I being told now?”

“There was no reason to tell you, Not until we got the RSVP’s back. And there was actually room.”

Ella had the speaker on, The woman screamed into the phone. Making sure she could hear every word, She sat as far away from the clubhouse as possible so the guys couldnt hear her. Never wanted them to know. 

“Mrs. Shear, I will try to be there. I have a job. I cant just take off at a moment;s notice.”

“Hmph. You mean a useless bartender can’t get a day off? Talk to them where they can understand. You should be with your own kind.”

Ella’s jaw set angrily. The guys were incredible people. Much better, no human. nothing like those plastic, unfeeling bastards where she was from. Only one thing had ever been taught to her, loyalty. Loyalty to family. The Mayans were the same. But what she never knew was there was a limit to that loyalty. 

“My own kind? As what? Galindo’s maid? or lower,” she mumbled.

“What did you say to me?”, her mother’s voice angrily boomed from the cell phone’s tiny speaker.

“I’ll try. Is there anything else Mrs Shears?”, Ella asked sweetly, wanting to vomit.

Her fingers tightening around the edge of the table so hard they were turning white. Angry tears started to fall. The phone clicked off. Ella sat at the table with her head in her hands. The phone rang again.

“Yes Mrs. Shears,?” she asked, 

“Watch your tone. If you don’t come, you’re disowned. Show up alone, you’re disowned. Doubt we will see you.’

Tears fell. Before she could say a word, Hank sat next to her. Hugging her, he leaned close to the phone.

“We will be there Ma’mm.”

“Hank...no,’ she said, quietly in shock,.

He shook his head,”Ella and I will be there. Send us the directions. Good day,” as he hung up.

“Hank... no,”

He looked at her,”I’m going with you. No arguments.”

“Hank no, They way she will treat you. You are too special to me. You dont deserve it. Please stay here,” she pleaded.

“I know all about them. I’m going.”

“Thank you but if you change your mind it’s ok.”

“I won’t,” Hank said, hugging her tightly.

Bishop, Riz and Taza watched them.

“Think this will end well for our girl?,” Riz asked.

Taza grinned,”Her family, hell no. Ella and Hank, maybe.”

“The minute they see him, they’ll disown her. He won’t be rich enough for them. Maybe that’s what our little sister needs,” Bishop replied.”She’s loyal to people who don’t love her. Maybe it’s about time Hank got off his ass and told how much he does,” he chuckled.

The day arrived. They got to the hotel next to the church. The hotel, due to the wedding and several other events in town, was sold out. Only room available was next to the boiler and one bed. But it was paid for as part of the wedding party, which shocked Ella. She’d been really quiet the whole day.

“El are you ok?”

She nodded,”Yeah. It’s just kinda weird to be back here after all this time.”

“How long?”

“Six years. The last Christmas before my Grandma died. After that I moved. Got a job bartending for a bunch of ruffians who are just a bunch of great guys,” she smiled.

“Don’t let it get around huh? Might ruin our image. Go and change. It’ll be ok,” he said giving her a tight hug.

“Thank you”

Ella walked out wearing a knee length, sleeveless cobalt blue dress. Her blonde hair in a loose braid. Hank was floored.

“You’re stunning.”

“Thank you Hank. You’re not so bad yourself handsome,” she said, admiring him in the black blazer and ensemble.

After the ceremony and purposely being seated in the very last pew, they got to the reception.

“Ella are you sure you want to stay,?” Hank asked, seeing the disapproving looks she’d gotten.

“Just a few minutes. Then I want to take my handsome date out,” she said, a blush appearing on her face.

“Dance with me,” he said, holding out his hand.

They slow danced until a throat loudly cleared behind them.

“Cinderella,you know never to dance with the help. It’s embarrassing to me,” her mother said.

“Mother, Hank is MY DATE and MY best friend.”

Hank took her hand in his tightly,pulling her as close to him as possible,”Mrs Spears, beautiful wedding.”

“How dare you bring him!”

“You don’t even know him you fucking bitch.”

Hank and her mother’s eyes both widened in shock. Ella could curse but it was rare. She’d never cursed at her mother before but treating Hank that way did it. She’d defend him and any of the Mayans. Her real family.

“You want respect you’ve never given. Love you don’t deserve. I’ve been loyal to this family because I was supposed to. Bitch it’s supposed to go both ways. Take these “family” heirlooms fake jewelry more like it, and shove em your ass. It’ll be the most action you’ve had in years,” she hissed,” taking the bracelet, necklace and ring off and throwing them into her slice of cake.

Unless you were up close like Hank was, you’d have thought they were just chatting happily.

“Just like your father. Running away with the first person who gives you attention,” she said with venom. Throwing her glass of champagne in Ella’s face ,” Leave you have no family”

“Yes she does. She’s got me,” Hank replied, pulling her close, before leading her out of the reception and to their room.

They walked into the room. Ella started to apologize when Hank put a finger to her lips.

“Don’t.”

“She shouldn’t have spo..”

Hank put a finger to her lips,”Id have come anyway. You have an actual family that loves you. We will always be there.”

“I know that now. I guess I was scared after them, that I’d be wrong. Bish, Taza,Riz, Creepie, Angel, Coco, Gilly,Chucky, EZ. And definitely you Hank.”

Hank kissed her,” I love you Ella. My Princesa.”

“I love you my Prince Charming in a cut. Always have.”

“Change beautiful. I want to show off my lioness. MY girl. Take you on a real date. Before we have to go back home,” he said kissing her forehead.

She beamed at him,”I wanna show off my man”

The next afternoon when they got back, after Hank told them about what happened with her mother, she hugged the guys.

“I missed my real familia, you knuckleheads, but I came back with my man,” she said kissing Hank, as the guys cheered and she flipped them off.

@everyhowlmarksthedead @chibsytelford

@basickassandra @elcococruz @samcrobae @mayans-mc @shameless-pope @arveeee @hermankopusortizorsumshite

[voidselfshipp]

I dont have a title for this

Quick fic abt me,illya and napoleon from the Man from u.n.c.l.e

Ok to rb

Cw: mentions of anxiety,picking at lips and bleeding.

Napoleon and illya stood there at the entrance of a popular bar around the us,theyd been assigned a quick but important mission, and their New coworker for this mission is waiting inside that bar.

They enter looking around for her,there she was,at the back, glasses slightly fogged up by the steam coming off her tea.

Jerico was sitting lost in her own thoughts, concentrated on her drink.

A sudden burst of energy snap her out of her thoughts indicating Someone was close to her

--miss von terra--napoleon said, kissing her knuckles

--oh well, hello--she said with a soft smile, stopping napoleons hand from taking off her bracelet.

Nobody had quicker reflects as hin,except her, illya sits, with a huge grin on his face-- not a good look on you mister Solo-, trying to show off?

The american Turned to his russian companion who looked away, he then sat and shrugged--just testing you...

--uh huh--jeri hummed handing them a file-- here you go gentlemen,ill be seeing you back at the hotel, zuwiromoh, xazyyzannevimoh~, (night, gentlemen)

She left the money for her drink and took her purse walking exiting the bar, the night Sky was clear, Air currents started to blow,the walk home would be long.

The men were left to their own devices, wich would result into a bit of trouble the Next day.

Loud noises and two men arguing woke jerico up, the woman jumps out of bed in her silk green pijamas, her hands seemed to glow bright green, barely being able to hit something she missed her targets.

--woah!--napoleon said--you almost kill Us!

Jerico scowled recognizing the voice--well you guys just let yourselves in, im allowed to defend myself...

--we uh , we didnt meant to wake you--illya added.

The slightly transparent fabric shone as the morning sun hit it, it made her look even more beautiful, the men there thought.

--gentlemen eyes up here, gracias--(thank you)-- jer Walked to the kitchen grumbling insults.

Napoleon shook his head and went back to work with illya marking the sightings of their target in a map laid on the round table.

Jer Ate her breakfast alone in the kitchen, sighijg she then went back to her room, changing her clothes to more presentable ones.

She gets carried away though, the morning Sky was prettier than she remembered.

She lets out a handfull of air leaning on the Windowsill, softly humming to herself.

--What is she doing?-- the russian Man asked, his companion shruggs and both go peek behind her door.

Her foot trapped as she sang -- give her sunshine

Give her pleasure all the while

Turn her thoughts from clouds of Gray

Give her strenght to face each day....--the russian tugged at the americans vest signaling its better to leave her alone.

However the american refuses, as he takes a closer look entering her room and leaning on the drawer.

-- give her laughter,be her friend

Stay besides her till the end

But,in giving all else above,

Dont forget to give her love

But,in giving all else above,

Dont forget to give her love...--as jerico finished singing napoleon claps,it mades her jump suddenly turning at him.

--nice voice, preciosa (gorgeous)

She scowls Rolling her eyes--no te enseñaron sobre la privacidad nene?, guárdate los cumplidos para las otras (they didnt teach you about privacy dude?save your compliments for the other chicks).

She took her purse, and Walked past illya--anyway we Will be late for our targets meeting in the café right infront of us--she took the map and picked up her cat who was sleeping soundly besides the chimney,the cat hissed as shes put in a purse.

--nice cat--the russian Man said petting the animal--what is her name?

Jeri cooed in her mind seeing this dangerous russian spy melt for a cat, her names Canela

--it means cinnamon In spanish da?

She nodded, Napoleon rolled his eyes and the three of them Walked to the café infront of the hotel.

They all sat in a quiet corner, ordered drinks at sat there.

Anxiously jeri makes her bones pop, picking at the skin of her lips.

--stop that--illya said putting a hand over hers-- youll make your lips bleed

Jer quickly stopped biting her lip looking away-- oh sorry..its just a habit.. a very very bad one

--ive never seen a spy that had anxiety--the american said-- are you alright?, do you want Us to take care of this?

She shook her head-- no no..ill be okay, thanks though

They quietly recorded and listened to their targets conversation.

At this Point illyas hand never left jericos wich made her smile softly, diverting her eyes to the russian Man every once in a while.

When their target left they paid for their drinks and Walked behind them.

As the russian and the terran woman held hands without noticing her free one brushed against the americans.

He played dumb and grabbed her hand too, unaware of this she walks faster almost dragging the two men behind her as the target quickly fastens their steps.

--we'll lose Him come on!

Illya in a divertion throws himself at the taxi the target was about to take

Napoleon follows behind him doing the same.

Jerico is left there to wonder --oh brother--she said amazed--...how are these two still alive?!-- she ran towards them acting all scared.

--Be more carefull!you could have ran them over!--She kneeled besides the two spies, her hands softly held the their hands--my loves! Are you alright?!..

Both men look at eachother surprised then looking back at her nodding.

They stand up--you should be more carefull! I swear my lawyer Will hear about this--Two other spies approached, who acted as cops to detain the driver and the target-- just let me get my hands on him!

--its alright my love!--illya followed her lie--we are alright

--Yes my dear theres nothing to worry about...lets go back home...come on--napoleon took her hand and illya her arm as the three of them walk back to the hotel.

Jeri starts to giggle pulling both men closer to her--nice job guys

Both men smile-- well--napoleon said-- you were great too

--da, very convincing angry Lady

Jeri rolled her eyes and didnt let go of them.

They went back to her room in the hotel, and sat on the sofá talking softly.

The night came and jerico went to change in something more comfortable, the american and the russian spies would Keep working as she decided to go to sleep.

Just as shes about to, Napoleon enters her room--excuse me...

--oh hey, come in-- he approaches her-- whats up?

--you dropped this at the cafe--he handed her a bracelet-- I wanted to give It back--she extended her forearm And he put the Jewerly on,holding her hand afterwards and kissing it.

Jerico giggles grabbing napoleons tie and pulling him down kissing him.

He kisses back hugging her waist.

--Not bad cowboy ...

The Man rolls his eyes kissing her again-- good night dear-- they smile and he leaves her alone.

Laying down on the bed she sighs turning off the lights, she makes herself comfortable as her cat curls up besides her.

Its maybe around midnight when she wakes up, her throat dry as a desert.

Her feet dragged her to the kitchen,serving herself a Cup of water chugging it down in one sip.

She then is going back to sleep,but turns around to see napoleon passed out on the table and illya still half awake.

Jerico sighs sitting besides the russian--to sleep

--nyet...

--illya its late come on

He shakes his head.

Huffing she pulls out the chair, straddling his lap by sitting on it.

--bed. Now.

The Mans cheeks turn bright red and nodds, picking her up by the legs and walking back to the room where they lay on the bed and cuddle togheter.

The russian Man is fast asleep when napoleon decided to join them.

Jeri hugged him from behind pulling him closer-- look who decided to join us

--Well.. I cant help myself with you, something About being in your arms is irresistible to me..

She rolls her eyes kissing the back of his neck--night cowboy

--Night baby

And as illya pulls her closer she falls asleep,feeling secured And happy.

[confessinbouthanson]

“ an open letter to everyone about zac

i just found out about this a few days ago, i have looked at the twitter account that posted screenshots, i have been to the reddit. and i feel like i must still be missing something? nowhere did i see anything like  f**k n******s /jews/trans people ect. i saw a lot of republican support and gun humor…that were posted on his PRIVATE ACCOUNTS .         there WILL be people in this world who do out and do and say things that offend YOU. be an adult and move on. dont stalk, shame, harass or start an online rampage on 3 websites causing the person involved to turn off comments and his wife to straight up leave. who do YOU people think you are? you think you have the right to do that because youve been a ‘fan’ since '97 so your entitled to bash him?   because hes a celebrity? hes  still human he has the right to privacy and makes mistakes.if your so offended they didnt post blm or anything like that guess what alot of other celebrities and bands didnt eaither. some people dont want to post anything about it because its very controversial and last i checked hanson is not about contravercy. zac stated the bitter truth him posting blm will not stop it from happening again, just like celebrities donating money wont stop it. the way this generation of kids are raised will and so will changing laws .thats it.          he didnt makes those memes he reposted them. they have been on the internet forever alot of other people reposted them too. again most of what i saw was gun humor and republican support ect.  not for everyone. some people are die hard republicans and will vote for the candidate   JUST because they want their party to win, does not matter who it is or what they stand for. you cant just say oh hes a trump supporter so hes racist. you sound so ignorant. people want to twist things and make things much bigger than they are.if i missed a post saying n******rs and je*s /tans gays ect suck and need to die or anything along those lines please share id love to see. and all of you saying how can kate put up with him ect and how their first few years were shaky, post proof of that too.  how the hell would you know what goes on behind closed doors?do you live with them?  even if they did have a rough start, every relationship has growing pains esp when you are young.    everyone who is a 'fanson’ should already know   blues, jazz motown-mostly black artists were huge influence on hanson. they have worked with many black aritsts.  just like anyone who is a 'fanson’ should know they  are DEVOUT greek  orthodox christians. ie: very very oldschool stream of Christianity that follows the OLD testiment, basic Christianity follows the new testimate ie: living through the example of jesus , jesus loves everyone gay straight black white ect  look into it, the believes ect. its their right to live that way if thats what they choose to do, alot of religions do look down on gays trans ect and truely belive you will go to hell for it    because the way  the testimate is written and translated. very duggar esq. some strains of that dont even allow the women to wear pants  and you can only eat certain foods on certain days ect.  again if thats his beliefs thats his beliefs.not everyone supports those lifestyles just because the internet popularized them. hell mainstream tv was sill making stereotype jokes about gays up until like 6 years ago. i saw no uproar online about celebrities that follow kabballah (the red bracelets) no half of you dont even know what that REALLY is,  no you just wear the bracelet because its trendy and your fav celeb  wears it.  im  not even gonna sit here and be all like 'well he is from oklahoma and alot of people are biggots there'  because guess what? its like that everywhere. ive lived all over the country and it is like that in small towns and large citys. north south east west. and kate posting things on her ig about not supporting planned parenthood,  well although they do offer many medical services they also preform abortions.  again religious  and republican people have a very big issue with that. and shes from ga so maybe she had family that were confederate soldiers which is why she said save the flag.                               im not saying this is right or not disgusting, im saying there are all kinds of people in the world and you CAN NOT hate, harass, bully ect someone because they dont believe the same stuff you do. it does not matter they are a celebrity   dont even go there with them having a 'responsibility’ the ONLY thing they are responsible for is what made them famous-making music. you guys went out of your way to stalk him and invade his privacy, you had a certain image of him in your minds and put him on a pedestal and when he proved it to be wrong, now your pissed off. you all need to grow the fuck up. what are you gonna go through life bashing everyone that does not  drop their beliefs for whats socially popular? posting memes does not mean hes a straight up ass in person to people that are black, gay, trans, fat ect. actions speak louder than words. i dont care for the movie american hisotry x  because most of it is very racist and violent, but the MESSAGE of the movie  shows that a person can be involved in a group, live a certain way, believe certain things to the point where the inflict DEATH on someone and tattoo their entire body with racist tattoos,  but then change  their lives and be remorseful once they break free. its like a drug addict. if you hang around the same group of people, do not change your contact info, no matter how hard your desperately want to get sober, you wont. because you need to change your lifestyle . it is absolutely no secret that walker and diana dictate all those kids lives, everything about them, including who they married. the guys and the girls. walker worked with natalies  family member, not directly but they were contacts, they met  they had similar  beliefes, and had $$$$$  kates family also has $$$$$$  so does everyone elce that married into that family . unless your rich and have similar lifestyle you never had a chance girls. youd have to be preapproved by mom and dad. dont you think its odd zac never had a girlfriend that was  the friend of one of his brothers? marrion , kate and another girl who im not even gonna mention because honestly none of you know who she is anyway lol.

it takes all kinds of people in this world. if you like their music you like their music. half the celebrities musicians youlook up to and admire have EXTREMELY different lives behind closed doors and because you dont know about it its fine.  what they do at the end of the day  in private is up to them . just like what you do is up to you are you people prefect? i doubt it.”

[emybain]

Seventeen

    oh my gosh,,,i did not mean for this to take me a week to write OR for it to be nearly 7000 words but here we are. I had trouble writing this in all honesty and really wanted to write this fic well. A huge thank you to @danna-bell-is-black for being a (my first!) beta reader and helping this gorl figure things out. if you dont already follow her, youre insane because she blesses our eyes with quality art and renegades content.

SPOILERS FOR SUPERNOVA

SPOILERS FOR SUPERNOVA

SPOILERS FOR SUPERNOVA

    Nova regretted ever leaving her apartment that morning. 

    Her seventeenth birthday started out with Ruby, Danna, and Narcissa banging on her apartment door mid morning, insisting that they have a girl’s day to celebrate. Nova had protested, the thought of having to spend an entire day with a group of girls frankly terrifying. She claimed her protests were only because she already had plans to go over to her boyfriend’s house and binge a stupid sitcom with seven seasons and just be a potato all day. There may or may not have been one or two make out sessions planned in this binge-watching. This was all true information, but her excuse, and her spirits, were immediately shot down when Ruby said that Adrian was sick. Skeptical, Nova had messaged Adrian and asked herself, to which she received a reply within a few minutes that he was indeed sick and to have fun with the girls.

    Something wasn’t right. 

    But somewhere deep in her mind, she knew that spending her birthday alone was the last thing she needed, and if she was going to fake having fun with the girls, then she was going to do it with a smile until she felt truly elated dammit. 

    For whatever reason, Nova had gotten herself into a funk the past month or so. Her happiness, true and free of doubt, that came after Ace Anarchy was defeated not seven months ago was short lived. She found herself missing the Anarchists. Leroy and Winston and even Honey and Ingrid who had turned against her in the end. She supposed it was natural; they had raised her for nearly ten years, and even if their methods weren’t always the best, it was evident they had cared for her in that decade they had together. 

    And then she began thinking of her uncle, how things could have been different if Nova had taken another approach than the one she chose. But she berated herself for even thinking that way. Ace had chosen his path and had no intentions of changing it. 

    She felt like she betrayed her family for idolizing Ace all those years, looking up to the man who had murdered his brother and his family in cold blood. Nova’s stomach turned at the thought that she would’ve been murdered as well, had it not been for her gift. It wasn’t the dying part that made her sick, it was the fact that Ace valued her only as an asset and nothing more. Just another piece on his chessboard. 

    Nova always found herself missing her family immensely around her birthday, reasons unknown to her. It wasn’t like her birthdays before they were murdered were anything special; she usually received gummy snacks or a screwdriver from Ace, as her parents couldn’t afford anything and it was too dangerous outside. Her most memorable gift was a bear her father had salvaged for her when he had gone out in search of medicine because Nova had been sick on her third birthday. She remembered it being already torn up and dirty, but her mother had washed it and sewed it up so it looked brand new again; it had been Nova’s only companion before she had a little sister. 

    This birthday, however, was ten years without her parents and sister. Her seventh birthday was around the corner when the hitman killed her family, forcing Nova to run away with the Anarchists. She remembered not even celebrating that birthday, too distraught and angry to even accept the processed package of crackers Ace had gotten for her. Now, at seventeen, Nova Artino wanted nothing more than to hug her parents and Evie, who would have been around Max’s age now. She wanted them to know she was sorry for letting them down, for believing in Ace’s lies for so many years and believing in him. She wanted her father to ruffle her hair and tell her everything was going to be alright; she wanted her mother to kiss her forehead and tell her how much she’s grown, like she used to when Nova would be measured against a doorframe; she wanted to be the annoying big sister to Evie, teasing her playfully and embarrassing her at every possible chance. But no, Nova Artino was alone and without a family on her seventeenth. 

    Was making out with her boyfriend in his room as they ignored a cheesy sitcom playing in the background to make Nova forget about her worries too much to ask? 

    Apparently, so Nova had held back a sigh and bit her tongue, agreeing to go out with the three girls for the day. Ruby forced her into one of the few nice outfits Nova had in her closet, ignoring Nova’s questioning and tossing the leggings and t-shirt Nova had initially grabbed. It was nothing special, just a pair of high waisted black and white striped flowy pants with a cloth belt and an understated plain white shirt that Nova tied into a knot just above her belly button. She had purchased the outfit two months prior for a media interview with Adrian and his team and hadn’t worn it since. 

The public, much to Nova’s disdain, idolized her, Adrian, his team, and Max after the defeat of Ace Anarchy, claiming that without them, Ace would still be around. But they were wrong; without Max, Ace would still be around. Even so, being idolized was like a punch to the gut for Nova; it went against everything she had stood by for ten years. But, she had to admit, it brought her the smallest bit of joy seeing young girls be more interested in science and mathematics and self defense and standing up for themselves because that’s what Nova Artino liked. At least her small impact was positive. 

“Sweetheart, which side did you say you wanted the piercing on?” Nova blinked, coming out of her daze to stare at the dark skinned woman in front of her who held an alcohol wipe in one hand and a cotton swab in the other. Right. The reason why she wished she was curled up in Adrian’s arms right now, preferably kissing him. 

Nova licked her lips, eyes pinning on the marker. In the corner of the room sat Ruby, Danna, and Narcissa. Ruby was hurriedly messaging someone and glancing up at Nova every so often to offer an encouraging smile. Danna and Narcissa were chatting quietly between themselves, playing with one another’s hands affectionately. 

“Um...the right side.” Nova placed a finger on the curve of her nose where she wanted the piercing. She couldn’t believe she let the others convince her into doing this. Danna had said it didn’t hurt after she pierced hers a few months before, Ruby had said none of her piercings, all on her ears, were that painful. But Nova knew what ear piercings were like; Honey had taken her to get hers pierced at the ripe age of twelve. 

The lady nodded, leaning forward to wipe that side of her nose then putting the cotton swab in Nova’s nostril. Nova drew back slightly at how cold it was; it must’ve been dipped in alcohol as well. Then she grabbed a marker and carefully placed a dot on Nova’s nose, right where Nova had indicated where she wanted it. 

“How’s that?” A mirror was placed in front of Nova, and she examined the marker dot, nodding and only half paying attention. The lady put the mirror back down on her table and picked up the needle, instructing Nova to lie down on the patient’s table. 

Nova had always found body piercings to be cool and badass, but had never had the guts to go and get any done other than the one time Honey took her five years ago. Her decisions had always rested on other’s opinions, almost never on her own. Now that she was doing something that she had wanted to do, she was nervous, and all because she had mentioned it once in a conversation with Ruby months before, who had remembered it and was the one responsible for their little group being in that tattoo and piercing parlor in the first place. Before going to the back of the shop to the patient rooms, they had inquired about tattoos, another thing Nova was interested in, but they were told they needed parental or guardian consent for those under the age of eighteen. As none of them could pass for Nova’s guardian, Nova shrugged it off, saying she would just get it done next year. 

“Alright, honey, now breathe in and out on a count of three, okay?” Nova barely had time to process what the lady had said before she felt the needle piercing the cartilage of her nose. Her eyes watered instantly, almost involuntarily. A disgruntled noise came from the back of her throat, and she closed her eyes, biting back a grimace. Then the needle was pulled out the other side, and the lady said she was done as she took another cotton swab and cleaned the area around the piercing.

Nova was handed a tissue as she sat up, and she dabbed at her eyes. Ruby clapped her hands in excitement. 

“It looks great, Nova!” she said, already holding out her communication band to snap a quick photo to send to people. Nova made a face at the front facing camera, scrunching her face up. 

“Totally badass and not adorable on a five-foot-nothing child,” Danna teased, tearing her eyes away from Narcissa who nodded in agreement. 

“Five-foot-three,” Nova replied, scoffing. She hopped off the table and over to the full body mirror, leaning close to inspect the new addition. 

“Maybe in heels.” Danna grinned. “No, but really, it looks good. It suits you well.” 

Nova massaged her nose, which was starting to swell up. She sniffled, the piercing making it feel like she had a stuffy airway. “You think so?” 

“Well, do you like it?” Ruby came up beside Nova and crossed her arms, looking at the piercing and beaming. 

Nova thought about it for a moment, examining the rosey-gold jewelry now gleaming on her face. She had chosen the stud to match the bracelet on her wrist. Slowly, she started to nod, her lips stretching up. 

“Yeah. I do.” She paused before running a hand through her hair, which was getting longer and in need of a cut, although now Nova was liking the way it looked with the piercing. So many changes in such a small amount of time. Maybe it was a good thing. “I really do, actually.” 

“Then that’s all that matters.” Ruby clapped her hands together. “So, lunch? Oscar recommended this great cheeseburger place that just opened up.”

Nova had learned to trust Oscar’s judgement on food, even if she wasn’t that fond of cheeseburgers. When he said the place was great, he was serious. There weren’t many restaurants in Gatlon, at least affordable ones, that had been given such an honor from Oscar. So, Nova nodded her head, and their group set off for lunch. 

__________

Something was definitely up. 

They had gone to lunch at the place Ruby recommended, and all was well until Nova noticed that every time one of her friend’s communicators chimed with a message, it was closely followed by the other two. They tried to check the messages at different times and respond out of sync, as if they were keeping something from Nova. A few times, Nova had attempted to peer over Ruby’s shoulder at her communication band, curiosity overcoming her, but Ruby always closed the conversation quickly after Nova snooped. 

Then, afterward, when Nova had suggested running to Adrian’s house for a bit to check up on him and possibly bring him soup or ice cream, all three of her companions got wide eyed and instantly started voicing their objections. 

“You don’t want to get sick!” Ruby had said. 

“He’s probably passed out,” Danna had added nonchalantly.

“Ugh, yeah. He’s probably disgusting.” Narcissa had wriggled her nose at the thought, but Nova could see right through the lie. The bookworm was a terrible liar; it was evident through the way she never made eye contact and stammered over her own words. “Definitely too sick to see you...or anyone else for that matter! He’s probably thrown up like...five times already.” Then she got quiet when Danna shot her a not so subtle glare, to which Narcissa replied with a quiet and confused, “What?”

So Nova had suggested going back to her place, a little apartment that Hugh and Simon had bought for her under their name not long after the Supernova, after they found out she was rotating homes to stay at for short periods of time until she eventually ended up at the Everhart-Westwood residence. She knew a majority of their reasoning for buying it was that they never forgave themselves for failing to save Nova’s family, even though she had long since forgiven them and come to terms with her misjudgments and wrongdoings. She also knew a teeny, tiny part of the reasoning had to do with the fact that they were completely supportive of her relationship with Adrian, it being a little too evident in the fact that the bedroom was big enough for a queen or king sized bed and that the bathroom had two sinks instead of one. Message received. It wasn’t much, just a kitchenette, sitting area, and closed off bedroom and bathroom, but it had become a decent home for Nova, a fresh start. Plus, it didn’t hurt that the apartment complex, one built after the Age of Anarchy, was just a few blocks away from Adrian’s house. Another thing that couldn’t be accidental on Hugh and Simon’s part. 

Again, her group shot down her suggestion and began making excuses. Then Danna mentioned going into a few shops and boutiques nearby, and Nova almost had to laugh. They knew that shopping was one of Nova’s least favorite things to do, something they had all learned the hard way when they had tried taking her before. She just didn’t understand how some people got joy from running their hands over racks of ridiculous clothing, exclaiming how much they loved a top or a skirt yet putting it back with a defeated sigh after checking the price tag. At least that’s what little experience she had from shopping with Ruby. Nova supposed she shouldn’t judge; not everyone got their joy from working out or boxing, a hobby she had recently taken up, or inventing things, like she did. 

Finally, when the day was running out, the sun beginning to drift downward, Ruby gasped and nudged Danna roughly. Nova, who had been busying herself going through a rack of jeans at a thrifty second-hand store they found themselves in, paused in her disinterested scavenging to turn her head just slightly, in hopes of catching what was so important. 

She heard something about everything’s ready and we can go back now before Danna was by her side, linking elbows with her and dragging her away. 

“Okay,” she said, a little too chirpy for Danna. Nova blinked. “So, Max just messaged Ruby and said that Adrian really wants to see you.” 

Narcissa appeared beside her girlfriend, biting back a smile. “Yeah! Something about being sorry for missing your birthday and all.”

“What about getting me sick?” Nova pulled away from Danna, who had been leading her to the door. She crossed her arms, stopping in her tracks. 

“He’s feeling much better.” Ruby waved a hand. “Now, let’s go, before traffic gets too heavy.” Danna emphasized the urgency by waving the set of car keys in her hand up by her face. 

“What are you three hiding?” Nova finally said, feet planted. “You’ve been acting weird all day.”

Danna looked genuinely surprised, and Nova almost believed it, if she hadn’t already known that Danna was a pretty damn good actress when she wanted to be. “What are you talking about?”

Nova opened her mouth to protest, then closed it. Fine. She’d been playing their game the entire day, what was one more round? Clearly, they weren’t going to Adrian’s, as he was probably in his deathbed, but they were going somewhere important. Might as well get it over with so Nova could go home. 

“Alright then.” Nova shrugged, forcing herself forward and through the doors of the shop. “Let’s go.” 

______

The ride to the secret destination seemed like it was forever, but that was only because it was silent the entire way. Nova kept her attention on Danna, who kept looking in the rearview mirror at Ruby, a concerned and questioning look on her face. Nova didn’t even realize where they were until they pulled up to the curb right outside her boyfriend’s house. Her eyebrows immediately shot up. What was going on?

They went up to the front door, Ruby knocking on the door thrice. They waited a few minutes, the door remaining closed. She looked back and shrugged before reaching a hand out and turning the knob. The door opened, and their group filed in. Nova blinked a few times, eyes adjusting to the sudden darkness of the house. Dark...and also quiet. 

Nova raised her voice a little, sharing a look with the others. “Adrian? Are you here? It’s me.”

No answer. 

“Maybe the kitchen?” Ruby scrunched her eyebrows together, already pushing past to head to that room. Danna and Narcissa followed, leaving Nova alone in the foyer. Was she the only one who thought something wasn’t right? 

Her hand immediately went to her waist, where she kept a few of her inventions on hand in her pockets if she ever needed them. She also called on her power, feeling it rise up to just underneath her fingertips, waiting. Following the others, somewhat hesitant, Nova braced herself for the worst. 

When she entered the kitchen, it was as dark as the other rooms, if not darker. The others were gone, sending her body into full alert. 

Then the lights were flicked on, blinding her. Nova stepped back, just as people jumped out from just about everywhere in the kitchen, all yelling out the same thing: “Surprise!” 

Nova screeched, letting out a string of curse words and narrowly avoiding knocking out Oscar, who so happened to be the closest to Nova. 

She heard a camera snapping a photo, and she scowled. Her eyes went around the room, scanning each face there. Oscar, Danna, Ruby, Narcissa, Max, Simon, Hugh, a few prodigies that Nova had befriended in the past few months, Leroy, and in the middle of it all, with the stupidest smile on his face that Nova wanted to smack off, was her idiot boyfriend, Adrian Everhart. Who, judging from the color in his face and twinkle in his eyes, was not sick. 

“What. The. Hell.” Nova narrowed her eyes at all of them, specifically Adrian. 

“It’s your birthday!” Oscar cried, wrapping an arm around Nova’s shoulder. She scoffed and tried to push it away. “This is your birthday party!” 

    “I’m seventeen, not seven.” She bit back a frustrated huff, examining the large room. There were balloons scattered here and there, some with messages on them. There was a banner hanging against the wall that read, in all capital letters, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Her eyes landed on the center island, which held an assortment of snacks and treats.

    “Oh, loosen up, Nova.” Hugh rolled his eyes, smiling that charming boyish grin of his. “Birthdays are a tradition around here.” He spread his arms wide. “Now you’re part of that tradition. Whether or not you want to be,” he added teasingly. 

    Nova almost said something snarky in response, but refrained. Her heart softened a little as she recognized they had spent all day preparing this for her when they could have been doing other things, and had probably spent longer planning. Now that she thought of it, Adrian and the others had seemed distant lately. 

    “Okay,” she tested out slowly. “But why a surprise party? You know I hate surprises.” She looked specifically at Adrian when she said this, whose smile ceased to falter. Damn him for just looking amused. 

    “Because you haven’t had a real birthday before, dummy.” Nova was taken aback, slightly offended but more surprised at Ruby’s name calling. “At least, that’s what you’ve told us.” 

    Unexpectedly, her chest expanded, filling up with appreciation and gratefulness and...and love for the people in the room with her. The Anarchists had never gone to such lengths for her, only ever caring about their own wellbeing and personal agendas. Her parents, as much as they tried, could never have done something like this for Nova even if they had wanted to. A small weight pressed at the back of her eyes as she looked at Leroy, who was standing a bit away from the main group, almost awkward and like he was uninvited. 

“You too?” she demanded, voice suddenly hoarse. Leroy had shown up with the other Rejects about a month following the Supernova, full of new ideas and experiments and inventions and surprisingly eager to help repair their fragmented society. While most people were still wary of him, even some of the Council, he was pardoned on behalf of Nova, who had argued an extensive amount for his freedom and rights, just as she did with Narcissa and the rest of the Rejects. She wasn’t alone, either. Adrian, Oscar, Ruby, and shockingly, Danna, had sided with her in defense of the Rejects. 

The side of Leroy’s face that wasn’t paralyzed curled up into a guilty smile. “How else would they have known what flavor cake to get?”

“Lemon coconut?” Her eyes fixed on the beautifully decorated dessert. “But how did you-”

“I’ve known you since you were a little ankle biter, Nova.” His gaze softened. “Even before that; I remember when Ace told us his brother’s wife had a baby, and they named her Nova, in hopes of her being a great brightness in dark times.” Her eyes pricked at the mention of her parents, two out of the three people who weren’t in this room with her. 

“I guess one slice won’t hurt.”

_______

     Nova snuggled closer to Adrian, shifting the blanket wrapped around their shoulders so that it covered more of her body. Nights during the spring were usually chilly, but tonight was nice enough to sit outside around the fire pit in Adrian’s backyard. Hugh had suggested it, once it started getting late and only a few people, Leroy included, had left in favor of sleep. He said they needed to use the backyard more, to which Adrian sent Nova a secretive eyeroll. 

    Adrian pulled her closer, as close as they could get on the lounge chair they were sharing; she was practically in his lap. His arms wrapped tighter around her waist, his hand accepting hers when she grabbed for it and twining their fingers together. Every now and then, he would push her hair back to press a soft kiss to the spot behind her ear, or trace small circles on the small of her back, or another small gesture of affection that would relax Nova’s muscles. 

    Max was in the middle of an anecdote from a few months before, some kind of incident he got himself into at headquarters that no one had heard about until now. Everyone was grinning; Nova was sure Hugh was about to burst into tears from laughing so much. Nova tried to pay attention, but something kept nagging at the back of her mind. 

    Despite the party, despite her friends showering her in gifts and food and laughter and fun for the past few hours, there was still something missing. Even as she was surrounded now by them, the fire before her warming her face and the boy behind her putting off a wall of heat, she was cold. Once tonight was over, they would all go home, back to their families. Nova, on the other hand, would go back to her apartment, alone. There would be no one there to greet her, no one to ask how the party was. No one to listen intently as Nova told them all about her day. 

    Nova turned her head around, planting a kiss on Adrian’s cheek, if only to distract herself and ignore the pressure building behind her eyes. His lips parted into that smile that made her knees weak. 

“Have I told you Happy Birthday, yet?’’ he murmured, as to not interrupt Max’s story. He played with her fingers absentmindedly. Nova rolled her eyes, unable to help the smile that appeared on her face as well. 

“Only about ten times already,” she teased, resting her forehead against his. “But it wouldn’t hurt hearing it again.”

He captured her lips with his, just barely kissing them before pulling back. “Happy Birthday, Nova.”

“Thank you.” Her smile widened. “And thank you for this party. I know it’s your doing.”

“I may have helped a little.” His eyes sparkled. “I like the nose ring, by the way. It fits you.”

Nova’s hand wandered up to her face, touching the piercing lightly. The skin around it was still tender to the touch. “You think so? I was going for the hot girlfriend look.” It was a joke; Nova had been wanting one for many years, but she figured it might make Adrian blush. He usually did when she said things like that. 

If anything, Adrian’s expression became mischievous. Nova silently cursed herself; she was going to have to think of new ways to embarrass him. He was starting to get used to her current ways. “You’ve already excelled at that.” It was uttered so smoothly that Nova felt her cheeks heat up. Not the reaction she had expected. “An A-plus times ten in the hot girlfriend category.” Damn him. 

“I hate you.” Her shoulders shook in a light laugh as she tilted her chin up. 

“No you don’t,” he replied as their lips met, and he was right. Truthfully, she loved him. It had been hard for her to come to terms with the feeling of being in love with someone. How could she be so vulnerable with a single person? So open and honest and raw? To know she would go to any lengths for his happiness, and vice versa. That they had one another’s backs and would protect each other. To know that at the end of the day, no matter what had passed between them, they were each other’s home. He was her best friend; Nova knew this without a doubt, despite never having a best friend before. But he was also something else...something more real and lifelong and terrifying than friendship. 

. Nova thought back to her parents and Evie again, how they weren’t here to see her. Her father would never get to meet Adrian, never get to jokingly threaten him and just as quickly turn around and treat Adrian like his own. Her mother would never get to dote over Adrian and overfeed him at meals. Evie would never tease them and declare her disgust for the male population whenever she would walk in on them kissing. An entire life, just robbed from Nova in the span of minutes. 

A throat clearing loudly pulled Nova and Adrian apart, Nova not realizing how she had started kissing him more desperately, despite there being an audience, in an attempt to block out the pain stinging her eyes. 

It was Simon, who stared pointedly at Nova curled up on his son’s lap as he said, “Well, it’s getting a little late. I’m going to clean up the kitchen a little if anyone would like to help.” Max had apparently ended his story, and Simon’s stare wasn’t the only one fixed on the two teens. Embarrassment flooded her body, and she felt the sudden need to get up. 

“I’ll help.” She hopped up from her warm spot, goosebumps immediately running up her back from the chilly air. Simon shook his head, saying that as the birthday girl, she didn’t have to do anything. “No, I want to,” she insisted. “I like cleaning.”

So together, she and Simon made their way back inside the Everhart-Westwood house. She got started on throwing plastic cups and paper plates into a trash bag while Simon busied himself with putting the cake and snacks and pizza that Oscar had ordered away. They were quiet, left to their own thoughts. Evie would have loved this party, Nova was sure of it. She had always been a bubbly baby, despite falling ill often and crying. Nova had always wondered just what kind of person her sister would have turned out to be had it not been for that one night. She wondered how different she herself would have turned out. But there was no way of knowing; there never would be. 

There was something else still bothering her, something that had been plaguing Nova for the past 6 months since she had fought against her uncle. 

“Hey, Simon?” He paused from wrapping a plate of cookies, looking up at her with raised eyebrows. Nova took in a deep breath, knowing she should just keep her mouth shut and tell him nevermind, but she just couldn’t. “Do you...do you think they would be proud of me? My parents, if they were here?”

Simon looked taken aback. He set the plastic wrap down and crossed his arms, considering her words for a minute. “Of course they would be, Nova. Why wouldn’t they be?”

Nova shrugged, the movement tiny. “It’s just...I-I...I betrayed them.” Her voice cracked at the word betrayed, and her eyes unexpectedly welled up with tears. “I was stupid enough to believe in my uncle’s lies for nearly ten years and idolized him. I was so filled with hate that I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“Honey,” Simon began, moving forward to place a hand on Nova’s shoulder. “You had no idea. Your uncle kept what he did from you on purpose. You finding out would’ve meant losing you.” He paused. “I’m sure your parents don’t blame you. He manipulated you in the cruelest way possible.”

Nova dropped her eyes. “Then why do I feel so alone?” 

“What do you mean?” Simon ducked his head, trying to regain her eye contact. 

Nova looked back up as a single tear escaped, rolling down her cheek slowly. She wiped it away immediately, already loathing herself for breaking so easily. “You know how they say you can tell someone is still around even after they die?” When Simon nodded, she pressed on. “I...I can’t tell if they’re here or not. Before I found out the truth, I had thought they were there, encouraging me to fight for what Ace believed in. Now, I know it was only in my head; they were never there.” She licked her lips. “Wouldn’t I know if they were proud of me if they were here?”

Simon didn’t answer, not right away, at least. Nova searched his face, full of conflict as he tried to find something to tell her. 

“What if they really are here, Nova, and you’re ignoring their presence because of your own guilt?” he said slowly. “Because I know for a fact that they would be proud of you.”

“How?” she croaked. 

“I’ve been a parent for almost eighteen years.” When he said it, Nova could tell how the impact of those words made him feel old. “Adrian is not perfect, and neither is Max. They’ve both made stupid mistakes. Hell, take the story Max just told us outside. He was doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing that day, and while I’m slightly annoyed at what he did, and that he didn’t tell us, he’s still my son and I will always be proud of him.” When Nova opened her mouth, he continued on. “Think about Adrian, then. Hugh and I were pissed when we learned he was the Sentinel. That was his biggest mistake yet, and you know what we did?” He didn’t wait for Nova to answer. “We punished him, yes, but we are still proud of everything he has done. The good always outweighs the bad, Nova. A good parent always forgives their children, no matter how big the mistake, because it’s just nature. It’s unconditional love, and your parents died wanting you to be okay in the end. That’s all any parent could ever wish for their children.”

He wiped at the few tears that had started streaming down her face, then pulled her into a hug. Nova tensed up at first, but soon found herself crumpling against him, burying her face in his shoulder. And that’s how Hugh found them.

“What’s going on in here?” he asked, drawing Nova’s attention up. She sniffled and palmed at her cheeks, embarrassed at breaking down in front of the Dread Warden and Captain Chromium. 

“Nothing,” Nova said. 

“Nova doesn’t believe her parents are still here with her and that they’re proud of her.” Simon shot Hugh a look. 

“What do you mean?” Hugh frowned. “Of course they’re here, Nova. They’ll always be with you.”

Nova sighed. “It’s just...I’ve felt so alone since I learned the truth about who really killed my family, and…and I’ve been doubting that they’re even proud of me.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “Everyone I know has a family and parents that are proud of them but me, and I know that sounds childish, but it’s true and I hate it.”

Hugh shook his head slowly and pulled up a barstool beside Simon. “I only knew David Artino for a short time, but he was a brave, compassionate, and fierce man, and he cared about his family more than anything else in the world.” He looked Nova in the eye. “To not be proud of the young lady you have become would go against everything he believed in, Nova.” 

Nova knew he was right, but she didn’t want to admit it.

“As for not having a family anymore,” Hugh continued, “I don’t think that’s true either. There are people here tonight who care for you and love you, Nova.” He smiled softly at Simon, almost knowingly. “Our son loves you deeply, more than anyone else here. It’s important for you to remember that family doesn’t always have to be biological. You get to decide who your family is. Now, that could be just you and Adrian, or you and your friends, or even you and a pet. You get to define your family, okay?” He paused for a moment. “And if you ever choose to let the two of us be in that family, as well, we would be honored.”

Nova’s lower lip trembled slightly. She bit down on it. Again, he was right. Now that she thought of it, Adrian was her family. That was what was so terrifying and real and lifelong compared to friendship, and she wanted to welcome it. Oscar and Ruby and Max and even Danna and Narcissa were slowly becoming part of her family as well. Now that they were beginning to trust her again and willing to open up to her, and she to them, Nova realized that she would do anything for them. And as for Hugh and Simon, two people who she held a strong hatred for not one year ago, Nova could see them in her oddball family as well. Maybe not now, but in the near future. 

“Okay,” she whispered, feeling a fresh wave of tears in her eyes but too tired to let them fall. She wiped them away quickly. 

“Okay.” Simon smiled at her, a genuine smile, and stood. Hugh did as well. “Shall we head back outside, then? I don’t know if I trust Oscar to be alone at our house for more than five minutes.”

“Me neither.” Hugh chuckled. “Oh, before I forget, are you spending the night, Nova?”

For whatever reason, Adrian’s dads had no problems with Nova occasionally sleeping over. But, she supposed it was because they had no clue that once they went to bed, she would sneak out of the guestroom they would give her and go downstairs to be with Adrian. 

“Um, yeah, I guess.” She laughed awkwardly, and they headed outside. 

Simon was justified in his accusation, for when they went back outside, Oscar had a bag of marshmallows in his hand. Ruby sat next to him, and the two looked like they were up to no good. Danna had her face in her hands; Narcissa rubbed her back soothingly. 

“What are you doing?” Hugh asked, rather tiredly, as the three took their former seats. 

Adrian pulled the blanket back around Nova when she sat back down on top of him, stretching her legs out over his lap. “You okay?” he asked, examining her face with concern. 

Nova put a tight smile on, nodding. She would tell him later when they were alone. 

“Oscar thinks he can fit fifteen marshmallows in his mouth,” Ruby explained, looking at Oscar with complete adoration. 

“You’re a hazard to society,” Danna muttered between her hands, barely peeking up.

Oscar rolled his eyes, about to reply with something snarky when he made eye contact with Nova. He blinked. “You good? Your eyes are a little red.”

Nova swallowed, looking at this despicable group of people around her. They were a mess, truly. But she was now part of this mess, and happy about it. 

“Yeah, um, I’m fine.” She sniffled. “I actually haven’t been for a while now, but now I am. At least, I think I’ll be.” Her gaze drifted over each of their faces. “You guys know that I...I love you, right?” Even Danna raised her head up, blinking in pleasant surprise. “And…I just wanted to thank all of you for everything you’ve done for me, and for trusting me again despite what I did. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.” A huge weight felt like it was being lifted off of her shoulders, and Nova had to let out a slow breath. 

Oscar was the first to speak. “Damn, Artino, getting soft on us after only six months?” He tsked and shook his head. “Might as well use that money you’re saving for a motorcycle on a minivan.”

Nova scowled at him. “And you’re a coward.” She nodded her head at the bag of marshmallows in his hand. “Do twenty.”

“Don’t encourage him,” Danna groaned as Oscar started shoving marshmallows in his mouth. Nova laughed, a true laugh. The arms around her waist tightened, and she twisted around to look at Adrian. He had a mixture of shock and something else in his eyes that made Nova’s insides turn upside down. 

“I love you,” she said without hesitation, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’ll tell you everything later tonight, okay?” And she meant it. 

“I love you too,” he responded gruffly, hand going to the back of her head to pull her closer to him. “I love you so much, Nova Artino.” When they kissed, Nova felt the lightest she had in awhile. She highly doubted that she would ever forget this day, her seventeenth birthday. Compared to a year ago, her life had drastically changed, and for the better. 

At that moment, wrapped up in Adrian’s arms and surrounded by her found family, she was almost positive she felt the proud gaze of two people she missed more than anything in the world.