#get ready for more whump

[afewproblems]

Well! The official winner of my WIP Poll Yesterday, with 54.8% of the votes, was the Post Steddie Breakup Fix-It - based on this post and this post.

Congratulations to all that participated! I will be posting a continuation this week so stay tuned!!

[dual-cetacean]

Mad, mad, modus

Chapter 2: Circuitry Hearts

(the usual button/card won't work for me rn on tumblr, so please use this link instead to get to the fic)

"Shadow delves deeper into the belly of the beast."

Please enjoy~ It's a bad ending fest.

Under keep reading is the spoiler version of the background art~

[huffle-dork]

Swap Beyond the Crystalverse Chapter 22: Space Inbetween/Epilogue

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix Read Swapboys | Read Crystal’s AUs

Other Multiverse Stories: SITCV | SATCV | GITHV

SBTCV Masterpost

The space in between worlds is the same as it's ever been. Empty blackness, lit by glowing green orbs of varying sizes. 

Crystal gasps as they appear here. "Oh! It looks just like I imagined it would! Well... maybe not exactly. Huh. I guess no accounting for what other people picture, too. Collective... shaping." They shake their head. "Anyway. I don't know what I'm talking about. I-is everyone okay?"

“I’m okay- are you?” Huffle asks Crystal as she looks around. “…wow- it’s like… strangely beautiful here. You know- if you ignore the fact it’s like… a void.” 

Bro keeps looking around in anticipation. “I’m good… but don’t relax yet.” 

Alt glitches over to them and pants, “He’s coming-“

Suddenly, a wave of light and heat and electricity surges forward, a concentrated blast of bright power. But before it reaches any of them, it suddenly disappears, and falling to the ground instead is the figure of a man, buzzing and glitching but certainly solidly there. The man lifts his head up, blinking in confusion. He can't be any more than 26 or 27, brown hair sticking up wildly, brown eyes darting around, a bit of a beard on his face and an angry red burn scar around his neck. He's wearing a gray jumpsuit of some kind, with a label on the chest. 001--Before anyone can read further than that he yelps in surprise and his appearance suddenly shifts, brown eyes being overtaken by static, the jumpsuit replaced by a green hoodie and ripped black jeans. "What did you do?!" he shouts angrily, glaring at Alt.

Alt staggers back, eyes wide. He’s- He’s his age? That jumpsuit… right. the rift world had that organization… Psyode. That means he’s… he’s like Alt that way too. Like him and Bro. Alt swallows shakily. Bro also looks a bit uneasy- coming to the same conclusion as Alt. 

Alt steps in front of the others, close to Anti as he stares down at him with bright glowing eyes. “Apparently, we evened the playing field, bitch. You can’t hide from us anymore.” 

"I wasn't fucking hiding from you, you idiots!" Rift Anti says, clumsily getting to his feet. "I wasn't there! I'm not--I haven't been--" He looks down at his hands, opening and closing his fingers. "I... h-have a body again?" His eyes go wide. "I... I, uh..." His body is shaking slightly. 

Alt blinks in surprise, “what…?” For a second, he almost looks sorry for Rift Anti. 

Inverted Anti forms nearby. "It's overwhelming to be physical after so long, isn't it?" 

"Sh-shut up!" Rift Anti snaps. "I-I-I--I have to--" He looks at Huffle and Crystal and suddenly lunges for them.

Alt shouts as he goes after Huffle and Crystal again. Huffle screams and throws out a hand in front of her- and a chaotic beam of teal-ish magic shoots out to push him back. She shakily looks out and tries to shout. “L-Leave us alone! T-trust us- getting rid of us won’t help you!”

Rift Anti staggers and falls backwards, down to the ground of the black space. "Shut up shut up shut up!" he shouts, climbing to his feet again. "It--it has to! I have to do this!" He growls, the air around him glitching and buzzing, and he tries again. 

"Whoa, there." Inverted Anti grabs him by his hood, yanking him back. Rift Anti chokes and grabs his neck in response. "It really, really won't help you. Do you really think everything will suddenly disappear if you kill them and take their creativity?" 

"Yes!" Rift Anti shouts.

Huffle looks terrified. “…I-I don’t… I don’t think that will happen- …I h-hope that doesn’t happen…” she whispers in fear. 

"It won't," Inverted Anti says, looking at Huffle. "Killing you doesn't mean he gets your creativity. And the worlds don't just disappear when you do, if you know what I mean." 

"Y-yeah." Crystal nods. "They still exist when we're not... looking at them." 

“I-I… I suppose so…” Huffle says quietly. She looks… unnerved by that fact. 

“Besides,” Alt says, glaring at Rift Anti, “Just because you were hurt in the past doesn’t mean you get to decide the fate of other universes!” He stands up tall, but his expression softens ever so slightly. “…I’m sorry you got left alone… I did too. I… I remember being so so angry at the world… at everything. I wanted to destroy my life and run back to the past where I thought things would be better… but that doesn’t do anything beside hurt yourself.” 

Bro looks proudly at Alt, feeling a little misty eyed. 

Then, Alt’s eyes slowly widen as he looks back at Rift Anti, “ …are you so desperate to destroy worlds… because you hope it’ll take you away with them…?”

Rift Anti continued to struggle against Inverted Anti as Alt talked, but the moment he says that last thing he freezes. "I--I don't--I--" He shakes his head. "You don't know anything a-about me! You don't! I-I wasn't alone. I wasn't." 

“You weren’t… alone?” Alt asks quietly. 

Rift Anti laughs. "But I am now! And if we all disappeared--if no one was hurt again--would that be so bad?! Would it?!"

“Yes it would!” Alt cries, “hurt is… j-just a fact of life! We can’t stop people from being hurt- but we can learn from it! We can grow from it! There’s some hurt that… shouldn’t happen- but that doesn’t mean not existing is better!”

"Oh don't tell me you've never thought about it, Sparky!" Rift Anti snaps. 

"Most people haven't, actually," Inverted Anti mutters. 

Rift Anti shrieks and turns around to lunge at him. The other Anti disappears before he can reach him, so he spins back around and lunges at Alt, grabbing hold of his hoodie.

Alt yelps in surprise, but he tries to stand his ground. He gives an even stare at Rift Anti before he whispers, “…of course I have…” He goes to put a hand over his. “…but if I did… if I had chosen to give up… t-there’s so much I would have missed… yes- maybe I wouldn’t have been hurt. But… I also wouldn’t have reunited with my brother- made friends… explored worlds I never would have thought of. I never would have found out I can do magic- I never would have found out that I can be… happy again.” He looks sincerely into Anti’s eyes, “…there’s a bit of human still in you, isn’t there? There has to be hope inside you somewhere, right? Maybe… things can still get better? Maybe you can make things better…!”

For a moment, the static in his eyes fade, becoming their normal brown again. Alt perks up a bit as he sees that shift. Something seems to hit... until that last statement. And then Anti starts to laugh. Slowly and quietly at first, and then louder and faster. Alt’s face drops. 

"Better? You--you think that I can just fix being a disembodied mind?! You think that's something that can be undone?! I don't know why I'm solid again here! But I don't think it will last! And I don't want to live in this black space for the rest of my life! I might as well not exist then!" His grip tightens and he pulls Alt closer, a wide grin on his face. Alt yells, trying and failing to hide the fear clear on his face. "You don't know anything about me. About what I've been through! About what my world did to us! A world like that--it doesn't deserve to exist! And I've seen the others, too! They're not much better, Anti! They're not much better!" 

Alt’s expression hardens, “D-Don’t call me that!” He tries to argue, his eyes flashing a brighter green. 

Rift Anti laughs again, the sound somehow sharper, angrier.  “if you don't get it--you'll try to stop me! And I can't let you!" His body starts to emit heat. 

Inverted Anti suddenly lunges for Huffle and Crystal, protecting them as Rift Anti suddenly turns to static and a concentric circle of electricity blasts away from him. 

There’s a flicker of fear in Alt’s eyes right before he’s blasted backwards by the electricity, skidding across the ground before slumping into a crumpled heap. 

As the electricity passes over Inverted Anti he grits his teeth and diverts the lightning to either side.

Bro manages to jump out of the way, then screams as Alt gets hit, “ALT!” He then growls and dives to try to grab Anti. Though- can he even grab him like this?! He’s too angry to be thinking clearly. 

Rift Anti yelps as Bro knocks into him, tackling him to the ground. He immediately starts squirming. His body is hot, like a man with a fever. 

"W-we have to get him back to his world," Crystal gasps out. "I-I don't know what will happen if he's missing from there for too long!" 

"As long as he has the energy from the TRVLR and Magnificent, he can leave again!" Inverted Anti protests. 

"Shit! Uh--c-can you take that out of him or something?!"

Huffle shakes, “…M-Mag could maybe do that but he’s not here! I-i dunno if that’s something Alt can do!”

Crystal's eyes dart around. "Maybe not alone?" 

Anti raises his eyebrows. "You know about Amp? You want us to try that again?" 

"Again?" 

"We did it yesterday."

Huffle looks between Inverted Anti and Alt, “t-that seems dangerous… w-what if it’s too much?”

Bro pins Rift Anti down to the ground and bares his teeth at him in feral rage, “You piece of shit! Alt was trying to give you fucking mercy- which might be more than you deserve!” He grabs him by his hoodie now, snarling in his face, “I always try to see bits and pieces of my brother in other Antis- but you-! Maybe you’re beyond fucking saving!” 

Alt shakily tries to push himself up and hears this, croaking out, “C-Chase…! No-!” He tries to glitch closer then cries out a bit- his body still aching from being hit with that blast. 

Rift Anti glares up at Bro, static filling his eyes again. The heat coming from him increases, burning to the point where it's starting to hurt. "I don't need mercy! I've never needed it!" His voice cracks a bit. "Don't you fucking lie to me about your mercy!" 

Inverted Anti glances over at Bro and Rift Anti. "It might be our only choice. No matter this guy's motivations, we can't let him do this. And we won't be able to hold him off forever." He looks over at Alt. "I'll only agree if you're okay with it, Alt."

Alt looks over at Inverted Anti with wide eyes. He hesitates, “I-I… I-“ Why is he hesitating? 

Bro winces but tries to keep holding on. “Clearly you need something! Something you’re not letting yourself admit! What do you want, Anti?!” 

"I want the people who hurt my brother to die!" Rift Anti suddenly screams. His body glitches and distorts, static hiding his face, and arcs of electricity fly from his body. 

Bro’s angry expression falls, “…y-your what? Y-you have a brother?!” He starts to let go from his shock- then jumps back as power rockets off Anti with a yelp. 

"Not anymore!" Rift Anti shrieks. "Not anymore!" He grabs Bro, holding him as the electricity continues to arc from him, shocking Bro. 

Bro screams in pain as he’s shocked, his body and arms jerking painfully in Anti’s hold. 

"I can try to do it myself, then," Inverted Anti says when Alt doesn’t answer, turning away and glitching towards Rift Anti. 

Alt panics then whips his head towards Rift Anti and Bro as he screams, “CHASE!” He clumsily glitches to try to get to Rift Anti.

Their glitches collide, and Amp reforms, grabbing onto Anti and pulling him away from Bro. "Get the fuck away from him!" he shouts, unharmed by the lightning Anti is giving off.

Anti is shaking slightly, his form still overcome with static. "You get the fuck away from me!" his voice says, crackling on every syllable.

Bro slumps to the ground, groaning in pain as his body still continues to jerk and jitter with sparse electricity. 

Amp’s eyes glow with anger, “I think not! We can’t let you have your way- you need to return to your own world and stay there-!” They shout. They go to hold out Anti by his throat while the other hand vibrates and glitches with building magic. Then they thrust their hand into Anti’s chest in a burst of multicolor glitches, trying to find the foreign energy in his veins and yank it back out.

Anti's body shudders and jolts, and he lets out a strangled noise. 

Amp feels a variety of power in Anti's newly physical body. Mostly electricity, but there's heat and energy of all kind that they have to sift through. But at the core of it--magic. Familiar, dark magic. And around it, something that's not magic at all. Red strands entangled with everything else. Gritting their teeth, they grab the dark magic and yank it out, throwing it across the dark floor of the space in between. A buzzing, swirling mess of dark purple splashes onto the ground. That's that done--but this red energy will take more. And something tells them that's more important. 

"L-l-let g-g-g-g-go!" Anti says, feet kicking. He grabs onto Amp's arm, trying to push him away.

Amp stays firm, even as his arm tries to jerk and glitch into pixels and tries to turn incorporeal without their say so. He grits his teeth and charges up the magic again, trying to shift their hands into claws to grab at those red strands of energy. They put all their power into trying to tear those to shreds, stabbing their arm back into Anti’s chest. 

Anti lets out another one of those strangled sounds, louder than before. Part of them feels bad for him. But they remind themself that this is important. The strands of power seem eager to slip away. Anti tries to hold onto them, a desperation in the way he does, but they persist. Until slowly, achingly, they withdraw their hand, the strands clinging to the claws, pulling out, longer and longer. Amp braces his foot against Anti's chest and pushes, and the strands finally let go. 

They pounce on the strands the moment they're free, glitches and electricity tearing into them, turning them into tinier and tinier pieces. Then they ball them up and throw the remains, scattering them to the winds of the space in between.

 Anti slumps to the ground, falling to his hands and knees. A wailing cry comes from his throat, and his expression can only be described as shellshocked. 

Amp shakily steps back, panting and heaving as they look down at Anti. They’re quiet for a long time- wondering if there’s anything they can even say. 

“…I’m sorry it had to be this way…” They finally say, quietly. 

Bro stares at the two of them with wide eyes, shakily trying to get up to his knees. “Is… is it… over?” 

"It should be soon," Amp mutters. "Sam?" 

One of the green lights on the horizon grows bigger. It doesn't get close enough to take up the whole sky, but it grows to the size of the sun. Maybe a bit bigger. "We need a rift." 

{OF COURSE.} A line of green lightning opens up a rift in midair. Through it, the group can see a city street. And standing on it, a man in a mirrored-eyed cat mask and another in a red and blue outfit. 

Bro stares at the rift then smiles a bit at the sight of the other two. 

Huffle gasps as she sees the rift. “That’s… h-his world? The rift world?” She asks quietly. 

"Y-yeah," Crystal says, nodding. "I recognize those two. The Magician and the Scarlet Blur. Uh, Marvin and Jackie in that world." 

Amp seems to hesitate then grabs Anti by his hoodie and holds him in front of his face. Their eyes burn with magic as they growl, “If you know what’s good for you, Y̵o̸u̵ ̸w̷o̵n̶’̷t̸ ̷t̷r̸y̸ ̶t̴h̷a̶t̷ ̵a̸g̸a̵i̴n̸.” Then they throw Rift Anti through the rift onto the street. 

The moment Rift Anti passes through the entrance the other two on the street turn and stare at him. His form shifts back to that green-hoodie-wearing version, and then the form loses its solidity, becoming just an image again. He looks over at the other two, and then disappears. In an instant, the one in red and blue is at the rift. He stares through at the others, noticing Bro and Amp. "Um--thanks!" He waves, and then the rift closes. 

Bro smiles and waves back at Jackie. 

Amp nods, waving back slightly awkwardly. His body twitches, static shivering along his limbs. 

{YOU SHOULD ALL GET HOME SOON,} Sam's voice says in their mind. {IT SEEMS THE CREATORS CAN GET BACK ON THEIR OWN. BUT LET ME GIVE YOU A WAY BACK HOME, CHASE, ALT... IF YOU'RE READY.} 

Amp suddenly cries out in pain and grips over their chest again. Their arms try to phase out completely, turning into pixels. Then their own body glitches wildly in place before snapping back painfully. 

“A-Amp?!” Huffle shouts out in worry. 

Amp doesn’t answer, breathing heavily before their eyes fill with white and electricity goes to forcibly break them apart, pushing them back from each other in a pixely bright mess. 

Alt skids across the floor, body sparking but- once he stops he… doesn’t move. …it doesn’t seem like he’s breathing. 

Inverted Anti forms again, still partially static. "A-Alt!" he gasps out. "What happened?! Oh! O-oh, he's--he used a lot of energy." Anti glitches to his side. "Maybe--too much energy." He puts his head down to his head to check his breath, putting one hand on his chest to check his heartbeat.

Bro scrambles to his feet and rushes towards his side, “ALT! No no no no!! c-c’mon…! W-Wake up!” 

Huffle gasps in horror, throwing hands over her mouth as terrified tears come to her eyes. 

Alt’s head lolls back as Anti nudges him to a better position, his eyes rolled up into his head. His heart is beating, Anti can hear it clearly, but it’s slow. At first… Anti doesn’t feel any breath… but then it comes- pained and shallow but it’s there. Now that they’re up close, Alt’s skin is very pale, even worse bags under his eyes. Glitches run across his veins but the magic that usually shows up after something like this is somewhat dull. 

Bro is panicking, “I-I don’t think I’ve seen him t-this bad before…!” He whispers.

Anti's eye widens. "We need to get him somewhere they can take care of him! Sam, open a rift to their home world! Now!" 

Sam doesn't even answer, they just cause another rift to appear. Through it is a clinic waiting room. Anti nods. He presses his hand against Alt's chest and sends a bit of electricity into his body, hoping that will give him a boost. 

Alt jerks and gasps, his body reacting to the shock, back arching. His heart starts up a bit more and his breathing picks up a bit more. But he’s still in pretty bad shape. 

"Bro, you get him through. Me and these two will follow." Anti says. 

"I-is he going to be okay?" Crystal whispers, an expression of horror on their face. Huffle is crying, watching all this with fear and panic. 

"He will if we get him somewhere safe!" Anti says. "Bro! Chase!"

Bro snaps out of his panic as Anti shouts at him. “R-Right, Yeah!” He scoops up Alt and with a burst of speed he rushes through the rift and into the waiting room. 

Crystal stares at Huffle with wide eyes, rimmed with tears as well. They won't cry. They won't cry. "I-it'll be okay," they say, grabbing Huffle's hand and squeezing it. "Let's go!" Huffle nods hurriedly and wipes at her face before following after Crystal, holding onto their hand tight.

As soon as the Brody brothers and the two creators are through, Anti glitches through the rift as well. It closes behind them, and the space between worlds is empty.

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

Bro stumbles into the waiting room, breathing heavily. He looks an absolute mess. But he recognizes this place- it’s the Doom Clinic. 

Crystal and Huffle run in. Crystal stops short, looking around. "H-huh. So... this is what it's like," they mutter. 

Dr. Iplier stands up so fast he almost knocks over his chair. “Chase?!” 

Bro almost breaks down seeing his face, his voice breaking, “H-Help- we need help- A-Alt is…!” 

Alt is slumped in Chase’s arms, too limp and gasping for breath. 

Dr. Iplier pales and then immediately fumbles for the intercom. “I need all available personnel stat!” 

The double doors to the waiting room burst open as someone with yellow scrubs hurries in. “Dad what’s-?!” Oliver breathes then his eyes widen as he sees Bro, the rift and, “A-Alt?!” Oliver cries, holding shaky hands to his face. 

Dr. Iplier tries to grab him by the elbow and lead him away, “O-Oliver you… you can’t-“ 

“No-! No I-I have to help! W-what the hell happened?!” Oliver shouts, a mix between angry and scared out of his mind. 

Anti appears shortly behind them. "He used too much magical energy," he says. "It was an emergency. Probably the only way to take care of that motherfucker." He looks down at Alt worriedly. Then back up. "Can you get him a room? Some sort of--of IV infusion, maybe?"

“Yeah c’mon-“ Oliver says quickly and disappears back through the doors, despite Dr. Iplier’s protests. Bro and the others rush after him. They go into the first available room. 

“Chase, set him down then back up,” Oliver says sternly. Bro does what he says, gently putting Alt on the table then backing up. Oliver hurries over, slipping on a stethoscope and putting it against Alt’s chest and leaning his head down to test his breathing. His eyes widen as he looks back towards the others, “d-did he get shocked?” 

“…technically yeah, w-why?” Bro asks quietly, “H-he usually can handle shocks alright…” 

“He’s showing symptoms of cardiac arrest-!” Oliver says, fumbling towards supplies. “Chase, tell the others we need the AED!” 

Bro straightens then hangs out of the door, calling down the hallway, “Oli says we need an AED!”

“Cardiac arr—he’s having a heart attack?!” Crystal gasps, immediately going white as a sheet. 

Huffle gasps and also pales, “no-!” Bro whips around, looking shell shocked. 

“No, he’s healthy, he shouldn’t be having one of those!” Anti responds, glitching to Alt’s side. “And it was Amp who got shocked, I—I-I should have protected him against that!” He looks more worried than anyone has seen him before.

“It’s not a heart attack-!” Oliver says quickly, “he’d still be conscious otherwise!” He pushes to Alt and starts to give him CPR, pressing down on his chest as he explains. “I-It’ll be okay- I-I think you guys got here quickly enough! We just need the AED and we’ll give him a-an IV with Antiarrhythmics..! He’ll be okay… h-he’ll be okay…!” He says the last part shakily, looking down at Alt’s face with clear fear. 

Soon enough, two other men rush into the room, Dr. Jayden and Rhett Doom. 

Rhett pulls Oliver away then hurries to Alt’s side, “Move Ols!” He pushes up Alt’s shirt to apply the AED pads and starts up the machine. 

Jayden goes to hold Oliver as he gently shushes him. The younger nurse is obviously shaking and trying to hold back tears, “it’s okay Oli- it’s okay… what is it? Cardiac arrest? Okay help me set up the IV, okay?” Jayden leads Oliver to the back of the room to look for supplies. 

Bro shakily goes to sit down in one of the chairs, eyes wide as he hunches over and holds trembling hands against his mouth.

Anti glitches back as the doctors approach. The worried expression stays on his face, but he puts a hand on Bro's shoulder, trying to reassure him.

Bro looks up at Anti with tearful eyes. He laughs shakily, “I-I don’t think I’ve ever s-seen you like this…” 

"I haven't felt like this for a long time," Anti says quietly. "About anyone other than Jack, I mean. Even so..." 

Huffle goes to sit by Bro too, staring out at Alt with worry. She wipes at her face then looks at the other two. “…I think… I-I get what’s happening…? Alt used up so m-much magic that… h-his protection against electricity was… cut off I guess. So when Amp… spilt- that shock h-hurt him more than it usually would…” She looks back at Alt sadly, “…. I’ve uh… seen in my own uh, scrying… that when he’s drained… his magic can’t funnel the electricity and -“ She looks guilty again, “…t-that’s one of the tests SCLERA did on him…”

Crystal can't sit down. They stand nearby, shifting from foot to foot nervously. "R-really?" they say in response to Huffle, watching the doctors work around Alt. "Th-that's uh... not 'interesting,' but uh... good to know."

Huffle shrugs, “…magic is… interesting. That’s why I… study it- you know?” She anxiously plays with her hands. 

Crystal glances at Anti. "I-I didn't know you got so... close to these guys." 

"I didn't realize it either," Anti says.

Bro chuckles quietly and goes to squeeze Anti’s hand. “…I mean to be fair- I-I think fusing with Alt probably made you… closer than you’d think, you know?” He looks back at Rhett working on him. “…he really admires you, you know. …ever since you saved us from your world the first time. To know you care… I think he’d like that.” He squeezes his hand again, “ …and I’m glad you’re here too. And that you’ve helped us so much…” He goes to smile tightly up at Anti, “…hopefully soon we can return the favor…”

Anti stares down at Bro. He blinks, unsure what to say for a while. Then he smiles hesitantly and nods. "That's... yes. Maybe you can. Buy you all don't owe me anything." 

"They don't want to return a favor just because they owe you," Crystal says. 

"No, I... know. But... I wanted to put that out there. I-I've been happy to help." He pauses. "And... I'd be happy to... have help too. From Alt and you." He gives a little laugh and shakes his head. "I'm not good with these sorts of things. But... I do care."

Bro laughs too, “It’s okay… I know you do. You wouldn’t have gone on this crazy journey with us if you didn’t.” 

Suddenly, they hear Alt gasp for breath, his eyes flying open. Then he starts to heave and breathe heavily, eyes darting around in confusion. 

Rhett slumps slightly against the table in relief. 

Bro scrambles out of his chair, “Alt?!” 

The others can see Alt’s eyes drift over to them- he looks very dazed and confused. 

"Alt!" Anti gasps, glitching over to the other side of the bed.

There’s the sound of something dropping as Oliver rushes over to Alt’s side, holding his cheek to get the glitch to look at him. “Alt? C-Can you hear us?”

A dazed smile blooms on Alt’s face, “Oli…” he reaches up to clumsily try to hold his hand, even though it’s shaking. “…told you… g-got home…” 

“You were supposed to get home safe, you idiot-!” Oliver says with tears in his eyes, trying to sound angry but his voice is breaking. 

“…m’sorry… sorry…” Alt slurs, eyelids fluttering. 

Anti looks up at Oliver. "It's my fault, I pushed too hard." Oliver looks at Anti with wide eyes. 

"I-I don't think it's your fault, Anti," Crystal says quietly. 

"I... don't know what else... there was to do there." Anti shakes his head. "Alt didn't have to join." 

Alt looks up blearily and tries to shake his head. 

"W-well, Bro was in danger, he would have joined no matter what." Crystal adds. 

Bro looks away guilty, “T-Then it’s my fault- I-if I hadn’t tried to hurt the other Anti then…” 

“Don’t say that Chase,” Huffle says gently, “You were trying to protect him- and he was trying to protect you.” 

“S’okay Anti…” Alt says quietly, “m’okay…”

“E-everyone always blames themselves for a thing,” Crystal says, voice shaking slightly. “A-and no one blames the guy who really deserves it. You know, the guy who wants to destroy the multiverse? If he hadn’t tried to do that, none of this would have happened! A-and, uh, everyone meant well except him, and that’s what counts.” 

Anti looks at them and laughs slightly. “You’re right. You’re so very right. I can see where I get it from.” He shakes his head. “Everything went as well as it could have. We have to remember that, and not regret. I don’t think any of us want the others drowning in regret.”

Bro laughs too, “Yeah… you’re right Crystal… thanks. N-Now that Alt is awake we… we should be celebrating…! cuz we did it!” He grins. “We got the TRVLR back and we saved the multiverse!” 

Huffle smiles, “You guys did…! I… I’m so proud of you guys-“ 

Anti nods, “In any case. Some of those wild rifts might still appear occasionally. But they won’t pose a threat to the structure of a world. They’ll seal up eventually on their own and this will pass.” 

Bro slumps back into a chair, “that’s good about the rifts… those things were so stressful when we dealt with them last time…” 

“Well, there still might be a couple,” Anti says. “But the likelihood of them sucking people in is very rare.”

Alt smiles dazedly and nods, going to hold Oli’s hand. 

Oliver sighs, “I wish saving the multiverse didn’t involve giving me a fucking heart attack…”

Anti nods. “Uh… sorry?” He says to Oliver, unsure if this is something he should apologize for. 

Oliver shakes his head, “It’s okay. Not your fault, remember?” He tries to smile. 

Rhett starts putting away the AED, “Don’t mind Oliver, he’s just being dramatic. S’not we don’t deal with this all the time.” 

“I-It’s different when it’s your boyfriend!” Oliver gasps defensively. 

“You’re the one who decided to date the hero wannabe-“ 

“Rhett!” Jayden gasps as he walks over, “That’s so rude!” 

“Hah?? No wait- Alt’s called himself that before when I’ve patched him up! I swear!” Rhett says, turning a bit red. 

Jayden snort laughs at his twin before feeling around for Alt’s vein and getting his IV set up. “Google should be stopping by soon to make sure you’re okay, Alt,” he says gently. 

Rhett looks back at Anti and gestures, “…by the way uh- hi? Oli told us about you but uh- different to meet in person… guess it’s lucky it’s like really late at night so there’s not too many other patients around.” 

“Hi,” Anti states, looking at Rhett and Jayden. “Yeah, that’s good.” He keeps staring. Unblinking. 

Rhett shivers a bit. “Well uh- I’m Jayden, that’s Rhett- wait no fuck-“ Anti’s staring is unnerving him. “I’m Rhett- that’s Jayden- we’re the PNTs here and Oliver’s older brothers.” 

Oliver laughs. 

“Um, s-sorry for… everything about him,” Crystal says. “He’s not good at being human.” 

“Not really,” Anti agrees. “I was just thinking how you all remind me of others in my own world.” 

Jayden blinks at Crystal with wide eyes, “wait …not human? …you mean he’s not magic like Alt is?” 

“And there’s other us-es??” Rhett says, dumbfounded. “I find that hard to believe. I’m one of a kind!” 

“Says the identical twin-“ Oliver giggles and Rhett elbows him.

“Uhhhh…” Crystal stalls. 

“Not human,” Anti confirms. “Not really magic, either. Long story. And yes, you exist in my world too. But you’re… very… different.”

Rhett and Jayden blink at Anti almost comically. “Fucking hell man- you guys can’t throw all this magic but not-magic shit at a bunch of STEM guys! My brain ain’t equipped for this.” Rhett whines. Jayden pats him on the back. 

Bro blinks and leans forward, “You have the Dooms in your world?! I don’t think I’ve heard you talk about them! What are they like?”

“Well they’re not called the Dooms there,” Anti says. “They’re the Googles. They live with a friend of mine in America and help out with his organization. Charity and shit. It was just the blue one for the longest time. But uh… I suppose you could say he found the other three recently.”

“What?? We’re all called Google there? That’s fucking weird-“ Rhett says. 

Bro blinks then smiles, “Huh- that’s neat! Glad they all found each other then.” 

Huffle gives Crystal a look, hiding a smile. Crystal smirks back. 

“Think of it as your last name,” Anti says. “I don’t know much about them in my world, to be honest. Been a while since I visited my friend. We both have a lot going on in our lives. He’s looking for a magic box, or something…”

Huffle smirks a bit more and covers her mouth. 

“Ohhh okay… still weird but okay.” Rhett nods. 

“Ohh magic box- that feels like a YouTube series I’ve watched…” Bro muses.

Anti raises an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t be surprised to hear that. They have a friend who runs a YouTube channel. Something like that might carry on between worlds.” 

“Heh, that’d be cool! I wanna figure out how to watch stuff from other world’s… I gotta watch Anti’s YouTube stuff- the anti from uh- JJ’s world… that doesn’t narrow it down.” Bro says. 

Anti glances over at Bro. “Sam might be able to help with that. The big one. I’ll talk to Them about it.”

Bro perks up with a big grin, “Dude! That’d be Pog!” 

A cheerful ringtone sings through the room. Crystal reaches into their pocket and pulls out that phone from earlier. “Oh, that means that the way back is unlocked, now,” they says. “Me and Huffle can leave when we want. I uh… might be rethinking this timer on the multiverse travel thing. I mean… what if I want to leave early in an emergency?”

Huffle blinks then laughs a little, “yeah… that might be smart… you gotta show me how you did this though!” She says with sparkling eyes. 

“I-I’m not sure how I did it myself to be honest, but yeah, we can talk about it!” Crystal smiles.

Alt tries to sit up but Oliver quickly tells him to stay lying down. Still, he blinks up at the buds, “…I… I guess you guys should probably leave… y-you went through a-a lot back there…”

Crystal looks over at Alt. “Oh… feels rude to leave while you’re in the hospital, though… are you sure that’d be okay?”

Alt shakes his head with a smile, “S’okay… don’t want you guys trapped in here all bored. Knowing these guys… imma be here for a bit.” 

“Damn right you are,” Oliver huffs, crossing his arms. 

Alt winces but tries to laugh. “It’s fine, Crystal… you guys have your own stuff to get back to, right?” 

Huffle hurries over to Alt and goes to take his hand, leaning down by him. “Y-You’ll message me, right? Lemme know when you’re out and okay?” 

Alt chuckles and squeezes her hand, “ ‘course. I’ll keep in touch more, promise…”

"Y-yeah, message Huffle," Crystal says. "And Huffle, tell me. I mean, you better." 

Huffle looks back at Crystal and smiles, “Of course- you’ll be the first to know!” 

"You guys really should get out of here," Anti agrees. "No doubt you'll be expected back home, if Huffle went looking for Crystal." 

"We, uh... we should keep in contact more," Crystal says. "You and me." 

"That might be weird." 

"Yeah. It might."

Bro laughs then puts an arm around Anti, “c’mon dude! Nothing wrong with keeping in contact with friends! “ 

Huffle gets up and laughs, giving Alt’s hand one last squeeze. “Y-Yeah Anti! Maybe you could give it a shot?”

"Hmm." Anti and Crystal glance at each other. They both shift around on their feet. 

"We've already met a couple times," Anti says. "Might be good to at least keep in contact. In case something... happens. To affect us both." 

"Y-yeah." Crystal nods slowly. "Uh... we can figure some way out. Sam can help with that, maybe? Y-you're talking about Sam from the Bad End, right?" 

"Not so much of a bad end anymore." 

"Hah. Yeah. Things are really looking up there... or, uh... I don't know what time the world is at now... they will be looking up?" Crystal shakes their head. "I dunno, man." 

"Either way. Sam can do it." Anti nods. "They're experienced with sending voices through universes." 

Crystal laughs. They take out their phone. "Um... okay. This is gonna stick around for a bit after we leave." They wave the phone. "So, uh. Put it somewhere safe. And I think it'll disappear eventually."

“Dude what? That’s so cool!” Huffle says, looking at the phone. 

Bro goes over and opens up his arms to Huffle and Crystal, “Well… if you two are gonna go, want a super hug for the road?” He grins.

Crystal laughs. "I-I'm uh, not really a hug person, but this is a special moment, so sure. Just this one."

Huffle bounces, “I’m a hug person!” 

Bro beams and then scoops both of the buds up and gives them a tight hug, lifting them off the ground a bit. 

Huffle giggles wildly, “Bro!” 

"Whoa!" Crystal's eyes widen. "Tall guy!" 

He sets them down then backs up, “Thanks for all your help guys… hope we’ll see you again sometime!!” 

“Y-You can visit anytime,”Alt says, smiling tiredly.

Crystal smiles. "That's good to hear. I, uh... I'll see if I can stop by occasionally. I want to visit other worlds, too." They take a deep breath and put the phone down on the ground. Its screen is glowing a bluish white. 

"You go first, Huffle. You just kinda... step forward and will yourself through."

“Oh! Okay- neat~” Huffle grins. She waves to everyone, “Bye guys! Feel better soon Alt!” 

Alt and Bro wave her off. She steps forward and follows Cry’s instructions, focusing on getting home.

The light from the phone flares, covering Huffle's body, and she disappears. 

Crystal looks back at the others and smiles. "It was nice meeting you! Goodbye! Get well soon!" And then they turn around and walk into the light as well, disappearing. 

Anti scoops up the phone from the ground, putting it on the table next to the hospital bed.

The others all stare at the light as the two of them disappear. 

Rhett turns to walk out the door. “I need a strong coffee-“ he mutters. Jayden snorts then follows after him. 

Bro, Alt and Oliver burst into giggles. Then, Bro straightens out and smiles at Anti. “So… guess you should probably get going too, huh?” 

Anti looks back at Bro. "You sure? I can stay if you want." He glances at Oliver and Alt. "Or not, of course."

Oliver laughs, blushing a bit. “You can do whatever you like… Alt is probably gonna be pretty out of it for a bit…”

"Heh." A hint of a smile traces Anti's mouth. "What about you, Alt? Would you be okay if I left right now?"

Alt blinks sleepily up at Anti, “Mmm? …y-yeah you gotta.. get home and try to find Jack right…? Just…. Try to contact us soon… wanna help…” he slurs a bit near the end, trying to force his eyes to stay open.

Anti laughs. "He wasn't kidding about out of it, was he? Alright, I'll leave you to get some rest." He gently grabs Alt's hand and squeezes it. "I'll reach out to you guys about Jack. I'd like your help, too. See you then?"

Alt looks up dazedly then smiles and nods, squeezing back Anti’s hand. “Definitely.” 

Bro claps his hand on Anti’s shoulder, “We got your back, dude! Whenever you need us!”

Anti jumps a bit in surprise as Bro claps his shoulder like that, and then smiles back at him. "I'm glad to hear that. See you soon." He walks across the room. "Sam?" 

Lightning appears on the opposite wall, opening up a black rift. Anti spins around and gives Bro and Alt a nod goodbye, then heads through. 

The rift seals up again, and he is gone.

Bro, Alt and Oliver wave goodbye. Once Anti is gone, Bro goes to slump into a chair and yawns. “…what time is it? I should let the lads know we’re home.” 

“It’s like 3 am… maybe wait until morning?” Oliver giggles. Then, he looks around, “Actually, let me go set up a comfier room for you too.” He hesitates then goes to kiss Alt on the cheek then hurries out of the room. 

Alt blinks after him then smiles in a love sick sorta way. 

Bro chuckles and goes to sit on the edge of Alt’s bed with him while they wait. “…crazy adventure,” He laughs, smiling down at Alt. He brushes back Alt’s sweaty bangs, feeling a bit of heat come off. Ah… course- fever usually came when he got like this. 

Alt giggles and smiles at Bro, “Yeah…” he then pulls the fixed TRVLR out of his pocket and grins, shaking it at him. “But at least it’s not our last~!” 

Bro laughs and ruffles Alt’s hair. “We’ll think about that later, dork. Get some rest… adventures can wait.” 

Alt snorts but then nods and curls up on the bed. “Mkay…” He holds the TRVLR close to his chest as he lets his eyes fall shut.

[lazaruspiss]

im gonna say it. normies are real and i Do Not trust them...

[hood-ex]

I'm so sorry people keep spoiling VLD for you lol.

It's alright 👌🏻. There are only some shows I get into where I'm serious about spoilers. Otherwise, I don't mind getting small spoilers here and there.

I just started Season 2 today, so soon people won't even be able to spoil it for me because I'll have watched everything 😆.

[alistair-blackwood]

my friends the evening has ground my spirit to dust, pls send ur fluffiest dunmesh/labru headcanons _ (:3」∠) _

[thehoneybeestings]

𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐡-𝐬𝐨-𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐤𝐚...

cw: periods, cramps, perimenopause, the works

okay, so i’ve seen a few headcanons that sevika doesn’t have hard periods, and i can definitely see that… but i can also imagine it's the opposite.

and perhaps i’m projecting, or perhaps i enjoy whumping my comfort characters a bit too much… either way, i’ve always headcanoned sev as having really bad periods, but hiding it really well.

of course, until you come along and learn to read her like a book.

still, it isn't until you move in together a year and a half into your relationship that you ever notice how bad her ass gets kicked when that time of the month rolls around. considering her age, it’s likely that she’s already perimenopausal and that her periods aren’t as frequent anymore, but when they do come around, poor baby is suffering.

and it takes you a while to convince her not to do it in silence.

you don’t quite put the pieces together at first- because, again, the woman has made far too bad a habit of concealing her pain- but every once in a while you catch the rare times that her facade slips. like, for example, the mornings that she’ll swing her legs over the bed to get up for the day as usual, but pauses for a second, doubled over and exhaling deeply through her nose. or when she’s working on her arm, and- only for a fleeting moment- the screwdriver stills in her hand, and her brows knit together in discomfort. she’ll be standing at the kitchen counter making dinner, doing the dishes, sorting through mail, when all of the sudden, she stops what she’s doing to grip the edge of the counter and clench her jaw, but she’s always moving on to the next task before you can ask her what’s wrong.

one day, after an outburst out of nowhere, you finally demand to know what’s up.

the two of you are standing in the bathroom getting ready for bed as usual. you’re doing your skincare routine, and she’s watching with a soft smile as she throws her now shoulder-length hair into a bun ("i've been asking you for ages to give me a damn haircut," she'd bemoan). you’re pulled out of your focus on evenly applying your moisturizer by the sight of her leaning over to place both hands on the counter, the sound of her exclaiming through gritting teeth,

“fuck! fuck my fucking uterus!”

you’re frozen, caught completely off guard, and now, very confused as you watch her stand back up and steal some of your moisturizer like nothing had happened.

“baby,” you draw out, eyes narrowing.

“hm?”

you can’t help but chuckle, your jaw slack in disbelief. she’s entirely unfazed- and stealing your lip mask, now- but you suddenly understand.

all the winces of pain, the deep exhales of discomfort…

“honey, are you always in this much pain when you bleed?”

of course, she offers nothing more than a shrug. “yeah? what about it?”

you just shake your head, hands dropping to your sides.

“sev,” you scold, “you should be careful not to overdo it when you’re hurting that bad…”

she looks at you like you have two heads. “what the fuck else am i supposed to do? rest?”

and now, you’re bursting out into full-bodied laughter, because… yes! that is exactly what she’s supposed to do! and it’s exactly what you start demanding of her whenever you notice that she’s cramping. for a while, she shrugs you off, waves you away, claims she doesn’t need you to baby her. you know. typical sevika.

and then, one morning, you pad into the kitchen to find that she isn’t making herself coffee to take to work, isn’t making you breakfast to eat after she heads out; she’s just sitting at the kitchen table, head in her hands, deep breaths coming out shakily. you rush over to her, bending down and placing a hand on her knee.

“baby?” you ask frantically, your hand coming up to rub circles onto her back, “what’s wrong?”

when she lifts her head up to meet your worried gaze, her own eyes are brimming with tears.

“hurts so bad,” she exhales; and you stand to press a kiss to her forehead before wrapping her head your arms.

“you’re calling in sick.”

she doesn't protest this time; just nods against your chest. nor does she protest when you guide her back to your bedroom, or when you tuck her in with a cup of tea and a heating pad, or when you bring her breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed. and as you read her to sleep, the pads of your fingers massaging her scalp, she finally lets herself admit that perhaps, her pain is real and worth being tended to; perhaps, she’s worthy of being taken care of.

[scorpiondancing]

My favorite Wangxian fics:

Check the tags! I like all Wangxian dynamics 🖤 (I know it's not everyone's cup of tea)

(some of my favs sadly were hidden but these are the ones still up and ready to read)

Lan Never Kiss and Tell by FeelsForBreakfast

Explicit • Modern au

Wei Ying discovers Lan Zhan has kissed everyone in their friend group and decides he needs to remedy that IMMEDIATELY (more than kissing ensues)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

we don't need to talk about it by: vesna (mrsronweasley)

Explicit • Modern au (fake dating)

In order to get an apartment they pretend to be a couple and they just keep pretending even when they are alone.. and eventually fall in love for real

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Midnight, The Stars, And You by: Carrie25

Explicit • Modern au (coffee shop)

Lan Zhan works at a cafe while going to college and his new coworker Wei Ying turns his life into a bit of chaos. Only a lil bit of angst (like barely)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

your problem as a mountain. by: cupofwater

Explicit • Canon Divergence (no war)

Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian send each other letters about their desires and fantasies. Nie Huaisang's brother unknowingly sends off the ones he labeled "Lan Wangji" to the man himself

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

solstice: 那夏天的我们 by: auberjing

Explicit • canon divergence (cloud recesses arc, no war)

Wei Ying decides he needs to teach Lan Zhan how to please himself... as a good friend. It all spirals out of his control

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

The Sculptor by: Eleanor_Fenyx

Mature • Modern au (1970s)

Lan Zhan and Wen Qing are in a lavender marriage and when he sees an ad to be a model, he for some reason takes it. Who would've thought that the artist was just his type

(Such good pining + lil misunderstanding)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Punchline by: jiangnan

General Audience • Humor

“Sorry guys, I’ll only know love it if hits me in the face!” Wei Wuxian laughed....

And then Lan Wangji punches him

(It's so silly, I laughed so hard. Truly adore this one)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

i'm gonna drown when you wake up by: teenjiism

Explicit • Modern au

Neurodivergent Wangxian, getting together, slow burn, banter, PINING. It's just so good and I relate way too hard to adhd demisexual Wei Ying

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

in the blossom season (in the pouring rain) by: varnes

Mature • Modern with magic

Local florist, Wei Ying, seems to have a "magic touch" when it comes to plants. Lan Yuan meets someone he calls "Doctor Flowers" and Lan Zhan's apartment rooftop garden suddenly grows exponentially.

(I adore fics with A-yuan 😭)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

the soft animal of your body by: sysrae

Teen Audience • Modern with cultivation

BIG WHUMP WEI YING 😭 but it has a happy ending

Lan Huan needs a sitter for his newly acquired rabbit... and Wei Ying was in need of a warm bed and a shower.

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Going on charmingly by: scribbet

Teen Audience • Canon Divergence

Cloud recesses arc but Wei Wuxian was a disciple of Baoshan Sanren and he is better of for it.

Lan Wangji is a lil sassy in this one

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

breaking in soft fires and wildflowers by AhoyTheShipOfDreams

Explicit • canon divergence (set during sunshot campaign)

Lan Wangji gets cursed and he must have physical contact at all times or he will be in immense pain and eventually die. Thankfully Wei Wuxian is there to help

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Meet Me Friday At Seven by: craftyTrickster

Explicit • Modern au

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan meet when they both have a blind date with other people and decide to keep meeting before and after each date to commiserate.. it's slow burn but they work it out, lots of oblivious pining bc of miscommunication

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Traveling in shadows, chasing your light by: MusicMe_tc

Mature • Canon divergence (getting together)

Lan Zhan gets hurt protecting Wei Ying at Nightless City. He gets taken to the Burial Mounds where Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen both learn they may have misjudged the Yiling Patriarch while they all heal Lan Zhan

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

A Haunting Love by: omegas_m, Selenay

Explicit • Modern with cultivation

Lan Zhan moves into a house that seems to be haunted by a very talkative ghost.

This one is full of mystery, suspense, romance, ANGST but a very happy end

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

paint smears on sunny days by: SnowshadowAO3

Explicit • Modern au (getting together)

Lan Zhan is running late to pick up his son but thankfully his son's art teacher watches him. And Lan Zhan may or may not fall in love at first sight.

I love the softness and cute little A-Yuan.

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

it's a long road but we're not alone by: Stratisphyre

Mature • Canon Divergence

Jiang Yanli and Jin Ling "disappear" along with the Yiling Patriarch.

16 years later Lan Jingyi is on a night hunt and meets some rogue cultivators who remind Lan Wangji of a certain someone.

(Wangxian get together in the end)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

A More Practical Approach by: Elhana

Teen Audience • post canon

The Lan elders want to stop wangxian from doing it all the time so they make Wei Ying a teacher. He finds a way to teach the students with elaborate arrays and mazes in order to buy him and his husband some alone time

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Yearning for Miles by Murahi

Mature • Canon Divergence

Wei Ying finds an artifact in his dorm room at the Cloud Recesses. When him and Jiang Cheng test it out, they can see the future. With the help of Nie Huaisang they plan to change everything.

THIS IS THE BEST LONG FIC 🛐 I cried

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

The Light That Fails to Dim by: glowingreverie

Teen Audience • Canon Divergence

Wei Ying gets taken in by the Nie sect but still is able to learn the sword and not the sabre.

Really underestimated how angsty it would get but such a good happy end with brothers nhs and wwx along the way

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

inevitable everything by: isablightwood

Explicit • Canon Divergence

Wei Ying is Baoshan Sanren's adoptive grandson and still learns demon cultivation but differently. He offers his help with the Sunshot campaign but only if he can marry Lan Zhan

This one is angsty with unexpected twists + happy end

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

Adventures in babysitting (or attempts at romance) by: Morgana_avalon

Mature • post canon

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan get turned into 5 year olds and Lan Xichen needs Jiang Chengs help

This might not be everyone's fav but I love baby Wangxian and secretly love the VERY rare pair. Unexpectedly fell in love with them (read the tags)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

The Golden Cutsleeve by: syrus_jones

Explicit • Canon divergence (Cloud Recesses arc)

Wei Ying saves a girl from being spiritually attached to an adult toy by attaching it to himself. Unfortunately he gets caught "just testing it out to make sure it's really attached to me" and in a dumb moment he gives it to Lan Wangji thinking he wouldn't actually use it right?

(Embarrassing but so funny, I love this one)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

A new found family by: MusicMe_tc

General Audience • Canon divergence (Cloud Recesses arc)

Lan Zhan gets turned into a baby and Lan Qiren has to take care of him while keeping it a secret. Unfortunately Wei Ying misses his buddy and sneaks into the Jingshi and finds a familiar looking child. He is given permission to help out and Lan Qiren gets a soft spot for the boy.

(Wangxian get together)

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

The Simplest Way Forward by harriet_vane

Explicit • Modern au (accidental baby acquisition)

Wei Ying wakes up and finds a child in his apartment with a note from his cousin and no clear idea on how long this kid is gonna stay. Suddenly becoming a dad while in college is a lot. So he misses music rehearsal. Thankfully Lan Zhan comes over to check in on his classmate and ends up staying to help him out.

Acquaintances to lovers with a kid to speed things up

｡₍ ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ♡ ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ ₎｡

[spicycinnabun]

🐺 ( ◕◡◕)っ ♡

whump + moon madness. small tw for buck's rsd.

Run with me tonight? ❤️

The moment Buck sent the text, he wanted to hurl his phone across the firehouse. 

Mature, yeah, he knew. Asking a gorgeous Alpha werewolf on a moon date did that to a guy, though. 

This next step, it felt right. Buck was ready for more. He wanted to be closer on a physical level. He would even go as far as to say he needed it. 

They had interacted briefly during an accident. Completely professional, of course, though it had helped that the rain had been pelting down on them and masking their scents from each other. 

Attempts to get together outside of work had been unsuccessful. It was the busy season, and their schedules were hell. The distance was making Buck restless.

Seeing Tommy through FaceTime was great, but now it felt like it was only keeping him sane, not fed. He had accumulated four of Tommy’s hoodies. At one point, he had worn two at the same time.

He had also started feeling Tommy’s emotions. That was what it had to be. His blood would boil with irritation, his heart would race with adrenaline, or the ache of gloom not his own would weigh him down. His wolf brain would shake him, telling him Alpha needs you, and he would reach out.

Buck had tried looking it up. Naturally, with werewolf lore on the web, he found a variety of different theories—some plausible, some wildly unhinged—and a lot of erotic fiction. 

He had purchased a few ebooks. You know, for research. 

The keywords? Pack, bond, and mate. 

He should’ve taken it all with a thick grain of salt. 

He hadn’t. 

Buck felt an energy pulling him and the Alpha together. It was weaving them, intertwining them, string by string. Why would he be experiencing Tommy’s emotions if they weren’t in the process of bonding?

It made sense. 

He wondered if Tommy could feel him, too.

Buck put his phone on the counter. When no bubbles appeared, he circled the room aimlessly. He opened and closed cupboards, moved things around and looked at labels without comprehending the words, filled the watering can and watered a plant, forgetting it was plastic. Came back to stare.

Still nothing. 

Chim and Hen had paused their game to watch him, one amused, the other bemused.

“Full moon got you antsy, Buck?” Hen asked.

Antsy was an understatement. Buck’s fur was ready to jump out of his skin. He craved the shift badly. He couldn’t wait to see Tommy fully turned and to run alongside him. He bet Tommy’s wolf was incredible. 

“He probably needs to go for a walk,” Chim said, knocking his pool cue against his hip. “You wanna take him?”

Hen shot him an unimpressed glance.

“Oh, very funny, guys,” Buck said. “I’m—” 

His phone buzzed, and he snatched it up, turning away from them. His smile died.

Wish I could, but I’ve got plans. Maybe another time?

Buck re-read the message. It stole his breath, sharp like a punch to the gut. 

Maybe another time meant a moon check that would never happen. 

Tommy… was clearly trying to let him down easy. 

He had felt so sure Tommy would say yes, that Tommy wanted to spend the night with him. Because Tommy looked at him a certain way, spoke to him a certain way. Because Buck felt like he belonged to Tommy.

So much for that bond. Was he being totally delusional? Was it one-sided?

I’ve got plans.

With who?

There were only certain people they could spend the moon with. It was dangerous to be around humans when they were in their most feral state. They could be unpredictable. 

Considering Tommy’s inclination to keep his lycanthropy card close to his chest, it had to be another werewolf. 

Buck was always alone on the full. (He’d woken up various morning afters on Maddie or Eddie’s couch—with no memory of how he’d gotten there. Last time, he’d tracked mud all over Eddie’s floor and had to rent a Rug Doctor. He’d spent most of that day apologizing profusely while he cleaned up his mess.)

His senses had pinged Tommy as a lone Alpha, and he hadn’t detected the presence of anyone else, but he’d never asked. Just assumed. 

Maybe Tommy had an ex he’d rekindled with, or somewolf he had recently met and found he liked more than Buck, or—

Buck quickly tapped out a response. 

Yeah, sure

That sounded moody. He might as well have added a whatever.

Hope you have fun :) 

And he did hope that, but he selfishly wished the fun would’ve been with him, not whoever Tommy’s mystery date was. 

They were probably all the things Buck wasn’t. 

Maybe they were a born wolf. Pure and not a bitten mutt like him. Did that matter to Tommy? Out of all the questions Buck had bombarded him with, he’d failed to ask that. 

This was the moment he’d been dreading. Tommy had gotten tired of him. Buck wondered what had done it. When had been the moment? 

It didn’t matter because it had happened—he just wished he knew what he’d done wrong. 

He had to remind himself, like he did whenever rejection stung, that even his maker didn’t want to come back and finish the job of killing him. That was the universe’s biggest hint that he wasn’t worth the effort, yet he kept trying to attach himself to people anyway. 

It had felt different with Tommy, though. He really thought...

Buck sighed. He needed to get over himself. Nothing was worse than a guy who couldn’t take no for an answer. He wouldn’t be that guy.

Not being that guy wouldn’t stop him from burning with jealousy—another monster clawing at his ribcage—but he could at least not be a dick. He still wanted to be Tommy’s friend, if Tommy would have him.

But Tommy obviously needed some space.

Buck���s phone gave him the low battery warning. Instead of plugging it in to charge, Buck pocketed it. 

“Buck?” Hen said. Given her tone, she’d likely tried to get his attention a few times. “You okay? Your Lite-Brite eyes are on.” 

Shit. Buck squeezed them shut, forcing himself calm. He didn’t want to lose control and have Bobby send him home early. He didn’t want to be alone in his loft. 

He couldn’t say anything. Besides the fact Tommy wasn’t out to them—as a were—Buck had a hunch they’d tell him he was overreacting. He didn’t want his nose rubbed in it. 

“Yeah,” he said. “J-just, uh, a little bit of moon madness. Think I’m going to hit the gym. Try and shake it off.” 

He hadn’t thought of working out, but it might help stop him from spiralling further.

Buck launched himself over the banister, landing in front of the firetruck and startling Eddie.

“Told you he just needed to go for his walkies,” he heard Chim say, followed by an impact and, “Ow! What?”

Buck changed into his workout gear. 

He lifted weights until his veins popped. He jumped rope at triple speed. He ran until he was drenched in sweat and the treadmill started smelling like burnt rubber. 

It didn’t help.

⏾

Buck meant to stay away. 

He really did. 

He was going to leave Tommy alone. He wouldn’t go anywhere near his territory or stick his snout where it wasn’t wanted. But something was seriously off. Panic was rippling through him over and over again. His wolf brain was insistent.

Something was wrong. 

Buck hadn’t felt anything from Tommy tonight. It was like he had been cut off. Like a wall had gone up. Another thing he’d read—if an Alpha wanted to, they could hide themselves from their pack.

Was Tommy hiding from him?

There were two sets of unfamiliar tracks in the area. The third—Tommy’s—was older. He hadn’t been outside for at least a few days.  

Something was very wrong. 

Alpha was in danger.

The wall suddenly crumbled. It was only an echo, a reverberation, but it tore through Buck. Agony.

No, no, no.

Buck’s head shot to the sky. He used all the strength in his lungs, howling. Alpha!

He waited.

Waited. 

Waited.

It was only a flicker. A hint of a spark. Buck froze and honed in on it, lifting a paw.

“Evan…”

Buck took off, hurtling through the trees. Branches whipped him as he forced his way through dense, overgrown brush and leapt over logs.

Almost there! Hang on!

“Please…don’t…”

He had never heard Tommy sound like that before.

Buck barked. It was almost a scream, inhuman and raw. His paw pads pounded the dirt. He panted, huffing and puffing as he pushed, pushed, pushed towards Tommy’s cabin. He didn’t know what was going on—or who was hurting Alpha, but Buck was going to save him.

I’m coming! I’m coming to get you!

⏾

tag list: @justahumblecabbagemerchant @loulou-land @harmonic-intervention @sweaters-and-silly @theallyandhisbeast @brassm-tagged @scuderiadebauchery @chococara25 @darkqueen458 @cinderellarhea @setmeatopthepyre @buffaluff @eliotwaughdeservesbetter @figuringitoutaloud @cannibalhellhound @i-dont-even-know-anymore976 @ambernotember @the-omniscient-narrator @zeraparker @cometconnector @fenrirscarsback @moonydanny @espressopatronum454

previous parts

[lumpywhump]

The sheer panic and pain of whumpee being recaptured!

its something whumpee has always feared, and now their nightmare is real. When whumper grabs them from behind, knife to the throat, hand to the back of their head. Whumpee took self defense classes with caretaker because of their paranoia. Whumpee tried whatever they can. They stomped on whumper's foot. No effect. They try to headbutt whumper, but their hand is in the way. They try to knock out whumpee's knee. No effect. Whumper just chuckles at their attempts. Whumpe is getting desperate. They drop all their training and just tries to do whatever they can to get away. They start screaming and sobbing for help. No one can hear them though. Whumper isn't that careless. So whumper lets them tell as much as they want. It's cute that they think they can get away. Whumpee pulls at the hand with the knife. Whumper is too strong and too big. They flail against whumper. Finally, their sobs quiet and their attacks cease. Whumpee is exhausted and helpless. Whumpee leans back on whumpers chest unable to hold themself up any more. Whumper leans down, their voice curling around whumpee's ear. "Are you ready to come home?" All whumpee can do is nod.

[cor-obscenum]

I'll save you

Pairing: Papa V Perpetua x Sibling of Sin!Reader

Summary: it seemed like a normal day performing a ritual at the Ministry, until you started feeling very unwell. Who was there to save you?

Contents: rated T, SFW but still fetishy, mild whump, reader has hypothermia, cuddling as medical treatment, cardiophilia

Word count: 696

Read on AO3

He had literally just been elevated to the position of Papa and you already felt strangely attached to him, as if you had known each other for years. That mysterious figure with his elegant purple chasuble and silver mask had occupied your thoughts for longer than you would like to admit, and you had a genuine desire to get to know him better, despite having to be professional. Being the highest authority of the Clergy, he only addressed you and the other Siblings of Sin to give orders, but in a delicate, polite manner, which charmed you. And you certainly noticed how his eyes sparkled beneath the mask when he saw you…

You were thinking about it a lot that day when you were preparing the Ministry's ritual room for a spiritual purification ritual. It was a somewhat risky ritual to perform, since the invocation of spirits was a procedure that usually lowered the temperature of the room to dangerously low levels, so it was necessary to wear reinforced clothing to protect oneself from the cold. But that morning, you woke up late and ran out of the room, putting on your habit in a hurry and forgetting the microfiber sweater and tights that normally kept you warm during the ritual.

You made your way to the ritual room, put on your ceremonial robe and began to prepare the place as usual so that when your beloved Pope arrived, he would find everything ready to begin the ritual. And finally, he arrived, all dressed in his beautiful robes, and you felt your heart race when you saw him. He lit the candles for Belial, Asmodeus and Lucifer, sprayed the place with unholy water, and said the prayers. Everything seemed to be going perfectly well, until the temperature began to drop and you felt the cold seep into your bones. But you could not give in and show weakness, you thought. You had to be professional, even though your whole body was shaking from the intense cold.

The ritual ended and you felt the deepest relief you had ever felt in your life. Your body was no longer shaking and your mind was light. It was your consciousness slowly failing until your feet also gave out and you fell to the ground, lacking the strength to get up. All you remembered in that interim of semi-consciousness was a confusion of worried Siblings of Sin and ghouls, someone grabbing your wrist and saying words like "hypothermia, call Omega, quickly".

Until one particular statement silenced all the others, drawing your attention.

"Leave them to me." It was Papa's voice.

You regained consciousness little by little, one sensation at a time. First, a soft voice praying for Marbas, the demon of healing. A heavy woolen blanket wrapping your body. A comforting warmth, radiating from a fire ghoul crouched beside you. And two strong, strong arms, also wrapping you tenderly.

You opened your eyes, and then froze. You were in Papa's arms, leaning against his shoulder.

"Oh, I'm glad you're awake." He said in a sweet voice. "Are you warmer?"

You nodded, starting to feel more comfortable with that closeness you had craved so badly. You blushed as you felt his heartbeat under your shoulder, that comforting little ticking that you longed to feel…

"Papa... Oh, gosh, I have so many things to do..." You lamented, worry suddenly arising.

"Don't worry about it, dear. You need to rest a little before going back to work. And you need to eat, too." He replied, and turned to the ghoul: "Wisp, can you go to the kitchen and get some soup for Y/N?"

The ghoul nodded and left the ritual room, leaving you and Papa alone. Feeling more comfortable, you snuggled into his chest, feeling the softness of the silk chasuble against your face. His chest was solid and vibrated gently as he hummed one of his songs. You sighed, listening to the sweet sound of his heartbeat, feeling the warmth of his body and the comforting caresses he gave you, his lips gently brushing your forehead and his fingers running through your hair.

"You are safe here with your Papa, dolcezza.”

............................................

Taglist: @runscold-runsdeep @boomerangjr @anamelessfool

[imagine-you]

all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me [Logan/Reader]

Summary: Sequel to won't somebody come take me home? and closer to where I started. Now that you've decided to put the past behind you, you're focused solely on what the future holds for you, Logan, and your family. Whether that means teaming up with the X-Men to help stop the escalated attacks around the city or sitting down for a nice dinner with Logan, Laura, and Wade, you're ready for all of it. You're so close to being completely happy until you find yourself a victim of one of the attacks and find out that someone from Logan's universe has managed to return. You never expected your new life to be easy, but you certainly never thought Logan's wife would show up and disrupt everything you had built for yourself. Word Count: 9k Author's Note: This chapter may contain: Angst, Reader Whump, Surprise Cameos, Angst, A New Villain, A Disrupted Villain Origin Story, Training Montages, Angst, A Smidge of Hope, Illusions, and…Angst. (but I swear the angst gets resolved. y'all have to trust me!! there will be a happy ending for this fic.)

When I'm With You I'm Home 'verse

won't somebody come take me home? // closer to where I started

Read on AO3

If anyone had told you while you were stuck in the Void that there was a future where you found yourself in another universe and your greatest wish had come true, then you would have chalked it up to a pipe dream and left it at that. If anyone had told you there was a future where your worst nightmare had come true, well then, that would've been easier to believe.  

"What are you making?" Laura asked, peering over your shoulder to get a look at the stove.  

"Something special," you told her, winking at her when she let out an impatient huff. "Steak and pasta," you clarified, turning your attention back to where you were spooning sauce over the steaks, hoping the flavor carried through for you.  

After getting back from your original universe, you had felt like the weight of the past had been lifted off your shoulders. You didn't give a fuck about your original Logan and as far as you were concerned, he could fuck off into whatever happy existence he wanted with Jean. Did you want them to suffer? Maybe. But it was no longer a requirement for you to heal.  

Your Logan had made sure of that.  

Now, weeks had passed, and you felt like a new person. Gone was the obsession with the past and in its place was now your excitement for the future.  

Your future with Logan and Laura and even Wade. Your future with a new family and a new team. Life hadn’t given you a moment of rest, but you were happy to know that when your back was against the wall, you had people ready to jump in and protect you from whatever hit came your way.  

All of you had spent the last couple of weeks wrapped up in the escalated attacks happening throughout the city. There weren't many indicators about who exactly was causing them. Half the time, there were explosions and other times it was just an outright slaughter.  

Logan and Wade were out trying to help the X-Men clean up the latest catastrophe. You had opted to stay home with Laura, taking a moment of well-deserved rest from running from one tragedy to the next. Logan had left you with a promise to return that evening and a kiss that hinted at more later.  

You thought it was cute how Logan kept insisting he was retired, but the first sign of trouble, and he couldn't help but jump right in. It was why you loved him, because even though he had spent years spiraling after the devastation he faced with his old life, he still couldn't help but try to make things better for others.  

You liked to think you had a little something to do with that.  

Even though you were just within reach from a perfect existence, you knew it still wasn't without its problems. You and Logan still had a lot of work to do. Both of you were still holding things close to the chest, afraid to show them and lose everything you had earned.  

Sometimes, you caught Logan simply watching you, wary and concerned, as if he thought you were about to leave him. Other times, when Logan woke in the middle of the night and reached for you, you wondered if he knew it was you or if he still held onto the memory of his wife, seeking her for comfort. Logan had been open and honest with you, but you sometimes got the feeling that he wasn't telling you everything. Some nights, when you couldn't sleep, you would lie awake and watch him, terrified that if given the chance he would leave you in a heartbeat for his old life.  

You always had the feeling like the other shoe was about to drop, so you had taken on the mentality that you were going to enjoy every day you got with him. Which was why you were hellbent on making the perfect dinner and having the perfect dessert all ready to go when he got back home. 

"Shit," you hissed when you started stirring together the ingredients for the pasta sauce. "I forgot one thing," you groaned, glancing over at Laura. "I've got to go out to grab something. Will you keep an eye on this for me? Just make sure it doesn't burn," you instructed her when Laura gifted you with a skeptical look. 

"What if it burns?" Laura wondered, reaching out to take the spoon from you when you handed it to her.  

"Then we'll order takeout," you answered with a shrug of your shoulders. "It won't be a big deal, but I still want to try to get this right," you told her, reaching out to flick her ear. 

Laura turned a glare on you, and you knew if you were anyone else, she would have already brought out her claws. You saw a fond smile take the place of her scowl before she shook her head. "Hurry," she urged you, turning a wary look at the stove.  

"Ten minutes," you promised, reaching out to grab your keys and wallet. "Just going down to the corner store." You saw Laura open her mouth and you knew what she was going to ask. "Yes, I'll get the cookies," you told her, thinking of the chocolate monstrosities she was so obsessed with lately.  

Laura grinned at you, pleased, and cautiously began to stir the sauce.  

You locked the apartment door behind you. You knew Laura was more than capable of taking care of herself and she had already been through hell and back, but you couldn't help but want to protect her in every way you could. She was still a kid, even if she would point out she was seventeen.  

You made it to the tiny market just around the corner from your apartment within four minutes. You were eager to get back and finish dinner. You couldn't wait to see the look on Logan's face when you had dinner all set up and told him that Laura even helped make it. You knew Wade would invite himself to dinner, so you would of course have extra just for him. You knew you wouldn’t be here without him, and while he drove you crazy, you now couldn’t imagine your life without him in it.  

You were a family, fucked up and weird, but full of love.  

You grabbed the cookies Laura wanted and searched for a can of black olives. You caught sight of the spices and started in that direction to see if there was anything extra you wanted to add to the sauce. You figured you had maybe five minutes to get back before Laura insisted she did everything she could to salvage dinner, but maybe you should just order pizza.  

You were reaching out to grab a bottle of parsley flakes when you noticed something pass right in front of you. You startled at the sight of the playing card, faintly glowing pink, as it sailed towards the shelves in front of you.  

You didn't even have time to prepare before the card landed and the shelves exploded. You brought your arms up, trying to shield your face from the shrapnel. The force of the blast was strong enough to throw you back into the shelves behind you. You felt your head connect with the edge of one the shelves and stars exploded in your vision.  

There was a ringing in your ears and the taste of blood in your mouth. Your head felt like it was spinning as you struggled to open your eyes, not even sure when you had closed them.  

You could hear footsteps approaching you and you managed to squint up at the person standing in front of you. Your gaze drifted from his boots to his trench coat and then up to his eyes. They were glowing a faint red.  

"Remy?" You groaned, reaching up to press a hand to your forehead. You blinked a couple of times, trying to make sense of what was going on. You looked at your fingers and they were stained red, blood coating them. Your face was stinging from the bits of shrapnel you hadn’t been able to shield yourself from and the back of your head was aching in a way you had never felt before.  

Remy crouched down in front of you. He reached out and tucked his fingers under your chin, forcing you to look at him. "Now, I know we've never met before, so how is it you know my name?" He turned your head one way and then the other, considering you for a brief moment, before he made a thoughtful noise. "Oh, but believe me, we're going to get to know each other real well, bon ami. Just you wait." His eyes were no longer glowing, but there was a devious look in them you didn't like.  

You attempted to sit up, but your vision swam and you felt like you were going to throw up. “What the hell are you doing?” You attempted to ask, but your words were slurred, and you were having a hard time concentrating on him even though he was right in front of you.  

"Let's get you home, hm?" Remy said, gathering you up in his arms. He stood, lifting you with him, and you tried to wriggle out of his hold, but he was clutching you tightly enough that you couldn’t move.  

The last thing you saw was the underside Remy's jaw and the blur of the ceiling tiles above you before darkness swept in to collect you.  

You woke to sunlight that had escaped past the curtains in your bedroom and crept right towards you. It was an unwelcome intrusion and you brought your hand up to shield your eyes.  

You groaned, forcing yourself to sit up, before squinting at your surroundings. Your head was aching, each pound of your heart sending a bolt of pain right behind your eyes. You didn’t remember drinking the night before or even crawling into bed, but it felt like the worst hangover you had ever experienced. 

"Fuck," you grumbled before forcing yourself out of bed. Logan seemed to already be up, and you wondered if he had liked your dinner the night before. There was something wrong, something off, but you didn't know what it was yet. You were having trouble thinking past the pain.  

You walked towards your bedroom door, intent on hunting down the bottle of painkillers you kept in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. You tried to think about what happened before you fell asleep and finally your memories came back to you in a dizzying rush.  

Making dinner, leaving Laura in charge, and locking the door behind you. Going to the store, a playing card that ending in an explosion, and Remy promising to take you home.  

"I had the weirdest dream," you muttered as you stumbled out into the living room. The pain in your head spiked with every footstep and your mouth was so dry your tongue felt like it was sticking to the roof of your mouth.  

The first thing you noticed was that Logan was sitting at the kitchen table and the second was that he wasn't alone. You froze just a few feet away from the table trying to make sense of what was in front of you.  

Because Logan was there in his usual seat at the table and he had his hand outstretched over the surface. His hand was clutching the stranger's like a lifeline and he looked as if the person in front of him had just saved him from his own personal torment.  

You slowly rounded the table, a twisting feeling of dread in your gut, as you got a look at the stranger.  

It was you.  

Well, not you. She had a scar crossing one of her eyes and her hair was a different color. She carried herself with more confidence, her shoulders not slumped and head held high. She was wearing the same yellow and blue X-Men suit you first saw your Logan in when you were trapped in the Void.  

But she was still undeniably you. Just a variant you could have been in another universe.  

"What?" You felt helpless as you looked to her and then to Logan. Pain had been overtaken by confusion and now you felt like you were going to pass out for an entirely different reason. "What's going on?" 

"My wife," Logan said, finally tearing his gaze away from her to look at you. "She's back. A portal opened up last night and she walked right through it." His voice was filled with incredulous awe, and it felt like there was a knife digging into your chest. Your breath hitched and you tried to push past the feeling being carved out right where your heart resided.  

You didn't think it could get any worse until you noticed the look of pure love and adoration he gifted her. You had only ever seen that look aimed at you and seeing it given so freely to someone else had you clenching your fists at your sides, anger washing over you.  

"So, what?" You snapped, trying and failing to keep the hurt out of your tone. "She's just going to live here now? We'll all be one big happy family?" You didn't want to fight anyone for Logan's attention. Not again. Not after what happened with Jean in your other universe. You couldn't lose again. You wouldn't.  

Logan stared up at you before he finally looked back at his wife. "We're still married," he pointed out, brushing his thumb gently over the wedding ring on his wife's hand. "And she was my first love," he continued, twisting the knife deeper and deeper. "I'm sorry, but I can't leave her again." 

You watched the couple in front of you, frozen in that moment. Hurt and indecision rose within you and you felt trapped.  

"So, what does that mean for me?" Your voice sounded so small and scared that you almost didn't believe it was yours. You had never felt this way with your Logan before and you didn't know what to do.  

Logan finally tore his gaze away from his wife to look at you again.  

"I'm sorry, but now that I have her back...," he trailed off, letting you assume the rest for yourself. "You can stay until you find somewhere else to go," he offered, as if it was any consolation.  

You let out a hollow little laugh as you took a step away from him. You couldn't believe what you were hearing. Logan, after everything you had been through together, was giving you up as if you meant nothing to him. The same ache and loneliness you felt back in your original universe was descending on you again. You thought you had put those feelings behind you, but now you were having to confront them again in the worst way.  

Because this Logan had loved you like the other one never had and this one had promised never to hurt you. But here he was, crushing any hope you had that this Logan would be different.  

You forced yourself to turn around, putting your back to them. You couldn't stand to look at them anymore.  

You were faced with Laura standing there in the doorway of the apartment. She was silent, watching you, and you had a sinking feeling in your gut that told you this wouldn't go your way either.  

"Laura, I--," you started as you approached her, not even sure where you would end up. "Do you want to come with me?" Was what you settled on, because evidently you couldn't stay here. You had been through so much with Laura. You had survived the Void together and fought together just to survive. Surely, that had to mean something to her. ‘Don’t leave me all alone,’ was what you wanted to beg, but you didn’t want Logan to have the satisfaction of seeing you brought down to your lowest point.  

Laura took a few steps forward and you wondered if she would meet you in the middle. Instead, she walked past you and stood at the table, joining Logan and his wife. "I can't lose him again," Laura said, echoing your thoughts. Except, Laura could stay and you had to go.  

You saw Logan's wife, the other you, the one he was choosing over you, reach out to flick Laura's ear. Instead of snapping at her, Laura turned a fond, soft smile on the other you and you felt another piece of your heart break.  

That was your thing with Laura and that should have been your smile. Logan's wife had swept in and cleared you out, leaving no room for you.  

You could feel the fight or flight instinct rising within you and you chose to get the hell out of there. It wasn't your home anymore, because someone had filled your role. You were no longer needed.  

You didn't even know where you were going to go, but you somehow found yourself right at Wade's doorstep. You brought your hand up to knock, terror and despair coursing through you.  

Wade answered the door in a suit and tie. You would have asked him what the hell was going on, but he didn't give you a chance to talk. He leaned on the doorframe, considering you with a grimace. "I thought you'd show up here after you found out." 

"You know?" You weren't sure why it felt like such a betrayal, but you always thought Wade would have had your back. Why didn't he track you down and warn you? Why had no one just given you some kind of heads up that you would be completely ousted from the life you had built for yourself with Logan? 

"Sure do, baby bird," Wade confirmed with a quick nod of his head. There was something off in his tone. This didn't feel like the same Wade you had come to know and reluctantly love. This almost felt like a stranger wearing a Wade mask. "I was there when she showed up. Just walked right out of that portal and into Logan's arms like she hasn't been dead for the past who knows how long." 

You hated that you could picture that perfectly, as if Wade's memory was playing out in your head.  

"Yeah, well, it looks like I'm not needed anymore now that he has who he really wants." You felt like an idiot for ever thinking you were more than just a placeholder for Logan's wife. You didn't want to cry in front of Wade, but you could feel the sting of tears in your eyes.  

Wade tilted his head to the side, watching you with an intensity that was almost unnerving. "So, what are you gonna do now?" 

"Can I stay here?" You tried, knowing that you couldn't go back to your apartment. You didn't want to ever step foot in there again, knowing that the bright, happy memories you had created were now tainted with misery.  

Wade brought his foot back, kicking the door to his apartment open enough for you to see Vanessa seated at the table. "No can do," Wade answered with a wince. "You see, I'm trying to win her back over and I'm already sharing a one bedroom apartment with Blind Al, so it's a little cramped around here. But hey, if you join the X-Men, it usually comes with free room and board. They'll take anyone," he got out on a laugh, before he waved his hand. "Well, except for me. You shoot one person," he lamented, shaking his head in disappointment. "Or, hey, I hear Love Island is casting. Might be time to find you a new boo." 

"So," you started, trying to reconcile the fact that you no longer had a home with Logan and now you couldn't find one either with Wade. "I can't stay here," you said, and it was no longer a question, it was just a fact of your new lonely, pathetic existence. 

There was something so off about everything that had happened that day and you were trying to make sense of all of it. You had just spent the night before making a special dinner for your family and now you didn't even have one.  

Everything was happening so fast that you felt like you weren’t even really processing it. Why hadn’t you just stayed at the apartment and fought for Logan? This was your life. Your home, your family, your love. Why were you just giving it all up so easily? You didn’t understand, but now you weren’t even sure you would be able to force yourself to go back. 

"No," Wade admitted, with a sheepish grin. "It's not only Vanessa, you see, but Logan. I mean, Deadpool and Wolverine are a package deal now. There's no breaking up that superhero wet dream team and if I'm harboring his ex? Then that'll just make it more awkward than the time I used his toothbrush on Dogpool. Trust me, he made me regret that one. There are some places those claws of his should not go," he warned with a shudder.  

Hearing Wade refer to you as Logan's ex broke something inside you. You could feel hurt begin to overwhelm you, swiftly replaced by anger. You let out a short, sharp scream of frustration. You didn't even realize you had formed a forcefield around you and pushed out with it until you realized Wade had been knocked several steps back.  

"Y/N--" Wade started, but you turned away from him.  

You didn't want to be placated and you didn't want to deal with anymore of Wade's nonsense. You let yourself go invisible, knowing that it was the only way you would feel safe now.  

You wandered around the neighborhood for hours, trying to figure out where you belonged. You trudged from street to street before unerringly finding your way back to your apartment complex once night fell. You didn't dare go inside, but you stayed out on the sidewalk. People passed by you, never knowing you were even there, and you kept your gaze up on the window that shone brightest in the dark.  

Logan was up there. He was with his wife and Laura and they were a family in their home enjoying a night together. You were no one with nothing and no home to share with anyone. 

You weren't sure why you stayed there for so long, but you thought it had something to do with hope and an inane wish that he would come downstairs and tell you it was all some sick joke. You thought of his promise that he would always find you, even when you were hidden, but that hadn't been true either.  

Logan was happy without you, because he had what he really wanted all along. So, why would he come find you when he didn't even need you anymore? 

Or worse, Logan knew you were down here and just didn't care about you anymore.  

With that revelation, you turned and walked away. There was a swirling mess of thoughts stuck in your head that dredged up the same old insecurities you thought you had shed once and for all.  

You would never be good enough. You were unloved. You didn't matter. You weren't worth anything. 

You had no one.  

You felt tears slide down your cheeks as you aimlessly roamed from place to place. You next found yourself outside the X-Mansion, wondering if you should take Wade's advice and join up with the X-Men. As much as you longed to feel like you belonged somewhere, you didn't think you could go back to saving people with a smile on your face like you weren't slowly withering inside.  

There was a whisper of your name on the air. You glanced over your shoulder, looking to see who called your name, but you found no one. It had been so faint that you might have imagined it, but there was a feeling, an electrified touch, that had briefly set your nerves alight.  

You weren't sure what time it was, but you were exhausted. You found it pathetic and sad that you didn't have anywhere to go. You didn't even have money for a hotel room. All you could think to do was find a park and drop down onto a bench. At the very least, you knew you could protect yourself if anyone tried to attack you.  

You formed a forcefield around you, ignoring the fact that it would only slip away while you slept, and let yourself drift away.  

When you woke, you weren't alone. You jolted in place, suddenly wide awake, and scrambled to sit up. On the bench across from yours, a man was sitting reading a newspaper.  

He quirked an eyebrow at you when he realized he had your attention.  

"I was wondering when you would wake up," he said, lowering the newspaper.  

He had dark eyes and darker hair. He wore a suit with a black trench coat, but the illusion of a businessman was ruined by the combat boots he was wearing. His skin was pale and there was a faint ring of red around his eyes that had you wondering if he was wearing makeup. His appearance, oddly enough, seemed false, but the grin on his face was genuine, if a bit unsettling.  

"Were you watching me?" You couldn't help but wonder, half-torn between becoming invisible to make your escape and staying to get answers.  

"Yes," he answered, unashamed by his actions. "I thought it fascinating that someone would let you stay out here all alone. You don't deserve that, so I stayed to keep watch over you." 

You wanted to tell him you could take care of yourself, but you didn't feel so sure about that anymore. The reminder of your loneliness crept up on you and you could feel doubt settle over you. You were on your own now without a team. No one was going to come save you if you found yourself in trouble. You would simply have to claw your own way out.  

"What's your name?" You decided to ask instead, studying him from across the small concrete path that separated you.  

"Nathaniel," he introduced himself with a smile. "And you are?" 

"Y/N," you returned, with a half-hearted wave.  

"Now, I know we just met, but I do have one thing on my mind," Nathaniel started, leaning in towards you after placing his newspaper on the bench beside him. "What on earth are you doing out here all by yourself?" 

You felt your lips twist to the side in a frown as you bit down on the side of your mouth to keep a lid on the emotions that threatened to boil over at the reminder of the previous day. "I--," you cut yourself off, not sure how to phrase your situation to a stranger without making it seem as if you had completely lost your mind. "I lost my home yesterday," you settled on with a grimace. "My family kicked me out." 

Nathaniel made a sympathetic noise before he stood up. "May I?" He asked, gesturing towards your bench. 

You shrugged your shoulders in answer but moved over to leave him enough space to sit down beside you.  

"In my experience, family is a fickle thing," Nathaniel continued once he was at your side. "People come and go, but you have to be able to stand by yourself and forge your own path once it all falls apart." 

"I don't know if I can do that this time," you whispered, ashamed to admit that you were on the brink of losing whatever control over your emotions you had managed since waking up.  

Nathaniel turned so he could watch you. It was a bit unnerving, but you figured you had no one else for company. A smirk tugged at his lips as he studied you. "You're a fighter," he assured you.  

"Oh?" You wondered, returning his stare. "And how would you know that?" 

His smirk was still in place as he tapped his temple. "I'm psychic," he proclaimed, holding up his fingers and waving them before imitating a ghostly wail.  

You couldn't help the laugh that escaped you and it felt so wrong.  

"There we go," Nathaniel murmured with a pleased smile. "Look, I know you don't know me, but how about a drink? Coffee?" He prompted, moving to stand and holding out a hand to you.  

You didn't want to wallow in your misery on the park bench all by yourself and you figured Nathaniel made a decent enough distraction. "You're paying," you told him, reluctantly grabbing his hand and letting him help you up. "Only because I don't have any money." 

Nathaniel laughed, the sound briefly jarring to you, and cocked his head to the side. "In that case, I'll buy you breakfast too." 

You found yourself in a diner booth sitting across from Nathaniel. He offered to buy you whatever you wanted, but you settled for a cup of coffee and a stack of pancakes. You weren't all that hungry and you couldn't get your mind off Logan. You wondered what he was doing right at that moment and then you dashed the thought. He was probably happy with his wife and Laura and had forgotten all about you.  

"Hey," Nathaniel called, getting your attention. "Where did you go?" 

You shook your head, biting your lip to distract yourself.  

"Thinking about your family?" He prompted, shooting you a wary look. "I know I'm a stranger and it's none of my business, but do you want to tell me what happened? Maybe I can offer some perspective." 

You scowled down at your pancakes, pushing them halfheartedly around the plate with a fork. You glanced around the diner, spotting a blonde woman wearing a white suit watching you curiously from a booth not far from yours. You shook your head at Nathaniel, not wanting anyone to overhear you.  

"Let's get out of here," you told him, pushing yourself out of the booth. "I could use a walk to clear my head." 

"Alright," Nathaniel readily agreed, standing as well. While he placed a twenty on the table, you made for the door.  

There was that whisper again in the air that had you looking over your shoulder. Someone was calling your name, but you didn't see anyone you recognized. No one was even looking at you except for Nathaniel who was slowly approaching you.  

"You okay?" Nathaniel interrupted, stealing your attention away.  

"Yeah," you muttered, briefly nodding your head. "Just c'mon," you said, barely waiting for Nathaniel to follow you before you pushed through the door and walked outside.  

You didn't think you would be able to confide in a total stranger, but there was something strangely freeing about unloading all the burdens on your mind to someone who didn't know anything about you. You even managed to drop the mutant bomb on him and were surprised when Nathaniel only took it in stride, as if he had expected all along you weren’t quite normal. He mostly seemed focused on what you told him about your family and how you lost them all in one fell swoop.  

"Sounds like you're better off without them," Nathaniel mused. "Anyone who would let you go like that is an idiot." 

"Maybe," you begrudgingly agreed. You didn't think it was possible, but Nathaniel had managed to make you feel better. Maybe letting out all your worries had briefly unburdened you. Or maybe since you lost everyone, you had been desperate to hear someone tell you it wasn’t your fault.  

"They're all ungrateful idiots," Nathaniel continued. "You're special," he told you. "And you deserve more." 

His tone brooked no argument, but you were a little thrown off by how serious he seemed.  

"I don't know what I'm going to do now," you deflected, scowling down at your hands. "I don't have anyone or anywhere to go. And I've just spent the day with a stranger telling him my whole pathetic sob story." 

"I'm not a stranger anymore," Nathaniel offered with a grin. "You know my name and everything." 

"I know literally nothing else about you," you pointed out. You were starting to feel apprehensive about trusting someone you didn't even know. Your head was beginning to hurt and you could feel your hands trembling. You weren't sure why panic had hit you all at once, but you could feel your heart beating overtime in your chest and a cold sweat begin to break out along your skin. You were beginning to hyperventilate, confused and overwhelmed, when Nathaniel took you by the shoulders and forced you to look into his eyes.  

"Hey, it's all going to be okay. Just trust me, alright? Y/N, you with me?"  

You tried to focus on Nathaniel, but there was a ringing in your ears and you swore someone else was trying to get your attention. You shook your head, trying to keep yourself from falling right into a spiral. You forced yourself to take slow, deep breaths, realizing that Nathaniel was also taking them, trying to coach you through your anxiety attack.  

You closed your eyes once you finally felt like you could stand on your own two feet without freaking out. You took a moment to center yourself before allowing yourself to open your eyes again.  

"Thanks," you whispered, nodding at him when he shot you a skeptical look. "I'm fine. I'll be fine," you claimed, even though you knew it was a lie. You were tired of loving and losing. Your heart ached for Logan and you knew that you would never recover from losing him. But Nathaniel, odd as he was, had managed to help you feel like maybe you didn't have to spend the rest of your existence completely alone.  

"I know you will," Nathaniel confirmed with another one of his smiles. "Because you're coming home with me." 

You stared at Nathaniel, waiting for the punchline, but it never came. "I could be a serial killer," you warned him with a scoff. "And you're inviting me into your home?" 

Nathaniel shrugged his shoulders, a smirk on his face. "I'm not scared of you." 

He sounded so sure of himself that you couldn't help the disbelieving laugh that escaped you. "You're completely insane, aren't you?" 

"So, is that a yes?" Nathaniel wondered, holding his hand out to you and waiting for you to take it. "Will you join me?" 

You stared down at his hand for a beat too long to be socially acceptable. It felt like you were about to make a deal with the devil, but Nathaniel had been nothing but kind. He had given you a shoulder to cry on and was now giving you a place to go so you wouldn’t have to spend another night on a park bench. 

You knew it was probably a bad idea, but you still found yourself reaching out to take his hand.  

"Okay," you reluctantly agreed. "I'll go with you." 

You thought it would be weird once you found yourself in Nathaniel's apartment, but it felt oddly familiar. He had a guest room that he had designated as yours and made sure you could take whatever you wanted from the fridge. You didn't know how to return his kindness, but you knew you would have to find a way.  

Nathaniel had gone out to get dinner while you waited on his couch, idly flipping through channels. You were starting to doze off, exhausted, when you heard someone calling for you.  

You squinted at the television, wondering if you were hearing things, when it happened again. You had stopped on a news report, catching sight of the woman from the diner. You assumed she was a news anchor, but the way she was looking at the camera gave you the eerie sensation that she was somehow actually watching you. When her gaze drifted over, as if looking at someone behind you, you rushed to turn off the television. 

You cautiously glanced over your shoulder, half-expecting to see someone standing there. But you were alone.  

 “Y/N,” the voice called again. It was faint, like they were outside, but close enough for you to hear.  

“What the fuck is happening?” You growled, growing frustrated. “Where are you?” 

You stood, wondering if you should go looking for whoever was trying to reach you, when Nathaniel walked into the apartment. He held up the bag of takeout and nodded towards the kitchen table.  

"Ready to eat?" 

Time dragged on as days and weeks passed. You still thought of Logan practically every waking moment, but Nathaniel had done his best to distract you.  

You were grateful for him, because you didn't know how you would have lived without someone there to fill the void in your life.  

You weren't sure what day it was or even how long had passed since you last saw Logan, but you knew that you had started to heal.  

"Sometimes," Nathaniel told you once you voiced that thought to him. "You have to let something break so you can piece it back together to get something new. To get what you truly want. What is it that you want, Y/N?" Nathaniel studied you with the same unnerving intensity he always did and you hated to admit that you were finding it less weird each time it happened.  

Logan was the first thought that came to your mind. You wanted Logan and you wanted your home and you wanted your family. You wanted to show Laura how to cook and you wanted to follow Wade into crazy situations, knowing that he would have your back just like you had his back. You wanted to crawl into bed with Logan at the end of each day knowing that you were wanted and cherished.  

Nathaniel made a disappointed noise before he shook his head. "There's no going back," he told you "I'm sorry, but it's just not going to happen." 

You didn't like the way he sounded so sure of himself. Nathaniel didn't know Logan and he didn't even really know you. You had spent weeks with him, but years of your life had been devoted to a Logan. Your Logan had been better, you knew it, so maybe you were the one who wasn't worthy.  

Nathaniel made a tsking noise before he reached out. He wrapped his hand lightly along the underside of your jaw, his thumb pressed to the other side of your neck over your pulse point. He considered you for a long moment, as if he was searching for something.  

"He left you," Nathaniel reminded you, as if it hadn't been eating you up inside since it happened. "You are special. You deserve to be cherished," he continued, and you started to worry about the potentially romantic direction he was going with his lecture. A brief smile flitted across his face, as if he could read your mind, before his expression slipped back towards something more serious. "You're lost and you're broken," he added, gently sweeping his thumb over your pulse point. "Let me put the pieces back together." 

You weren't even sure if you trusted Nathaniel, but you had spent so long hurting that you were tempted to say yes.  

You suddenly felt like someone had brushed their hand over the back of your head and you heard someone call your name. It was the same voice as before and you knew better than to look for someone you wouldn't find. But Nathaniel's eyes strayed just over your shoulder, as if he had heard it too. There was a brief flicker of irritation on his face before he gifted you with a sincere smile.  

"I've got you," he promised. "No one is ever going to get near you again." 

"Okay," you finally agreed, if only because you were curious about what he had in mind. You also couldn't deny that you were just so desperate to not fall back into that desolate pit of isolation you had begun to dig for yourself. Nathaniel saw you and he wanted you. There wasn't much else you felt like you could ask for now.  

And if Nathaniel's sharp smile sent a shiver through you for all the wrong reasons, then you were the only one who had to know about that.  

Nathaniel seemed insistent that in order to move on, you would have to make yourself stronger. To him, that seemed to mean training day and night, improving upon your power in new and terrifying ways.  

You spent hours, days, weeks, stretching the limits of your power. Your power had always been meant as a defense, to protect and contain, but now you wanted to wield it as a weapon.  

Your progress felt excruciatingly slow, but you had to admit that you were pleased with the results. It started simple enough with just a thought. You wanted your forcefields to hurt. The barriers you would have erected to protect yourself should also be used to hurt anyone who dared get too close.   

Nathaniel had rented out an abandoned location in a strip mall and set up targets for you to use. More often than not, he was watching you, as if he was waiting for something. Other times, he seemed content to leave you alone, trusting you would have something new to show him when he returned.  

You practiced on the targets, first forming forcefields around your fists and breaking anything that stood in your way. Nothing held up to them and you started growing bored of that tactic. You started to think that if you could form a forcefield, then it could be any shape you wanted. Spikes, swords, knives all began to adorn the edges of your forcefields, facing out and ready to maim anything that was in the way.  

Nathaniel seemed eager when you first formed a forcefield that was outlined with spikes and used it to repeatedly stab holes into the brick fence that lined the back of the property. You were sure he was never going to get his deposit back, but he didn't even seem to care. He only encouraged you to think bigger and do more.  

With time, you were even able to produce two forcefields at once. It was exhausting and drained all your energy, but you liked the idea of protecting yourself while also using a different forcefield to hurt an attacker. From there, it was only natural to think of taking a forcefield, forming it around an enemy, and turning the projected spikes inward, letting them impale your target without a way to escape.  

You felt stronger and invulnerable. You had never thought to test your power like this, and the feeling was nearly intoxicating. Logan and Laura and Wade were still on your mind, but now you knew that you didn’t need them. Like Nathaniel told you, you could stand on your own and forge your own path ahead.  

No one would hold you back now.  

The first time you felt the full force of your own power was when Nathaniel was taunting you into a reaction.  

"He doesn't care about you anymore. He's moved on with the true love of his life and you are nothing to him. You don't need him anymore. You can show him that you're better off without him." 

There were targets surrounding you, but you didn't care about them. All you could think about was Logan and the stupid lovelorn look on his face as he looked at his wife. He looked like he had been saved. Saved from you and whatever pathetic existence he was ready to settle for in her absence. You deserved better and you wanted to rip that stupid look right off his face. You wanted to make him and her regret it.  

You let out a scream of frustration, punching out with your forcefield at one of the targets, but it got carried away from you. All the targets snapped back, taken out at once from the blast. It carried farther out, nearly ripping the door off its hinges and shattering the front windows.  

You looked at Nathaniel, where he was splayed on the floor, staring up at you in awe.  

"You did it," he praised as he began to push himself to his feet. You crossed over towards him, holding out your hand to help get him up off the floor. “I knew you could do it.” 

"What was that?" You wondered, breathless and ecstatic. Your power had never quite felt like that before. You wanted to try it again, the rush of it addicting. If you could hone that and strengthen it, then you could use it on multiple enemies at once. You could become nearly unstoppable.   

"A repulsion field," Nathaniel answered, reaching out to rest a hand on your shoulder. "With time, I expect you'll be able to direct it and control it. You’ll be able to take out a whole city if you want." 

"Shit," you breathed, still shocked that you had managed something like that. "I didn't think I could use my power in that way. It was...exciting," you decided with a grin at Nathaniel.  

"I told you that you're special," he reminded you. "I knew you had that in you all along." 

"Thank you," you found yourself saying. You considered the targets on the floor and wondered if there would be any more use in them.  

"I have extras," Nathaniel assured you. "Want to try again?" 

You felt a pleased little thrill shoot through you at the thought. "Fuck yes," you answered.  

A week passed since you found out about the extra perk your power allowed you. You felt more confident and assured of yourself. Gone was the self-doubt and in its place was a feeling that you could defeat anyone or anything.  

You were walking to the store with Nathaniel, thinking about what you might want to make for dinner. Nathaniel was being unusually quiet and leaving you alone to your thoughts. You wondered if something was wrong, but then you spotted her.  

It was you. The other you. She was alone. No Logan or Laura or Wade in her vicinity.  

You couldn't help the way you froze on the sidewalk or the fury that rose up swiftly enough you felt nearly sick with it.  

She was to blame for everything. She had stolen your life away from you and now she got to be happy while you spent the rest of your life wanting someone you would never have again.  

"Is that her?" Nathaniel asked, rounding back to standing at your side. "The one who stole your life from you?" 

You nodded your head, attempting to keep a lid on your anger.  

"Why don't you make her regret it?" 

The idea was so simple, but so damn tempting. You could just imagine the look on her face when she realized she was incredibly outmatched now. You could destroy her within seconds and she would never be able to stop you. 

You knew it wasn't something you should entertain. You had lived your whole life as a hero. There was a line you would have never dared to cross before but after everything that had happened, you were starting to realize that line was blurred beyond recognition. As far as you were concerned, she had stolen your life from you, and it was only right that she realized what a mistake that had been.  

"You're better than her now. Stronger," Nathaniel continued, leaning in closer to you. "She can't do half of what you can. Show her what you've learned." 

"I don't know," you tried to deflect. You wanted your revenge, but there was still a tiny voice in your head saying it wasn’t right. It wasn’t what you were supposed to do. 

"Aren't you tired?" Nathaniel hissed, his hand coming up to clutch your shoulder in a near-painful grip. "Tired of being the doormat. The hero. The martyr. Don't let them get away with it. Don't let her walk away." 

You didn't even realize you had made up your mind until you were walking up to the other you. She was checking out a display of plants that had been left outside of the market for customers to choose, but she seemed to sense your approach, because she turned to consider you.  

You weren't sure what she saw when she looked at you, but her eyes went wide with fear, and she immediately pulled up a forcefield. You stalked forward, intent on your target. You didn't care if anyone was watching, because you felt like you were completely justified in your actions.  

You passed right through her forcefield and pushed her back. She fell to the ground, staring up at you in terror. You pulled your fist back, forming your own forcefield around it. You let spikes form along the outside facing towards her. All you had to do was bring it down onto her face. It would be a killing blow, and you would never have to think about her again. Logan would lose the love of his life, but maybe he would come back to you. Maybe you could return to him stronger, better, and without any more competition.  

For a moment, as you looked right into her face, it was like gazing into a mirror. The scar was gone, her hair was the same as yours, and you were wearing similar clothes. She looked just like you.  

You were convinced that she was you.  

And that made you pull back, horrified at what you had almost done.  

Her eyes were closed, ready for a blow that you weren't capable of dealing any longer.  

"I'm sorry," you whispered before stepping away, propelling yourself right out of her forcefield.  

"Y/N?" Nathaniel called, pulling your attention towards him. "What are you doing? She's right there. Kill her," he demanded, his lips pulling back in a sneer.  

You shook your head, feeling something indescribable but ultimately terrified swell within you. What had you become? What had Nathaniel done to you? You had let him so far into your head that you had almost done something unspeakable.  

You made yourself go invisible before you took off running. You didn't know where you were going or where you would even hide, but you knew that you needed to get away from Nathaniel. He had pushed you to do more, be more, and you had never once stopped to think about which road you were heading down and whether it would lead you right to the point of no return.  

You could hear Nathaniel yelling for you to stop and come back, but you didn't listen. You wanted to get away from him and just think. It felt like you had let him take up residence in your head and now you wanted to figure out how the hell to evict him.  

You ran until you felt like you were going to collapse. You finally stopped outside of a library. You rushed inside, catching a glimpse of the news anchor flipping through a book as you went right for the back corner.  Two bookshelves met there and you sank right to the floor in front of them. You dropped your head into your hands and forced yourself to take deep breaths.  

"Y/N," you heard someone call. It wasn't Nathaniel and it wasn't anyone else you immediately recognized. But it was familiar. They had been trying to get your attention all along.  

"What," you snapped, already feeling like you were on the verge of crumbling. Nathaniel had been right that you were broken, but who was going to put the pieces back together this time? It felt like Nathaniel had managed to piece them back together all wrong and you didn't even feel like yourself anymore.  

"Y/N," the voice called again.  

You closed your eyes and focused on the voice. You reached out for it, desperate for any sort of lifeline. It was a spark right at the back of your mind. You rushed to meet it, eager to figure out who had been trying to talk to you.  

"My name is Charles Xavier."  

You startled, nearly letting the tenuous connection between you and Charles drop, but finally throwing everything you had towards it.  

"This world is a lie," Charles continued once he realized you could hear him. "Do not let him break you. They're coming to find you." 

"Who?" You couldn't help but ask, hope and fear clashing inside you, threatening to overwhelm you.  

"A rather odd group of saviors," Charles answered, a hint of amusement clear in his words. "But stay strong and do what you can to break free of his hold. He has a way to keep me out, so once he finds you, I’m afraid I won’t be much help to you. Just hold on until they get there." 

You didn't know how you were going to get yourself out. You were starting to think it was hopeless, because you hadn’t even realized you were trapped in the first place. The more you thought about it, though, the more obvious it became that something had been wrong since the morning you woke up and Logan’s wife was sitting in your kitchen. The fact that she had come back from the dead, Logan’s quick dismissal of you, Laura and Wade both turning their backs on you. Nathaniel’s convenient timing and the way he watched you as if you were nothing more than an experiment for him. A pet mutant he could poke and prod and play with while you were none the wiser.   

“Who’s coming to find me?” You didn’t dare to assume that you were worth the rescue, but you couldn’t help yourself. You had to know. You had to hold onto the one little spark of hope you could feel burning defiantly inside you.  

For one terrifying moment, your mind was still, and you felt crushingly alone. Just when you thought you had been abandoned, Charles left you with one final word.  

"Logan." 

Author's Note: There will be a fourth chapter! Did I have you going for a while there? I felt so evil writing this. I truly did. If you liked this, please let me know. Not to sound needy, but comments/reblogs/etc. literally fuel me to write more and inspire me so much to keep coming up with fun stuff. Thank you to everyone who has shown this series any support! Also, if you would like to be added/removed from the taglist, just let me know!

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@sarahskywalker-amidala @whiskytoast @shizzybarnaclee @zbeez-outlet @halepack2011

@facelessfionna @i-left-my-cat-on-the-stove @whyam1heree @serendippindots @janilovecookies

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@astudyoftimeywimeystuff

[whumpetywhumpwhump]

Okay so something which I don't think I've ever directly disclosed here before is that my favourite whump ever is intubation whump. I've literally always liked it and I don't know why.

When whumpee's going in for surgery, caretaker- maybe a medic- stands right next to them, holding their hand as the propofol starts to kick in. whumpee goes from being able to speak clearly and coherently to slurring their words, eyelids growing heavier and heavier, until at last they're completely out. limp. as the paralytics kick in too, there are a few seconds where whumpee isn't breathing at all, until the anaesthetist places the tube and watches for the condensation within it.

caretaker can't help feeling a little unnerved. whumpee's usually so talkative, yet now they're so still they may as well be dead, only breathing because a machine is breathing for them.

whumpees in comas, too. they're so sick that it's necessary to keep them on life support, allowing the rest of their body time to recover, but caretaker has to sit by their bedside and hold Whumpee's limp hand, watching closed eyes that they know won't open anytime soon. every so often, a doctor comes in to shine a light into their eyes or ask them to squeeze a hand, but there's nothing except the hiss of the ventilator to let caretaker know that whumpee's even still there in some way. caretaker hopes at least that whumpee is somewhat comfortable, too sedated to feel the discomfort of a tube down their throat or the sticky pads of the tube holder on their cheeks.

or how about whumpees who have been involved in a traumatic accident/have been hurt so badly/are so sick that the paramedics on the scene have to tube them? it's no longer the safe, sterile environment of the hospital, and the paramedics have to lay out all their equipment on sheets beside them, running through a checklist to make sure everything's ready before they start. plus, they no longer have the luxury of time to make sure all the proper medications have been given- the priority is securing whumpee's airway.

that means lots of medications, fast, pushed through IVs while another paramedic preps the tube. while this is happening, whumpee could be deteriorating even more. they might vomit. they might try to get up or hit the paramedics, the injury to their brain meaning they're in distress, not understanding what's going on. all the paramedics can do is clean whumpee up as best as possible, hold whumpee down gently until the paralytic and sedatives kick in, then, when all is quiet, intubate.

this, by the way, isn't your regular old intubation. it's called RSI, which stands for 'rapid sequence induction' and it's done for the most critically ill patients.

maybe do it to one of your whumpees? or just intubate them in general. please. it's very fun to read.

(Partially inspired by @i-eat-worlds post, since you are not alone in enjoying this I promise lmao.)

[swift-creates]

category: Gen

fandom: DC Comics (Young Justice, Batfamily)

characters and relationships: Tim Drake, clone baby, Kon haunts the narrative (Timkon isn’t explicit but. it’s a clone baby au)

warnings: almost drowning, infant whump

Summary:

@ailesswhumptober Day 29: Ownership, branding, “Everybody will know that you’re mine.”

Tim tries to clone Kon, but this time it works.

notes: I can write so many Timkon fics with this prompt list :fireElmo: Inspired by this post by @hyperblue which has haunted me from the moment I saw it please come bother me with interest about this AU or any of mine plsplspls on my knees in tears pls

—

Tim woke to the loud beeping of one of the many machines in his lab. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, frowning at his reflection in the powerless computer screen; there were sleep marks on his cheek from the sleeve of his sweater, but aside from that he barely looked like he’d rested at all. The circles under his eyes hadn’t budged, and he sighed and scrubbed his hands across his face. It wasn’t like anyone was going to see them, anyway. He rarely left his lab except to grab more snacks from Titans Tower when he ran out, his work far too important to abandon. 

Tim got up and trudged past the empty cloning chambers to look for whatever had gone wrong, picking at the plaster on his arm where he’d drawn his own blood. His tablet lay on a table across the room, and he needed to recheck the Kryptonian environment values he’d copied off the Batcomputer-

One of the chambers wasn’t empty. 

He stared at it for a second, seeing but not quite understanding. Attempt one hundred and twenty-nine successful, the green letters said cheerfully. He stepped closer slowly, as if it was an animal that would lunge and try to bite him, and gingerly placed a hand against the glass. It was near but not exactly room temperature — 99.2 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.3 degrees Celcius, to be precise, ever so slightly warmer than a regular human temperature. 

“It worked,” he said to the empty lab. The machines keeping 129 alive seemed to sigh in response, then the beeping got louder, and the infant stirred in its glowing pod. No, not just stirred. It flinched. 

Error, the screen read now in bright failure red. The small letters underneath would have told him the reason, but he didn’t read it because 129 was struggling, tiny lungs seeking desperately for air and only receiving fluid. Tim’s heart screamed, and then he realised he was screaming. 

He can’t lose him. Not again and not like this. 

One heartbeat, and he was rushing forward, smashing the glass with his bo staff and pulling the infant out of the pod. 129 coughed up liquid and was still for a terrifyingly long moment, and Tim’s heart froze in his chest. 

Then the baby took a shaky breath and let out a gloriously loud cry. Now he was wet and wailing, but he was breathing. At least he was breathing. Tim went to rub a hand across his face in relief and halted when he realised it was covered in thick fluid. “It’s okay,” he said, and realised his throat was choked with tears. 129 cried louder and kicked his little legs as Tim became painfully aware how austere and clinical his lab was, absolutely no place for a helpless infant. There was no milk ready for him, no swaddling cloths to wrap him up in. And it was so, so cold. He must be so cold. Get it together, Drake. 

There was a shirt hanging on the back of his chair, and Tim reached for it, wrapping 129 in the black fabric and holding him close. “Shhh. It’s okay. Shh, shh.” The baby’s cries lowered slightly in volume, but didn’t stop. Tim bounced him gently, folding the shirt over him to keep him warm better- 

The edge of a familiar red insignia peeked out from underneath the folds of the shirt, and Tim froze. Kon’s shirt had artificial amniotic fluid and a crying baby in it. Kon’s shirt was wet and soiled and ruined and gone and Tim can’t even protect this one last part of him can he-

Then he was sliding down the wall to the floor and realised he was the one crying now. “I’m sorry,” he gasped, to Kon and to 129 and to no one at all. “I’m s- I’m so sorry.” 129 made a soft sound in his arms, but that just made him cry harder. Tim couldn’t take care of a baby. He’d failed Kon and failed Bart and failed Bruce and it’d been barely a day and he was already failing 129. 

As if that wasn’t enough, he had the stark realisation that the child in his arms resembled old baby pictures of Tim himself a little too closely, the tiniest package of Kryptonian blue eyes in a round little face. “Everyone will know you’re mine.” This wasn’t supposed to happen. His DNA was supposed to stabilise Kon’s, not influence it. He’d given 129 the curse of being related to him, in addition to being the ghost of a dead man. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He curled in around the infant and wept, surrounded by broken glass and a broken heart. 

[whumptydaisy]

Ruined Safety

Gods, you know a whump trope I'd love to see?

Whumpee joining a group or making friends after they’ve escaped or started healing from their trauma with whumper on their own.

Their friends have only ever known them as this happy-go-lucky, sarcastic jokester. Someone who always has a ridiculous quip or joke ready to break the tension. Whose someone people can rely on and open up with to talk about their issues without judgement. Except when they think on it, they don’t really know Whumpee that well. They know they’re nice, and that they can be a joker, but they don’t know anything about their past. Whumpee refuses to talk about it, deflecting with quips and sarcasm and jokes until the topic changes without anyone realizing the questions were never answered.

Whumpee has rebuilt themself from their trauma, they’ve already took the broken pieces of themself that were left after they escaped Whumper and put themself back together as someone new. It’s been years since they were with Whumper and they have no desire to even think about that part of their life again.

...until Whumper shows back up without warning to rip the safety and the life they’ve built for themself out from under them. Reminding them that Whumpee is still just their pet, their plaything in front of everybody they’ve come to care about and and shattering the fragile sense of safety they’d finally come to have. :)

It's even better if Whumpee was actually starting to get close to someone in the group more intimately, finally starting to feel safe enough to maybe let their walls down and be honest with them, just to have the agency of sharing their past and everything that happened to them ripped away by Whumper in one fell swoop as they're dragged away kicking and screaming in chains :) :) :)

[songforeddiemunson]

Haunting in Blackwood Hollow Part 3

An Eddie Munson x F!Reader Miniseries

Series Summary: It’s the year 1991. Eddie and reader check into a rented house in the Appalachian woods, joined by Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Robin. Unfortunately for our gang, things in Blackwood Hollow are never as they appear.

Tropes: established relationship, Jonathan x Nancy, no mention of the events from ST, smut, comedy, fluff, scares, bit of whump (but nothing too crazy)

Series Warnings: Swearing, drinking and weed use, sexual and scary situations, minors please DNI.

Chapter Three: The Rothschild Tale

Chapter warnings: a sad recounting, historic tragedy, pregnancy loss, missing children, non-major-character death. This is a lot of exposition, so bear with me.

Author's Note: Welp it's been more than a year since I updated this fic, so better late than never! To those who patiently hung in there, thank you for helping me endure a brutal writers block and total loss of inspo because...life. Particularly @tvserie-s-world, who has been so encouraging. If anyone would like to get caught up, please start here.

Word Count: ~3K

PART TWO

Begrudgingly, you had decided to tackle breakfast cleanup, and started gathering up dishes as the others shuffled off to get ready for the day. You weren’t in the best mood, in large part because your sleep had been fraught with weird dreams that you couldn’t quite remember, except for the vague sensation of being pursued in darkness. Your fright from the bathroom window didn’t exactly help in that regard either. You focused on your task, and tried to put all the unpleasantness out of your mind.

Joyce and Jim had decided to host a wedding picnic in the park in the center of town. You had never been to a gender-neutral wedding picnic before, and while you enjoyed the fact that everyone would be able to go to the same party, your introverted side dreaded having to schmooze with so many strangers. You sighed heavily. The idea of having to play extrovert for the afternoon did not elevate your mood.

You were lost in thought as you finished up your task, and were in the process of wiping down the counters when something caught your eye. There was an object on the floor under the counter, peeking out from behind some faded old linoleum. You bent to get a closer look.

Is that a key? 

“Hey babe,” you called to Eddie, who was helping you put away the dishes. 

He turned to you as he closed a cabinet door. “Yeah?”

“Look at this,” you said, as you reached out to pick up what looked like a small, old cast-iron key, which was rusted and pocked with age.  You tipped it into Eddie’s palm.

“That’s pretty cool, it looks super old,” Eddie said. “I wonder what it goes to?”

“I have no clue,” you shrugged. “The door it opens might not even be here anymore.”

“It’s weird that it was just there on the floor. This kitchen looks like someone tried to remodel it a few decades ago, so where has it been this whole time?”

You could only shrug as Eddie handed the key back to you. You tipped it into an unused ashtray that sat on the kitchen counter as you headed toward the shower, soon putting the key out of your mind.

A few hours later, you stood in freshly mown grass, sipping a mimosa in a cute dress, quite the juxtaposition from how your trip had gone thus far. The spring day was sunny and pleasant, and being away from the spooky house lifted your spirits, despite the strange events from the night before.

It was wonderful to see the old gang together again. The “kids” were all in college now. Gone were the days of BMX bike-riding and trick-or-treating, and a new era of cramming for exams had been ushered in.  Jim and Joyce looked so happy that it was impossible to feel gloomy in their presence, and you began to bloom under the sunshine.

You were standing off to the side and chatting with Eddie when an older woman with a kind face approached you. She had rosy cheeks and looked to be in her seventies; round, short and cheerful, with short curly hair that was neatly coiffed.

“Well I believe I’ve met everyone here except you shy folks, so I thought I’d come and hassle ya,” the woman said brightly, and she immediately disarmed you. You couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across your face.

“Are we that obvious?” Eddie replied, but he was smiling too. “Sorry I’m just… I’m not always great at meeting new people.”

“Oh nonsense,” the woman replied with a wave of her hand. “It’s as easy as pie. I’m Penny. And you are?”

You introduced yourselves.

“There, now we’re friends! That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Penny beamed.

“Penny, if everyone was as friendly as you were, there wouldn’t be any shy people in the world,” you grinned, and she looked like she could pass away from delight at your compliment.

“Oh gosh, isn’t that the sweetest thought. And I agree!”

What started as pleasant small talk evolved into regular conversation, and before you realized where the time had gone, almost an hour had passed. You liked Penny immensely, and wanted to make her your honorary aunt. 

“So where are you two lovebirds staying while you’re here?” Penny asked.

You stifled a laugh while Eddie rolled his eyes. “Well,” you started, “that’s a funny story…”

“Never let your friends handle the rental you’re supposed to stay in without checking it out first,” Eddie supplied.

“I don’t follow,” Penny replied with a little giggle.

“It’s this crazy looking, beat-up old Victorian house in the middle of nowhere. On Blackwood Hollow road….” the rest of your sentence was abruptly halted when Penny’s hand shot forward and gripped your forearm.

“Not the Rothschild place?” she asked, and her demeanor shifted from cheerful to serious in the space of a heartbeat.

“I…we have no idea, actually. Why?”

Penny shook her head while you and Eddie exchanged alarmed glances. 

“Bad things happened there,” she said.  “They should have torn that place down and had the ground consecrated.” 

Penny’s tonal switch was highly disconcerting for you. You couldn’t help but chuckle nervously. “What– really? Bad juju or something? Did people die there?”

“Well,” Penny began, “Gideon and Eloise Rothschild did, but aside from that, we can’t be sure.”

“Come again?” Eddie said.

“It’s the ones that went missing, that was the real issue. People thought Gideon was responsible, but–”

“I’m so sorry to interrupt. Can you rewind?” you said with a nervous chuckle. “I’m a little lost.”

“Me too,” Eddie said.

Penny sighed. “Well, I suppose the best place to start is the beginning. Better strap in, this is quite a story!”

“Gideon Rothschild was the eldest son of Mortimer Rothschild, a robber baron and steel magnate who struck it big in Pittsburgh in the 1860s, at a time when America suddenly got a lot bigger due to the railroad boom. Bigwigs such as Mortimer also benefited from the Union Army rapidly building railroads to maintain supremacy during the civil war, so you can add ‘war profiteer’ to the ‘robber baron’ label.

“Like most gilded age families back then, the expectation was that the eldest son would continue in his father’s footsteps and take over the family business. But Mortimer was a miserable man and gave the business to his second son instead, all because he didn’t like the woman Gideon had run off with.

“Eloise Franklin was the woman’s name, and she was neither wealthy nor from a prominent family, definitely not who Mortimer would have chosen to be the future matriarch of the Rothschild family and the fortune that went with it. Naturally when Mortimer said Eloise wasn’t good enough for his family, Gideon took matters into his own hands and the two of them eloped, and they married in the forest with Eloise’s Appalacian clan.

“It’s said that Mortimer flew into a terrible rage, and by the night’s end, Gideon’s younger brother Lewis was now the heir of the Rothschild fortune. Gideon was disappointed but knew which had true value in his life, and that was his bride, not his family fortune. So he took what money he did have left and built a lovely house in Blackwood hollow. Modest, by Rothschild standards, but surely the grandest house those woods had seen thus far.

“Gideon and Eloise lived happily and peacefully in that house for fifteen years. Eloise gave birth to three daughters and two sons, and the family benefitted from Gideon’s shrewd business sense and Eloise’s skill as an herbalist and a healer. The family was not wealthy but they were comfortable, and most importantly, they were happy.

“Unfortunately, rumors started to grow and spread. People started to whisper about how a ‘nobody’ like Eloise could ensnare a man like Gideon, and force him to give up everything for her; murmurings of spellcraft and the like. Now I know that makes no sense; after all, why would a woman go through all that effort to bewitch a man that would lose everything? But there’s not a lot of logic in gossip, and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how ugly people can be to each other.

“I’m also sure that I don’t need to tell you how awful people can be to women, and 100 years ago it was much worse than it is now. They may smile, tip their hat, say all the polite things, but deep down they don’t assign you any real value aside from being a baby-maker and arm candy. Poor Eloise started to bear the brunt of that misogyny, along with some good old fashioned superstition and ignorance.

“It was probably somewhere around 1895 when the threats started. Anonymous letters left in the mailbox, accusing Eloise of witchcraft, and of performing rituals in the woods with her clan, absurd things like that. At first they shrugged it off, and didn’t let it get to them too much. Then things started to progress. A rock through a window. Then a bible with ‘DIE WITCH’ scrawled across its cover left on the porch.

“Gideon had suspected that his pa Mortimer was involved somehow, and one day he stormed into Mortimer’s office in town to give him a piece of his mind.  Naturally Mortimer denied everything, but said something along the lines of ‘serves you right for marrying a witch, I suppose.’  That didn’t go over well, obviously, and the two men ended up slugging it out before brother Lewis broke them up. Gideon was ordered to leave and never return.

“When Gideon had returned home that evening, he found Eloise, who was pregnant with her sixth child, in a state of hysterics. She hadn’t seen their youngest son, who was only three years old, in hours. Gideon tried to reassure her that the boy had only run off, and set out to search the surrounding woods for him. All through the night they searched the house, the grounds, and the forest, calling his name. He was never found.”

You audibly gasped, and cold tendrils of dread snaked down your spine. “Oh my gosh, that’s terrible,” you said. Eddie rubbed your back reassuringly.

Penny nodded solemnly.  “If only the family’s troubles ended there, but sadly, they did not. Next, it was the family’s youngest daughter who disappeared, then the second youngest-boy. One by one, the Rothschild children vanished without a trace. When only the eldest female remained, Eloise secretly squirrled her away under cover of night, and brought her to her forest clan. You see, there was some small truth to the rumors the villagers so callously spread. The Franklin women were known to have skills with herbs and remedies, and were renowned midwives. More than a few people would scorn the clan in public but secretly visit them for various things. You know, a fertility potion here, or a headache cure there. Most of the curealls they prescribed could easily be explained as herbcraft and simple, benign remedies. But… but they did seem to possess an otherworldly knowledge. Some said they could see your future, others believed they wove spells. I’m sure that’s all nonsense, but sometimes I wonder.

“Anyway, the eldest daughter was a spirited and lovely fifteen year old called Evie. To protect her, Eloise delivered Evie to her people in the forest, and beseeched them to look after her. Of course they agreed, and urged Evie to take the name of her mother’s people and forsake the Rothschild line, in hopes of adding an additional layer of anonymity and protection.

“The lively, happy Rothschild home turned lonely and quiet. The echoes of children running in the halls, or the laughter of them playing on the swings on the front lawn, all fell silent. In her grief, Eloise miscarried her unborn child, and soon fell ill with a horrible fever. Gideon sent for Eloise’s sisters to intervene and save her, but no tincture or poultice could halt the infection that raged in her body, and Eloise ultimately succumbed. Through her tears, one of the sisters cried, “she didn’t want to be saved. She wouldn’t let us save her.”

Penny’s words hung in the air like ice, chilling you to the bone despite the sunshine. A tear streaked down your face. Somehow, the fine spring day seemed less bright, and the breeze that cascaded down from the mountain ridge felt less warm.  The story of Eloise Rothschild, a woman condemned for her supposed witchcraft and cursed for her love, resonated with a disturbing familiarity. It felt like a forgotten memory, a whisper from the depths of your soul. But how? You had never even set foot in Tennessee before.

“Babe, are you alright?” Eddie asked, alarmed. “You look pale.”

“Yeah…yeah. I’m fine.” you replied.”i just feel…I don’t know. It’s so tragic.”

Eddie and Penny both nodded.

“It’s a horrible tale,” Penny agreed.  “Poor Gideon lost everything. His family fortune, his love, all six of his children. I can’t even imagine enduring all that loss.”

“What happened to him?” Eddie questioned.

“He was rarely seen after that,” Penny responded, sadly. “He became a recluse and stayed in the house, folk say he went mad from the grief and loneliness. He was found dead several years later."

“Oh man, that's awful,” Eddie said.

“Did they ever find out what happened to the children?” You asked.

“No, unfortunately. They were never seen again, and presumed dead. Evie was absorbed into the Franklin clan completely and supposedly remained with them, but nobody knows for sure. But people whispered and rumours spread, as they do. People said that Gideon’s father somehow found a way to curse the family. Some people said that the family was already cursed because of the Rothchild fortune being built on the backs of indentured laborers and being a war profiteer. Other people said that Gideon went mad and killed them all, which is the most enduring theory, the poor man. But no search would uncover any remains, and eventually the trail went cold. The house stood empty and fell into disrepair until someone bought it from the town for a pittance fifty years later. They fixed it up a bit, but ultimately refused to stay there, and they rented it out instead.”

“You know what’s crazy about all this?” Eddie said.

“Hmm?” you hummed in reply.

“My mother’s maiden name was Franklin, and she’s from Memphis. What’s that, like, 50 miles from here?”

Penny's jaw dropped. “WAIT. Are you? Wait–” she seemed to be doing mental math while Eddie stood awkwardly. “Are you Lizzie Franklin’s boy?”

Eddie looked shocked. You started to feel dizzy.

“Yes, I think so,” he replied, simply.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” you said, and then the world went dark.

To Be Continued...

More is coming! As always, comments and reblogs are the lifeblood of every fic writer!

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