#god bless j can rest easy

[pokeattorney]

ZINNIA FANS HOW WE FEELING

[the-chosen-fanfiction]

Big James | To Die Is Gain | Romantic

Dialogue prompt: “I’ll see you in heaven.”

The cost of following Jesus Christ is high, but it is worth everything, including losing your love.

Requested by J Bart

With a heavy huff, you lift the loaf out of the oven and place it onto the countertop, setting it there to cool. Behind you, five-year-old Rebecca chases her older sister Naomi around the already cramped kitchen, causing you to quickly intervene. “Ah-ah-ah, girls, if you want to play, go play in the living room or in the yard.” They heed your warning as you gesture at the freshly baked loaf. Rebecca hugs your leg as she looks up at you.

“Eema, can I have bread?” 

You put a hand on her sleek, dark hair. “Not yet, sweetheart. It has to be a bit colder first so that you don’t burn your mouth and tongue.” 

She hums and gives a little disappointed nod before turning to follow Naomi to the living room, where most of their toys are located. 

As you turn to wipe down the counters, however, you hear a shrill shriek from the hallway that is hard to identify. When it’s followed with the joyous exclamation of ‘abba’ in a way that can be heard on the other side of the street, you are instantly relieved. Drying your hands on your apron, you head out of the kitchen to greet your husband. 

“Shalom, darling.” James greets you, leaning down to kiss your forehead as his daughters cling to his sides. The older son of Zebedee smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. 

“Shalom,” you reply with worry in your voice, wondering what is going on. The tension in his shoulders tells you that his meeting with Matthew and Nathanael had been about more than simply catching up. 

You move to take his bag from him, but James quickly grabs it before you can slide it off his shoulder. He looks down at you, giving you an apologetic look. “I’m still going to need it.” 

Tilting your head in slight puzzlement, you watch how he scoops up his girls and heads to the living room, blowing a raspberry against Naomi’s cheek, causing both of them to giggle with joy. You stand in the hallway for a bit, pondering the interaction before heading after them.

James is just undoing his sandals while your daughters busy themselves with their handcrafted peg-dolls. He looks up and meets your gaze, his form slumping a bit. With a sigh, you walk over to him, crouching down in front of him in order to remove the laces from his footwear. He gives an appreciative hum as you gently squeeze his calves, sensing the tension in his muscles.

“You need to rest.” 

“I can’t. I…” 

“…Another ministry trip.” you finish it for him as his voice trails off. James nods, his gaze momentarily going to Rebecca and Naomi, who are oblivious to their father having to leave for an extended period of time again.

As his eyes meet yours, something stirs within you. A deeply unsettling feeling blooms deep inside your stomach, a wave of sudden nausea tightening your throat. You swallow away the lump that forms. 

Being married to one of Jesus’ Disciples is a blessing in and of itself, that He had called your husband personally as His student to spread the news about the Kingdom of God around the world. The fact that said called pupil had decided to marry you of all women was still sometimes a little bit of a mystery to you. Still, it didn’t make it easy. James was often gone from home. No matter the incredible reason behind it and no matter how proud of him you were, you still missed him greatly. 

It wasn’t uncommon for James to leave on a whim, with him throwing a few items in a bag and hitting the road whenever the Spirit compelled him to go somewhere. But now… This time, it was different. Everything in your entire being is on edge, your instincts heralding something… Heart-wrenching. You can’t quite put a finger on it. 

Your husband seems to sense something, too. He reaches his hand out for you to take, his fingers lacing with yours. 

“Love, I’ll be alright.” he reassures you. “Don’t you worry about me. Just take care of your girls while I’m gone. I just— I need to go to Judea. I— I am aware that my presence isn’t really wanted there, but you knew how Jesus went about these places. We shouldn’t be scared. You shouldn’t be scared.” 

Averting your gaze, you try your hardest to not cry. Judea. Herod Agrippa won’t have mercy on him.

You know you can’t talk him out of it, and you know you shouldn’t even want it. Still, you can’t help but want to at least address your sudden concern, share the looming dread starting to take root.

“James,” you whisper, your eyes brimming with tears. “I don’t know about your trip… It is this… This gut feeling that something is going to happen to you.” 

James’ face falls into solemnity as he stands from the chair. Suddenly, he looks years older than he is; he has started to look more like Zebedee over time, but now it’s more clear than ever. 

“I was hoping that you wouldn’t feel that, too.” You’re not the only one anxious for a tragic outcome of his mission trip, “If only for the reason that you’d remain hopeful for my return and use that energy for the glory of God.” 

There is something definite behind his words that makes your throat screw shut. You inhale through your nose and attempt to sound strong. “Ah, Naomi.” The eight-year-old looks up from her playing session. “Go play outside with your sister.” 

“Yes, eema.” 

The girl fetches her sibling to bring her to the other room of the house, leaving you and James alone. 

“You aren’t coming back, are you?” 

Your voice cracks. James is on the verge of breaking, gazing down at you with tearful eyes. “This is your final ministry trip.” 

“I— I might just get imprisoned, you know? I’ll just be out there, which means that I can still return—” 

“I think you and I both know that Herod Agrippa won’t be so kind to you.” you whisper.

Certainty shines through in your words, as if you are absolutely sure of what you’re saying. Your husband gazes at you, drinking in every detail of your face. There is fear under the surface, strangely coupled with a sense of peace, albeit barely present. He gulps, trying to not cry as he steps closer to you. 

“My love...” he croaks, “I don’t know what to say. If you do not want me to go on this mission trip, I will see what I can do to reschedule, or—or perhaps cancel it altogether—”

“—No.” Your voice is stern and determined, “No. I will not let my own fears and selfish desires to keep you all to myself prevent the Good News to reach them, too.” 

James’ heart clenches inside his chest. He cradles your face, a few tears rolling down his cheeks as he holds you. “You have been the biggest blessing that has ever been bestowed upon me, my sweet, faithful wife. Every day, I am so grateful to have a woman like you by my side. I thank Adonai for you every single time I look upon you.” His voice cracks as he lets out a sob. Emotion gets the better of you, too. You sniffle and muffle a strained wail as you bury your head into his chest, enveloped by his strong arms.

“(Y/n), do not be afraid.” 

“You know I will be terrified regardless of what you say, right?” 

“Do not weep for me. I will either return to you, or I will see Jesus again.” 

The sudden image of James coming face to face with Jesus in the afterlife thrusts grief through every fibre of your being for the briefest of seconds, before it makes place for solace. Even if the unthinkable happens, your husband will be right where he needs to be. 

“This won’t be farewell,” he reassures you, “It will instead be a ‘see you soon’, hm?” 

You smile through your tears. “How soon?” 

James can’t help but mirror it, chuckling lightly as he shakes his head. “Oh, here we go again, with ‘soon’.” It never gets old, even after more than a decade.

The two of you meaningfully look at one another in a silence that is only broken by the sound of your daughters playing in the other room. The eye-contact holds an entire legacy. Nearly ten years of marriage, two beautiful girls, a calling to preach the Gospel, the Name of Jesus over these lands, no matter how hostile their rulers. 

Your soft smile falls a little as you realise what it will mean for the next few years, at least for you. You try and shake the thought — the feeling it evokes — you don’t want to be egotistical in wanting to keep James close by, fathering your children, being the husband you need to support you. But it’s only human nature to feel the horrific arms of loneliness loom over you like a dark storm cloud. 

Something hits you hard inside your chest all of a sudden, knocking all air from your lungs. A simple realisation that hadn’t even crossed your mind before. 

“You won’t see them grow up.” 

Your legs nearly give way underneath you. You won’t be growing old with him. You will not see the greys in his beard and his hair. His hands come to rest on your elbows as James senses your premature grief.  He squeezes, conveying another message by just gazing down at you, eyes filled with love.

That is not all there is to it.

It is not the end of the story.

There will be comfort in little moments reminding you of him. Sunset at the docks. The scent of a fresh catch creeping through your window as the fishermen of the village haul their wares to the market. There will be the roll of mighty thunder in a warm summer storm. There will be cinnamon cakes. His eyes in Naomi’s features and his nose in Rebecca’s.

“You don’t know that yet, (Y/n).” James steps closer, cradling your face between his hands. You relish in the sensation, melting into the familiar warmth, closing your eyes to keep your emotions from taking the better of you. You commit it to memory — as if you hadn’t done so already. “I need you to remain hopeful. Can you promise me? That you will keep praising Him, no matter how tough life gets?” 

“I will.” you breathe as your eyes snap back open again, looking up at him. He smiles and nods, bringing his forehead to yours. 

“Good.” You slide your arms around his waist and embrace him. You stand like that for a while.

“When are you leaving?” 

“Tonight.” he tells you with a wavering voice. 

“So soon?” 

He gives you a wry smile, swallowing hard as he nods. “I can still have dinner with you and the girls.” he says. “I saw you baked quite the loaf.” 

You let out a shaky breath. “Yeah, I… You better bring a big piece with you on your way to Judea. We can’t finish all of that in time with just the three of us before it gets stale.” 

James exhales deeply. “I… I wish we had more time together before I had to leave again.” 

“It’s alright.” you murmur, turning to the kitchen. Your husband follows right away to assist you in laying the table. “I knew what I was getting myself into when I married you.” 

In silence, James prepares the table whilst you get the food out, reheating a previously cooked stew to go with the bread. He comes to stand behind you, placing a hand on your waist before his lips find your cheek, then the side of your neck. You can feel his smile against your skin when you squirm a little under his rough beard. “Your stews are the best.” your husband confesses, squeezing your hip affectionately. “Especially when you let the herbs marinate into it overnight.” 

Without asking, you grab a small container from one of the shelves and scoop some of the food into it. “For on the road.” you tell him. He gives you a gentle smile and tucks some hair behind your ear.

“You make me the happiest man alive, you know that?” 

The girls are pulled back inside by the scent of your famous stew and soon cling to your waist on either side of you, their little faces mushed against your torso and bosom as they watch you cook. James watches the scene with a bittersweet heaviness in his heart, observing the way you explain your process to Naomi and Rebecca who are one day to learn your recipe by heart. The lump that forms in his throat is hard to swallow away. 

Following Jesus is not easy, especially not in times like these, when his daughters are growing up and his wife needs him so. But James knows that it is nothing compared to the price Jesus Himself had to pay, that the price of sin was infinitely heavier than any other hardship taken on in favour of submitting to Him. The Son of God has proven so Himself by giving the ultimate sacrifice. James and you would gladly give your lives for Him. Even here, even now, when the two of you had everything you ever wanted and everything to lose. 

Naomi and Rebecca sit down in their chairs the moment you tell them to, each of them on their usual spot. Diagonally across from you sits James, already slicing up the bread into equal pieces lest your daughters get fussy over it, as if the loaf isn’t large enough to feed all of you for several days. You place the warm pan onto the table and scoop portions into the plates. 

Four of them. Your heart clenches inside your chest at the notion that it might just be the final time that you’re doing this for your full, complete family. You blink away your tears, not wanting to cry in front of your daughters at this very moment. There will be time for tears later. 

Dinner goes by way too quickly, but you notice James relishing in the taste of the home-cooked meal. Five, nearly six full years of having dinner with the four of you. Granted, there had been occasional gaps in between whenever James went on mission trips, but still. You had been blessed in and of itself regardless of how much time it covered. 

After your meal, it’s time to clean for a bit whilst the girls play in the next room. Your husband insists on helping you out in lieu of packing his bags. The silence between your is pregnant with looming tension. The Spirit tells you that this is no ordinary trip, but at the same time, He brings solace in the moment. 

You help James pack a few belongings, a fresh tunic, the food you had prepared for him. Once done, you sit in the living room together, watching your children play, your head nuzzled into the crook of his neck as he holds you near. You relish in James’ familiar scent, locking it into your memory, praying it won’t fade from his tunics and from your home, praying he’ll come back to you to fill your home with love and laughter.

The sun lowers and every passing minute brings you closer to your dreaded goodbye. 

Both of you feel it. Rebecca comes over to cuddle her father, as if she senses something lingering, too.

“I need to go.” James heavily breathes against your ear, the emotion tangible in his voice. You swallow hard as you hear the words you hoped he would forget to say. 

“Okay.” you respond with equal earnesty, locking away the feeling of being in his arms deep inside your mind out of fear that you’d forget. 

“Come here, my darlings.” James beckons your daughters over to his side as he stands, crouching down to their level to face them properly. “Abba has to go on another trip.” 

“Nah, really?” Naomi pouts, wrapping her arms around his neck as she sits on his knee. James nods gently and sighs.

“Really. But don’t you worry, I will be thinking of you constantly. Now you two need to promise me something, okay?” 

The two girls nod at their father. 

“Be good girls for eema and listen to what she tells you. She will teach you everything she knows about life and you better learn from her, because she is the smartest woman I’ve ever met. And whenever eema is sad and needs a hug, you give it to her, okay?” 

“Yes, abba.” They both reply in near-unison.

Your vision blurs with tears at his words.

“Now I’m going to say goodbye to eema in the hallway. She will come get you when it’s time to wave at me.” 

The two children nod as they go back to their playing, not truly understanding the gravity of the situation. They expect their father to come back home, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

The moment you and James step into the hallway, you fall into his arms, sobbing against his chest as the tension suddenly breaks. His lips are on your forehead as he shushes you, rocking you through your premature grief about him as tears roll down his face. “My love.” he breathes, “My love, do not remain in your mourning about me. I am not yet gone. And it isn’t said that I will be.” 

“We are both feeling it, James, I—” 

“—I know. I know.” 

He holds you as you cry. You don’t know for how long you two stand there, but your cheeks are red and raw when you’ve got no tears left to spill. You wipe your face on your sleeve and sniffle before inhaling James’ scent deeply. One last time. 

“I will wait for you.” you promise.

“And if it is what the Lord wants, I will come back to you. If it is not what the Lord wants… I’ll see you in heaven, alright?” He thumbs away your tears and looks down at you with affection and devotion. “This life is just a speck compared to what we will receive when we are back with Him. This will pass, too.” 

You try to hold onto that knowledge, tuck it away inside your heart and mind. You nod and sniffle, then hug him again.

“We will meet again,” you whisper more to yourself than to James, “No matter the circumstances, no matter the location, but this is not farewell.” 

“That’s right.” James hums, “And until then, I’ll think of you and our beautiful daughters. I’m so proud of you. Now… I really need to go.” 

You hum and step away, watching how he puts his bag over his shoulder. “Do you have everything you need?” 

He nods, cupping your cheek. “I think you triple-checked.” James knows you too well. You smile and sigh. 

“Girls? Come wave at abba with me.” 

James opens the heavy door. The stars have already come out and litter the sky. Naomi and Rebecca exit the living room and instantly rush over to their father, who hides his tears from them. “I am going to miss you so much.” he whispers with a wavering voice. “Be good, okay? Keep trusting in the Lord.” 

The two girls nod before their father kisses each of their foreheads. He then stands again, reaching for the door knob. Rebecca reaches her arms up for you to pick her up, and you hoist her onto your hip. Your other hand comes to rest on Naomi’s head as she hugs your side. 

“I’ll see you soon, my love.” James says. You smile softly at him as he crosses the threshold. Plausibly — most likely the final time he ever will. 

“Soon,” you emphasise, the two of you holding a moment of meaningful eye-contact. 

He gives you a soft look, then looks down at the girls, back up at you, before starting to walk away. The three of you watch him grow smaller in the distance. “Soon.” You murmur to yourself, your heart clenching inside your chest as you feel it start to break with every step he takes away from you. 

You hug your daughters a little closer. The price of following the Lord is a heavy one to pay. But Jesus is worth everything. In the end, it will all click into place, just like the way God had intended it to. And all you can do is trust Him in that, unconditionally, without fear.

[sorrowlikefalling]

not my usual post, but i care enough to speak.

tw: mention of rape.

was never so disappointed in the world ever. the fact that felonies, misogyny, rape, and other things arent deal breakers for the so many of us is insane. you would rather a felon lead you than a woman. a woman who wouldve stuck up for women. a woman who wouldve supported this country. america, you are truly disappointing. the world was in your hands and you let that man win. the only people who dont care are the ones privileged enough not to. women and people of color have to fear for our lives now. what about the girls younger than me?. how are they gonna make it. 2028 is gonna be long from now. day one and im scared for the rest of the world. fuck everyone who is privileged enough to where your vote doesnt affect you. you changed lives. ruined some. youre disgusting. you would much rather a man like him run, because to this world masculinity equals qualified. to the men, what would your mother think? what about your daughter? your sister? your niece? why would you only preach to your benefit. donald j. trump is going to fuck a lot of people over. thats what you want? he gave police immunity. they can shoot and kill if they want. he is taking away rights from minorities. the women. the lgbtq community. your votes are rooted in the patriarchy. he is a violent man. the most important election of our lives. ruined. god bless america right? liberty and justice for all? ive always said it was bullshit. they want you to pledge to idolatry and fuck you over. the united states is under a disgusting rule. were under control. we arent being worked with. we are controlled. congratulations to the people happy. all it means is that youre privileged. enjoy your silver spoon before it rusts. some of us needed kamala as president. this is what so many people fought against. you wouldnt be here without a woman. think of that before you vote. i wish i could change minds. hes going to deport the immigrants who moved here for their kids or future generations to have a better life. you took that from them. you took our choice from us. another shot for america, but throw it to the ground. they can afford for glass to break. we are in debt in unity. not just by finances. i wish we were more of the united nations than the united states. we are united by state but not by nation. good job americana. you won. you conditioned the world to bow to you and now you got your reign. words arent meant to be on a watch list. i wish we could fight more. die for what you believe in people. they wont get it until you do. im a woman of my own. not a woman of america. you guys wont do us right anyway. woke up in fear for myself and the rest of the world. what about the children. you selfish things. your mother would never be proud of you. speak up and speak loud. if you didnt vote, youre the problem. kamala deserved that. you let her run like water through our hands. you lost her. let her slip. now our fate is in cardboard boxes. houses are paper. you know how easy it is to break that? good job. racism, fascism, transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, idolatry, right wing, white supremacists. men upheld by the social hierarchy. you win. give yourself a pat on the back. i hope you throw up and choke. you can call me a liberal, a snowflake, whatever makes you happy. i know based off of that you run most of society. capitalist fucks. bourgeoisie losers. we fought and you took it away. im gonna keep editing this and i will keep saying every word that comes to mind. do it big and do it loud. fight and scream and dont let them forget. brains on pavement mean nothing to those so high they cant see it. god america you disappoint me. fuck you and your eagles. you and your everything. selfishness. trump hates the rest of the world and the minorities in it. hes the majority. dont let him fool you. thank you.

[casteliacityramen]

MUNDAY LORE POST - OATHKEEPERS

I am a member of the Order of Arceus. Of my own volition, I shall duly carry the responsibilities of a guardian of His Majesty's creation.

I will guide existence towards enlightenment. I shall seek to prevent sudden tragedies and shepherd existence towards a better tomorrow.

I swear to place myself in danger for the sake of others--but I shall not interfere with history as it is being made, nor shall I disrupt the natural order.

I will deny positions of political power and relinquish any recognition for my actions. History shall be influenced by my covert actions, not by my overt interference.

I will not partake in actions that will bring harm to the order. I will not become a subordinate of mythical or divine beings, other than His Highest. None of the lesser gods shall know of our work.

I am one of many. I am one of few. I shall go, as His Majesty wills it. This oath, I swear.

Welcome to the Order!

(Your new body and you)

- Scribe J.

If you've ever seen a miracle happen on this planet, you have us to thank for it. Ships lost at sea finding their way back to port, natural disasters with no casualties, pack territory disputes that end in peace, etc.

We're this world's guardian angels, and if you haven't been welcomed into holding such an honorable title, let me be the first in doing so.

You're probably wondering what's different about this new body of yours (other than markings, of course).

Your body has received the blessing of Arceus.

Transformation and camouflage:

Latios and Latias typically have various ways of hiding themselves, but what we have is completely different.

Instead of bending light like you used to be able to, we have the ability to transform between living beings of our choosing. Our bodies will also take the physical attributes of our target transformation. This helps us blend in with creation and understand their physical quirks or mannerisms.

Keep in mind, this also includes biological functions and anatomy, such as nervous systems, skeletal structure, DNA, etc. It might get a little weird, at times.

Regardless of which form you take, you will still be able to perform any psychic-type functions, such as telekinesis or telepathy. However, make sure that your current form is capable of such if you decide to make yourself known. Coming up with cover stories and identities will get easier as time goes on, I promise.

If you desperately need to hide, though, you'll find that your standard light refraction works just as it did as before.

Health, Regeneration, and Lifespan:

Arceus's blessing also grants us a supernatural way of healing ourselves. If you find yourself wounded, hurt, or sick (yes you can still get sick!), your body can find itself capable of getting back to 100% after a full night's rest. Keep in mind, this has actually worked against some of us, as anything potentially harmful that has invaded your body can stay there after a case of your rapid regeneration.

Combat is ill advised. While we have all of these abilities, your offensive capability is still about what you had before you became a member of the order. Yes, comparatively, Lati are strong, but we are not invincible.

Keep in mind: while we are capable of doing much, we are still capable of getting sick, growing tired, and even dying. While we don't physically age, we are still mortal. It's easy to push yourself past the line, so make sure to take care of your body.

Misc.

You cannot get pregnant, nor get anyone pregnant (certain circumstances withholding. You'll have to ask the Big Man Upstairs His Majesty for his blessing under the condition that your offspring becomes a member of the Order.

You are still the assigned sex you were given at birth, but you are more than welcome to request a change. Again, this will need to be sent up the chain.

Please don't get too weird with transformations. We have a strict vetting process, but that doesn't mean that we haven't had our fair share of experimenters try something they shouldn't. Keep it clean.

[lifesarchive]

BELOVED by TONI MORRISON (REVIEW)

quickly: a self-emancipated woman is tormented by her past long after she’s made it to freedom (an ex-slave who has slavery living inside of her / children born in the shadow of trauma / a grandmother who can smell the future on the wind / jealous daughters who speak their minds / a house haunted by the dead / stolen milk and blessed berries / blood magic / the deep dark evil of slavery)

what a wild, lush, furious nightmare of a story. this is the story of Sethe, how she escaped slavery, and how she ended up in a house haunted by the ghost of a dead child. this is truly a southern gothic horror tale in every sense. there are psychological and physical traumas, some obtained from slavery and its perpetrators, some obtained from attempts at resisting slavery. there is magic, not the stereotypical “voodoo/hoodoo”, but something older, darker, and less defined. there’s injustice, southern lands, hard times, etc. at first, toni’s writing is like a dense forest, but once you find your footpath, the journey will carry you forward. 

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

more thoughts: SPOILERS!

Some personal context… I’ve been on the hunt for truly thrilling stories that take my breath away and Toni Morrison’s work did more than that. This read was preceded by “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson. I chose it based on it being a classic of gothic horror, a sub-genre I love. I was disappointed by its lack of thrill, passion, or anything, other than Eleanor’s unraveling. 

Enter Toni Morrison. This is my first read by the late and great author, and it couldn’t have been any more perfect of an introduction for me. I’ll never hear “southern gothic” without thinking of BELOVED, which should be the staple of the genre (sorry, not sorry, Shirley J.). Rarely have I heard this work referred to as such. (If I had, I probably would’ve read it earlier.) I almost feel ‘honored’ to have read this book, though I’m not sure why. Maybe something to do with this incredible black writer penning a story so beautifully terrifying that people forget to call it ‘horror’. Maybe because she met and exceeded what I expected, exceeded what popular culture has had me to expect, and embodied that uniqueness that comes with being called Great.

We begin in a mess of spite and timelines. A blurred view of the world, and everyone in it. From 124, the home at the center of the story, we meet Sethe and the rest of her family who are, and are not there. We are given a brief survey of all that has occurred or been endured, from people running away to a haunting being born from the death of a child. Then, Paul D, a man she hasn’t seen in years, has found his way to her.

Time is layered in this story… at times in the present, at times in the past, sometimes glimpsing the future. Morrison moves through lives and their perspectives in a God-like fashion, without warning, but with the knowledge of all things that have occurred or will come. The way she gives details and expounds on storylines can be unsettling, at first, like coming into a dense and thick forest. Without some studying of what lies before you, it can be easy to get lost. She is a writer who gives glimpses of things before unveiling a fuller truth that towers and shadows and swallows. Sometimes these glimpses of the plot can seem like you missed something, but, artfully, the revelations in future pages have a way of connecting past pages, to form a continuous story.

From behind the eyes of Sethe, her daughter Denver, and Paul D (Sethes old friend and new lover), we come to know the history of Sweet Home (the plantation the family is from) and the history of the people who left it. Through their memories and inner reflections, they relay all we need to know about who they are and why. 

In short, they belonged to “good” white people, but things changed when their owner died and others came in to rule over them. Going from being treated like dogs, to being treated like less than that, prompted them to head to freedom. Most of the core trauma of this story is sourced in that transitional period between their old master passing away and them becoming their own masters out of desperation and survival.

Throughout this story, poetically, are piercing observations, questions, and philosophical dilemmas about slavery and the white supremacy and capitalism supporting it. Toni illustrates quite sharply how monstrous this process of dehumanization is, and how profoundly evil these acts of violence were. So evil in fact, it seemed to spread throughout the entire white race, able to make itself disappear and become known at any time, even in the most “good” of whites. It is an evil so big it seems impossible to have existed (and still exist). Like its appearance should have ended the world, like some demonic apocalyptic revelation from The Bible. (A Bible that has not served the slaves well, and Toni captures this black theological resentment perfectly.)

One of the most disheartening moments is when Grandma Suggs, renowned backwoods high priestess, forgoes her ‘gift�� of preaching. After living a tormented life and finally making it to a place where she is hers, she was collapsed by the intrusion of white men into her seemingly sanctified space. Their privileged appearance and sudden disruption cause Grandma Suggs to question all of existence, finally realizing, that there is no promised land. There are no sacred spaces for them. Maybe no God for them either. She forgoes preaching and spends the rest of what little time she has, thinking about colors. Something she never had time to do as a slave. When asked if she was “punishing God” by not preaching his word, she responds, “Not like He punish me”. 

Sethe is troubled by the child that she killed, a child that has haunted 124 since she died. Paul D is able to rid the house of the spirit, but that only leads to it manifesting in physical form… a girl named Beloved. She appears out of the river one day, sick and dying, and Sethe nurses her back to life. After gaining strength, Beloved proceeds to wreak havoc on relationships and resources. It takes Denver, Sethe’s daughter, to gather the community to rid the house of Beloved, the beautiful demon born of crimes against the flesh. 

That is the story. And I am reducing it to fumes for the point of this commentary, but it is such a rich reading I’m not really spoiling anything. This brief summarization and my recounting of a fraction of my reflections is pale compared to the full color of Morrison’s masterpiece. 

Also, I must say, the Everyman’s Library binding is BEAUTIFUL and comes with useful chronologies and a short biography of the author—and it is well bound! So much better than the penguin hardcovers I see in the library sometimes, which are often too tightly sewn. Just a random note. 

And again, I am HONORED to have read such a masterful work of horror and to have experienced this world built by Toni Morrison’s words. There’s an Everyman’s Library hardcover Song of Solomon, so maybe I’ll read that soon.

[cats-of-eden-valley]

Bat anon is back with more weird, niche questions! Since I've hit a bit of a roadblock with my own writing, I was curious, how did you decide what non-feline traits to give to the prides? They're really amazing designs and wonderful worldbuilding, so it caught my eye!

Anyway, on today's episode of "Bat anon's sleep-deprived-brain questions", can the prides make any form of pottery/that kinda stuff? Considering there seems to be plenty of rivers in the Valley, it could be plausible.

Okay last question, I promise, do the prides make alcohol of any kind? Like, I know their society is primitive, but things like fermented fruit juices or mead are surprisingly easy to make if you have the things you need. Or like, imagine the outsiders have some form of alcohol and when Lotus joins the prides, they bring not only societal change, but also booze. It's a funny idea that's been I'm my head all day lmao.

What prompted this question, you ask? I fell down a rabbit hole of easy-to-make alcohol while researching for my own xenomoggy (yes, I am giving my children alcohol. they deserve it after all I've put them through lmao)

Also, I'm glad my questions didn't come off as obnoxious! And don't worry, you'll see me around plenty! I'm like a fae - you invited me into your home, and you'll not be rid of me any time soon! (/j)

Once again, no pressure to answer if you don't wanna! Feel free to tell me if my questions start to get annoying, I don't want to come off as pushy or rude.

Hope you have a beautiful rest of your day/night, and I pray the writing gods bless you with plenty of motivation!

-🦇

The non-feline traits are hard ngl (especially when I realize I. Have to draw them.) but mostly came from the thought of, okay, what would look cool AND theoretically aid their survival and support their niche within the valley

So you get Goldspring, who (used to) work together to get bigger, more dangerous prey. Armoured scaling, epsecially across the chest, not only adds weight (stronger cats, and heavier bodies to escape from) but protection as well

Coldbank are p obvious, they can fully swim with their tails and they are Quite Fast

Bogden hunt on the dark side of the Valley, where the cliff casts a shadow and makes it colder and darker, so i threw some owl in there (and weasel, when i get back to drawing them)

Windswept I went round and round on. I'd originally thought kangaroos but in the end I decided it departed too much from the Cat Body Plan, so I changed it to hare, with a sprinkling of vulture

Lotus and Petra took a bit to settle on as well, but i very much am happy with the feathers. I'll have to have a think about where a lineage like that came from

and then any other outsiders I have more freedom to just wing it, though I do know about some of the small populations that live outside of Eden, like the mountain cats

--

Yes to pottery, big yes! Pottery is seen in Bogden and Coldbank, less so in Goldspring (who prefer weaving) but they still trade for it. Windswept like being able to pick up and go, so you almost never see pottery there

--

ALCOHOL i mean!! man I haven't thought about it (I've thought more about plants that they might smoke, which granted isn't much either fjfj)

Honestly I'd have to do research but if there was justifiable means and desire/usage/purpose I'd def incorporate it at least somewhere

Maybe...Maybe mountain cat booze...

[innocentwalker]

ORIGINAL CHARACTER         ⸻         ADALINA JASMINE WALKER !

 /   ❝   INTRODUCTION   ─    

NAME:         adalina jasmine walker

⸻ ADALINA.         the name is of german origin and means "noble". this name was given to her by her mother. its the only thing that she remembers from before the age of five. 

         • °. ─ PRONOUNCIATION /         uh-duh-lee-nuh

⸻ JASMINE.         the name is of persian origin and means "gift from god". this name was picked by her adopted parents who wanted to give her a J name like the rest of the walker family. but also it fit due to her being a blessing on their family as they had always wanted a daughter. 

        • °. ─ PRONOUNCIATION /         jaz-mhn

⸻ WALKER.         the name is of english origin and means "fuller of cloth" which was a old career title. this is her adopted father's last name. 

        • °. ─ PRONOUNCIATION /         waw-kuh

NICKNAMES:

⸻ LINA.        a shortening of her name but more than that the name means "delicate" which sums up how her family tends to treat her. 

DATE OF BIRTH:       june 2nd ( twenty ) 

STAR SIGN:       gemini

GENDER:        female ( she / her )

SEXUALITY:         pansexual

BIRTHPLACE:         dresden, germany

LANGUAGES:         english, spanish

( her adopted parents are of spanish and colombian decent so she was raised in a spanish speaking household.  )

 /   ❝   PERSONA !   ─    

PERSONALITY:         

⸻ adalina tends to be more on the shy side then her cousins, the female is easy to become bashful. her mother always said it was due to her introverted ways and the way that the rest of the family have always babied her. she is someone who tends to be very passionate and energetic about the things she holds dear to her. she has a love for the romantic genre, and its something she can ramble about for hours at a time. she struggles with negativity from other people. being babied since she was five years old, she isn't used to people having a negative thought about her or anything she does so whenever someone disapproves of anything to do with her - she tends to shut down and push away from the person. she is reluctant to open up to people who are rude to her, thoough she does try to make people like her. like she craves their affection. she has a creative streak that she showcases in the form of playing the piano. she loves to play whenever she needs something to distract her from things. 

MYERS BRIGGS:         infj - the advocate

⸻ STRENGTHS.       insightful, principled, passionate, altruistic, creative

⸻ WEAKNESSES.        sensitive to criticism, reluctant to open up, perfectionistic, avoiding the ordinary, prone to burnout

LIKES:         romance songs/novels/movies, sugary treats, massages, hugs

DISLIKES:        negative people, therapists, crude lyrics in music, loud cars

HABITS:        lip-syncing lyrics under her breath if she hears music in public, writing daily in her journal, chewing on the edge of her pen / pencils when she's focused. 

FEARS:        enclosed spaces, cages and the dark. all things that she knows is connected to her past but she has no clue the finer details. 

ALLERGIES:        cat hair. 

MENTAL HEALTH:        adalina struggles with panic attacks and chronic nightmares. she doesn't remember what happened before she was five but she knows she has nightmares and sometimes can be triggered by things. 

PHYSICAL HEALTH:        she's perfectly healthy

OCCUPATION/CAREER:        despite the family business of being involved in illegal activities, adalina wants to help people so it was no surprise when she started to study "social work" at college, though outside of school she works as a nail technician to make extra money. 

 /   ❝   VISAGE   ─    

APPEARANCE:         adalina has light brown curls that reach the middle of her back but she tends to straighten her hair sometimes. her eyes are a soft brown. she is short and petite, she has doe eyes and tends to look adorable. 

        • °. ─ FACECLAIM / martina stooessel

        • °. ─ HEIGHT&WEIGHT / five foot four inches / 54 kilos

MODE OF DRESS:         adalina tends to go for sweet outfits like sundresses, sweaters and simple shirts with things like stars, butterflies, or hearts on it. 

BODY MODIFICATIONS:         she has her ears pierced, she also has a secret tattoo on her ribs that reads "she's better than happy, she's free"

GENERAL SCENT:         flowers, pine and a hint of honey. 

/   ❝   RELATIONS   ─   

FAMILY:         

⸻ JAVIER WALKER.        adopted father; she was extremely close to the man who took her in. she adored him so much and was considered his "princess". he died when she was in her early teens and it broke her heart when she found out after his death that he wasn't her biological father. she doesn't accept it and sees him as her father in all senses. 

⸻ ADRIA WALKER-SANCHEZ.        adopted mother; they have always been super close though as adria and kade's relationship fell apart, she started to mention her mother less around kade. 

⸻ KADE WALKER.        older adopted brother; they are extremely close to each other, hes very protective over the girl. 

EXTENDED FAMILY:         

⸻ DIEGO WALKER & CAMILLA REYES.     adopte uncle and aunt; adrianna and levi's parents. shes fairly close to them. 

⸻ MATEO WALKER & SOFIA LUCAS.    adoped uncle and aunt; knox and elias's parents. she gets along well with them. 

⸻ TRISTIAN THOMAS & MIRABELLE WALKER.     adopted uncle & aunt ; tristian's parents. she doesn't really remember them much since they died when she was fourteen. they were always kind to her though. 

⸻ TOMAS WALKER & JAMES DAVIS.     adopted uncle and uncle;  percy, arlo and nathaniel's fathers. they adore and spoil her a lot

⸻ RICHARD THOMAS & OLIVIA MILLER.     adopted uncle and aunt ( extended ); dean and zachariah's parents. she's never met them. 

⸻ JACKSON THOMAS & ARABELLA LEWIS.     adopted uncle and aunt ( extended ); remington's parents. never met them. 

⸻ LEVI WALKER.     adopted cousin; he is her most responsible cousin and he looks after her a lot. 

⸻ ELIAS WALKER.      adopted cousin; they dont often hang out unless at family events

⸻ ADRIANNA WALKER.      adopted cousin; they are extremely close despite being very different. 

⸻ TRISTIAN WALKER.     adopted cousin; he clashes with kade a lot, but adores adalina a lot. hes the only one who knows about her tattoo. 

⸻ DEAN WALKER.      adopted extended cousin; they don't interact much. 

⸻ REMINGTON WALKER.      adopted extended cousin; they get along well, he taught her most of the things about technology that she knows. 

⸻ NATHANIEL WALKER.     adopted cousin; he is very protective over her and she idolizes him a bit. 

⸻ ARLO WALKER.     adopted cousin; they get along alright.

⸻ PERCY WALKER.     adopted cousin; they are pretty close. she thinks hes hilarious. 

⸻ KNOX WALKER.     adopted cousin; they have bonded a lot once its revealed that she was adopted as well. 

⸻ SAGE WALKER.     first cousin, once removed;  levi's daughter, she spoils her way too much. 

⸻ FERN WALKER.     first cousin, once removed; levi's daughter, she spoils her way too much. 

⸻ ZACHARIAH WALKER.     extended cousin; she tends to help him with his homework sometimes. 

⸻ KAI WALKER.     extended cousin, once removed; she loves those baby cuddles. 

⸻ KELSEY WALKER.     adopted cousin, once removed; arlo's daughter, she sends her gifts all the time and loves catching up at christmas. 

PETS:         

⸻ BULLET.     dobermann ; technically kade's dog but she loves him a lot. 

⸻ GUNNER.     great dane ; technically kade's dog but she loves him a lot. 

 /   ❝   BIOGRAPHY   ─ trigger warnings : abandonment, kidnapping, human trafficking, death 

HOW THEIR PARENTS MET AND THE LEAD UP TO THEIR BIRTH:         

⸻ adalina's birth father is unknown, but her parents had a one night stand, and her mother tried to keep him around with the idea of a baby, but once adalina was born he decided he wanted nothing to do with her or the baby.

THEIR LIFE SO FAR:         

⸻  adalina was born into sadness and heartbreak. her mother hated the baby the second she was born and quite literally tossed her into a garbage dumpster only hours after she was born. she would be found close to death, all blue and cold - it took doctors nearly two hours to get her stable from the cold chill in her body. with no clue who she was, she was placed into a orphanage. when she was two years old she would be kidnapped from a playground. she was placed inside of a cage in a storage shed, where the group of german mafia members would try to train her to be a well-behaved child so they could sell her off to someone once she was a bit older. thankfully her luck would change though when javier walker, leader to a crime family would hear about the ring, he was always breaking them up to take over land. he had been visiting some friends when he heard about it. he would end up taking out the group, and returned all the children to their parents but when it came to adalina, he found out that she was a orphan and something about the wide eyed girl who clung to her hero made him soft. his wife had always wanted a daughter, and the rarity of walker's having daughters meent that he knew it might not happen for her. so he decided to adopt the girl. thankfully, adalina has no memories of her life before she was adopted. her new family doted on her and loved her intensely. when she was twelve her brother would end up sent to prison. she hated not having kade around. but it only got worse when her dad would die when she was fifteen years old. it was around this time when she was helping clean up his office that she would find the adoption paperwork finding out she wasn't biologically his child. she was heartbroken but never told anyone else that she knew the truth. she liked living in her oblivious state. when her brother got out of prison the male took her right under his wing and took over the family business. 

/   ❝   MISC   ─    

EXTRA INFORMATION:         

⸻ ONE.      she went to a all-girl private school growing up. 

⸻ TWO.       she has never been kissed. 

 ⸻ THREE.       she always donates money whenever asked when shopping. 

PLAYLIST:         

⸻ "MY OWN ADVICE".      BY ALANA SPRINGSTEEN

 " why is it easier to love them than to love myself?"

⸻ "ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW".      BY SLANDER

 " i'll lift you when your feeling low "

⸻ "THIS FEELING".     BY THE CHAINSMOKERS

 " they tell me think with my head, not that thing in my chest "

[jdgo51]

DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FEBRUARY 26, 2023

1st Sunday in Lent

By R. J. (Mwanza, Tanzania)

READ MATTHEW 11:25-30

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

MATTHEW 11:28-29 (NIV)

"In many overwhelming times of my life, I held on to this scripture. Each season was challenging in its own way, but the major reason I clung to this scripture was my past — a life I had lived, what I had done, what I had said, how I had hurt my loved ones.

Every time I was in a situation that reminded me of everything I had done in the past, I fell to my knees with tears flowing on my face. I called upon Jesus, and every single time he reminded me of his love and that he died for me not because I was perfect but because I needed a savior.

During the season of Lent we remind ourselves of everything Jesus has done for us. We all have different burdens that take away our strength and make us weary. But when that burden brings us to our knees, we can release it at the feet of Jesus and be at rest." May the knowledge of God's sacrifices and His care bring you to your knees. All things have been done for you , even the gift of His Son.

TODAY'S PRAYER

"Dear Jesus, thank you for your unending love for us. Help us to trust your love so that we can release our burdens and live abundantly with you." Amen.

Matthew 11:25-30

New International Version

The Father Revealed in the Son

2"'5 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”' Come unto God and know Jesus will give you the rest, peace and light burden all together. Believe it and receive it. We are blessed every day by God and are filled with love because of Jesus. Accept and put forth this great thing. Joe

[doves-by-the-sea]

What God has to say is better than what man has to offer.

Life is stressful. Very stressful. Everyone has their own situations that they find themselves in that fight for their attention and mind like wild dogs. We tend to be prone to overthinking and when we sit down and think about all of the stresses we encounter, trying to plan out every aspect of life and control every little thing it can become overwhelming. So yeah, life is stressful.

But it doesn’t have to be as stressful as we make it. Continuously the Lord is calling to us, asking that we lay our burdens at His feet and allow Him to take care of us. He will carry our burdens with ease, nothing is too great for the Lord.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30

We needn’t worry about trying to control everything when everything is in His hands. Surrendering our troubles to Him affords us much peace and, in a way, breathing room. Not only does the Lord ask that we give our burdens to Him, He has provided us with ways of comfort when we find ourselves in stormy water. I’m not saying that a cup of tea, a fluffy blanket and your favorite movie are not excellent methods of making yourself feel better, but what I am saying is…

When you find yourself in the midst of the storm, do not look towards the sinking sand of the shoreline. Look instead to the strong rock of salvation, who reaches His hand out to you and calls to you from within the waves, wind and rain.

Remember, Jesus calmed the storm when out at sea with His disciples. There is no doubt that He can find you in the midst of yours.

Before you go crawling into your fluffy blanket cocoon with a nice cup of tea to watch The Princess Bride or whatever movie your comfort movie is, first go to God. Pray, and tell Him of your burdens and feelings. He cares, and will listen for as long as you need, and is fully prepared to offer you all of the peace and comfort He has in store. Lay your burdens at His feet, and He will give you true peace and rest. Not only this, but spend time in the Lord’s word. Whenever I find myself in a low place, in need of comfort and peace, I try my best to always tell God what I am dealing with and then read His word, finding that it brings comfort. My go to personally is the Psalms, but everyone may have their own comforting area and that is up to you to discover, and for the Lord to guide you too. After all of this, grab your blanket, your tea and your movie and settle in. Rest.

But first, remember, take your issues and burdens to the Lord. Then, spend time in His word. Because while fluffy blankets and movies are nice, what God has to say is better than what man has to offer.

Sending you love, and may the Lord keep you in His hand and His perfect peace that surpasses all understanding.

Blessings,

XOXO

-J

(Header image is not mine, all credit goes to the original owner. If it’s your image feel free to message me for credit or removal <3)

[nocturnalwildflower]

hi ✨lovely✨ can i request a blurb with prompts 4 & 1 with jj maybank?

p.a. i think you’re amazing 🤍

shattered; jj maybank

prompt #1: “Why does it matter to you? You don’t even care!”

prompt #4: “I’d like to see you try and stop me.”

warning(s): cursing, mention of abuse, sad jj :(

word count: 0.7k

a/n: this was longer than I wanted it to be and also written like actual crap but ayo I'm back! also anon thank you for thinking I'm amazing 🥺

masterlist ♡ prompt list

you knew jj like the back of your hand – you knew exactly when he was lying through his teeth, when he got into a fight with his dad, when he was having an off day, anything that was out of the ordinary was usually easy for you to pick up. so when he hadn’t answered you in almost 3 days, you knew something was up. kiara and the other pogues were just as concerned as you were so you decided to have an intervention at his place. you had all made plans to meet at jj’s to talk about the plan to extract the gold, but you and the pogues got a surprise instead.

kiara had just parked her SUV and popped the trunk as you began unloading all the equipment that was stuffed in it before seeing lights come on. you heard kiara mutter a small ‘what the hell’ before going to investigate, you and pope following closely behind. eventually you found the source – jj’s hot tub, except jj didn’t have a hot tub. you picked your brain trying to figure out where it came from before you realized he spent the money you had taken from barry’s trailer.

“jj where the hell have you been?!” kiara questioned.

“you scared the fuck out of us jj! I thought something was seriously wrong or that you were hurt!” you seethed angrily, pain lacing your voice.

“why does it matter to you? you don’t even care!” he screeched as he stood up, revealing his torso area. you let out a small gasp as you examine his torso from afar, massive purple and blue bruises covering the majority of it. you began to move towards the hot tub slowly, making an attempt to not anger him more.

“jj-” you began before he cut you off.

“you’re just going to fucking leave like everyone else does y/n, might as well spare me the heart wrenching goodbye when you could just rip the band-aid off and fucking leave,” he growled in an angry tone. you knew jj better than you knew yourself, but you had never seen him act like this before and you knew that his dads abuse was finally catching up to him. you climbed into the hot tub, putting your arms around him and letting him fall slightly into your chest as he sobbed. you could tell he as exhausted and could no longer deal with his dad.

“jj, I want you. you are the kindest soul I have ever met, and you’ve been nothing but a blessing to my life. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, I want to build a life with you, and I’ll keep telling you that until the day I fucking die because I love you from the bottom of my heart j, I don’t care how long it takes for you to believe me,” you said in a small voice as his face softened at your words. he looked at the salty tears running down your face now, trying to understand how someone as sweet as you would want to be with someone like him.

“y/n, you don’t have to-”

“I’d like to see you try and stop me,” you said in a heavyhearted tone. jj looked down at you with a somber look plastered on his face as he pulled towards his torso. you could still feel him shaking from the meltdown he just had, however you kept your arms wrapped around him just gently enough to not harm him even more and brought your head to his torso as he calmed down. eventually he placed 2 fingers under your chin, lifting it so your eyes met.

“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve an angel like you in my life but god y/n I hope you never leave me, I have no idea what I would do without you by my side. I fucking love you so much,” jj said as he looked into your eyes. you smiled, letting the heat rise up to your cheeks before responding.

“don’t worry loverboy, I’m not going anywhere.”

[iceeckos12]

and he sees dawn before the rest of the world

or: a fucked up little au of 200. intended to be unsettling so just be warned warnings for: unreality (i think that’s the appropriate term? please lmk if not), implied self harm, fucked up relationship dynamics; lmk if i should tag anything else

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

“Ugh, five more minutes,” Martin hissed, throwing an arm across his face, as though he could stop the barrage of sound just by covering his eyes. His alarm was unsympathetic to his whinging, continuing to scream its daily mourning dirge, grieving the end of another period of blessed rest. “Fine, fine! I’m getting up, christ…”

He reached clumsily for the phone on his bedside table, only for his fingers to scrabble uselessly around the ghost of its presence. He was momentarily so stymied by the absence that it took him longer than it should’ve to remember that he’d moved it to his desk, to prevent him from giving into the temptation to hit the snooze button just one more time.

Letting out another slew of curses, Martin shuffled onto his other side and reached for

A jaw-cracking yawn near split Martin’s face in two as he hunched over the gleaming tea kettle, steam beginning to pour from the spout. He shuffled his feet, eyes meandering sightlessly over the cow-shaped mug drying on the counter, the cluster of crumbs that he must’ve missed when cleaning up after dinner last night.

He hated mornings. Maybe it was the preemptive dread he felt at the thought of going to work; maybe it was because he hated having to be upright this early in the morning. Either way, he felt strangely disconnected from his morning routine, each motion carried out with habitual, distant efficiency as his thoughts raced along like a hamster on a wheel just below the surface.

It...was a bit silly for him to be worried about work, though. The stuff he was doing was interesting, and he had the loveliest coworkers a guy could ask for. They’d even offered to teach him a thing or two about artifact restoration once they learned the truth about his CV.

He drew himself up to his full height and rolled his shoulders back, clouded sigh mingling with the fog from the boiling water. Things were going well. Hell, he was actually going to get top surgery sometime in the next year or so, which was amazing considering his teenage self would’ve laughed at the very idea of being out.

There was no reason to dread going to work.

Martin carefully poured the water into the mug, letting the tea steep before adding a splash of milk and sugar. When he picked the mug up, the heat from the tea had bled into the ceramic, so warm as to be uncomfortable against the delicate skin of his palms. He didn’t let go, just kept on gripping the mug, like trying to contain the last gasp of a dying star.

Martin stared around his kitchen. The waterstains on the inside of the cow mug slowly evaporating into the still air; the crumbs that had sat there for who knows how long. The empty, blank face of his fridge.

Martin lifted the mug, and steam collected on his glasses as his breath wafted over the surface of the tea. He drew away, waiting for the lenses to clear, before leaning in for another sip.

His reflection stared back at him, a monochrome facsimile of his face rimmed in white smoke, and he recoiled, the mug slipping from

Working nine to five, what a way to make a living…

Martin stared out the window, his hand pillowed in the palm of his hand as Dolly Parton crooned in his ears. Split second by split second, he let his eyes catch on a point in the darkened surroundings, only letting his vision blur into incoherence when that fixed point whipped out of sight. It was a game he sometimes played when he got bored of reading or playing cards on his phone.

The old woman across from him let out a quiet grunt and shuffled, drawing his attention back inside the train. She was a gnarled old thing, bowed by the gravity of grief and time and life, though Martin couldn’t say for certain whether it was one well-lived.

Barely getting by, it’s all taking and no giving...

That was the thing about people watching: Martin was never quite sure if it was disrespectful to make assumptions about a person’s life based on a passing glimpse. He could never be sure if the person with the grumpy expression had a foul attitude, or if they were just a kind person on the tail-end of a truly awful day.

The old woman was knitting though, and Martin generally found it safe to assume that knitters were nice people.

For a moment he thought about taking out his headphones and striking up a conversation; the pattern looked devilishly complicated, and as a beginning knitter, he always appreciated tips. There was an unfinished set of fingerless green gloves in the back of his closet; it was easy for hands to get cold in the Archives, and the color suited

“Alright, Martin?”

Martin startled, his pen clattering to the floor. He looked up to find Sasha perched on the edge of his desk, grinning like the cat who’d just eaten the canary. Or, he thought she was. His eyes kept skittering from one corner of her face to the other, like a smooth stone skipping across a lake.

“Uh…” Frowning slightly, he let his gaze travel over the shelves of books, the humming lights, his cluttered workstation. He removed his glasses so he could rub at his aching eyes, and let out a deep sigh. Probably just the stress. “Yeah—yeah! Sorry, I’ve been distracted all morning.”

Martin got the impression of Sasha’s grin being tempered with genuine concern. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is everything okay?”

“I think so. Just...work, and my mum…” he gave an expansive you know sort of gesture at life in general. “Thank god the weekend’s coming. Anyway, is there something I can help you with?”

“Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to come get drinks with Mel and Tim and I after work, but…” She cut him a meaningful glance, the bottomless holes where her eyes should be boring bright spotlights into the back of his skull. “We’d understand if you’re not feeling up to it.”

“Is Georgie coming?”

Sasha shrugged. “Probably. Mel didn’t say so, but they’ve been all over each other since they started dating.”

Martin laughed. “True.” Tried to gauge how he was feeling, whether or not he was up to a night of socializing. You should go, a strangely posh little voice murmured in the back of his head, and he found himself saying, “Actually yeah, I would like to come. I could use a night out.”

Sasha clapped him on the shoulder, and the impact rattled through him like a gong being struck. The echoes of it vibrated all the way down to his toes. “Excellent.”

Martin hesitated, and then, not entirely sure of what he was asking, “What about J

“Thanks for waiting with us,” Georgie said, smiling beatifically up at him. Passed out on her shoulder, Melanie let out a drunken snuffle and curled over, like she was thinking of climbing through the spaces of Georgie’s ribcage and sleeping in her chest cavity forever.

“Not a problem,” Martin replied, scratching the back of his neck.

To be honest, waiting with her was as much for his benefit as theirs. At first, he’d thought it was just stress; now, he was very sure that something was wrong. It wasn’t anything specific, or even bad; more like there was a sepia camera filter tinting the world dusty and nostalgic.

After his third drink, he’d looked into Tim’s laughing face and thought he might burst into tears. And he still didn’t know what Sasha was supposed to look like.

But he didn’t want to worry her, so he just bit his lip and rocked back and forth on his heels, even though the motion made his head spin that much worse.

(Maybe he needed to take a couple of days off. Have a lie-in. But that would—that would delay his work. The Institute’s work. Delays were bad; he felt strongly enough about that to carve it directly into his skin so that he’d never forget. He could roll down his sleeve and take a peek at it whenever his motivation slipped, like checking a watch for the time.)

For lack of anything else to say, he nodded toward Melanie. “She’s really out, huh?”

“She’s always been a lightweight.” Her tone was wry, but her eyes were soft and fond as she brushed Melanie’s bangs back from her face. “Never gets hungover though, the lucky bastard.”

“The nerve!” Martin said, affecting offense, which sent them right into another giggling fit.

Once he got his breath back, Martin mentioned offhand, “You know, considering how similar they are, I’m surprised that her and J̷̧̱̜͕͕̤͉̣̺̺̝͖̠̹̜͙̣͉̩̺̤̟͉͓̞̹̗́̆̂̋͆̊̎́͂̑͋̌͊͘̚͠ͅo̶̧̨͕̖͔̬̖̝̪͚̻̟̠̜̣̰̅n̶̥̉́̎͑̀͂͆̿̾͛̾̔̐͌́̅̂͂̒̆̐́͊̄̾̍̅̅͝

“Stop it!” Martin screamed, grabbing the mug from the counter and throwing it across the room. It shattered against the wall, scattering shards of ceramic across the floor. “I know

“What you’re doing,” Martin gripped the bathroom counter, ignoring the persistent ringing of his alarm, staring deeply into his reflection, “Stop it, stop it, nononon̴̡̡͚̮̠͙̻͔͎͈̜̓̈́̈́͜͜ͅǫ̸̯̠̱̖̲͙͍͎͒̇̑͒ṅ̶̨̩̳̩̝̹̳͎͈̬̦͆́̈́́͐̏̈́̕͝͝o̸̡̻̱̗̥̮̙̳̞͗̄͋̈́̀͝n̸̢̛̟͙̘̱̩͕̦̫̤̮͆͑̊͋́̂̽͜o̶̘̱̗̘̘͑̿͜ņ̶̥̞̠͕͓̠͔͚̮͈̬͕̀͗̄̓͑͑͛̕ͅő̸̮̫̓͌̾̌͋́̂̏̒̃̃̄̚n̵̗̫͕̺̻͔̭͖̉͒͗̀̈́̃̅o̴͓͉͉͗͋̎̕—”

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m sorry, it’s okay—”

“No!” Martin shrieked, shoving Jon’s hands away, skittering backward across the broken and cracked stones of the Panopticon. Through the arched windows, the sky was a poisonous green and black, and multitudes of eyes orbited the room, watched his every movement with sickening fascination. “Just—stop.”

Luminous gaze weary and resigned, Jon did as he was bid, dropping back onto his heels.

Rubbing sweat and grime and tears from his face, breathing harshly through his mouth, Martin took a moment to remember where he was, why he was here. It always took a moment for everything to come back.

As though unable to keep silent any longer, Jon asked, “So what was it this time?”

“Don’t,” Martin hissed, dragging his hands through his greasy hair.

Though his expression went mulishly annoyed, Jon raised his hands placatingly, a silent, alright, you win. It was a familiar gesture, one that he’d done so many times while they were living in Scotland, while they were traveling the devastated landscape of the apocalypse. It made Martin ache for when things were simpler, when his heart didn’t just feel like one big bruise.

He gently set the thought aside, and turned a more assessing eye on the Panopticon. Normally the changes were insignificant, but something thick and red and black had started to coil around the windows, weaving in and out of the floor, cracking the stonework. Martin traced the strange things with his eyes, frowning—

“Christ, Jon,” he whispered in horrified realization. “Are...are those corpse roots?”

Jon bobbed his head. “They’ve long since overtaken the rest of London. It’s just us, now.”

Martin sucked in a long, frustrated breath through his teeth. There was no point trying to talk any sense into Jon, not after so long, and force would only result in immediately getting kicked back into that horrible dream world.

“And the others?”

Jon shrugged, tracing the cracks in the earth with his fingers. “Still alive, and living happily in the dream I made for them.” He didn’t say, unlike you, but the implication was so loud he might as well have screamed it.

“Shut up,” Martin muttered, pushing to his feet and limping to one of the windows.

Corpse roots, as far as the eye could see. They covered the city of London in a blanket of tangled black, so thick that it was impossible to see the buildings beneath.

“Was it worth it?” he asked, sagging against the side of the window, too tired to be angry.

When the silence persisted a second too long, Martin turned around to find Jon with his head tilted back, examining the corpse roots consuming what had once been the Beholding’s seat of power, expression distant and thoughtful. The eyes, ever-watching, never understanding, drifted closer, greedily drinking in the sight.

When Martin realized that Jon wasn’t planning on answering, he let out another sigh, ruffled his bangs away from his face, and said, “You’re never there.”

Jon’s gaze snapped to him with a laser-edged focus. “Sorry?”

“If you’re going to trap me in a dream,” Martin said, each syllable clipped and precise, “You could at least be there.”

Like it always did, Jon’s face crumpled, and he looked away. “...I don’t deserve it.”

“Oh, we’re well past that and you know it!” Martin shrieked, striking his fist against the stone. “You made your fucking decision to damn the world, to hell with whatever we thought, the least you could do is stop hiding behind your pointless guilt and act like this is what you actually want!”

It would’ve been better, if Jon had simply become drunk with power and was no longer listening to reason. The fact that he’d made this same decision every single day with clear, unclouded eyes and sound judgement—as Jon the human, rather than Jon the lynchpin of the apocalypse, pupil of the Eye—made Martin want to scream.

“I do want it!” Jon snapped back, then quieter, “I do.” He looked up at the corpse roots again, eyes going misty. “I just—I should witness every second of misery and pain that I’m causing. I don’t deserve to just...forget.”

Wind snapped and howled around them like a creature mad with rage, and Martin idly wondered what would happen to this world once Jon died. If it would all go back to the way it had been before, or if the shell of the apocalypse would remain until the end of time, a corpse husk of a reality warped beyond repair.

“You shouldn’t have to experience this alongside me though,” Jon continued, rallying. “So I would really appreciate it if you’d stop breaking your dreams.”

“Tough,” Martin snapped back, folding his arms obstinately over his chest.

“You could be happy!” Jon reiterated, stabbing his index finger into the palm of his hand. “You could just...live your life! Forget! There’s no point in being here.”

“It’s a deal, remember? Where you go, I go. Fuck you very much, but I don’t break my promises.”

Jon stared at him for one beat, then another—and then promptly burst out laughing, his whole body shaking with the force of it. Martin stared at him, utterly bewildered, as the laughing slowly began to dissolve into desperate, heaving sobs, as he began rocking back and forth, arms wrapped around himself in a mockery of comfort.

“I miss you,” Jon gasped out, half-crazed. “So much. I miss you every day even though you’re right in front of me. But I can’t go to you, because I don’t deserve to, not when I’m the one who trapped you here. I’m everything that’s wrong with the world. I always have been.”

“Jon,” Martin sighed, low and tired.

Jon buried his face into his knees. “No, you shouldn’t—you shouldn’t forgive me just because you pity me, that’s not what I—I don’t—”

“Who said anything about forgiveness?” Martin shook his head. “Fine. You’re an asshole, and I hate you. But it’s like I said.” He gestured toward the Panopticon, the roots, the poisonous sky. “When has deserving ever mattered?”

Jon lifted his face from his knees, though his gaze stayed rooted to the floor. “...I suppose.”

“Right,” Martin agreed. “I’ve accepted that you’re not going to change your mind, but...at the very least, I don’t want to die alone. So can you please just…”

There was a long, weighted pause.

They’d had arguments like this what felt like hundreds of times before. Martin begging for Jon to change his mind, Jon refusing with that same resigned, determined expression on his face, before sending Martin back into his dreams.

Maybe it was because Martin wasn’t asking him to change his mind this time. Maybe it was because they were so close to the end of all things, and soon they’d be the last two people on earth. Maybe it was because Jon was tired, had been for so, so long, and he had won anyway, so there was no point in fighting any longer.

“Alright,” Jon whispered.

…

…

...

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

“Ugh, five more minutes,” Martin hissed, throwing an arm across his face.

Somewhere in the far distance, the toilet flushed. A moment later, a pair of feet padded lightly into the room, hesitated at the edge of the bed, and then made their way over to the desk. The alarm abruptly went silent.

Martin uncovered his eyes and grinned up at Jon as he tentatively slid back between the covers, every movement careful and deliberate, like he was reading stage directions from a script.

“Look at Mr. Workaholic, having a lie-in,” Martin teased, pulling Jon into his arms and inhaling the scent of his coconut shampoo. “Must be the end of the world, or something.”

Jon stiffened for just a moment, before turning around and burying his face into Martin’s chest. “Or something.”

[dontcare77ghj]

Stop

Tony x reader x Steve x Natasha

Notes; The reader has powers akin to Psylocke from X-Men. Also, I would have uploaded sooner, but it was my birthday yesterday, and I forgot. Sorry.

"I'm gonna miss the beard." You said, watching Steve as he shaved off the beard he had grown.

"Tony never liked it," Steve commented. "He said it was too scratchy." 

"Like he can talk." Natasha snorted, coming up behind you and wrapping her arms around your waist. "We're going to find him, Steve." She promised the blonde.

"And what if he was dusted?" Steve asked, turning to you. "What then?"

"We bring him back," Natasha said. "He can't get away from us that easy." She joked, causing Steve to laugh weakly.

"Y/N, you're awful quiet," Steve noted as he and Natasha looked at you. 

"He needs to come home." You said, looking up.

"We know. Carol's looking for him now. If he's out there, we'll find him." Natasha assured you.

"No, he needs to come back to us." You said, placing a hand on your stomach. 

"Y/N?" Steve asked, taking a step forward.

"We're pregnant." You announced, flashing a watery smile at both your partners. "I felt really sick after the battle and had FRIDAY scan me. We're five weeks pregnant."

"This is amazing, Y/N!" Natasha cheered, turning you in her arms to kiss you deeply. "We're going to be parents!"

"This is such fantastic news," Steve said, pulling both you and Natasha into his arms. "Our family is growing." He smiled, putting his hand on your stomach.

"That's why Tony has to come home. So he can be here. I don't want to just tell this baby about Tony. I want them to have all their parents raise them."

"We'll get him back," Steve promised you. "Whatever it takes."

Before any of you could say another word, there was a loud humming sound that shook the walls of the building.

"FRIDAY, what was that?" Natasha demanded.

"It appears Carol Danvers has returned. She is carrying a large spacecraft with her."

"Tony." The three of you said before rushing outside. 

Bruce, Rhodey, and Pepper quickly joined the three of you, and soon the six of you were all gathered on the front lawn, watching as Carol flew down.

You'd never believed in God before, but at this moment, you found yourself praying Tony was on that ship and alive.

As the ship was placed on the ground, the door opened. A raccoon walked out, followed by a blue woman and then,

"Tony!" You shouted, rushing forward with Natasha and Steve on your heels.

Tony looked half dead. He was incredibly pale and thin. His form was shaking as you pulled him into your arms.

"You're alive. You're here." You whispered, clinging onto his shirt tightly. When Tony didn't respond, you took a step back and allowed Natasha and Steve to embrace him.

"I lost the kid." Tony gasped after Steve pulled away.

"Tony, we all lost," Steve told him with a grimace. 

"You need to get looked over," Natasha demanded, putting one of Tony's arms around her shoulders. 

"No, we need to talk about him," Tony said, panting by the end of his short sentence.

"You need to go to the infirmary." You said, narrowing your eyes at the man. "You're about to collapse."

As Steve wrapped his thick arm around Tony's midsection, Tony seemingly lost his fight and slumped in their hold. 

After having rested for a while, Tony explained what had happened on Titan to you all. When Nebula announced that she may know where Thanos could be, everyone prepared to leave.

Everyone except you.

You had volunteered, been forced to stay behind by Natasha and Steve, to stay with Tony.

"Tony, you need to stay in bed." You sighed, gently pushing on his shoulders. 

"I can't stand this. Who invented bedrest? I just want to talk to them." Tony grumbled, leaning back against his pillows.

"Yeah, I don't think you can talk to him. He died in 1914." You informed him. 

"Absolutely ridiculous," Tony said under his breath. 

You were about to reply to him when a sudden bout of nausea overwhelmed you. You rushed over to the trashcan by the door and lost this morning's breakfast.

"Y/N?" 

"I'm fine. Just give me a second." You said before throwing up again. "Ugh, that's gross." You complained once you were done.

"What the hell was that? Are you okay? Are you sick? Is it the flu?" Tony asked in rapid-fire succession. 

"I'm fine, hon." You cut him off. "I'm gonna put this in the hall. This is disgusting." You said before moving the can into the hallway.

"Are you gonna tell me what that was?" Tony asked as you moved back to his bedside.

"I was going to wait until Natasha and Steve got back, but now's going to have to do." You sighed, taking his hand. "I'm pregnant, Tony."

Tony went quiet. He didn't say anything as he stared at you.

"Tony?"

"We're going to need to start planning for a nursery. I'll get FRIDAY to call a designer and have them send over some color swatches. Do you know if it's a girl or a boy? How far along are you?" Tony asked as he grabbed his tablet from the side table. "FRIDAY, can you download baby books for first-time parents? Do you think there are youtube videos we could watch?"

"Tony, I'm barely following a thing you're saying." You informed the man. "Wait, so you're not mad?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" Tony titled his head. "We've been talking about this for how long? Have you told Tasha and Steve?"

"I told them just before you got back." You nodded.

"We're going to have a family." Tony smiled largely. "Oh God, we're going to have a family."

"So, Thanos is dead." 

"Yes."

"And the stones are destroyed." 

"Yes."

That had been playing on a loop in your head since everyone had returned.

Thor had left that night. 

Carol had returned to space.

Rhodey had been called back to work.

Rocket, Nebula, and Bruce were sticking around the compound. Bruce would be staying permanently to help the rest of the world, but Nebula and Rocket were only staying temporarily. Once they had reloaded their ship, they would be gone too.

And the four of you, the four of you were leaving now.

"We got so lucky here, Steve," Tony said, putting his arm around Natasha's shoulders and putting the other around your waist. "We all lived. We made it out alive, and now we have a chance. We have a kid on the way, Steve."

"I know that," Steve said, rubbing his hand over his face. "But we can't just leave. The world is in chaos, everyone is panicking, and you want us to go? Go where?"

"I bought a lakehouse a few years back. It was an impulse buy, and I haven't been there since I bought it. Might be a good project for us all." Tony informed everyone.

"So you want us to go and move into a place that isn't even finished yet?" Steve scoffed.

"It's finished. It just needs some repairs."

"Steve, why are you so against this?" You cut in. 

"Because we lost! Because Thanos defeated us, and then we lost again because of the stones. Some people lost everyone and everything, and we can't fix it." Steve sighed, looking away from the three of you.

"Steve, we're allowed to live our lives," Natasha said, standing from the bed and pulling him over. "Yes, it is terrible what happened to all those people, but we are allowed to be happy. We are allowed to be happy that we survived, that we have a child on the way."

"Why can't we have this, Steve?" Tony asked him. "We've been fighting for years. And the point was so we didn't have to fight, and this is not the way we thought it would happen, but it's happened. We've fought for years for this." Tony said, taking Steve's hand and putting it on your stomach.

"This could be a blessing in disguise, Stevie." You mentioned intertwining your fingers with his. "This is our reason to take a step back. To focus on ourselves for once, to focus on our little one. We've never been safe here, and we'll never be safe here. Neither will they."

Steve had eventually agreed to the plan. It had taken hours for the four of you to come to an agreement, but you finally did.

You, Tony, and Natasha would fully step back. You were done. There would be no more Avengers activities for the three of you. Steve himself couldn't leave completely.

His conscious wouldn't allow him to in a time he felt was less than desirable.

So Steve would come back to the city once a week and see if Bruce needed help with anything.

But that was it for him.

"Is that everything?" Natasha asked, putting her last bag in the car.

"Should be." You nodded, moving to stand behind her. "Anything else the movers will bring." You added, wrapping your arms around her waist.

"Someone's cuddly this morning," Steve commented as he and Tony entered the garage.

"What do you expect, Steve? You woke her up at five a.m." Tony clucked, pulling on his sunglasses.

"We had to get up at five if we wanted to load up the car and get there at twelve." Steve shook his head. "Speaking of leaving, is everyone ready?" 

"I'm always ready, Cap," Tony smirked. 

"Let's get going." Natasha nodded.

"Y/N?"

"Let's do this." 

Non-reader POV

"Your alpaca ate Steve's laundry today." Y/N casually informed Tony as she prepared lunch.

"He's our alpaca, thank you." Tony corrected her, stealing a piece of cooked chicken. "And why was he using the clothesline anyway? We have a dryer."

"Because sometimes it's nice to do things the old-fashioned way." Y/N smiled. "Can you bring those three in for lunch?"

"Of course," Tony said, pressing a kiss to her cheek before leaving out the back door.

Tony was smiling as he made the short walk from the house to the hideout. When he was within hearing distance, Tony began to clap several times.

"Chow time!" He called. "Hello?" He greeted in a random accent as he took a seat outside the hideout. "Parker J, Sarah M, Stark, you two and your mom want some lunch?"

"Define wunch or be disintegwated," Sarah demanded, exiting in an Iron Man helmet as Parker barrel rolled out and jumped into a superhero pose.

"Woah, Woah, Woah," Tony said, raising his hands up. "You should not be wearing that." He informed his daughter as he gently removed it. "Where did you get it?"

"I let them play with it," Natasha said, crawling out of the hideout. "That was a very well done threat, Sarah." She complimented her daughter, pressing a kiss to her head. "And your roll and jump are coming along well too, Parker." She added, kissing her son's head too.

"Thank you, mama." The twins responded in unison.

"You were watching them, Nat?" He asked. "Then I suppose it's okay. You three thinking 'bout lunch? A handful of crickets and some lettuce, for you three, I think." He teased, causing Parker and Sarah to make a noise of disgust.

"No, daddy!" Parker shrieked, scrunching his nose.

"Yucky!" 

"Don't worry, I won't let him poison you," Natasha said, taking Parker into her arms. "You got her?" She asked Tony.

"Always do." Tony nodded, taking Sarah into his arms. "C'mon on you three. Let's not keep your mom waiting."

Tony and Natasha began walking back to the house when they saw Steve's truck pull up. The two were smiling at the blonde's arrival until they saw Scott Lang and Bruce Banner getting out of the car too.

Reader POV

"I can't believe you brought them here, and for that." Tony scoffed.

Scott and Bruce had left an hour ago. The conversation had not gone the way Steve had wanted, with Tony blatantly dismissing the notion of using time travel.

Tony had disappeared into his garage an hour ago, but the second he came back into the house, he and Steve began to argue. You and Natasha had sent the kids upstairs while you sat on the couch and watched the two.

"Tony, Scott came back that's something. That means we have a chance." Steve pressed his husband. "We have a chance to go back and fix this."

"There is no chance. We can't go back. His theory was based on a movie. Why can't you accept that we change the past? Why can't you accept that we lost?" Tony scoffed, narrowing his eyes at the blonde.

"Why can't you believe we have a chance to fix this?"

"Because even if this plan worked, there is a chance that we lose everything." He said, waving his arms around the room. "We lose the last five years, and we lose them. We lose our kids. Do you want that, Steven?"

"Of course not!" Steve exclaimed. "You know I would never do anything to endanger our children!"

"Boys." You snapped, standing from the sofa. "Neither of you are getting anywhere like this. You are solving nothing. Cool off." You demanded, crossing your arms. 

"Don't need to ask me twice." Tony shrugged, going back towards the garage.

"Fine." Steve ground out, leaving out the back door.

"You go after Steve, and I'll go after Tony?" Natasha suggested as she stood.

"Deal." 

Natasha moved to follow after Tony, and you pursued Steve. You found Steve exactly where you thought he'd be.

"You know we don't need any more firewood, right?" You asked, watching as he began to stack a pile of logs.

"He never listens. To anyone." Steve grumbled, picking up an ax.

"I hope you're not going to take that to him." You joked, moving to stand across from him. "Steve, talk to me."

"This could work, Y/N. We could fix this." Steve sighed. "I don't know why he won't listen." 

"Because of them." You gestured to the kids' hideout by the lake. "And because of Peter." You added, causing Steve to go quiet. "We were all close with Peter, but Tony was closest. We both know it hurt him really badly when Peter died, and now he's scared something is going to the twins."

"You know I would never do anything that could hurt them," Steve promised you. 

"I know that. Tony knows that, but he's just scared. What happened on Titan hurt him more than he wants to admit in a lot of ways.  He just needs time." You promised, taking the ax out of his hands and pulling him into an embrace.

After your talk with Steve, you had brought him inside. The two of you went upstairs and sat with the kids for a while. Parker and Sarah were coloring, but they insisted you and Steve stay.

You could never refuse the kids, and you even allowed them to stay up an hour later before you had to send them to bed.

You and Steve had then moved to your bedroom, where you and he just crawled into bed.

"Can I come in?" Tony asked, standing in the doorway while Natasha strolled right in.

"Of course you can," Steve said, making room for him in the middle as Natasha crawled in behind you.

"We had to put the kids back to bed," Tony said. "Tash gave them both juice pops."

"Liar." Natasha scoffed before you all went quiet.

"I figured it out," Tony murmured after a minute. "Time travel. Tasha saw it."

"That's amazing," Steve said.

"And terrifying." You mentioned.

"We got really lucky. Not a lot of people did, and I can't always help everyone." Tony said, looking at the ceiling. 

"Seems like you can here," Steve told him.

"Not if I stop. I can put a pin in it right now and stop." Tony said to him.

"Tony, you've never been able to stop." Natasha shook her head. "If we could've ever gotten you to stop, our lives would be very different now." She added, causing the three of you to chuckle.

"I don't know. Something tells me I should put it in a locked box and drop it to the bottom of the lake."

"Tony, you'd never be able to stop." You said, taking his hand. "None of us would be able to rest if we knew we could've helped."

"We'd never be able to stop," Steve told him.

"We've never been able to stop." Natasha snorted. "It's been five years, and we're still going. We've never been able to stop."

You'd gone back to the compound the next day. Pepper and Happy had volunteered to watch the kids, and after a long goodbye, the four of you had driven back.

There Tony had shown Bruce what he had worked out, and the rest of you worked on a plan. Natasha had gone and brought Clint back, and he had test-driven the machine.

Once Clint had given you the affirmative, all you had to do was find the stones. 

Everyone had been assigned a stone and a team. From there, you would travel back in time, collect the stone, and return so Bruce and Tony could add them to a glove Tony had made.

You would be going to Asgaard with Thor and Rocket.

You were all standing on the platform, ready to travel back through space and time. 

"Hey," Natasha said, drawing everyone's attention to her. "See you in a minute." She smiled giddily. 

And with that, you were gone. 

An hour on Asgaard passed quickly. Thor had runoff, and you had had to follow him through the large halls. Thor had found his mother and finally had the reunion and talk he'd needed. 

It was when Rocket rushed into the room with the stone, and Thor summoned Mjolnir that the three of you had to go back.

"Did we get 'em all?" Tony asked immediately, clicking off his suit.

"Are you telling me this actually worked?" Rhodey laughed, looking around at everyone.

"Clint," You started. "Where's Nat?" You asked, not seeing your wife.

Everyone went silent as they all turned to face the archer, who was soaking wet. Clint didn't look up as he continued to stare at the ground silently.

"Clint?" 

"What are we going to tell the kids?" You asked your husbands. Everyone had moved outside to the lake. No-one had made the decision aloud, but it was just too hard to sit inside.

"What can we tell them?" Tony asked, staring blankly at the water.

"You're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead?" Thor asked, storming over. "We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, we can bring her back. So stop this shit!" He demanded of the three of you. "That's your wife! Stop it!"

"We can't get her back," Clint said quietly. "It can't be undone." He added, shaking his head sadly.

"You're an earthly being." Thor scoffed. "We're talking about space magick."

"Yeah, look, I know I'm way outside my pay grade here, but she's not here. Is she? It can't be undone. At least that's what the floating spaceman said, but why don't you grab your hammer and go talk to him!" Clint began to yell.

"All of you stop it," Steve ordered, standing from his seat. "Arguing isn't going to solve anything."

"Why aren't you more upset about this, Cap?" Clint asked. "Why aren't any of you reacting? She was your wife, for fucks sake!"

"You don't think we know that!" Tony yelled, rounding on him. "You don't think we know that our wife just died for that fucking stone! Because we do! And now we have to go to a home where she won't be! Where we have to tell our kids why their mama won't be coming home! So don't fucking tell me we aren't feeling this because we are fucking feeling it!" 

"All of you stop arguing." You said, standing up. "Natasha died for that stone, and I'll be dammed if we don't finish this for her. We're going in there to end this." You added, moving back towards the compound.

As you walked past Scott, who had been standing at the end quietly, you snapped.

Grabbing him by the collar, you pinned him to the pillar. 

"If this does not fucking work and all this was for nothing, I will kill you. If Natasha died for nothing, I will fucking slaughter you." You promised before being pulled away by strong arms.

"We'll meet you inside," Steve said to the others who were beginning to walk past you.

When everyone had walked away, and it was only you, Steve and Tony, the dam broke. 

Your legs could no longer support you, and you would have collapsed to the ground in a disheveled heap had Steve not been holding you up.

Tears were pouring down your face as your body wracked with an onslaught of sobs.

Tony's arms wrapped around you and Steve as the three of you stood on the dock, all crying.

"What do we do?" You asked as you began to calm yourself. "What do we do?"

"We finish this," Tony told you. "We need to finish this, so we can stop."

The stones had worked. It hadn't been for nothing.

Bruce had snapped everyone and everything back to life. 

But of course, things never could work out for the Avengers.

Just as everyone was beginning to feel hopeful and happy at this achievement, the building had blown.

Thanos had returned. 

You and Tony shielded as many as you could when the building blew. But when the time came to fight the Titan, it was only you, Steve, Thor, and Tony. 

"Where are the stones?" Steve asked, standing beside you.

"Somewhere under all this," Tony said, staring at the Titan. "All I know is he doesn't have them."

"So we keep it that way." You told them, narrowing your eyes at Thanos.

"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor asked you all.

"Yeah, I don't much care." Tony shrugged.

"Good, just as long as we're all in agreement," Thor said before there was a rumble of thunder. "Let's kill him properly this time."

You were failing. Your asses had been getting kicked when the portals began to open. 

And then chaos ensued. 

There were so many moments of the battle you were sure you'd never be able to fully remember it all.

The only part that you completely remembered and would haunt you in your dreams for decades to come was when the glove flew from Carol's hands.

Everyone raced for it and rushed to protect it. 

Thor and Steve fought Thanos together. Carol fought him alone. You and Steve fought him.

But eventually, you were all thrown to the side and forced to watch as Thanos pulled on the glove.

Carol tried once more to get the glove away from Thanos, only to be blasted to the side by the power stone.

Just as Thanos looked like he was going to snap, Tony rushed forward in a last effort attempt. He grabbed at the glove, but Thanos threw him back.

Tony landed beside you and Steve as Thanos readied to snap.

"I am inevitable," Thanos said, raising his hand. As he was raising his hand, you noticed something.

The stones traveling up Tony's suit. 

His skin was already beginning to burn as the power traveled through his body.

He wouldn't survive this on his own.

You shared a look with Steve, who nodded at you. 

"I am Iron Man," Tony said as you and Steve rushed forward. You and Steve stood behind him and placed your hands on his exposed skin.

You and Steve let out mirrored gasps of pain as the burning traveled through your bodies as well. You could feel a hand placed on your shoulder and heard more gasps and grunts of pain.

When you opened your eyes, Thor, Clint, and Bruce had all joined your makeshift chain.

"And we're the Avengers," Steve grunted, squeezing Tony's shoulder, who quickly snapped his fingers.

The six of you let out mirroring cries of pain after his snap. Your skin felt as if it were boiling and about to be peeled from your own body. But it was worth it.

It was worth it because Thanos’ army began to disintegrate. 

And when Thanos sat down and he turned to dust, there was no greater feeling.,

"Tony?" Steve asked, causing your head to snap to the side. Tony was kneeling against a large piece of debris in obvious pain.

"Tony." You gasped, rushing towards him. "Oh God, Tony."

"It's not that bad, is it?" Tony asked you. "Do I still have my rugged good looks?"

"You could never lose them." Steve laughed, gently brushing his hand across Tony's burnt cheek.

"Tony, do you need to stop?" You asked, dreading the answer. "Because if you need to, you can stop now."

"Never," Tony grunted, sitting upright. "Where's Strange? I think I'm going to need a doctor."

The three of you were in a Wakandian hospital. Strange with some help from Shuri had been able to save Tony’s life. He had lost his arm to the gauntlet and that side of his body would forever be scarred. All six of you would forever bare the scars from this fight.

The six of you had been scarred by the power of the stones but Tony’s had been the worst.

The three of you had been in this hospital room for three days now and today was the day Pepper would be bringing the kids to visit.

“How do we tell them about Nat?” Steve asked.

“I have no idea.” You shook your head. “I don’t think there’s any version that’s going to be easy for them to hear.”

“What time did Pep say they were coming?” Tony asked.

“Any time now.” You said after glancing at the clock.

“There’s no time to plan anything is there?” Tony shook his head. We’ll just have to wing it.”

“There’s a part of me that just wants to run away.” You admitted. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“You just faced down Thanos with not a hint of fear, and two five-year-olds are scaring you?” Steve asked with a slight chuckle.

“Don’t act as if they’ve never scared you.” You said, lightly hitting him on the arm. “We all remember the juice pops incident.”

Before Steve could retort, there was a light knocking on the door. You all turned your heads to see Pepper standing at the door.

“Where are the kids?” Tony asked immediately.

“They’re right here.” Pepper was quick to reassure the three of you. “They’re both safe and ready to see you, but they have a surprise for you.”

“They better not have brought Gerald. I still haven’t forgiven him for the laundry.” Steve grumbled as Pepper stepped to the side. And in walked the kids. Both Parker and Sarah were smiling brightly as they pulled Natasha in.

“Nat?”

“Tasha?”

“Natty?”

The kids would tease you for years about the three of you crying when you saw Nat in that hospital room. They would tease you for years until they were old enough to be told the truth of what had happened.

Natasha had no idea what happened to her. She remembered falling and she remembered waking up at the remains of the compound where Strange had found her.

But it was her. It was 100% your Natasha and the three of you couldn't be more thankful that she was alive and with you once more.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Tony asked, wrapping his arms around your waist, startling you out of your thoughts. 

“Just can’t get over how lucky we were.” You murmured, watching Steve and Natasha play with Parker and Sarah in the yard. “We got really lucky with this, Tony.”

“I know.”

“We can’t push our luck when it comes to this family. We thought we lost Nat, and we would’ve lost you if you had snapped alone. I don’t know if we’ll ever be this lucky again.” You said, looking up at your husband.

“We probably won’t, but it doesn’t matter, because we’re done. We’re finally stopping. All of us.” He promised, leaning down to connect your lips.

“Gross!” A small voice shrieked, causing you and Tony to pull apart. You saw your husband and wife staring at you both adoringly as the twins watched you with disgusted faces.

“Don’t you like kisses anymore sweethearts?” You teased, pulling out of Tony’s hold and stepping onto the porch. “You two better run, because I think I want to kiss my babies.”

“I think they both are in need of cuddles and kisses.” Tony agreed and the two of you raced towards your family.

The twins shrieked as they ran from the four of you, wanting to avoid capture. But of course they could never escape the four of you.

The day ended with you all layig on the lawn, staring at the sun, and enjoying the embrace of one another. 

This is what you fought for. This is why you all fought to stop.

And it was so worth it.

Remember all Taglists are open as are requests.

Taglist

@rvgrsbrns @smilexcaptainx @hopingforbarnes @starlingelliot @piper-koko-barnes-rogers @jelly-fishy-babie @skeletoresinthebasement @agent-barnes40 @reann-loves-sebstan @skadikh @summergeezburr @buckybarton03 @sunshinepower17 @bbybarness @natasharomanoffismywife @keenmarvellover @bbybarness @storiesbystarlight @buckybarnesplumwhore @bromieeeomieee @marvelmenarebeautiful @nikishadow @pauloonig @abyssiniapleasant @beautybyfire @officialmarvelbaby

Natasha Romanoff Taglist

@natasha-danvers @5aftermidnight @ohfuckno

All women Taglist

@imnotasuperhero

[hermit-pistol]

Okuyasu Nijimura Fluff Alphabet:

Hi guys, it’s been awhile, huh... I hope to finish this alphabet series soon and  I had a great time writing for Okuyasu! Click under the cut to read more!! 

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

He will want to get along with his friends, of course. You don't mind being a part of the gang, but honestly, you just want some alone time with your man... With the group, you all go to Tonio's and perhaps meet up at Josuke's for a video game tournament (you're quite good!). Alone; however, you prefer picnics and walks through town at night. Okuyasu will be there to protect you.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Okuyasu finds your voice very soothing, especially in comparison to his own. He will at times ask you to read labels on random objects or read his assignments aloud to him. He's a strange one, alright...

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

He'll be flustered for sure, stuttering and not sure where to begin. He figures that a hug would be a good start; Okuyasu gives the best hugs. He'll also shower you with compliments and make you feel like the luckiest person in the world for having a partner like him.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Okuyasu doesn't really like thinking about the future, and he can't picture himself leaving the small town that he calls home. With you by his side, he's fine no matter where he ends up! He'll want to get married for sure, but the thought of proposing makes him sweat. That'll have to come later.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Despite the big delinquent persona that he puts on in public, he's rather docile when the two of you are alone. One could even say that he's passive in most of the decision making. Unless it's about food, of course. Tonio's reigns supreme.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

I know this will be rather short but, you and Okuyasu don't fight. The two of you know when something is upsetting the other and deal with it up front. Why have something escalate when it could be resolved so easily, right?

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Similar to V, he is grateful for his s/o being in his life and putting up with him no matter how much baggage he has. The fact that his partner still wants to stay with him after all the bad things that he's done almost brings him to tears. He loves you more each day for this.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Okuyasu doesn't really have much to hide. He's pretty upfront and tells you about his brother and his father. If you don't have a stand he'll let you know about that too. Besides that, he's a terrible liar. (he stammers and blushes a lot)

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

You teach him that he doesn't have to put up a front to scare people away. So what if he lives in that scary abandoned house and in turn it gives him a frightening reputation? He can move past that, and becoming friends with Josuke is already a great start in breaking the mold.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Okuyasu doesn't really have issues with jealousy. If you're hanging out with the crew then he expects you to have one on one interactions with the rest of da boys. It's just something that he accepts, and deep down he knows that you'll remain faithful.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

He is so shy and hesitant…so you might have to take the initiative on this one. Later into the relationship he might grow bolder, stealing hello/goodbye kisses and even going as far as to smooch in public. How zesty.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

It happens by accident, actually. He ends up revealing it in his sleep, mumbling an "I love you," as he clutches tighter to the pillow that he was holding. Your ears perk up and you can't help but smile. When he wakes up he's going to have some explaining to do.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

Okuyasu always knew that he wanted to get married someday, and later found out that you were the one that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. It was a small wedding, surrounded by his closest friends in the quaint little town of Morioh. He is such a thoughtful and caring husband as well, always listening to your problems and being a goofball…there are no dull moments with him.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Okuyasu isn't too keen on pet names at first, especially calling you such names in public. He'll dip his toes in, starting out with baby and its variations. He later becomes addicted...and will probably forget your name. You're babe now.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

The wheels in his brain are turning, and they haven't been used a long, long time. He was definitely falling hard for you and was unfamiliar with the feeling. Of course, he's had his fair share of crushes but the mere fact that you could be feeling the same way has him head over heels. Probably runs into stop signs because he's too busy thinking about you...

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Touching on the letter K, he is very nervous to do anything in public. First of all, being in a relationship with someone is something that he has to get used to. Once he's accustomed, holding hands and wrapping an arm around your waist will become second nature to him!

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

Don't wake him up if he's napping! If Okuyasu had it his way, he would never leave his bed for anything. But he snores...and kicks you... and makes it really difficult for any sleep to be had. That leaves you lying next to him most mornings, still awake. It does have its perks, though.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

Okuyasu is really old fashioned and would take you on a date to Tonio’s. He also probably had something arranged beforehand with the chef so that everything was perfect, even going as far as to pick out some courses himself. In addition, he makes sure to tell you how much he loves you behind closed doors. By playing video games together- 😎

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

He will be the overly-enthusiastic boyfriend that will give you the longest pep talks. You're not allowed to feel bad or feel like anything is unattainable with him around. He keeps you going and gives you the proper motivation that you need.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Every day is an adventure with Okuyasu. This goof always switches it up, and in this relationship, there's no such thing as a "routine". Although it can be hectic at times, you're both young and love the spontaneity of life together.

U nderstanding - How well do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

He's a bit oblivious, and it takes him a bit to pick up on something, if you're feeling down, (etc.) With time he'll be more in tune with your emotions and will understand how you're feeling. Being with others also has helped his selfishness greatly, and he can understand the concept of empathy and putting himself in someone else's shoes.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Okuyasu doesn't have much, and he's very lucky to have friends and you to support and love him unconditionally. If you were to leave one day, he probably wouldn't know what to do. Being with you has shown him that there's so much more to enjoy in life, and he counts his blessings every day.

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

One of the activities that you enjoy (or at least try to) is cooking together. He will try his absolute best to help you because you usually cook the meals, but God this man’s a bull in a china shop. He’s so clumsy, always knocking things over or spilling the ingredients. Make sure you give him easy tasks like…setting the oven or handing you utensils.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Okuyasu is very cuddly in private, and can also be in public if he's comfortable in the environment. Basically, if he's hanging out with his friends he can joke around/flirt with you comfortably. He's always looking for an excuse to hold your hand 🥺

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Okuyasu is the best at letting you know that he's missing you. He'll text you all the time, occasionally sending pictures and being like, "Wish you were here right now :)". Being whiny during phone calls is also a thing, he just wants you to come home already!

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lenghts for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Okuyasu might think that he needs to overcompensate with his personality since he cannot afford expensive things for his s/o. It worries him when anniversaries and holidays roll around and he can't financially flex. You let him know that he doesn't need to impress you by monetary means, and he greatly appreciates it!!

[sinkix]

♡ Haikyuu!!│Boys as your Roommate HC’s Pt.2│Ft. Kuroo, Bokuto, Kenma & Kageyama ♡

Since the last one did well I decided to do another 2am shit-post consisting of my bby HQ bois as your roommate so I’m v sorry if it’s messy and seems like rambling but honestly what did u expect. <(￣︶￣)> The more I write these the more I just want to summon satan and make them come to life man I love them sm.

You can find Pt. 1 here

E N J O Y ~ <3

◃:✮.❃⭒ ◃:✮.❃⭒ ◃:✮.❃⭒ ◃:✮.❃⭒

Kuroo:

So. Damn. Annoying

But in like, the best way possible??

Constantly teases and irritates you while cooking or when it’s your turn to do the chores.

“(Y/N)-kuuun I think you missed a spot”

Proceeds to show swabbed finger with the tiniest speck of dust on it with the biggest shit eating grin he can muster

You have constant competitions who can clean more thoroughly and rip into each other as a result.

I mean there’s worse things to compete over I suppose??

He likes to make it a habit of waking you up by throwing his HUGE ASS BODY ON TO THE BED IF YOU OVERSLEEP.

WHOLE BED JUST CREAKS AND DIPS UNDER HIS WEIGHT.

Wraps his arm around you and gives amazing cuddles tho so its worth it

Borderline suffocating you though just so you get up.

Also, don’t wake Kuroo when he’s had only a few hours rest

just, don’t. If you value your safety.

Last time you tried to haul him out of bed in this state he threw a pillow at you and BITCH WENT TO GRAB THE ALARM CLOCK NEXT but u dashed out the room before he could lob it. 

Speaking of which, pillow fights. 

so many.

 Y’all are always throwing random stuff at each other just to startle one another

You both make a conscious effort NOT to aim for the head though so I guess its ok???

The aroma of coffee always greets you in the morning and it’s become hella comforting since you’ve just come to associate that smell with him.

His bed head is 1000x more extreme in the morning which you tease him relentlessly for and def has bags under his eyes but it looks cute.

sleep deprivation but make it chic.

He is much more of a night owl i’m making it canon idc - however usually has to sleep early due to club activities starting first thing in the morning.

He wakes up especially early because he knows he not only has to haul himself up at an ungodly hour but Kenma as well since he NEVER gets up on time otherwise.

Kenma lives a few blocks down from you guys and you often kick it as a three.

Sometimes he stays over just to save the extra effort of Kuroo going to his place.

It’s always v chill with the three of you as you get on really well and just play mario kart till 2am.

which again, big mistake. They end up nearly being late to practise so it’s kinda counter productive lmao

worth it though.

Kuroo is a salty loser js and will definitely wave his arms in front of you or shove his ass in your face to block the screen so he can overtake you.

Sometimes forces you to go on early morning runs with him but it’s actually really nice since you watch the sunrise together while sitting for a water break in an empty field

Almost poetic if it wasn’t for the constant teasing and bickering like an old married couple.

Kenma is VERY thankful you have become his new victim for those morning run routines.

Bokuto:

SCREAMS FROM THE ROOFTOPS EVERY DAY

MY GOD

Actually pretty quiet in the morning?? Like the lil owl is just waking up so he usually just mumbles a good-morning and rubs his eyes its so damn cute

Usually pretty good about getting up on time but some days he needs a kick up the backside to get him out of bed.

He fully made you drag him out of the covers once before he was even willing to entertain the idea of getting up.

those 30 seconds felt like a 30 minute workout since he is so HEAVY.

I feel sorry for the neighbours on that day tbh

“Bokuto-san wake up.” 

“NNNgg-aaagGGHHHHH AGGAAASHIII”

“It’s (Y/N) you dumbass G E T U P”

You aren’t safe for long though because ONCE HE’S AWAKE HOMEBOY IS RARING TO GO.

Frequently makes y’all pancakes for breakfast with a frilly pink ‘best chef’ apron on and it’s fucking hysterical. 

actually has several aprons and one of them has a stock image of abs printed onto the front.

Pancakes is the only thing Bokuto is competent at so don’t expect anything else without the kitchen combusting

His pancakes are SO damn good tho like bitch who taught you to flip like dat.

Does a lil shimmy with his body and throws it back each time he flips so it basically aggregates as a performance too since hes so extra

One time the pancake landed on the floor and he was in emo mode for a whole day LMAOOO

boy was spiking while mourning the fallen soldier.

Akaashi was so confused as to why he walked into practise in such a solemn mood.

had to stifle his laughter once you told him the reason.

For some reason you have this tradition to play board games on a Friday night

Obvs you have to let him win and be a cocky ass bc otherwise he will be sad until the next morning.

sis will be in a slump while brushing his teeth over losing a game of monopoly.

Doesn’t expect you to come to practise with him but is always grinning like a dork the whole way there when you accompany him.

His game is always A1 on those days so Akaashi is eternally grateful.

Often tries to make you go to the gym with him SINCE Y’ALL BEST BELIEVE BOKUTO BABY AIN’T SKIPPIN LEG DAY.

Actually a really good workout partner though, he’s so hype and encouraging.

Grocery shopping is a nightmare, y’all come back with 3x as much as what was on the list while Bokuto just looks really sheepish and guilty like a dog who shredded up the sofa.

Kageyama:

Your conversations are very minimal at first until he adjusts to living with you.

Hella private with his living space and his bedroom

You always suspected he’s got some like weird alien cult meeting from Fiji going on in there with how shady he acts sometimes.

After a while though he’s pretty chill and doesn’t mind TOO much when you invade his personal space or go through his stuff.

I’d still be careful though an angry Kags is not a pleasant one.

He’s a minimalist, so if you ever get decorating done it’s usually you that takes the reigns since as long as it’s got a roof, a stove, a bathroom and a bed he could literally not give a fuck.

Unexpectedly easy to please over the smallest things, make a meal for him after a long day of practise and it’ll be hard for him to contain an appreciative smile.

Do NOT pull him up on it though bc he will get defensive 

just embrace it bro you won’t see it often.

V good at getting up on time and hella quiet in the morning when going about his routine, it’s easy to forget he’s in the house a times so at least he’s considerate.

Honestly doesn’t care whether you come to practise or not it makes no difference to him. Though the closer you both get he will sometimes wait for the moment you walk through the door and mentally slap himself for doing so.

Sometimes plays music in his room but it’s always really quiet and hard to decipher unless you press your ear up against the door.

The boi plays some BOPS though which is really surprising???

Usually takes charge of stuff like grocery shopping, cleaning etc. 

Control freak™️ here to assist your household services. 

He’s pretty dense though with these matters and needs some guidance at times lmao

Will not get the item on your list unless you CLEARLY SPECIFY AND INCLUDE THE WHOLE DAMN TITLE OF THE ITEM

You’re surprised he doesn’t request you illustrate the fucking bar code.

In the end you sometimes end up caving and just either going with him or going in his place.

Once he warms up to you y’all like cracking little jokes at each other and pulling one another’s leg.

if you get up even the slightest bit late he’ll just throw a lil “good afternoon” with a smirk on his face.

Sometimes he will come and chill with you on the couch to binge watch shows and it’s just a really relaxed atmosphere.

has really good taste in movies and series??

Honestly just a hella respectful roommate as long as you respect him and his privacy in return.

You once stuck his knee-pads in the washing machine on a high temp and they came out ready to fit a 6 year old.

You still suspect he holds a grudge to this day.

He also tried to give them to Hinata and never have you seen him more genuinely offended lmao.

Kenma:

The pair of you always end up oversleeping and it’s a genuine problem ur the definition of a disaster duo.

If it wasn’t for Kuroo strolling into your sleeping quarters most mornings you guys would sleep till the suns ready to set again.

Bless up Kuroo.

Constant video game marathons and y’all always compete to top each others time

It’s basically just the speed-run side of YouTube but under one roof.

Cannot and will not cook he is too LAZY for that.

Only thing he will do is stick an apple pie in the oven.

He’s courteous though he leaves you like,,, a 1/8th slice

smh.

You mostly get take-out or you’re the one that ends up cooking.

Veeryyyyy quiet, only noise in the household is the occasional snicker or lil conversation.

he has such a soothing voice hnnnnnnnnnggggg

The only time it’s remotely loud is when you play video games but even then the volume is quite low.

You usually end up crashing in his room from playing games till the crack of dawn and Kuroo frequently scolds the two of you.

you don’t listen though lmao.

For some reason you both end up in a hugging position when you wake up and neither of you have addressed it.

Except for the sus side eye look Kuroo gives the pair of you when he finds you like this.

He knows if he mentions it you’ll both infiltrate his apartment and choke him out with a console cable lololol.

You order most of your groceries online bc Kenma’s social anxiety will skyrocket and not allow him to be in a store full of more than 10 people, poor bby.

It works out for you too since why tf go there when you can have it delivered to your door.

You often binge watch anime together and he has GREAT taste mind you.

You made him watch a romance anime once and he secretly enjoyed it.

Since then he will very awkwardly request to watch them occasionally and you can’t help but smile.

The only time you clean is when you have to, like bins brimming with trash before you decide to take them out.

You accidentally broke his fav controller once and he didn’t talk to you for a week LMAO.

Still handed you one to play split-screen though so you knew he wasn’t entirely resentful.

[rudysrings]

Twin Pogues of the OBX - 8

A/N: i forgot to queue this up because i fell into the wormhole of minecraft LMFAO pls forgive me...also this part is a lil all over the place and i realize i need to hurtty it up with the plot bc i’m only on episode 3 but it’s hard when writing more interactions with the characters is so much fun

Warnings: Underage smoking, mature/sexual themes, cursing, angst and fluff at the same time 

Word Count: 2.5k

Masterlist

The pogues had successfully obtained the drone from the salvage yard, which had been no easy task (you had heard the entire story from Kiara that morning, who insisted that the boys were incapable of carrying out even the simplest of plans). 

You took out the HMS Pogue that morning, just outside the dock so that Pope could work out how to use the drone.

Pope had arrived very early in the morning, having snuck out before Papa Heyward could rise, and he immediately threw an arm over JJ, who was helping you and John B get the boat out on the water.  

You saw them whisper quietly, Pope gesturing towards his clothes and JJ brushing him off, clearly trying to just make a joke to get a laugh out of him. Eventually, JJ pulled Pope’s cap over his head and walked away, joining you and your brother.

Once Kiara found her way to the Chateau, she and your brother dove in, so that Pope could search for them using the drone.

“What’s this?” JJ asked, his fingers extending towards one of the many dizzying buttons on the flight monitor for the drone. 

 Pope slapped his hand away instantly. “Don’t touch that.” He noticed your fingers approaching the monitor, too, your restless and curious hands unable to help themselves. Sighing, he turned to you, his face puckered so irritably you worried for his digestion. “What did I just say?” He turned back to the screen as you dropped your hands to your sides, giving JJ a look that said Sheesh. “I’m trying to work out this thing.”

John B and Kiara treaded water in front of the monitor and you smiled. “Hey Kie, flash us why don’tcha?”

JJ giggled and Pope rolled his eyes. “She’s underwater, genius. She can’t hear a damn thing you’re saying.”

“God bless geeks Pope, truly man,” said JJ, looking impressed.

You nodded. “Yeah, what would we do without you to control the drones?”

Pope pursed his lips. “It’s not a drone; it’s an ROV—”

“Shut up. Shut UP,” grumbled JJ, overlooking the water as Kiara and your brother resurfaced. “It’s too early for that right now.”

“Hey, once we get footage of the Wreck, we’ll bring it to a lawyer in town and file a formal claim,” John B said as Pope explained maritime salvage law. 

The words were familiar to you—things your dad had always repeated, convinced the information would come in handy at some point. Guess he was right, after all.

Kiara looked at your brother, her eyebrows pulled together in confusion; he was spouting information that would usually go way over his head, given he only had a brain cell or two (max) to work with. “How do you know all of that?”

“‘Cause our dad said it like a million times,” you answered for him, JJ turning to look at you as you kept your eyes forward.

As Pope began discussing how the length of the tether required dead calm weather to pull this off, you tuned out, lost in thought. You didn’t like being obvious; you didn’t like everyone knowing that even the slight mention of your dad had you spiraling, but you could feel JJ’s gaze on you and you knew you weren’t subtle.

You felt warmth in your hand, felt it instantly travel up your arm and thaw at your chest. You looked down to see JJ’s ring-clad hand interlaced with your own, a gesture of silent comfort. The action was soft, out of character for him, but you couldn’t deny that it helped...a lot. You gulped, refusing to meet his eyes, but giving his hand a silent squeeze, conveying that you didn’t want him to let go. And he didn’t. He held on silently, out of sight from the rest of the pogues. 

One look at the darkening clouds and clearly growing storm had you guys deciding to go at slack tide on a day when the weather was quieter.

Kiara mentioned that she had to get back to the Wreck and Pope said he had to go back to Heyward’s. 

“If I don’t split now, my ass is grass.” He gave you and JJ a group hug, somehow sensing the weird emotional vulnerability in the air. You kissed him on the cheek, whispering a quick thanks before pulling away. 

John B went with Pope without another word, presumably to gather more of the practical stuff for what you all had planned for later.

JJ turned to you, visibly awkward as he shuffled his feet. Unused to this novel tension between the two of you, you blurted out. “Want a quick smoke?”

JJ shook his head disapprovingly, walking back over to the dock. 

You followed him, his back turned to you as he stared out at the water. “You think it’s really out there?”

“The gold?”

“No, the loch ness monster.”

“JJ you should know that the loch ness is just an old sailor—”

“Of course the gold, Y/N!”

You paused, before walking forward, sidling up next to him and leaning your arms on the railings.

You played with JJ's ring on your thumb, which he noticed, an unmistakable smile in his eyes. “I didn’t believe it until yesterday.”

“But you believe now?”

“I’m not really big on faith, JJ.”

“Don’t I know it,” he grumbled.

You whipped your head towards him. “What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Without another word, JJ’s hand pushed at your lower back, the other at the back of your neck to pull your face into his. He paused just centimeters away, clearly fighting for control. “Can I?”

You couldn’t help the word that blurted out of your mouth like a pathetic whimper. “Please.”

It didn’t seem to bother him. JJ closed the distance between your lips, and the now familiar sensation had you grasping at his hair, his shirt, his arm, anything, anything to try and ground yourself in this moment because the feeling of his mouth on yours had you worried you would float off into oblivion. 

It wasn’t like yesterday, because this time, JJ was prepared. He was aggressive, as if he was trying to get everything out of this right here, right now, because he feared there was no chance he would get to do it again.

He got you to open your mouth for him, deepening the kiss. When his hand slipped down to your ass, he pulled away, looking at you in question. “Do you wanna…?” He let the question hang in the air, his eyes not leaving yours.

You nodded immediately, pushing out any rational thought. How could you think rationally when he was touching you like that, kissing you like that?

Grabbing the backs of your thighs, JJ whispered, “Then jump, Trouble.”

You did, allowing him to secure your legs around his hips. You didn’t look at him, opting to brush your nose along his ear as he carried you into the Chateau. You felt him shiver and smiled against his neck, pressing a chaste kiss there.

JJ entered your room, closing the door and locking it with a flick of his wrist. He set you down, making sure to drag you down his front. 

You didn’t look at his face; you couldn’t. While you may have thrown rational thought out the window, you knew your hard limits. You let out a nervous laugh. “This, uh...this is a one time thing, Maybank.” You quickly flicked your eyes to his. “Doesn’t mean anything.”

JJ didn’t say anything, bringing a finger to lift your chin up to look at him head on. He was challenging you and you knew it. Even without you saying a word, he saw right through you. He could see you were scared. Fear was a look he thought he’d never see on the face of the most dauntless, intrepid person he’d ever met. But he was seeing it now, and he was taken aback by how much it affected him. JJ hated this look on you. It tugged at his severe and sometimes problematic protectiveness, but he didn’t know how to protect you from himself. He wanted nothing more than to give you the biggest hug, but instead he looked at you. Just looked. 

It was a moment or two before you got impatient and said. “What? You get it, right?” He nodded and you took that as affirmation, wrapping your arms around your neck and attempting to bring him towards you.

JJ stopped you, hands dropping from your body. You looked up at him while he looked at the ground. When his eyes met yours, they were rimmed with red and your heart sped up, both in confusion and concern. “Please don’t ask me for this.”

You grabbed his wrist. “JJ, what?”

“I know we’ve never really talk about it.” He swallowed hard and you watched his Adam's apple bob against his throat. “But I think you know.”

He was talking about his feelings for you. Yeah, you knew. But hearing him basically confirm it shocked you to your core. Still, you mustered up the ability to nod softly. 

 He continued. “I have given you everything I can, Trouble. Except…” he gestured at the space between you two. “Except this. If I give you that right now...and you get up and go, like I know you will. If it means nothing to you, then there will be nothing left in me.” You let go of JJ’s wrist. You could tell this was very difficult for him to admit, his hands shaking and his eyes restless as he kept looking around the room.

“J—” You started.

“—No, listen, Y/N. I’m begging you not to ask me for this. Because I think we both know that if you ask...I won’t say no.” 

You nodded, trying to ignore the way your heart cracked and fluttered at the same time, trying to keep any emotion off of your face. “Right, well,” you looked anywhere but at him, your eyes finally settling on the doorway behind him. “I..I should go..I think Kiara asked me to stop by the Wreck and help her with...something.” You had never been able to lie to JJ, and he had always called you out on it when you tried.

“Y/N—”

You shook your head. “I’ll see you later, JJ.”

You didn’t give him time to say anything else, running out of your room and out of the Chateau, only pausing briefly to grab the keys to the van, flinching at the sound of a fist hitting wood and JJ’s resounding. “FUCK!” 

~

You plastered a smile on your face as you entered the wreck, shooting the bartender your signature grin. That grin was always your bait. It usually got you anything you wanted.

The rather pretty bartender smiled shyly back, her cheeks flushing slightly under your blinding smile. “Is Kiara around?”

She stuttered. “Oh! Ah, y-yeah, I’ll uh, I’ll just go get h-her…”

Hook, line and sinker.

Kiara came out from the back, rolling her eyes once she saw it was you. Grabbing your hand, she brought you through a side exit, slapping your hand away when you tried to grab a fry from some touron customer.

“You gonna keep flirting with our employees, Y/N?”

You shrugged as she led you right outside the Wreck, leaning against the side of the building and facing you. “I mean if you keep hiring such attractive employees, then I can’t help it.” 

Kiara rolled her eyes...again. “If you keep doing that, they’re gonna get stuck like that and then we’re going to need an exorcist, which none of us can afford and Pope would scare away with some random forensics fact.”

Kiara shoved at your shoulder and then passed you a joint from her pocket.

You snatched it instantly and she smiled. “You looked like you needed that.”

“What do you mean?” You asked, pulling out your lighter from your bra. It instantly reminded you of JJ, the two of you having gotten matching ones engraved with your names. It reminded you of how you always felt bound by no law when you were with him and you were quick to light your joint and tuck the lighter away. 

Kiara raised her eyebrows, crossing her arms. “Are you kidding me? You haven’t looked straight at me for more than a second!”

You took a hit of the joint, letting the drug fill your lungs and hoping it would swiftly calm your running mind. “It’s a beautiful world, Kie. Just tryna take it all in.” you shrugged. “That’s not to say you’re not beautiful; I mean, you know how gorgeous I think you are, but you closed that door on me so this is on you.”

Kiara furrowed her brows at your nonsensical words, taking notice of your right foot, which was tapping incessantly. She plucked the joint from your hand and took an inhale herself, ignoring your protests and curses.

“Is it JJ?” She asked.

“What about JJ?”

Kiara groaned, dropping the joint to the ground and snuffing it out, hands on her hips. “Gosh, why do you have to be this difficult? You make girl talk feel like torture!”

Playing innocent, you said, “Girls? You wanna talk about girls? I can talk about them all day. Short girls, tall girls, girl’s with big eyes, girls with big—” 

Kiara slapped you over the head. “Shut your damn mouth.”

You opened your mouth to make a quip, but she put her hand over it, stopping you. You raised your eyebrows at her suggestively and she looked fearful. “No! Don’t you dare!”

Too late. Shrieking, Kiara took her hand back, yakking on air at the sensation of your tongue on her palm. 

Once she calmed down from her dramatics, she put a hand on your shoulder. “Look, if you’re reacting like this, it has to be JJ—”

“I—”

“—No, shut the fuck up and let me speak, god damn it!” Grumbling, you let her carry on. “Whatever happened, get it through that thick head of yours that it’s nothing that can’t be undone or at least, nothing the two of you can’t get over because y’all are stronger than some silly misunderstanding or argument or whatever. You’re family if I’ve ever seen it.”

You softened at her words, eyes finally settling on hers. You let yourself slip, giving in to her kind voice and maternal embrace. “I hope you’re right, Kie.”

Even Kiara looked surprised at your lack of a joke or brush off. “Oh, Y/N,” she cooed, pulling you into her arms. 

You stayed for a second, before shoving her off and making a joke about how she had rejected you only to string you along further and that she should stop with the mixed feelings. 

Kiara gave a soft smile at your behavior, which she could see right through, but didn’t comment, knowing you wouldn’t react well. She simply wrapped an arm around your waist and stayed with you. You began to think that’s all you needed—for someone to stay. 

Masterlist

Tag List (If there is a strike through your user it’s bc I couldn’t tag you bc tumblr is wack sometimes…)

@hurricane-abigail @omigodyall​ @timotaychalabae​ @kaelyn-lobrutto24​@caswinchester2000​ @meghanisdeadinside​ @harrysbbby​ @official-maddibrown @xdelicates@maybebanks@yourwonderbelle @treestarrrrrrrr @loco-latte@sspidermanss@theradvibes @eviction-notice-no666@screamingnewsies @the-fandom-life-forever @dolanfivsosxox@vibin-n-thrivin @em-aesthe  @the-real-jort @riverdaleserpent04@free-pool-trash @mileven-reddie @drewswannabegirl@queen1054 @eternalharry@alwayshopelesss @superqalifragilistik@smileyxdolans@fangirling-all-day @dianaillusion@catonthesideoftheroad @darling-im-not-okay-i-promise​ @thelovelydreamer17 @http-cherries​ @pit-zuh​ @kisssmefree​ @starryblueeyesandstarryblueskies​ @outerbankstings​ @oliviadrake1​ @pancakefancake​ @haharudy​ @truthdaze​

I’m also kind of new to tagging and rlly bad at it so if something is wrong, I’m sorry and pls let me know and I’ll try my best to fix it!

I also lost my updated tag list i’m so dumb so let me know if I told you i would tag you and i didn’t oop

Stay safe and stay healthy!

[spooky-z]

Dodgeball

Maribat by @ozmav

This is part of my PACK AU. I decided that I would post one shots about this au and then, when I have more time, I will do a whole fanfic.

You can find parts of this AU here, here, here and here.

This is 1.6K!

They were at lunch. No one wanted to go to the bakery that day for lunch, as Sabine and Tom were busy with a huge order from André Bourgeois for a political event at the hotel.

So, they had arranged to bring food/sweets to lunch together in a forgotten room at school.

Marinette had brought a strawberry charlotte russe (the whole cake); Adrien had made chocolate chip cookies; Kagami arrived with various sweets and drinks that had been sent to her from Japan; Luka came with calissons; Damian set a box of mahmoul on the table; Chloe had baked a salted caramel pie; Max had brought croissants and Kim macarons.

The Kwamis were too happy to see the variety. (Plagg grumbled a little for not having Camembert, but Tikki managed to control him.)

It was a feast. Both for the food and for each other's presence. All eight were resting after eating everything.

Adrien lying on Luka and Chloe's legs; Chloe resting her head on the musician's shoulder while her hands hugged Kagami sideways; Kagami had Kim sitting on the floor between her legs and with his back to her; Damian's legs stretched over Kim's, Marinette in his arms; Max was lying fully on the floor with only his head resting on Marinette's thigh while playing a game on the phone.

It was calm and quiet. Or rather calm and quiet minus Kim. He kept twitching.

Chloe snorts irritably.

"I'll kick you out of the room if you don't keep quiet."

“Let's do something!” He moans. "I ate too much sugar and now I can’t calm down."

Marinette makes a murmur understanding the boy. She also felt energy rush under her skin from too much sugar.

"I think we're all in the same boat." Damian mutters against Marinette's neck.

“How about we play dodgeball?” Adrien says suddenly and sits down to look at everyone. “It will drain the excess energy and we can have fun too.”

"Hmm, I don't know…" Max replies. "Do you have clothes in the locker room?"

"No." Kagami nods negatively. “But that would be no problem. We can get some from Mari-hime's house.”

"Okay." Luka smiles, breaking away from Chloe and standing up. "I think we'll play dodgeball."

xxxx

Francois Dupont was not prepared for a dodgeball match between eight heroes.

Not even Ms. Bustier's class.

All the students had gone to the second floor, the floor that gave access to the classrooms, to give more space for the fierce battle that was taking place in the school yard.

It was easy to recognize the shock, disbelief, and envy on the students' faces each time Marinette Dupain-Cheng deftly deflected a ball that would probably be fatal (and painful) if it hit her.

When Kagami Tsurugi violently kicked a ball coming toward her back to Max, who just used another ball to escape the attack and the school choked on watching it.

They saw Kim Le Chien jump into the basketball hoop to catch a wandering ball and then, hanging upside down, throw the ball with unbelievable force toward Adrien Agreste.

Adrien, who exhibited abnormal flexibility in deflecting the most absurd attacks. Like when he fell to the floor with his legs spread like a ballerina without showing any discomfort with it.

Damian Al-Ghul was vicious. He seemed to be playing to draw blood, no matter if they were his friends in a friendly game. Each time he made his move, the ball bounced off the floor or walls in a loud, dry noise. Students shuddered every time this happened.

The biggest surprise of the audience was to see Chloe Bourgeois and Luka Couffaine in the midst of the carnage. Chloe for being the untouchable princess of Mayor Bourgeois and Luka for being known as a calm and very sweet guy.

But they were very different at the time.

Luka had a manic smile on his face, sliding on the floor like a pro and retaliating with power. Chloe giving no opportunity for the other team to retaliate before falling down by killing with multiple balls in various directions. She was flushed and sweating, but didn't seem to be bothered by it.

Nino shudders when Adrien is the first to be hit. The sound of the ball hitting the model's chest makes the DJ panic and he almost runs to his friend but is prevented by the blonde's amused laugh.

“That was great, Ure!” He makes a move, a kip-up and soon stands, not looking hurt.

"I know." Damian shouts back. “You're getting slow, kitty. I think we're feeding you too much.”

Ms. Bustier's class reacts with surprise upon hearing the nickname.

"Kitty?" Alya mutters.

“Is he getting slow?” Nathaniel chokes.

"Dude, they're feral!" A boy of Ms. Mendeleev's class says excitedly.

“Adrien is so beautiful!” Adrien's fan club sighs.

They watch Marinette eliminate Chloe in a skilled and powerful counterattack. The sound of the ball against Bourgeois's thigh made it clear that Marinette was sparing no effort to eliminate her opponents.

Even if it was her friends.

Someone (a boy) whistles in appreciation.

"This girl is good."

"She's hot." Another (boy) person responds.

Before Lila could say anything disparaging about Marinette, Kagami Tsurugi's blazing gaze stopped in her direction. In their direction.

Kagami was still in the middle of the game when she stopped to look at them. And even being distracted by them, she was still fully capable of deflecting Kim's shots.

“Is it my imagination or is she looking at us?” Boy #1 asks.

“Do you think she could hear what I said?” Boy #2 asks back.

“Impossible, she doesn't—” Kagami raises an eyebrow and they squeak in surprise.

She smiles sarcastically and then turns her attention back to the game as if nothing has happened.

“Holy shit. I think I pissed on my pants.” Boy #2 whispers.

Not just him. Lila could still feel the coldness of that look digging into her skin.

That group was scary.

Alya, on the other hand, was feeling in the twilight zone.

That could not be real. Marinette, who could barely walk on the paved ground without injury, was there, running and jumping, displaying a skill Alya had never seen before.

At least not from Marinette.

"I didn't know Max was so skilled." Ivan says beside her and she was forced to look away from the girl who used to be her best friend.

And- Oh! Another surprise.

She really couldn't understand anything else. She was lost.

xxxx

The game ended with a draw.

On one side left Marinette and Kagami, on the other, Damian and Kim.

They had come to a halt, no one being able to hit anyone and the game was dragging on. Even if it didn't let it be fun, the sugar effect was crumbling and they were already getting tired.

But even so, the game would continue if it wasn't for Luka (God bless such a good person) warning about the time.

Kim sighed hopelessly, but agrees. They needed to shower and change to sit in the classroom for the rest of the day.

The four soon emerged from attack positions and began picking up the balls thrown across the yard to store. Kim still upset that he didn't go on playing.

"Come on, we'll finish this game later and we'll know who's the best." Damian pats the boy comfortingly on the back and he cheers again with the promise of a rematch.

"Of course, it's me." He heaves his chest proudly.

Chloe laughs at that. "In your dreams, Capuchin."

Kim pouts at her and Max stands on tiptoe so he can rub his hair.

“We're done with the balls. Now let's go home to change clothes.”

Luka appears (he had gone out to fetch their bags and lunch’s trash), his hands busy. He was still sweaty despite being the second to be eliminated.

“I already cleaned and closed the room. Let's go because we'll be late otherwise.”

"Ok mom!" The seven respond and he rolls his eyes.

Marinette was going to take the bag from Luka, but Adrien stops her.

"Mariiiii." He calls, the bright eyes of a mischievous kitten.

She already knew what he wanted.

"Oh God. I can never resist those eyes.” She pretends to be angry and he laughs. "Okay, let's go. Just this once.”

Marinette turns her back to Adrien and stretches her arms back. Adrien doesn't think twice before wrapping his arms around her neck and wrapping his legs around her waist.

She holds his legs to give more security and starts walking, trying to reach the rest of the pack.

"I love you, Mari." Adrien whispers against her ear. "I love you all."

Marinette smiles.

"I-We love you too, kitten."

"And we will protect you." Kagami says, patting his back.

"Thanks. I'm so lucky.” Adrien hides his face in the back of Marinette's neck and sniffs.

They were lucky. Having each other. A family.

EXTRA:

“… Did she just carry him like he weighed nothing?” Mylene blinks once more to make sure she was seeing right.

“Chloe was laughing. Really laughing.” Sabrina says. She looked stunned.

"Kitty…" Alya mutters. She still couldn't get it out of her mind.

"Did Damian have a septum ring or was I imagining that?" Rose asks.

"Mom?" Juleka whispers.

"Kitty." Alya again.

“Capuchin.” Nathaniel puts his hands against his head and squeezes.

"Kim gave up on a competition..." Alix says in surprise.

“They looked very close.” Lila points out.

“KITTY!” Alya shouts.

Nino and Ivan just watch the class catch fire... and Alya lose her mind.

[tag list]

@northernbluetongue @gimme-more-caffeine @kris-pines04 @drarryismylife101 @puzzlelover431 @18-fandoms-unite-08 @krispydefendorpolice @asheanomhominem  @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @cutechip @just-an-avarage-nerds-blog​ @lirulua @j-a-n-e--d-o-e @naclychilli