#honestly just love my little trauma family living happily

[leviiackrman]

SIMS 4 OC BUILDS: Sunset Cosy Cabin

Up next we have my girl Margot’s retirement cabin deep in the woods; living with her hubby, daughter and fur baby! A small home but perfect for this trauma bonded couple and their recovery life together!

Lookbooks: Ackermans || Rikihisas || Enatsu || Kyutoku || Olalias || Hatakes || ATLA || Ginnivan || Ishimoto

Builds: Saitama Loft

Tag list (ask to be added or removed): @carrionsflower @statichvm @risingsh0t @simonxriley @tommyarashikage @kanos @bbrocklesnar @confidentandgood @unholymilf @florbelles @thedeadthree @shellibisshe @roofgeese @aezyrraeshh @faerune @tekehu @jackiesarch @minaharkers @sergeiravenov @carlosoliveiraa @rosenfey @greenecreek @queennymeria @heroofpenamstan @alexxmason @tethrras @jamessunderlandgf @a-treides @solasan @bigbywlf @delzinrowe @fenharel @imogenkol

[appleblueberry-pie]

Honestly trauma bonding is the way to go 😌✨

Reader who adopted a child and loved them more than anything in the world, since she had no family or pets (being spiderwoman is a sacrifice, after all.).

Reader's Green Goblin killed their child brutally in front of her, leaving Reader with immense trauma and depression. (After torturing and then killing GG in the same gruesome way as he did with her child)

Reader who abandons being a Spider-person and goes back to her old job, being a professional gymnast.

Miguel who finds Reader's world, and asks who there isn't a Spider there if the canon event of the radioactive spider biting someone happened long ago.

Miguel who investigating, finds out that Reader is the spider there, however they abandoned their heroic life (mostly because of backlash from the media)

Miguel who one day goes to Reader's house to get answers, first explaining who he is and what the fuck that orange portal is 💀

Miguel understands how Reader feels and explains his backstory, and persuades (forces) Reader to join the Spider Society.

Miguel, that slowly falls in love with Reader and turns into an obsession. Maybe in the future, he can give Reader his kids so they won't have to grieve as much for their dead kids.

You were meant for him.

He shouldn't say that, but no bone or muscle in his entire body disagreed with this statement that he is claiming.

He fell in love with you before he even realized it and happily accepted the fall, knowing just from how you spoke to him, that you know how to love. You love the way that he wants to be loved. And he wants that. He wants you.

He was so goddamn in love with everything about you. He loves the way you speak, the way you carry yourself, the way you look at people, and the way you look at him.

He wants those eyes on him all of the time. So, he tries to work for it.

You looked so tired every single day. Since he found you alone in your apartment of your universe, he knew you held luggage no one else had behind them.

He wanted to at least take half of the weight off of your shoulders. He wanted to brush the midnight tears off of your face. He wanted kiss your callused hands. He wanted to have you.

He truly believes he can fix you.

"There is no fixing me. Nobody can save me."

He had never been so tuned into a conversation before. Mask off, sitting across from you in your living room, on the edge of his seat, staring into your iron eyes. You didn't want to let anyone back in again.

Hearing about your past only made him more determined.

"I can't put that suit back on again.....no. I killed enough people and killed off enough of myself. I don't benefit from that life anymore. Hell, my own city that I fought for doesn't want me anymore. Why the fuck would I even bother trying??" You try to laugh it off and killed the rest of your drink.

"The only person that could make me put that back on is the one I did all of this bullshit for."

You let the silence grow for a little to collect the words building up in your throat. But to speak it was a different battle.

"S/he was mine. S/he was all I had. Every day I had to wake up and go to sleep seeing her/his face, and it's all I needed to continue living another fucking day. And s/he's gone! I thought sparing lives would do me good, and now my babygirl/boy is gone. What the fuck am I supposed to do?" You whispered the words, as if it was forbidden to even speak them aloud.

And every single word you spoke made Miguel feel like he was living in your skin. Every question you asked, everything you said you felt is so close to experience of losing his little girl, it makes him nauseous. He only knew you for a few hours and already wanted to hold you in his arms.

"I can't....I just...can't put that thing back on. I really can't. I'm sorry." Your words slowly turned into a mutter as you fidgeted with your hands.

He doesn't know how many hopeful "yes, you can"s he whispered back to you with comforting (consensual) hugs before you had on that damned suit again and was in the middle of HQ.

His room was quiet. Peaceful, as he typed away on his technology you weren't interested in at all.

You felt so naked in the suit, but for some reason, it made you feel more secure than you'd ever felt these past few years......maybe this would be okay for now.

Miguel looked back at you, seeing you staring off into the distance and stopped typing to place his hand on your shoulder.

You looked up at him with those sad, tired eyes. Just seeing your face as clearly as it was, it continued to give him hope to be the one to support your during your healing process. You clearly needed the help. And if anyone could do it well, he was certain that it would be him.

[macravishedbymactavish]

First "I love you" (TF141 x GN!Reader Headcanons)

Since I literally can't focus on writing the series I have started, have some headcanons instead

TW: Swearing, typical COD violence and themes (mild spoilers in Price's bit), some clichè themes

Blog HQ

Ghost

Saying I love you...

You told him the first time he returned to your shared home following deployment

Sure the two of you had been together for a fair while before this, but its the first time you were alone in your shared space. It was the first time you really felt how empty home was without him.

You didn't want to distract him prior to leaving for the mission, so you whispered those 3 little words to him mid-kiss when he was home with you.

Heart full, and the breath you didn't realize you were holding all this time released. He was back in your arms. Your home was back with you.

Hearing I love you...

As with the other headcanons I write, I'm a firm believer that Simon isn't as emotionally unavailable or closed off due to past trauma as much as so much time in solitude. The last meaningful connection he had ended not the greatest, so he wasn't keen on seeking this out. It's been a while, our man is pretty uneducated in the modern romance department.

With his "lack of experience due to time alone" he is honestly a bit overwhelmed and terrified of this. He loves you, all of his heart. He loves you with the same amount of his heart as he loved them.

Sure, it's a different love altogether (familial vs romantic), but the feelings are overwhelming no less.

He clearly doesn't say it back right away (even though God he wants to). He wants to make sure he means it and portrays just how much he means it before diving right in. He wants it to be as close to perfect for you as possible.

Surprisingly, the perfect moment comes when you're falling asleep one night. You're snuggled into his chest, warm, content. Mumble a soft I love you, Simon.

His response comes naturally, a soft I love you too whispered into the darkness. Then everything just seemed to fall into place.

That night was the best sleep either of you ever had.

Gaz

Saying I love you...

I feel like with Kyle it would happen at the exact same time. Like....literally the same time. So imma just:

Saying I love you/Hearing I love you...

It would definitely come when the two of you are most comfortable around one another. Probably during a lazy night at home.

Cooking together perhaps? Little bit of teamwork, mixed with teasing comments and stolen kisses as you manuever around one another.

Or maybe playing video games (cozy couch co-op or fiercely competitive. No inbetween. Take your pick).

Flip side of the coin: you're getting wound down from a night out. Stripping out of the stupid fancy clothes you decided were a good idea to wear out. Spoiler: it wasn't a good idea. Next time let's do something more casual.

No matter what the situation is, you're doing it together and your hearts couldn't be fuller. Happily in the apartment you two share, just enjoying one another.

"I could live like this forever without complaint" you'd start, smiling over at him (even if he beat your ass at whatever game you were playing with no mercy)

"Didn't know I was dating an immortal" he'd tease back. "Share your secrets with me"

"No!"

"Why not????"

"I simply cannot share my secrets with a doof like you"

Your play argument ending in him trying to tickle you, or play wrestle you, or just anything that results in the two of you (INNOCENTLY) tangled up together. Like super clichè looking into the others eyes as you lay/sit there. Lost in the moment and realizing it's no longer "I like like you" but rather:

"I love you"

Said, by the two of you, at the exact same time.

Queue laughter, shared kisses and full hearts.

Soap

Saying I love you...

My mind automatically went to lost on a road trip trope. Like you two would plan out an entire day, wanting to visit the spot you two would hang out at all the time pre-relationship.

Except you're both too distracted by conversation and jamming to whatever playlist you had in the background to realize: your turn is well into the rear view.

By the time he realizes he's now driving on roads he doesn't recognize, it's too late. You're pretty far out of the way, and the clouds in the sky don't look super promising.

"T'hell with it! We have our lunch here" he'd propose, finding a small hill in the distance. "Our new spot™️"

So that'd exactly what you do. An improvised little lunch, in your new trademarked spot.

It was after lunch, when you both were full and ready for a food coma. You don't know what overtook you to say it. You didn't even realize you were saying it until his eyes dialted and a small smirk crossed his lips.

"You love me, aye?"

Hearing I love you...

He would have no hesitation saying it back, except for you playfully smacking him while yelling his name.

He'd be so in shock that someone as lovely as you would feel that way toward someone like him.

You!! Loving him!!

The next time he'd try to say it back, it would be interrupted by thunder in the distance, and the urgency to start packing up your things and getting home before too long.

It was when you make the journey from the vehicle to the house through the pouring rain when he decided now was the time. Watching you laugh, try and fail to keep yourself dry that it came out.

"I love you too"

"That's nice. But it's raining fucking hard so can we go inside and be cute after?"

You two were 100% cute inside after that. Lots of "I love yous" shared back and forth that night.

Price

Saying I love you...

Hear me out though, what if it were you captured with Kate (in that one mission, the one that solidified that Gaz shouldn't be in aircrafts anymore).

No matter how you feel in that moment (terrified, oddly calm, pissed to high hell) one thought would be in the front of your mind:

You've never said I love you.

Sure, you've told him the various things that you love about him. But never told him straight out that you love him in his entirety.

So as you sit, guns pointed at you. Ready to cause harm and death if needed. You find yourself reflecting on your relationship.

The ups, the downs, the victories and hardships. The way that you used to find his overbearing nature to be insufferable at times...you're now viewing it in a new light.

Maybe that's just because you're standing on death's doorstep wondering if he's going to answer today.

The crash, the chaos. You truly wonder if it's the end. Until you're pulled away from eternities grasp and brought back to reality. Face to face with your boyfriend who is clearly fighting back his own emotions. Still convincing himself that you're alive.

"I love you, John" comes out so naturally as you launch yourself at him. Ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of his gear pressing into you. He was here, he had you.

Hearing I love you...

John would 110% be beside himself. Trying to figure out how he let this happen, concerned that he won't get to you in time, letting his mind run wild with worse case scenarios.

Whether you work in the military or not -- you were never supposed to be in this type of situation.

Getting the call that you were MIA and now a POW caused his heart to stop. To grow a shade colder as he reminded himself he needs to breathe.

Won't do you a whole lot of good if he's passed out.

While he wants to call the shots and lead the charge to get you back safe, he does step back and let his teammates take point. Considering it's a glaring conflict of interest for him to be there, captain or not.

The entire time they're fighting to get to you, all he can think of is how this is inadvertently his fault. Running through everything to figure out where he went wrong. Where did he slack off? What could he have done differently?

He also vowed in this moment to keep you safe for the rest of your lives. Even if you hated him, if you never wanted to see him again because of this. He would never, ever anything like this happen to you again.

When they finally reach the front of the convoy, he's ready to pass out or punch someone out if they don't move out of his way. Much like a mama bear and her cub, you don't get between John and his love in this moment.

His team makes quick work of the enemies, as he approaches one of the doors. Heart hammering inside his chest, hands shaking slightly as tears burn the back of his eyes. Pleading to anyone listening that you be alive.

When you barreled into him and whispered those words to him he could've fallen over. His legs almost not supporting him. You were alive, you love him. You were alive. You love him. He repeated this over in his head as he held you close.

Whispering the words back, cursing himself for how his voice broke halfway through.

You were alive. You love him.

Taglist: @bloodonmyhands-1221 @v1naco @bowtruckleninja

[sweet-honey-tears]

🧸When They’re Dads🧸

Part two —> part one

Characters: Shoto, Izuku, Dabi x GN!Reader

I’m back! This was kinda requested… idk. I went off the rails a bit with this one. Can you tell I love making Dabi save people who have crappy lives? Cause I do…I fucking love the idea…this darker then my past Dad post. SO IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO CERTAIN TOPICS, don’t read Dabis!!! Ideas are always welcomed, I hope you enjoy.!

Warning: Talk/ mention of child abandonment

❄️ Shoto 🔥

“Hey Hello there Little one.”

“You’re beautiful”

Shoto never really saw himself as someone who would have a family. There was a lot of unaddressed trauma that seemed to make any idea of a family impossible. Yet years later, here he is. Holding his 2nd baby boy, swaddled in a baby blue blanket. And 3 years after, Shotos is holding a baby girl.

Her Small hands grasp mindlessly at long strands of red and white mixed hair.

Funnily enough, all three of your children have different colored hair and refer to your husband in different ways. And it’s honestly adorable.

“Daddy”- youngest who has your hair color and two stripes of a lighter color in the front.

“Dad or Dad-da-da”- middle which has a messy yet beautiful mix of red and white hair.

“Dad” -oldest stark white hair.

Your two boys have found their main priority to be their little sister. After a quirk incident when she was 5- her quirk formed in school- and she started to get bullied. When Shoto was about to step in, his sons did it for him. Quietly and  subtly. Threatening the other children with the fact their father was a hero. And their little sister was just as powerful as him. You both do end up talking to them but still… it was fricken adorable

Shoto smiles the day he sees his two sons holding each of their sister's hands, guiding her through the pickup zone to find him.

Shoto doesn't push his kids into anything- encourage, yes.

Shoto is the kind of dad who doesn’t force his kids into any activities. He will offer the idea of his kids doing something but never force them. He will heavily encourage them when they find their passion. Acting like the proudest dad in the world when his little girl does her first solo in dance or his middle gets into the art show. It’s all a big achievement.

You know that whole middle child disappears minds thing? - yeah not a thing. Each child is even, no one is a favorite and NO ONE IS IGNORED.

You’re children know who Toya is- though they don’t really know who Dabi is. Minus that he and their father have a history. But stuff happened…

It happened slowly, the mention of ‘the man’ a walk with your daughter turned to her her talking about her day happily.

“I talked to a nice man! He has fun piercing and he kinda looked like Daddy”

You tell Shoto. Both extremely fearful.

Your middle child comes home one day with a black ring on his finger, his name- which seems to be carefully burnt into it, is written on the name.

Then your oldest, for his birthday got his ears per coed . And not soon after, a small box was left on your porch. “Sorry, I’m late kid.” A pair of white piercings rested inside.

Time passes, and you both notice how the villain Dabi seems to disappear from the news. And the visited from Touya becomes more stagnant. And a few years later, a polorde of a baby girl finds its way to your house… she wrapped in a dark purple blanket. Small horns poking out from her hair. A happy smile on her face… she’s adorable

There is little to no contact with Shotos farther.

They call Izuku- “Uncle Zoo”

🪴 Izuku 🪴

“We’re having a baby!” He starts crying- bawling really!

My man doesn’t care about gender or shit- they are getting All Might stuffy, and there are gonna be pro hero p posters in that nursery. The kid will have a room designed for them, and the minute your child says they have a new hobby, Izuku is on it. He’s buying stuff and researching. Watching videos on how to support your little boy in learning this new American sport he found. And later on, he’s sitting down watching hours upon hours of videos on hair for your little girl.

He also keeps his old hero journals, your children love to look through them. Talking as they mostly look at the pictures in the books.

“Un Might!” Your little girl yells

“Uncle All Might!”

Your children referred to All Might as their uncle almost as soon as they were born. Toshi appears at random for parties and school pick-ups whenever he can. And Izuku can’t lie, it’s fucking awesome.

Inko also is always in and out of your house- she lives rather close actually (courtesy of Izuku wanting to make sure his mother is comfortable and never lonely- she’s a god send when you both need a brake!!).

Izuku knows he can’t always be there, especially with being the new 1 one hero- so it’s no surprise for him to video call and talk to you all.

“I miss you all so much.”

“We miss you too Dad.” Oldest

“Miss ew oo!” Your baby girl babbles, her fingers grasping onto the Pro Hero Deku plushies.

Both kids own one. These are special though, there’s a little voice box built with the toys. Every time the kids squeeze the hand a little message comes out.

“I love you”

There’s a small one of him singing. Telling a short story.

Your Lock Screen is of your two kids opening up the present. Your son looks a bit confused holding up the stuffy while your daughter is already squeezing the toy and giggling. Your husband is standing nervously to the side with a hand on his neck. A somewhat worried but hopeful expression on his face. A large but sweet smile there too.

Izuku doesn’t care if his kids have quirks or not, he’ll love them unconditionally. He’s already taught them how they have a place in the world if they do or don’t have a quirk. How they are no different and just as special.

I imagine the two of you fight over your baby’s first words.

“It’s gonna be Mama/Dadda/Preference”

“No, It’s gonna be BaBa or Zoo”

And then you both look over at your baby babbling and go running over and you just hear an “Ight.” Does that count? No- you won’t count it but you look over at Izuku and this man’s eyes are stars.

“Izuku no-“

“First words”

“ZooZoo no.”

“All Might” he whispers out. And you just smile and shake your head. No, it’s not gonna count, but to Izuku it kinda does.

“Uncle Baky!”

“Unky Shoe!”

“Un’ id-E-uh”

“Auntie Ouch!”

Yes, Bakugou is considered their uncle.

🔥Toya/Dabi🔥

Dabi found your daughter in an abandoned house. Her cries led him to her. She was in the bare minimum for clothes, shivering at the cold air that burst through the broken house. Small arms swung in discomfort at the cold as Dabi approached. Your adopted daughter had small horns at the top of her head. And when her eyes caught Dabi’s, his breath left his chest. Big eyes that were a vibrant blue, almost glowing.

“Holy shit.”

Dabi leaned down and swaddled her in his coat, his quirk activating slightly to try and chase her shivering away. “Shh. Shhh. It’s okay, I got you.” His deep voice rumbled.

He’s the kind of dad that feels like he ain’t really- like it’s supposed to be. He’s like that boyfriend of a single parent- the father figure who’s always there for your kid but isn't the legal father. And when someone brings it up to him, he gets awkward and doesn’t know how to answer. But he’s there at every baseball game and there for the first breakup and graduation.

Dabi doesn’t have much to prepare him for suddenly adopting a child. But he did remember it when the others were little. Watching the adults take care of them all growing up. Watching his mother and sister.

He’s the first to wake up when your daughter starts crying at night. He is already halfway off the bed by the time you open your eyes.

“I got it, Doll.” He rumbles

You sneak into the room, finding him holding your swaddled daughter, her little hands grasping at his sleep shirt. A rumbled voice filled the air.

“The monstersare gone. He’s on the run and your daddy’s here.” His rumbled voice.

Dabi doesn’t say he can sing, he denies he can, but he can. And he only will for your daughter. No. Not even you, just for her. His voice is rough, like really gravely but calming.

He carefully rocks her, the street light illuminating the two of them just perfect to catch both their smiles.

“Beautifull, beautiful, beautiful. Beautiful girl”

He trains his daughter, ensuring she can handle herself in the world. She knows basic ways to defend herself and fight back.

Dabi also take a huge step back from the villain life. The public even takes notices because of the drop.

Dabi doesn’t tell her about her Uncles or Aunts, she finds them one day.

You and your toddler were at the park. You had always had your face covered during attacks. So unlike Dabi, Shig or Toga, you can go into public with no mask or anything. Your sweet daughter was swinging, the evening sky coming to a close. That’s when it happens, you hear someone clear their throat and look up to see Shoto standing there. His eyes are on your daughter.

“Can I help you?” Your tone came off defensive.

“Mama/Pappa/preference, he looks like daddy!” Your toddler happily stated. Oblivious to the tension in the air.

“You must be Da-Toya’s partner.” You pulled your daughter from the swings, pushing behind you, eyes narrowing sharply. “Toya sent a photo a year or two back” Shoto smiles “she’s beautiful” You’re almost confused- you remember when Toya sent the picture, but still. That was years ago. “My youngest made these for you,” he reaches far into one of his pants pockets slowly, and you watch him intensely. Half ready to have your daughter run to the meeting point if this goes south. But Shoto fishes around for a secound more before smiling, apparently finding the object. He pulls out a ziplock bag of string bracelets. They’re slightly knotted together, but otherwise fine. “She made them a few months ago- when Toya dropped off a present for her… I told her I'd pass them to you if I find you.”

And that’s how unofficially-officially play dates between your daughter and Shotos three children started.

And soon, your daughter ‘magically’ met Fuyumi and Natsuo and then Rei. With Toya hidden in the background of course

@thrivingaintmything

[ae-azile]

Azile's OC Round Up, Part 3 - Progression OCs.

Since I am actively updating this story, I decided to make the list of my prominent Progression OCs. I will likely add Fern and Milan to part 4.

Vice

Introduced in: Chapter 1 of Progression

Age: 36

Profession: Major Family Bodyguard

Characteristics: hardworking, morally ambiguous, loving brother, quick to feel resentment

Importance: Chay's first sexual partner.

Origin: Ex-cop, orphan. Became a bodyguard to bail his troubled younger brother out of jail. Became enamored by Chay's growing confidence, abilities, and muscles. Despite their age gap and first time being sudden, they slept together a few more times. Chay declined the offer to go out on a date, then slept with Vice's roommate not too long after. This was a problem because Vice has been in a FWB situation with his roommate for a while, so he felt betrayed by both of them.

Sand

Introduced in: Chapter 9 of Progression

Age: 26

Profession: Major Family Bodyguard

Characteristics: Loyal, quiet, friendly, relatively strong moral compass despite job

Importance: Chay's previous sexual partner, the only one he considers a friend.

Origin: Has very little family outside of the compound. Comes from foster care. Took the job for stability and a place to live, stayed for the friendships. Would have been open to dating Chay, but okay with being friends too. They work out together and sometimes have semi-heartfelt conversations. Honestly a pretty good guy.

Lane

Introduced in: Chapter 7 of Progression

Age: 33

Profession: Psychotherapist

Characteristics: Patient, understanding, trustworthy, calm, professional

Importance: Kim's therapist, and she has actually made some strides with him.

Origin: Lane is the older cousin of Tay. She is his mother's sister's daughter. While her immediate family is not directly involved with the mafia, she grew up close enough to Tay to know some of the traumas that occurred. Kinn already knew her and was on good terms with her due to Tay, so he reached out after it became clear Kim needed extensive treatment in order to feel better. Kim genuinely likes her, and would probably not be able to switch to a new therapist easily, or possibly at all.

Malai

Introduced: In Progression, Tankhun mentions visiting her in Chapter 20, and she is introduced in Chapter 22 officially. Versions of her character are also mentioned/included in The Masks Series, Lay Me Down to Sleep, and I Do (Not Understand What's Going On).

Age: 34

Profession: Litigation Paralegal

Characteristics: Kind, ambitious, maternal, excellent multitasker

Importance: Arm's older sister

Origin: Malai as a general character was first introduced in 5, 3, 1, and On, which is a novel length prequel to Giant Dancing Hedgehogs are Nightmare Fuel told solely from Arm's POV. In that, she lives with her younger sisters and is characterized as a hardworking sisterly/motherly figure due to rescuing Arm and the girls from the human trafficking situation they were all in. In this universe, she is more career oriented, but still a motherly figure at heart. She adopted her foster siblings after becoming of age from a really abusive and traumatic household. Arm is six years younger than Malai, but the next oldest and the only boy in their family. He often feels a need to make up for her sacrifices, but she makes them happily. A year before Progression, she had a close friend pass away, leaving behind twin toddler girls. While she balanced the motherly/sisterly role with Arm, Hansa, Nalin, and Preeda, she sees Tida and Priya as her daughters now. She doesn't have much interest in marriage or romance. A history of abuse partially plays into this, but it just isn't her thing. She likes being independent in that regard.

Hansa

Introduced: Chapter 22 of Progression, but versions of her character are also mentioned/included in The Masks Series, Lay Me Down to Sleep, and I Do (Not Understand What's Going On).

Age: 26

Profession: Horticulturist/Florist

Characteristics: Quiet, Non-judgmental, cautious, kind, carries a lot of trauma, but has been doing better

Importance: Arm's younger sister, Pol's love interest.

Origin: Roughly 18 months younger than Arm, Hansa was the person he was closest to growing up. In both this story and in 5, 3, 1, and On (although she had it even harder in 531). But in Progression, they grew up in an extremely abusive home where they were all traumatized, but the foster father took a particular interest in Hansa. Arm is protective of all of his sisters, but particularly her. She has been hurt a lot and struggled with her mental health when she was in her late teens to early twenties, but found solace in gardening and watching things bloom. She wants to find love, but the last time she tried went horribly. Other than Arm, she struggles with feeling comfortable around men. She was surprised to find Pol so friendly, fun, and approachable. Now that Arm and Tankhun are together and reach out more to spend time as a group, they often bring Pol. She actually looks forward to seeing him.

Nalin

Introduced in: Chapter 22 of Progression, but versions of her character are also mentioned/included in The Masks Series, Lay Me Down to Sleep, and I Do (Not Understand What's Going On).

Age: 20

Profession: Robotics Major, student librarian at university library

Characteristics: Highly intelligent, quick witted, smooth, tech-savvy, a romantic deep down.

Importance: Arm's younger sister, Macau's love interest.

Origin: Basically a mini female Arm, but more charismatic. Her main interests lie in further integrating and advancing robotics when it comes to the medical field and to help those living with disabilities live more freely and comfortably in their day to day lives. While she works hard and is a top student at her university, she is occasionally known to have fun. She did meet Macau at a party and had a night with him that felt magical. Is he an idiot for dropping his phone into a grate? Yes. Did she hold a grudge so she wouldn't feel sadness and rejection? Yes. But that's cleared up now, and they have been talking multiple times a day since her brother's party. She doesn't know if Arm will be thrilled about her potentially dating his boyfriend's cousin, and she loves and looks up to her older brother so much. But she likes Macau, so...🤷🏻‍♀️

Preeda

Introduced in: Chapter 22 of Progression, but versions of her character are also mentioned/included in The Masks Series, Lay Me Down to Sleep, and I Do (Not Understand What's Going On).

Age: 18 going on 19

Profession: Gap year. Looking into colleges, having fun until then.

Characteristics: confident, flirtatious, indecisive, attention seeking, challenging, family-oriented.

Importance: Arm's youngest sister

Origin: The youngest of Arm's foster siblings. Despite being the youngest when removed from their abusive situation, she witnessed a lot, which has caused certain rebellions, impulses, and avoidances in her. Her family worries, but keeps communication open. This helps, because she feels free and happy to talk with her siblings and share things with them. Came out as a lesbian at 15 and never looked back. Wishes Arm were more flamboyant and obvious in his own gay-leaning tendencies, so she's glad he's dating Tankhun, who is fabulous.

[bunnygirl678]

Omg bunny why are you doing another au? Cause it popped into your head and you can’t work on anything else till it’s out in the world? Okay here goes. Beware this isn't the strongest of my aus more just general vibes that i think would kinda make a goodish story?

P.s. as with everything I put out feel free to take the idea and make it yours, write it, draw it, use it to distract your overactive brain

This one is sad and I’m calling it abandonment issues Green lol, rest is under the cut just in case you feel uncomfortable with the severe emotional trauma that I enjoy inflicting on Green

-Greens mom dies during childbirth, little bb green has a bunch of issues so he gets stuck in the hospital for the first few months (for those who don't have little ones that is the worst time no sleep, all they do is cry, honestly tough times)

-Green's dad who is overcome with grief leaves Daisy and little bb green with his father professor oak.

-eventually they bring green home and the neighbor who also has a newborn (red duh) ends up helping a lot cause the old prof is on his own being widower and suddenly having a 4 year old and a newborn to raise

-red and green are close of course they do everything together

-green never asks about his parents until he's like 6 and he ends up getting yelled at not to ask, he just knows his mom is gone and his dad only stops by like once a year

-and when the dad stops by he full on ignores green and green always ends up spending the day curled up in red's bed while red attempts to cheer up his normally joyful friend

-when green is like 9 his dad comes back and wants to take daisy back cause he's ready to be a parent again or whatever bs, but he doesn't want green. and sneaky little green overhears his grandfather and father talking about it

-and his dad is like, the little brat killed her, i don't want him, and you're only keeping him cause you're too nice to send him to an orphanage."

-green runs off before he can hear his grandfather deny that and pretty much call his son out, but green spends the day sobbing to red but not telling him anything

-after that green starts pulling away, pulling away from red, pulling away from his grandfather, daisy is gone with their dad but he doesnt' really talk to her anymore when she calls

-they start the journey, everything goes like canon, then green loses and prof says all the canon stuff he says thinking green maybe needs some tough love

-red runs off to mount silver, green becomes the gym leader, but he has like no friends and doesn't talk to his family and he 100% blames himself for red leaving

-eventually little gold breaks through green's shell and they become friends and gold goes finds red, and green goes up to apologize and try to get red to come down

-green has a breakdown on top of the mountain, he's like 18 and has never dealt with any of his abandonment issues, he's like it's my fault my mom is dead, it's my fault the prof hates me, and it's my fault you hate me, and he's kinda like what's the point of trying anymore and he gets up to leave

-and red just sorta tackles him into a hug and won't let go till they are both crying messes, green ends up spending a week or so on the mountain and get really close and they both start developing feelings for each other and then finally they both go down

-red moves in with green and gets help navigating the world while red trys to help green with his issues

-green and his grandfather talk things out, green found out his grandfather was happy to have him and that he's loved

-he talks to daisy and pretty much the same conversation

-eventually red apologizes for leaving, green apologizes for pulling away instead of letting red in, and then they both mutually admit their feelings for each other

-and then they date and live happily ever after

[mastcrmiind]

POST EVENT PLOTTING/STARTER CALL !!

just a quick recap of all my muses post event, both those who died, and those who suffered in other ways ;) there's some plots that i'd be down for with some of my muses under the cut! limit of 3 starters per muse and 3 per mun!! TW for mental health & murder mostly.

atticus 'link' lincoln:

link believes he's happily married to jo, because we can't have him having too much heartbreak. he remembers nothing about his real life, not that he has a kid, he was living in seattle before arriving in dc, nothing. he believes he's lived in dc most of his life, and settled down in a nice house with jo once they got married. he is still working as an orthepedic surgeon at the local hospital. plots: fake siblings, friends, colleagues starters:

albus dumbledore:

albus is 100% keeping to himself since getting out of jail. he can't handle the stares and comments he gets on the street, so he's most likely at home, perhaps venturing out every now and again to get himself some food. he still remembers nothing about his life pre-dc and is starting to question what he thinks he knows about himself entirely. plots: friends, a confidant, someone he can confide in and that won't judge him for what he did, also many many people to judge him, perhaps someone to help him get his memories back? in whatever way that entails.

bonnie bennett:

introducing happy go lucky bonnie bennett. she remembers she's a witch, but has no idea about any of the trauma she went through during her teens/early adult years. she's living it up in dc, using magic for whatever she needs to, and sadly does not remember the love of her life, enzo. plots: friends, flirtationship, fake family. starters:

carly shay:

carly arrived in dc not too long before the murders ended, and she very much wants to go home, or find her loved ones again and make sure they're alive. she doesn't know many people in town besides sam and Freddie, and she doesn't know what she'd do if she lost them. plots: honestly anything, friends, enemies, all the good stuff. starters:

cleo sertori:

cleo is a blank slate, the girl doesn't even remember she's a mermaid, which could be interesting the first time she takes a shower or gets rained on after waking up. she thinks she's from dc, she may have even adopted a fake american accent instead of her standard australian one. plots: fake family, friends, enemies, someone to find her with a tail when she inevitably gets wet. starters:

edmund bridgerton:

edmund is stressed. he woke up in dc in the height of the murders, and is now absolutely terrified that any of his family may have been caught up in the events that happened. he is roaming the streets of the city trying to find anybody he knows from home, whether that's family, friends, preferably his wife. plots: someone to explain to him what on earth the future is. starters:

embry call:

embrys' first guess on who was committing all the murders was vampires, and he was telling anyone who would listen, so perhaps he's feeling a little stupid right now. he just wants to make sure that nothing like this happens again, and is looking for anyone he knows to make sure they're safe. plots: friends, found family, other werewolves, perhaps a vampire to show him that some are better than others. starters:

enola holmes:

enola spent the duration of the murders locked in her room, scrolling the internet to find out any information about what was going on. trying to find clues to help solve them, and she's feeling rather defeated that she didn't solve a single one, but she was fairly certain sherlock didn't either, so that reassures her slightly. plots: friends, perhaps a love interest. starters:

ginny miller:

ginny got here after the murders finished, which she is thanking her lucky stars for, though everybody in town seems very stressed, which is kind of ruining the vibe of her summer. she believes she's here on a last summer getaway before she starts college in the fall. she remembers nothing about her real life. plots: friends, a love interest, anything really, she's new to town. starters:

laurent da revin:

laurent was fairly amused by the murders taking place in town, finding it a prime opportunity for a meal here and there that raised no eyebrows. he's now glad things are somewhat back in order, though he's going to miss the chaos. he's most likely going to be hanging out with his besties james and riley. sorry vic. plots: friends, found family, love interest? starters:

lexie grey:

all lexie wants to do is breakdown, like she did after the shooting at seattle grace, but she can't, despite losing one of her best friends, she's now responsible for the life of baby luna, and she can't risk anything happening to luna. she's going to be absolutely heartbroken when she realised that jo and link don't remember anything, but she will be doing all she can to protect luna, with the help of mark. plots: friends, found family since none of hers are in town, perhaps a rival. starters:

lily luna potter:

both lily lunas siblings, and her dad plus various other family members i lost count of died during the murder spree, so she's not taking it super well. she still doesn't understand how she's got her memories back, but she's seeking vengeance against those who hurt her family. plots: friends, anything really. starters:

lola fleming narcisse:

lola is going to be absolutely distraught to realise that kenna has no memories of her, or john. she's going to be spending all her time trying to help kenna regain her memories, and spending any other spare time with mary. at least one of her best friends remembers her. plots: friends, give this girl some friends, make her open up to strangers, found family starters:

mariana adams foster:

mariana hasn't really left her apartment since she found callies body. it's absolutely traumatising finding your sister dead in a park, despite callies lack of memories. she may venture out here and there for food, or retail therapy though. plots: friends, found family. starters:

melissa glaser:

melissas' woken up as a bakery owner, again. find her from around 3am baking cupcakes, donuts and serving hot filter coffee for the people of downtown dc. having memories was very short lived for my gal. plots: friends, fake family, loyal customers starters:

mika yasuda:

mika arrived in town, and the next day people started being murdered. she spent the majority of her first two weeks locked inside the hospital, sleeping when she could in on call rooms, but now she had a spare room at carina delucas house, and she couldn't be more grateful. plots: friends, found family, colleagues, rival, love interest. starters:

moana waialiki:

moana loves an adventure, but that doesn't involve finding bodies as she wanders down the street. she wants to be in the ocean, so she's spending most of her time down by the water, whether that's in a boat or just dipping her toes in to feel more at home. plots: friends, found family, someone with a shared interest in the water. starters:

noel kahn:

noel has absolutely no idea what everybody's issues are. he arrived after the murders ended, and he's really just here for revenge. he's kinda mad that he was beheaded by emily, so he's going to take out his frustration on anyone he sees fit. plots: friends, someone to help him get his revenge. starters:

queen charlotte:

charlotte remembers absolutely nothing about the fact she is from the past. she believes she moved to dc a few months ago on business. she's perhaps on the look out for some friends. plots: friends, fake family, a love interest starters:

rebekah mikaelson:

rebekah believes she's human. she doesn't believe in anything supernatural, thank you very much. she has a loving husband, and though she hasn't had any children of her own, she is a foster parent to a few older teens, even if some of them are over 18. she wants to give them the love she wanted growing up. she believes that her siblings are allison argent & ashley graham. plots: fake family, husband, foster kids, anyone that's not a mikaelson, friends starters:

simon basset:

well simon got through unscathed, sorry daphne. he still doesn't remember who he is, but also doesn't understand why he feels such a pull to this strange woman who he keeps bumping into almost weekly. he wants to figure that one out. plots: fake family, friends, enemies starters:

[c-nan]

okay so melissa sue anderson left little house on the prairie bc she thought they exhausted all of mary’s storylines and there was no more for her character but she was WRONG so i complied a list of writing choices the show writers could’ve done to extend her story the rest of the series:

1. mary and adam could have adopted james and cassandra cooper

to me, it would’ve made so much more sense if mary and adam adopted james and cassandra, rather than ma and pa (bc of space + money reasons). this would’ve keep mary in the show longer bc they could’ve have episodes focusing around the kids adjusting to life with mary and adam being their new parents (BAM, happy mary episodes). there would be episodes of the kids at school and mary helping them and such (which would ofc bring more mary and laura interaction bc i loved their sister bond). and of course they’d still visit ma and pa (esp with cassandra being carrie’s only friend and james looking up to albert), so mary would get tons more screen time, even in the eps that don’t revolve around her.

(also, i love cassandra, she’s super cute and a great addition to the show, but like. she takes a lot away from carrie i feel, and i don’t think it would’ve been that way if mary and adam would’ve adopted cassandra (and james) instead)

2. mary could’ve gotten pregnant again and the baby could’ve lived

she lost her first one before it was even born and she lost her second to a horrific house fire, the least the writers could do is give her a baby that lives!! the real mary ingalls never got married, never got children, so i found it unnecessarily cruel that they give the fictionalized character two and then take them both away for what? shock value? stupid imo. a part of me believes that they tried to give her a happier ending than the real mary ingalls, but honestly this seems worse than never being married or having children at all. ANYWAY, with the trauma of losing her first two children, having another would bring on a great, long-term storyline of her and adam being paranoid of any harm that may hypothetically come to it (which would be subtly weaved into mary-centric episodes about her and adam having a family) but by the end of the series, the child would still be happily alive and she’d be HAPPY!!!! and still living in walnut grove of course <3

3. mary and adam could’ve moved back to sleepy eye

adam could’ve gotten a job at that one firm (remember the one Important Lawyer Guy wanting him at his firm after the land case??), and mary could’ve kept the blind school open and teach with hester sue (what she’s wanted to do HER WHOLE LIFE). i think the stupidest thing the writers did to her story was to introduce this wonderful teaching opportunity, have her fall in love with all her students and with teaching, having the perfect life, JUST to rip it all away bc stupid-ass adam got his eyesight back and decide he doesn’t give two shits about the blind school or the kids bc now he can be a lawyer despite all the work they went through continuously to keep the school going. who cares what mary wants?? adam sure doesn’t. and idk, mary not giving much of a fight to stay in sleepy eye and continue to teach never sat right with me, it’s not in her character and honestly feels like an injustice to her. i feel her having the opportunity to go back and fight for her school to reopen would be more true to how she’s been established all these years and would definitely get her a two-parter and keep her in the show (even if we only see her on the odd ep when they travel to sleepy eye for work. better than nothing 🤷)

4. (my personal fave and not an option for the show but can’t a girl dream) mary could’ve left adam bc he doesn’t respect her life and wishes, and go back to sleepy eye to reopen the blind school. there, she could’ve eventually fell in love with one of the female townsfolk and finally live her best lesbian life surrounded by people who love and appreciate her

if i hadn’t made it clear yet, i hate adam and i love any alternative where he is most definitely not a part of mary’s life lmfao. sure, they had their cute moments but i cannot get over the fact that more often than not, he’s an asshole and i can’t stand him <3 the complete disregard for her wishes (taking her away from TEACHING) really irks my ass and not for a second did he stop and think “is there anyway i can achieve my dream without taking away mary’s?” no. no he didn’t, he didn’t care, he didn’t even ask her. like. dude. i feel this would be the perfect ending for her, and many episodes could be used to show her befriending the female townsperson, becoming good friends, and eventually fall in love (and this lady would APPRECIATE HER!!) all the while reopening the blind school and finally getting her happy ending!!!!! idk, it’s perfect to me, there’s no flaws in this one but ik the 80’s (and honestly today too) were too homophobic for this 🙄 it’s real for me, it’s canon idc.

final notes

i’m well aware there’s probably a million more ideas i can come up with and when i do i’ll just rb an addition, but these are the best i’ve got right now!! and notice how i was able to add to her storyline without giving her unbearable anguish?? wish the writers could’ve done that!! but no!! alas, i work with the cards i’m dealt, and i’ve spent a lot of time thinking of these alternatives which helps sooth the pain of awful writing choices.

i guess i’m just upset they took a character with so much potential (and one of the most interesting storylines imo) and just give her nothing and reduce her to nothing more than a wife. by the end of her story, it seemed like she was just there to be adam’s side-piece which doesn’t sit right with me. she deserved better than that and melissa sue anderson deserved better than that (she is SUCH an amazing actress, and it really sucks to see her put on the back burner since s5)

anyway, ik im yelling into the void here but idc i needed to get it all written down lol

[space-mermaid-writing]

The black cat with blue eyes [Part 2]

Summary: One day Peter drags a cat into the tower he found in the dumpsters and Tony finds himself adopting it, because – honestly – he can not say no to Peter. It turns out the cat has really strange opinions on food, belly scratches and movies. What else? Oh yes, Doctor Strange is missing. But those two events are clearly not related. Clearly…

Relationship: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange

Tags:Temporary Cat!Stephen, Hurt/Comfort, life is trauma, friendship is healing, supreme family (kind of), it starts with angst and ends in fluff, a lot of fun in between, I swear this is fun, cats are weird and we love it

Ko-fi | Read it on AO3 | Masterlist | Word count: 10k | Part 1

Author’s note: I kinda went overboard with 10k words but whatever. Cat!Stephen lives rent free in my head

This cat is Strange!...

Stephen hadn‘t planned this. None of it. It had been a short-circuit reaction.

After he came back from the blip, he thought he would settle in just fine. It had been mere seconds for him anyway between the fight on Titan and the great battle on Earth. Sure, he remembered being dusted, then this weird feeling of being there but also being not at all (it was a different feeling than death by Dormammu).

And they won. Everything went according to plan. He even managed to save Tony.

Stephen didn‘t know why he had kept searching for a future with the man alive, but the longer he watched – no, lived – possible scenarios of the fight, the stronger the urge became. In the end he couldn‘t imagine a world without Tony Stark.

He even helped Tony build a new arm, providing input on the medical aspects. Stark certainly knew enough other people he could have asked for it, but he had never questioned Stephen's presence.

There wasn‘t much Stephen could do beside that little project anyway. Wong was Sorcerer Supreme now. And somewhere in the last five years another sorcerer had become Master of the Sanctum Sanctorum. That was especially weird, because the Sanctum recognized Stephen being back, but the responsibility of being its master was one for a lifetime and technically Stephen had died. Now that he was back, there were two masters as if the building couldn’t decide between them. It was an inconvenience for everyone involved.

The gaps had been filled by other sorcerers in the past years and Stephen felt lost.

Still, he could have lived with that. It wasn't the first time he had lost everything and had to start over. After all, he still had his magic and could go on, throwing himself into his studies.

But then the memories started. Flashes of the futures he had lived.

At first it had been small things, like how long had it been since they won? A month? Two? A year?

Had Thanos killed Loki? No, the Asgardian was rebuilding a home for his people in Norway, together with his brother. Stephen had talked to them a few days ago. Or had it been just Thor, who still mourned his brother? Stephen was sure someone mentioned Loki, but he didn‘t remember the context.

Did Thanos take the mind stone from Vision? Or did he and Wanda live happily together in a small town?

One he saw Natasha in the compound‘s kitchen and was so very confused, because he had been sure she had died for the soul stone. It had to be the archer then who sacrificed himself. He murmured, „I‘m sorry for your loss.“ She looked at him funny and Stephen quickly fled the room, having long forgotten what he had wanted in the compound in the first place.

When Tony called him to ask him for help to install his new arm onto his body (he had finally healed enough for that with only scars left on his shoulder and his neck), Stephen almost burst into tears because he had been so happy about the sudden realization that the man was still alive.

It got to the point where Stephen sometimes wondered if he was still looking into futures. Maybe he just went too far ahead. He tried to activate the time stone, but the necklace sat empty on his chest. That triggered a short panic attack in him and the Cloak of Levitation wrapped itself around him like a protective cocoon.

Another time Stephen was sure: this was his personal hell. He, who had a perfect memory, could not remember what was real. Was this Dormammu's work? One of the demon’s many ways to torture him? Clever! It wasn't physical torture but one of the mind. Way more effective to break a human. But Stephen would not break. He would endure for all eternity if that kept Dormammu from devouring the earth.

Stephen only had to die to start a new cycle of the time loop.

That was the point at which it became too much for him. He didn't know why he was doing it or even what spell he used. He just didn't remember. But the next moment he was a cat running out of the Sanctum, to escape everything. The feline's instincts took over and finally he could stop thinking.

Hours passed. They turned into days, and days turned into weeks.

Why a cat? Well, his hands were still injured even in any other form, so bird wings were almost useless, or at least not reliable enough. A stray dog was too noticeable in the big city. And anything smaller than a cat was too easy a prey.

Surviving as a stray wasn’t easy. He stole food, slept hidden in the bushes of the large park. But if it helped him not remembering, it was worth it. He was content to just be a cat.

The little bit of magic he still used was anchored in his being. It happened passively, unconsciously; someone was looking in a different direction when he stole his next meal, animal control happened to take a different route, he was not discovered while he slept.

But as time went on, even the magic faded until it was almost gone. He was just a regular cat now. That was the danger of staying in a shape shift form too long.

Somehow he ended up in the tower that was surprisingly familiar to him. Stephen had once built magical wards around it even before the arm was completed (after Tony had told him how magic meddled with his mind). Those wards were still staying strong and the cat instinctively recognized it as a safe space.

He was still working on his instincts to survive when he added a small spell at the elevator, to be alerted when people entered or left. Potential treats. There were stairs, but the door to them was sealed, used only in emergencies.

Stephen didn‘t have to worry about finding food anymore, about rain or storms, about surviving. Now everything was taken care of. Now there was Peter, whom his brain told Stephen he had to protect. From what? Didn‘t matter. Stephen kept his eyes on him whenever the boy visited the tower.

And then of course there was Tony. Stephen only had his cat brain right now, but even after just a day he felt the trust he held towards the man. It was enough to have Stephen relaxed and interact with the two humans.

He wasn‘t in sole surviving mode anymore and he started to get picky about the food he ate. He chose to make his presence known to Tony and Peter instead of living in the shadows, in the corner of their eyes. He was looking out for them. (There were other humans visiting, but those felt less familiar and two humans were already enough responsibility in Stephen’s opinion).

It was a comfortable life. An easy life.

And it lasted – until Stephen was suddenly standing in front of Wong, who hadn‘t entered by elevator. Wong, who he hadn‘t sensed or even noticed until he was right in front of him. Wong, who was so deeply connected with the word MAGIC in his mind.

With Kamar-Taj.

The Sanctum.

Sorcerer Supreme.

The time stone.

Dormammu...

Stephen bolted. He fled right under the couch in the living room, and would have run even further if Wong‘s spell hadn‘t captured him. Trapped in a golden ball of mandalas, he floated through the air to the man.

„What the fuck?“ came from Tony, who had followed them. „What are you doing to my cat?!“

Wong turned around to him, gesturing to the pet. „Your cat? This is Stephen.“

Tony's eyes grew wide, then narrowed as he looked at the cat. "What the fuck?" he repeated with more emphasis. „Are you kidding me? How do you know? Why would he do this?“

„I recognize him.“ Wong said it in a voice as if it were blatantly obvious and he was wondering how Tony could not. The inventor didn‘t like the implication, also Wong had just answered one of his questions before he was shooting his own. „How did he get here?“

„Peter dragged him in. He found him in the dumpsters.“ Tony had his arms crossed, still demanding an explanation.

Wong eyed Stephen more closely now. „He seems more cat than human right now. I don‘t think he knew at which place he ended up. The fact that he doesn‘t use magic to the spell I trapped him in, is concerning.“

„Can you change him back?“

The other sorcerer tilted his head. „I could, but that‘s rather hurtful if it is involuntary and I‘m afraid it would do more harm than good in his current condition.“

Well, at least they found him. Even if under questionable circumstances. To think that he had been in New York the whole time… Maybe Tony had been a fool to worry, but on the other hand he couldn't help but feel relieved.

„I guess, you‘re taking him back with you?“ He didn't like the idea of the sorcerer taking the cat. The realization surprised Tony. The cat was Stephen. And Stephen's home was the Sanctum, he reminded himself. This possessive feeling of him was just a result of bonding with a pet. A pet that wasn‘t actually a pet.

Wong didn’t answer immediately, but weighed all the factors before admitting, „If I take him back to the Sanctum, he will probably run away again.“ Then they would be back at square one and the search would start at zero. Even if Wong tried to look after him, he couldn't lock Stephen up. "How long did you say he was here?" the sorcerer asked.

„A few weeks.“

„And he didn‘t try to leave once?“

„I don‘t think so.“ Friday would have told him if the cat had run into the elevator. Or flown out a window. Could Cat Stephen fly? He would not rule it out.

The cat had been surprisingly quiet during their conversation. His ears flattened, he sat huddled in the magic ball, not making a sound.

Wong turned his full attention to Tony. „I know this is unusual and now that you know this is Stephen you may have objections, but I think it would be best, if he stayed here until he is ready to change back.“

Tony blinked once, not sure he understood correctly. It was weird; five minutes ago he had been angry about the deception and now he was glad he got to keep the human turned feline a little longer? Well, in the list of strangest stuff that ever happened to him, it was only in the top 20. „Okay.“

Wong raised his eyebrows, surprised at the willing acceptance. But he didn't question it. "Good. Engage him in human conversation, activities… anything to remind him who he is. If a sorcerer stays too long in an animal shape he might forget how to change back.“

„That can happen?“ Tony asked, concerned. „How long of a time are we talking about?“

„It depends on the person and the circumstances.“

And they were quite worrisome, as Tony had already picked up on. „Alright. You‘ll be the first I‘ll call as soon as he gets his thumbs back.“

Wong nodded. „And I will think of ways to help him heal.“ Because that was what Stephen was doing. Coping with everything that happened in the last years, with everything he had done to keep the world safe. Their whole reality. It was one hell of a job and it came with a heavy toll.

Wong dissolved the spell and the cat landed on his feet. In a flash, he dashed out of the room. This time the other sorcerer didn’t follow him, but his tightly pressed lips showed his concern for his friend.

With a last nod to Tony Wong opened a portal and was finally gone. And Tony was left with a whole lot of information to take in. He wished Stephen had talked to him – before he became an animal. He had thought that their friendship, which had developed after the fight with the mad titan, was a strong one. Hell, Tony wouldn't mind if it was more than friendship.

But he couldn't blame Stephen. The sorcerer closed his feelings off even more than Tony did. And even Wong, who had known him much longer, hadn't known how bad things really were with his friend.

Tony was not one to dwell on the past, but he cursed Thanos' soul wherever it had gone after death.

„Fri, where‘s Stephen?“ he asked his AI.

„Under the drawer in the guest room.“

Tony went over and crouched in front of the drawer. Stephen looked at him with vulnerable blue eyes. Unsure, and afraid Tony would kick him out.

“If you knock another coffee pot off the table ever again, I will drag your magic ass to the next animal shelter. No matter what Wong says.“ He was petty like this.

The cat blinked once, slowly, and Tony took it as a sign that he understood and would behave.

“That being said, when you‘re done hiding under there, I could need your expertise in the lab.“ With that, he got up and left. It was all he had to say.

Back in his lab he worked on a model for a new Starkphone. Honestly, there wasn‘t much that could be improved, but customers were happy when they had options. So SI released a new model every year, slightly varying in size and style.

Friday projected a hologram of the blueprints and Tony took them virtually apart and put them back together.

Perhaps an hour or two passed before he heard the door open. Not many had access to his personal lab, and since Friday hadn't alerted him to any visitors, he knew it had to be Stephen. His suspicions were confirmed when the cat jumped onto a nearby chair and watched him in his work.

Now that he knew this was actually the sorcerer, it was kind of obvious. The mannerism was similar, they had the same eyes – Tony didn't dwell about how he knew what Stephen's eyes looked like – the cat even chose the same chair to sit in the lab.

Tony blamed it on ‘well, I didn't know this was an option' that he hadn't recognized him.

He raised a finger as a sign to wait. "Let me wrap this up real quick."

After he completed his updates, Tony forwarded the plans to the software team. Pepper might be CEO, but it was still Stark in where Stark was written on.

He then opened up another project. He had started it only recently and wanted Stephen's input on it anyway. Except that the man had since disappeared.

"I'm working on a way to make the technology from my arm available to everyone. It's also based on nanotech, but in a way that medical staff can easily handle it," he explained, enlarging holograms of various prosthetics.

The cat stared at them curiously. Maybe bored, it was hard to tell. His eyes were always equally intense in this non blinking way. At least he had Stephen's attention. Tony took advantage of that and talked him through everything he had so far.

He had never given a presentation to a cat before. The feline didn't make notes – he had no thumbs and couldn’t operate a pen – but at least he didn't ask stupid questions, so it could be worse. (He also didn't ask clever questions. He asked no questions, he was still a cat.)

Maybe it was imagination, because he knew now this was not a simple cat, but Tony had the impression that the feline was behaving differently than it had been before. It was as if it was more aware of everything going on.

Perhaps the encounter with Wong had triggered the rational part of Stephen's brain. Or the magic part.

During Tony‘s speech his black tail moved back and forth slowly. To any bystander, he looked like a regular cat who took their nine lives for granted and enjoyed long naps. But his blue eyes were wide and alert, focused on the hologram in the air.

After he finished his explanations, Tony trailed off and looked at Stephen. Silence spread. The cat’s tail had stopped swishing, then a second later he elegantly bounced off the chair and left the lab.

Perhaps Tony had been rash with his conclusion about the cat’s consciousness. He sighed and looked back at Holo, making a virtual side note to an idea he had just had.

Friday's voice chimed in. „It is time for dinner, Boss.“

„Is it already?“

„Doctor Strange sure thinks so.“

When Tony entered the kitchen, the cat was already sitting expectantly on the counter next to the refrigerator, yelling an impatient "Meow" at him.

"I'm pretty sure you can magic your own food on your plate. So you're just doing this to annoy me," Tony realized with amusement.

He reheated the Thai food from yesterday. Now that he knew Stephen wasn't a normal cat, he didn't have to worry about what he ate. As usual, Tony put two plates on the table – one for himself and one for the animal that followed him – and gave him a kiss on his furry head.

It had started as a joke, now it was a habit. Stephen made an unhappy sound and scowled at him. Oh, this was even more fun now.

They ate in silence. Stephen finished his smaller portion more quickly and licked his maw while he waited for Tony. (Waiting for Tony meant stealing food from his plate). He then followed the inventor back to the lab, where he jumped on the table and tried to access the hologram with his paw.

Tony handed him a Starkpad. "Here take this. It will work for your paws."

And so – to Tony's surprise – they started working together. At first, Stephen just read a lot. At least his eyes stared at the text on the screen. Every now and then he uttered a sound, but he seemed to be talking to himself rather than to Tony.

Tony just shook his head at this. As he did so, his eyes fell on a small device lying among various other tools on his table. He didn't have to think twice and grabbed it. A thumb pressed down and the small dot of a laser pointer appeared next to Stephen.

The cat froze, pupils blown. Tony moved the red dot to the floor, watching Stephen's head jerkily follow. The Starkpad was forgotten. Instead the feline wiggled his butt, lifting it up into the air while his chest pressed down onto the table. His hunting instincts were taking over.

Tony grinned broadly, waving the dot in small circles to lure the animal.

Stephen pounced and slid across the smooth floor. He scrambled, his claws extended, just missing the small red dot as it darted away.

Tony laughed as he watched him. The cat had no trouble keeping up but every time he reached his prey, it jumped places. And the feline followed. From the floor to the side of a drawer, back to the floor, up the wall. Stephen didn't hesitate and the next moment he was running on the ceiling.

Normally this was the point Tony would have called an exorcist, if he was still thinking that this was just an ordinary cat. He was in tears of laughter; it was just too funny to watch Stephen shooting after the point. He laughed so hard that his lungs hurt and the red dot disappeared.

The cat blinked and seemed to realize what he was doing there, what had just happened. He gave Tony a dirty look. Elegantly, he leaped down from the ceiling, rotating midair to land on his paws, and stalked back to his Starkpad.

For the rest of the day, the cat turned his back to Tony and ignored him.

_____________________________________

It was late at night when Tony went to bed. He could barely keep his eyes open and didn't realize until he was under his covers and no one was trying to climb on top of his blanket that Stephen had stopped at the door and was cautiously peeking at him.

"Get your fluffy ass in here. We have shared a bed before, so don't play coy now all of a sudden." Tony turned on his side and told Friday to turn off the light.

It wasn't long before he heard a noise by his feet as Stephen jumped up and curled up in a proper distance.

(When Tony woke up the next morning, the cat had ended up next to his face anyway.)

_____________________________________

Tony had made himself comfortable on the couch with his Starkpad and a bowl of popcorn, browsing for some light entertainment in the form of a series or movie.

Stephen was lying next to him on a pillow, his paws neatly tucked under his small body, and appeared to be asleep. Tony reached down and scratched behind the cat's ear. Stephen's eyes opened a crack, not looking at him directly. He tried to maintain a serious expression, but a small mew escaped him.

"Aw, look at you, all soft." Tony chuckled softly.

His hand moved to the other ear. Stephen stretched out to better appreciated the scratches, his eyes still barely open. He meowed again, not really caring about appearance anymore. But with his next move he lost balance and toppled off the pillow onto the couch. With Tony's laughter he sat up and flicked his tail in embarrassment, darting a glance at Tony.

„Don‘t look at me like that. I didn‘t push you.“ Smirking, Tony moved his Starkpad in front of Stephen's face. „Here, I even let you choose a movie.“

The cat used his paw to scroll through the selection, until he found something and told Tony by blinking at him. His choice surprised Tony more than it should have. „Doctor House? Really?“

„Meow.“

„Fine, but don‘t complain about incorrectly used medical terms.“

He placed the Starkpad so they could both see and pulled the popcorn onto his lap. Stephen didn't complain. In fact he curled up and went right back to sleep.

After two episodes, Tony decided to watch something else. As much as he liked Doctor House, it was not a series he would normally binge watch. But as soon as he paused the stream, Stephen‘s head perked up and looked at Tony with so much disapproval that he felt violently judged. So he continued the next episode.

And Stephen went back to sleep.

_____________________________________

Tony was not a morning person, never has been. Sure, he can get up if he has to, but he's not happy about it. And most of the time he runs on autopilot until his consciousness slowly kicks in. (Most of the time it was between the first and the third coffee).

Even back in the days when he had been CEO, he never scheduled meetings before 10 am and ever since he 'retired', that time had shifted even more backwards.

His body was just a subject to the first Newton's laws of motion. It liked the state it was in. If Tony was awake, he had no trouble working late into the night. And if he was sleeping, his body wanted to maintain that state too.

A body in motion remains in motion. A body at rest remains at rest, unless acted upon by force.

Such a force was usually a nightmare. But sometimes it was his alarm. When Friday woke him up with the soft voice of Evanescence and 'Wake me up. WAKE ME UP INSIDE'. She played the song in full length, even after he was already on his feet.

It was a very unappreciated joke. One Tony did absolutely not put into her code. (He was secretly very proud of her).

Tony was able to make his way to the coffee machine blindly.

He sipped his black elixir of life and placed a second, smaller cup on the table for Stephen. It was only at this point that he noticed the cat was nowhere near. That was unusual enough, because normally his furry roommate always greeted him and demanded his morning coffee. His absence didn't sit well with Tony.

Still too tired to form a clear thought, Tony stared at the empty spot on the table.

He could hear the rain pattering against the windows. It was as dreary a day as yesterday and reminded him of the time Peter the feline had brought home. Drenched, scrubby and generally sad looking.

Then a brief pang of panic rose in him. What if Stephen had left without letting him know? Did he no longer feel like being a feline? Or had the state of his mind worsened and the sorcerer had fled once again to be a stray. Or maybe an other animal? How would Tony know?

He had been under the impression that Stephen was doing better, had found more human traits in him; his scolding gaze, those huffs that he was sure were funny quips in replies to Tony‘s teasing.

Tony‘s thoughts were racing and he tried to pull himself out from spiraling down by speaking out loud. „Fri, have you seen Stephen?“ His voice was still raspy from sleep (and maybe concern).

There was a second of hesitation in the answer of the AI, while she was analyzing the data of her video footage. Normally she always knew where everyone was in the tower at all times, but Stephen had the advantages of both being magic and having magic. If he truly didn‘t want to be found or seen, Tony was sure he had his means to secure that.

For a moment he feared Stephen was truly gone.

Then Friday's voice spoke again and Tony hated how uncertain it sounded. "It appears that he never left the bed."

Tony returned to his bedroom and examined the chaos of blankets and pillows on his bed until he found black fur. Two blue orbs looked up at him briefly before the void curled up again and let out a small whimper.

"Hey, Blue Eye. You okay?" Tony asked softly. He got no response, not even another glance. He would think the animal was just as tired as Tony was earlier, but he noticed the way the feline held his front paws: cradled to his chest, paws shaking.

"Show me his scans from the medical, Fri." His voice was low, breathless. He grabbed the phone from his nightstand and zoomed in on the projected holo.

At the medical check Tony had done of the cat after Peter had dragged it in, an MRI had also been done. At the time, he hadn't paid any attention to the results because he just wanted to know if the cat had carried any diseases. But when he looked at it now, he saw his suspicions confirmed: Stephen's front paws were a mess. The small bones had so many fractures and poorly healed scars that he wondered how the cat could even walk with them.

Rain was still pelting on the windows.

It had to be one of those days.

„Your hands hurt, don‘t they?“

He heard the smallest of meows, more like squeak really. As a human, Stephen had barely talked about the aftermath of his accident, and when he did, it was in a rather nonchalant way. But Tony had his own scars and his own days when he could barely breathe, even though he'd had the arc reactor removed years ago.

"Does heat help reduce the pain?"

He got a small nod of agreement and knew what to do.

Tony left the room and got an electric blanket, which he placed on the couch in the living room and activated to preheat it. Then he built a nest on it out of the softest blankets and pillows he could find in the penthouse. When he lifted Stephen into his arms – like a baby on his back and making sure that no weight was on his front paws – the feline made a weak mewl. But as soon as he was put in his new nest and tucked in, he gave a contented sigh.

Tony smiled gently. "See? That's better."

He placed a bowl of water and Stephen's favorite yogurt near him so the cat wouldn't have to walk to his food.

"I have a meeting, but Friday will notify me of you need anything. I'll be back soon," he promised. He'd stay home if he could, but Pepper only gave him the most important meetings he needed to show up for anyway, and he didn't want to make her job any harder as it was. Not the way he had done it in the past.

They had a deal that Tony would attend any meeting she scheduled for him as long as there was no emergency like the end of the world.

Tony trusted Friday to keep an eye on Stephen.

_____________________________________

When Tony returned late in the afternoon, he noticed that Stephen had hardly eaten anything. But the man had taken precautions and had stopped by that French patisserie on the way home, from which Stephen always said he didn‘t like it because their stuff was too sweet (but Tony knew he secretly loved their chocolate croissants).

With the brown paper bag in his hands he sat on the couch next to Stephen’s nest. „Hey, sleeping beauty. Are you up for the amazing and very accurate Doctor House?“

„Mrew.“

Well, that wasn‘t a no. Tony sat more comfortably and told Friday to project the series onto the wall. He waited for Stephen to come to him on his own.

It wasn't long, however, before the cat poked his head out of his nest, lured by the rustling of the paper bag. He looked like a little black gremlin that had just woken up from a deep slumber and if Tony hadn't known that he had a bad day and his hands (or rather his paws) were hurting, he would have smiled about it.

Slowly, the cat moved to the water bowl and drank from it. Then he sniffed at the yogurt - a little too deeply, he got a blob on his nose, which he licked off. That was enough effort then, his front paws were shaking tremendously, and admitting defeat, he flopped back down.

Tony took this opportunity to pull him, blanket and all, into his lap. He grabbed one of the croissants and plucked off a piece, holding it in front of Stephen's nose.

The cat gave a surprised 'oh' and promptly snatched it from Tony's fingers.

"There you go. There's more where this came from."

Was it strange that he was feeding the sorcerer? Maybe. He saw it more as helping out a friend. Who was also a cat. A pretty adorable cat.

After Stephen had eaten the entire croissant (Tony maybe snuck a piece or two too), he snuggled contentedly into the human's lap. His paws still clutching to his chest so as not to strain them, he showed his belly. Tony gently stroked the soft fur and Stephen didn't even bat an eye, trusting him with this vulnerable side of him. And wasn't trust a funny thing?

Stephen purred softly and Tony suppressed the thought of what it would be like to pet human Stephen's belly and chest.

_____________________________________

When Wong stepped through a portal into his kitchen, Tony, who was sitting at lunch with Peter, had deja vu. But this time Wong was followed by the Cloak of Levitation.

„I know you have a phone and know how you use it, Wong. Hey, Levi, long time no se-…“ The cloak ignored him completely and rushed past him out of the kitchen instead. Tony sure felt appreciated by that piece of fabric.

He heard the cry of a cat and then a shatter as something fell to the floor and broke. It sounded like a vase or something similar.

The three humans looked at each other.

Tony was the first to speak. "So... you wanna join for pizza? Pepperoni and onions."

Wong eyed the pizza boxes. "Extra cheese?"

"I am deeply offended that you're even asking."

The sorcerer ignored that and grabbed a slice, humming appreciated as he bites into it.

Since they were sitting together anyway, Tony gave him an update on Strange (unchanged, he was still a cat, besides that he seemed to be doing okay).

Tony had already told Peter about the situation and the boy had apologized to Doctor Strange for every time he had carried him around, called him Mr. Fluffy, and for trying to teach him tricks by offering treats as rewards. He probably would have apologized for more things if Tony hadn't intervened. („If he chooses to look like a cat, he gets treated like a cat. It‘s his own fault.“)

The noises from the next room had stopped and now it was suspiciously quiet over there. Tony was just about to ask Friday if he had to get rid of a body, when the red fabric came flying back into the kitchen. It was wrapped tight into a bundle like a burrito, with a black cat head sticking out of it at one end. And that cat head was not happy about his current situation. Stephen fidgeted but wasn’t able to move and finally gave up with a huff.

Tony snapped a photo of him and even Wong couldn't quite stifle a grin.

_____________________________________

„Sometimes I wonder what you saw in those futures,“ Tony confessed when the two of them were alone. „I mean, I can imagine it wasn‘t anything good, hence you kept looking.

Stephen glanced at him from the table next to him in the lab. The cloak was wrapped as a red collar around his neck. It didn't seem to mind its new form and refused to leave Stephen's side.

„I told you about the witch that messed with my head, right?“ Tony had stopped working and starred at a point far away. „I‘m sure I did… she showed me a future where Thanos won. Everyone was dead but me…“ It was still hard for him to talk about it and he didn't know why he went on now – in the presence of Stephen of all people – and told him what he hadn't told anyone else. "You know, it wouldn't have mattered if I had died. If you hadn‘t been able to save my life after I snapped my fingers. As long as everybody else survived.“

The cat jumped into his lab, furiously. Meowing loudly in complaint, he climbed up Tony's shirt, to bumped his head into Tony‘s jaw.

When Tony looked down to him, he found Stephen’s blue eyes more human than ever before. Full of concern for the man, but also full of adoration.

Tony buried a hand in the soft fur and gave him a kiss between the ears, to calm him down.

„Yeah, of course. You‘re right. I‘m glad I‘m still alive… and I‘m also glad you are alive. No matter what you need to heal, we‘ll get you there, alright?“

Stephen blinked slowly and nudged Tony‘s cheek with his nose.

Tony took that as a yes.

_____________________________________

Stephen had settled in well as a cat in the tower. When Tony wasn't home, he used his magic to open the refrigerator or to operate the Starkpad. (One time he watched Doctor House without Tony. That traitor! Tony got invested during the second season). Friday helped him when he wanted to order food or informed him when Tony or Peter were on their way to the penthouse.

He still didn't want to meet anyone else and also only the closest friends of Tony knew about his presence: Rhodey and Pepper.

After Christine hadn’t been able to reach Stephen for weeks, she started sending texts to his phone, which was still at the Sanctum. To the point where Wong shoved the device in Stephen’s face in annoyance. "I don't want her coming into the Sanctum. So, fix this."

Stephen agreed to reply – he really had no choice – and explained to her that he was staying at the Avengers tower for some time.

Three days later, Christine showed up in the lobby with a case file under her arm she wanted to discuss with Stephen – as they had been doing from time to time.

Stephen was horrified when Friday told him his best friend wanted to visit him. He would have refused, but Tony was also present and intrigued to meet her. (Tony also knew how bad it was to hole up and that sometimes you had to force people to be happy). So he told his AI to give her clearance and greeted her personally in the spacious living room of his penthouse.

Out of the elevator stepped a good-looking woman, her hair knotted into a practical ponytail. She had circles under her eyes, which widened when she saw who she was meeting.

“Miss Palmer, it‘s nice to finally have a face to that name.“

“Tony Stark.“ She was clearly startled about his presence, but he had to give her credit for overplaying being starstruck quite well. She shook his offered hand just slightly too long and managed to tear her gaze away from him. Tony offered her the couch with a gesture.

"Where is Stephen?" She looked around searchingly, as if expecting her friend to pop out from behind a piece of furniture at any moment.

Tony ignored the question and asked one of his own instead. “What do you know about his current occupation?“

Because while the Avengers and many other heroes were pretty present in the media, Stephen and his magic order operated mostly in the shadows. They had signed the accords, but one of their conditions had been to stay out of the public eye. And since Stephen was currently a cat, Tony had not been able to ask him about the details of Christine's knowledge.

„You mean his magic cult?“ Christine asked, tilting her head, wondering about the cause for the question. „I‘m familiar with it. He told me after he showed up in a closet in the hospital, after having been missing for several months. Then he immediately died on me and his ghost told me to do CPR.“

She didn‘t mean to ramble and at this point she was clearly oversharing, but Tony hadthis kind of impact on people.

He laughed, hearing the story. „He does know how to make an entrance. First time I met him, he kidnapped me from a jog in the park before informing me that the end of the world was near.“ Christine chuckled and he totally saw that as a win. „But where are my manners? Do you want a drink?“

„I won‘t say no to a coffee.“

„Good choice.“ Tony got up and got a mug from the cupboard while Friday had already fired up the coffee maker. „Sorry, you didn‘t come here to trade stories,“ he said over his shoulder. „Although I‘m all for that another time.“ He leaned against the counter while he waited for the coffees to finish. „Stephen has been living here for a while now, because honestly – and I‘m only telling you this because I know he considers you a close friend – he is not in the best shape. Not physically, although you would be surprised if you saw him. Milk? Sugar?“

„Milk, please.“ Christine sobered up by his words. But she didn‘t say anything until she had the cup in front of her and took a sip from it. "Will he be alright?" She felt thrown back to the time after Stephen had his accident. He had run away then, and now apparently again, if the radio silence had been any clue. He had been too proud to ask for help, maybe too ashamed. She hoped his stay in the tower meant he was handling it better this time.

"He's doing better than when he arrived," Tony reassured her.

"Can I see him?"

Tony hesitated. He didn't want to offend her, but he didn't want to lie to her either. „He knows you are here… he just hardly wants to meet anyone these days.“

Christine bit her bottom lip. „He is not good at asking for things. Please don‘t let him push you or whoever is helping him away.“

„I won‘t,“ Tony promised with a small smile. Little did she know that Tony and Stephen were more alike in some ways than she thought. „If you want, you can leave your number and I will call you if something changes. Although I‘m sure Stephen will reach out to you on his own when he is ready.“

Christine looked at him over the rim of her cup and wondered why this man, who was always portrayed so eccentrically in the media, would have been this thoughtful. She also wondered about his relationship to Stephen.

„That would be appreciated. Thank you.“ Her eyes fell on the file she had placed next to her on the couch. „Tell him I‘ll put this in the cloud, if he wants to take a look at it before Nick does. In case he needs something to put his mind into.“

„I‘m sure he is too curious to let that pass,“ Tony replied.

After that Christine finished her drink and took her leave. Tony walked her to the elevator, which was really only a few steps away. As soon as the doors closed, he turned to the seemingly empty room. "You never told me she's the Pepper to your Tony."

"Meow," Stephen said, annoyed, emerging from the shadow between two shelves. But he couldn't disagree.

It made Tony laugh. „Well, you are lucky to have such a good friend. And you heard the lady, don‘t wait too long or that Nick guy will get all the credit.“

Stephen huffed. Under no circumstances he would let that happen.

_____________________________________

Friday turned the TV on. This was quite unusual, because without Tony or Peter home, she didn't operate without being asked. Especially since it appeared to be the news she wanted to show Stephen.

Stephen stared at the screen. He saw tall buildings, but not like Manhattan, more like New Jersey. There were several flying figures, one of them in a shining red and gold. The cat bristled his whiskers, making an unhappy hiss. Even more when he saw that one of those figures wasn‘t flying but swinging.

Then one of the enemies hit Peter and the boy got smashed right into a brick building. Shit, that wasn‘t good. Iron Man covered for him, but they were clearly outnumbered. They needed help.

He was startled when Friday suddenly spoke up. „Mr. Stark and Peter are approaching the tower. He requested medical help on stand-by.“

Stephen hurried to the elevator. He had never left the floor of the penthouse since Peter had brought him here, but right now he cared very little if anyone saw him in this form. He couldn't just sit here and wait.

The doors opened for him and no sooner than he entered the elevator it started moving on its own. Stephen trusted Friday to take him to the right floor.

The tower had a small sickbay from back when the Avengers had first worked together. It wasn't as big as the compound's, but it was quicker to get to from downtown.

Stephen had never been here before, but it wasn't particularly hard to find his way around. With his good cat hearing, he simply followed the sounds of the incoming Iron Man. The sickbay had an entrance via a small outside platform for flying patients, of which there were quite a few among the superheroes.

Iron Man carried Spider-Man in his arms. The nanosuit retreated into the house unit, showing the man’s grim face, when the nurses took the motionless boy from him.

Stephen watched as Peter was transferred to a bed. He could help, he was a doctor. One of the best. He just needed his human body back. He needed hands and feet.

Stephen called his magic. He stretched and turned, but he didn’t change. He was stuck in the body of a cat. Impatiently, he tiptoed between the nurses' feet. It was important that he used the right spell, but he couldn't quite remember which one it was. It was on the corner of his mind.

His small body had no muscle memory and at the moment he was still much more cat than human. Panic rose in him because it felt like he was losing control. And he had never liked losing control. Frustrated, he cried out, but it came out of his mouth only as the yell of a feline.

Surprised, a doctor looked down at him. "Get that cat out of here!"

Stephen got scooped up, squirming in the grip, until he heard a familiar voice. "It's alright, Stephen. Peter got hit in the head, but he will be alright." Tony wasn't sure if his words were meant to reassure the sorcerer or himself. With an 'oof' he dropped into a chair on the other side of the room.

The cat headbutted him until Tony stroked his fur. That always had a calming effect on the man.

"He will be fine." Tony's eyes stayed on Peter and the medics. Stephen remained sitting on his lap. He still felt uneasy because he didn't know why he couldn't change back. But Tony needed him and so he would stay

That was when he noticed it: the way Tony sat, his back not touching the chair, the faint metallic smell.

With a leap, Stephen stood on Tony's shoulder and looked down his back. And sure enough, the shirt the man was wearing was sliced up at various places, blood oozing.

"Meow!" Tony tried to grab him, but Stephen kicked his little legs. “Meeeeeow!” He yelled loudly and persistent. So much that it drew the attention of the nurses until one of them came over to them.

"Traitor," Tony hissed but with no bite. In return, he refused to let go of Stephen and the cat stayed, now purring soothingly, in the man’s arms while his wounds were treated.

_____________________________________

Both Tony and Peter were less badly hurt than it had first looked, and they were allowed to change floors to the penthouse that same day.

Peter had been awake only briefly and then had gone right back to sleep in the guest room. And Tony was also knocked out by the painkillers. (He was sleeping on his stomach because of the cuts and bruises on his back).

Stephen briefly checked in on Peter, examined the work of the medics, but couldn’t find anything wrong with it. The boy most likely had a concussion and a few bruises that would heal quickly thanks to his enhancement.

That brought him back to his current problem: he hadn't thought about shaping back for so long that he seemed to have forgotten how to do it. That was the danger of spending too long in the same animal body. Before today, he hadn't cared, he had just wanted to forget. But now… he didn't want to be useless when his friends (his family) were in danger. Stephen wanted to help. Stephen wanted to be human again.

He could use magic just fine and he still had his cloak. But he couldn't seem to change back.

Frustrated and tired, he curled up in his usual spot next to Tony. He was determined to find a solution, but first: sleep.

_____________________________________

When Tony awoke, his back still hurt; the painkillers had stopped working (he didn't like them much anyway). Tired, he rubbed his face, turned on his side, and found Stephen asleep next to him. Except Stephen wasn't a cat anymore.

He looked peaceful. His hair (which was the same color as the cat's fur plus the grey streaks on his temples) was tousled and the cloak of levitation draped over him like a blanket. At least over his lower half to give him some decency. But he was clearly naked underneath.

Well, he wasn‘t wearing any clothes as a cat.

Tony had seen him in his robes and even in casual clothes but he didn‘t know he hid these muscles under all these layers. Totally unfair. Tony blamed it on magic. (He wasn‘t ashamed to admit he was staring.)

Stephen woke up slowly and when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Tony.

"Hey," he said.

„Hey,“ Tony replied, his lips curling in a smirk.

Then the sorcerer noticed his condition and blushed right up to the tips of his ears. He wasn't sure how to react. Even if Tony had known who the feline was, Stephen had been able to hide under the mask of a cat before. But now that was no longer possible. He wasn't sure if the other man would throw him out with his next words.

Tony, noticing his uncertainty, peeled himself out of bed. "I'm making breakfast. Full size coffee for a full sized human?"

Stephen nodded. His eyes followed Tony into his walk-in closet until he couldn't see him anymore. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. At least he was human again. Maybe the spell had just needed time. He should ask Wong about it.

Stephen was startled as clothes were thrown at him.

"Not that I mind a handsome, naked man in my house, but Peter is sleeping in the other room." With those words Tony left the bedroom and Stephen blushed some more.

He put on the shirt and pants. They were slightly too short and a strip of skin was visible between the shirt’s hem and the waistband.

Following Tony, he walked into the kitchen where the smell of fresh brewed coffee greeted him. Wordlessly, he sat down at the table while Tony cracked eggs into the pan. Friday played the latest upbeat pop song in the background.

Tony put the mug down in front of Stephen and gave him a kiss on his hair. At this point the sorcerer was a blushing mess. He mumbled something unintelligibly, while Tony turned back to the stove, grinning. "Don't think you'll be spared just because you change forms, Blue Eye."

Breakfast consisted of grilled bacon and scrambled eggs. Hesitantly Stephen reached for the fork, but he felt no real appetite. „I guess I should go back to the Sanctum.“

Tony tilted his head. „You don‘t have to, if you‘re not ready yet.“

„It‘s about time I am ready, isn‘t it?“ Stephen smiled warily.

„Well, if anyone knows about time, it‘s you. I‘m just saying you have a place here in the tower.“

„Thank you. For everything you did for me.“ Finally, Stephen took a bite. It tasted delicious, even with his dulled human taste buds. "After breakfast I'll change your bandage and then I'll check up on Peter," he changed the subject.

"Oh?" Tony cocked his eyebrow. "Since when are you my doctor?"

"Since I said so," Stephen announced with more confidence now. It was terrain he was familiar with. „No need to throw your nurses out of bed, when I‘m here anyway.“

_____________________________________

Tony sat on the armrest of the couch as Stephen removed the old bandage.

The sorcerer used magic for many things in his daily life, but not for medicine when he could help himself. So also now. He only stabilized his fingers while he examined the cut across Tony's back. It wasn't deep, thankfully, and had already begun to heal.

Stephen reached for a cream the medics had prescribed. He took a look at it and found it fine. "This may feel a bit cold," he warned Tony, who merely shrugged,

"Do your worst."

Stephen's touch was soft, and still a bit shaky, despite the magic. But it wasn’t unpleasant. He worked gently, but with practiced precision. Tony felt his warm breath on his skin as Stephen reached around him to apply the new bandage. He bit his lip to keep from making a sound.

Just as he reached for his shirt to put on, Peter stepped out of the guest room that was by now his unofficial bedroom here in the tower anyway.

"Good morning. Oh, hey, Doctor Strange." He didn't even bat an eye about the fact that the sorcerer was back human.

"Peter," Tony smiled, as he always did when he saw the boy. "Should you be out of bed yet?"

"Should you?"

"Don't get cocky with me, young man. Sit down. You're next for a check up."

Peter rolled his eyes and groaned – really, when did he stop being the nice little kid Tony picked up in Queens? - but sat down on the couch. Strange turned to him and examined him under Tony's watchful eye.

"Will you stay human?" Peter asked while his eyes followed Stephen's outstretched index finger.

„Peter,“ Tony said warningly.

„What? I liked having a pet.“

Stephen was rather amused than offended by the boy. „There are enough cats at the shelter waiting to be adopted."

Peter perked up and looked at Tony. "Can we...?"

"We will talk about it later." Tony gave the sorcerer a glance for putting ideas in the boy’s head. He was just Peter’s mentor, yet he felt like a parent anyway, when he sent Peter back to bed. (He promised to bring breakfast over soon).

"So, you're really leaving?" Tony asked again as Stephen followed him into the kitchen. "Do you need a lift?" Since the sorcerer hadn’t even been wearing clothes, Tony doubted he was carrying his portal ring.

"The cloak will be happy to be taken out for a flight." As if in confirmation, the red fabric fluttered.

"Sure."

Their eyes met and for a moment Tony felt unsure on where this would leave them standing. Sure, they had been friends before the sorcerer had disappeared and became a cat. But by now he felt much closer to him. Would they pick up where they left off before or try to figure out what other possibilities they had?

Stephen seemed to be fighting a similar battle inside himself. He was standing several feet away as if he still wasn't sure if he was wanted. As if Tony's behavior had been anything but welcome.

In the end, Stephen nodded one last time and turned to just leave.

And wasn't that exactly the kind of behavior that had gotten him into this situation? Rather than opening up and talking about his fears and insecurities, he was evading it.

It was hard to break out of familiar patterns of behavior. A fact Tony knew all too well. And Tony had never been one to give up easily.

"Stephen."

The sorcerer stopped and turned back to him, his eyes hopeful.

"I expect to see you at our next movie night. No excuses."

A smile broke onto Stephen's face and he nodded in agreement. With a motion of his hand his borrowed clothes turned into his blue robes (so that had been an option all along; good to know), before he was gone.

_____________________________________

„What did you see in those futures?“ Tony asked the sorcerer.

It hadn't taken long for Stephen to reappear through a portal in Tony’s penthouse, even before the movie night was scheduled. There had been no world ending reason for it, as had quickly become apparent. Stephen was just someone who missed the company to which he had become so accustomed over the last weeks.

Tony wasn't complaining. He felt the same way.

He had poured them both a drink and then bullied Stephen into changing his robes into something more casual because 'you said yourself this isn't a business meeting. My house, my rules'.

Now there were chilling on the couch. Tony had pulled his legs up and rested his head on his knee as he glanced curiously at the sorcerer. It was a question that had been bothering him for a while.

"Everyone died at one point." Stephen's voice was low. He tried to not think too hard about the other futures but to stay in the present. „Sometimes Thanos won in minutes, sometimes in days or weeks, even years. I could never see past my own death. I don’t mean the dusting, because that was a different kind of death. At least it felt different.“ And he knew only too well how it felt to die. Another memory he didn't like to dwell on. "So, I don't know what happened after I died. If you would have won anyway..."

He paused, in which Tony reached out to him, placing his hand on Stephen's thigh.

His next words the sorcerer whispered like a dark secret, "I also ruled out the futures where you or Peter died. I couldn’t have looked you in the eye with the certainty that he would not return."

Stephen closed his eyes, focused on the feeling of Tony squeezing his leg. He used it as an anchor point. "I once took an oath not to play god. But it was me who decided which of our friends and allies would die and who got to live. I deemed this future for the best and did everything to ensure it."

It felt like he was personally responsible for every single death during the fight against Thanos. How could he not? It had been his decision.

Tony's hand left his leg. He took Stephen's glass and set it aside before taking the sorcerer’s hands in his own. Another thing the sorcerer wouldn't have allowed so easily in the past.

"Hey, listen. It's not your fault, okay? Thanos tried to kill half of the universe. You did your best to bring it back."

Stephen opened his eyes and looked at him. There was so much devotion in those blue eyes.

"Why me though?" Tony heard himself ask. "We hardly knew each other back then. Why did you want me to live?"

"I knew you fourteen million times. I saw what you were willing to do, willing to sacrifice. You don't realize how important you are to this world." Stephen brought Tony's hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "Whenever you were there, there was hope. Falling for you in those futures was inevitable."

Tony's eyes widened in awe before a smile sneaked into his face along with blush. He had not expected this. "I'm glad you chose a future in which we both are alive." He slid on his knees closer to the sorcerer who still held his hand. "Or else I couldn't do this..."

He cupped Stephen's face with his other hand and kissed him softly. Stephen's eyes shut instantly. How could he resist when this was exactly what he had hoped for but had not dared to dream.

The kiss was slow and sweet, they were in no hurry. And when they broke away it was only mere inches.

"You have a head start of fourteen million lifetimes. Please wait for me until I fully get there." Tony's breath hit him and their lips brushed again, just the slightest bit.

„I would wait for you until the end of time if it meant I can call you mine.“

_____________________________________

„Do you want to come to pizza and game night at May‘s place?“ Peter asked Stephen the other day. „Now that you're not a cat, she's not allergic to you anymore."

„That‘s right,“ Tony added. „No more excuses why you can‘t come.“

Stephen smiled. „Sure. I‘d love to.“

_____________________________________

Friday is the only witness when on some mornings (after the nightmares have been particularly bad) a black cat is lying on Tony’s chest, purring soothingly.

[jittyjames]

K ANOTHER QUESTION

what is something that you imagine happening in any scene that you did not write in. like, during the encounters between alex and eliza in these latest chapters, i’ve been imagining that little toddler philip just being really restless and thinking he did something to upset alexander or smtn.

so yeah, are there any details not written in that you imagine happening?

*OKAY SO SPOILERS FOR MEANS TO GO ON IF YOU'RE NOT CAUGHT UP*

oh absolutely. little pip is an absolute wreck and he doesn't understand why. it has the same energy as sitting at your closed door and hearing your parents argue over something you can't comprehend. and where alexander is so closed off he can only assume it was something he did. pip is a really really sad boy and will unfortunately probably have trauma of his own from all of this. like in the scene after the reynolds pamphlet is released and alexander is having his breakdown, i wanted to make sure that i made it clear that philip was watching and he was more observant than alexander wants or expects him to be. just the thought of little philip standing on a staircase and clutching his stuffed toy tightly to himself while he just watches his father fall apart makes me SO-

also obviously i don't write much of angelica BUT it is her house after all so she hears and sees stuff, too. like her heart breaks for eliza and alexander so much. she tries not to pay attention because she doesn't want to eavesdrop, but she can't help it sometimes. like i imagine her just folding laundry or something and pausing when she hears eliza pleading with him to just look at her and just speak to her. then she has to go about her day as if nothing even happened.

OK SO ON A LIGHTER NOTE it's the most unserious thing ever but i love imagining philip church absolutely not giving a SHIT about anything. like it's literally an inside joke for me to me. like uncle alexander is having a mental breakdown on the parlor floor?? cool, but mOM WHERE THE FUCK AND MY FUCKING NUGGIES. like he's the type of child that would kick people in the shins and run away cackling. he is a menacing child and i love him, but i can't actually write him in the fic like that bc that would totally take away from the actual story. but just know there is indeed a menace child running around the church estate. honestly, if you were to release him on king george the third, the problem would be HANDLED. every family needs an absolutely psycho little cousin/nephew. thems the rules EDIT: OMG FOR PPL ON TIKTOK HE GIVES TOPHER VIBES LMAO

also the philips are absolute besties but they absolutely are polar opposites. like these two are as close as the schuyler sisters

the family and living dynamics are something i haven't delved into yet, but the hamiltons aren't the only family living there. angelica and philip church definitely have reactions to all of this. (and peggy. sometimes. she is living her best life too most of the time. she didn't get to live long in the musical or irl but she is galavanting happily around New York. for now.)

[ohmym1stake]

infodumping about my grey's anatomy blorbos: edition #2

this time around i am midway thru season 10.... my #1 blorbo is about to leave and im worried and scared because of some spoilers i read. but anyways here is my current analysis!

BLORBOS

- meredith grey. we started off rocky but i love and support her wholeheartedly now. has done the least stupid stuff as a doctor! bonus points for that. has gone through so much more than she deserves.

- derek shepherd. has done a lot of stupid shit and is a very stupid and reckless man. but underneath all of that he is a good man who wants to do good and help people. an amazing father!!!! and husband.

- cristina yang. the closest to perfect. i wish she would stop making awful relationship decisions. in my world she is happily married to a woman. a nurse, maybe.

- george o'malley. my perfect perfect son. ohhhhh my son. i am so sorry you died. i wish you had gotten to be happy with callie and have a great little family together and be an amazing surgeon.

- callie torres. brilliant surgeon brilliant woman. a little stupid at times. but i think her strengths are all way stronger than that.

- mark sloan. also very stupid! but in a very charming way. was amazing to watch him grow and change.

- lexie grey. deserved a better exit from the show wtffff. got used as an extra trauma to throw at meredith or something like damn. she was amazing and excellent in her own right. justice for lexiepedia.

- april kepner. BABYYYYYY. amazing and deserves the world, honestly. i have nothing but admiration for her i think.

- heather brooks. AAAAAAGH?!!!!! she was so cute and fun and brought an energy to the show nobody else has! deserved soooo much better.

HALF BLORBOS.

- alex karev. has done too many messy and problematic things to be a full blorbo but like derek he is ultimately a good man who wants to do good. amazing peds surgeon. can't wait to see him as a dad i bet he'll be a little league coach.

- miranda bailey. now normally she would be full blorbo but she's been bothering me a little lately! amazing surgeon! amazing woman! but she needs to get her life more under control or something.

BLORBO BY ASSOCIATION

- jackson avery. i was gonna put him in "it won't work" but it could eventually idk. he's great for april and a good doctor! i don't like his face tho and mostly he kinda bores me

- reed adamson. i think i would have loved her so much if she got to live longer. i think about her and april a lot.

PARTIAL BLORBOS

- addison montgomery. i think i just don't see her enough to be a full blorbo. excellent character tho.

- teddy altman. i think when she comes back on the show she'll get an upgrade but right now she's away and not on my mind. she was pretty damn good tho.

- stephanie edwards. she's really great but right now her plot is kind of just avery. i hope to love her more soon!

EX BLORBOS.

- izzie stevens. used to be my favorite.... she was so great. honestly i blame cancer for everything. Except the denny lvad thing i think that was precancer. but the romance with george that she dropped so fast? and then doing all that crap to alex? unforgivable. i hope she finds happiness in a new life with new people but i want her far away from my blorbos.

IT WILL NEVER WORK BUT I DON'T HATE YOU

- owen hunt. i DO hate his pro-life stance. treated cristina awfully there. but he is also the best love interest she had. and he's a great trauma surgeon, and the best chief i have seen! we just have too many differences to ever truly blorb together.

- arizona robbins. Honestly? most of the time i Do hate her. but i also respect her too much to Anti her. especially her growth after losing her leg! but it fucking sucked for callie. i think if the show had kept mark alive i could have gotten along with her more but she has been awful to callie way too much.

- leah murphy. Mad respect for her crazy but her emotions are also what ruined her. i hope she has a good career elsewhere.

- ben warren. sometimes he's good for bailey sometimes he makes her worse. but i respect him.

I DON'T KNOW

- jo wilson. uhhhh..... she just kinda exists i don't know. sometimes she's good for alex. but i am not very interested in her. does not spark joy.

- charles percy. i think we would have had a very rocky relationship had he lived but i think the way they killed him was very artful? it was one of the best death scenes i have seen.

ANTI BLORBOS.

- richard webber. he has done too much fuckass shit and acted insufferably FAR too many times. way more tolerable as a general surgeon and not as chief but still incredibly irritating.

- preston burke. took advantage of cristina in so many ways and never once truly considered himself and his own actions. selfish, awful man.

- erica hahn. Too bitter. involved emotions in her work in a way i disliked? i think she was never meant to be a main character.

- shane ross. Bruh what the fuckkkkk. he has done way too much wrong. maybe someday if we actually tackle the fact that he kinda Killed heather we can be at least partial or something but ..... i don't want him on this show.

- ellis grey. Noooooope. don't even care about all her groundbreaking work or her disease or whatever. i want nothing to do with her.

- adele webber. i hated her so much and there was no reason to make her so evil and irritating so much??????? the show would have been way more interesting and webber might have been more redeemable if she had been Good.

- sloan riley. this girl pissed me offffff like she went thru it she was having a bad time but ultimately she just ruined shit for mark and lexie and that sucks.

- catherine avery. whenever shes around and is rude to jackson he becomes a temporary blorbo. he doesn't deserve the shit she puts him through. frustrating character overall. But! mad respect to her work as a urologist she always brings interesting cases to the show!

[formula-fun]

“Not a happy story”?????????

I was already really worried the last time you said the last chapter was going to be so full of angst. Now I’m just really really worried at the possible sequel.

Forgot to say hi first lol. Hi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Though I suppose overall for me who is a “life sucks so much already I’m not reading angst in my spare time”, rreereading your story so many times has sort of trained(?) me for it, because I kind of know that sitting through the pain only gave me such sweet intimacy later.

Or maybe we just have different understanding of angst? Because for me once they have established the foundation of trust that “no matter what happens we are going to be here for each other, for the championships, the pregnancies, the parenting, the long-distance relationship and the so sweet life together” , then is just growing into themselves, growing up, and growing stronger. Not to mention even if said foundation was not acknowledged out loud (yet?) they are still actually actively trying to baby trap each other hahahaha.

So I was just sort of doing rereads and calmly waiting for the next chapters, now you say the sequel(if it happens) is going to be not happy?????? They have a baby! That’s grounds for a happy story(in fiction) right???? Right??

Haha in truth I’m just ready for anything you decide really.

Hopefully your projects are coming along better, I studied finance and maths which were in no way as stressful as architecture, and I still jumped between “if they want my (tuition) money they would let me graduate right?” “What was I thinking picking this subject my brain is not built for this” and “just let me die” most of the time. Of course you would pull through!!!!!!

Xxxxxxoooooooxxxxxxooooo

Hahha helloooo!! i love that my askbox is known to be a place to say hi now dkdfjdfkjdjk dear random person somewhere in the world we are at the same stoplight and i am waving at you from my car <3 This got super long so ill put a cut line

Hmm so I think maybe angst was the wrong word then! its not gonna be a happy story in the sense that the plot wont be 'max and charles live happily ever after with a baby', theres still going to be some shit going on. Ur 100% right that there's always sweetness scattered in within that, it's not just angst for the sake of angst, and they'll at least be able to outright support each other in the sequel without like jumping through hoops to quantify what they are to each other or whatever. So in that sense maybe what i mean is more that it won't be a fun fairytale epilogue kind of vibe, there will still be stuff they need to figure out?

also this is going to sound so pretentious im so sorry but the first two fics are heavily heavily written around the idea of gender. if you cut max and charles out of the entire rest of it it's just a story about two equals who love each other and are trying to find a common language to communicate that, but once you add in gender roles and expectations and judgement it all becomes this huge fucking mess even though the core of it is something so simple. the sequel is probably going to be kind of similar, but more along the lines of defining what a family is to them outside of their own expectations or trauma. so ya sorry to summarize theres room for intimacy and happiness and love and all that but there's also a heaviness if that makes sense. Kinda like what we have now

they also have just basic issues honestly. newborns cant really fly so max cant travel with charles for a lot of the beginning of the season. charles wants to be home as much as he can but he's kinda torn between his family and his job. they miss each other! the baby misses her mom!! kinda screws with everyones head a little, especially max who grew up without a mother! they try their best but its just hard sometimes my friend

and thank youuuuu honestly that's where i'm at with school rn!! we had 3 more hours of presentations yesterday (had to do the project over the weekend) and literally as soon as the last group was done we got assigned 3 versions of a 5 floor apartment building which we have to present tomorrow? this on top of the essay due today, the other one due thursday and the third one due next tuesday??? me and my friends just looked at each other in silence and apparently we were all fantasizing about dropping out djfkdfkjdfj they're trying to weed out our class rn though and im sorry but if admin want me gone theyre going to have to kill me

anyway thank you so much my dear!!! im sorry this is one big long ramble but hopefully it answered your questions!!

[lady-of-the-spirit]

Pick any OC for the "if OC was canon" asks! "What feelings does your character most often instill in their fans?" "If your character had a breakout show/film/comic, what would the plot be? Who would be in their supporting cast?" "What controversies/drama would your character incite in fandom?" and "Are there ship wars? Are they a popular character to ship, or the kind of character that gets shuffled off and away from shipping for whatever reason?"

Gonna answer these with Hestia because I've been thinking about her in a meta way lately! (It has to do with shipping.)

What feelings does your character most often instill in their fans?

Her fans would love her! Like, she's a soft kindhearted woman, what's not to love??? But also she's got a slight hidden trickster side to her, she's got a surprising amount of backbone considering her general demeanor, and she is fully capable of using people's perceptions of her to her advantage. Her fans are gonna want to protect her so bad but also are like "she contains multitudes!!!" she'd be stanned so hard by her fans.

If your character had a breakout show/film/comic, what would the plot be? Who would be in their supporting cast?

OOH I remember my sister once made a netflix original series edit a few years back for a potential Hestia-centered series, and I can see that being it. Kinda like Agent Carter covering the development of SHIELD, this series covers the pre-Thor 1 stuff, the story of Hestia coming to Asgard, marrying Thor, how they learn to live together and fall in love, how Hestia learns to navigate her new kingdom and world. It's like... romance, comedy, drama, political drama, a little bit of action. But honestly probably mostly romance and comedy. Freida Pinto as Hestia, obviously, all the MCU Thor cast as their respective characters. We've also got Hestia's family. My old cast for them was Evan Rachel Wood as Hera, Pedro Pascal as Zeus (this was pre-Mandalorian), and Jason Momoa as Poseidon. (I had faceclaims for others, but I'd change them now, and her whole family makes appearances so I won't get into every single one.) Hestia would also probably have a few handmaidens as a crown princess, but I haven't thought about them at all.

What controversies/drama would your character incite in fandom?

Well she's a queer woman of colour in the MCU fandom. That alone is gonna be controversial. Plus she's married and in a romantic relationship with one of the main mcu guys, Thor, generally seen as the hottest one, so there's that too.

I can see a lot of discourse over her usefulness as a character. Like, Hestia's role once the movie events start going is going to be a lot of background stuff - politics, keeping people organized and keeping the kingdom running. Stuff that is important but, because these are action movies and she's not kicking ass with a sword or something, is gonna get her sidelined. She's also not openly snarky or sarcastic, she's kind even though she can make jokes and be funny, and I think that would also get her mischaracterized as weak or useless. On the flip side, she has a lot of power but chooses not to fight because of trauma, and that would get her called out because "she could have stopped xyz event and didn't".

Are there ship wars? Are they a popular character to ship, or the kind of character that gets shuffled off and away from shipping for whatever reason?

I'd like to believe that Thor and Hestia would be a popular ship, you know, "happily married couple deeply in love" is a popular trope for a reason! We love that shit! And it would be popular because they are obsessed with each other and love each other so much and again, we love that shit! But we live in the real world and the mcu so there would still be some shipping drama. Inevitably there would be people shipping Hestia and Loki. I hate to think about it but it would happen. They're very close and have a special relationship, but it's JUST as siblings/friends. They work as friends and siblings but romantically, nah.

Unfortunately I have to bring up the obvious: because people ship thor and loki, I can see fans pushing Hestia out of the way of that. Either by simply having her and Thor being friends in an arranged marriage rather than coming to love each other, or just cutting her out completely somehow. She'd end up the supportive shipper on deck for them and probably show up in the background in a relationship with like, Sif or Jane or some other female character to make it seem progressive that they're sidelining a leading queer woman of colour for their incest ship. Something similar would happen for any other thor ship I guarantee it.

OC meta ask list!

[erigold13261]

Hey Ultimate Parents Squad Ship Anon here! Or Heartbeats Ship.

Some HCs for them bc these people have been living in my brain rent free since last summer.

1. Space Date? Space Date! How it happened, idk. The mental imagery of Zero G cuddles while Neon J is humming gives me so much life.

2. DJ getting referred as “Father” and Neon J as “Dad” by Yinu. Accidentally for the first time, and more bc they cried happy tears.

3. Neon J having trauma induced nightmares. Papa always comforts him with a piano song. No matter when.

4. Mama loves hearing the monitor sound from Neon J. She made a whole song using it.

5. DJ is not allowed in the kitchen, bc they manage to burn it down once they try helping. Everyone else can cook though.

6. Neon J sucks with plants. Same with Papa and Mama with computers.

7. Neon J getting piano lessons from papa. Or DJ getting harp lessons from mama.

8. Papa loves playing with DJ and Mama’s noodle arms while they rest. Neon J, with their consent, records them on his phone.

9. Papa hears about Nonbinary people, and asks for his family to use they/them for him for a while. It doesn’t stick but papa no longer thinks he’s fully cis. (Demiboy or no labels)

10. Some songs that remind me of them. Solar System Disco by Nayutanalien, Comet Honeymoon also by Nayutanalien, Heart by John (this is more of a Neon J song), Shiwaawase by Vaundy and Odoriko also by Vaundy! Sorry for shoving down my music taste down your throats, haha.

Sorry for the long ass ask! I’m hungry for content

1) Well obviously space date happens because both Neon and Nova have connections to people in NASA (or whatever equivalent there is to NSR/Vinyl City).

I can definitely see Neon not having the best time because of his radar not being all that well, so he just clings to whoever. Probably Papa while Mama and DJ dance a little bit as I see Mama having the most fun in Zero-G.

2) Honestly, I love the idea that Yinu plans this accordingly so that she "accidentally" calls them Father/Dad when she is in trouble to help her get out of trouble. Which is a tactic that Purl told her about as they were the last to call Neon "dad" and it helped them get out of a major lecture lol.

Also, the fact that 1010 would all have different things to call Mama, Papa, and DJSS would also be funny! Eloni making special sign names for them (oh you better believe Eloni and Papa have some sign jokes/puns) along with Haym and Zimelu trying to make up funny title/names to see what they can get away with. Then Purl being again the last one to call them anything other than their names.

Also, just, Neon crying at hearing Yinu call him "Dad" and reminding him of his daughter with Martha, but in a good way. Yinu would probably think she did something wrong only for Neon to pick her up and cry happily telling her he loved her so much.

3) Papa playing just the softest tunes for Neon, maybe even holding Neon close and humming softly as a comfort as Neon holds onto him tightly. DJSS also there rubbing Neon's back quietly as him and Papa are more night owls anyway and was there to help.

4) Oh totally. DJSS, Papa, Mama, Yinu, and 1010 all just make a song/multiple songs out of the different kinds of beeps that Neon produces to show how much they love him and how he shouldn't be concerned about his radar which sometimes comes up for Neon, rarely but it is still something he struggles with.

5) See, I think DJ is a great cook! However, he is a pretty big guy and if there are other people in the kitchen it becomes too crowded and things get knocked over. So it's either only DJ or anyone else can go in and cook lol.

But going off of your "DJ can't cook" it would be funny if he knew how to cook only ONE dish. So like once a month he is allowed in the kitchen to cook, otherwise they are not the one cooking. It would most likely be Mama and Haym cooking the most, then maybe Neon and Papa, followed by Yinu Eloni and Purl. (omg their kitchen probably smells amazing!)

DJ and Zimelu are banned from the kitchen though. Purl sometimes too, but that's because they like setting fires, which is a problem even if they are controlled fired lol.

6) Neon's trying his best okay! He goes to water a plant only for Haym and Yinu to shout at him to stop drowning a cactus!

Mama and Papa accidentally downloading a virus and going to DJ for help so they don't disappoint Neon (only for DJ to bring it to Neon because he made the device/virus even worse so now Neon lectures all of them to not click on random ass links)

7) I actually see Neon as knowing the most instruments out of all of them, but being taught more professional piano skills from Papa or harp from Mama (he doesn't know that one) would be something he is willing to do. He would also be willing to play violin with them.

The three have to pressure (in a good way) DJSS to learn an instrument. He ends up choosing a brass instrument, something that none of the 3 can play (Neon could but not anymore). So Purl gets stuck on teaching DJ, Yinu, and Papa how to play that instrument because they are curious.

8) Yaaas! Questioning Papa is awesome! I like the idea that he goes back to being cis so ends up as like cis+, but honestly demiboy or unlabelled (especially unlabelled) is something I REALLY like and will put in my notes for AUs where Papa lives long enough to actually try other genders out.

9) Oh those are all really pretty! I wish I could experience them like you do, but I don't know the language so just reading the lyrics/listen to words I don't understand doesn't get the same message unfortunately. But the ones I could listen and read at the same time were very nice! (Also the animation of "Heart" was very nice to look at, made me think of Panty and Stocking but the main character kinda looked like Soul from Soul Eater lol)

[hacash]

season 3 predictions

(all of which are likely to be made completely redundant by 2x12 but HEY HO LET’S GO)

Sam. I think the opportunity offered to him by Edwin is too great to pass up but I just can’t imagine the show and the Richmond team without Toheeb Jimoh. Given that the writers have said they’ve planned these arcs in advance I don’t think he’d be written out for the sake of a new acting gig. Therefore because I’m selfish and desperately hoping he stars in season 3 (and could hardly pop back as a recurring character while on Edwin’s team) I could see him doing a Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec: ‘I want to leave Richmond better than when I joined it’. After what I hope will be a promotion for the team I could potentially see him asking Edwin for a year’s grace to help Richmond win the Premier League, and then he’ll happily take him up on his offer.

I’m also hoping like hell that this would be the push Rebecca needs to see there’s not going to be a future in the relationship with Sam. It’s interesting that although Bill Lawrence has openly agreed that the employee/age difference is concerning, there’s been little acknowledgement of that in the show, so I wonder if there’s going to be fallout in episode 12 in some fashion. Regardless, I think it’s time to say goodbye to Sambecca.

Keeley and Roy. I am firmly of the opinion that they ain’t breaking up any time soon. There’s no way in hell Roy has knelt down in front of Keeley so many times without it meaning something, so I am certain that next season will be the planning of the Kent-Jones wedding. 

I also have a sneaking suspicion that Keeley might end up being the next opening-shot of the season. After episode after episode of her working as Roy/Rebecca/Jamie’s emotional support, we got a tantalising glimpse into her psyche last episode: both with her uncertainties around being featured in Vanity Fair and her ambitions being shaped by her mother’s history. I love Keeley but quite frankly we haven’t had enough of her as plot - I really think/hope she might come to the fore next season.

Nate. I fully believe there’s no way in hell Nate will still be working at Richmond come the end of the season, though I can imagine him walking away in a fit of pique rather than Rebecca firing him. (Frankly, I can’t see Ted letting Rebecca do that.) I think he’ll end up joining another team - possibly with or without Darth Mannion’s help - and, although a lot of people here want this to be a devastatingly humiliating/humbling experience for Nate, I’d love to see this as an opportunity for him to genuinely grow outside the confines of Richmond (which forms way too much of his identity - and let’s be honest, can’t always hold good memories for Nate when he was literally asking his teammates not to physically harass him on a daily basis). I can definitely see someone - HigginsHigginsHiggins - giving him Sharon’s number to call before he leaves, and I like the idea that in the season break Nate could be dealing with some of his issues and returning to the Nate the Great we know and love.

However, I then think Nate will somehow end up back at Richmond. While you could argue that it would be better for Nate to make a clean break, it would honestly be a waste of Nick Mohammed’s bloody sterling acting talents to keep him away from Nelson Road for too long in season 3. I have no idea how a redemption arc here might look, but it would have to be good, and if there’s forgiveness to be offered, it should take more than the space of an episode - although I hope they don’t stretch it out too long. Rebecca and Jamie were forgiven relatively quickly; it would be a shame and a bad look if Nate’s own forgiveness journey was too disproportionately drawn out.

I’d also love to see Jamie, Colin and Isaac apologise for their season 1 bullying of Nate. Much as the bullying Nate suffered doesn’t excuse his shoddy behaviour, Nate’s own bullshit doesn’t excuse what our beloved trio pulled in season 1 - and crucially, we never saw them apologise to Nate or try to make amends. I really love apology scenes and I’d love to see Nate with some friends beyond Ted and Keeley - and that li’l scene in the Liverpool karaoke bar with Isaac, Colin and Nate doing shots together means I want more of this friendship.

Some sort of Jamie/Nate commiseration over shit dads and over-compensating for the emotional wounds they give us? Please?

More Higgins. In many ways Higgins is the emotional rock for our beloved Richmond: he’s the only one not suffering from some sort of untold trauma or struggles, and is able to live with a relationship with an imperfect father and yet be a fantastic father himself. I’d love to see a storyline where Higgins isn’t on the periphery but straight in the heart of the action, potentially adopting a Richmond boy or two along the way. 

By saying this, I mean Jamie. If we get a scene where Jamie is invited around to the Higginses for Sunday lunch I will cry. Much like Nate needs space apart from Richmond to grow and heal, Jamie needs close relationships with people who aren’t Keeley for security - mature familial relationships, and quite frankly the Higginses are the stable family dynamic Jamie needs right now. 

Why the fuck does Colin feel the need to remind himself he is not a piece of shit? Enquiring minds need to know. We’ve had episode storylines that focus on Dani, Sam, Jamie and Isaac; I just want one with Colin where I’m not emotionally devastated by the end of it, thank you Headspace.

This isn’t so much a prediction as a plea, but an entire episode where the Richmond boys are the focus. A night out in Richmond, that long-promised pillow fight, them finally taking Colin to go clothes shopping for something that isn’t a  button-up polo shirt - I honestly don’t care, I just need as much of their antics as Apple TV allows.

On a slightly more realistic note, the Himbos Greyhounds content rose significantly from season 1 to season 2, so I can see the writers carrying on with that arc. 

Ted. Fuck knows. At this point I can’t trust myself to predict Ted’s actions - I do think Nate’s going to be leaving Richmond, and so I can’t see Ted leaving as well. It would be amazing if Ted used the dubiously-written expose (c’mon Trent, you couldn’t have given Ted a head’s up or asked for a quote before the article was put online? forget dubious journalism ethics that just...seems inefficient not to approach him for a comment while you were writing the piece) as an excuse to talk more about mental health in sport. I definitely think episode 12 is going to have Richmond rally around Ted, and so I do hope the article isn’t going to drive Ted further into hiding and that he’ll be at Richmond by the time season 3 comes around.

Ted and Rebecca. I can’t have been the only one that caught that little look by Ted when Rebecca left his office in 2x11, right? Certainly the show has set up a whopper of a truth bomb for season 3, when there’s another heart to heart in Ted’s office, and though it could be anything, my little shipper heart is screaming  some sort of romantic confession of love. I don’t know, it just feels like there is a...a something between Ted and Rebecca that’s going to happen in 2x12, and I can’t help but think it’s going to lay the foundations for whatever happens in season 3 big time.

[thenon-fictiondays]

narumitsu for the ship ask? :o?

when I started shipping it if I did: my intro to the AA fandom was my sister informing me that Phoenix chose to become a lawyer just so Edgeworth would have to talk to him again so. Before I even played the games 😂

my thoughts: the ship of all ships

What makes me happy about them: I love how they're connected all throughout their lives. You really get the sense that their bond can't be broken by time or trauma or distance or anything. Even during the times when they weren't exactly 'friends', they were still connected in some way. Honestly, I don't even think their relationship can be contained by the word "romance"; their relationship is like a weird mix of platonic, romantic, familial....it kind of transcends categories if that makes sense??

What makes me sad about them: The fact that in AA4 there is literally no mention of Edgeworth and his involvement in regards to Phoenix getting disbarred. Like, there's no way Edgeworth wouldn't have been able to help at all. He had the prestige and the connections, but even if he couldn't keep Phoenix from losing his badge he still wouldn't have just. Vanished from the narrative lmao

things done in fanfic that annoys me: it's been a million and a half years since I've read fanfic for them so I literally do not know anymore 😅 actually you know what? It's when the writer doesn't let Edgeworth use contractions. Idk this always bothers me when you get a polished, refined type character that for some reason doesn't use contractions and it just reads as really stiff/unnatural

things I look for in fanfic: good writing, good characterization, sufficient puns... 😂

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I honestly cannot see them ending up with anyone but each other 🤷

My happily ever after for them: combining their adoptive kids/siblings into one gigantic chaotic found family

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Edgeworth little spoon, I know this in my heart

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: flirting across the courtroom